SWAM Engine 3 is a sophisticated tool that allows you to re-create natural behaviours of acoustic instruments.

Imagine the capabilities of Native Instruments’ Kontakt sampler but with a lot more detail. You can use SWAM (Synchronous Waves Acoustic Modeling) Engine 3 to emulate how acoustic instruments respond to musicians and re-create their sounds digitally, reports Ask.Audio.

The user interface of SWAM Engine Solo Strings 3 has seen a huge upgrade along with other SWAM Engines. Parameters that control the important nuances of playing an acoustic instrument are now much easier to map and control.
The user interface of SWAM Engine Solo Strings 3 has seen a huge upgrade along with other SWAM Engines. Parameters that control the important nuances of playing an acoustic instrument are now much easier to map and control. Source: Ask.Audio

You can forget about huge sample libraries. These virtual instruments aim for an authentic sound that consumes as little storage as possible. Version 3 of SWAM has seen updates to most of its instruments, an update to the user interface, and some brand new features too!

SWAM by Audio Modeling and Stefano Lucato models physical behaviours of instruments many instruments. You can continually change the nuances of an instrument, such as the pressure of a violin bow while playing the virtual instrument.

SWAM Engine 3 User Interface

When you move from a sample library to a virtual instrument that’s modelled on an acoustic instrument, there are a lot of controls to get to grips with. Nuances like the strength you play a note, you’ve got to place the virtual bow in the right place, and you have to decide how much pressure to put on the virtual bow too.

This is a lot to think about, right? To get everything just right you have a lot to configure with your MIDI controller.

But don’t fear. The 3rd generation of the SWAM engine has seen some huge upgrades. Now, these nuances and elements are easily mappable with minimal effort! The user interface is much simpler than previous editions, and MIDI assignment is now as simple as clicking ‘assign’ and then moving a MIDI controller to ‘learn’ the assignment. Presets that you can get started with are much more accessible too! 

Moreover, the user interface of each plugin is much neater and easier to understand compared to previous iterations. Audio Modeling has not only modernized the interface of SWAM Engine 3, but they’re far easier to use. The common parameters you would usually want to modulate are right in front of you and more accessible.

There are three SWAM engine bundles available: Solo Strings, Solo Woodwinds, and Solo Brass. Source: Audio Modeling

Perfect for multi-vector expressive acoustic instruments such as woodwinds, brass and bowed strings, the SWAM engine is currently available in 3 different versions: SWAM-B, SWAM-W and SWAM-S for modeling Brass, Woodwinds, and Bowed Strings.

Audio Modeling

The SWAM Sound

Finally, let’s talk about the sound of SWAM. SWAM instruments have always had an impressive sound. Coupled with this intuitive user interface, you can get that epic sound with much less stress. Now, you’ll be able to get the most out of any SWAM engines and achieve more realistic sounds.

The only SWAM engine that hasn’t yet seen an upgrade is the brass engine. Audio Modeling is on it and Brass Version 3 could be on its way soon.

You can grab yourself one of four SWAM engines or any one of their bundles right now.


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