Check out the Wowcoder
VST effect plug-in for Windows that recreates a classical 16-band digital vocoder.
New free KORG minitron emulation for Windows
Almost start to wish I had a PC as well back home, although it would not be a massive investment to get the real one.
easytoolz has released minitron, a freeware virtual analog synthesizer instrument for Windows. A new toy for the masses, a “Emu” of the Korg Monotron, it is not a real Emulation, more a Adaption of the simple but effective.
Structure of the Korg Minisynth with a little “moogysh” Sound…
One Osc (saw) – one LFO (pulse) one “moogysh” LP-filter
Overdrive and Mastervolume – monophon – 16 Patches
minitron is available as a freeware VST instrument plugin for Windows.
Visit: easytoolz.de/news
By the way easyTools has a lot of other goodies, check out the video below:
Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
Kairatune – crisp and tight electric sounds
Developer Matti Jokipii has released a new soft synth for Windows, Kairatune:
Kairatune is designed to produce crisp and tight electric sounds for electronic music production. Kairatune is engineered for the demanding producer who needs to push the sound to extremes without compromising audio quality.
Kairatune offers fast and intuitive sound design workflow. The user interface is designed for a musician rather than an engineer and is based on the concept of pitch and beat in contrast to frequency and time. Kairatune lets you travel in the world of beats, notes and intervals instead of the logarithmic mathematics of frequencies and the rarely useful absolute time.
Kairatune is not your all-in-one synthesizer. It’s designed and engineered to be as powerful and versatile as possible in it’s target role as your source for tight bass, unique lead and shiny SFX sounds. At the same time it makes all the effort to be simple enough to use, enabling you to add your personal touch and flavor to the sound and seek for the perfect fit to your mixing preferences.
Kairatune is a free download (VSTi) from the Futucraft site.
Updated: Jamstix – virtual drummer instrument for Windows
Rayzoon has updated Jamstix, a virtual drummer instrument for Windows.
This update offers various enhancements and fixes and is available now to all Jamstix 3 owners at no charge. The demo version has also been updated.
Changes in Jamstix v3.2.0
- While in preview loop, the current bar can now be changed via clicking on the bar timeline.
- Added ‘End Crash’ sound selection option to fill generator and global action menu.
- Added ‘Send Whole Kit To MIDI Channel’ function to kit menu.
- Sound selection menus now also show related kit piece name.
- Added options to ‘Global Actions’ in song menu to enable/disable start crash and end crash options for fills.
- Added velocity offset for Jamcussion. Hold ALT while in JC mode and the song power knob will show and adjust this offset. Turn left to reduce JC power and vice versa.
- Added ‘Position-Based Dampening’ to kit menu, saved to project.
- AUTO and BAR settings now save globally.
- Added ‘List Brain Elements’ to brain menu.
- Groove brain elements can now be moved (left-click header).
- Added missing value display for several brain controls.
- Added list of installed expansions to ABOUT screen (click on JAMSTIX header).
- Added ini file option ‘LargeTuningRange’. If set to 1, kit editor tuning will be +/- 80% versus the default 20%.
- Velocity line color in the bar editor can now be changed in ini file as BGR value (i.e BEVeloColor=$00FF00 is green).
- Locked note color in the bar editor can now be changed in ini file as BGR value (i.e BELockedColor=$FF0000 is blue).
- Fixed copy/paste of multiple parts.
- Fixed problem with spaces when renaming Jamstix classic controls.
- Fixed fill settings resetting when adding groove or accent brain elements.
- Fixed GUI confusion when re-opening JS in Jamcussion mode with GUI caching disabled.
- Fixed mixer being bypassed when ‘Never Downmix’ is enabled.
- Fixed ‘Behavior’ and ‘Alternating’ not updating in GUI when changed via MIDI controller.
- Fixed groove weights resetting when reloading non 4/4-projects.
- Fixed problem in the ‘Freestyle’ hihat opening element.
- Fixed problem when loading liveloop songs.
- Fixed ‘Turn Groove Into Style’ not working with groove-changing players.
- Fixed ‘Auto Snare’ not working with ‘Jamstix Classic’ style.
- Fixed static tom usage in “Tom Groove” element.
- Fixed graphic overlap in Jamstix Classic brain controls for non-4/4 meters.
- Fixed error when changing hihat sound.
- Fixed problem with excessive snare notes with certain styles.
- Fixed groove functions of player models creating notes in intro parts.
- Locked notes are no longer suppressed by blocking functions such as ‘Early Downbeat’.
Jamstix 3 is available to purchase for Windows PC, starting at $99 USD.
More information: Rayzoon
Free multitimbral sampler for Windows, TX16Wx
Developer Calle Wilund has released a free multitimbral sampler for Windows, TX16Wx:
After several years of on/off development, I finally got my act together (somewhat) during July of 2011 and fixed the few remaining features I wanted to add before publishing the plugin. The result is the first public beta release of the TX16Wx VSTi Software Sampler.
It is a 100% free VSTi Sampler with professional features and an easy to use graphical interface – and – one of the few sampler instruments, free or commercial, with a fully documented file format.
Not a preset-player or disk-streaming library engine, this is a plugin for you to make your own sounds, tweak and experiment. Bring back the fun of the old hardware samplers – in software.
