Free retro-style software synth plugin
Angular Momentum has released Retronix, a free retro-style software synth plugin for Windows.
The synth features 2 x 5 oscillators and one of them offers a wavetable mode with 135 waves.
The filter has overdrive, key tracking, an ADSR envelope and an extra High Pass filter to filter out unwanted low frequencies.
The Vocalizer has now been released
I have reported on the Vocalizer before but now we have gotten some more info on it. If you have tried it already let us know what you think.
VOCALIZER is a completely new concept in modern music production that couples a new technology synthesis engine with an open input based architecture. VOCALIZER is one part effect plugin and one part virtual instrument. Vocalists, non-vocalists, & producers feed VOCALIZER any audio source, and it re-pitches, effects, and re-synthesizes the original source into a whole new sound.
Primarily designed for vocal use, vocalists will enjoy the vast options afforded by VOCALIZER to add previously unattainable dimensions to their voice. Inversely, non-vocalists will enjoy the opportunity to use their voices in musical ways that they previously thought impossible.
VOCALIZER also works well with other types of inputs. Drum & percussion tracks fed through VOCALIZER result in complex synth lines that perfectly sync to the original dry drum & percussion parts. Other input sounds afford a powerful and flexible new approach to sound design. VOCALIZER users can take any sound and use it as a shaping tool to be VOCALIZED.
The VOCALIZER marks the first release from SONiVOX’s NEMESYNTH Audio Research Group. Spearheaded by noted audio guru and scientist Jim Van Buskirk, pioneer inventor of the virtual instrument, modern computer driven sampling, and real-time low-latency convolution, SONiVOX’s NEMESYNTH Audio Research Group’s sole purpose is to discover, research, & develop revolutionary new enabling technologies for musicians everywhere.
VOCALIZER – Vocal Production Synthesizer is MAC & PC compatible and will work with most major DAW software as a VST, AU, and RTAS plugin.
VOCALIZER – Vocal Production Synthesizer is slated for a release date of October 1st 2010 with a MSRP of $149.99 and an estimated street price of $99.99
SONiVOX claims that VOCALIZER must be heard to be believed and invites all to checkout the VOCALIZER videos and mp3 examples at www.sonivoxmi.com
New emulation of the legendary SID chip
HyperSynth has announced the release of SIDizer, a new emulation of the legendary SID chip in the form of a modern software synthesizer plug-in.
Using circuit modeling technology, nearly all the unique features of the two versions (6581-8580) of the SID chip, including their famous flaws, are accurately modeled. This emulation focuses on simulating the nonlinear character of the SID filter and mimicking special 6581 distortion that mainly influences the alternation of the filtered signal in a real SID chip. It offers additional envelopes, LFOs, mod matrix and a routable bit-cruncher for adding extra lo-fi sound quality.
SIDizer’s GUI is inspired by HyperSynth’s HyperSID and offers easy tweaking for all parameters on a single page. It is not only a powerful instrument for creating the chip-tune style but it can produce a unique type of analog sound colored with harmonic distortion that is suited for creating bass, lead and drum sounds.
Features:
- 3 oscillators offering 8 waveforms: Saw, Triangle, Square, Pitched noise, “AND” combinations of them.
- Oscillators special features: ring, sync, phase sync, Sqr PW, level.
- Selectable 6581-8580 D/A distortion.
- 3 Amp envelopes ADSR.
- 12 dB (LP & HP), 6 dB BP SID modeled Filter.
- Best matched Exponential-fitted curves for 6581-8580 filter frequencies.
- Simulating 6581 half wave filter distortion.
- 1 Filter envelope + key track for filter freq.
- 2 LFOs each with 4 simultaneous outputs offering sync and retriggering option.
- 1 Mod envelope.
- Versatile Modulation matrix.
- Bug-generator module for reproducing famous bugs: oscillator leakage, ex-input noise.
- Bit Cruncher with pre and post filter route option.
- Advanced 8 step C64 like arpeggiator.
- Master: Pitch and Mod wheel, Porta, Spread, Reverb, Delay.
- Easy to use GUI.
- Factory soundbank created by Torben Hansen (aka Metal of Vibrants).
Pricing & Availability
SIDizer is currently available for the introductory price of $49 for the first 64 customers. The full price will then be $64. It is available for Windows as a VST instrument plug-in.
Masters at work
MOTU has announced it is now shipping the MasterWorks Collection, an advanced audio plug-in bundle for Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Cubase, and other Mac OS X hosts that support RTAS, Audio Units, and VST3 audio plug-ins.
