Weirdest softsynth ever?

[Pighood]

I think I've found something close anyway:

http://www.soniccharge.com/synplant

Ummm....

[MitchK1989]

I haven't had a chance to demo it yet, but after having read about how it works, I'm quite impressed.

It is NOT a generative music app. You still play it like any other softsynth, it's only the sound design part of it that uses weird manipulation of plants, seeds, and DNA.

The "DNA" editor actually allows you to control the individual parameters of the sound in a big list in case there's a specific parameter you want to edit to take a mutated sound from 90% there to 100% (like shortening the decay or something)

The sound demos sound great.

[griffin avid]

[youtube][/youtube]

[griffin avid]

Description:

Forbidden Planet offers more than 1000 presets that are based on sampled analog waves, modulators and sampled filters recorded through a custom Neve 8078 console and vintage Fairchild 670 compressors. For added variety and flexibility, Forbidden Planet offers parallel programs using the unprocessed analog waves and all of the digital filters, modulators and fx. Additional presets are provided by Troels Folmann and other leading sound designers.

Using the collection’s new convolution technology, Q-Fusion, users can create unique sonic combinations such as a very detailed electric cello that is modulated by an electrical disturbance or a theremin that morphs into an ethnic vocalist. Forbidden Planet also features Riptide, a cutting-edge wave sequencer that incorporates real acoustic waveforms, unusual custom sound design elements, as well as sampled analog waveforms. The 3-dimensional audio image can be controlled using the collection’s Q-Space™ function. Musicians can expand their sound options by selecting the type of analog filter model used.

The collection also provides users with a comprehensive set of built-in multi-effects including the new “Deja Vu” effects processor. “Deja Vu” is a self-contained multi-fx sampling engine that gives musicians access to imaginative, sampled fx chains such as demonic effects and processors like tuned feedback, ring modulation and dozens of psychotic effects. To control rhythmic, glitched and melodic waveforms, Forbidden Planet also comes equipped with an industry leading time and pitch machine.

[Pighood]

Where the h**l is that available?

[griffin avid]

it was only debuted at NAMM 2008
EastWest says "It should be out sometime in 2009"

[Pighood]

That's one long-a*s gestation period.

[chamomileshark]

This is an old one, "Sun Ra" actually one of the first I downloaded. GUI is rather pretty too.

http://www.kvraudio.com/get/490.html

[griffin avid]

Oh yes! Great one. That reminds me of all those automatic song generating synths from H.G. Fortune
http://www.hgf-synthesizer.de/

X-Wheel of Fortune is one on my tasty tid bits.

I'm trying to find two.
One was nothing more than three balls. One red, blue and yellow I think and you moved them around and mode sounds...the other ones GUI were Octagons that interlocked.

Also for really weird, there are those 'synths' you feed a picture to and it generates tones.
Very Granular in result.

[chamomileshark]

And of course there was Gaugear in Reaktor. I think someone did a GUI hack to make that more comprehensible.

But Wheel of Fortune and Sun Ra are strange and easy to use.

[meatballfulton]

Downloaded the fully-functional (for 3 weeks, and it only counts the times that you use it) Synplant demo today and it's very interesting and fun to use.

One mode that's absolutely nuts is you can have each note within an octave play a different sound by having the branches different distances from the seed. You can also rotate the branches in real time (so the branches get tied to different notes). Do both and and you'll get results unlike any other synthesizer I know of.

The programming model is the reverse of the usual "I know what I want and how to get it" approach. You just let the genetic process take you in directions that sound good. Editing the DNA helix parameters gives you more control but is actually better as the last step rather than the first.

It's CPU friendly, VST or AU and cheap...$89 (plus VAT for Euro users).

[LBN]

Here's one that reminds me of a larger version of Synplant. It's called microsia.

http://www.microsia.de/

[gmeredith]

The Delay Lama is lots of fun:

http://www.kvraudio.com/get/226.html

Cheers, Graham

[griffin avid]

Funny how they both sound so similar. Microsia looks great, but I'd like to get under the hood and see what parts are samples and what's synth. The site itself has little to no information - I guess it's early so we'll see. Even the FAQ is down, but yet, it's for sale already.


I don't know how you two found these obscure gems.

[Kriminal]

Anarchy Swarm synth is quite bizzare

Uses a flocking algorithm to control a bank of oscillators as they move through an envelope-constrained 5 dimensional parametric hyperspace.

based around flocking patterns of birds or something...

http://www.anarchysoundsoftware.co.uk/h ... _synth.htm