Corrosion 1.1.0 update

We’re excited to announce the release of the latest update for Corrosion, our versatile frequency modulator that helps you create gritty, distorted textures in your music. This update brings a host of improvements, including full compatibility with the latest hardware and software. Corrosion is the ideal tool for producers and sound designers who want to add edge and character to their sounds, whether you’re working with basslines, synths, drum loops, or any other audio source that could benefit from a bit of distortion and modulation.

At its core, Corrosion is based on ring modulation, a process that has been used in electronic music for decades to create a distinctive, metallic distortion. Ring modulation occurs when two audio signals are combined—one being the modulator and the other being the carrier signal. The result is intermodulation distortion, which produces a harmonic spectrum rich in overtones. This creates dissonant and textured sounds that can be particularly useful when applied to basslines, synth sounds, or drums. The unique combination of two signals—especially when they are slightly detuned—produces a characteristic sound that’s perfect for adding grit and texture to your tracks.

With Corrosion, we’ve taken the classic ring modulation concept and refined it with modern features that provide you with even more creative possibilities. One of the key features is the waveform generator that drives the modulation. Corrosion lets you choose from a variety of waveforms, including white noise, sine, saw, or square waves. These waveforms serve as the modulating signal, shaping the final sound in different ways. Whether you want to create smooth, subtle textures or aggressive, gritty distortion, you have full control over the modulating signal, giving you endless possibilities for sound design.

To make the modulation even more effective, Corrosion includes a resonant filter in the modulation stage. This is an upgrade over the typical non-resonant filters used in many other ring modulators. A resonant filter allows you to fine-tune the modulating signal, creating harmonic resonances with the source audio. This gives you the ability to shape and manipulate the modulating signal in a more precise manner, resulting in richer and more complex tones. For example, if you’re working with a bassline and want to add a bit of bite without making the modulation too overwhelming, the resonant filter lets you target specific frequencies and emphasize them to get just the right amount of harmonic richness.

Another standout feature of Corrosion is the “track pitch” function. When the pitch of your sound changes, this feature ensures that the filter or modulator stays in sync with the changing fundamental frequency. Many other ring modulators fail to track pitch changes accurately, which can result in modulation that feels out of place or dissonant in an undesirable way. However, Corrosion tracks the pitch changes in real-time, ensuring that the modulation stays musically consistent and in harmony with your source sound. This feature is particularly useful when working with melodic or evolving sounds, where pitch shifts are integral to the overall composition.

In addition to its modulation capabilities, Corrosion also features an analog-style saturation stage in its signal path. This saturation can add warmth and fatness to the sound, especially when applied to more aggressive sources like drum loops. The combination of saturation and modulation is what gives Corrosion its distinctive character, allowing you to take clean, sterile sounds and turn them into bold, gritty textures. The ability to crank up the saturation on a drum loop, for example, adds depth and presence to your drums, giving them a raw, analog-like quality that can make them stand out in the mix.

While Corrosion offers a wealth of powerful features, it’s still incredibly easy to use. You’ll find standard controls for input, output, and bypass, as well as more creative options like the ability to use external audio as the modulator source. This external audio input lets you blend the character of two different tracks, creating interesting sonic textures and interactions between the two signals. The flexibility to experiment with external modulation opens up even more creative possibilities, allowing you to blend and shape sounds in ways you may not have considered before.

With the release of version 1.1.0, we’ve introduced several key updates to improve the plugin’s performance and compatibility. One of the most significant changes is the addition of full compatibility with Apple Silicon M1 processors. As the industry shifts toward Apple’s new M1 chips, it’s crucial that audio plugins keep pace with these changes. The update ensures that Corrosion runs smoothly on Apple Silicon M1 devices, providing users with enhanced performance and stability on the latest Mac hardware.

We’ve also made the decision to discontinue support for 32-bit systems. As 64-bit systems become the standard, this move allows us to focus our development efforts on more advanced features for modern setups. This also helps improve the stability and efficiency of the plugin for users on 64-bit systems, ensuring a more robust performance across a wider range of DAWs.

Additionally, this update resolves a crash issue that some users were experiencing with Studio One on macOS, ensuring a smoother experience for users of that platform. We’ve also addressed GUI scaling issues on high-DPI monitors for Windows users. These updates improve the user experience by making the interface clearer and more responsive, even on higher-resolution screens.

The best part is that this update is free for existing owners of Corrosion, and it can be downloaded easily via the HoRNet DoIn or from your account in the user area. As always, we are committed to providing you with regular updates to enhance the functionality and compatibility of our plugins, ensuring that they meet the demands of modern audio production environments.

In conclusion, Corrosion remains one of the most versatile and creative tools for sound designers, musicians, and producers looking to add raw, distorted textures to their audio. Whether you’re using it to add punch to snare drums, create gritty kick sounds, or craft complex synth tones, Corrosion gives you full control over the modulation and distortion process. With the new features in version 1.1.0, including Apple Silicon M1 compatibility, discontinued 32-bit support, and improved GUI scaling, Corrosion is now more powerful and compatible than ever before. Download the update today and start crafting your unique, distorted textures with Corrosion!