G-Stomper Sneak peek at the upcoming Synthesizer

Questions and Discussions about the G-Stomper VA-Beast Synthesizer
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planet-h
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G-Stomper Sneak peek at the upcoming Synthesizer

Postby planet-h » Wed Sep 25, 2013 10:18 am

Hi there
As some of you may already know ... I'm working on a synthesizer to be integrated in G-Stomper Beat Studio.

There are still lot of things to do, but the core is finished now and it works fine on a galaxy nexus dual core. After these first tests it's nailed, the synth will be released in the planned form. It'll not be a module for slow devices, but those with the required power will be rewarded ;). Since there isn't any GUI yet I can't publish any screenshots yet, but I'll post some as soon as possible.

Here is the first info how it's laid out:

2 oscillator assemblies, each has 6 waveforms:
saw, pulse, triangle, sine, noise, dual sine
The dual sine is an assembly of 2 sines (where the secondary is pitched one octave higher).

Every waveform can be shaped with its own shape algorithm:
saw: can be morphed from sawtooth to pulse
pulse: adjustable pulse width
triangle: as more shape as more get the peaks cut off (more timbre)
sine: can be morphed from sine to saw(approximated)
noise: adjustable noise color
dual sine: as more shape as more gets the secondary sine mixed in

Ever waveform can be synchronized:
In this special case, every waveform has a secondary (inner) sync sine aboard, which is responsible to sync the main waveform: Furthermore in sync mode the shape amount controls the main waveforms pitch (rather than the waveform shape). This will create the typical sync sounds known from many synthesizers.
In sync mode the dual sine waveform has its own behavior, the first sine modulates the second using frequency modulation (rather than syncing the waveform).

Modulation between the 2 oscillator assemblies:
Dist RM, Dist, Filter FM, FM, Diff FM, RM

Distortion RingModulation:
A special modulation type to create very unique and raw sounds. It's a combination of amplitude/ring modulation and distortion. The modulation signal is generated by a third (hidden) oscillator assembly whose pitch gets controlled by the modulation amount. This modulation signal modulates the output of osc1 and osc2 (depending on the osc mix setting)

Distortion:
Passes the the output of osc1 and osc2 (depending on the osc mix setting) through an overdrive distortion.

Filter FM:
Yes, of course there are filters (at least 7 types, maybe more). Using Filter FM means that osc2 modulates the filter cutoff frequency (controlled by the modulation amount). Filter FM creates a wide range of sounds from weird effects to crazy resonant sounds.

FM and differential FM:
The FM setup features two types of frequency modulation: FM and differential FM.
The difference between FM and DFM is as followed: In DFM the modulated frequency range is the same in all tone frequencies, which means in other words, it's easier to control than normal FM and the results are usually tonal playable all over the keyboard range. FM on the other side is rawer and creates brighter sounds. Since everything is implemented as phaseFM (at least in the default setup), almost every FM sounds are tonal playable.
In FM and DFM, osc1 is the carrier and osc2 is the modulator.
The combination of FM/DFM with the dual sine waveforms is very powerful. Using dual sines on both oscillator assemblies turns the synth in a 4 operator FM engine, which allows to create very complex FM sounds.
As already mentioned, the base FM setup is implemented as phaseFM (like in DX7) which is the easiest to control. Additionally the FM framework supports log+FM, log-/+FM, lin+FM, lin-/+FM; all of these additional modes produce sounds that are not usually tonal playable, but they're very useful for effect sounds.

RingModulation:
Ringmodulation is typically used to create disharmonic and metallic or bell-like sounds. Also in RM, osc2 is the modulator and osc1 the carrier.

LFOs:
The setup contains 3 LFOs (having the usual waveforms: triangle, saw, reversed saw, pulse, random, smooth random).
Each LFO has its own level and can be assigned to one of the following parameters: osc modulation amount, osc mix, volume, panorama, osc1 shape, osc2 shape, osc1+2 shape, osc1 frequency, osc2 frequency, osc1+2 frequency, filter cutoff, filter resonance.
The lfos are not 100% finished yet, so there'll be more about these later.
And of course there's a vibrato in addition to the LFOs.

Envelopes:
These are not finished yet. But there will be at least 2 adsr envelopes, once for the amplification and one for the filter cutoff, maybe a third simple attack decay envelope to be assigned like the LFOs.

Integration in G-Stomper:
It'll be most likely a new additional sequencer module, but it's not decided yet in detail. The first release of the synth will be a standalone app, just to play around with, or generate samples. Once this is done, it'll be integrated in G-Stomper Beat Studio.

So that's it for now. If you have any feedback, suggestions or ideas for things I've missed so far, feel free to post.
R 1772
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Re: G-Stomper Sneak peek at the upcoming Synthesizer

Postby R 1772 » Wed Sep 25, 2013 2:53 pm

Hi Andreas,

very interesting News. The FM-Feature is very promising too, because FM-sounds are still very special and suitable for electronic music. Sometimes they seem to be a bit harsh, but basses and pianos cut very well through the mix:-).

