Spectra Additive ReSynthesizer is out!!!

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Creativemind
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12 Mar 2018

That's a hefty amount of patch sounds it has. Sounds lovely too.

Phase Saw NRS Pad sounded lush. Could seriously make use of that.
:reason:

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Faastwalker
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12 Mar 2018

This looks awesome. The GUI is perfect. It looks very deep & complex. But the video series that accompanies the release is so detailed & well made with every aspect covered – it’s like a lecture for Spectra! Has there ever been a more comprehensive & detailed video series to go with a synth? I don’t think so. Well done to the developer for taking the time to make the video series. It’s fantastic to have this resource to help learn the synth. It’s effectively a video manual & a very professionally made one as well.

Must admit I was sceptical about Spectra. It looked great. But I commented elsewhere that it’s got its work cut out in a nicely populated RE shop, with no shortage of excellent synths + with VST support to compete with. My scepticism has been quashed I’d say. This is a fantastic addition to the RE shop with all boxes ticked, very professional presentation all round, a deep & complex synth that really draws you in, amazing video series & a fantastic price. Spot on. Well done to the developer ;-)

synthetechsound
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12 Mar 2018

Faastwalker wrote:
12 Mar 2018
But the video series that accompanies the release is so detailed & well made with every aspect covered – it’s like a lecture for Spectra! Has there ever been a more comprehensive & detailed video series to go with a synth? I don’t think so. Well done to the developer for taking the time to make the video series. It’s fantastic to have this resource to help learn the synth. It’s effectively a video manual & a very professionally made one as well.
This is really good feedback and I really appreciate it. I was really concerned that the videos were too over-simplified. I was also concerned about using my own voice for the voice overs. I guess no-one really likes their own voice.

There is also a video on the Analyser which for some reason caused problems on the app store page so I was unable to add it. You can find it here. (I hope this helps)


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Faastwalker
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13 Mar 2018

synthetechsound wrote:
12 Mar 2018
This is really good feedback and I really appreciate it. I was really concerned that the videos were too over-simplified. I was also concerned about using my own voice for the voice overs. I guess no-one really likes their own voice.
Really? I thought they were very detailed. Looks like from the videos uploaded there's about 1:30 minutes of video in total (including a 10 minute patch preview). Plenty of detail there for sure. I'm the same with videos & my own voice. Freaks me out if I get an echo on a phone call & can hear myself! I thought the videos sounded very professional to be honest.

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MannequinRaces
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13 Mar 2018

With the amount of videos, and sample songs, this is an excellent marketing effort. I wish more RE developers took the time to this before releasing things. So many devices with lacking videos and not making sample songs or launching with a very thin patch count.

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Loque
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13 Mar 2018

The manual is really great. Cant wait to try out more this evening, especially how the re-synthesis stuff works and how this additive synth works together with Resonans.

The pretty amzing thing i already figured out is the delay/attack change through the spectrum, which is a phase-offset for each harmonic and this creates interesting stereo fx. I must check if this can be manipulated/modulated somehow.

I whish i actually had more time. This synth needs really time to discover the possibilities and figure out how to use it properly.

And wow...this thing can draw also its own waveforms beside loading and sampling (also its own output) and resynthesize them. I am curious how good this works with some of my wavetables i use in eXpanse. Seriously, the features are just sick :thumbs_up:
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scratchnsnifff
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13 Mar 2018

If you don't mind me asking - how difficult is this to program?

I've gone through the videos and product description .pdf and the possibilities are overwhelming to say the least, but I'm wondering if it's not too complex for its own good? I mean it's great we can edit almost anything - waveforms, spectrums, filers, etc. - to the smallest detail, but I imagine in the end small changes have even smaller impact on the overall sound. I guess, from normal user's point of view, the best middle-ground approach is to provide him/her with handful of pre-defined options, that will yield distinctively different results, achieving some sort of compromise between depth and accessibility.

Or maybe I'm completely off-base here and I should be more than happy sticking with provided factory waveforms, spectrums & filters of which there seems to be quite a generous number? Considering I can use external samples or input, flexible LFOs and MSEGs, this alone seems like unlimited source of creative possibilities? So in a way it's like Europa, in a sense that it provides multiple waveforms, modulators and filters, but goes a step - or huge jump - further, allowing us to fiddle with all of it, if we ever wanted to?

Lastly, in terms of the synthesis method, is this similar - but I think much more capable - to LinPlug's Spectral or Dmitry Sches' Thorn?
[/quote]

Go to the spectrum sequence tab
Add in a couple spectra, click the modulated box so you can route an LFO to have a wavetable like sound

The spectral sequence I believe is under the left hand side modulators of the oscillators
Mayor of plucktown :evil:

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NaviRetlav
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13 Mar 2018

scratchnsnifff wrote:
13 Mar 2018
If you don't mind me asking - how difficult is this to program?
As main sound designer for this synth I can answer that it's not that complicated as it might look.
I had a ton of fun working with it, and it's way easier than programming FM synths.
There might be a few areas where you could read the manual to fully understood how the most advanced features work like sequencing filters, but in most cases you won't even need them and you can get the great core sound with just a few knob twists.
In worst scenario you can always study the patches that I made :)

Probably it will be best if you just run the trial and check the synth and patches on your own, this should help you answer most of your questions.

