Dialog Audio has announced the release of version 2.0 of Modulation Processor, an advanced update to the audio plugin primarily designed for synchronizing and modulating hardware synthesizer parameters within a DAW.
Version 2.0 includes two new plugin formats: AUi and AU MIDI FX. Other updates includes SysEx checksum calculation, a new X-Fader module for crossfading between signals, save & load functionality within the plugin, a new sequence module to integrate the upcoming SQ4 Sequence Processor, and more.
Launched last year to widespread critical acclaim — “MP3244 is the missing link to synchronise all of your analogue and modular synthesizers to a host application,” announced a suitably impressed commentator, the modular structure of the plug-in question allows adventurous users to create miscellaneous modulations that can then be sent to any synthesizer parameter or other audio hardware. However, depending on any given user’s audio hardware setup, several connection possibilities are available when working with MP3244 — MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) input-endowed equipment can be controlled via MIDI CC (Continuous Controller) messages or MIDI SysEx (System Exclusive) messages, while an audio interface (if DC-coupled) or a MIDI-to- CV converter can be pressed into play for audio gear that can be controlled via CV (control voltage).
The modular structure of MP3244 allows users to precisely tailor modulation signals to specific hardware setups, giving owners of those setups the freedom to flawlessly integrate their classic or modular synths into their DAW environment — with all the convenience of tempo and host synchronisation that is now expected from plug-ins, in other words, while MP3244 can also be used to modulate software synthesizers and audio plug-ins directly within a DAW to provide extended modulation possibilities.
To partly paraphrase another popular song — one that has been named one of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century by National Public Radio — that has stood the test of time, MP3244’s raison d’être remains… same as it ever was — but better! Indeed, it has come a long way since starting out as a novel way of fulfilling a very specific need: “Needing to get a filter to modulate synchronised via SysEx from a host application was the basic idea behind its development,” divulges Dialog Audio founder Julian McDole.
Changes in MP3244 v2.0
- AU (Audio Unit) instrument format added.
- AU MIDI FX format added (for Apple Logic users to easily load the plug-in within an external modulation track to modulate MIDI CC and SysEx gear).
- MIDI CC and SysEx value output range can be set manually (to fit the value range of the receiving device — from 0 to 100, for example).
- Support for SysEx checksum calculation added (to control synthesizers requiring a checksum to handle messages via one of three methods — normal, which sends the seven least significant bits of the calculated sum; complement, which subtracts the seven least significant bits of the sum from 128 for use with some Roland synths, for example; and XOR, a bitwise Exclusive OR on all parts of the sum).
- Save and load presets from directly within MP3244.
- LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) Ratio option added for custom RATE control (such as 7/8).
- New X-FADER module added (allows users to mix and fade between two signals, the output of which can be controlled via a control signal).
- Advanced integration with Sequencer Processor (SQ4) — Dialog Audio’s upcoming tool for modulating audio gear parameters with a sequencer approach, as implied by name — to load the partner plug-in within MP3244 to enable even more modulation signal options.
- General UI (user interface) improvements.
The latest version Modulation Processor 3244 for Windows and Mac (VST/AU/AAX) is available for $49 USD (including VAT).
More information: Dialog Audio / Modulation Processor 3244
