Nolvra is giving away RELIC, a lo-fi character effect plugin, completely free of charge.
In this article we cover what RELIC is, how it works and how to get your free copy.
What Is Nolvra RELIC?
RELIC is a lo-fi character plugin that lets you drive four different characters – TAPE, VINYL, VHS and RADIO – from a single macro knob called AGE. The four characters are not one algorithm applied at different depths: each one is implemented as an independent process. Six parameters move along their own individual curves for every character, so AGE 40 on TAPE and AGE 40 on RADIO produce completely different results.
AGE is designed so that at 0 the plugin sounds identical to bypass, which means you can leave it inserted anywhere in your chain and it will not colour the signal until you turn AGE up. When MIX is at 0 the output is bit-for-bit identical to the dry signal.
The “room” section that builds the world around the machine is another highlight. NOISE supplies a different texture for each character (tape hiss, vinyl surface noise and crackle, VHS hiss and power hum, radio static) and it sits outside the HIGH CUT, so you keep the air of the noise even when you darken the tone. REVERB is a bespoke chamber with a dark, long decay that is synthesised at your session sample rate rather than loaded from a file. RAIN is a real field recording of rain looped seamlessly, and THUNDER fires actual thunder recordings at random intervals, following the level of RAIN.
Key Features
- CHARACTER: TAPE (warms the edges and adds subtle instability) / VINYL (dust, surface wobble and worn-in detail) / VHS (softens the image over a low power hum) / RADIO (narrows the signal into a broadcast band)
- AGE: 0–100, default 0. At 0 it is equivalent to bypass
- MIX: 0–100, default 100. At 0 the output is bit-identical to the dry signal
- NOISE: 0–100. Placed outside the HIGH CUT so the air of the noise remains even when the tone is darkened
- HIGH CUT: 500 Hz–20 kHz (off at 20 kHz)
- TONE: 0–100, removed from the signal path at 0
- REVERB: 0–100. A bespoke dark chamber synthesised at the session sample rate
- RAIN: 0–100. Seamlessly looped real rain recordings
- THUNDER: On/off. Real thunder recordings triggered at random intervals, following the RAIN level. Silent when RAIN is at 0
- STOP: A tape stop applied to the wet path. Three lengths to choose from, operated as a hold control
- Six parameters move on their own individual curves for each character
- 8 factory presets plus user preset saving
How to Download and Install RELIC
Download and install the dedicated installation manager app Nolvra Hub. Launch Nolvra Hub after installing it, enter your email address to complete registration, and you will then be able to install RELIC. Updates are also delivered through Nolvra Hub.
PRISM MINI can be installed from Nolvra Hub as well.
That is everything on the free RELIC giveaway. If you are after a versatile lo-fi colour box that stays out of the way until you want it, this one is well worth grabbing while it is free.