Blog / RANDOM Metal: Designing Engines…
RANDOM Metal
Designing Engines for Sonic Chaos
RANDOM Metal is more than a plugin; it’s a curated collection of 20 powerful synth engines designed for creating unique percussive sounds. We started with over 100 experimental designs, keeping only the best to give you a truly inspiring sonic palette.
Our goal was to break free from conventional synthesis and sample packs. We wanted a tool that would surprise and delight, a tool that would help us discover new sounds through exploration.
RANDOM Metal is that tool. It’s not about recreating familiar sounds; it’s about forging your own sonic signature.
In this post, we’ll take a look under the hood of RANDOM Metal, giving you a quick guide to each of its 20 unique synth engines.
Hats & Cymbals
Nexium: (HAT) Your go-to for crisp, modern hip-hop hats.
Character: Thin, clicky
Bleed: Mixes between clean and soft clipping.
FX: Dynamic reverb
Arcaniun: (HAT) Raw, industrial hats inspired by a vintage Japanese drum machine.
Character: Raw, Lo-fi
Bleed: Transitions from lo-fi to hi-fi.
FX: Dynamic reverb
Osyrium: (HAT & CYMB) Metallic, IDM-flavored sounds with strong mid-to-high frequencies.
Character: Metallic, IDM
Bleed: Adjusts the ratio between oscillator groups.
FX: Dynamic crusher
Vulcanite/Vulcanium: (HAT) Classic drum machine hats with a rich, resonant character.
Character: Rich, Resonant
Bleed: Balances dark and bright oscillator banks.
FX: Dynamic reverb
Ultherium: (HAT, CYMB) Sharp, digital-sounding hats with plenty of punch.
Character: Sharp, Crispy
Bleed: Controls saturation.
FX: Dynamic reverb
Ecliptium: (CYMB) Heavy, industrial cymbals with a dark, layered texture.
Character: Dark, Industrial
Bleed: Blends between different partials.
FX: Detune
Astralyte: (CYMB) Our favorite! Combines wavetable noise, oscillators, and resonators for subtle, unconventional cymbal tones.
Character: Classic, Sharp
Bleed: Shapes the overall tone.
FX: Dynamic reverb
Shakers
Auronyx: (SHAKE) Authentic shaker sounds with a grainy, rattling character.
Character: Grainy, Rattling
Bleed: Controls the resonance of each grain impact.
FX: Dynamic reverb
Chronium: (SHAKE) Wide range of shaker sounds, specializing in warm, dark tones.
Character: Crispy, Rattling
Bleed: Adds a subtle extra layer of shaker at note off.
FX: Panning movement for each partial.
Percussion
Lithorium/Lithorane: (PERC) Messy, resonant percussion perfect for layering.
Character: Resonant, Weird
Bleed: Increases drive.
FX: Controls resonator tension.
Radonium/Radionite/Radionate: (PERC) Versatile cowbell engine ranging from classic analog to realistic tones.
Character: Fifth, Fonk
Bleed: Morphs between analog and realistic models.
FX: Adds resonance to quieter partials.
Solaryte: (PERC) Unique, amplified percussion with a touch of the electric Kinshasa scene.
Character: Amplified, Otherworldly
Bleed: Adds low-end to the mix.
FX: Flange/Detune
Pyronyx: (PERC) Wide range of percussion, from deep subs to claves.
Character: Versatile, Subby
Bleed: Adds body to the sound.
FX: Pitch envelope for loud values, detune for quiet values.
Strationium: (PERC) Unique percussion with a subtle wind instrument character.
Character: Unique, Airy
Bleed: Adds vintage color.
FX: Saturation with parallel EQ on selected partials.
Zerathium: (PERC) Warm, saturated percussion with interesting resonance, based on a physical model excited by a granular engine.
Character: Explosive, Gritty
Bleed: Controls brightness.
FX: FM and Detune
Ferrithium: (PERC) Physical model of imagined tropical instruments, perfect for filling the mid-range.
Character: Tropical, Modeled
Bleed: Adds slight saturation.
FX: Detune
Claps & Drums
Infernyte: (CLAP) Clean, sharp claps with versatile noise profiles for impact and decay.
Character: Flam, Sharp
Bleed: Controls body intensity.
FX: Tail alteration and quiet reverb.
Quynthium/Quynthyte/Quynthide: (DRUMS) Powerful drum engine that covers kicks, snares, and hats depending on pitch.
Character: Lo-fi, Flam
Bleed: Applies tape saturation and multiband envelope shaping.
FX: Emphasizes quieter frequencies.
Exalium: (DRUMS) Intense, industrial drum sounds with heavy flanging and resonance.
Character: Resonant, Saturated
Bleed: Secret multiband processing.
FX: Flange/Resonator amount
Bells
Krythium/Krythiate/Krythian: (BELL) Tonal bell engine, ideal for melodic or harmonic percussion.
Character: Tonal, Bell-like
Bleed: (Information not provided)
FX: (Information not provided)
This guide provides a starting point for exploring the diverse sounds of RANDOM Metal. Experiment with each engine’s parameters you will find much more hidden than we have uncovered so far.
Thanks for reading!
the BEATSURFING team
Login with Google