Details below. You can download the free software sampler at Wilund’s site.
Note: The software is being released as a beta.
Features:
- Unlimited multi-timbral operation
- 128 voice polyphony
- 16 modulation slots per voice
- 24dB resonant filter
- Two LFO + Two modulation envelopes per voice
- Polyphonic glide
- Built-in sample editor
- Actually samples! Record waves straight into the sampler.
- Graphical keyboard mapping editor
- 4 Stereo + 8 Mono outputs
- 16 mappable controllers for automation
- Multiple loop definitions per wave
- Individual outs for keyboard groups (drums)
- Multiple keyboard scales
- Multiple trigger modes
- Mono/Poly/Legato operation
- Preview loaded programs and samples in your song before loading
- WAV/AIFF/AIFC/SoundFont 2 support
- Reads Typhoon compressed AIF files
- 100% documented XML-based sound file format. Anyone can write conversion tools.
- Low CPU usage
- Fully native, optimized for SSE2.
- 64-bit support
- Nice sound!
Downloads for Windows x86 and x64 are available.
Free windows synth drum
DSK Music has released DSK SynthDrums– a free drum synth for Windows.
Features:
- 12 Patch drum Synth
- Easy assign sounds to keyboard
- Deep control over sound design
- Selectable output
- Midi automation
- User presets
- Filter, Distortion, EQ
It’s a free download at the DSK site.
Free Monosynth from UGO for Windows user
Ugo Audio has released Rez 3, ‘a mean little monosynth’ for Windows.
Here’s what they have to say about Rez 3:
Rez is a seemingly basic synth, but it’s capable of a very wide range of sounds. While Rez has a bunch of cool features, the beating heart of Rez is its filter. It’s made from multiple chained filters acting as a single powerful filter and it’s highly resonant, providing Rez with its distinctive character. Top that off with distortion, a phaser, various oscillator modulations, delay, and a killer programmable arp and step sequencer, and you’ve got a powerhouse of a synth in a very small package.
From funky squishes, beastly basses, and screaming leads, to tight arpeggiations, swirling rhythms, atmospheres, bells, and interesting effects, you’ll find it all here. Additionally, it comes with two skins – Yellow & Black, or Black & Yellow.
Features:
- Virtual analog oscillators
- Sub-oscillator
- Detune (modulatable via aftertouch)
- Programmable phrase arpeggiator
- Step sequencer (arp driven) with four mod destinations
- Highly resonant low pass filter with velocity, LFO, and envelope modulation
While Rez is free, three commercial banks are available for it – each with 128 presets.
Audio demos & the download are available at the Ugo site.
Introducing the Manx Super-Jay VSTi synth for Windows
Musing about with some of the factory presets of the Manx Super-Jay VSTi. Some external reverb & delay have been applied. Manx syntherizers aren’t created using the same methods as other analog emulations.
The Super-Jay is certainly feature laden, but this is NOT why you should be interested in this VST instrument! There are thousands of all singing all dancing virtual instruments available already, but to our knowledge, none of them generate audio using the same principles as the ‘Manx Engine’ – the DSP code that lies at the heart of all Manx Synthesizers. The Manx range has been created specifically to push the boundaries of warmth and character much closer to the standard set by analog hardware which is now decades old.
Naive Lead – polyphonic synthesizer instrument plugin
xoxos has announced the release of Naive Lead, a polyphonic synthesizer instrument plugin for Windows.
Naive Lad is a concept synth.. oversampling is used to antialias (to an extent) trivially rendered oscillators. This may offer some benefit in contrast to other methods (especially if you like aliasing!). This VST is presented to offer some insight into dsp to promote informed application of synthesis. If you know what you’re using, you’ll know when it’s best used.
Up to five filter algorithms are available (fast, Stilson/Smith Moog, Karlsen, SV, biquad) for four modes. The licensed version has 6 voices of polyphony (or more at request). Two banks of presets contributed by ten sound designers are included.
Naive Lead for Windows (VST) is available to purchase bundled with W VST for $10 USD.
New universal echo delay unit with hold function
WOK has released Echo Freeze Unit EFU-1, a universal echo delay unit with hold function for Windows.
“EFU-1 is more than another delay plugin. Besides all the basic functions (host sync or milliseconds, digital/tape/analog sound, modulation) it features a distinctive freeze function; like some famous hardware delay units, the delay buffer can act like a sampler. Up to 4/1 bars of input signal can be recorded (or lets better say: frozen) and continously played back at a selectable speed – even reverse.
But EFU-1 is more flexible than hardware devices: while a frozen audio segment is played back, the delay unit remains useable – even at a different delay time / sync divider! Also to hold and freeze a signal it is possible to first choose ‘record’ and then send audio to the plugin, or you continously play thru the delay and if the ‘last loop’ was interesting, you hit ‘Record’ to freeze it!
And while the recorded phrase is played back – even reverse, you may continue to play along with it thru the delay at a different time setting. By the way: feedback can be cranked up until nearly endless, and in millisecond mode, the delay time can be changed smoothly from many seconds to very short – producing these famous dub sounds!”
Price: 29 EUR
DATAMASKIN