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Reasonistas
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13 Mar 2018

Congratulations on this incredible accomplishment! Spectra is a great synth.
ImageImageImage

mataya

13 Mar 2018

I did not expect it to be that cool. And no effects on it? Wow! I'll probably buy it when I see Lectric Panda's refill for it. :)
Presets are so cool. Congratulations.

M

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NaviRetlav
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13 Mar 2018

mataya wrote:
13 Mar 2018
I did not expect it to be that cool. And no effects on it? Wow! I'll probably buy it when I see Lectric Panda's refill for it. :)
Presets are so cool. Congratulations.

M
Quick tip about the effects:
Most of them can be created in the synth engine with way better ( or unique ) sound than regular FX section could be.
For example if you want some distortion , use wave morphing features
If you need delay, use amp envelope, you can add 16 env points which is more than enough to create the "delay like" textures on release.
Similar thing can be done for getting the reverb, and I did a lot of patches that abuse the amp env in that way.
Chorus and phasing also can be done there, and there is a ton of unique possibilities with the filters section, especially using the cascade comb's or all-pass tricks.

After all if you still need a bit more effects, you can make a combinator and use the external ones which I almost always do anyway on my own projects. :)

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Loque
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14 Mar 2018

NaviRetlav wrote:
13 Mar 2018
mataya wrote:
13 Mar 2018
I did not expect it to be that cool. And no effects on it? Wow! I'll probably buy it when I see Lectric Panda's refill for it. :)
Presets are so cool. Congratulations.

M
Quick tip about the effects:
Most of them can be created in the synth engine with way better ( or unique ) sound than regular FX section could be.
For example if you want some distortion , use wave morphing features
If you need delay, use amp envelope, you can add 16 env points which is more than enough to create the "delay like" textures on release.
Similar thing can be done for getting the reverb, and I did a lot of patches that abuse the amp env in that way.
Chorus and phasing also can be done there, and there is a ton of unique possibilities with the filters section, especially using the cascade comb's or all-pass tricks.

After all if you still need a bit more effects, you can make a combinator and use the external ones which I almost always do anyway on my own projects. :)
Please send me the handbook for that fx stuff...
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mataya

14 Mar 2018

NaviRetlav wrote:
13 Mar 2018
mataya wrote:
13 Mar 2018
I did not expect it to be that cool. And no effects on it? Wow! I'll probably buy it when I see Lectric Panda's refill for it. :)
Presets are so cool. Congratulations.

M
Quick tip about the effects:
Most of them can be created in the synth engine with way better ( or unique ) sound than regular FX section could be.
For example if you want some distortion , use wave morphing features
If you need delay, use amp envelope, you can add 16 env points which is more than enough to create the "delay like" textures on release.
Similar thing can be done for getting the reverb, and I did a lot of patches that abuse the amp env in that way.
Chorus and phasing also can be done there, and there is a ton of unique possibilities with the filters section, especially using the cascade comb's or all-pass tricks.

After all if you still need a bit more effects, you can make a combinator and use the external ones which I almost always do anyway on my own projects. :)
I understand what you're talking about and it is a bit refreshing to see a synth without a dedicated fx engine. I don't mind a delay on a synth, but it seems like it pushes you to dig deeper into synth if it lacks one...that is, until you just decide to throw a DDL1 in the chain. :) It really depends on how much time you want to spend on designing a sound. A lot of my ideas are born just by randomizing stuff and not knowing what's going to happen. And I'm happy like that too.

tx
M

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TritoneAddiction
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14 Mar 2018

I kind of like the fact that it doesn't have any effects included. There's enough stuff in it already and most of the time you want to add your own favorite effects anyway.

antic604

14 Mar 2018

What's the DSP hit of Spectra in a range between Subtractor and Expanse?

dhruan
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14 Mar 2018

I kind of prefer the modular approach of having no in-device FX but using external ones instead. The FX that I prefer have a distinct sonic character or are "unique" functionality wise so I tend to default using those. Of course when you have extremely good staple FX or unique ones on the device itself (like on Antidote, Predator or Revival) you of course use them (and with audio pass through use them elsewhere too as FX units, for example I love Predator's Waveshaper).
soundcloud.com/armsgrade

synthetechsound
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14 Mar 2018

antic604 wrote:
14 Mar 2018
What's the DSP hit of Spectra in a range between Subtractor and Expanse?
I've noticed you've asked this a few times so I'll have a go at answering. Note I'm the developer but I'm not into marketing so I'm going to give it to you as straight as I can, but ymmv.

The simple answer is yes. It is somewhere between those and in some situations may rival the performance of Expanse. In my experience and with my negligible sound programming skills I often create patches which perform pretty closely in line with the really cool synth "Quad".

The complicated answer is this. Performance depends on the number of features you use, how you use them and the number of notes or voices in the part being played. There are a few things which ramp up the cpu in Spectra (as they would in any synth). They are

1. Unison. 1,2 and 4 voices of unison have no additional CPU hit but I really wanted to be able to have 8 (per generator). Using 6 and/or 8 will increase the CPU.

