Free Apple Logic Pro 10.2 update brings back famed Alchemy synth

Improved UI and synthesis is neat, but it’s the spectral-based audio morphing that impresses.

Mark Walton – Aug 25, 2015 9:39 pm | 31

When it emerged that UK-based Camel Audio—a highly respected developer of professional audio plugins—was acquired by Apple earlier this year, many wondered what the fate of its flagship Alchemy synthesizer would be. Early signs of Alchemy’s influence appeared in the mainstream music production app GarageBand, leading to fears that perhaps one of the most highly regarded software synths of all time was being chopped up for use across a wide range of apps across Apple.

Fortunately for the music making elite, not only is the full-fat version of the Alchemy synthesizer back, it’s been given a significant overhaul compared the last 1.5 release by Camel Audio. This includes not only improved audio morphing features and synthesis engines, but also an improved UI. The new UI promises to make browsing sounds and patches, and creating new ones, easier than before, while still offering the depth of sound design that Alchemy was renowned for.

Even better is that Alchemy has been integrated into Apple’s Logic Pro Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software, and is bundled with version 10.2, which has just been released and is available to download now. While that may be disappointing news to those hoping for a standalone version to use with their DAW of choice, at least Logic is good value. At £149 ($199), it actually sells for less than the $249 Alchemy did on its own, so you could feasibly pick it up just for Alchemy and then bounce down those tracks for use in other DAWs, or route things through MainStage. If you already have Logic Pro, version 10.2 is a free update.

For those not familiar, Alchemy is a sample-based synthesizer, similar to Logic’s existing EXS24. This differs slightly from a traditional analogue synthesizer, in that instead of generating a raw square wave or a saw wave and using filters and other tools to manipulate it, a sample-based synth uses a recorded sound or instrument as the basis for manipulation. The new version of Alchemy comes bundled with around 14GB of audio samples, which are used in over 3000 presets, and 300 Logic patches. Each preset also features eight Transform Pad variations—basically a giant XY pad you can sweep across to change the sound in real-time—for further sounds.

Check out the famed Alchemy synth in action in the lastest Logic Pro 10.2 update.

Aside from the usual array of envelope filters and modulation for manipulating sounds, what’s particularly neat about Alchemy is that it lets you perform direct spectral editing and audio morphing, the latter of which has been given a boost in the new version. Spectral editing allows you look at a graphical representation of audio, a little like a waveform, but with far more information. What this allows you to do is essentially paint in audio information, with height determining pitch, and brightness of colour determining volume, leading to some very unique sounds.

Alchemy takes this one stage further with elemental morphing, which allows you to merge up to four sounds together at the sound generation level. For example, instead of hearing a transition between the overall amplitude of each sound (during a crossfade, for example), with morphing the transition between the sounds happens between different frequency bands. This can also lead to some interesting new sounds as frequencies from one instrument clash with, or enhance one another, particularly when you add different modulation effects or even arpeggiators on top.

Apple also says improvements have been made to Alchemy’s other forms of resyththesis, including Formant, Additive, and Granular. Additionally, the analogue-style filters have been redesigned (and include a new dirty “Bee” filter), the convolution-based reverb now has access to over 1000 different impulse responses, and there’s even a Waveshaper with built-in curve presets to emulate the sound of tubes, rectifiers, and other types of distortion.

If you’re not at all interested in Alchemy, then Logic 10.2 does have a couple of other tricks up its sleeve. MainStage gets a bump to version 3.2 with a new X/Y Pad screen control object, and 1000 new Apple loops, while Logic Remote 1.2.2 adds support for Alchemy instruments. Both are said to have received multiple stability and connectivity improvements, too. Finally, for those who want to share their newly created Alchemy masterpiece with the world, Logic now features support for Apple Music Connect, allowing musicians to upload music directly from Logic to the service.