FabFilter Twin 3 is here with huge UI improvements for a better sound design experience
FabFilter’s Twin 3 is the latest version of the developer’s award-winning virtual subtractive synthesizer. FabFilter made its plugin debut almost twenty years ago with the FabFilter One synthesizer, and FabFilter state that “Twin 3 expands and improves on its predecessor in every area,”.
The new Twin 3 software synthesizer has seen a complete overhaul of its user interface and workflow, it now offers more oscillators and filters with improved functionality, an improved modulation system, and a new effects section.
This analog software synth is capable of generating roaring basses, searing leads, gentle pads and plucks, and even drums!
FabFilter Twin 3
With its new user interface, FabFilter Twin 3 is immediately accessible to new users. The UI is designed to visually inform you of your modulation routings and signal fluctuations, and floating slot panels group active modulation sources at each target control for collective tweaking, much like Matt Tytel’s Vital does! Meanwhile, Twin 3’s darker color scheme is less fatiguing on your eyes over long sessions.
Now, you can navigate the interface easier than before in Twin 2, and new scaling options (in addition to an awesome full-screen mode) allow you to expand the size of your synth and get a much better view of what it is you’re doing in its sonic environment.
I’m seeing a lot of similarities with Vital here, but I’m also seeing a lot of big, impactful differences.
More oscillators, better processing capability
For instance, Twin 3 gives you four oscillators compared to Twin 2’s three, and so Twin 3 gives you a bigger canvas to create deep, evolving sounds with intricacy. These new oscillators even feature analog-modeled drift for subtle random pitch and phase fluctuation, in addition to pulse width modulation, hard sync, and phase sync. All-new responsive oscilloscopes are available in each oscillator and a beautiful spectrogram makes it super easy to see what your waveforms are doing too!
FabFilter state that “polyphony has been given a boost,” with a total of 64 voices compared to Twin 2’s 32 voices, and each oscillator has its own polyphony mode. And there are a total of four filters in Twin 3 with new vintage-style bell, shelf, and notch modes “delivering characterful non-linear distortion,” and the new 6dB/octave slope and modulable filter cut off & peak offset knobs make the Twin soft synth more versatile than before.
In fact, you can easily turn Twin 3’s oscillators and filters on and off as and when, and you can access and manipulate every aspect of the filters with new interactive EQ-style displays.
Moreover, for those patches that really push Twin 3 to the limits, the synths’ new 4x oversampling High Quality will avoid any aliasing artifacts from corrupting your sound.
Effects and presets
Another new addition to Twin 3 is its supercharged effects section which comprises six colorful modules that include a Compressor, Drive, Reverb, Delay, Chorus, and Phaser. Every parameter within these effect modules is modulable, and modulators include Envelope Generators/Followers, XLFOs, XY controllers, Sliders, and even MIDI sources. More features include an arpeggiator with host sync, Groove/Legato, and Rate Offset controls.
A new full-featured preset browser replaces the simple menu of previous versions. Twin 3’s new preset browser makes preset navigation and management quick and easy, and you can freely edit preset tags for its search filters. You can set favorites and also add author names and text descriptions.
Finally, if you already have Twin 1 and/or 2 installed then all presets you have stored for those iterations will automatically appear in Twin 3.
Availability
You can get FabFilter Twin 3 now available for $129 / £109.
Twin 3 is supported by Windows 7+ and macOS 10.13+ with Intel or Apple Silicon processor. The synth is available in VST, VST 3, AU, AAX, and AudioSuite plugin formats.
Existing FabFilter customers can purchase or upgrade to FabFilter Twin 3 for a discounted rate by logging into their online user accounts.