Colony
Key Features
- Six Cells combine saturation, modulation, reverb, ducking, stereo width, and lo-fi color in one effects processor.
- The central ENERGY macro moves every active Cell through its own editable range instead of applying one shared amount.
- PLAY, TWEAK, and BUILD views support quick preset use, detailed Cell edits, and per-Cell macro mapping with signal-chain ordering.
- DRIVE offers tube, tape, and clipping character, while MOTION adds tremolo, auto-pan, filter movement, and pitch wobble.
- PUMP follows tempo or an external kick sidechain, and WIDTH includes Mono Below to protect centred low frequencies.
- Seventy-three factory presets can be filtered by type, genre, and character, with Signature and Experimental starting points.
Description
Colony is 13X Audio's color-and-movement multi-effect for turning clean audio into warmer, wider, more animated material from one central ENERGY control. Six Cells combine drive, modulation, reverb, pumping, stereo width, and lo-fi tone treatment, with each Cell able to travel through its own range as ENERGY rises.
The PLAY view keeps the workflow immediate: choose a preset, turn ENERGY, and compare the result with latency-aligned original audio and Level Match. When a sound needs more direction, TWEAK exposes each Cell's editor while BUILD sets the Cell ranges, curves, and order of the signal chain.
DRIVE covers tube-style warmth, tape movement, and clipping; MOTION supplies tremolo, auto-pan, filter sweeps, and pitch wobble. SPACE provides reverb, PUMP can work from tempo or a sidechain kick, WIDTH keeps low frequencies centred with Mono Below, and COLOR adds tone, wear, noise, vinyl character, or bitcrush.
Its 73 factory presets are filterable by type, genre, and character, making Colony practical for quickly auditioning treatments on drums, bass, keys, pads, vocals, and loops. It is aimed at broad creative transformation and macro automation rather than replacing a detailed specialist processor for every individual task.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the ENERGY control do?
ENERGY is a macro that moves each active Cell through its own assigned range. BUILD lets you set those ranges and curves, so increasing ENERGY can strengthen some effects while reducing or leaving others unchanged.
Which effects are inside Colony?
The six Cells are DRIVE, MOTION, SPACE, PUMP, WIDTH, and COLOR. They cover saturation and wear, modulation, reverb, sidechain-style ducking, stereo widening, and lo-fi tone or noise treatments.
Can Colony duck audio from a kick input?
Yes. The PUMP Cell can create tempo-based pumping or follow a kick through its stereo sidechain input. The official specification lists Kick trigger and Sidechain styles for this Cell.
Does Colony need an account or licence key to download?
No. The official product page says the direct download needs no account, email address, or licence key, and identifies Colony as a full release without a trial limit or feature gates.
