Update details - TONE2 ELECTRA3 VST VSTi AU synthesizer plugin - Tone2 Synthesizers

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New! TONE2 ELECTRA3

The update to v3.x is a giant update that is downward-compatible with all previous versions. All your existing songs and patches can be loaded without any further steps necessary and will benefit from the enhanced sound-quality.
 
 

New features - interface:

  • GUI with 16 different sizes (with and without editor / effects).
  • Native support for WQHD, 4K, 5K and 8K UHD displays.
  • GUI can be scaled from 50% up to 300% by clicking in the lower right corner.
  • Smoother animations and more responisve controls.
  • Support for hardware-acceleration.
  • Ultrasharp graphics with enhanced HiDpi and Retina Display support.
  • The SYNTH button flashes when a layer plays a note.This makes it easier to work with several arpeggiators.
  • Automatic detection of the ideal GUI size.
  • A check-mark shows the last loaded custom-waveform.
  • Online help with tutorial videos.

New features - synthesis:

  • 118 additional patches that make use of the new features. The synth ships with 1439 patches now.
  • The 8Bit noise oscillator can create lo-fi fx sounds from the past.The sound can be changed with PW and the key.
  • Major and minor chords are available as additional key modes for the arpeggiator.
  • The new 'Transient shaper' adds punch and presence to the sounds. It can be accessed in the 'sound mode' selector.
  • The new 'Transient + Bass' mode adds presence and dynamic bass pressure to the sounds.It can be accessed in the 'sound mode' selector.
  • New analog pulse oscillator types : Pulse 1/2, Pulse 2/5, Pulse 1/3, Pulse 1/4, Pulse 1/5, Pulse 1/6, Pulse 1/8.
  • New analog oscillator types with inverted phase : Saw invert, Pulse invert.
  • New analog oscillator types : Impulse, Sine Flip, Comb 2, Comb 3.
  • New reverb-types : Cold, Theater and Hangar.
  • 40 new waveforms for the custom-wave/wavetable oscillators.
  • New bipolar modulation source : "Step LFO/Envelope +-".
  • Monophonic LFOs that re-trigger only with the first pressed key (set the LFO mode to 'Mono').
  • Monophonic STEP LFOs (set the trigger mode to 'Mono loop').

Enhancements - synthesis:

  • The audio-engine now uses 64-bit precision instead of 32-bit, which results in a higher sound-quality.
  • CPU useage has been lowered.
  • Maximum Delay-time has been extended.
  • Enhanced sound of the automatic micro-tuning : A wide range of chords are detected.
  • Replaced 'Reverb Hall' with a better sounding algorithm.
  • Slightly enhanced sound of the Reverb types 'Cathedral', 'Room', 'Infinity', 'Big', 'Glass', 'Plate'.
  • The arpeggiator's Stack-mode has been enhanced and can handle polyphonic input and duplicate notes.
  • Enhanced sound of Unison.
  • Unused matrix slots are cleaned-up automatically after saving patches.

New Multistep-Envelope / LFO (available for each one of the 4 synth-layers):

  • The STEP LFO has been completely rewritten.
  • It can be used as a Multistep Envelope by changing trigger-mode to Envelope.
  • The modulation capabilities of the synth have been extended drastically.
  • Editing and sound-design is more intuitive.
  • A realtime-display visualizes the current shape.
  • The current play-position is shown.
  • Unused parts of the LFO are faded-out.
  • The STEP LFO shape and values are not longer only updated after NoteOn.
  • It offers higher precision timing.
  • It is able to interpolate and sounds a lot smoother.

New Multistep-Envelope / LFO waveforms:

  • Linear to left : Interpoles smoothly to the step located to the left.
  • Cubic to left : Interpolates with a cubic spline.
  • Analog slow : Analog envelope smoothing with low cutoff.
  • Analog medium : Analog envelope smoothing with medium cutoff.
  • Analog fast : Analog envelope smoothing with high cutoff.
  • Analog reverse : Inverted analog envelope.
  • Saw down : The step ramp downwards.
  • Saw up : The step ramps upwards.
  • Triangle : The step ramps upwards and downwards.
  • Triangle 25 % : Sloped triangle.
  • Triangle 75 % : Sloped triangle.
  • Pulse 0 % : The second part of the step is 0.
  • Pulse 50 % : The first part of the step is 0.
  • Decay 1 : Slow analog decay envelope.
  • Decay 2 : Fast analog decay envelope.
  • Attack 1 : Slow analog attack envelope.
  • Attack 2 : Fast analog attack envelope.
  • Sine / 2 : Sine with half frequency.
  • Cosine / 2 : Cosing with half frequency.
  • Sine + -: Bipolar sine.
  • FM Sine : The FM modulated sine is useful for wobbles.
  • FM Square : FM modulated square-wave.
  • FM Saw down : The FM modulated saw is useful for wobbles.
  • FM Saw up : The FM modulated saw is useful for wobbles.
  • Noise : A step with noise.
  • Diffusion : Noisy diffusion between steps.

