reFX Nexus 4, popular synth rompler plugin gets a major feature boost SYNTH ANATOMY uses affiliation & partner programs (big red buttons) to finance a part of the activity. If you use these, you support the website. Thanks! reFX shows on Black Friday weekend Nexus 4, a major update for the popular synth rompler plugin with new effects, expanded arpeggiator & more. Almost 2 years ago, reFX released Nexus 3, the third version of the popular virtual instrument. I can still remember the big two-part video series by Doctor Mix. Two years later, Nexus 4 is ready. But what is the plugin. Nexus 4 is a rompler based on high-quality sample content and synthesis. His key-selling point since the first version have been his bread and butter sounds, which fit into many tracks with much tweaking. The big star of many EDM and pop productions or mainly for productions where the job has to be done quickly. The developer team already tweaked a lot the engine in Nexus 3, which made it more versatile and customizable. A weekness of the previous versions (1 – 2) in my opinion. In Nexus 4, this continues with many new features and sounds. reFX Nexus 4 reFX Nexus 4 Nexus 4 is not a full-featured Synthesizer plugin. Analog-modeled, wavetable… oscillators are missing for this. Thus it remains a powerful synth rompler with a sample core, and advanced editing options to give your sounds a bit of your own character. Each patch consists of several layers with different sample sources. These can be stacked or layered, have individual settings including filters, and more. The new update starts in this interface. It comes with an improved user interface that offers a cleaner and more comprehensible visualization of the signal-flow per layer. Here, you can enable or disable entire layers, adjust levels, panning, and more. Also the UI got an update and is now vector-based with resizing options. reFX promises a sharp and crisp experience on every display, no matter which size. reFX Nexus 4 arpeggiator deluxe The sample editing options were not expanded, but the effects. Besides the EQ, filter, reverb, delay, impulse, it now ships with a new Ableton Live-style OTT compressor and a fully-customizable glitch effect processor. The latter allows you to draw your own shapes. They are joined by a new user interface that gives you full visualization of the signal flow for real-time feedback. Effects can be rearranged by drag and drop and the entire FX chain can be saved and loaded. Arpeggiator One of the highlights of the Nexus 3 version was the ability to intervene in the sequences for the first time. Version 4 goes even deeper. The new version gives you access to all sixteen layer arpeggiators as well as the main arpeggiator. Here you can rearrange the notes and create entirely new melodies with up to 256 steps. The sequencer mode provides more in-depth settings, such as several notes per step and individual velocity. reFX promises its the best arpeggiator on the market. Whether that’s true or whether it’s just a marketing phrase, I would have to test the plugin to find it out. Or if you are a Nexus user, feel free to leave it in the comments. Macros, New Librarian Another new feature in Nexus 4 are four quick-access macro controls with which you can instant shape sounds. There is also a matrix with 20 slots giving you a quick and easy access to modulation. reFX Nexus 4 preset browser If you decide for the complete package with all 159 extensions, you can get nearly 200GB of sound content and tons of presets. For such a massive sound catalog you need a very good and robust preset browser system. There are news. The new librarian load faster your presets while the CPU load is lower. That’s very good. It also organizes presets, sounds, folders, categories and color-coded tags in three dedicated columns. A new history function will also make the workflow more fluid. Nexus 4 also ships now with over 260 new presets and is fully backwards-compatible with library for Nexus 2 and Nexus 3. A new cloud sync feature makes system changes much easier. You can save favorites, bookmarks, user presets, and settings in the clouds and recall it on your new system. Lastly, reFX have developed a new online registration system without dongles or other third-party tools. And the plugin also supports the new Apple Silicon processors. Availability At first glance, a solid update for Nexus. It does not have ground breaking new features, but many that improve the workflow. And now breathe in and out. The price is steep. reFX Nexus 4 is available now in three editions. For 249 |
