Orchestral Tools has just unveiled FFOSSO. Behind this enigmatic name lies a new platform that clearly targets the territory of LABS by Spitfire Audio. The idea? A product (separate from Orchestral Tools) focused on cinematic sounds, organic textures, and synthetic pads, operating on a Freemium model (free with optional subscription).
Behind this mysterious name, FFOSSO is a tool that presents itself as modular, with banks and ready-to-use presets, but with the possibility of switching to "backend" with a visual programming system.
The "Player" experience: minimalist but abstract
The overall design is undeniably successful: it is clean, modern, and very pleasing to the eye. However, this interface sometimes suffers from its minimalism. It is too stripped back. We often find ourselves turning knobs without knowing exactly what is happening behind the scenes. It is playful, but frustrating when we want to be efficient. But it is probably to encourage us to look under the hood.
FFOSSO revolves around six distinct sample reading engines, ranging from vector mixing and layer crossfading (Orbits, Layers) to granular or sequential generation (Jupiter, Threads). These modules also incorporate pitch manipulation and MIDI triggering functions to create clusters through detuning or play pre-configured chords (Disperse, Chords). Only these latter functions are quite original, although somewhat difficult to grasp.
In the meantime, here is a tour of the free presets available from today, and at the end of the video, some demos of the libraries included in the subscription.
Under the hood: The "modular" preset editor
That's where it gets more interesting for the "sound DIYers". I wanted to test the modular environment of FFOSSO to create my own patches.
Here are the tools available at launch. The Multi Sampler is the main engine, allowing for playback of a wide variety of samples. Pluck Synth and Wave Synth are quite subtle, but useful for layering. Then we have the classics, distortions, compression, delay, etc. These tools are of high quality and have many parameters. The most interesting is, of course, Script, which will allow us to add (not without difficulty) a bit of life.
Brief overview of some raw samples available for free. The quality of the source is there, it's from Orchestral Tools. However, you will need to download them one by one, with no option for preview. Frustrating!
The creation of patches: I then created a few very simple patches to familiarise myself with the different modules offered.
The current limits in freemium:
If the creative potential is there, the experience I had with the free version of the software still has flaws.
The absence of CTRL+Z: This is the major downside. Not being able to undo an action while editing a patch is quite incomprehensible and hinders experimentation.
Limited documentation: The documentation is still quite austere, especially the section on Functions.
Inability to download all modules and samples at once, no preview available.
Limited modulation: It sorely lacks classic modulation options, an additional simple LFO would be welcome to animate the parameters. (perhaps available in the paid version).
The cabling: The ergonomics of the cable system is not always very practical or intuitive to handle, and it can quickly become a complicated mess, as seen with the patch of Frozen Piano below.
The "Threads" engine: While it is interesting for creating simple rhythms, it remains very basic, or at least it lacks documentation to understand all its subtleties. (improved version in the paid version).
The contentious topic: the price
Of course, where there is freemium, there is premium. With no commitment, the price is €13 per month and promises new content every week(!?), eight times more presets from the Multi Sampler, additional tools for patch editing (without too much detail), and email support.
For comparison, Output Arcade, which offers a similar service but in a completely different genre, is priced at £10.99/month. Eastwest's Composer Cloud+ is £19.99/month, which is more expensive, but it includes the entire range of sound libraries from the brand. It is also difficult to compare with LABS, which is now part of Splice.
In conclusion
FFOSSO is a promising tool for quick scoring or organic ambient music, especially if one sticks to the presets. For pure sound design, it still needs to mature a bit.
However, the quality and expertise of Orchestral Tools is there, and I won't hesitate to use it on occasion. I might try the paid version to give you some feedback in the coming days. And have you tested it?