Enhancements - interface:

  • Completely rewritten GUI code.
  • More beautiful graphics for the LCD displays.
  • The animations of the filter, LFO, waveform and envelope-displays are drastically faster and smoother.
  • More contrast for the knob-handles.
  • Reworked many graphics.
  • LFO waveform display is bigger.
  • Keyboard in patch browser is hidden when editor or effects are hidden.
  • Fine-tuned many coordinates in the interface.
  • Fine-tuned some colors.
  • More immediate control of filter cutoff and parameters.
  • More tooltips with better descriptions.
  • Layers are initialized with a smoothed gate shape.
  • Patch browser can now also be opened by clicking on 'BROWSER' or the display on the upper left.
  • A finger is shown when hovering over 'BROWSER' to indicate that the control is click - able.
  • The interface gets a blue shading when drag & drop modulation is used.
  • When a patch uses the STEP Lfo it is show automatically after loading.
  • The user is warned if he / she selects a GUI size that is too large for the screen.

Enhancements - synthesis:

  • Enhanced sound quality.
  • More precise pitch calculation.
  • Higher precision timing of the LFOs.
  • Enhanced sound of white noise.
  • Enhanced sound of pink noise.
  • Analog oscillators are more in-tune and have more beautiful noise.
  • Step LFO shape and values are not longer updated only on NoteOn.
  • Step LFO is able to interpolate and sounds smoother.

Other enhancements:

  • Enhanced DAW compatibility and stability.
  • Performance optimizations.
  • Smarter detection of the installation path on PC to avoid duplicate installations.
  • All links are now https.
  • A huge number of small enhancements.

Fixes:

  • Fixed an unlikely crash that could happen with switching a patch while playing a chord with micro-tuning.
  • Fixed a rare issue with VST3 on PC running with a desktop zoom > 100%.
  • Fixed a very unlikely crash that could happen when Init is pressed after loading the second patch of a category.


Version 3.2 (free update)

The update to v3.2 is available for free for all v3.0 owners. It is downward compatible with all previous versions. All existing song projects and patches can be loaded without any further steps necessary. They will benfit from the enhanced sound-quality.

New features:

  • 'Fat tune clean' and 'Fat tune soft' make chords sound a lot better.
  • A checkmark shows the currently selected editor size.

Enhancements:

  • The microtuning-range is now limited and can not longer run 'out-of-tune'.
  • The synth 'sits better in the mix' with other instruments.
  • Enhanced stability and robustness.
  • Enhanced GUI performance with drag&drop.
  • The blue shadow that appeared with drag&drop did confuse some users. It was removed.
  • Range-clipping makes the envelopes more stable when extreme modualtion settings are used.
  • Enhanced sound of the 'Analog Heavy' microtuning-mode. Detuning does not longer get too extreme.
  • Enhanced sound of the 'Analog Light' microtuning-mode. Thirds sound more plesant.
  • Enhanced sound of the 'Fat tune soft' microtuning-mode. Thirds sound more plesant.
  • Broken patches with invalid dropdown-menu values get fixed automatically.
  • Enhanced parameter-smoothing.
  • The mousewheel is more responsive with knobs on the Mac.
  • Buggy DAWs can not longer crash the plugin by sending garbage midi-note values.
  • Several small enhancements.

Fixes:

  • The Hypersaw modes with '9x' oscillators could occasionally create a phasing sound on Mac.
  • The microtuning mode 'Fat 1' was not downward compatible and could sound too much detuned.
  • The cursor did only change to modulation-depth-editing when zoom was set to 100%.
  • The gui-size-changer on the bottom-right did not longer work after after the patch-browser had been opened.
  • Fixed some really rarely happening crashes.
  • Fixed a rare crash with IQM that appeared on certain DAWSs on Intel Macs after loading while playing chords.


Version 3.1 beta

Betas are for testing purpose and still can contain bugs. Please contact us if you should experience issues.


Version 2.12.1 beta

Betas are for testing purpose and still can contain bugs. Please contact us if you should experience issues.


Version 2.11.2 (free update for PC and Mac)

The update to v2.11 is available for free for all v2.owners.

New features:

  • Added a VST3 version for Mac (M1 native and Intel).
  • Added a standalone version for Mac (M1 native and Intel).
  • Completely new AudioUnit interface.
  • AU and VST3 version display the layer of the automation parameter.
  • The installer of the PC version automatically detects the path of a previous installation to avoid duplicates.
  • The VST3 version now comes with mousewheel support for all DAWs on PC.

Enhancements:

  • Many small enhancements.

Fixes:

  • Workarounds for many DAWs which did not resize the VST3 plugin properly.
  • Automation in the VST3 version did not work with parameters that were located behind the 10th slot.
  • Workaround for a bug of Ableton and FL Studio which do not properly stick to the AudioUnit2 standard and did not display the AudioUnit.
  • Workaround for a bug of Reaper which did display automation parameters incorrectly.
  • Compatibility fix for Ableton which did not record the automation of knobs from layer2-4 correctly.


Version 2.10.0 beta (free update for PC and Mac)

Betas are for testing purpose and still can contain bugs. Please contact us if you should experience issues.


Version 2.9.5 / 2.9.6 / 2.9.7 beta (free update for Mac)

The update is available for free for all v2.x owners. It adds native Apple M1 ARM support for Mac.

New features:

  • AudioUnit version supports M1 native.
  • VSTi version supports M1 native.
  • Help->'Show version info' displays the mode in which the plugin is running (ARM/Intel).

Enhancements:

  • Much faster loading times on M1 Macs.
  • The native M1 support results in 20% lower CPU use compared to Rosetta2 Mode.
  • More responsive GUI on M1 Macs.
  • More precise graphics for the knobs.
  • Several small enhancements.

