Sanford Sound Design has announced that its Cobalt hybrid synthesizer is re-released for free.
Cobalt is a freeware VSTi software synthesizer for Windows operation systems. It takes its inspiration from the digital synthesizers of the 80’s.
In the early 80’s as digital technology became cheaper, many manufacturers designed synthesizers that combined earlier analog technology with newer digital technology. These were known as hybrid synthesizers. Well-known hybrid synthesizers are the Korg DW8000 and DW6000, the Ensoniq ESQ-1, and the Kawai K3.
In analog/digital hybrid synthesizers, the oscillators responsible for generating waveforms are digital while the filter section remains analog. This approach freed designers to use any kind of waveform; they were no longer restricted to traditional analog waveforms such as sawtooth, triangle, and pulse. However, by using an analog filter, these synthesizers retained the warmth earlier analog synthesizers were known for.
Though Cobalt is a purely digital synthesizer, its overall architecture is very much like those early hybrid synthesizers. It features a wide selection of waveforms, most of which were resynthesized from actual hybrid synthesizers, while providing traditional subtractive synthesis capabilities for sculpting its sound.
Cobalt hybrid synthesizer is available for instant download at Sanford Sound Design (no registration is required). Included in this ZIP file is the 64 bit version (with “Small” and “Large” GUI versions), as well as the original 32 bit version. Also, 5 soundbanks are added in the compressed ZIP file.
