Description
Warp from @somasynths is a stereo digital effect unit that houses 15 algorithms. Its effects are selected and controlled using a matrix-style interface, the labelling of which takes up most of the top panel. The selected effect type is displayed via a column of LEDs along the left edge of the grid. Each effect then has four parameters that can be altered and modulated using the four rotaries along the lower edge or the modulation inputs along the top.
Warp’s algorithms are divided into three broad categories, described in the manual as ‘spatial effects’, dealing with various reverbs and delays, ‘special effects’, which combine mod effects and distortion, and ‘dynamic effects’, such as compressors and filters, described as being designed for busses or submixes. But in typical Soma fashion, none of these are as straightforward as they initially appear.
Every algorithm has at least one parameter that can be pushed into experimental territory, whether that’s a reverb time that can create endless drones, dual low- and high-pass resonant filters that produce different effects when their cutoff points overlap, or a reversed lo-fi delay that degrades sound as it repeats.
With a price point equivalent to some hardware synths, Warp is certainly not the cheapest effect on the market. And while its effect algorithms are unique, it's certainly possible to experiments in a similar manner in the software realm for much cheaper.
Both of these criticisms miss the point of its appeal though. As a creative, expressive effect, Warp’s value lies in its ability to transform your existing sounds and instruments into something new and unique. In testing Warp we’ve tried pairing it with budget synths and drum machines from the likes of Korg’s Volca range and Teenage Engineering’s POs – its ability to turn these simple, affordable noisemakers into something altogether weirder, more characterful and richer is enough to warrant its price.
It is undoubtedly at its best when in motion though, modulated physically or via CV (or ideally both), when you embrace its hands-on nature and allow chaos to unfold through experimentation – although that unpredictability could arguably be seen as a weakness for some.
Warp is an effect unit aimed squarely at those who want a fast, powerful way to experiment with their existing sound sources. It might not be the most versatile or deeply editable effects unit on the market, but for anybody happy to embrace unpredictability, it’s well worth the price.
Read the full review on MusicRadar.com
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