Changes:

  • AudioUnit is now an AUv2 plugin.
  • AudioUnit and VSTi are now a Universal Binary for Intel and M1.
  • Minimum macOS version is now 10.11. If you still use an older version you must stick with v2.9.


Version 2.9 (free update)

The update to v2.9 is available for free. It adds a VST3 version and includes several enhancements and fixes.
It is downward compatible with all previous versions. All existing song projects and patches can be loaded without any further steps necessary.

New features:

  • Added a VST3 version (PC).
  • You can select from 3 different installation types (PC): Minimal (VST2 only), Default (VST2 + Standalone) and Full (VST2 + VST3 + Standalone).
  • HiDPI support for the VST3 and Mac.
  • Longer parameter-names with Layer-number for the VST3 version.

Enhancements:

  • Smaller binary and slightly faster loading.
  • More linear frequency respone for very high frequencies.
  • Enhanced oversampling for 44 and 48kHz.
  • More precise timing.
  • More detailed tooltips.
  • It is not longer necessary to reboot MacOS 11 & 12 to detect the AudioUnit.
  • Slightly better performance.
  • Further optimisation to prevent denormalisation.
  • Smarter detection of VST2 path.
  • Several small enhancements.

Fixes:

  • Workaround for some DAWs that did not update the GUI properly after re-sizing it.
  • The VST3 plugin (beta v2.8.5) did not properly sync the BPM-rate.
  • Recording Automation with the VST3 version (beta v2.8.5) did not work in all DAWs.
  • Fixed a possible GUI glitch with the Step-LFO.
  • Better compatibility with MacOS 11 & 12. The effect parameters did not always update and tooltips did not work in Dark Mode.
  • Workaround for several GUI glitches caused by Big Sur.

Changes:

  • The 32 bit version will not longer be updated. If you still depend on it, you can install v 2.8 instead.
  • Updated some links.


Version 2.8 (free update)

The update to v2.8 is a major update, which is available for free. It includes a big GUI with 6 different sizes, enhanced sound, higher performance, new features and lots of improvements. It is downward compatible with all previous versions. All existing song projects and patches can be loaded without any further steps necessary. They will benefit from the enhanced sound-quality.

New features:

  • A big interface is available beside of the normal scale now.
  • It is possible to select from 6 GUI sizes by clicking on 'SIZE'.
  • The plugin detects the screen-resolution and selects the best size automatically.
  • The filter-display, the osc-display, the lfo-display and the envelope-display are animated when automation or Midi-learn is used.
  • Pitchwheel and Modwheel are animated when the patch-browser is visisble.
  • Added Notarisation for the installers on Mac.
  • Support for Code-Signing on the Mac, since new hosts may require it to be able to run plugins.
  • Compatibility with MacOS Catalina.
  • Completely new AudioUnit interface.

Enhacements:

  • The plugin and songs are loading, saving, opening and closing faster.
  • Better compatibility with other plugins.
  • More intuitive handling of sample-loops.
  • Better descriptions for some tool-tips.
  • Many small enhancements for the user-interface.
  • Fixed some typos.
  • More contrast for the pitch-wheel and mod-wheel in the patch-browser.
  • More accurate timing for Midi-events.
  • More accurate processing of Midi-pitchwheel.

Enhanced sound-quality:

  • Slighly enhanced sound of PingPong, Delay and Delay-Diffuse by reducing the detuning.
  • Enhanced sound and default-settings for Delay-Band and Multitap.
  • Enhanced sound and performance of Reverb-Hall and Reverb-Cathedral.
  • Enhanced sound-quality of sample-playback in high octaves.

Changes:

  • 32 bit on Mac is not longer supported. If you still use it, install v2.7 instead.
  • MacOS 10.7 is the minimum requirement now. If you still use 10.6 or 10.5, install v2.7.
  • Windows XP is not longer supported. If you still use it install v2.6 or earlier.

Fixes:

  • Fixed a possible crash.
  • Fixed a possible compatibility-problem with Cubase and FL-Studio where the screen was blank.
  • Workaround for a well-known bug in Apple's AU-manager: It is not longer necessary to reboot the Mac to detect the plugin.


Version 2.7.5 (free update)

This update comes with a completely new standalone-version for PC. It also fixes some problems on PC.
The update to v2.7.5 is available for free and is downward compatible with all previous versions. All existing song projects and patches can be loaded without any further steps necessary.

New features (standalone-version for PC):

  • Added a recorder that can export your jam-session to a wav-file
  • The BPM-rate can be changed
  • Added a soft-clipping-algorithm with low harmonic distortion
  • The current patch can be saved on exit and is reloaded automatically on start
  • MME-driver support
  • Midi-through support with output-routing
  • Added Midi-velocity-curves with multipoint-splines
  • Optional Midi-transposition with up to +-48 semitones
  • Optional Midi-channel-filtering
  • The current BPM-rate, CPU-load and volume is shown on the top-panel
  • Tooltips are shown on the top-panel

Enhancements (standalone-version for PC):

  • Lower latencies for the soundcard drivers
  • More responsive GUI with 120 Hz refresh-rate for smooth knob movements
  • Many further small enhancements

Fixes (PC-version):

  • The synth sometimes did not output sound after loading a project in Cubase. It could occur if a patch with mono/legato was used.
  • The link to the manual in the start-menu did not work.


