Exoplug has released X Wave, a free symmetric waveshaper effect plug-in for Windows.
Use big curves for a big sound! Creating big over driven sounds is easy with X Wave. Why use an over drive or distortion plugin with a set transfer curve? With X Wave you can make your own very easily and tweak it to the exact sound you want!.
Like bit crushers/ bit reducers? with X Wave this is also easy. For this we have the “Stairs” slope which looks exactly like, well, stairs. Hence the uninspired name. You can add new points and set the stairs at different levels for each slope. It’s possible to reduce part of the wave to say, 12 bits, while another part to 2 bits!
X Wave features
Create shapes Graphically with up to 16 points.
Two different “slope” types, curve and stairs. Curve is good for overdrive effects where as stairs can be used for bit reduction.
Up sample switch for x4 up sampling, helps to reduce any aliasing that may occur.
Basic inbuilt limiter. This will help to ensure your signal doesn’t go above zero decibels.
Pre Gain knob. Increases the signal level before entering the wave shaper.
Advanced global preset manager. This preset manager stores the presets directly to your hard drive, so presets can be shared easily among mulitple instances of the plugin. The presets show in an easy to navigate drop down menu.
Wet and dry knobs. Use these to mix the wave shaped signal with the original signal.
X Wave is available to download as a freeware VST effect plug-in for Windows PC.
Shuriken has announced the release of BitTest, a free bitcrusher effect plug-in for Mac.
BitTest is a sweet little bitcrusher VST, it converts your data to 8 bits, then you can turn the bit’s off (the top row) or invert them (the bottom row) individually. That is you can individually flip and invert the bits.
And that is all this little baby does, but she does it well.
Shuriken BitTest – bitcrusher effect for Mac
BitTest is available to download as a freeware VST effect plug-in for Mac.
D16 Group has announced the completion of a major update of the complete SilverLine Series, a collection of effect plug-ins for Windows and Mac.
This major update has focused mainly on implementing new features in the effects and making them fully compatible with MacOSX Snow Leopard (10.6.x).
We’ve added a completely new product to the SilverLine collection. SYNTORUS is a Double Path Analog Chorus with a rich analog sound similar to the effects found on classic synthesizers like the Solina, Synthex or Juno. It has two perfectly emulated analog delay Lines which add a deep and full sound to any source.
Bucket-Brigade Device (BBD) emulation, built-in tremolo effect and complete synchronization of LFOs are only a few of its features.
D16 Group SilverLine Collection
Key updates SilverLine Collection
DEVASTOR – Multiband Distortion Unit
New parameter with 6 predefined distortion functions.
Dry/Wet parameter.
Processing quality settings.
Ability to turn off the filters.
25% less CPU load.
FAZORTAN – Controllable Space Phaser
LFO sections were expanded with tempo synchronization parameters (many more possibilities for sound processing).
~15% less CPU load.
DECIMORT – High Quality Bit Crusher
Filter sections have been expanded with filter order parameters.
25% less CPU load.
REDOPTOR – Vintage Tube Distortion
New switch which allows the Hi Cut filter to be switched off.
~30% less CPU load
Improved many aspects of the sound processing.
Fixed all issues.
Harmonised functionality of all SilverLine plug-ins.
Common preset management system and midi learn functionality.
Default resources, like presets or Midi CC mapping, can be defined and loaded at plug-in startup.
D16 Group has also announced a forthcoming Phoscyon update.
It’s our biggest update ever. The long awaited AU version will come with many new features and improvements. Phoscyon will sound better due to many changes in the synthesis. It will also work better and benefit from the addition of the standard functions found on the rest of the D16 plugins. This update will definitely add new freshness to our first plug-in. There will be 303 reasons to have it :)
The Physcyon update is planned on Feb 15, 2010.
Shioitor, an advanced synthesizer with multilayer architecture and a perfectly emulated warm analog sound, is still in development. It has many more features than originally announced (details will follow soon).
D16 Group has released version 1.2.0 of Decimort, a bitcrusher effect plug-in for Windows and Mac.
The Decimort effect unit is from the SilverLine collection of plugins. It is a premium grade bit crusher. The complex and advanced signal processing algorithms within Decimort simulate the behaviour of the whole sampling path which exists in every AD/DA converter.
Changes in Decimort v1.2.0
Full compatibility with Snow Leopard (Mac OSX 10.6.x).
Filter sections expanded with filter order parameters.
Bank of presets and MIDI CC mapping available at startup can be customised (factory settings, empty slots and user defined files are available).
Recently used load/save directory is now stored within plugin’s ini file.
Presets storing method can be customised.
MIDI learn functionality was improved.
Preset management was improved.
Presets and MIDI CC map file naming was changed regarding to changes in all d16′s plugins. Loading of old files is fully supported.
