Sonicbits Exakt, a Yamaha TX81Z-inspired FM synth plugin and Exakt Lite 2.0 - SYNTH ANATOMY

SYNTH ANATOMY uses affiliation & partner programs (big red buttons) to finance a part of the activity. If you use these, you support the website. Thanks!

Sonicbits Exakt is a new Yamaha TX81Z-inspired 4-operator FM Synthesizer plugin and v2 for its free Lite version with new features.

In 2020, I reported on Sonicbits’ free FM synthesizer Exakt Lite, which features waveforms from the famous Yamaha TX81Z rack Synthesizer.

The name Lite suggests that a regular version already exists or is coming. This development took four years, and the full version of Exakt is out now. This is also good news for all free version users. Exakt Lite benefits from the release and got a version 2.

Exakt is an intuitive and easy-to-use FM Synthesizer plugin for macOS and Windows, designed to make FM synthesis more accessible. This is what the developer Sonicbits promises.

The synth plugin features four operators with 16 FM algorithms. Each operator offers multiple waveforms, including basic sine, saw, square, and triangle. As a highlight, it also includes eight classic waveforms from the Yamaha TX81Z and four enhanced TX waves.

Each Sonicbits Exakt’s operator also has its own 5-point amp envelope generator modeled after the TX characteristics. Then, it hosts a multimode filter with low, high, and bandpass modes and more of an unusual formant filter mode. You can tweak them with classic cutoff, resonance, and velocity controls.

The heart of the modulation engine is a mod matrix with eight source and destination slots. Two multi-wave syncable LFOs with rate and delay controls are part of it. It also has two loopable envelopes with up to 16 points.

Sonicbits Exakt also offers a two-mode chorus, a distortion, and a delay effect with sync to refine your sounds. Nice, there is also an experimental Sysex bank import function for Yamaha 4-operator synths. T

After a long time, the Exakt Lite version has a big brother. It’s nice to see that the plugin is now complete with all its features. It’s not an FM revolution, but a nice, easy-to-use 4-operator FM synth. And a big like that, the Exakt Lite version is still free and has been expanded.

Sonicbits Exakt is available now for $29 and runs as a VST2, VST3, and AU plugin on macOS (native Apple Silicon + Intel) and Windows. Exakt Lite 2.0 is a free download and runs also in the same formats on macOS and Windows.

More information here: Sonicbits

Plugin News

Free Plugin News