Psychic Modulation Phonec3 is a unique retro Lo-Fi inspired Synthesizer plugin that will return in an upgraded version in early 2026.

Many virtual analog/analog modeling synthesizers attempt to imitate the sounds of vintage analog instruments, with varying degrees of success. Psychic Modulation took a different, “vintage” approach from the very beginning with its Phonec Synthesizer. The plugin focuses on retro Lo-Fi synthscapes.

A bit like Boards of Canada, or like running an analog modeling synth through an old VHS tape to get a very lush and wobbly lo-fi sound. Phonec fans can rejoice. Psychic Modulation has announced Phonec3 for January 2026, and you can pre-order it now at a special price.



Psychic Modulation Phonec3
Like its predecessors, Phonec3 is a subtractive virtual-analog Synthesizer focused on retro lo-fi sounds. According to Psychic Modulation, they rebuilt Phonec3 from the ground up to make it compatible with newer systems, such as Apple Silicon chips.

Phonec3 incorporates many familiar features from Phonec2, along with new additions. The new GUI is immediately noticeable in the teaser; it appears cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing than Phonec2.

For example, the mixer is no longer available, but you can now mix the oscillators right in the OSC section. The core still consists of two oscillators, a sub-oscillator, and a noise source, including sync, PWM, X-wave, and more.

The developer states that the oscillators have been improved and now include, among other features, new waveforms. I hope the unique logic mix parameter between OSC1 and OSC2 is still available, enabling per-voice distortion and audio-rate interactions.

Then, Phonec3 features a revamped filter section with various modes and built-in overdrive. Phonec2 featured a 2-stage lowpass filter with eight modes, an acid filter, a post-highpass filter, and filter saturation.



More Sound Design Options
The UI also indicates that the filter now includes three additional flavor ingredients: feedback, melt, and clip. Features that allow you to incorporate the lo-fi, dirty character into the filter.

Psychic Modulation also promises a modulation boost for Phonec3. On the UI teaser, you can see three multi-wave LFOs, the beloved HFO (high-frequency oscillator), three advanced ADSR envelopes, and more.

Several small details that are not yet fully known have been added, making the modulation more versatile. Like Phonec2, it also features an arpeggiator and pitch/mod sequencers.

These also offer more features on the menu than the previous version, including scale locking for instant melodic harmony. Choose between chromatic and scaled modes, and the pitch steps will snap into harmony.

This scale-locking feature will also be available on the pitch wheel with the quantizer. Of course, the beloved and key feature of Phonec, the melt feature, is again onboard.

The developer says it has received improvements and undergone rework. It’s a unique feature that lets you lo-fi the sound engine with drifting, detuning, and malfunction artifacts.

Phonec3 also features a multi-FX section with an EQ, a lush chorus, and echo with a ping-pong option. Important note: MPE, which is part of P2, will not be available in Phonec3 from version 1.0. This will be added in an update.

Psychic Modulation does not yet offer a demo or sound demo of Phonec3 because the plugin is in the final phase of development.

First Impression
With the switch from Intel to Apple Silicon, developers had to adapt their plugins. For some, it was a breeze; for others, the entire framework had to be rewritten. The latter was the case with Absynth and also with Phonec2.

It’s great to see that a new version of Phonec is coming soon, and we will be able to use it again on modern computers with added functionality and hopefully even more Lo-Fi goodness.

Psychic Modulation Phonec3 will be available in January 2026. You can pre-order it now for $59 instead of $89 with the code PHONEC3PREORDER at checkout.

Existing Phonec2 owners should receive an upgrade offer via email. If not, please get in touch with the developer. Phonec3 will run as a VST/AU plugin on macOS (native Apple Silicon + Intel) + Windows.

More information here: Psychic Modulation

Source: https://synthanatomy.com/2025/12/psychic-modulation-phonec3-the-lo-fi-synthscape-synthesizer.html

 

This one is actually good, personally I find it to be rather expensive though... but I get why it is - it actually sounds 70s/early 80s velvety synth like and not full in-your-face "modern" analog like most VA synths sound by default. Do you *need* it? Probably not. Does it fill a niche and speed up things to get that particular sound? It does. There is a computer magazine version of it but it does not work on Win11 I believe (at least not on my machine).

 

What does it sound like?

The Sound Experience Soundbank by Abc for the Psychic Modulation - Phonec 2 VSTi

www.kvraudio.com/product/the-sound-experience-soundbank-by-sonic-sirius

 

This is funny thing. We criticise the best and mostly expensive synths coming out but we praise the synths sounding like crap. We call it lo-fi. I am not against them at all. But I remember one of my comment on previous synths’ thread, was criticised by the audiosexual one that the synth should sound fat, warm, luscious…

 

psychic modulation's drum machine plugin Pulsecode reminds me a little of Microtonic. It doesn't seem to have a direct midi import export function for patterns. The site mentions updating it will have ARM native version for Mac, whenever that happens.