Zynaptiq recently released Morph 3, a big update for their popular sound design tool. Morph takes two input sounds and creates a new hybrid sound that features characteristics of both. Morph 3 is a great tool for creating interesting combinations, which can be ideal if you’re working on productions that require unique and unusual sound design.
Morph 3 is the kind of plugin which is a lot of fun to experiment with. Once instantiated on a track, it takes the audio on that track as the main input, A. Input B can be fed into Morph 3 using one of two methods. By default, the sidechain input will feed this. Alternatively, there’s a new feature in Morph 3 called the Modeler. This basically plays audio from a loaded file, for use as input B. The Modeler is convenient because it means that any file can be dropped into it to act as input B, negating the need for a sidechain. The Modeler includes a number of controls, all of which affect exactly how the loaded file plays back. You can drag and drop your own files in, or select one of the included files.
One thing which has a significant effect on precisely how the morphing happens is the algorithm. There are several algorithms to choose from, with Morph 3 introducing a number of new additions: Imprint Smooth, Imprint Crystal, Interweave V3 and Enharmonic. Also, in Morph 3 Pro there’s Fusion and Sonance. The Morph 3 user manual provides good descriptions of precisely what each of these do, but to really understand how they affect the sound, it’s best to just try them out and experiment. The morphing happens in the X/Y area of the plugin by dragging the little scope like control called the thumb. Moving the thumb vertically from an A to a B or vice-versa adjusts the Morph Index - you will hear a gradual morphing going from one sound to the other. Moving the thumb horizontally will adjust the Morph Crossfade, and crossfade between two different morphing transitions. On the left side, the morph starts out at source A and shapes the sound to become B, on the right side the, morph starts out at B and shapes it to become A. The important thing to remember is: vertical movements are morphing, horizontal movements are crossfades…and the results will sound different on the left vs the right.
I spent the majority of a flight travelling from Iceland to New York just playing around with Morph 3 Pro in Pro Tools on my laptop. While other people were sleeping, I was morphing sounds and having a great time doing it! I can see Morph 3 becoming an indispensable tool for me when working on creative sound design. It’s capable of producing some fascinating hybrid sounds which can add real value to a production, especially for genres which warrant more unusual, perhaps otherworldly sound design.
To see and hear Morph 3 Pro in action, check out my video below.