2. Long Release times. One of the sound designers requested 26 second release times! ( the dsp developers nightmare). Using long release times (on top of the features listed hear will certainly drive up the cpu). Note: I implemented it this way because rather than reducing the synth and avoiding the issue, I made a conscious choice to let the user decide. This is why the answer can be complicated.

3. Using the Harmonic Envelopes - Each of these envelopes has 256 DADSR envelopes within it. That can be a cpu hit. But I really wanted this feature in. (I may have been the only one). :) Note the HEnvs are optimised so that they don't draw CPU if they aren't used.

4. The Noise Generator. This is an expensive luxury. it is effectively a third Voice and using it on top of the other stuff listed above can steal more CPU.

Many of the demo song developers had to bounce tracks after 5 or 6 instances (possibly less, I didn't personally view every song).

After saying all of that.

I believe the best advice is to trial it and assess it for yourself. The performance is what it is. By this I mean that there are only a limited number of opportunities for optimisation left and these would require updates to the SDK. What I am saying is you should base your assessment of the performance on the way it performs for you now. Please don't purchase it in the hope that it will be optimised more in future. It might but this depends on things outside of my control (i.e. an update to the SDK). I'm happy for any of the demo song developers, sound designers or beta testers to challenge or add to this.

synthetechsound
RE Developer
Posts: 136
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Location: Brisbane, Australia

14 Mar 2018

Everyone, I've discovered a bug in the Analyser when using (or trying to use) multiple analysis triggers. They aren't working correctly. I will be endeavouring to fix this over the weekend and to push out an update as soon as possible. I apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

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Loque
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14 Mar 2018

antic604 wrote:
14 Mar 2018
What's the DSP hit of Spectra in a range between Subtractor and Expanse?
Its ok on my side. Didn't build pads yet that could have an impact due the release times. Considering what possibilities it offers i would say it is CPU friendly, well probably not like Subtractor.

Here is a little example i aam actually working on. It hits 1 DSP bar, except i play 3 notes at the same time it climbs up to 2, but i have also fx like 3 delays, one reverb, GQ-7, PMS-20 and 3 saturations on it on an i7 3820.
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Loque
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14 Mar 2018

And here is as promised a wobble growl stuff. Sry, i suck in making good growls, but it took me only a minute to make this sound. No fx on it.
Wobbleshit.zip
(24.41 KiB) Downloaded 101 times
And here with a few fx and slightly changed.
Wobbleshit2.zip
(28.46 KiB) Downloaded 98 times
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stekme
Posts: 29
Joined: 19 Sep 2017

15 Mar 2018

Synth based on AKWF waveforms free sample pack by Adventure Kid that you can use free with any sampler or better with Serum.

https://www.adventurekid.se/akrt/wavefo ... waveforms/
Synth is cool, but price of synth for ready source content sound as I think very big.

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Loque
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15 Mar 2018

stekme wrote: Synth based on AKWF waveforms free sample pack by Adventure Kid that you can use free with any sampler or better with Serum.

https://www.adventurekid.se/akrt/wavefo ... waveforms/
Synth is cool, but price of synth for ready source content sound as I think very big.
Omg you make me lol! You never read the manual of the other synths, eh? There is always one moaning about the price.
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antic604

15 Mar 2018

synthetechsound wrote:
14 Mar 2018
(...)After saying all of that.

I believe the best advice is to trial it and assess it for yourself. The performance is what it is. By this I mean that there are only a limited number of opportunities for optimisation left and these would require updates to the SDK. What I am saying is you should base your assessment of the performance on the way it performs for you now. Please don't purchase it in the hope that it will be optimised more in future. It might but this depends on things outside of my control (i.e. an update to the SDK). I'm happy for any of the demo song developers, sound designers or beta testers to challenge or add to this.
Thanks, will hopefully find some time to do just that over the weekend! All this hugely positive feedback makes me really interested in giving it a try :)
Loque wrote:
14 Mar 2018
Its ok on my side. Didn't build pads yet that could have an impact due the release times. Considering what possibilities it offers i would say it is CPU friendly, well probably not like Subtractor.
Thanks! :)

ltbrunt00
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15 Mar 2018

Loque wrote:
14 Mar 2018
And here is as promised a wobble growl stuff. Sry, i suck in making good growls, but it took me only a minute to make this sound. No fx on it.

Wobbleshit.zip

And here with a few fx and slightly changed.

Wobbleshit2.zip
Holy S$%T, The sounds you uploaded sound pretty full and analog like Vk2. Spectra may be last synth I buy until June.
Reason, Nuendo, Studio One
https://soundcloud.com/user-404930848

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Loque
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15 Mar 2018

ltbrunt00 wrote:
15 Mar 2018
Holy S$%T, The sounds you uploaded sound pretty full and analog like Vk2.
Thx. This evening i try a bit more growly stuff, that sounds a bit more aggressive. Its all up to quickly paint the right wave into Spectra.
ltbrunt00 wrote:
15 Mar 2018
... may be last synth I buy until June.
Yea, that is what i always say to myself :roll:
Reason12, Win10

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