![]() Into these slots you may insert one of the many built-in FX processors (more on these shortly) or a third-party VST, VST 3 or AU plug-in. We start with four serial slots for input processing. Fortunately, the signal flow is rather straightforward (but don’t interpret that to mean that Axiom is not deeply flexible and powerful). Unfortunately there isn’t one in the documentation, so we’ll make do with words and a screen shot. ![]() This is the point in a review that I would like to put in a copy of the signal flow diagram from the user manual (me not being much of a computer graphics artist as opposed to just being lazy). In a world crowded with all manner of innovative delay processors, Late Replies occupies elite placement in the top tier because it capitalizes on the Blue Cat signature third-party-hosting capability (and, once again, is loaded with innumerable onboard FX processors). Late Replies only has a peripheral place in this story, but since it comes as a built-in effect in Axiom, it merits mention. Prior to Axiom, Blue Cat’s most recent major release was the wonderful delay plug-in, Late Replies ( ). If multi-band distortion is of interest, then use it within MB-7 and you’ve got a top-of-the-line solution. There are innumerable distortion plug-in options in the marketplace, but Destructor is one of the better ones, and one that I would suggest could be one’s go-to solution for this sort of thing. As far as I know, it is unique in its ability to provide dynamic distortion where distortion amount can be governed by audio level. Destructor was notable for its excellent user-customization features. The hosting ability is rock-solid (OK, in Cubase I’ve encountered display issues can get a bit wonky, but I’m not sure that Cubase isn’t the party to blame here – in any case, I’ve never encountered a total showstopper).Ī bit later, Blue Cat released Destructor ( ), a distortion and amp-sim plug-in. And make no mistake, Blue Cat nailed this one. But its versatility owes most to its ability to host pretty much any of your favorite plug-ins from the full universe of FX plug-in developers. In a subsequent release, Patchwork was stocked with several dozen built-in FX processors of the typical variety: modulation like chorus and phasing, dynamics processing like compression, filtering and EQ, and so on. I found that after having Patchwork available only a short time, I would invariably want use the phrase “the indispensable” before the word “Patchwork” any time I wrote about it. ![]() These plug-ins (Patchwork is also a standalone application) are notable for their ability to host third-party plug-ins in various formats (VST, VST-3 and AU). Let us begin with Blue Cat Patchwork and also MB-7 ( ). As it turns out, I have written about all these products in previous SoundBytes Magazine issues, so regular readers may already be familiar with this history. Blue Cat has had several major milestones that got it to the point where Axiom was just a natural evolution. I think the best way of understanding Axiom is to first look at what came before. ![]() Licensing terms are generous and activation is customer-friendly (the dongle-adverse will have no reason to avoid this software). A demo download is available that imposes only minor annoyance interruptions. Axiom comes as a standalone application and is also available in all major hosted formats (VST, et.al.) for PC and Mac, 32-bit and 64-bit. Bundle purchase options are also available, so studying the web site is advised. Axiom lists for $199 USD but is often on sale for significantly less. Let’s get the essentials out of the way, first. But that description doesn’t do it justice, so please be a little patient. At its heart, Axiom is a distortion/amp-sim unit with many processing options in front of and following that core purpose. This new product, called Axiom, is billed as being of primarily interest to guitarists, but synth users may find it worthy of their attention. Their latest product, however, is not so much new technology as a well-conceived repackaging of plug-in processors already in their catalog. The ever-prolific Blue Cat Audio has a new addition to its catalog, one that will especially please guitarists, but synth enthusiasts might want to take note as well.īlue Cat Audio will never be accused of lack of innovation.
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