Sonic Academy ANA 2.5, free upgrade brings multi-sampling - November 18, 2022

Sonic Academy has released a big free 2.5 update for its multi-layer Synthesizer plugin ANA adding multi-samples support.

NI Massive, Xfer Serum, Synthmaster 2, Phase Plant… all very popular synth plugins among music producers. And all, at least with wavetable synthesis in their engine. But there are many great-sounding plugins that fly under the radar. The free Vital synth, VPS Avenger, or ANA 2 by Sonic Academy come to mind.

The latter surprises me every time I play the presets, how round and fat the sound character is. But I don’t hear or read much about it. It’s more an insider plugin. Today SA ANA released 2.5, a big free update that will hopefully bring the plugin back into focus.

To sump: ANA 2 is a powerful 6-layer Synthesizer plugin that consists of three wavetable oscillators, three sample oscillators, two rich-sounding analog-modeled filter sections, 26 FX units, a chord memory device, a 64-step poly arpeggiator, and more.

With version 2.5, the plugin gets a massive leap forward. According to the developers, they have worked tirelessly for 18 months to make this update possible.

The biggest new feature is the ability to work with multi-samples. ANA 2.5 comes with a new multi-sample browser and editor that allows you to create entire multi-sampled instruments. Here you can set the key zone, the route note, velocity, and more.

Once created, these can be used as oscillators, which enormously expand the sonic spectrum of the ANA 2 Synthesizer plugin. You can have up to 3 multi-samples oscillators. This opens up the door for many new hybrids sounds not possible so far with ANA 2. Pad sounds accompanied by a piano, for example, or pair acoustic instruments such as guitars or strings with the wavetable oscillators.

That’s not all. The developers also added pitch drift, allowing you to control micro changes in pitch with each note press to mimic that classic analog sound. Then the filter section now offers more control over how the filter drive works with a new gain function. Great for aggressive sounds.

The update also ships with a new preset pack, utilizing the multi-sampling engine, and includes Steinway pianos, strings, choirs, guitars, and more – a total of 30 sampled instruments and 100 new presets.

It’s nice to see that ANA 2 got such a big update. Especially because it’s a free update that massively expands the plugin’s sound capabilities. Great job Sonic Academy.
Sonic Academy ANA 2.5 is available now as a free update for existing ANA 2 users. It’s now on sale for £84 instead of £140.

More information here: Sonic Academy