And Now For Something We Hope You'll Really Like...
From the original Analog Industries archive. Some links and images from that era no longer resolve.
Click for full-sized.
With the caveat that the UI isn’t 100% finalized, here you go. Have a gander at Tattoo, our first instrument. Some salient points:
1. No samples. This is a drum synthesizer. Each voice is purpose-built, as well, rather than just having a general percussion synthesis voice.
2. Every synthesis control has a sequencer attached to it.
3. If you own Replicant, you can immediately see how the randomization/likelihood works for each channel/voice.
4. The sequencer also outputs MIDI (in the VST only, of course) so you can use the randomization features in other drum synths or external hardware.
So, there you have it. We haven’t decided on a price, and I have no idea whatsoever as to when it will be done. We’ve got the synthesis all in place, but not “tuned,” and the sequencer is about 80% complete, but the hardest parts haven’t been done yet.
90 comments
That's fucking lovely looking, even if I do resort to foul language.
Hurry up, please.
Congrats Chris, looks great!
---Compression only on Output A?
---What other step sizes are there?
oh and, how many plot points can be had on the envelopes?
Yes, compression is only on one output. We figured if you were separating them at all, you'd be doing so with the purpose of applying effects to individual sounds.
The step sizes for the sequencer are 1x32, 2x16, 1x16T, 1x16, and 1x8T. Our assumption was that if you wanted anything more complex, you could hit it with MIDI. Rather than trying to make a sequencer that was all things to all people, we thought it would be better to make one that was very good at the most obvious uses. (The step sizes, by the way, are per-pattern, not per-channel.)
With the envelopes, they're hard-set. The curves can be dragged as you see fit, but most of the envelopes are just A/R. A couple are only R.
-CR
That looks like just about everything I could want from an AD drum machine. The random beats idea in the sequencer intrigues me, and I look forward to experimenting with it. I've been trying similar things recently myself when designing sequencers in Max, with varying levels of success. Replicant's randomisation is one of my favourite tools for spicing up otherwise dreary loops.
Mike
Looks awesome! I cant wait to use it!! I am obsessed with drum synths. This may end up replacing uTonic for me!!
Lust. Plain and simple. I'm wondering (given I have a launchpad on preorder) if the sequencer is midi controllable, i.e. can one turn steps on and off remotely?
Nope. Too many controls for that. 32 x 12 = 384, just for the selected notes. There's nothing in the MIDI spec that would allow something like that without going to NRPN data, and that would kind of defeat the purpose.
I'm sure it'll take about 30 seconds for someone to come out with a Max4Live step sequencer that works with the Launchpad, though, and this will respond to MIDI just fine. In fact, the mod sequencers will still do their thing regardless of whether the notes are sequenced internally or not.
-CR
Fantastic layout. Logical and clear with a flow that makes sense. Now ideally, the pattern and instrument selection (next/previous) is MIDI assignable, even though there is no visible button.
Do you think it would be more useful to have instrument parameter CCs that remain tied to the same controls as you change from kick to snare to tom, etc... or a new set of CC's for each voice, so that you can adjust the snares pitch in automation without changing to it's page? Both approaches seem relevant to different, well, approaches.
You should charge a little more than usual. This looks like a LOT of work.
The voices are very different, so one common CC set won't really work. (Also, having a common set means you have to be able to see the UI, and that kind of defeats the purpose of having MIDI CC in the first place.) Our normal MIDI learn is included, so you can assign the CCs as you see fit.
The patterns can be switched via MIDI note. The drum sounds are layed out exactly like a 909 (starting at C1), and then the patterns are switched with C3->D#4. Each preset gets 16 patterns and one voice layout.
(Also note that above the pattern switching mechanism are pattern clear, copy, and paste buttons; they're not in the UI currently because we're working on other shit.)
-CR
Any chance of implementing different swing settings per voice and/or selecting which voices and steps will be swung?