Version 2.7 (free update)

The update to v2.7 is a major update, which is available for free. It includes new synthesis modes, many additional effects, enhanced sound, improved performance and lots of new features. It is downward compatible with all previous versions. All existing song projects and patches can be loaded without any further steps necessary. They will benefit from the enhanced sound quality.

New features:

  • New effect 'Hyper Unison' which stacks 3,5,7 or 9 voices.
  • New effect 'Haas Effect' which creates the impression of positioning a sound source.
  • New triangular waveshaper 'ShapTri' for the distortion section.
  • New asymmetric waveshaper 'ShapAsy' for the distortion section.
  • New pulsed waveshaper 'ShapPul' for the distortion section.
  • New warping waveshaper 'ShapWar' for the distortion section.
  • New asymmetric waveshaper 'ShapHal' for the distortion section.
  • New zapping waveshaper 'ShapZap' for the distortion section.
  • New symmetric waveshaper 'ShapSym' for the distortion section.
  • New distortion type 'Selfsync' which creates a sub-harmonic sound.
  • New distortion type 'Degrade' which adds mirror-frequencies to the signal.
  • New distortion type 'Noise' which mixes white noise with the signal.
  • New distortion type 'NoiseRM' which ring-modulates the signal with noise.
  • New distortion type 'Scream' with fractal feedback.
  • Added support for *.sfz files. They can be imported with the FILE menu.
  • New sample-oscillator-effect: 'Rectify' distorts a sample.
  • New sample-oscillator-effect: 'Noisify 2' destroys a sample.
  • New sample-oscillator-effect: 'Invert' changes the phase of a sample by 180 degrees.
  • New sample-oscillator-effect: 'Fold' flips the negative amplitude of a sample.
  • Multi-line tooltips for better readability and more detailed descriptions.
  • New microtuning-modes '432Hz -32cent','424Hz -66cent','449Hz +33cent' and '457Hz +66cent'.
  • When multilayer-editing is active the knobs show a red line.
  • Added drag&drop support for multilayer-editing.
  • 'Quick import sample' does generate a new program name automatically.
  • 'Quick import sample' maps the mod-wheel to vibrato automatically.
  • 'Quick import sample' automatically generates a soft velocity mapping to volume.

Enhancements:

  • Patches are loading up to 10x faster.
  • Songs are loading faster.
  • Drastically reduced CPU-load after switching through the patches.
  • Enhanced sound of the 'Shape' waveshaper (20x oversampling & removed a click).
  • Enhanced sound of 'Tube' distortion (10x oversampling).
  • Enhanced sound of 'Soft' distortion (10x oversampling).
  • Enhanced sound of 'Crush' distortion (10x oversampling).
  • Enhanced sound of 'Chorus' and 'Ensemble'. They sound smoother and less detuned.
  • Enhanced sound of 'Delay','Delay Band','PingPong','Multitap','Delay Diffuse' and 'Delay Dual'. The echo sounds less detuned.
  • Better default values for some effects.
  • Enhanced sound of 'Reverb Hall', 'Reverb Cathedral', 'Reverb Big', 'Reverb Plate', 'Reverb Infinity', 'Reverb Glass'. It has a more natural sound with less detuning and the low-end has a more linear frequency response.
  • Plugin editor can be minimized permanently by clicking the EDIT button.
  • More linear frequency response above 14 Khz for 'Loudness' and 'Bright' mode.
  • Enhanced sound, frequency response and phase response of EQ low.
  • PC version is smarter with selecting directories for saving and loading.
  • Useless scroll-bars are not longer shown in the standalone version on PC.
  • Drastically enhanced performance if excessive key-splitting for the oscillators is used.
  • More detailed descriptions for many tooltips.
  • The patch browser does react to midi-program-changes.
  • Parallel and serial filter-routing is easier to set-up.
  • Fine-tuned the coordinates of some controls and texts.

Changes:

  • 'Smart Unison' has been renamed to 'Chorus White'
  • 'Chorus 2' has been renamed to 'Chorus Standard'.
  • Sample effect 'Square' has been renamed to 'Quadrature'.
  • The sinoid-waveshaper 'Shaper' has been renamed to 'ShapSin'.
  • The effect-parameters do not longer contain a '*'.

Fixes:

  • Fixed a compatibility problem with recording automation in some hosts.
  • Fixed a bug with list-selectors on Mac 64bit.
  • The grid of the step-lfo was displayed incorrectly.
  • Workaround for a Cubase-bug which sets the window-size incorrectly after 'save a default preset'.
  • A double-click to the matrix-send-level did not update the modulation-depth-sectors for the knobs properly.
  • Fixed a possible crash which could happen when the plugin is closed while a tooltip is shown.
  • Fixed a bug in the fast-sine-approximation on PC.
  • The check-mark for the patch selector was missing in some hosts after closing and opening the GUI.
  • Key-range for note-filtering was displayed incorrectly.
  • Fixed some typos in the tooltips.
  • Initializing a new patch did not always update the program name correctly.
  • Fixed a rarely appearing crash that could happen when the patches were switched while a track was playing.
  • Fixed a crash that could happen if samples are played back with extremely high pitch.
  • Workaround for a bug of FL Studio on the Mac. A crash could happen if GUI was closed while the browser was open.
  • Fixed a rarely appearing crash on the Mac that could happen when the plugin was deleted while a tooltip was shown.
  • Fixed an unlikely crash on the Mac which happened if the plugin was closed immideately after opening the browser.
  • The ESC key did not work in some hosts.
  • Fixed some GUI glitches in the browser which could appear if very long names are used.


