Eurorack enthusiasts take note: Softube has done it again. The well-regarded company has offered a new Modular toy for your sound-designing pleasure. This time, Softube has modeled a coveted piece of hardware from Buchla, giving you the Buchla 259e Twisted Waveform Generator. This software features two discrete oscillators that connect to each other in complex routing schemes. Of note is the Mem Skew function, which uses the internal memory of the operating system as a wavetable, one that’s controllable with an external signal.
Indeed, the Mem Skew Mode is chock-full of unpredictable noise and unexpected cut-outs—the sort of things that lend real, sonic excitement to your sound-design endeavors. The plug-in also gives you the ability to harness and employ the harsh sound of digital aliasing, which you can now implement deliberately for truly twisted tones. Such features allow this piece of software to really shine when you use it to create, harsh, metallic, cold, screaming sounds. You can, however, use the plug-in to service your warmer aesthetic, as well.
The software provides two separate oscillators—one principal, and the other modulation. Modulation can be used either to influence and mangle the Principal oscillator, or as its own separate engine for audible pitches. When you generate a sine wave with the Principal oscillator, it’s automatically fed to two waveshape tables, giving you the ability to create strange sounds by using morph voltage to pan between the two tables, and warp voltage to vary the level of the prominent waveform. All this, of course, can be further modified via the Modulation oscillator.
If you find yourself in the market for an esoteric synth, one that can handle searing tone and rounder timbres—and can blend between the two smoothly and effectively—the Buchla 259e might just be the ticket for you. You’ll need to have a previously purchased and installed copy of the Softube Modular Virtual Synthesizer up and running, but once you do, you can use the Buchla 259e to create blistering basses, lustrous leads, deadly drones, punchy percussion, and much more. It is worth noting this is the first emulation of a Buchla product, with Buchla Guru Todd Barton giving it his individual stamp of approval.
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