[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

New free synth plugin:

'Example track made only using Asper synth with no additional external effect except some equalizing and volume maximizing.'

Frozen Heart (Asper) by TrojakEW (soundcloud.com)

'Experimental synth combining wave table, subtractive, phase distortion and physical modeling for sound generation. Idea was to add humanization to the sound on oscillator level in order to simulate behavior of real world instrument where each hit is different.'

Asper by zOne.sk - Synthesiser Plugin VST VST3 (kvraudio.com)

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Bought this recently (AI synthesized voice, neural network trained on the vocalist who sang as Elsa in the Chinese version of Frozen---trained on her singing English and Chinese songs, though her cross-lingual Japanese sounds really good to my (ignorant) ears):

[Malankazooie]

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Malankazooie, on 07 August 2022 - 07:42 PM, said:

One of the comments on that video: 'ArchieBonkers
3 days ago

I bought one off this dude and brought it home, only to find out it's made in china. Little speaker device that runs on those tiny batteries'''

However, the whistles can sound like the ones in the video just from water tipping from one chamber to another inside them (no speakers or batteries), which is apparently one of the ancient Incan methods (the other being blowing into them). Unless the commenter is just making shit up (with a handle like 'ArchieBonkers' that certainly seems plausible), it's possible they got it from some scammer (not the guy in the video), probably non-Peruvian.

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 07 August 2022 - 08:39 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Thinking of buying this while it's still on sale for $29 (usually $179, can be resold for $15 transfer fee, comes with free Audiothing Texture granular reverb plugin):





Love the patch at 5:38 (Drifter).

'The most famous and probably the most popular hardware FM synthesizer was the Yamaha DX7. Unlike past analog synths from the 1970s, the DX7 was a digital 16-voice synth with six operators. An operator (quick overview here) has an oscillator with the amplitude controlled by an envelope. The operator's output can be fed into another operator. The frequency of the first operator would modulate the other operator's pitch. The DX7 operators were in various configurations called algorithms which could create a wide range of sounds. [...]

F.'em is definitely not an ordinary FM synth. It features 11 operators (eight wave operators, two multisample operators and one Noise operator). There are no set-in-stone algorithms, and it can utilize up to four layers. Basically you're able to send any operator into another operator. Every operator has an LFO for pitch and level and each has its own pitch and level envelopes. The wave operators have hard sync and include various waveforms (some of them are from the TX81Z) besides the standard sine waveform within the classic DX7. With the two multisample operators you can use your own sample sources or select from the choices that Tracktion has included. On top of this, even the multisample operators and noise operator can use FM with the other operators. F.'em has two filters with overdrive that can be set to series or parallel. There are two Flow LFOs with editable shapes, modulation matrix (up to 200 entries), envelopes with up to 32 stages (can also be set to loop), modifier matrix with up to 32 algorithms, macros, X/Y pads, a resizable display, powerful arpeggiator and effects.

F.'em is 64-bit, requires a host/DAW to run and is available in most popular formats. PCs will need Windows 8 (or higher). Macs will need macOS 10.11 (or higher).'

It's also MPE, which essentially means it can be played with polyphonic pitch bend / pressure / timbre / release velocity (+ velocity / 'Strike' = '5D touch'). Though I don't think any of the presets are specifically optimized for use with the Seaboard, unlike Roli synths... so as a Seaboard player I usually find it more convenient to just use Roli (or the rare non-Roli virtual instrument that has presets specifically for the Seaboard). Too bad that free synth isn't MPE compatible (as opposed to some other recent free synths, like open-source Surge, or top-rated Vital (though the free version of Vital only comes with limited number presets and limit of 5 of text-to-speech wavetables per day)).

I have their Biotek 2 synth, which does have MPE support, but I rarely use it. (Idea behind it is supposedly to turn nature sounds into synth sounds and use complexity to simulate organicism. I was hoping more for playable nature sounds (thunderclaps or crashing waves as drums, or birdsong or animal calls tuned to standard Western scales, etc.); unfortunately the nature sounds are either treated more like background noise or not really recognizable.) Their new granular synth Novum is definitely on my to-buy list though, once the price comes down (maybe for Black Friday)....





Audiothing Texture: 'Texture is a granular reverb plugin with pitch shifting and mid/side processing capabilities. It is perfect for generating drones, soundscapes, and huge cinematic textures in just a few clicks.'

I'm leaning towards passing though (for now...). I think Equator2, Synthmaster 2, Lion, and Cypher2 have me pretty well covered for FM synthesis (and the Equator2 and Cypher2 presets are optimized for the Seaboard), even if F'em takes it to new levels (of complexity... I'd have to spend time learning, when I could be learning (or at least tweaking) other things...). F'em is also supposed to be very cpu intensive for a synth, and my laptop's about four years old. Looks like the free trial lasts 90 days.)

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 09 August 2022 - 02:56 PM

[Tiste Simeon]

New The Mars Volta album coming! Rejoice!

https://www.rollings...-vigil-1393175/

[Maark Abbott]

Azath Vitr (D, on 06 August 2022 - 09:55 PM, said:

New free synth plugin:

'Example track made only using Asper synth with no additional external effect except some equalizing and volume maximizing.'
Frozen Heart (Asper) by TrojakEW (soundcloud.com)

'Experimental synth combining wave table, subtractive, phase distortion and physical modeling for sound generation. Idea was to add humanization to the sound on oscillator level in order to simulate behavior of real world instrument where each hit is different.'