GUI issues and conflicts occurring during simultaneous work with other D16 plugins – fixed.
VU meters refreshing issues – fixed.
Pop-up menus displaying issues – fixed.
Problems with plugin installed in user defined folders (Mac VST only) – fixed.
Known issues: Due to adding of new parameters some hosts can notify about changes during loading old projects. However it should not cause any problems with them.
Decimort is available to purchase for PC and Mac (VST/AU) for 35 EUR. It is also available in the Total Bundle and SilverLine Collection.
NoiseSoft has released The Reductionist, a free Lofi / Bit Crush effect plug-in for Windows.
An experimental VST effect plug in, lo-fi / bit crush with a single knob designed to downgrade and crush your audio.
Single knob design: - CRUSH: Lowest setting is distorted / overloaded and bit-rate reduced, highest setting is enhanced lo-fi distortion. A very experimental toy to play around with alone, or in combination with other effects.
The Reductionist is available as a freeware VST effect plug-in for Windows PC.
Arduinos are awesome – with one simple controller, you can make almost anything! What new things can you make with Arduino? We've teamed up with the creative folks at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories and the Arduino Team on an Arduino contest to find out.
The rules are simple: to enter you must make a new Instructable that involves the Arduino IDE. You can use any hardware that you like, or none at all. Be sure to provide the code you used so that others can follow in your footsteps. Make something amazing and win a sweet Meggy Jr RGB from Evil Mad Science or an Arduino Mega from the Arduino Team to power your next project!
So what are you waiting for? Document a project you've been meaning to write up, or make something new! We can't wait to see what it is.
Rockstar Games has launched the Beaterator and MySpace Music Challenge, a contest for the recently released music application Beaterator for PSP system. The aim of the Challenge is to highlight emerging artists using the Beaterator platform as a tool for music production. The Challenge winner will receive a cash prize of $5,000!
Artists that are chosen as semi-finalists will have the opportunity to have two songs featured on the Challenge promotion page, where MySpace Music and Rockstar Games fans will be able to check out the competition and vote on their favorite songs. The first song will be your “featured song” — the one that you feel best represents your sound. The second song will be one that you create using Beaterator, which can be an original track, remix, or other song that showcases your use of the Beaterator software. The winning artist or band will receive $5,000, have their winning track featured on the PlayStation®Network – which is visited by millions of PlayStation owners every day, and they will also have the opportunity to be featured on the MySpace homepage.
Beaterator is a music-making application for PSP system that acts as a portable 8-track music studio. In addition to the 3,000 included loops, it features a drum machine, full keyboard, synthesizer and sequencer; as well as the ability to import any sound via either a Memory Stick Duo™ or the PSP system’s built-in microphone. This is a true portable music studio.
Modulate This has turned 4 years old! In year 3 the blog experienced non-linear growth in page views and subscribers.
Congrats, Mark! Love the blog.
If you’ve never checked Modulate This! before make sure you do. This blog on electronic music production and sound design is a wonderful source of articles, videos, downloads etc.
cl516 turns a Studio Electronics Omega 8 into a drum machine.
Rather than play the usual handful of musical hooks, I thought wouldn't it be useful if it was drum loop time.
Well, long gone are my TR-909, TR-808, Machinedrum, Xbase09, MFB-502, and I haven't picked up those D16 plugins yet. So I decided, why not use the Omega 8?
For our sixth instalment, our musical microscope has fallen on drum 'n' bass. This may be a genre that had its big moment in the mainstream more than a decade ago, but it continues to thrive and its influence is felt on the likes of grime, dubstep and ghettotech.
Gijs Gieskes uses the video ram of a Sega as an audio source.
The video ram of the sega gets slowed down by a binary counter, so it can be used as a audio source.
There are 3 oscillators that control a multiplexer, the multiplexer connects 1 out of 8 patch cables to the binary counters input, so there are some nice changing patterns in the sound. Another multiplexer is connected to the same oscillators and makes some extra connections to glitch some more video.
There is a magnetic patch bay for the video ram, and the sega controller on the front can also be connected with magnets or metal wands. The original idea was that the device can be used for drums, buts more a synth.. In another version i will probably build a small sequencer into it..
I will probably mainly use it for exhibitions, it is allot of fun to play with, because you control the sound and the video at the same time.
Orange Tree Samples' official blog will include articles, tutorials, videos, product demonstrations, artist interviews, and much more.
Subjects include everything from tips and tricks for using Orange Tree Samples libraries to instructions on how to create your own sample libraries! "Fresh Squeezed" will also discuss the sample library industry's latest technologies as well as explore sampling in pursuit of greater realism. Hopefully this will prove to be a useful resource for Orange Tree Samples customers as well as sample library users and computer musicians in general.
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