Sumu breaks completely new ground in software synthesis, combining additive resynthesis with FM and vector field spatialization. Its collection of ten modules, designed around a unique multi-channel patcher, offer musical possibilities not found in any other instrument.
Download the plugin
When you first install the plugin, it will run in demo mode. This means that a gentle reminder sound plays every minute or so, and saving patches is disabled. When you register the plugin, these restrictions are removed.
To update your plugin, just download and run the latest installer above. The latest version will always be right here and updating won't affect your registration.
Buy a license: $179.00
The purchase price includes a license for both Mac OS and Windows.
Your purchase will create a license key that you can get from the "My licenses" page after logging in. To register your plugin, just copy the key and then click in the plugin’s registration area.
Sumu flows best for me when dialing in sounds to be used for melodies and songwriting that have an organic flair they wouldn't have elsewhere. – Benn Jordan (The Flashbulb, YouTube Guy)
Sumu is the most unique synth I've seen and heard in a while! – Mr. Bill (Artist, Educator)
Sumu is one of those unique musical instruments that come along unexpectedly, and offers possibilities I have not imagined were possible... – Charles Maynes (Sound Designer, Field Recordist, Synthesist)
Sumu provides a very different experience from other additive or FM synths, […] conducive to experimenting and achieving wild sound sculpting. – David Abravanel, Create Digital Music
Sumu is an auditory wonder! There is nothing else out there like it for anyone looking for a unique and deeply musical sound palette! This is an inspiration machine! – Jeff Rona (Film/Video/Game Composer and Artist)
About the sound
In Sumu, sampled sounds are represented as collections of up to 64 bandwidth-enhanced partials, each with a frequency, volume, and noisiness that can change over time. This representation of sound makes all kinds of creative changes possible, from natural-sounding time stretching to exotic timbral manipulations. Using the central multi-channel patcher, each partial in a sound can be manipulated independently in a way that feels more like playing than programming. Pick a few harmonics and frequency-modulate them? No problem. Delay each partial according to its frequency? Sure.
Sumu enables precise and careful changes in space and time, or wild chaotic ones. Take a sample, choose a few partials, and place them somewhere else in the sound field. Or explode everything and stir it into a whirlwind of doppler shifted chorus as each partial zooms around on its own path.
And then a stream comes burbling through, and as we listen, the individual droplets are gradually nudged into line to make a quantized rhythm. The pulses module in Sumu is a rich modulator for resynthesis, or a source of complex sounds all on its own. It offers smooth transitions between rhythm and noise, organic and synthetic.
As a balance to all of this very modern digital manipulation, there’s an analog-modeled filter based on the classic four-pole Moog ladder design. It can self-oscillate for big vintage sounds, or just round off those prickly edges.
Looks good, too
While the patcher keeps things simple on the surface, each patch cord has 64 independent channels in it. That’s a lot of data. So Sumu has different ways to visualize that data, including the space module, which presents a 3d view of each partial’s location, and a 64-channel scope with bar graph and horizontal wave modes.
There’s no visual fluff here: everything has a purpose. True, some of the modules have a lot of blinking lights and are fun to look at. But that’s a result of them being the best real-time visualizations of the sound data we could think of. For example, the space module shows you where each partial of each voice is positioned, 60 times a second (your DAW and computer permitting). What you see is what you hear.
Have a listen
Read the friendly manual
Sumu’s manual has all the thoughtful instruction, misty Cascadian vibes, and technical details you’ll need. Click to download: SumuManual.pdf
System requirements
Mac versions of Sumu require OS X 10.14 (Mojave) or higher. Sumu runs natively on both Intel-compatible and Apple Silicon processors.
Windows versions require Windows 10 or higher. (Older Windows versions are likely to work, if your computer is burly, but are not officially supported.)
If you have any concerns about compatibility, please try the demo.
Vutu
A free companion app, Vutu, lets you make Sumu partials files out of your own sounds. Setting up the analysis parameters involves some creative choices and Vutu gives you access to all the controls needed. It’s available now for both Mac and Windows:
More info
For info on fulfillment, licensing, transfers, and returns, please visit our policies page.