Sine Machine is the debut launch from Melatonin, a Vienna-based developer who have spent the past six years creating what they describe as “a friendly starting point for additive synthesis”. The instrument is capable of creating a wide range of sounds, and offers plenty of real-time visual feedback that helps users to tackle the steep learning curve that new users face when getting started with additive instruments. 

The new arrival has been designed to be intuitive and approachable, but still packs in enough power and control to satisfy more advanced users. Colourful visualisers help to paint a picture of what’s happening behind the scenes: rather than relying on FFT analysis, resynthesis or wavetables, the underlying engine offers up to 10,000 time-domain oscillators that are shaped by up to 20,000 LFOs. 

Each of the instruments controls manipulates either the magnitude or frequency of the sine waves, and with the exception of a limiter, there’s no additional DSP involved — even the built-in reverb has been constructed entirely from sine waves! It’s said to excel at creating everything from evolving pads and shimmering textures to detailed lead sounds and effects, with per-harmonic controls allowing users to create timbres that aren’t possible with typical subtractive or wavetable-based synths. 

• Harmonic arpeggiation, for animated, cascading patterns.
• Per-harmonic control over envelopes, volumes and pitch (including creative glide modes).
• Additive Reverb, built from 1000 additional sine waves.
• Additive ‘filters’ including brick-wall and gaussian band-pass shapes.
• Per-harmonic gaussian pitch noise for organic and lo-fi textures.
• 130+ factory presets.

“Additive synthesis has a reputation for being technical and hard to use. With Sine Machine, I went back to first principles. I wanted to make something tactile and inspiring. Something that feels more like an instrument and less like a lab tool.” - Sudara Williams, Founder, Melatonin

Video of Sine Machine Teaser (additive synth)

Sine Machine is supported on PCs running Windows 10 or later, and macOS systems (no minimum version specified). VST3, AU and CLAP plug-ins are available, along with a standalone application. Note that there is no AAX version, meaning Pro Tools is not supported. 

Sine Machine is available now, with pricing starting at $60 and running to $150 — users can choose how much they’d like to pay within that bracket. The company say that they will not be running any sales or Black Friday discounts — they are also only selling direct to customers, and will not be distributing through any third-party sites or retailers. 

melatonin.dev