Asper by zOne.sk - Synthesiser Plugin VST VST3 (kvraudio.com)

Considering I want to go back to my old darksynth project, this is mint. Thanks!

[Serenity]

New fleufleu single, "Voice"

[Malankazooie]

Matches my mood this morning.

A few years old but I discovered this artist via an independent rag I check out every now and again. Any of you guys familiar with the artist? If not, you're welcome. I like it.

[worry]

I watched the movie & 2 new episodes of Beavis & Butt-head (they were pretty good) and it reminded me that for some reason Helms Alee Kickstartered a new music video this year for an old song (from their 2011 album), and it's an 80s/90s nostalgia fest including references to B&B and a bunch of music videos. I dunno why they did it, but they did it, and it's pretty fun so I guess that's a good enough reason.




Anyway, they also did put out a new album this year too that I finally listened to, and it's very good if you like their kinda thing. This video does feature a blurry butt, if you're sensitive to that.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Synth patch expansion packs for F'em I'm considering while they're on sale:

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

More synth presets I'm considering while they're on sale:



(Prophet 5 emulation: 'Every detail of the original was captured using component-level modelling technology to create the most authentic model possible. All the subtle characteristics and quirks found in the originals are present in Repro.')




(Prophet 1 emulation, same process)

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 14 August 2022 - 12:08 PM

[Serenity]

Justin "The Darkness" Hawkins hearing BAND-MAID for the first time





It made me smile because "DICE" was not just the first of their songs that I heard, but the first song I heard by any Japanese band (apart from Vow Wow back in the 80s) and pretty much single-handedly sent me down this rabbit hole, almost three years ago now

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

New virtual instrument I'm considering:




I already have Drums of War 1 which I love (though tbh I haven't used it much in songs so far... still it's fun to play):

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 16 August 2022 - 08:30 PM

[Serenity]

New WagakkiBand Their latest album, Vocaloid Zanmai 2, is out today

[QuickTidal]

Here is the new MV from Itzy's main single from their latest album, which I like a lot.



But this is the song from said new album I like best by far. SO CATCHY.

[Serenity]

One of my favourite releases so far this year, "OH HEY" by Hitsujibungaku and LUCY, finally got an official MV

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Two songs from a soon to be released EP by a friend of mine:



Song:

You Cannot Kill What's Already Dead | Tomorrows Forgotten Relics (bandcamp.com)

Lyrics and album art derived from AI generated text and images.

(Spoilered for image size)

Spoiler

'The military looked at the bombers that had returned from enemy territory. They recorded where those planes had taken the most damage. [...] Naturally, the commanders wanted to put the thicker protection where they could clearly see the most damage, where the holes clustered. [...]

[...] The holes showed where a bomber could be shot and still survive the flight home, [...] After all, here they were, holes and all. It was the planes that weren't there that needed extra protection, and they had needed it in places that these planes had not.

[...] The military had the best data available at the time, and the stakes could not have been higher, yet the top commanders still failed to see the flaws in their logic. [...]

Simply put, survivorship bias is your tendency to focus on survivors instead of whatever you would call a non-survivor depending on the situation. Sometimes that means you tend to focus on the living instead of the dead, or on winners instead of losers, or on successes instead of failures. [...] the military focused on the planes that made it home and almost made a terrible decision because they ignored the ones that got shot down.'

Survivorship Bias

'"I am the punishment of God…If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you."

If they win, if you suffered, God willed it. This sort of survivorship bias is common, and like most biases, hard to actually extricate ourselves from. But we should at least recognize that success is hardly a form of moral proof — succeeding is not a moral victory, not succeeding is not a sign of moral bankruptcy, feeling righteous is no indicator of being right — and most important of all, moral values have no bearing on what happens in the world unless a form of power is used to make it happen, which still doesn't make it right. It just makes it what happened. [...]

[...] Progressive-humanism is very much like the view of evolution that puts man at the top. As myths go, this framing is understandable, it is after all very hard for us to avoid anthropomorphization, and we might consider Feuerbach's formulation of God here in The Essence of Christianity — it is nothing more than humans writing themselves large, upon a world out there which in reality has little concern for what we have to say.'

Thoughts On Progress. There's little way of knowing that what…

Song:

Survivorship Bias | Tomorrows Forgotten Relics (bandcamp.com)

Spoiler

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Two more (software) synths I'm considering:



This one's on sale for $10:

[Malankazooie]

Awesome! The Linda Lindas did an Amoeba "what's in my bag" appearance.



For such young punk rock girls they sure do have some solid cred. I knew they would have some excellent selections, but if you didn't know anything about them, based on how young they are, most would guess they'd pull something out by MGK or Olivia Rodrigo. Rock on, punk rock chicks!

Oh yeah, if you go to the video tab, a few episodes ago, Laszlo the vampire from WWDITS gives his picks (the actor of course, you silly familiars : -))