BYOME (“Build Your Own Modular Effect”) Review
BYOME is Unfiltered Audio most energetic effect plugin yet. The BYOME plugin effect got a complete UI refresh. You can use a so-called cell as an individual effect and combine them to build your own modular effect.
BYOME is a modular effects plugin that includes over 40 effect modules that include reverbs, delays, distortions, dynamics, filters, granular, mixing, and modulation. Unfiltered Audio did send a review copy with no strings attached.
Installation
The easiest way to install this plugin is to use the Plugin Alliance Installation Manager. As other companies Plugin Alliance has come to a point where installation of all their own products has become easy for everyone.
Sound
BYOME is a modular multi-effects Plug-in which has a UI to support an easy effect compilation or you in researching new effect combination. With BYOME you can jump on the hype of modular without spending all that money for modular modules and fighting than with figuring out what they do when you install them one by one.
BYOME modulation options and combinations are supported by 40 effect modules that are included. Those effects crossing Delays, Distortions, Dynamics, Filters, Granular, Mixing, Modulation, Gate, Spectral Follower, Dynamics Effects, Follower Modulators, Reverbs and more.
To sum it up many known effects, new effects and not so common effects are available for you to play with. All effects are descriped in the available manual here.
I did start to go through many of the over 400 presets to get an understanding of what the developed included as their showcases of BYOME.
Ivo Ivanov of Glitchmachines has contributed 70 presets for the production of futuristic drums and percussion. The Glitchmachines preset series s multiple modulation scenarios with great performance macros, skillfully illuminating the plugin’s considerable depth, streamlined interface, and broad flexibility. Don’t forget click the dice icon to randomize the loaded preset.
Toby Pitman was in charge of creating 150 of the factory presets. Mathias Brüssel, Richard Devine, Empty Vessel, ignatius, and Peter “Glaca” Mohamed have been all contributing to the remaining list of excellent presets.
Those
Preset Expansion
Speaking of presets there are already commercial preset expansions available. Pro Studio Rack for Unfiltered Audio BYOME by Synth-Presets.com is a compelling collection of 150+ effects, all programmed and designed to produce a better level of production to your music.
The collection includes a broad range of effects from New York style compression to highly complex, automated effect chains. Pro Studio Rack allows for immediate, professional studio quality production.
Synergy for Unfiltered Audio BYOME
Synergy is another commercial collection of BYOME 64 presets in a variety of styles: subtly dusty and wonky to dirty and saturated, from claustrophobic to massive modulated lushness. Synergy is produced by Empty Vessel.
Synergy (by Empty Vessel ) includes:
Ambiance – huge warm lush spaces, pitch-shifted grainy dusty rooms, endless droning pads, faulty 80s rack reverbs.
Dust – subtle wobbliness and dust to circuit bent digital artifacts, tired radios, dictaphones and worn out rental VHS cassettes.
Echo – tape delays, digital delays, nice, not nice, crackly, warm, springy
Glitch – looper pedals with minds of their own, random ghosts in the machine, drum loop choppers and more.
Synergy by Empty Vessel makes use of the Macro controls at the bottom left of the interface. Linked to the most usefully tweakable controls in the effects modules these vastly expand the range of sounds available from each preset. Control the amount of glitch and dust, the bit crushing, the tape saturation, the size of the huge reverb, the feedback and wear on the tape delay and…the Globbiness.
Modulation Effect Machine
BYOME utilizes the companies modulation system. In this system, you can instantly patch anything from simple parameter changes to complex and even self-evolving systems.
You can use many available modulators like LFOs: sine/saw/tri/square, sample and hold noise, input follower, meta control, step sequencer, ROLI LightPad, chaos, gate sequencer, ADSR, and more. The briefly listed modulators may overwhelm you, but the Interface makes it easy to experiment with many of the available options, try it out to see what your result is.
BYOME Features:
- Over 40 Effect Cells to choose from
- Over 400 presets, including over 200 artist presets from Glitchmachines, Richard Devine, and
ignatius . - Many new Modulators to choose from, including Spectral Follower and Probability Gate.
- Supports external sidechain signals for Dynamics Effects and Follower Modulators.
- Presets for individual Effects and Modulators.
- Per-section, per-Effect, and per-Modulator randomization
User interface & Usability
The plugin has a very intuitive layout which assists you to create new sounds using the different tools available in the effect. You should start with the presets or interconnect the cells and build personal series to see how it turns out. There are 40 effect modules to support you on your journey into sound design.
You can tell that behind the easy to use Interface the developer Michael and Josh have designed their multi-effect to this day. I did hear that the codebase was larger than all their previous plugins combined.
Rating: Five out of five stars
BYOME is an modular sound design FX toolbox to generate effects that wow the audience. BYOME is very easy to use and intuitive to configure, you can create specific effects quickly. Instead of investing in modular I would start with this software emulation in your DAW. Get some experiences first in (cheaper) software and move if needed to modular later.
The effects you create can sound unusual, uncommon, or pleasing. They sound amazing and musical. Use the many included presets as suggestions and develop and change them further to your taste. BYOME is one seriously beautiful multi-effect plugin.