Another interesting feature is the vibrato option. Is it like in old tracker sounds (especially with saw waves)?

You had written that the standalone version can generate samples. You mean samples that can be used as an Instrument in G-Stomper or other samplers?.

Regards.

R 1772
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planet-h
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Re: G-Stomper Sneak peek at the upcoming Synthesizer

Postby planet-h » Wed Sep 25, 2013 4:28 pm

Hey R 1771
Thank you for your feedback.

R 1772 wrote:very interesting News. The FM-Feature is very promising too, because FM-sounds are still very special and suitable for electronic music. Sometimes they seem to be a bit harsh, but basses and pianos cut very well through the mix:-).


That's true, FM sounds can be harsh. Therefore I've integrated the Differential FM as well, which is much easier to control. It produces sounds with less timbre than normal FM, pretty simple to work with, and... those are tonal playable all over the octaves. In other words, these will sound the same in all tones.

R 1772 wrote:You had written that the standalone version can generate samples. You mean samples that can be used as an Instrument in G-Stomper or other samplers?


It's not defined yet in what form the export will be, but for sure it'll support the same formats as G-Stomper. It'll export wav from 8-32bit, 22kHz+44.1kHz, mono or stereo. And of course these samples can be used in G-Stomper. And on the other hand, the Synthesizer will be integrated in G-Stomper anyway, so you can use it directly as well (but this will still take a while;) )

Andreas
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planet-h
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Re: G-Stomper Sneak peek at the upcoming Synthesizer

Postby planet-h » Mon Sep 30, 2013 6:36 am

Dauex
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Re: G-Stomper Sneak peek at the upcoming Synthesizer

Postby Dauex » Tue Oct 01, 2013 12:32 pm

Back in the day I had a DX 100 [DX 7 was out of my price range]. That was back in the day before everyone thought that their patch was worth a million so there were lists of patches published to share. Will we [those of us that think we may have found something interesting but not worth a million] be able to post samples here?
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planet-h
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Re: G-Stomper Sneak peek at the upcoming Synthesizer

Postby planet-h » Tue Oct 01, 2013 1:37 pm

Yes, of course. You'll be able to export and share your presets.
I think I'll create a new sub forum for that, something like Synth presets.

If you want to share audio samples, you can use the sample packs forum.
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planet-h
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Re: G-Stomper Sneak peek at the upcoming Synthesizer

Postby planet-h » Fri Oct 04, 2013 12:07 pm

After a lot of performance tuning the synth runs smooth on a galaxy nexus (dual-core), which is not a very powerful device.
The test patch used 4 oscillators, 2 of them frequency modulated by each other, + modulation amount controlled by 2 AD envelopes and and an LFO.
Furthermore the patch used an 12dB Lowpass filter, controlled by an ADSR envelope + a second ADSR env for the ampliphication.
So far I was able to play chords on a onscreen piano roll with 4 voices and a latency of 39ms without problems.
So all looks good to go further...

Here are the latest news about the Envelopes:
There will be 2 ADSR envelopes, one for the ampliphication and one for the filter cutoff.
Furthermore 2 AD (can be switched to AHD) envelopes, assignable in the same way as the LFOs.

Totally you'll get 3 LFOs + 4 envelopes, which is a lot of modulation ;)
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planet-h
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Re: G-Stomper Sneak peek at the upcoming Synthesizer

Postby planet-h » Wed Oct 09, 2013 8:56 am

Hi there
Here are the latest news for the upcoming synth:

The synth engine is completed and it's exactly what I wanted it to be, a really powerful tool with almost endless possibilities for the creative soul.

The latest addons in the synth engine:

  • A third Oscillator, simple noise generator, which can be added to the osc mix. This is very useful to add some breath noise in the attack phase of simulated wind instruments.
  • All LFOs + assignable AD/AHR envelopes will be invertable
  • All LFOs can be used as Envelopes (single cycle mode)
  • A chord mem feature which allows you to map a chord (instead of a single not) to each piano key
  • A glide function to allow smooth changes between the notes instead of just changing them

So the final task is the GUI now.
If everything goes right, the first test-ready pre-release of the standalone synth will be finished approximately in the second half of november.
Offaksis
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Re: G-Stomper Sneak peek at the upcoming Synthesizer

Postby Offaksis » Thu Oct 10, 2013 12:41 pm

This is gona be a sweeeet addition to an already awesome product!
Thanks for all the hard work Andreas!!
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planet-h
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Re: G-Stomper Sneak peek at the upcoming Synthesizer

Postby planet-h » Sat Oct 12, 2013 10:07 am

Thank you Offaksis.
It'll be definitely the most important update since G-Stomper 1.0. The synthesizer is actually that big and versatile that it'll make G-Stomper to a complete new application. Even if there's no gui yet, I'm already addicted to play around with the different sounds and I can't await to give out the first betas in November.

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