Noisy

Name: Noisy
Price: 149 USD
Author: Expressive E

by Expressive E · Synth · Noise and resonator synth

Not rated yet

Noisy is Expressive E's noise-through-resonance synth, which feeds noise sources into acoustic, analog, FM and harmonic resonators.

Version 2.6 has 26 noise sources, 21 effects, two layers with up to three resonators each and more than 1,400 presets; it costs $149.

Best for: Keys & Synths, Sound Design. Genres: Ambient & Cinematic, Electronic & EDM.

Keywords: MPE support, sound design, FM, organic, cinematic, evolving, gritty, hardware emulation, leads, pads, plucks, polyphonic, preset-driven.

What it does

Noisy is Expressive E's noise-based synth: instead of oscillators, a noise source excites resonators, and the result is shaped by how you play. The current version is Noisy 2, which Expressive E says aims to make "sound design more fun" by mixing acoustic and analog approaches with MPE.

Noise source: an expanded Noise block with synthetic and field-recorded noise types (Sound On Sound counts 21).
Resonators: analog types (Unison, Osc Comb, PWM), FM, harmonic types (Wave Map, Harmonics) and four acoustic modal-synthesis models; three resonators run in parallel per layer.
Two layers: the synth is bi-timbral, with layer presets that can be mixed and matched; Sound On Sound notes up to eight-note polyphony.
Filter and drive: a multimode filter with four filter emulations, and a soft clipper with feedback for grit.
Effects: four serial effects, which can also respond to playing expression.
Expression-based modulation: there are no classic envelope generators; controller inputs are combined into four expressive dimensions per preset, with trigger modes for different articulations.
Presets: 1,200 presets (500 for MPE and 700 for standard controllers), plus 300 Touché presets and a large library of layer presets.

It works with Osmose, Touché, Push 3, Seaboard and other MPE controllers, and with standard MIDI keyboards via the mod wheel.

Source: Expressive E product page

When to use it

Noisy is the pick when you want breathy, bowed, metallic or scraped tones that respond to touch, rather than the clean oscillator sound of most synths. Compared with Phase Plant or Vital, it has a much narrower but more organic palette and a far simpler modulation system, built around expression instead of envelopes and LFOs. Compared with Omnisphere 3 it needs no sample library, but it offers fewer sound sources. It is heavier on CPU than lighter synths such as Hive 2, and it shines most with an MPE controller; on a normal keyboard it still works, but you lose much of its point.

Best for: expressive leads, evolving pads, atmospheres, plucks and organic sound design, especially with Osmose or another MPE controller.
Genres: ambient, cinematic, experimental and electronic music.
Look elsewhere if: you want deep envelope and LFO modulation or classic analog basses; Phase Plant, Vital or Diva suit that better.

What producers say

Reviewers see Noisy as a distinctive, flexible synth that is at its best with an MPE controller.

Sound On Sound (Noisy 2) called it "distinctive, quirky, likeable and surprisingly flexible" and, for MPE owners, "one of the very best pure synth options out there"; it praised the Osmose integration, the wide timbral range and the expressive effects.
Criticisms: Sound On Sound noted few traditional modulation sources, thin documentation with typos, and CPU use three to four times that of some rival synths.

Sound On Sound review

Where to buy

Expressive E: $149

Tutorials and reviews

Similar plugins

Atoms by Baby Audio · Physical modeling synth · $39
Kontrast by Dawesome · Nonlinear wavetable synth · $149
Equator2 by ROLI · MPE synth · $249
KULT by Dawesome · Chaos-oscillator synth · $129
Kontour by Native Instruments · Phase modulation synth · $99
Obscurium by Sugar Bytes · Generative synthesizer · $99
Aparillo by Sugar Bytes · FM synthesizer · $99
Multiphonics CV-3 by Applied Acoustics Systems · Modular physical modeling synth · $168.40

All synths