Replicant 3

Name: Replicant 3
Price: 39 USD
Author: Audio Damage

by Audio Damage · Multi-FX · Beat-repeat and glitch slicer

Not rated yet

Replicant 3 captures incoming audio in real time and turns it into stutters, repeats and glitches, driven by a step sequencer.

Each step can use stutter, delay, bit-crushing or ring mod effects, with probability and direction per step, for $39.

Best for: Drums, Drum Bus, Keys & Synths, Sound Design. Genres: Electronic & EDM, Hip-Hop & Trap.

Keywords: stutter, glitchy, rhythmic, ring mod, samples & loops, bitcrush, drums, heavy, AUv3/iOS, bus processing, classic, creative, drum bus, gated, MIDI-controllable, mixing, reverse, sample-rate reduction, sound design.

What it does

Replicant 3 is a real-time slicer that captures incoming audio and turns it into stutters, repeats and glitches on a step sequencer. It is the third version of a long-running Audio Damage plugin, rebuilt with "an all-new sequencer engine, expanded effects, and a redesigned interface".

Sequencer: 3 to 16 steps per measure, with step-size modes from dotted notes through to tuplets as fine as nontuplets.
Stutter: the classic capture-and-repeat effect that the earlier versions were built around.
Delay, Redukt and Ring Mod: three slice effects new in version 3; Redukt adds bit-crushing and sample-rate reduction.
Per-step control: probability, forward or reverse playback, and which effect each step is routed to, set on a visual step sequencer.
Envelopes: crossfades on each slice, from smooth transitions to hard-gated chops.
Triggering: a MIDI trigger mode for slicing from a controller or the DAW, and a manual trigger mode for touchscreen performance.
Presets: an XML preset system that works across formats and operating systems, including the iPad version.

Version 3.0.9. A demo is available.

Source: Audio Damage product page

When to use it

Replicant 3 is the quick, affordable choice for beat-repeat and stutter effects driven by a single step sequencer. Compared with Effectrix2 it has fewer effects and no multi-lane sequencer painting, but it is cheaper and faster to get results from. Unlike Stutter Edit 2, it is built around a looping sequence rather than gesture-based, one-shot transitions, so it suits ongoing rhythmic variation better than build-ups. Against Infiltrator 2 it is narrower in scope but more focused on slicing.

Best for: beat-repeat fills, stutter edits, probability-based glitch variations on drum loops, and live slicing from MIDI.
Genres: IDM, electronic, glitch, hip-hop and breakbeat.
Look elsewhere if: you want many effects on a multi-lane sequencer (Effectrix2), gesture-driven transitions and build-ups (Stutter Edit 2), or a broad modular effects chain (Infiltrator 2).

What producers say

Coverage of version 3 was enthusiastic, seeing it as a big step up from the older versions.

CDM (Peter Kirn, 2023) called it "the most unique" of Audio Damage's plugins and said it grew from a "one-glitch pony" into a tool to go deep in.
Praised: CDM liked the cleaner interface, the new Delay, Redukt and Ring Mod effects, and a preset manager that "works the way everything should".

CDM review

Where to buy

Audio Damage: $39
Plugin Boutique: $69

Tutorials and reviews

Similar plugins

Glitch 2 by Illformed · Sequenced glitch effect · Free
Effectrix2 by Sugar Bytes · Multi-effect sequencer · $129
Rerun by Sinevibes · Self-randomizing repeater · $29
Stutter Edit 2 by iZotope · Stutter / glitch effect · $99.50
JST X-Repeater by Joey Sturgis Tones · Glitch / stutter effect · $39.99
VPS Glitch Bitch by Vengeance Sound · Glitch effect · $55.64
Looperator by Sugar Bytes · Loop mangling effect · $129
Parrot by Klevgrand · Live-sampling step repeater · $29.99
Cache by Sinevibes · MIDI-triggered buffer effects · $49
MRhythmizer by MeldaProduction · Sequenced time, volume and filter effect · $49

All multi-FX & creative