Developer (Un)familiar offers a 24% discount on the new Spectralsand plugin and a FREE version for macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Spectralsand is a spectral delay plugin from (Un)familiar, and for a short time, you can grab it for $15.19 (usually $19.99).
If the sale price seems a little random, don’t worry; it makes perfect sense; the developer released the plugin on their birthday, the 24th of January, hence a 24% discount, and the special price will be available until the 7th of February 2024.
The free Mud Edition has a limited feature set and is locked to v1.0.0, but it’s still well worth checking out.
The clever plugin allows you to alter the timbre of any source material/sound beyond recognition (or less dramatically if you’re so inclined). It breaks down the frequency spectrum into tiny bits called bins, each delayed by a specified amount of time that you can manipulate in various ways, including basic shapes, white noise, and custom waveforms.
The range of sounds you can create is limited by little more than your curiosity for experimenting with time.
Spectralsand can break your input into any number between 128 and 2048 bins, which you can set by adjusting the Binsize.
The Time parameter defines the time that each bin is delayed, and you can offset the time between the left and right channels to create ultra-wide delays.
You can change the oscillator type by selecting from available shapes or drawing a custom oscillator. The custom oscillator function is only available in the paid version of Spectralsand.
Another function limited to the paid version is Sidechain Mode, which has a handy Boost feature to enhance the sidechain.
The most unusual or experimental results might come when using the Feedback function, which feeds delays back into themselves. As always, such functions come with a tendency to escalate quickly; should that happen, the dev has included an aptly named Panic button.
If the results aren’t already random enough, you get a handy Randomizer that will lead you to all kinds of chaos. You can reign in the chaos, if you choose, by blending the delayed output and original input.
If quirky and experimental is your thing, don’t forget to check out Strange Audio Loops gRainbow update.
Spectralsand is available in VST3 format for macOS, Windows, and Linux. It is a result of a couple of years of effort, so thank you (Un)familiar. for the hard work!
Check out the deal: Spectralsand (Mud edition – FREE / Full version – now 24% off – $15.19)
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21 Comments
Neytcev
onI’m always closing the window immediately
after seeing such a skin or similar, that’s my decision,
mostly knowing what nice examples exist in the last decades.
Respects for every attempt and effort, but i treat these audio aids
as works of art, so i care a lot about appearance,
which also testifies to the authors’ attitude towards own labor,
but also to consumers, so – i know how to choose. God bless all!
Marcus Aburelius
onJEEZ MAN, get off the snobby entitled UI/UX high horse (yeah I used like 3 synonims because I rly mean it haha).
First of all, the sound the plugin is making is exciting as hell to me (just the real time delay stretches were enough for this to be a buy for me, but there’s at least 3 other killer features). Airwindows plugins, who have some incredible DSPing, have no skin at all – really who cares. The art is in the creative mangling of air molecules.
Second of all, I love the energy behind the promo video and the UI itself. It signals great excitment for the craft and this cute ”I’m just doing whatever the hell I want” confidence disguised up in pastel naivete.
unfamiliar
onhiiii i’m the dev, thank you for seeing the vision 💖 ops comment originally kinda made me sad bc the language i program in is really restrictive in terms of gui. i didn’t make it look like ms paint on purpose i swear 😭 but i’ve actually gotten a lot of nice comments on how unique it looks and i’m glad people are liking it 🥰
Céline
onPlease please please don’t change the GUI, it adds to the charm! 🤩
Brenny C
onI agree, Céline. I like the GUI just the way it is!
Céline
on💖
Ryota Lore
onPuredata, right? I wonder how insane the source patch looks 😁.
Have you considered opening it in plugdata? Just for kicks.
Martin
onWord of advice NEYTCEV, GUI skins should be the last thing one considers when choosing a plugin. Unless the GUI is too complex or has tabbed pages, how a plugin effectively and efficiently fulfils its purpose is more worthwhile to consider. Plus, hyper photorealistic GUIs tend to have GUI-related issues and bugs, something Chris from Airwindows has mentioned many times. Happy music making.
mx
oni think this is a question of perspectives and its useless to discuss topics like that with an attitude like the first comment of neytcev.
still to a certain degree i also think that effort in ui is showing that a developer wanted just the best in all regards when making a plugin.
but i think that spectralsand looks seriously cool, unique and very good!
Brenny C
onWhat a ridiculous comment. Lol. The next time you have a silly thought such as this, you might consider keeping it to yourself; it’s pointless and cringe worthy.
To the dev: awesome plugin! Both the sound and the (ahem) minimal GUI is excellent. It’s a simple design, the chosen colors in the default skin are attractive and, with the paid version, there are many other skins to choose from if one wants a change of scenery.
The free Mud version alone is capable of so much sound wise; the simple interface is deceiving in that respect.
I plan on buying the full version as its price is a no-brainer plus I like to support small developers who release software that’s useful, unique and reasonably priced without any intrusive copy protection.
I look forward to future releases from you, (Un)familar.
alex
onThx. Gonna check it out. Nice GUI, BTW.
Adrianovsky
onThat’s a beautiful GUI!
CoopMusic247
onYo, I just downloaded a bunch of synthwave sounds and pixel art. Don’t stress the haters.
CoopMusic247
onReminds me of the Native Instruments Spectral Delay that went discontinued.
unfamiliar
onthat was one of my big inspirations!
JEP1928
onIt functions like one of the modules of SpecOps…
quite interesting 👀
Arseniy
onWhich one?
JEP1928
onResonant Freeze module (this is the closest module that can replicate one of these)
I kinda forget some of the modules in Spec Ops.
Gil Page
onThis plugin does not natively support Apple Silicon Macs. I dare say trusting the developer to update for Macs in the future is not likely to lead to a satisfactory conclusion. CAVEAT EMPTOR!
unfamiliar
oni mean like. it’s literally the first thing i mention in the plugin description so. yeah 😭
Derrrr
onI cannot for the life of me get this to work on MacOs despite following the detailed terminal instructions while running Rosetta. Sucks because it works amazingly on my PC but I can’t get it to work on any daw in Mac with a silicon chip.