This secondary waveform (49 of them are available) has a wet/dry control to mix its level with the main waveform. The last oscillator controls are for setting the Phase and for selecting an additional waveform. Standard tuning controls are also here (Octave, Note and Fine). To adjust the pulse width, you can change that with the CtrlB knob. The “Classic” mode lets you choose between a saw or square wave with the CtrlA knob, or you can dial in a blend of the two. What these two controls change depends on what oscillator type is chosen. To the left and right of the waveform display are the controls labeled CtrlA and CtrlB. Each of the oscillators can be set to one of the included modes: Classic, Noise, FM or Hard FM, AMSync, and SawPWM. The handy Copy/Paste buttons let you duplicate settings from one oscillator to another. Their levels can easily be adjusted and muted using the controls at the top of the display.
The four oscillators are over on the left side, and you can switch between them by using the four buttons at the top. Once you’ve loaded Spire in your DAW, you will see its main display.
For the PC you’ll need Windows 7 or higher operating system, and for the Mac you’ll need OS X 10.8 or higher.
The exact requirements for Spire aren’t published, but a modern/powerful CPU is recommended. The 64-bit version is recommended, but a 32-bit version is also available. Installation of Spire is easy and just uses a license file for authorization. I am just getting started, as there is much more to this powerful synth. Two multi-mode filters with several types are on board, as well as several envelopes and LFOs for your sound design. It can use up to nine times unison for each oscillator, and there are several modes from which to choose. Spire is a polyphonic synthesizer that’s available for PC/Mac in 32/64 bit formats, has 800+ presets, and boasts four oscillators with multiple modes (Classic, Noise, FM or Hard FM, AMSync, and SawPWM). However, even if it did (or didn’t) sound like a Virus, I will just say that this is one of the best synth plugins I’ve heard.
I won’t get into that huge debate, discussions of which are found on many of the software instrument forums. Some people feel that these three synths have a sound comparable to the “Virus sound”. In this review I’ll cover most its features and give you a better idea of how it all operates.
Another plugin which made its debut a while back is also highly acclaimed, and is especially well-known among the EDM crowd. In past issues, I have reviewed some very popular synth plugins including Sylenth1 and Dune 2. Reveal Sound’s Spire is a powerful synth plugin, one that is especially well-known among the EDM crowd, and one that easily stands up to the competition.