“MOTU has received many requests from Pro Tools, Logic, Cubase, and Live users who wanted to get their hands on Digital Performer’s MasterWorks plug-ins,” said Jim Cooper, MOTU Director of Marketing. “Now they finally can.”
The bundle includes three masterfully crafted audio processors suitable for even the most critical and demanding mixing situations. Originally developed exclusively for Digital Performer, the MasterWorks series plug-ins have developed a reputation for their incredibly authentic analog hardware modeling, 32- and 64-bit internal floating point processing, and highly CPU-efficient performance. All three plug-ins support mono, stereo and surround channel configurations (with supporting host software), and users can share MasterWorks plug-in presets among different hosts.
MasterWorks Collection features
- MasterWorks EQ – modeled British analog EQ
Inspired by legendary British console EQs, the MasterWorks EQ™ delivers the look, feel and sound of the most sought-after classic analog equalizers. - MasterWorks Leveler – vintage automatic gain control
The MasterWorks Leveler™ is an accurate model of the legendary Teletronix™ LA-2A optical leveling amplifier, known for its unique and highly sought-after Automatic Gain Control (AGC) characteristics. - ProVerb – stunningly realistic acoustic spaces
From soaring cathedrals to primordial forests, ProVerb™ is a CPU-efficient convolution reverb that delivers the sound of stunningly realistic acoustic spaces to any track or mix.
The MasterWorks Collection is now available to purchase for Mac OS X (version 10.5 or 10.6), priced at $295 USD.
More information: MOTU / MasterWorks Collection
Oden and Thor gets reverb company in Valhalla
Valhalla DSP has announced ValhallaShimmer, a algorithmic reverberation plug-in designed to produce big sounds, from concert halls, to the Taj Mahal, to the halls of Valhalla.
ValhallaShimmer is a reverberator, tuned for emulating large spaces and big ambiances. Lots of modulation on tap. Minimal yet powerful controls, to allow the user to tune the attack, sustain, decay and color of the reverberation, with the results ranging from chorusing and short rooms to concert halls, to cathedrals, to near-infinite reverbs.
It also features the ability to pitch shift the reverb feedback, to obtain the “shimmer” sound heard on the Eno / Lanois productions for U2 and others, as well as a variety of beautiful harmonic washes.
I plan on releasing the OSX versions of the plugin (VST/AU/RTAS) in the next week or two, with the Windows version to follow shortly thereafter. Price will be announced when the demo is released and the plugin is offered for sale.
The guy behind Valhalla is Sean Costello also known for some prominent work with NI Reaktor and Csound.
More information: Valhalla DSP Blog
Bring the sound of 6 of the world’s top analog consoles into your DAW workstation
Despite the digital revolution in the audio industry, many of today’s top commercial albums are still mixed on analog consoles. Audio engineers rely on analog mixing to provide the nonlinear musical qualities that digital mixing does not produce. “When you mix through an analog desk you get this life and body to the sound that just doesn’t happen when you mix inside the workstation. The separation and imaging from the analog summing is very apparent, especially when your track count gets high” remarks mixer Jay Baumgardner (Papa Roach, Evanescence).
Over the past ten years, multiple audio manufacturers have produced simplified analog summing boxes that allow DAW users to get the benefits of analog mixing without having to use a full fledged analog desk. In 2001, Steven Slate made his mark in the analog summing world by commissioning Roll Music Systems to design and manufacture a custom analog summing box that was later named the FOLCROM. The FOLCROM continues to be one of the most popular analog summing boxes on the market, used by mixer Mike Shipley and other top names. Now in 2009, Slate once again stirs up the analog summing world, this time in the digital domain.
The VIRTUAL CONSOLE COLLECTION consists of two plugins, Virtual Channel and Virtual Mixbuss. Each plugin allows the user to choose from one of six modeled consoles. Virtual Channel is applied on individual mixing channels. Virtual Mixbuss goes on the first insert of the master fader. “When using the Virtual Console Collection, your DAW instantly takes on the personality of a real analog mixing desk. The imaging and depth improves, instruments sit better in the frequency spectrum, and mixing becomes easier and more musical. You can even push the DAW faders up to find each mixer’s “sweet spot”, says Slate.
- Brings the sound of 6 legendary analog consoles to your DAW
- Models all characteristics of both the channels and the analog summing
- Mix and match consoles
- Mac/Windows VST, RTAS, AU
Launching X-Jupitae, a virtual synthesizer instrument plug-in, and the Multi-FX unit
Chris Kerry has released X-Jupitae, a virtual synthesizer instrument plug-in for Windows, and Multi-FX a separate unit from the multi effects featured in X-Jupitae.
