Hardcore Harmonics is feeling especially hardcore about their new atmospheric virtual instrument called PRIZM. First and foremost, it comes with a 35 GB core library of sounds and samples including Evolvers, vocals, pads, strings, brass, guitars, plucked instruments, analog fun, pianos, SFX, soundscapes and more. All of this is in 24-bit / 48 kHz quality.

PRIZM also gives you the tools to take control of their massive core library. It's packed with six oscillator channels, a meaty effects section, double barrel step sequencing, arps, a mixing section, LFOs, filters, EQ and a modulation matrix. Let's explore!

The top bar in PRIZM allows you to choose from four oscillator channels and two wave sequencer channels. The envelope section contains a classic ADSR envelope setup for playing your sample sets in any flavor you like. You can also operate pitch and course / fine tuning. The EQ section gives you four bands for dialing in frequencies and gain.

PRIZM's effects section includes reverb, delay, chorus, distortion and more. You can choose two effects at once plus an insert effect. The effects section also lets you control pitch bending, polyphony, MIDI control and unison on / off which fattens up your sounds. Lastly, you can add portamento in this section. The filter section also lets you add lowpass, highpass and bandpass filters to your channels, and these can call be modulated with LFOs.

Speaking of which, the modulation envelope section features controls that modulate the mod matrix via LFOs. You have editing powers over the envelope, velocity, waveforms and a whole lot more. Within the modulation matrix itself, you can control oscillators, wave sequencers, effects and beyond. It gives you six rows and six pages to do your thing.

But wait! There's more! You get an XY pad, operable via joystick, mouse or even a vector joystick if your MIDI controller has one. Getting beefier, you get a main mixer section that functions like you'd an actual physical mixer to function. That means volume, panning, effects and channel tuning.

Two wave sequencers allow you to activate trance gates, arpeggiators, morphing and more, and PRIZM calls this double sequencing action the most powerful part of PRIZM. Of course, what would two sequencers be without PRIZM's integrated groovebox? They'd still be two sequencers, but it's hecka nice to have a drum machine. I bet you wish you came up with "hecka," but you didn't. It's already been coined.

The features just go on and on. You've got a mighty preset and sampleset browser that opens up in a separate window and manage your own presets. You can customize the appearance of PRIZM with skins. You've even got your own sample editor and key mapper for recording your own samples. WAV, SFZ and wusikSND / dashSND formats are all welcome!

Last, and probably least, you have an about box to tell you what version you're running. You can probably remember what version you've got, but in case you can't . . .