[UPDATE: The Rawgan has now been replaced with the Vintage Ultima, which vastly improves on the quality, layout, scope and authenticity. Visit the Vintage Ultima organ/synth page to download the Rawgan's updated replacement. It's still freeware.]
The Rawgan is a versatile virtual organ package combining classic combo organ features with retro synth-style facets to produce a truly different VSTi.
Please be aware that the complex waveforms assignable to the drawbars can place heavier demands on older CPUs than regular VSTis.
The Rawgan offers...
Twenty cool presets which provide something different from those typically found on other VST organs. Click on the green preset display at the top right of the console to select from the preset list.
Multi-voice drawbars with selectable waveforms. The various waveforms can be additionally tailored with tone filtration. The coloured tabs along the centre top of the console select the waveforms individually for each bar. You might want to assign a Strings sound to the 8’ bar, and a Tibia (Hammond type) sound to the 4’. The buttons below each of these wavefom tabs select the individual drawbar for tone filtration. With the red light on the button lit, the drawbar of the said ‘footage’ will be subject to the filtration as set by the white DB Tone fader.
Analogue synth-style ‘ADSR’ envelope control. Attack, Decay, Sustain and Tail (Release) can be easily set via the appropriately labelled knobs on the front panel.
Preset amp models, including 1960s and 1980s simulations, plus the obligatory valve rotary. There’s also a user-defined model which allows you to adjust the tonal characteristics via faders on the front panel. Click on the blue tab beneath the preset display to select an amp model. If you select User Defined from the list, the User Defined Amp Model faders come into play. To employ the faders, activate them via the button to the left of the group. When the button’s red light is lit, the faders are active (provided User Defined is also the active model in the amp selections). If the light is not lit, but the amp model selection is set to User Defined, the sound emitted will have no amp modelling at all.
A percussive attack section with greater scope than the classic Hammond-style system. The Rawgan also permits you to fade in the perc, creating auto-swells. Audition the ‘Electone Swell’ preset for an example of this. The Percussion controls are located on the top left of the console.
Vibrato-chorus and rotary speaker simulations. Controls for these parameters are in the panel on the bottom left of the console.
An onboard phase-shifter for that ‘70s/’80s sound. The green button alongside the rotary speaker on/off activates the Phaser.
An organ/synth mode toggle. ‘Synth mode’ drops the pitch of the 5 1/3’ drawbar into unison with the 8’ bar. The two bars can then be detuned against each other using the Detune knob, for thicker analogue synth sounds. The String Machine preset gives an example of how this works. These parameters are found in the panel just above the keyboard on the right.
The Rawgan is a complex instrument which is far better explored through experimentation than instructions in a blog post. If you’re bored with relentless Hammond sounds and want something more esoteric, whilst still retaining the feel of an organ, this VSTi should prove very useful.
An early version of The Rawgan was used as the main rhythm keyboard on the track Spend More Time, which is streamed below...
[UPDATE: The Rawgan has now been replaced with the Vintage Ultima, which vastly improves on the quality, layout, scope and authenticity. Visit the Vintage Ultima organ/synth page to download the Rawgan's updated replacement.]
