2019-07-01_Computer_Music

playbacksimplycontinuestotheendofthe
waveformif notmodulatedtodootherwise.
BothColorknobsareavailableasmodulation
targets(seebelow),ofcourse,buttheyalso
havetheirownADenvelopes(ColorMovement).
Attack(1ms-16s)determinesthetimeit takesto
sweepclockwisetothepointsetbytheAmount
slider,whileDecay(also1ms-16s)dictateshow
longit takestoreturntothestartpoint.
TheremainingSourcecontrolscomprisean
ADSRvolumeenvelope,OctaveandPitchknobs,
andon/offformodwheel-drivenVibrato.Each
SourcefeedsintoitsassociatedShapersection,
whereinoneofthreeverydifferentfiltersis
broughtintoplay– seeThrowingShapers.

Parallelsprocessing
Theleft-handsideoftheGUI(the‘ModPod’)
housesfourmodulationsourceslots,eachof
whichcanhostanLFO,envelope,randomiser,
stepsequencerorEuclideansequence
generator.TheLFOisfreelyshapeablefroma
triangletoa sawwaveform,andcurvable;the
envelopeswitchesbetweenASRandADSR
behaviour;therandomiserissuperb,withitsXY
controlofrateand‘noisefiltering’;theEuclidean
generatorisanalogoustoa cyclingtrancegate;
andthe16th-notestepsequencerfeaturesa
Slewcontrolfor‘glide’,andcanoutputvariable
amountsorfixed100%steps.Theycome
togetherasa hugelycreativequintetofsignal
generators– easytouse,yetgenuinelyfun.
Modulationassignmentsaremadeby
draggingthecollararoundthetargetparameter
tosetthemodamount,andeachtargetcanmix
theinputfromtwosourcesata time,balanced
withitspopupModulationMixslider.It’sa clever
system,butwe’resurprisedatthetwo-
modulatorlimit– whynotanXYpadwitha
modulatoroneachcorner?Alsoworthnotingis
thatmodulationispositive-onlyforall
parametersbarPitch,sodownwardenvelopes
areout,asisnegativemodulationoftheColor
control.It’sa shame,too,thatthefilterdisplays

don’tanimatewithmodulation,andthat,while

SourceMixcanbemodulated,individualSource

volumelevelscan’t.

Finally,thefiveseriallyarrangedeffects

modules– Distortion,Chorus,Flanger,Delayand

Reverb– arewelluptoSoftube’susualstandards

inthisdepartment,bringingplentyofglamour,

spectacleandpolishviajusttwoknobs(plus

dry/wetmix)each.

Synthofthefuture

Despitetheshortcomingsmentioned(andthe

returnofSoftube’soverwroughtpresetbrowser/

manager,whichwewon’tgetintoagainhere

beyondsayingthatthemorepatchesit

addresses,themorefrustratingit gets– andin

thiscase,that’sveryfrustratingindeed),

Parallelsisa fantasticinstrument.Weloveits

intuitive,captivatinginterface,groovy

modulators,excellenteffectsandthoughtfully

designedwaveformlibrary,and,ultimately,the

stunningnoisesit produces.Yes,it sacrificesa

degreeofdepthatthealtarofarchitectural

simplicity,butmostwillfinditsfocused,

contemporaryapproachrefreshing.There’s

nothingelsequitelikeit forquicklyandeasily

summoningcomplex,colourfulsynthsoundsof

allshapesandsizes.

Websoftube.com

Verdict

ForStunningwaveformlibrary

Succinctbutpowerfulone-windowGUI

Fabulousfilters

Fascinatingmodulationsources

Top-notcheffects

AgainstCan’tresizeplaybackloop

Modulationunderachievesinplaces

Despitesomepuzzlingniggles,Parallelsis

aninterestingandthoroughly‘now’synth

thatsoundsfreakin’awesome

8/10

Alternatively

SpectrasonicsOmnisphere 2

220 »10/10»£339

Thedaddyofsample-based

synthesis,butnowherenearas

friendly(oraffordable)asParallels

WavesFlowMotion

266 » 9/10 » $99

Similarly imaginative in its interface

design, and sonically unique

Softube being the masters of analogue

modelling that they are, we had big

expectations of Parallels’ filters – and

they certainly don’t disappoint.

Each Source feeds into its own filter

section, called the Shaper, offering a

choice of three filter modes: Low-Pass

Gate, State Variable Filter and

Resonator, each with three

modulatable parameters, manually

adjusted in the graphical display and/or

using the trio of knobs below.

The Low-Pass Gate is a languid

Buchla-inspired vactrol-controlled

resonant filter/VCA that responds

dynamically to modulation. It’s great

for adding organic lift to any patch.

While the LPG is a great option for

expressive low-pass filtering, the

resonant State Variable filter is

considerably more versatile, with the

Type control sweeping its frequency

response from low-pass through band-

pass to high-pass and back.

Last but not least, the Resonator is a

three-filter bank that can be used for

eliciting formants and vowel sounds

from the Source waveforms. The Tilt

knob ‘see-saws’ the top and bottom

peaking filters (one up, the other

down), while Spread spaces them apart

and Freq shifts all three up and down.

Modulate the whole lot for wild vocal-

style effects.

Throwing Shapers

Great for tagging and identification, but absurdly
histrionic when you just want to audition a few presets

Get your West

Coast on with the

Low Pass Gate

filter mode

“It sacrifices a degree

of depth at the altar of

simplicity, but most will

find its focused

approach refreshing”

July 2019 / ComPutermusiC / 87

softube parallels / reviews <