LocoMotives

Overview

LocoMotives is every part of a train as an instrument, from real recordings. In Melodic mode one voice plays across the keyboard in tune: a chord horn, a European horn, a steam whistle, a guard's whistle, a crossing bell, a brake squeal, a motor whine or a door chime, with several recorded takes of each. Every take is pitch-measured and looped on whole cycles, and a horn's own chime chord rides on every key, with the lowest chime on the note you play. Yard mode puts a different part on each key instead: chuffs, rail clacks, steam hiss, couplings, air pumps, bells, chimes, whistles, horns, squeals and whole pass-bys. Under the notes, Run drives the train: Speed in km/h sets the chuff and rail-joint rate by physics, or Sync locks one chuff or joint to each grid division of your project. Pass adds Doppler pass-bys, arrivals and departures, and Scene places it all on an open line, in a station, a tunnel, underground, in a city or in the countryside. The recordings lead; physical models fill the gaps, and a Blend slider moves between the two. The mod wheel can work the throttle or darken the tone. Three Warp modulators and the RatBells FX chain (EQ, saturation, compressor, OTT, chorus, delay with a throw pad, shimmer reverb and a ducker) finish it. The Line shows your train (steam, diesel freight, high-speed, metro, tram or railcar) running through its scene at the speed you set. Thirty-seven presets in seven categories, melodic leads, pads and basses first.

Features

• Melodic mode: chord horns, Euro horns, steam and guard's whistles, crossing bells, brake squeals, motor whines and door chimes, in tune across the keyboard
• Yard mode: a different train part on every key, from chuffs and clacks to whole pass-bys
• Run: Speed in km/h sets the chuff and rail-joint rate by physics, or Sync locks it to your tempo
• Pass: Doppler pass-bys, arrivals and departures; six scenes from open line to underground
• 255 tuned zones from 108 recordings (CC0 and CC BY, credited in the plug-in), with physical models blended in
• Mod wheel as throttle or tone, three Warp modulators
• 8-module FX chain: EQ, saturation, compressor, OTT, chorus, delay, shimmer reverb, ducker
• The Line: six animated train types running through their scene, 37 factory presets

New here? The install guide walks through AU / VST3 setup on Mac and Windows.