Mode is a bundle of plug-ins from the same stable as Pluggo, and comprises three instruments and two effects processors plus 18 further modules derived from these. The additional modules include 'light' versions of the plug-ins, effects spun off from the instrument plug-ins, and modulators for use as modulation waveform sources. Mode supports all the currently popular plug-in formats on the Mac platform (VST, AU and RTAS) and runs under OS X only, requiring version 10.2.8 or later. Authorisation is via a code available on-line when registering; until you register, the plug-ins will work in demo mode, where the audio is disrupted and replaced by a bleep every minute or so.
Many of the the plug-ins enhance an existing sound in some way through the use of arpeggiators, sequencers, delay, distortion, filtering, feedback and modulation — but not always in the most obvious way. There are also modulators that can be used just as they would be in a modular synth, by patching them to control parameters of a different plug-in. Unusually, the majority of parameters are accessed via knobs that have no numerical display, which is intended to encourage adjustment by ear, and nestling alongside familiar and predictable parameters are oddball creations added to inspire weirdness — which is no bad thing. Furthermore, parameters are often provided with a greater control range than would normally be considered useful, simply so that the user can experiment with excess. The full 'heavy' versions of the plug-ins include inbuilt effects, such as delay.