Welcome to another edition of This Thing Rules!
In this entry, I’ll be looking at Hypernova, a new polyphonic synthesizer for Kontakt from CL-Projects. This is a little different for me, since it’s straight up synth… Modeled after classics such as the Minimoog, Jupiter 8, Juno 106 and ARP 2600. So expect things to get really synthy when you listen to “Lost In Spaces,” my demo:
Pretty sweet sounds right?! Yea, this thing is pretty wild. The sounds it can get are perfect for all kinds of music from Ambient to House, New Age or even Cinematic stuff. Whatever kind of music you’re making, the instruments fit right in and are sharp, full and beautiful.
Jumping right into the controls page (the top image), you’ll see tons of options for getting the sounds you want. Having all those knobs staring at you right in the beginning could be a little intimidating for a synth novice, so luckily this package comes with 360 total patches (236 are straight insturments and 124 multis). There’s also a great expansion pack called Pulsar Project from SubsonicArtz (whose Omnisphere expansion pack GAIA I’ll be reviewing in a future This Thing Rules segment) which adds 100 more FREE patches… I could be wrong, but I think this could be the first time I’ve seen an expansion pack for a Kontakt instrument… Anything that gets me more inspiring starting points though is awesome in my book.
There are also plenty of effects included in Hypernova. The effects page features pretty much all the options you could want from Reverb & Delay to Distortion and Phaser. Having little preset buttons laid out really lets you quickly try some settings out, before really twisting the knobs up and getting crazy. It’s also got some great ARP settings, which you know I always enjoy.
So on to the included sounds! Some of what you’re hearing in “Lost In Spaces” are sounds I either created or edited using various patches at starting points. I also used a bunch of the included patches as is to great effect. The arp that kicks in with the beat is a multi called “Black Eagle,” and speaking of the beat, that huge kick drum comes from a patch called “Devil’s Drums.” A fitting name for such a menacing drum kit (something I really didn’t expect to be included at all since this is mainly a synth instrument, but having a few drum kits added in is a nice touch). The big beautiful reverb heavy keys are actually a multi from the Pulsar Project called “3 Stars System.” Another great patch is the awesomely Depeche Mode style bass/key combo of the “Electric Dream” multi. If it seems like I used a lot of multis, that’s because I did. While these sounds all sound great on their own and are hugely customizable, stacking multis really makes Hypernova shine.
Back to creating sounds, there are a ton of options, but as you know, I don’t really dig too heavy into the details of the power-user stuff with these This Thing Rules reviews… These are meant to be more of a basic overview, along with the original track to make sure you get an idea of what you’re getting. But with that said, there is plenty to keep even the most hard-core synth nerd busy. I do wish that this would have been an officially licensed Kontakt instrument so you don’t have to browse through files to get to it, but that’s more of an issue with my own laziness than the software itself (haha).
Hypernova is available now at CL-Projects store for $49.99. That’s a fraction of the cost of some of the “top of the line” competing synth VSTs, and definitely worth a look.
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David Rosen is an award-winning music composer. He composes original music for films, commercials, jingles, video-games and all other kinds of media projects. He has a vast music library of original tracks available for licensing and is also available for custom compositions. Contact him on the ABOUT page for pricing and availability for your next project.