- When the Irish music software firm Future Audio Workshop revealed their seminal virtual instrument Circle in 2008, it stood out for a number of reasons. Perhaps top on that list was the fresh and innovative UI, which bucked the skeuomorphic trend that was dominating the music software industry at the time. Instead, FAW opted for a flat, minimalist design with bright, high-contrast colors that helped ease the task of designing sounds from scratch within a single display. The result was a success, with Circle slotting itself alongside the industry heavy-hitters within the audio production software market. As years passed and more of these competitors caught on, one wondered if FAW might lose their edge without a substantial update. That arrived this April, when Circle 2 was released as a free update for existing users. For that contingent, the upgrade was a no-brainer, but what about for new customers?
One thing that may surprise some users is that Circle's renowned UI actually received a complete overhaul for the second version thanks to Lars Hammerschmidt, a freelance designer from Berlin who also serves as the art director for De:Bug. Besides being Retina Display-compatible, the results are admittedly subtle but important. In an interview on the FAW blog, Hammerschmidt detailed his approach, which leant a particular level of significance to the intuitiveness of the interface. The result does feel more cohesive and straightforward than the original design, and a great example of that is in the modulation source coloring. Circle 1 used multiple shades of blue and green colors in its selection of modulators, which had the tendency to blend into one another over time. This is changed in Circle 2, with a much broader color range finding a place in the UI.
In case you're not familiar with Circle's modulation system, it uses a workflow similar to that of Native Instruments' Massive. Each modulation source has a colored circle that can be clicked-and-dragged to any of the empty circles, which represent modulation destinations for the controls they sit below. In addition to the five dedicated modulator slots (where you can choose from envelopes, LFOs or sequencers), the oscillators and the keyboard input can be used as modulators as well. The effect of modulating via audio-rate oscillators can be a bit unpredictable, so one nice trick is the ability to audition by hovering a modulator source over the input slots. If you're happy with the resulting effect, you can just release the mouse button to make the connection.
As nice as Circle's modulation system is, while testing I did find a couple of areas where it could be improved. First, there is currently no way to control the amount of a single mod connection via host automation, MIDI or OSC (you can only do it with the mouse). For anyone who likes to tweak the filter envelope amount control on a synth, this could be an issue. The other head-scratcher was the lack of support for using a sustain pedal as a modulator, which limits Circle's usefulness for keyboardists.
Perhaps the most impressive new feature of Circle 2 is a cutting-edge new oscillator type called VPS. This oscillator gets its name from vector phaseshaping synthesis, a technique in which two sine waves are combined in different ways to create a wide array of sonic textures. What sets this apart from the usual additive or frequency modulation algorithms is that VPS joins the sine waves together end-to-end. By altering the frequency and the point at which the waves are joined together, you gain an immense level of control over the output with just two parameters. FAW reportedly worked at length with some of the original authors of the VPS paper to refine their implementation for a software instrument. Their efforts paid off—the sonic possibilities of the VPS oscillator give Circle a whole new level of depth and a signature that sets it apart from other instruments.
Rounding out the other changes in Circle 2 is a reworked audio engine, a new preset system and two new effects: bucket delay and tube distortion. That brings the list of available effects to 15, split between modifiers and master effects. In my testing, the effects continued to have a delicate touch by default but could be pushed to a more up-front presence as needed. This allows you to really sweeten (or dirty) things up, which is always useful. Of course, if you prefer your sounds unblemished, you can always disable any and all modifiers and effects.
I've spoken mostly about the new features in this latest version of Circle, but the key thing to remember is that they're all built on the quality foundation of the original synth. To that end, you still get the flexible modulation, the controllable randomization capabilities, the native OSC compatibility and a powerful four-oscillator architecture. Simply put, if you liked the original Circle you'll love this new version. If you were on the fence about Circle before, or are looking for a new go-to instrument, it would be worth your time to give the demo a spin.
Ratings:
Cost: 4.0
Versatility: 4.0
Sound: 4.8
Ease of use: 4.8