- MeldaProduction may not be a big name in the music software market, but their catalogue of plug-ins more than matches up to the competition. From all the basics—equalisers, compressors, phasers, filters and so on—to a range of more unusual, innovative effects, each tool is extremely complex. In fact, they're so packed with features that learning any one of them is a thoroughly daunting proposition. In the manual, MeldaProduction claim their products are "with absolutely no doubt the most powerful and versatile tools on the market." It's a bold claim that may not be far off the mark.
MXXX, MeldaProduction's new modular multi-FX rack, includes their entire range of plug-ins. When you open it you're dropped into Easy Mode, which presents you with a categorised collection of presets with their respective macro parameters, a metering area and options for MIDI settings and preset recall. Pressing the “edit” button brings you under the hood, where things get serious. You're greeted by a spectrum analyser that allows you to split the signal into discrete bands for individual processing. There's also a range of options for crossover type and a spectrogram that you can overlay onto the analyser.
Each frequency band has it's own modular matrix, complete with a large number of slots into which you can load any of the plug-ins. This range includes a “modular” plug-in, which is a modular matrix in and of itself, effectively allowing you to load a matrix within a matrix. I suspect the chaining possibilities are limitless—I didn’t get to the end of this black hole of processing, and I went pretty far. There are signal splitting and combining handlers plus control over feedback. Theoretically, you could use the matrix to build your own synth, since there are oscillators, filters, and amps to choose from. Aside from the matrix, there’s a metering area, a modulation section, and a section to assign macro controls.
This description gives ridiculously short shrift to the abilities contained within the edit section. Each of the plug-ins has a feature set that, generally speaking, represents everything that's possible to program in software. If you dip into the modulation section, there’s an LFO/step sequencer whose shape is configurable to a vast range of contours and even incorporates additive synthesis; a follower, which tracks the input signal level; an envelope, which can either be triggered by audio or MIDI notes; a random generator; and a pitch detector. Again, there is a massive range of options for each of these modulation sources. There are 16 such modulators available, whose use is limited less by your imagination and more by your poor CPU. (The presets, though, seem built to be pretty sensible with computer resources.)
It's difficult to cover all of the plug-ins in any meaningful way. Some personal favourites include the "Rhythmizer," which is excellent for creating glitchy variations on drum loops, while the "Vintage rotary" and "Rotary" emulations of rotating Leslie-style cabinets come with parameters that reflect the physical sensation of spinning speaker horns. "Bit-fun" is a mathematical style plug-in that makes fantastic, unusual, digital sounds, and which is great when modulated by some kind of signal follower. "Compare" allows you to compare your signal to commercially produced material without worrying about accurately balancing the levels. The "Wobbler" does more than its name would suggest: wobbling is only the start.
There's a lot packed into MXXX, and this is very much a double-edged sword. On one hand, many of the features are as exciting as they are useful. The modulators can be synced together using sync groups. You can morph between presets, save the result in a new preset, and morph again ad infinitum. The envelope level detector can be supplemented by a pitch detector for legato notes, mid-side processing is present and correct, and auto-gain control to equalise the signal level before and after processing makes a welcome appearance in a number of different places. On the other hand, the kitchen-sink approach to the feature set has a point of diminishing returns. It's clear that code is reused liberally—for example, there’s little need for the tremolo that's on top of the ADSR envelope modulator to be as massively configurable as the regular LFO. Likewise, four different ways to specify the centre and range of modulation, each with the same result, is overkill. The Band Editor spectrum analyser doesn’t need such an advanced envelope EQ to edit its visual output. Even the manual and in-program help gets very verbose—I’m not sure anyone would want to read a few hundred words while they’re in the flow.
In MeldaProduction's claim to create "the most powerful… tools on the market," they’re squaring up against software like Reaktor and Max/MSP, which are similarly deep, but feel more carefully architected. Clearly, the ability to use a tool like this comes down partly to how well you can focus on the features you want while not being distracted by the feeling that you’ll never understand a large chunk of the whole. In particular, MXXX would suit the scientifically inclined who might have approaches along the lines of Autechre or some Raster-Noton artists: the features often involve staunchly technical signal processing paradigms. You can, of course, just stick to the “easy” mode, which will indeed, as they mention in the manual, give you a collection of presets that are as deep as most stand-alone plug-ins. And the sounds you can get out of MXXX are really great. You can use it as a one-stop mastering suite, an intense sound design tool, or a more orthodox self-contained processing chain. MXXX will either be too much for you, or the only effect you’ll ever need.
Ratings:
Sound: 4.5
Cost: 3.8
Versatility: 4.9
Ease of use: 3.0