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Reviews | Sugar Bytes WOW2

he most obvious area in which

Sugar Bytes' WOW2 improves

on its predecessor is with the

interface. It's been given a

concise, contemporary appearance, with

the preset browser permanently open on

the left (the option to hide it would be

good) and smoothly animated graphics

in the centre of each knob for real-time

visual feedback on parameter changes.

It looks fantastic.

The number of ﬁ lter types has been

boosted from ten to 22. 16 of these are

high-, low- and band-pass models, while

the other six comprise the ‘Special’

category, including Comb, Notch and

Band Reject. The low-pass set is

particularly impressive, with slopes

ranging from 12dB/octave up to a

razor-sharp 48dB/octave, and various

implied classics are represented,

including the Moog ladder ﬁ lter and

Korg MS-20. WOW1’s dual vowel ﬁ lter

is still in place, enabling you to mix

between two vowel shapes.

The ﬁ lter itself sounds superb,

delivering everything from smooth,

gentle shaping to sharp, aggressive

frequency mashing. But it isn’t the only

weapon in WOW2’s arsenal: the

revamped Drive section (placeable pre-

or post-ﬁ lter) now offers three analogue

overdrive algorithms and four digital

distortions, ranging in tone from rich,

warm and ﬁ zzy to harsh, edgy and

aggressive. WOW’s ever-present top-end

attenuation has carried through to this

version: even in high-pass mode, it still

slices off the extreme highs – an opacity

making it unsuitable for surgical work.

Wobble heads

WOW2’s modulation system is slick and

ﬂ exible, with four modulators. The ﬁ rst

is an envelope follower with an input

frequency ﬁ lter and adjustable Attack

and Decay times. Then an LFO pumps

out a wide range of waveshapes

(including random), host-syncable from

4/1 up to 1/192, with the option to

have the transients in the audio input

retrigger the cycle. The 16-step step

sequencer also syncs up to 1/192, can

be set to progress forwards, backwards,

back and forth or randomly, and enables

glide to be applied between selected

steps. The ﬁ nal modulator is the wobble

generator, as also found in Sugar Bytes’

Cyclop synth. This is an LFO divided up

into 12 segments arranged around a

central knob. Each successive segment

increases the LFO rate from 2/1 to 1/48

and hosts its own waveform, chosen

from a list of 16. By assigning different

waveforms to each LFO rate and ﬂ inging

the knob (and accompanying Phase

slider) around, you can create

spectacularly complex modulations.

Assigning modulation sources is

done using the controls below each

modulator in the bottom panel, or by

right-clicking any knob or slider to bring

up a series of mod depth controls for

that parameter. Targets include all ﬁ ve

main controls, as well as the two vowel

selectors and all other modulator

controls – everything, basically.

WOW2 is a marked improvement on

the already excellent WOW, primarily

due to the added ﬁ lter types and wobble

generator, but also the GUI, which

packs an incredible amount of control

into a very small space. It’s easy to use,

sounds amazing, and the preset library

gives a wealth of inspirational starting

points. There are also some randomising

laffs to be had, from the random preset

selector to the randomise sequence/

waves buttons in the step sequencer

and wobble generator which, amusingly,

can be assigned as modulation targets.

There are cheaper, more feature-packed

and higher-precision ﬁ lter plug-ins, but

WOW2 has a wild, upfront sound all of

its own, and a particularly pacey,

creative workﬂ ow. WOW indeed.

Sugar Bytes

WOW2 | €99

Does version 2 of this much-loved ﬁ lter and distortion plug-in add enough

to justify an upgrade? Ronan Macdonald brings the wobble

VERDICT

STABILITY

❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚

VALUE

❚❚❚❚❚❚❚

EASE OF USE

❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚

VERSATILITY

❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚

RESULTS

❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚

Enough of a progression to warrant

upgrading. A lively addition to any

electronic producer’s plug-in folder.

WHAT IS IT?

Filter and distortion

plug-in with extensive

modulation set-up

CONTACT

Who: Sugar Bytes

Web: www.sugar-bytes.de

HIGHLIGHTS

1 Sounds… WOW

2 Flexible modulation

3 Great interface

PRICING

Upgrade from WOW1

49 euros

SPECS

System Requirements

PC: Windows XP/Vista/7

(32/64-bit), 1GHz CPU,

512MB RAM,

VST/RTAS/AAX host

Mac: OS X 10.4+

(32/64-bit), 1GHz CPU,

512MB RAM,

VST/AU/RTAS/AAX host

FMU274.rev_sugar.indd 96 12/4/13 4:29 PM