Version 2.6 (free update)

The update to v2.6 is a major update, which is available for free. It includes a better user interface, new synthesis modes, enhanced sound and a large number of new features.
It is downward compatible with all previous versions. All existing song projects and patches can be loaded without any further steps necessary. They will benefit from the enhanced sound quality.

New features:

  • New synthesis mode: Analog oscillators (Saw, Square, Triangle, Sine, Half Sine, Comb, Pulse 25%)
  • New synthesis mode: Soft sync (is active if the target oscillator is analog; works well with triangle)
  • New synthesis mode: Analog pulsewidth modulation (select Analog->'Pulse PW'; PW knob controls the pulsewidth)
  • New effect: 'Gated Reverb' which syncs to the BPM rate
  • New effect: 'Gated Reverb Echo' is Gated Reverb with a delay which syncs to BPM
  • New effect: 'Reverse Reverb'  which syncs to the BPM rate
  • New effect: 'Stereo Width' allows to spread the panorama from mono to surround
  • New effect: 'Laser Punch' adds additional punch. Use it with a sawtooth to gereate a zzapping 'Rubber Bass' sound
  • New effect: 'Stereo flanger'
  • New effect: 'Surround pan' with dolby prologic compatible surround encoding
  • New filter: 'LP Butter' is an analog modeled butterworth filter with 24dB. The analog knob controls the noisyness
  • New filter: 'LP Tone2' is an analog modeled leapfrog filter with 24dB. The analog knob controls non-linearity
  • New filter: 'LP Elliptic' is a digital filter with 40dB slope
  • The patch browser shows a scrollbar if more than 26 categories exist
  • Doubleclick on a knob resets it to the default value
  • Custom waveforms can quickly be selected with the mouswheel
  • Custom Wave->'Random wave' generates a random waveform
  • 'Save Wave' exports a wav file with the oscillator's waveform
  • New Sample effect: 'Phase shifter' creates a very similar sounding sample. It can be used for 'sample clearing', since it makes it difficult to proove the origin of the sample.
  • New halftone mode for the arpeggiator: 3/4 selects a minor or major third which depends on the root key
  • 'Natural scrolling' support for the mousewheel on Mac
  • List selectors now have checkmarks
  • 40 additional patches

Enhancements:

  • Enhanced sound of 'Reverb Hall', especially for for small sizes
  • Enhanced sound of 'Reverb Room' for small sizes
  • Enhanced sound of 'Reverb Cathedral'
  • Slightly enhanced sound of 'Reverb Big' with reduced low frequency rumble
  • Slightly enhanced sound of 'Reverb Infinity' with reduced low frequency rumble
  • A hand symbol is shown for text-style parameters which can be altered with the mouse
  • More detailed description for some tooltips
  • If tooltips are hidden the info boxes for the knobs are also hidden
  • Better default settings for Chorus
  • Better default settings for Ensemble
  • Mousewheel on PC has a more aggressive focus
  • No more clipping in the waveform displays
  • More clean sound of PWM modulation on 'custom wave'
  • Filter frequency response display is more precise
  • Higher precision of triangle, square and saw LFO at high frequencies
  • More linear frequency response of 'Dynamic loud', 'Bright' and 'Loudness'
  • Init->'Reset All' sets Pitchwheel to +-12
  • Cleaned up some tooltips
  • Several small enhancements
  • More smooth looking waveform displays
  • Reworked some 'init patch' templates

Fixes:

  • The timing in 44kHz and 48 kHz samplerate was incorrect
  • One some PC hosts the mouse cursor showed a wait circle when a knob was moved
  • LFO 'Fade' did not work with some waveforms
  • The checkmark 'Multilayer edit' was not shown after closing and opening the GUI
  • Fixed a denormal in the Reverb effect
  • Fixed a click that could be audible when volume envelope sustain was set to 0
  • Monophonic arpeggiators sometimes did not play if keys were hit while loading a patch
  • 'Hold' time in the envelope section was displayed incorrectly
  • LFO speed text did display a mouse up/down arrow on mouseover
  • STEP Lfo speed display was incorrect
  • Modulation depth of knobs could have been incorrect if matrix target was switched

Changes:

  • Text-style parameters do not longer display a "*"


Version 2.5 (free update)

The update to v2.5 is a major update, which is available for free.
It is downward compatible with all previous versions. All existing song projects and patches can be loaded without any further steps necessary. They will benefit from the enhanced sound quality.

New features:

