physical audio modus
Physical Audio Modus £99
Modus is a new physical modelling instrument for creating virtual models of instruments impossible in the real world. Andy Jones gets hands-on
Physical modelling synthesis has had a rather chequered history. It was initially employed by the likes of Yamaha to recreate the sounds of real instruments by modelling their physical properties. As good as the results could be, the recreation of these instruments has been more successfully achieved by sampling the heck out of them; every pluck, scratch, hit and articulation can be recorded and then employed by you to mix into your tunes. No physical modelling necessary. However, the technology is not redundant and now companies are waking up to the fact that you can use its principals to create entirely new sounds – from instruments that don’t or can’t exist – perhaps something it should always have been used for.