There's more than meets the eye
Register now to unlock all subforums and the ability to search. As a guest, your view is limited to only a part of The Sound Board.

NI Absynth 6

Instruments, effects, DAWs -- any hardware or software we use to make music. Anyone can view, any member can contribute.
Post Reply
Online

Topic author
Guy Rowland
Posts: 16912
Joined: Aug 02, 2015 8:11 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

NI Absynth 6

Post by Guy Rowland »





Here's the NI description:
native-instruments-absynth-6-1.webp
Weird by design
Absynth 6 marks the return of a legendary semi-modular synthesizer. Built for textures that transform and breathe, it invites you to shape sounds that are entirely your own. Deep enough for complex sound design, and intuitive enough for newcomers, it opens up distinctive, living sounds for cinematic cues, ambient soundscapes, and electronic productions.

Beyond ordinary synthesis
At the core of Absynth 6 is a hybrid engine that combines granular, FM, wavetable, and subtractive synthesis with deep modulation and a suite of creative effects. Its three oscillator channels give you structured unpredictability and endless room for exploration – perfect for sounds that evolve, shift, and surprise.
native-instruments-absynth-6-2.webp
Discover new sounds
The Preset Explorer helps you find sounds by feel instead of scrolling through names. Navigate a sonic landscape where relationships between tones appear visually, leading you to unexpected discoveries and faster results.

Go beyond ADSR
Absynth 6’s 68-point envelope system offers looping, breakpoint curves, sustain stages, and time-synced transitions – plus dedicated modulation LFOs. These flexible shapes let you craft evolving textures and rhythmic motion that goes far beyond standard ADSR envelopes.

Mutate presets
With the Mutator, inspiration is only ever a few clicks away. Use it to morph different presets into entirely new ones, generating new variants in moments. Sculpt them into sounds you love – all while keeping a timeline of changes so you can quickly recall and refine your favorites.

Textural alchemy
Transform textures with Absynth’s signature granular effects. The Aetherizer turns any sound into shimmering atmospheres, while the Cloud Filter adds spectral motion and coloration. Together they create ambient motion that feels alive within your mix.

From spark to soundscape
Absynth 6 turns quick bursts of inspiration into complex sounds. Its semi-modular engine, reimagined sample tools, and huge library let you move from idea to atmosphere in moments.

Three-channel oscillators
The semi‑modular engine features three oscillator channels that combine subtractive synthesis, FM, wavetable synthesis, granular sampling, and wave‑morphing, routed through powerful filters, modulators, and effects to create rich, complex timbres.

Sample editor
The revamped sample editor in Absynth 6 gives you streamlined control over loop points, playback modes, and wave-morphing – capabilities rarely found so deeply integrated in soft synths. It allows for precise sample‑based sound design with unmatched speed and flexibility.

Over 2000 presets
Absynth 6 delivers over 2000 presets with more than 350 brand-new additions to the Factory Library. Randomize macro parameters to generate entirely new presets on the fly – and with full backward compatibility, every patch you’ve ever designed can be imported seamlessly.

Sound that surrounds you
With support for up to eight-channel surround formats, including Quadraphonic, 5.1, and Octaphonic, Absynth 6 lets you place and move sound in 360° space, with optional LFE routing. Each effect can occupy its own position in the field – from swirling Aetherizer grains to immersive spectral clouds.

More expressive than ever
Absynth 6 comes alive with full MPE and polyphonic aftertouch support. Every note can have its own voice, influencing modulation, morphing, and spatial placement. Paired with Kontrol keyboards, Maschine, or any MPE-ready controller, it turns your playing into vivid soundscapes that unfold with every touch.

RRP £179, upgrade £89, demo available.
https://www.native-instruments.com/en/p ... absynth-6/

User avatar

Jaap
Posts: 960
Joined: Jan 12, 2016 5:19 pm
Location: Agelo, The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: NI Absynth 6

Post by Jaap »

Looks and sounds very nice! The buy button does not seem to work here though, tried it on different browsers and guess it's due to being busy on the site or not fully implemented yet into the shop?

Online

Topic author
Guy Rowland
Posts: 16912
Joined: Aug 02, 2015 8:11 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: NI Absynth 6

Post by Guy Rowland »

Jaap wrote: Dec 09, 2025 5:29 am Looks and sounds very nice! The buy button does not seem to work here though, tried it on different browsers and guess it's due to being busy on the site or not fully implemented yet into the shop?
Same here - there's a few links not working (eg the manual). The countdown timer is still ticking so I guess it's not all fully in place.

FYI right now - If you scroll to the bottom of the Absynth page, the short tutorial videos are up even though you can't yet access them directly through YouTube. If you keep watching, it skips to the next video on the playlist. In order, these are:

Assign view
Browser view (inc mutate)
LFO view
Envelope view
Effect view (note - this one is broken, there's no audio from Absynth only the commentary)
Patch view

It then rolls into the preset demo and trailer.

