Soft Synths (was: help please help me)

In-Reply-To: <3A1055C1.DD182ED6@cats.ucsc.edu>
merlyn wrote:

> yes, that's what i mean: any sample may be increased or decreased from
> 1 to 100 � beyond its
> original pitch, giving a total fine tuning resolution of 200 � or 2
> equally tempered
> semitones. the rough tuning range is + or - 48 semitones.
>
> you can download a demo from:
>
> www.bitheadz.com

This is the Unity DS-1 he's talking about. It looks pretty cool. Good
for those who can afford it and not Kyma. I'm not sure I need and can
afford both, as there's a big overlap. But the writeup is very inspiring.

Yes, I know, +/- 100 cents isn't perfect, but it's a lot better than
nothing. And, given it's all software, they might improve it if
registered users ask them.

Does anybody else have news on tunable soft synths? The latest VAZ+ demo
I have says it supports tuning tables, but the example wasn't where it
should be. So has anybody got it working? Otherwise, it is very good at
what it does, and cheap.

The other thing I'm interested in is Gigasampler. It looks like it
certainly should support tuning tables, given it's so into "realism", but
I can't see them on the feature list.

Or, more generally, does anybody know of good, Free soft synths that could
be altered to support tuning tables?

Graham

On Tue, 14 Nov 2000 graham@microtonal.co.uk wrote:

> Or, more generally, does anybody know of good, Free soft synths that could
> be altered to support tuning tables?

The ultimate "good, free soft synth" is CSound. Since it is entirely
user-programmable, it can handle tuning tables easily. I don't know about
the Mac or Linux, but there is a version available for Windows PCs that,
given a fast enough PC and a simple enough synthesis algorithm, can
generate music in real time with low latency using Microsoft's DirectSound
interface.

Speaking of "good not-free" synths, I just ordered something I have wanted
literally for 25 years, which finally exists! I am getting a Yamaha WX5
woodwind controller and VL70-m physical modelling sound generator. My
intent is to use all possible combinations of controller, computer and
sound generator microtonally. Stay tuned :-)

--
znmeb@teleport.com (M. Edward Borasky) http://www.teleport.com/~znmeb

Cold lefrover pizza: it's not just for breakfast any more!

In-Reply-To: <Pine.GSO.4.10.10011140847140.13986-100000@user2.teleport.com>
> > Or, more generally, does anybody know of good, Free soft synths that
> > could be altered to support tuning tables?
>
> The ultimate "good, free soft synth" is CSound. Since it is entirely
> user-programmable, it can handle tuning tables easily. I don't know
> about
> the Mac or Linux, but there is a version available for Windows PCs that,
> given a fast enough PC and a simple enough synthesis algorithm, can
> generate music in real time with low latency using Microsoft's
> DirectSound
> interface.

How's the real time interface getting on? I downloaded a Linux front-end
a while back and it looked really primitive. Along with not working right
because I didn't have ALSA working. If I could get CSound working easily
as a normal MIDI Synth on Windows that would definitely be worth looking
at. The general idea of spending all that money on Kyma was to save the
time and effort it'd take to learn CSound properly.

Jmax is another thing I downloaded a while back but didn't get working.

While we're almost on the subject, do any DirectSound compatible
soundcards support tuning tables?

> Speaking of "good not-free" synths, I just ordered something I have
> wanted
> literally for 25 years, which finally exists! I am getting a Yamaha WX5
> woodwind controller and VL70-m physical modelling sound generator. My
> intent is to use all possible combinations of controller, computer and
> sound generator microtonally. Stay tuned :-)

I wasn't aware the VL series supported tuning tables. But sure enough,
they're on John Loffink's list.

Graham

i forgot to mention that the Unity also has tuning tables!

you can't import tuning tables, but you can edit them manually (note by note).

-b

On Tue, 14 Nov 2000 graham@microtonal.co.uk wrote:

> How's the real time interface getting on? I downloaded a Linux front-end
> a while back and it looked really primitive. Along with not working right
> because I didn't have ALSA working. If I could get CSound working easily
> as a normal MIDI Synth on Windows that would definitely be worth looking
> at. The general idea of spending all that money on Kyma was to save the
> time and effort it'd take to learn CSound properly.

The "state of the art" with Intel/Windows multimedia is probably always
going to be an order of magnitude slower than special-purpose hardware
like the Kyma. Barry Vercoe (CSound's originator) has worked with ANalog
Devices for a number of years on porting to their DSP chips, but I don't
know if anything commercial exists or if you have to buy the chips and do
your own hardware integration. THis setup is covered on one of the CD-ROMS
in "The CSound Book". WIndows is not and never will be a real-time OS. My
friends at Forth, Inc. make a very nice Windows FOrth that can do some
impressive things, but there are still mysterious pauses while Windows
does its thing. I haven't played with NT or Win2K at all to see if it's
any better.

> I wasn't aware the VL series supported tuning tables. But sure enough,
> they're on John Loffink's list.

I don't remember whether I checked this or not; the WX5 has a manual pitch
bend control on it and my plan was to re-tune on the fly by passing MIDI
through a computer on its way from the WX5 to the VL70-m. Tuning tables
would be a big plus. The VL70-m looks quite programmable; they have
something called an "Expert Editor" that lets you get down and personal
with the hardware, although the typical musician probably won't be able to
do anything useful with it. What wasn't clear to me from the manual was
how monophonic the VL70-m is. There are some hooks for polyphony, although
it is clearly sold as a monophonic device. I am a flute player, and I am
pretty much useless on a standard keyboard. As I said before, I have
wanted a synthesizer that I could play like a flute; indeed some 27 years
or so ago I sketched an analog device that could in fact do that, although
I never built it.

--
znmeb@teleport.com (M. Edward Borasky) http://www.teleport.com/~znmeb

I brought my inner child to "Take Your Child To Work Day."