AV-Ylänne has released C-Cassette Synths, a free preset pack for the Zyklop virtual synthesizer by Dawesome. The collection is built around simple oscillator sounds recorded onto old cassette tape and then reprocessed back into the digital environment to capture a warm, unstable, and characterful sound.
Cassette Processing With a Lo-Fi Approach
The idea behind the pack was to exaggerate the natural tone of cassette tape by recording the original oscillator sounds two octaves above their intended pitch. These recordings were captured at 192 kHz and then slowed down to quarter speed, bringing the sounds back down by two octaves while enhancing the drift, softness, and imperfections of the tape medium.
This method gives the presets a distinct lo-fi and 80s-inspired tone, with a more organic texture than standard clean digital oscillator sources.
Multiple Oscillator Sources and Preset Categories
Four oscillator types were used for the recordings, including sine, square, saw, and wavetable, each captured in both mono and stereo at two different octaves. After that, the material was imported into Zyklop and turned into presets organized across five categories.
The preset library covers bass, keys, lead, pad, and pulse sounds, giving users a flexible range of tones for different styles and productions.
Designed for Easy Tweaking
To refine the sounds, AV-Ylänne used a subtle amount of processing such as OTT, reverb, and chorus while keeping the original cassette character intact. The presets are also meant to be easily adjusted inside Zyklop, making it simple to reshape sounds for different roles.
For example, plucked presets can be turned into pads by editing the ADSR envelope, while some lead sounds can be repurposed as bass patches by reducing spatial effects.
Features
- Free preset pack for the Zyklop synthesizer by Dawesome
- Cassette-recorded oscillator sources with a lo-fi character
- Sine, square, saw, and wavetable oscillator recordings
- Sounds are organized into bass, keys, lead, pad, and pulse categories
- Designed for easy tweaking inside Zyklop
Free Download
C-Cassette Synths presets pack for Zyklop is available as a free download from the AV-Ylänne Gumroad page. Zyklop, which is required to use the presets, is also available as a free virtual instrument from Dawesome.
