Free microtonal synth for Mac

For the benefit of Mac users: the Vogue Quattro free standalone microtonal MIDI synthesizer is available for download at the URL below (Intel only).

This synth is endowed with a scale-relative pitch-bend: you can adjust its pitch-bend wheel range in scale steps instead of cents, whatever the tuning scale used (possibly the most natural and practical way of defining the pitch-bend range a musician would expect).

This is not an AU plugin but a standalone instrument, so you won't need any other piece of software to play it; if required, you can re-route its audio output through Soundflower and record it with GarageBand and other audio sequencers.

Features:

- four-voice polyphonic PCM synthesizer
- three oscillators per voice, each endowed with square wave sub-oscillator (1 or 2 octaves lower)
- true monophonic mode (plays three voices at unison, nine oscillators in total)
- 88 raw waveforms including white noise
- single LFO with 6 waveforms
- ring modulator
- easy-access modulation matrix
- scale-relative pitch-bend (self-adapting to tuning scale steps with microtonal precision)
- 64 factory preset programs
- receives MIDI tuning standard SysEx messages
- compatible with Max Magic Microtuner mtx tuning files
- includes library of 3,000+ tuning files

Direct download URL (4.7 MB):
http://tinyurl.com/2ucyfem

Website:
/16tone/

Regards,
Victor

Hi Victor,

- four-voice polyphonic PCM synthesizer
> - three oscillators per voice, each endowed with square wave sub-oscillator
> (1 or 2 octaves lower)
> - true monophonic mode (plays three voices at unison, nine oscillators in
> total)
> - 88 raw waveforms including white noise
> - single LFO with 6 waveforms
> - ring modulator
> - easy-access modulation matrix
> - scale-relative pitch-bend (self-adapting to tuning scale steps with
> microtonal precision)
> - 64 factory preset programs
> - receives MIDI tuning standard SysEx messages
> - compatible with Max Magic Microtuner mtx tuning files
> - includes library of 3,000+ tuning files
>
> Direct download URL (4.7 MB):
> http://tinyurl.com/2ucyfem
>
> Website:
> /16tone/
>
> Regards,
> Victor
>

This sound really great!
However.. pleeeeaase tell me there will be a windows version too.
I'm dying for a synth like this that receives MIDI tuning standard sysex
messages!
Btw on other thing, why is the polyphony limited to 4 voices?

Marcel

> windows version

Not in the pipeline for the moment.

> Btw on other thing, why is the polyphony limited to 4 voices?

Well, this is the free version... ;->

Cheers,
Victor

Hi Victor,

> windows version
>
> Not in the pipeline for the moment.
>
>
> > Btw on other thing, why is the polyphony limited to 4 voices?
>
> Well, this is the free version... ;->
>

Aah I get it :)
If you ever do make a windows version please make another anouncement on
this list and I'll buy.
Good luck with the synth.

Cheers,
Marcel

This is a fantastic little toy, very powerful and versatile! I'll
definitely be playing around with it for new musics. If only SCALA
compatibility was added...

Oz.

✩ ✩ ✩
www.ozanyarman.com

On May 1, 2010, at 8:17 PM, victorcerullo wrote:

> For the benefit of Mac users: the Vogue Quattro free standalone
> microtonal MIDI synthesizer is available for download at the URL
> below (Intel only).
>
> This synth is endowed with a scale-relative pitch-bend: you can
> adjust its pitch-bend wheel range in scale steps instead of cents,
> whatever the tuning scale used (possibly the most natural and
> practical way of defining the pitch-bend range a musician would
> expect).
>
> This is not an AU plugin but a standalone instrument, so you won't
> need any other piece of software to play it; if required, you can re-
> route its audio output through Soundflower and record it with
> GarageBand and other audio sequencers.
>
> Features:
>
> - four-voice polyphonic PCM synthesizer
> - three oscillators per voice, each endowed with square wave sub-
> oscillator (1 or 2 octaves lower)
> - true monophonic mode (plays three voices at unison, nine
> oscillators in total)
> - 88 raw waveforms including white noise
> - single LFO with 6 waveforms
> - ring modulator
> - easy-access modulation matrix
> - scale-relative pitch-bend (self-adapting to tuning scale steps
> with microtonal precision)
> - 64 factory preset programs
> - receives MIDI tuning standard SysEx messages
> - compatible with Max Magic Microtuner mtx tuning files
> - includes library of 3,000+ tuning files
>
> Direct download URL (4.7 MB):
> http://tinyurl.com/2ucyfem
>
> Website:
> /16tone/
>
> Regards,
> Victor
>

>
> This is a fantastic little toy, very powerful and versatile! I'll
> definitely be playing around with it for new musics. If only SCALA
> compatibility was added...
>
> Oz.
>
> ✩ ✩ ✩
> www.ozanyarman.com
>

Oz, it supports MIDI Tuning Standard.
This means you should be able to simply send it any scale you want with
Scala.
You must connect Scala to Vogue Quattro free by MIDI with a virtual MIDI
cable (don't know how this works on MAC)
Further, if it has fully implemented the MIDI Tuning Standard, you can
retune in real time with Scala by selectecting "Realtime MIDI Tuning
Standard" instead of "pitch bends" in the Scala MIDI Relay window.
MIDI Tuning Standard is really a much nicer way of doing things that Scala
scale support.

