Our friends at McDSP have announced the upcoming release of the KD1 Kinetic Drive APB plug-in for their APB Analog Processing Box.

According to the press release, the McDSP KD1 provides direct control over many analog saturation attributes of the APB hardware, for a variety of sounds from subtle harmonic overtones to complete sonic mayhem. KD1 saturation can be focused on a selectable portion of the frequency spectrum, and saturation kinetics (voltage supply reaction, level compression, and more) are also adjustable. Each KD1 processing mode uses a different saturation circuit within the APB hardware for even more tone flexibility. Original and processed signal levels can be independently adjusted and, like all APB plug-ins, the controls on the KD1 may be automated, and saved as a preset for instant session recall.

About APB

APB is piece of analogue processing hardware for Intel and Apple silicon Macs. Coming in eight (APB-8) or sixteen (APB-16) channel versions, its corresponding analogue signal paths can be thought of as a collection of hardware ‘instances’ to fire DAW signals through for true analogue infusions. In the DAW, plugins are instantiated to control APB channels on the hardware. These also route track or buss audio out to the APB and back via its onboard conversion, as well as send control data to it down the same Thunderbolt connection. Following earlier models’ Thunderbolt 2 connections, the current revision sees USB-C connectors supporting twice the bandwidth over Thunderbolt 3 and 4, compatible with both new and older units for daisy-chained expansion.

In use, the engineer simply calls up APB plugins on tracks or busses to control the processing that is happening on the hardware. This way, they need never notice the 1U rack box itself (admittedly an achievement given its highly distinctive brushed front panel finished in ‘McDSP green’). Check out our article and video Can't Decide Between Analogue And Plugins? This May Be The Answer to find out more.

KD1 Availability

McDSP state that the estimated ship date for the KD1 is June 2023, and is free to all registered APB hardware owners. McDSP will be at this week’s NAMM show, visit them at booth #14914.