Loom II
by AIR Music Technology · Synth · Modular additive synth
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Loom II is a modular additive synth with up to 512 harmonic partials, 34 editable modules and a Morph Pad for blending patch variations.
It has 850+ presets and costs $99.
Best for: Keys & Synths, Sound Design. Genres: Ambient & Cinematic, Electronic & EDM.
Keywords: additive, spectral, pads, textures, modular, preset-driven, sound design, evolving, randomize, tempo-synced, airy, built-in analyzer, cinematic, monophonic.
What it does
Loom II is AIR's modular additive synth: it builds sounds from up to 512 harmonic partials, shaped by a chain of modules, and the developer pitches it at "all skill levels". Its Morph Pad lets you move between variations of a patch in real time.
- Additive engine: eight voices with up to 512 partials per patch, two optional subharmonic partials below the spectrum, and a Spectral Noise oscillator that adds a noise spectrum alongside the sine partials.
- Modules: 34 editable modules, up to 10 per patch, such as Octaver, Second Tone, Moving Filter, Noise, Linear Lowpass, Modulator, 5-Sines, Discrete Adder, Hype and Double Wave; each shows its own spectrum display.
- Morph Pad: up to four sound variations on the pad's corners, morphed by click-and-drag or along stored paths, with tempo sync per segment and an X-axis envelope mode with snap grid.
- Modulation: three tempo-syncable LFOs and four velocity-sensitive envelopes, plus global pitch, octave, glide, spectral distortion and spectral modulation; every parameter can be MIDI-mapped.
- Presets and randomizer: 850+ presets, 500 of them new by Richard Devine and Mark Ovenden and 350 remastered from the original Loom, plus a smart randomizer for parameters and modules.
- Effects: drive, chorus, phaser and reverb.
The current version is 2.1.1 (2024).
Source: AIR Music Technology product page
When to use it
Loom II is one of the few additive synths built around ease of use. It reaches textures similar to those of Serum 2 and Vital, which are wavetable synths, and Phase Plant, which mixes several generator types, but by another route. Compared with dedicated additive synths such as Image-Line's Harmor and Native Instruments' Razor, which go deeper or sound more aggressive, Loom II trades depth for a simple module chain and the Morph Pad. That makes it a good pick for glassy, evolving pads and bell tones that are hard to get from subtractive synths. MusicRadar summed up its sound as "very clean, precise and 'digital'".
- Best for: evolving pads, bell tones, shimmering textures and morphing sound-design patches.
- Genres: ambient, cinematic, electronica and experimental music.
- Look elsewhere if: you need warm analog-style sounds (Diva) or a wavetable workflow (Serum 2 or Vital).
- Tip: a little Spectral Noise goes a long way; even at low levels it adds air and movement to a pad.
What producers say
Reviewers like its sound for pads and textures; the main complaints are limited depth, no manual and, more recently, stability.
- MusicRadar (2018) called it "a fine and quietly innovative synth" that excels at pads and animated textures, praising the interface, the presets, Spectral Noise and the new Sub Harmonics.
- KVR users rate it 3.4 out of 5 from 5 reviews: three gave 5 stars for the sound and presets, and one saw it as a good home for former Absynth users.
- Criticisms: no manual and macros that can't be freely reassigned (MusicRadar); one KVR user (2025, v2.1) reported crashes and a broken GUI at non-standard resolutions, and another (2021) couldn't install the trial.
Where to buy
- AIR Music Technology: $99 (list price from KVR Audio; airmusictech.com shows prices only in its shop)
- PluginFox: $99
- AudioDeluxe: $99
- Plugin Boutique: $99
Tutorials and reviews
- LOOM 2 by Air Music Technology - LOOM II First Look, New Features, Review and Overview
- LOOM II - A LEGEND EVOLVED
- LOOM 2 by Air Music Technology - LOOM II Tutorial, Presets, Edit Page and New Features
- LOOM 2 by Air Music Technology - LOOM II Tutorial, Presets, Morph & Wave Pages
- Loom II Synthesizer by Air Music Tech (No Talking)
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