X-Jupitae features
- 3 powerful dual voice ‘Flexi’ oscillators (Xmod, FM, PhaseDist, Ringmod etc).
- Dual multi-mode filters, series, parallel or independent. (12, 24, 36, 48+ db).
- 4 freely assignable Graphic 8 stage multi-contour envelopes with one-shot and repeating options.
- Very flexible modulation options – up to 4 modulators each (Pitch, Pan, Cutoff, Amp etc).
- Performance based:- Ribbon and XY Pad controllers, great for live sound manipulation.
- 28 note polyphony (unrestricted), Polyphony Limiting option (removes voice stealing clicks and limits CPU), Mono mode.
- Interactive 32 step 12 note pattern arpeggiator.
- Multi-FX section: Degrader, Limiter/Distortion, Eq, Ensemble, Auto-Panner, Stereo Imaging, Chorus(2v), Echo(5tap), Reverb.
- Compact User interface using Paged panels.
Multi-FX features
- Stereo Gate.
- Stereo Compressor.
- Stereo Degrader (3 modes).
- Stereo Limiter/Distortion.
- Stereo 3 Band EQ.
- ‘True’ Stereo Reverb.
- Ensemble.
- Chorus 2, 3 or 4 voice.
- 5 Tap Echo with Pre or Feedback Filtering.
- Auto Panner.
- Stereo Imaging (Centre and Side).
- Compact User interface using Paged panels.
X-Jupitae is available to purchase for £10 GBP, Multi-FX is £6 GBP. Both are available as VST plug-ins for Windows PC.
More information: CK Modules
Metering plug-in featuring upsampled peak detection
Audio Pluggers has released a beta of K-Meter, a metering plug-in featuring upsampled peak detection, perceived loudness metering, K-System compatibility, and pink noise monitor calibration.
By using the K-System and K-Meter, audio engineers can ensure that their mixes reproduce accurately on a variety of playback systems, from theaters to MP3 players. K-Meter’s perceived loudness meter models the ear’s sensitivity to different frequencies, giving you a much more accurate indication of loudness than conventional meters. Combine this with the ability to detect inter-sample peaks, and you can be confident that your mixes are of the highest quality.
Audio Pluggers K-Meter
K-Meter features
- Built from the ground up around the K-System.
- Upsampled peak detection that discovers inter-sample peaks missed by other meters (upsamples up to 4x the input rate).
- Perceived loudness meter supporting the LKFS measurement (ITU-R BS.1770-1). This models the ear’s sensitivity to different frequencies.
- Band-limited RMS meter for monitor calibration and compatibility with other meters.
- Pink noise generator for monitor calibration.
- Resettable clip indicators with sensitivity dial.
- Collapsible interface that occupies less screen space.
- All-in-one 32-bit and 64-bit universal binary supporting Intel and PPC Macs.
- SIMD optimization including AltiVec and SSE support.
- User manual including background on the K-System.
The K-Meter beta is available to purchase as an Audio Unit plug-in for Mac, for $25 USD (all future K-Meter updates and patches, free of charge). K-Meter will be $50 USD when it is released.
More information: Audio Pluggers
New analogue modelled saturation plug-in
MellowMuse is about to release SATV, an analogue modelled saturation plug-in with four preset models, perfect for adding harmonic depth and richness to any material.
Together with four preset models (A to D), SATV features Drive, Mix, Output, and an innovative Group mode.
Group mode allows all instances of SATV in your session to be controlled from any one instance of SATV.
For example, setting Drive or saturation mode on any SATV will update all other instances allowing subtle or radical changes to the character of your entire mix from any SATV. SATV’s efficient CPU usage allows for high instance counts.
The successor of the TAL-Elek7ro
It’s time for a latest soft synth released by Patrick Kunz (Togu Audio Line): NoiseMaker. It’s an improved version of previously released TAL-Elek7ro and, according to official notes, has a completely new synth engine and a lot of improvements in sound and usability. There are 2 Oscillators + one sub oscillator. The synth also includes a small effect section with a reverb, chorus and a simple bit crusher effect. There are 128 factory presets included. Just like most TAL plugins, NoiseMaker is available both for PC and MAC and is low CPU hungry. Good freebie.
Download: TAL-NoiseMaker
DATAMASKIN
