DiscoDSP – Discovery Pro 9 v9.0.5 for WiN

Discovery Pro is a virtual Nord Lead analog that you can use in your DAW. It features four layers, twelve oscillators, and 16 filter types, including Nord Lead Zero Delay Feedback, Moog Ladder, and Oberheim SEM. Full Nord Lead SysEx import/export allows you to use existing patches in both directions. It loads SFZ, WAV, and SoundFont files into the wavetable engine, while PADsynth resynthesizes any sound into dynamic pads. An arpeggiator, pan modulation, stereo delay, gate, and step modulation effects round out the toolkit.

Possibilities

Discovery Pro expands on Discovery with a sample/wavetable engine, unison, 128-voice polyphony, PADSynth resynthesis, three additional oscillators, 16 filter types, and over 5,000 presets in 100 banks.

Includes a standalone application, graphic modules, a scalable GUI, octave splitting, aftertouch, XML MIDI board templates, zone presets, Nord Lead 2 SysEx import/export, and MTS-ESP microtuning.

The first synthesizer with an HDR interface. Displays in high dynamic range on macOS and compatible displays: the LEDs, display, and meters extend beyond the white point of the rest of the screen, so illuminated elements appear as light sources rather than as a bright gray. On standard displays, everything returns to normal dynamic range without changing the layout.

Panel shading, control rings, and text remain clear at any GUI size, and the extra space above the panel allows you to see fine details without obscuring bright areas.

Full MIDI polyphonic expression applies to every note. Per-voice pressure, glissando, and Y (CC74) independently affect the entire engine, so you can glide, slide, and accent with one finger while the other chords remain stationary.

Connect a LinnStrument, ROLI Seaboard, Sensel Morph, Haken Continuum, or Expressive E Osmose, and the plugin will automatically detect the MPE configuration message (RP-053) and configure itself. Routing of control and slave channels is performed correctly, so hybrid controllers like the Osmose CE work as expected. Real-time aftertouch and Y-axis feedback illuminate the status indicators so you can see what each finger is doing.

The oscillator and filter code are hand optimized for x86 and Apple Silicon

8.23 processes voices on every processor core. An interlayer pool of voice threads distributes active voices across all available cores, so heavy patches (high polyphony, multi-layered, oversampled) receive significantly more resources and reach the processor protection level much later. Lighter patterns remain unchanged, so simple work does not require additional overhead.

JP-8080 Super 7 Supersaw

The Super 7 oscillator drives the Roland JP-8080’s supersaw (one main saw plus six detuned saws) for transient leads and pads that sound just like the source.

The pulse width control sets the detuning range, from a subtle string chorus to a full-on supersaw. Pulse width is a standard module assignment, so it can be controlled by the LFO and the module’s envelope. Phase can be selected between random for each note (default on the JP-8080) and repetitive (sequential attack).

If you need something more powerful, use Unison. The green LED on the SAW button indicates Super 7 mode, and the blue LED indicates Parabolic mode.

8x/16x oversampling

Real-time 8x oversampling with IIR/FIR filtering reduces aliasing without the latency increase associated with coarse oversampling. Reverb settings can be switched to 16x oversampling for higher-quality offline rendering.

Drum mode

Bank [64] Drums 1 comes with 10 drum kits, categorized by frequencies from C2 to B5 (MIDI 36–83). White keys play sounds, black keys select the editable zone, so you can adjust the parameters of an individual drum without leaving the keyboard.

An arpeggiator mode controlled by a probability matrix that updates during playback. Each note influences the probability of the next, so the result doesn’t jump between unrelated notes, but changes smoothly.

Reads the octave range parameter for vertical movement. Useful when you need to create pattern-like material without being tied to a fixed sequence.

DSP engine

Smoother Oscillators: 12-bit resolution (versus 9-bit) and twice the waveform lookup tables reduce quantization noise, clean up the highs, and smooth out the upper register without disrupting the mix.

More Expressive Distortion: 4x the internal precision across all distortion modes, delivering richer harmonics and eliminating modulation “lightning.”

Closer to Analog: Multiple filter models, retuned to hardware references, deliver a clearer, more authentic sound.

Nordic Zero-Latency Filter: A high-precision, zero-latency, feedback filter, tuned based on empirical data, in the style of the NL2, complements the Classic and Zero Delay models, adding a surgically precise analog character to your mix when you need it.

Uniform VA RMS: Additional gain compensation ensures all VA oscillators are equal in volume, eliminating the need to rebalance the patch when changing waveforms.

Adaptive Filter Slope: The filter slope adapts to your playing: steeper on low notes for tight bass, smoother on high notes to maintain brightness, and steeper on mid notes to convey impact.

Disk Mode: Browse presets directly from Documents > discoDSP > Discovery Pro > Presets > Programs instead of the Bank/Program table. Click the BNK letter on the LCD to switch between Bank and Disk modes. File export of presets is available in the Edit menu.

Preset Library: Expanded factory content. Resynthesis in PADSynth

PADsynth transforms WAVE waveforms and imported audio content into looping, changing textures, perfect for pads, ensembles, choirs, and bells, without the need to record or overdub manually.

4-sample loop boundary fade eliminates popping issues seen in previous versions. Render time increases to 24 seconds (from 6) for longer source materials.

The output data is written in SFZ format with loop_mode=loop_continuous tags, so the generated samples go into any sampler that supports SFZ, with loops preserved.

Unison

Nord Lead 2 Unison, calibrated to hardware in Polyphonic and Legato/Mono modes.

All Nord Lead 2 tuning modes are available. 8.24 adds a Custom mode: drag up to four voice points along the detune x pan plane to manually adjust pitch spread and stereo placement. Layouts are stored in each bank and mirrored globally, so new banks remember the last one you created. Poly > Unison Detune > Custom.

Scalable graphical interface (Retina)

Five window sizes: 1x (400p), 1.25x (500p), 1.5x (600p), 1.75x (700p), 2x (800p). The new 1.25x and 1.75x zoom levels provide crisp, sharp transitions between existing sizes, and rendering is optimized for each size.

Wave Generator

Load WAV (16/24-bit), SoundFont 2.04 (SF2), or SFZ files into DWB banks. It uses high-quality sine wave interpolation, ensuring sampled sounds remain clear across the entire keyboard.

The Moog Ladder 24dB and 12dB utilize trapezoidal integration with 4-stage tanh nonlinearity. The Oberheim SEM is available in Classic and Raw variants with a grayscale frequency scale. Combined with the original 8 Discovery filters, there are 16 types in a single slot.

Adaptive Filter Slope switches between 12 dB and 24 dB depending on the MIDI note and playing force: a steeper slope for low notes for a tighter bass, a flatter slope for high notes to maintain brightness, and a steeper slope for stronger midrange hits. Works with all filters, including the Nord Lead 2, Moog Ladder, Oberheim SEM, and Phaser (adaptive number of taps).

Graphic modulation envelopes

Draw time-synchronized modulation envelopes by dragging them with your mouse. Freeform, not tied to stages, so you can draw the curve instead of adjusting the parameters of five segments.

Free TouchOSC Mk1 template for iPad / Android. Edit it in the TouchOSC Mk1 app.