Hi, I’m David Hicks.
I’m a relentless tinkerer in experimental sound design—capturing the raw, organic energy of hardware synthesizers and warping it into something entirely new.
Why chase the sound of hardware in software?
Back in 2010, through a strange twist of fate, a close friend—an incredible sound designer—moved into my place. He arrived with little more than a duffel bag and a treasure trove of vintage synths. My dining room transformed overnight: Moogs bursting from cupboards, Elka Synthexes leaning against walls, a Jupiter-8 sunbathing in the corner. It was chaos…and magical!
My friend lives with synesthesia. He doesn’t just hear sound—he tastes it. And to him, analog was nourishing and organic. Digital, on the other hand, left a bitter aftertaste. So when he sold his entire collection to fund a dream that never materialised, he returned disheartened—and sonically homeless.
That loss stayed with me. I began sampling my analog gear into Kontakt, hoping to recreate what he’d lost. Not just the sound, but the feeling of those instruments. Their soul. Their flavor. What began as a quiet experiment to help a friend became a years-long journey into the alchemy of synthesis, circuits and sampling—a search for how to make software sound, and feel, exactly like hardware. And beyond that, my friend was always chasing the cutting-edge of art—so whatever I created had to reach just as far.
Finally, in 2024, he came to visit. I loaded up an early version of Socora. He played a single patch… then smiled. “It tastes right,” he said.
He played for five hours straight. No words. No chit-chat. Just sound, excitement and wonder.
FREE KONTAKT LIBRARY – SOCORA LITE
A Cinematic Synth, Built to Inspire. Completely Free.
I created Socora LITE to give you a taste of what’s possible when you blend stunningly captured hardware waveforms with deep sound-sculpting tools—all packed into a powerful but lightweight Kontakt instrument.
What makes Socora LITE special?
• Analog warmth you can dial in—from pristine to beautifully unstable.
• A morphing FX engine that warps sounds into cinematic oblivion.
• A filter so refined, it took two years to perfect.
The level of detail here? Borderline ludicrous—especially for a free instrument.
Go ahead, take Socora LITE for a spin.
THE BIG ONE – SOCORA
A Cinematic, World-Building Hyper-Synth
Where do I even start with Socora?
It’s not just a synth—it’s a force of nature. Built for cinematic sound design, Socora was designed to create colossal, evolving, and deeply expressive textures—from haunting dystopian drones to searing synth arpeggios.
Why Socora is unlike anything else:
• Morphing FX that bend reality.
• An arpeggiator that bounces notes around like fireflies.
• Stunning analog samples, enhanced by a bespoke ‘analog response’ system.
• Big, beefy, analog-style multi-mode filters.
• A wave-based motion engine that generates dynamic, living soundscapes.
• Macros, modulation, and more…
Oh, and did I mention the Intelligent Preset Generator? With just a few clicks, it creates massive, complex cinematic sounds in seconds—because sometimes, inspiration shouldn’t have to wait.
It’s coming soon…and trust me, it’ll be worth the wait.
Hi, I’m David Hicks.
I’m a relentless tinkerer in experimental sound design—capturing the raw, organic energy of hardware synthesizers and warping it into something entirely new.
Why chase the sound of hardware in software?
Back in 2010, through a strange twist of fate, a close friend—an incredible sound designer—moved into my place. He arrived with little more than a duffel bag and a treasure trove of vintage synths. My dining room transformed overnight: Moogs bursting from cupboards, Elka Synthexes leaning against walls, a Jupiter-8 sunbathing in the corner. It was chaos…and magical!
My friend lives with synesthesia. He doesn’t just hear sound—he tastes it. And to him, analog was nourishing and organic. Digital, on the other hand, left a bitter aftertaste. So when he sold his entire collection to fund a dream that never materialised, he returned disheartened—and sonically homeless.
That loss stayed with me. I began sampling my analog gear into Kontakt, hoping to recreate what he’d lost. Not just the sound, but the feeling of those instruments. Their soul. Their flavor. What began as a quiet experiment to help a friend became a years-long journey into the alchemy of synthesis, circuits and sampling—a search for how to make software sound, and feel, exactly like hardware. And beyond that, my friend was always chasing the cutting-edge of art—so whatever I created had to reach just as far.
Finally, in 2024, he came to visit. I loaded up an early version of Socora. He played a single patch… then smiled. “It tastes right,” he said.
He played for five hours straight. No words. No chit-chat. Just sound, excitement and wonder.
FREE – SOCORA LITE
A Cinematic Synth, Built to Inspire. Completely Free.
I created Socora LITE to give you a taste of what’s possible when you blend stunningly captured hardware waveforms with deep sound-sculpting tools—all packed into a powerful but lightweight Kontakt instrument.
What makes Socora LITE special?
• Analog warmth you can dial in—from pristine to beautifully unstable.
• A morphing FX engine that warps sounds into cinematic oblivion.
• A filter so refined, it took two years to perfect.
The level of detail here? Borderline ludicrous—especially for a free instrument.
Go ahead, take Socora LITE for a spin.
THE BIG ONE – SOCORA
A Cinematic, World-Building Hyper-Synth
Where do I even start with Socora?
It’s not just a synth—it’s a force of nature. Built for cinematic sound design, Socora was designed to create colossal, evolving, and deeply expressive textures—from haunting dystopian drones to searing synth arpeggios.
Why Socora is unlike anything else:
• Morphing FX that bend reality.
• An arpeggiator that bounces notes around like fireflies.
• Stunning samples, shaped by a bespoke analog simulation system.
• Big, beefy, analog-style multi-mode filters.
• A wave-based motion engine that generates dynamic, living soundscapes.
• Macros, modulation, and more…
Oh, and did I mention the Intelligent Preset Generator? With just a few clicks, it creates massive, complex cinematic sounds in seconds—because sometimes, inspiration shouldn’t have to wait.
It’s coming soon…and trust me, it’ll be worth the wait.