Marcel

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Marcel de Velde <m.develde@...> wrote:

> Further, if it has fully implemented the MIDI Tuning Standard, you can
> retune in real time with Scala by selectecting "Realtime MIDI Tuning
> Standard" instead of "pitch bends" in the Scala MIDI Relay window.
> MIDI Tuning Standard is really a much nicer way of doing things that Scala
> scale support.

Best would be if the synth supports mapping instruments to midi program numbers and can render an MTS midi file with these mapped program numbers. Does anyone know of a softsynth which employs this dead obvious idea?

This looks interesting, because I have a friend who has wanted to try Bohlen-Pierce since January, he uses a Mac and was never able to get Scala to work for him. He also lacked any retunable synths in his arsenal.

So this looks like a good introduction to microtonality for my friend. Only problem is, I'm a windows user, and I won't be able to give him any advice for how to set up the tuning. That's why I have a couple of questions before I recommend this (really cool looking) software to him.

(1) Does this free synthesiser load the mtx tuning files mentioned on the home page?
(2) Is there an equally-tempered Bohlen-Pierce mtx tuning file available for download?
(3) Can I produce an mtx file without an Apple computer?

Cheers... This would help a lot - I may be able to recruit 1 more person to xenharmonics with this. :)

Sean

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, "victorcerullo" <newmoog@...> wrote:
>
> For the benefit of Mac users: the Vogue Quattro free standalone microtonal MIDI synthesizer is available for download at the URL below (Intel only).
>
> This synth is endowed with a scale-relative pitch-bend: you can adjust its pitch-bend wheel range in scale steps instead of cents, whatever the tuning scale used (possibly the most natural and practical way of defining the pitch-bend range a musician would expect).
>
> This is not an AU plugin but a standalone instrument, so you won't need any other piece of software to play it; if required, you can re-route its audio output through Soundflower and record it with GarageBand and other audio sequencers.
>
> Features:
>
> - four-voice polyphonic PCM synthesizer
> - three oscillators per voice, each endowed with square wave sub-oscillator (1 or 2 octaves lower)
> - true monophonic mode (plays three voices at unison, nine oscillators in total)
> - 88 raw waveforms including white noise
> - single LFO with 6 waveforms
> - ring modulator
> - easy-access modulation matrix
> - scale-relative pitch-bend (self-adapting to tuning scale steps with microtonal precision)
> - 64 factory preset programs
> - receives MIDI tuning standard SysEx messages
> - compatible with Max Magic Microtuner mtx tuning files
> - includes library of 3,000+ tuning files
>
> Direct download URL (4.7 MB):
> http://tinyurl.com/2ucyfem
>
> Website:
> /16tone/
>
> Regards,
> Victor
>

Hi Gene,

> Further, if it has fully implemented the MIDI Tuning Standard, you can
> > retune in real time with Scala by selectecting "Realtime MIDI Tuning
> > Standard" instead of "pitch bends" in the Scala MIDI Relay window.
> > MIDI Tuning Standard is really a much nicer way of doing things that
> Scala
> > scale support.
>
> Best would be if the synth supports mapping instruments to midi program
> numbers and can render an MTS midi file with these mapped program numbers.
> Does anyone know of a softsynth which employs this dead obvious idea?

The only one I know of is Timidity++
It's a soundfont player.

Agreed fully btw that this is the best way to go.
I'm actually a bit sick of all the synths that support only Scala (or some
other format) tuning files.
While for decades? the MIDI Tuning Standard specifications have been
available and are part of the basic MIDI specs!
Perhaps a good idea would be to set up a website and petition to promote
implementing the MIDI Tuning Standard in soft and hardware synths?
I've felt the urge to do so for a quite a while now.

Marcel

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Marcel de Velde <m.develde@...> wrote:

> Perhaps a good idea would be to set up a website and petition to promote
> implementing the MIDI Tuning Standard in soft and hardware synths?
> I've felt the urge to do so for a quite a while now.

We had to do some prodding to get Timidity to support MTS, so this might be a plan. But what about the other half of my question--softsynths that support mapping midi instruments so that they can render midi files?

Sean,

see answers below.

> (1) Does this free synthesiser load the mtx tuning files mentioned on the home page? --> Yes.

> (2) Is there an equally-tempered Bohlen-Pierce mtx tuning file available for download? --> Yes, it comes with a library of 3,000 mtx files converted from the Scala archive which includes a Bohlen-Pierce ET.

> (3) Can I produce an mtx file without an Apple computer? --> Yes, they're plain text files; just follow the syntax described here:

http://homepage.mac.com/cerullo/.Public/mtx_file_specs.htm

For example, a Bohlen-Pierce ET can be represented as follows:

// Tuning scale: Bohlen-Pierce ET
// Created by: Sean
@60
:intervals
261.6255653006
284.69629459617

Regards,
Victor