  • Drag & Drop modulation: Drag an envelope or lfo and drop it to a knob to modulate it
  • Right-click on a knob opens a menu where you can assign a massive amount of modulation sources
  • 8 additional delay effects: Wide, Fat, Diffuse, Dual, Tape, Echo, Resonator, Reflections
  • 10 additonal distortion effects: Saturate, Soft clip, Hard clip, Rectify, Bitcrush, Warp, Waveshape, Ripple, Amp Sim, Multiband
  • Stereo sample support for FILE -> 'Quick import sample'
  • Support for 32 bit wav files
  • Support for wav files created by LogicX
  • Support for larger samples
  • Every layer now can play stacked chords. Select 'Stack' in the arpeggiator and choose a chord
  • Every layer now can solve chords , which is useful for subharmonics. Select 'Chord root' in the Arpeggiator
  • New Midi learn algorithm: Right-click on a knob to assign a CC
  • Hovering the mouse over a knob shows the current parameter value and the modulation source
  • Modulation depth control on top left of a knob if a source is assigned
  • Sectors on knobs show the modulation amount
  • A red sector is shown when clipping of modulation occurs
  • 7 new LFO shapes: 'Square %'
  • 6 new LFO shapes: 'Stair'
  • Tooltips are shown when the mouse is hovered over a control
  • Undo/Redo function for sample editor
  • New mod matrix targets "PitchOct", which allow a seamless tuning of +-1 octave
  • FILE -> 'Quick save patch' overwrites the current fxp file with new settings
  • INIT -> 'Clean matrix' removes unused matrix slots
  • COPY -> 'Arpeggiator' copies all arp parameters of the current layer
  • COPY -> 'Step LFO' copies all Step LFO parameters of the current layer
  • PASTE -> 'Arpeggiator' pastes the arp parameters to the current layer
  • PASTE -> 'Step LFO' pastes the Step LFO parameters to the current layer
  • HELP -> 'Show version info'
  • HELP -> 'Download updates'
  • More available halftones for the arpeggiator
  • 49 new patches (NewSoundsV2.5)

Enhancements:

  • Drastically enhanced sound quality of frequencies over 10Khz
  • More linear frequency response
  • More punchy volume envelope
  • Enhanced sound of most reverb types
  • More inituitive parameter names for automation
  • Patch rankings are written immideately on change
  • Slightly enhanced sound quality for very large samples
  • Enhanced sound of FM
  • Enhanced sound of Sync
  • Higher precision of high frequencies for Wavetable oscillator
  • Higher precision of high frequencies for Custom Wave osciallator
  • More linear frequency response for fractal oscillators
  • Optimized performance and sound of hypersaw oscillators
  • Enhanced sound of distortion
  • Enhanced sound of the filters on high cutoff and resonance levels
  • Enhanced sound of the effects
  • No more missing frequencies above 13 kHz
  • More smart algorithm for the microtuning
  • Rearranged FILE menu
  • More precise knobs
  • Slightly less RAM required
  • Enhanced some graphics
  • More high-end frequencies for 'dynamic loud' mode
  • More precise LFOs
  • Enhanced sound of the Multitap delay by adding a low cut filter
  • Enhanced sound of the PingPong delay by adding a low cut filter
  • Activation dialog is now also available in German
  • More intuitive handling of sample markers
  • Various small enhancements

Fixes:

  • Workaround for a bug in Orion, which caused a crash on scrolling through the automation parameters
  • The volume of the first 1ms of a song render could have been to low
  • Aliaser was detuned in 96kHz
  • Midi learn did not work on layer 2-4
  • Fixed a compatibility problem when knob circular mode was selected in some hosts
  • Fixed a bug in loudness, which did not sound right
  • Autotuning samples does not longer reset the halftone settings of the osc

Changes (just cosmetical):

  • Renamed "Bass boost" mode to "Analog boost"
  • Renamed "Reverb Band" to "Reverb Plate"


Vesrion 2.1 (free update)

The update is free and downward compatible with v2.0.

New Ultrasaw oscillators (PW controls detuning):

  • 4 new oscs 'Hypersaw Vir 3x-9x' which can sound like the Hypersaw of the Virus
  • New osc 'Supersaw JP' which has been inspired by the famous JP 8000
  • New osc 'Supersaw clean' (same as above, but without disharmonic aliasing)
  • New osc 'Supernoise' with a lush and creamy sound
  • New osc 'Hypersquare 9x' with 9 detuned squarewaves
  • New osc 'Hypernoise 9x' with a lush and creamy sound

New effects:

  • Vocoder Pro is a high-end vocoder with 20 bands. The design is inspired by the legendary EMS 3000.
  • Vocoder SVC has been inspired by the famous SVC 350.

New features:

  • The effect parameters of all 4 insert effects can be modulated with the matrix. This can be used to create very unique sounds. Please note that not all possible routings make sense.
  • Additional matrix target 'FX Mix' controls the dry/wet level of the insert effect
  • Additional matrix targets 'FX Par1-4' control the effect parameters
  • The new sound mode 'scientific' turns the synth into a precise signal generator
  • The new sound mode 'LowCut 140Hz' cleans up the mix by removing low frequencies from Pads, Keys and Leads
  • The new sound mode 'HighCut analog' simulates the muffled sound of analog synths and cleans up the mix by removing high frequencies from bass sounds.
  • Additional patches which use the Supersaw OSCs: v2.1 now ships with 1240 sounds
  • 236 additional waveforms

Enhanced sound:

  • The Vocoder effect has been replaced by an enhanced one
  • Smart oversampling of the existing Ultrasaw osciallators
  • More linear frequency response
  • Replaced 'Reverb Hall' and 'Reverb Room' with better sounding algorithms
  • High frequencies of 'Delay' and 'PingPong' effect

Enhanced GUI & interface:

  • Mousewheel support for patch browser
  • Better performance when patch browser is open
  • Midi CC assignments are shown on top of the knobs
  • Midi learn is more intuitive to use (right click on a knob)
  • Menus are not longer closed automatically after 10 seconds
  • Display of the new Ultrasaw oscs shows spread
  • Switching synthesis mode does auto-set PW to a useful value

Further enhancements:

  • Reduced RAM use by 30%. This allows to load 4 additional instances in 32 bit mode.
  • Faster loading of patches.
  • Reduced CPU use on patch loading.

