Vanguard was a

VSTi Virtual Studio Technology (VST) is an audio plug-in software interface that integrates software synthesizers and effects units into digital audio workstations. VST and similar technologies use digital signal processing to simulate traditional reco ...

and AU

software synthesizer A software synthesizer or softsynth is a computer program that generates digital audio, usually for music. Computer software that can create sounds or music is not new, but advances in processing speed now allow softsynths to accomplish the same t ...

created by Canadian independent publishe
reFX
and Markus Krause fro
Tone2 Audio

Production

Released in 2004, Vanguard was a

virtual analog synthesizer An analog modeling synthesizer is a synthesizer that generates the sounds of traditional analog synthesizers using digital signal processing components and software algorithms. Analog modeling synthesizers simulate the behavior of the original elec ...

with three oscillators, 31

waveforms In electronics, acoustics, and related fields, the waveform of a signal is the shape of its graph as a function of time, independent of its time and magnitude scales and of any displacement in time.David Crecraft, David Gorham, ''Electroni ...

alongside a

unison Unison (stylised as UNISON) is a Great Britain, British trade union. Along with Unite the Union, Unite, Unison is one of the two largest trade unions in the United Kingdom, with over 1.2 million members who work predominantly in public servic ...

that goes up to 10-voices, a

filter Filtration is a physical process that separates solid matter and fluid from a mixture. Filter, filtering, filters or filtration may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * Filter (higher-order function), in functional programming * Fil ...

with 13 types,

delay Delay or DeLay may refer to: People * B. H. DeLay (1891–1923), American aviator and movie stunt pilot * Dorothy DeLay (1917–2002), American violin instructor * Florence Delay (born 1941), French academician and actor * Jan Delay, stage name ...

, and a

reverb In acoustics, reverberation (commonly shortened to reverb) is a persistence of sound after it is produced. It is often created when a sound is reflected on surfaces, causing multiple reflections that build up and then decay as the sound is a ...

arpeggiator A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis an ...

. Most functions could be automated, such as

cutoff frequencies In physics and electrical engineering, a cutoff frequency, corner frequency, or break frequency is a boundary in a system's frequency response at which energy flowing through the system begins to be reduced ( attenuated or reflected) rather than ...

resonance Resonance is a phenomenon that occurs when an object or system is subjected to an external force or vibration whose frequency matches a resonant frequency (or resonance frequency) of the system, defined as a frequency that generates a maximu ...

, ADSR, and LFO. Vanguard worked with any VST-capable host and featured the Trancegate and

Arpeggiator A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis an ...

tools. A majority of the audio engine was programmed by Markus Krause o
Tone2 Audio
The factory presets were made by Manuel Schleis.

Discontinuation and current use

Vanguard was discontinued in 2016. The software can still be downloaded from th
reFX
website for existing licensed users and can still be played through any DAW that supports 32-bit or 64-bit plugins, namely

FL Studio FL Studio (known as FruityLoops before 2003) is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed by the Belgian company Image-Line. It features a graphical user interface with a pattern-based music sequencer. It is available in four different ...

. Vanguard is used by many electronic dance music producers, despite not remaining as prevalent a
reFX
s Nexus 4 hybrid

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

plugin. Vanguard is considered to be an impressive and straightforward synth amongst many producers.

Revival

On November 25, 2022, reFX announced they had revived the Vanguard synthesizer as Vanguard 2 with an updated

vector Vector most often refers to: * Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction * Disease vector, an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematics a ...

-based

user interface In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine fro ...

, in addition to 10 new wavetables by Mirko Ruta, 24db ladder filters for

lowpass A low-pass filter is a filter that passes signals with a frequency lower than a selected cutoff frequency and attenuates signals with frequencies higher than the cutoff frequency. The exact frequency response of the filter depends on the filter d ...

and

highpass A high-pass filter (HPF) is an electronic filter that passes signals with a frequency higher than a certain cutoff frequency and attenuates signals with frequencies lower than the cutoff frequency. The amount of attenuation for each frequency de ...

also made by Mirko Ruta, a new

named RutaVerb also by Mirko Ruta replacing the old Freeverb-powered

and a distortion effect alongside 136 new factory presets made by Mirko Ruta and other modulation features, such as a new 3rd envelope and a new delay type intended to widen a sound.

References

External links

refx.com
- manufacturer's website
tone2.com
- developer of the audio engine Software synthesizers {{music-software-stub