PALINDROME 2 update Review
Glitch Machines has updated their granular synth Palindrome to version 2, this update brings a new granular engine, a couple new effects, and some randomizers. First of all, be warned, Palindrome 2 will overwrite Palindrome, additionally, presets are not necessarily compatible between the two. Palindromes new granular mode replaces the old one. The original engine was a buffer based looper, you can read about it in my review of Palindrome. I wish they had simply kept the old mode as an option that you could switch between, allowing for full backwards compatibility. I find this change disappointing as the old engine very fun and a nice alternative to what has now become a more common cloud based approach.
With that out of the way, I’ll set aside that I’d prefer an option for both methods and focus on the positives. The new grain engine is far more powerful and makes Palindrome quite an incredible sound design tool. No longer are you restricted to a single grain looping, instead there is a grain stream allowing for up to 32 simultaneous overlapping grains (per sampler). This opens the door for lush grain clouds, trickling clusters and all sorts of various granular options. There are now a variety of window shapes including some percussive shapes that allow for some generative rhythmic composition when combined with tempo synced grain rate.
Palindrome 2 adds 4 randomizers, these produce a random modulation value per key press, however I wish they were full on sample hold or smooth random modulation sources. Two new effects are available per sample layer now, a vowel filter, and a rather crispy bitcrusher. You can now solo layers and add curves to the envelopes. Other than the old grain mode I’ll also be missing the old purple vector as they have now opted for white. I’m not sure why, it’s not an important detail, but the purple vector just felt cool. Ultimately this update is an over all improvement, there are other options for buffer looped grain engines, and with the new cloud style granular engine, I will actually likely use Palindrome quite a bit more. It opens the door to quite a few sound design options. Bring back the purple vector and add the old engine as an option, and I’d be willing to pay for another update.
If you plan on purchasing Palindrome from Plugin Boutique, please consider supporting me by using my affiliate links
PALINDROME 2: https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/1-Instruments/5-Sampler/11925-Palindrome-2-0?a_aid=61c378ab215d5
UPGRADE: https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/1-Instruments/5-Sampler/11926-Palindrome-2-0-Upgrade-from-Palindrome-1?a_aid=61c378ab215d5