|
|
view screenshot in full size |
Straightliner is a straight-lined subtractive synthesizer in a modern guise. You will find the well known building blocks of classic analog synthesizers (4 oscillators, a filter, 2 envelope generators) patched together in the traditional way. What sets it apart from the sheer mass of other subtractive (also often called virtual analog) synthesizers is, that it does not attempt to emulate analog synthesizers with all their physically imposed limitations. Instead, Straightliner takes full advantage of the extended possibilities that sofware based synthesis offers: Instead of relying on a set of fixed waveforms, Straightliner's oscillators support loading of arbitrary (single cycle) audio files which may be even stereo. Mono waveforms can be stereoized inside the synth itself by manipulations of the phase spectrum and by detuning left and right channel. In turn, the whole signal path is laid out in stereo. The standard ADSR model for envelopes is replaced by a flexible modulation generator which allows to define an arbitrary number of breakpoints. The heart of subtractive synthesizers is the filter. In this department, Straightliner offers a multimode filter with various modes, among them the usual suspects like lowpass, highpass, bandpass and a sophisticated Moog-filter model but also several other interesting types. The user interface of the synth focuses on visual editors instead of the commonly seen hardware oriented interfaces. These visual editors don't just sketch the resulting curves but exactly represent what is being generated in a what you see is what you get manner.
...all well and good, but by far the most important aspect of a synthesizer is its sound, of course. I produced some democlips which were created by Straightliner only, playing one patch at a time without any post-processing. You may verify this yourself by reconstructing the demos with the StraightlinerDemoClipReconstructionPack.zip. It comprises the required MIDI files which you may import into you favourite DAW, then route the MIDI-track to Straightliner and load the appropriate patch into the synth. Most patches are factory-presets and in the other cases, the patch-file is also included in the reconstruction pack.
Let's start with some cliche-sounds - although Straightliner does not really define itself as virtual analog, it can convincingly deliver that type of sound - here are a few examples of Straightliner doing some typical dance/trance stuff:
002-SuperSaw1.mp3
TranceStabs.mp3
The multistage envelope generators can be used to create gated/patternized sounds:
050-TranceVoice.mp3
TrancyPattern.mp3
O.K. 'nuff trance-stuff - what else is there? Another popular and often requested sound is that squelchy acid bass as pioneered by Roland's famous TB-303. Here's Straightliner's interpretation of that kind of sound:
004-AcidPulse.mp3
how about a little bit of 1980's-Pop flavour:
001-80sSynthLead.mp3
018-SawLead2.mp3
and for those who are into the darker shades of electronic music:
016-NotchySuperSaw.mp3
019-SawLead3.mp3
042-SynthBass2.mp3
after all the (in my humble opinion, well deserved) hype around supersaws, hypersaws and whateversaws, what's next? Straightliner, with its four stereo-detunable oscillators (which essentially establish eight oscillators due to the stereo detune), can turn any waveform or any combination of up to four waveforms into a 'superwave'. Using a waveform which itself consists of a bunch of sawtooths at various octaves, i made a sound that i called MegaGigaTeraSaw - with a grain of irony, obviously:
MegaGigaTeraSaw.mp3
virtually every musical genre needs bass-sounds, so let's see how Straightliner performs in that realm:
VariousBasses.mp3
background sounds are also an important ingredient to many styles - here are some smooth pad-sounds and a not so smooth drone:
025-AnalogStrings.mp3
030-AnalogishPad.mp3
037-SynthiDrone.mp3
ah, and who said that subtractive synthesis is good only for 'virtual analog' sounds? Let's hear some virtual acoustic sounds:
031-ChurchBell.mp3
023-ChurchOrgan1.mp3
028-BrassSection.mp3
006-NylonGuitar.mp3
011-HarpsiPiano.mp3
i saved the best for the last - to present a piano-patch there's probably no better way than Beethoven's masterpiece 'Fuer Elise'. Because i'm a crap piano/keyboard player myself, i took some free MIDI file from the web. Unfortunately, i don't have any background info for this file, so if you are the performer and feel it is inappropriate to use it here, simply drop me an email. With all respect to the unknown performer (and to the composer as well, of course), here's the whole piece in full length - lean back, relax and enjoy:
Beethoven-FuerElise-BalladesquePiano.mp3
Download a demo version of Straightliner here:
Download Straightliner (Windows/VST)
The demo version has the following restrictions:
To turn the demo version into a full version, you will need to purchase a license file. The price for the license is 89 Euro. To proceed to the end user license agreement and purchase a license file, click here
To keep the download size of the synth small, the archive above contains only those waveforms that are required to load the presets and a few more. A more comprehensive library of waveforms (several thousands of them) can be downloaded here: CyclePack.zip. These are all single cycle waveforms which were either created by myself or taken from resources that were released under the Creative Commons License. The whole pack is released under this license as well. To use these waveforms, drop the archive into Straightliner's Samples folder (which should sit in the same directory as the .dll) and extract the archive directly there (right-click -> extract here).
Have Fun!
|
EchoLab is a plugin for creating a wide variety of delay and echo effects. It provides an arbitrary number of delaylines each of which may have feedback, may be placed independently in the stereo panorama and may be switched into 'ping-pong' mode (which means alternating panorama positions for successive echos). Moreover, each delayline has two filters associated with it - one sitting in its input path, the other one sitting in its feedback path. These filters themselves are made up from a series connection of an arbitrary number of stages and the frequency response of each such stage can be chosen from 8 different characteristics. Given that architecture, EchoLab allows for utmost flexibility in setting up rhythmic, filtered echo-patterns which form an essential ingredient in many styles of electronic music.
Download a demo version of EchoLab here:
Download EchoLab (Windows/VST)
The demo version has the following restrictions:
To turn the demo version into a full version, you will need to purchase a license file. The price for the license is 39 Euro if you purchase before 1st september 2009 (introductory offer) and will be 59 Euro thereafter (regular price). To proceed to the end user license agreement and purchase a license file, click here