BIOTEK 3 Review
Recently Tracktion asked me to make some presets for their synth Biotek 3, this update was my first introduction to Biotek, so forgive me if you’re just reading to see what’s new. As far as I can tell, they’ve mostly updated the UI, only veteran users will be able to tell me if this UI update is an improvement or not, as I only familiarized myself with this third installment. As for Biotek as a whole, I was pleasantly surprised by this synth, I’ll admit I always thought of it as more of a rompler, and I still do see it as more of a preset machine than a synth you’d want to dig into for general sound design. That said, as a preset designer, there was enough for me to work with and some nice details that allowed for precise nuance. Most of all, I apreciate the ability to layer parts to create deeper and more sonically interesting presets.
OSCILLATORS:
The core engine to Bitoek is comprised of four oscillators running into two filters and effects. By default, the oscillator is a sine wave, this sine wave has controls for sync, saturation, symmetry, and shape allowing for a variety of different tones to morph between. All the basic shapes can be created from this sine wave, so the triangle and saw options are a bit redundant. Square on the other hand has a pulse width control. Next there is a “spinal saw” oscillator, which is a nice unison cluster, though there is also a global unison that can be used with any of the other osc modes.
In addition to noise and basic sampling, there is also a granular oscillator. This granular oscillator is actually quite powerful, it’s got all the standard granular settings, different window shapes with a couple controls. The minimum grain goes all the way down to a single millisecond allowing for some very nice screeching tones. There’s also a built in “length key” control for tuned grains, I haven’t seen this in too many synths, and it’s a very nice way to get some of the more unique sound design from granular synthesis.
In addition to all this, there is ring mod between the first two oscillators and eleven different FM algorithms that the Oscs can be arranged in. By default this is set to parallel, so you can easily ignore the FM if you never want to use it. FM depth is controlled by the oscillator’s output, and the FM can go quite extreme. This coupled with the unique shaping of the sine waves actually makes for a solid FM engine. FM isn’t just reserved for the sine engine though, all the other modes, even the grain engine can be used as carriers with the exception of spinal saw, which can only be used as an operator.
FILTERS and EFFECTS:
The two filters run in series only, with a drive between them. The drive modes are fairly simple and mostly vary in intensity. All your standard filter types are present, with a few modeled filters, but you also get a comb filter and a “redux” bit crusher. After this is an EQ, which to my surprise is per voice. It’s a basic two part eq, with two bands and two shelves. All the EQ controls can be modulated as well which is a nice subtle sound design touch. Finally everything gets sent into the effects section. You get four effects slots with a few basic effects to chose from. I don’t have much to say about the effects, the reverb is nice, the distortion is pleasant and the compressor is pretty solid, but I wouldn’t rely on these effects to do much more than add a touch of grit motion or ambience.
MODULATION:
The modulation is fairly deep, you get eight LFOs, four evenlopes, several macros, and a variety of modifiers. Routing modulation and the mod matrix can be a bit tedious, but it was fairly intuitive for the most part. LFO rate can go quite far into audio rate, up to 500 hz, nothing too crazy, but still nice to play with. The LFOs also have a symmetry control for some shaping. The envelopes took me by surprise the most, each is an MSEG with up to 32 total points. The MSEG is loopable, but syncing this loop to any given tempo would be a significant challenge. Additionally, the UI for adding and editing points gets quite cumbersome after about a dozen points. Adding points is done by setting the total, which means if you create a pattern, and want to add a point anywhere but the end, you’re out of luck. Still this is very nice to have. What I like best about the envelopes is hope precise they are, if you zoom in you can adjust them by percentages of a micro second. The UI displays even higher resolution, but the values are not present.
Over all, there’s not really any singular stand out exciting element to Biotek or unique new synthesis design, but the core engine sounds solid and good, and it’s more than capable for interesting sound design if you put work into it. I’d say they could really do a lot by adding some nicer effects or really spice things up with a couple weird filters or a fun synth engine, though the grain and sine engines are cool. The UI is pretty neat as well, with a single page showing all the main synth elements, and magnifying glasses that open up each section to reveal even more depth. It’s also worth mentioning the Easy and Performance pages, which share an XY pad, that has unique mappings for every preset, and additional macros. As a preset designer, there’s a lot I can play with in terms of designing presets as “instruments’ for composers and musicians to play with and I really hope to make more content for Biotek moving forward.
You can pick up BIOTEK 3 from Tracktion’s website here: https://www.tracktion.com/products/biotek
If you are grabbing BIOTEK 3 via Plugin Boutique and would like to help me out I have an affiliate link here: https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/1-Instruments/4-Synth/14164-BioTek-3?a_aid=61c378ab215d5