Bug fixes:

  • Fixed a problem with the LFO sync in song mode which could appear in some hosts
  • Fixed a rarely appearing crash after loading a patch and then selecting 'init'->'reset all'
  • Fixed a problem with saving the midi learn configuration when several instances were opened and closed at the same time
  • Fixed a possible GUI glitch after loading a patch
  • Fixed a possible crash which could happen with some very old hosts
  • Fixed a problem that could happen if tone was routed in the matrix
  • Background grid of step lfo was not displayed correctly
  • Fixed a bug in 'Loudness' where high frequencies were boosted in a slightly incorrect way
  • Dialog box was opened twice if a double click was used to load a wav to osc

Changes:

  • Renamed 'Loudness' to 'Dynamic loud'
  • Renamed 'Bass boost' to 'Dynamic bass'
  • Renamed 'Analog' to 'Bass boost'
  • Renamed 'Psychoacoust.' to 'Loudness'


Vesrion 2.0

The synth is 100% downward compatible with the previous version. It completely replaces ElectraX and you will be able to load your old songs and patches.

Upgrade summary:

  • Over 700 additional patches with over 1500 sounds
  • Completely reworked all factory sounds
  • Comfortable patch browser
  • Sample editor
  • Physical modeling synthesis
  • 16 new effects
  • 5 new filters
  • 236 additional waveforms
  • Enhanced sound quality
  • New graphics
  • Better user interface
  • Enhanced performance
  • A huge number of further new features and enhancements
  • The synth is downward compatible with the previous version

New features - effects:

  • "Smart Unison" creates the sound of several detuned stereo voices with very low CPU demands
  • "Phaser FB" is a great sounding phaser with feedback
  • "Phaser Stereo" is stereo phaser with a vocalic sound
  • "Vibrato" detunes the sound with an LFO
  • "Vibrato stereo" can be used instead of chorus if a tight timing is needed
  • "Tremolo" modulates the amplitude with an LFO
  • "Tremolo stereo" add stereo panning to the sound
  • "Reverb Infinity" has an infinitely long reverb tail (great for Pads, FX and Ambient tracks)
  • "Reverb Big" simulates a huge room with lots of diffusion
  • "Reverb Glass" simulates a bright room which absorbs low frequencies
  • "Reverb Band" simulates a room which absorbs low and high frequencies
  • "Reverb Real" simulates a realistic room
  • "Loudness" equalizes the non-linearities of the human ear, offers a more fat sound and raises the perceived volume.
  • "Bass boost" equalizes the non-liearities of the human ear in the low frequency range, offers a more fat sound and raises the perceived volume.

New filters:

  • "Vocals 2" is a vocal filter. Cutoff controls to vocal (AEIOU) and reso the formant frequency
  • "Vocal AM" is a vocalic sounding filter with amplitude modulation
  • "LP AM" is a lowpass with amplitude modulation
  • "BP Boobs" is a double bandpass filter. Reso controls the peak distance
  • "M Shape" is a lowpass and a highpass in series. Reso controls the bandwidth

New synthesis method - Physical Modelling Synthesis:

  • New resonator: Filter->"Phys String" simulates a plucked string. "Cutoff" controls tuning, "Reso" controls damping and "Analog" controls decay.
  • New resonator: Filter->"Phys Flute" simulates a blown tube. "Cutoff" controls tuning, "Reso" controls damping and "Analog" controls decay.
  • New oszillator: Noise->Pink is usefull for general purpose and plucked string simulation.
  • New template: Init->"Create patch: PhysicalGuitar" initializes a Physical Modelling default patch.
  • New template: Init->"Create patch: PhysicalFlute" initializes a Physical Modelling default patch.

New features - user interface:

  • Added a comfortable patch browser with a keyboard which can be opened by clicking 'BROWS'
  • Added mouseover support: Parameter values are displayed when mouse is hovered over them
  • Midi learn support by right-click on a knob
  • Edit multiple layers simuntaniously with copy->"Multilayer edit"
  • Help->"Online video tutorial"
  • Init->"Reset all" is a new button to reset all parameters t o default value
  • Init->"Reset synth arpeggiator" is a new button to reset the arpeggiator
  • File->"Save synth layer 1-4 to patch" saves a single layer
  • Information and tags about the current patch is shown in 'info' tab of the patch browser
  • Added support for a skinable user interface
  • Sample loop/marker can be edited by clicking and moving the mouse on the wave display
  • Sample window shows loop/marker start and end as dotted lines
  • Hotkeys "F1","F2","F3","F4" to switch the synth layer (if the host supports it)  
  • Hotkey "ESC", a panic button, kills all currently played notes

New features - sample editing:

