There are super-comprehensive sound generators with many controls, complex structures and endless possibilities. And there are small, space-saving modules with few controls and yet incredibly flexible sound. The successor to Mutable's Braids belongs entirely to the second genre. Plaits offers 16 types of sound generation, including waveshaping, mini-FM, granular formant oscillators, wavetables, vowel/speech, noise and even a bass drum model.
Manufacturer Presteign Sound Labs, together with the developers of pongasoft, has taken on the module and presents Macro, a free synthesiser based on Plaits for Reason. Much like its role model, Macro is meant to be two things at once: a standalone synthesiser with a unique sound palette that you can use right away, and a module that lets you use that palette as a starting point for other devices.