Warlock

Name: Warlock
Price: 69 USD
Author: Tone2

by Tone2 · Synth · Digital synth with spectrum tables

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Warlock is a Tone2 digital synth with a reduced, quick-to-use interface, built on spectrum tables with over 14,000 waveforms.

It ships with 2,140 patches and a random patch generator, for $69.

Best for: Keys & Synths, Bass. Genres: Electronic & EDM, Hip-Hop & Trap, Pop.

Keywords: randomize, preset-driven, simple, arpeggiator, basses, chord generator, heavy, leads, modulation matrix, modular, pads, plucks, subtractive, surgical, tempo-synced.

What it does

Warlock is a streamlined Tone2 synth built on subtractive synthesis and what Tone2 calls harmonic content morphing. The developer gives it a "reduced user-interface to facilitate an efficient workflow", aimed at getting results fast.

Oscillators: 84 spectrum-table oscillator types with over 14,000 waveforms, and up to 24 oscillators per voice.
Stacking and chords: 37 stack modes in mono and stereo, a phase-optimized hypersaw, automatic chords, a sub-oscillator and a ring modulator with its own tuning and mix.
Filters: 38 types, including six low-pass, two high-pass and four band-pass types, plus notch, shelving, phaser, vocal, aliaser and resampler filters.
Effects: two modular slots with 18 effect types, such as reverbs, delays, multitap, chorus, phaser, flanger, rotary, distortions and a degrader.
Modulation: three envelopes and LFOs with 20 waveforms and BPM sync.
Arpeggiator: 22 play modes and 28 rhythmic patterns, with gate and one-finger chord modes.
Randomizer: a Random button that generates new, usable patches on demand.

It comes with over 2,000 patches.

Source: Tone2 product page

When to use it

Warlock is the pick for producers who mostly browse presets and tweak a few controls, and want a large, dance-focused library for little money. It is a cheaper, simpler sibling to Tone2's Icarus 3, with no wavetable editor or resynthesis. Compared with Sylenth1 it costs far less and offers many more oscillator types, though Sylenth1 has the bigger preset ecosystem. Against Serum 2 or Vital it lacks deep sound-design tools and can't import wavetables or samples.

Best for: fast preset-based leads, basses, plucks and pads, and quick patch ideas from the randomizer.
Genres: EDM, trance, hip-hop and pop.
Look elsewhere if: you want deep sound design or your own wavetables and samples; Icarus 3 or Serum 2 offer far more.
Tip: start from a preset and change its spectrum table to make it your own quickly (Computer Music).

What producers say

Reviewers and users see it as strong value for fast, preset-driven work, with depth and effects the main limits.

Computer Music (via MusicRadar, 2021) called it "cheap, powerful, flexible and easy" and "a cracker", praising the presets and Random button, but found the interface plain and the presets dance-heavy.
KVR users rate it 4.33 out of 5 from 6 reviews, praising the sound, the presets and a randomizer that gives usable sounds instantly.
Criticisms: KVR users found the effects disappointing, missed wavetable and sample import, EQ and compression, and one reported noise glitches in standalone mode.

Where to buy

Tutorials and reviews

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