  • Sample->Edit->"Autotune" automatically tunes the sample
  • Sample->Edit->"Crossloop" automatically loops the sample with a crossblend
  • Sample->Edit->"Export as wav" stores the sample content to a wav file
  • Sample->Edit->"Reverse" makes the sample play backwards
  • Sample->Edit->"Volume" maximizes the sample volume without clipping it
  • Sample->Edit->"Volume +6dB" doubles the sample volume with clipping
  • Sample->Edit->"Volume -6dB" lowers the sample volume
  • Sample->Edit->"Fade in" fades the selected area in
  • Sample->Edit->"Fade out" fades the selected area out
  • Sample->Edit->"Silence" mutes the selected area
  • Sample->Edit->"Trim" cuts everything but the selected area
  • Sample->Edit->"Cut" removes the selected area
  • Sample->Edit->"Tube saturate" applies soft tube saturation to the sample
  • Sample->Edit->"Differenciate" makes the sample sound more bright
  • Sample->Edit->"Square" doubles all frequencies
  • Sample->Edit->"Sinoid shaper" is a soft waveshaper
  • Sample->Edit->"Alias" makes the sample sound like an old sampler
  • Sample->Edit->"Crush" is a digital vintage effect reduces the bitdepth of the sample
  • Sample->Edit->"Selfsync" applies aoft selfsyncronisation to the sample
  • Sample->Edit->"Remove DC" removes DC from the sample
  • Sample->Edit->"Noisify" fills the envelope of the sample with noise
  • Sample->Edit->"Loop all" resets the loop points
  • Sample->Edit->"Loop to 100%" sets the loop points
  • Sample->Edit->"Tune C5 44100Hz" sets sample tuning to a C5 sampled at 44.1Khz samplerate
  • Sample->Edit->"Tune C5 96000Hz" sets sample tuning to a C5 sampled at 96Khz samplerate

Enhancements - sound quality:

  • Psychoacoustic processing has been redesigned. It offers a more transparent sound, a higher perceived volume and more dynamic expression.
  • "Fat tune" has a much smarter microtuning algorithm. It delivers more harmonic and transparent chords.
  • 6 point splines for ultrahigh precision sample playback
  • Very high frequencies sound more transparent.
  • "Reverb Hall" and "Reverb Cathedral" have a more open sound, less flutter and less detuning.
  • "Delay" was extended with a subsonic filter which results in a more transparent mix
  • "Multitap" sounds less out-of-tune
  • "Flanger" has a triangle LFO now.
  • "Analog" drift is more subtle and delivers a more harmonic sound.
  • Resynthesis of wavetables gives better results
  • Higher precision LFOs
  • Replaced "Reverb Cathedral" with a better sounding one. The original one is still available as "Reverb Cathedral old".
  • Replaced "Reverb Hall" with a better sounding one. The original one is still available as "Reverb Hall old".
  • Replaced "Psychoacoust." with a better sounding algorithm called "Loudness". The old one is still available.
  • Replaced "Analog sound" with a better sounding algorithm called "Bass boost". The old one is still available.
  • "Quick import vocoder" results in a better patch

Enhancements - user interface:

  • New skins
  • Effects are more easy to use, since good default values are choosen automatically
  • Init->"Reset synth layer" has been enhanced and gives better results
  • When samples are loaded a dialog box "Autotune Yes/No?" appears
  • High precision knob value editing by pressing shift + left mousebutton
  • Popup menus and are more comfortable and faster to use
  • Popup menus on PC waste less space and close automatically after 10 seconds
  • More responsive GUI
  • Octave and semi are not longer changed after sample loading if no tuning info was found
  • Wavetable->Resynthesis automatically sets pulsewidth to 0
  • List selectors like waveforms can now be quick selected with the mousewheel in a more relieable way
  • About page can be shown directly from help menu
  • Lists with two rows have been replaced with more comfortable click selectors
  • New installers for PC
  • New standalone versions for PC
  • Category is syncronized after saving patches
  • On start the default category is ActionSequence with 0Welcome.fxp
  • Higher precision positioning of elements
  • Mousewheel support for arpeggiator slots (if host supports it)

Further new features and enhancements:

  • New playmode "Polyphonic 1" which is suitable for punchy bass sounds
  • 3 additional unipolar LFOs as matrix sources ("LFO1+,LFO2+,LFO3+")
  • 17 additional sine LFOs as matrix sources ("Sine 1/64 Hz",...)
  • Arpeggiator has a new autochord "Chord D" (0,+1octave,+1ocave+third,+1octave+fifth)
  • Arpeggiator has a new autochord "Chord E" (0,+fifth,+1octave,+1octave+third,+1octave+fifth,+2octaves,+2octaves+third,+2octaves+fifth)
  • Arpeggiator has a new autochord "Fifth A" (0,+fifth)
  • Arpeggiator has a new autochord "Fifth B" (0,+fifth,+1octave)
  • Arpeggiator has a new autochord "Fifth C" (0,+fifth,+1octave,+1octave+fifth)
  • Arpeggiator has a new autochord "Third A" (0,+third)
  • Arpeggiator has a new autochord "Third B" (0,+third,+1octave)
  • Arpeggiator has a new autochord "Third C" (0,+1octave,+1octave+third)
  • Arpeggiator has a new autochord "Third D" (0,+third,+1octave,+1octaves+third)
  • Less demo restrictions
  • Lower CPU if Reverb or Flanger is used
  • Lower CPU for GUI
  • Better host compatibility
  • More responsive GUI
  • Better overall performance
  • More robustness

Changes:

  • Renamed synthesis mode 'Virtual Analog' to 'Wavetable'
  • Renamed synthesis mode 'Wavetable' to 'Custom Wave'
  • Renamed Lfo mode 'Global' to 'Song'
  • Renamed Lfo mode 'Voice' to 'Trigger'
  • Renamed Step Lfo mode 'Free' to 'Song'
  • Renemaed Step Lfo mode 'Retrigger' to 'Trigger'
 
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