User avatar

Jaap
Posts: 960
Joined: Jan 12, 2016 5:19 pm
Location: Agelo, The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: NI Absynth 6

Post by Jaap »

Oh that is good to know with the tutorials, thanks! I don't see any timer though, but will check out later today or tomorrow. Good to know it has nothing to do with my browsers :)

Online

Topic author
Guy Rowland
Posts: 16912
Joined: Aug 02, 2015 8:11 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: NI Absynth 6

Post by Guy Rowland »

You can buy and get the trials now.

First 20 minute play - very nice and good fun!

The browser is a clear winner. The sound matching is a little vague but close enough to be useful and occasionally surprising. Very easy to drill down to what you are after. Mutate is good fun too.

I find the whole synth a lot easier to navigate than any earlier incarnation.

For some reason clicking MPE also enables the 8 macro knobs to be controlled by my Novation.

Great update - a nice-to-have for me more than essential. First discount I'll be on it. In the meantime a 30 min demo is a pretty generous amount of time to get the feel for it.

Online

Topic author
Guy Rowland
Posts: 16912
Joined: Aug 02, 2015 8:11 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: NI Absynth 6

Post by Guy Rowland »

This is a great piece in Music Radar about Absynth including a new interview with Brian Clevinger.

https://www.musicradar.com/music-tech/i ... -clevinger

However important Absynth is or isn't to you personally, it has always been an idiosyncratic labour of love. Idiosyncratic labours of love and venture capitalism don't usually go hand in hand, so when it was discontinued the eye-rolling and bitterness was palpable. The harsh realities of the business. NI wrote its corporately loving public obituary and that was that.

Only it wasn't.

I am so pleased for Brian, and so pleased that new management (about whom I notice we hear nothing in the piece) recognised the value of what they had and the scale of the mistake they made.

Somehow, it sounds like people are back at the heart of NI again.


Lawrence
Posts: 9093
Joined: Aug 23, 2015 3:28 am
Location: New York City

Re: NI Absynth 6

Post by Lawrence »

I believe Absynth was the brainchild of Glenn Olander who subsequently went on to be one of the geniuses at Spectrasonics.


Erik
Posts: 649
Joined: Nov 14, 2015 5:11 pm

Re: NI Absynth 6

Post by Erik »

Hey Larry !
After a quick search, Glenn Olander did developped an Absynth like synth, named Crystal, and then was hired at Spectrsonics. But I didn’t find anything about him being behind Absynth per se.
Oh, and Guy, looking for info about it, I stumbled across an 2012 exchange with HZ about Zebra, Omni and whatnot. I read it back in the days but didn’t know who was Noizeboy at that time :)
"I'm using more black notes now and there are a lot of chords in the last album, too" Vince Clarke -1986

Online

Topic author
Guy Rowland
Posts: 16912
Joined: Aug 02, 2015 8:11 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: NI Absynth 6

Post by Guy Rowland »

Erik wrote: Dec 09, 2025 1:40 pmOh, and Guy, looking for info about it, I stumbled across an 2012 exchange with HZ about Zebra, Omni and whatnot. I read it back in the days but didn’t know who was Noizeboy at that time :)
Oh lord, whatever did I say?!


Lawrence
Posts: 9093
Joined: Aug 23, 2015 3:28 am
Location: New York City

Re: NI Absynth 6

Post by Lawrence »

I thought. Boyuk was Russian at first.


Lawrence
Posts: 9093
Joined: Aug 23, 2015 3:28 am
Location: New York City

Re: NI Absynth 6

Post by Lawrence »

Erik wrote: Dec 09, 2025 1:40 pm Hey Larry !
After a quick search, Glenn Olander did developped an Absynth like synth, named Crystal, and then was hired at Spectrsonics. But I didn’t find anything about him being behind Absynth per se.
Oh, and Guy, looking for info about it, I stumbled across an 2012 exchange with HZ about Zebra, Omni and whatnot. I read it back in the days but didn’t know who was Noizeboy at that time :)
More than possible my memory has betrayed me.

Glenn wrote the code for a BBE like exciter called Excitifier. I overused it back in the day, the first sign of high end hearing loss though I didn’t realize it for a while.


Erik
Posts: 649
Joined: Nov 14, 2015 5:11 pm

Re: NI Absynth 6

Post by Erik »

Yes Larry, back in the days I had my share of head scratching figuring out it was not Noyzbuk but Noiz Boy UK :D
And someone else on a forum back in the 10’s wrote that this dev was responsible for creating Absynth, so there must have been some misinformation spreading’on’the interweb !

Guy : nothing wrong, bad, misleading (but let’s not forget I’m not a native speaker :P )
"I'm using more black notes now and there are a lot of chords in the last album, too" Vince Clarke -1986

Post Reply