The layout is great, there's lots of stuff but it doesn't look busy. Will the pan and voice controls (tune, saturation, etc.) knobs have a center detent?
You just control-click any knob to go to its default setting. This is normal in VSTGUI and we don't override it.
I'll talk to Adam about individual swing, but we hadn't planned on it. However, I know a lot of people do that these days, especially in minimal house/techno, which is sort of what this box is best at, so perhaps it is warranted.
-CR
Can you change the reset step for the sequencer to get time signatures that aren't 4/4? My 606 has this, and it is pretty nice. Except for when the battery is dying, and this gets randomly reset to 13/8ths or some prog crap like that
No. Only straight time, swanged straight time, and trips. You want any of that hippy shit, you need to hit it with MIDI.
-CR
Sweet!
So will there be a way to set the mod sequencer length separately from the main seq, similar to Big Seq 2?
Also any pattern breeding/altering or capturing of randomness would be nice :-)
That is truly beautiful work.
looks really great. GUI just makes sense right away. nicely done.
looks like a real idm beast! can't wait.
Looks absolutely stunning. I have a couple questions:
1. will it be easy to copy from one pattern to another? I.e. can I copy pattern 2 to pattern 3, and can I copy pattern 2 part 4 to pattern 5 part 2 without too much headache?
2. are the sounds per pattern, or are the sounds global to all patterns loaded in an instance? i.e. can a pattern switch completely change the kit at the same time?
3. if number two allows for changing the kit from pattern to pattern, is it possible to copy kits (or single sounds) from one pattern to another?
Again, this looks really awesome. Depending on price, my credit card is waiting..
1. As I mentioned on the previous page, there are copy, paste, and clear buttons for the pattern section that aren't visible in the above UI. We are by no means anywhere near done with this, and I'll post the UI when it is in beta. That isn't even an alpha version above.
2. No. The kits are per preset, although you can use the offset sequencers to program sounds individual to a particular pattern. Each preset has 16 patterns and 1 kit.
3. See 2.
@cubestar: no, the mod sequencers follow the main sequencer. It was just getting too complex, and we like to keep things as simple as possible while still giving all the control necessary to make it interesting.
-CR
This is looking wicked and it's a great idea. Please make the AU put out midi from the sequencer as well though.
The answer to this is probably "fuck no!" but will midi out be able to send NPRNs? For controlling the ER-1 and other annoying midi implementations
Ah, 2 snare types. Nice.
What do the 8 and 9 stand for?
(kidding)
I like it. Keep it how it is. I will use it to make music.
-W
@paco: AU instruments can't send MIDI in either Logic or DP. The only way to do it would be to give the instrument the ability to talk to the IAC buss, and the IAC buss has the worst timing ever, and is getting worse with every point update of OSX. Its usefulness as a conduit for MIDI information from a drum machine is almost nonexistent.
Logic is falling far behind vis-a-vis its ability to route things in a useful manner, at least with respect to Cubase and Live. DP, well, it is what it is.
@lorcan: fuck no. ;-)
-CR
I too will also use it to make music.
- c
YES! Win on all fronts! I normally don't care about VSTi's, as i'm all hardware, but this i will buy and use. Even if i do only end up using it to make drum sounds/loops to put into my Machinedrum. Hopefully this will get done soon, i'd love to test it out in a live setting.
BAm! That looks sweet... I'm hyped!
Once you are done with the software could you also make this into a hardware box! ;-)
Hugo
instant buy. the final blog article should have a nice big "buy now" button right there in the blog so that I don't have to suffer any additional delay between knowing its available and getting it down.
it will be a happy addition to my studio.
audiomulch will love this.. hello midi routing fun! .. oh and numerology too.
I'm with boobs :) That's gonna be a major mayhem combo!
Looks great, nice choice on the DIN font too.
Well let's do an mTonic comparison from their web site - I think you stack up pretty well
mTonic has Eight channel drum and percussion synthesizer. - you've got 12 - mTonic allows single track settings to be saved individually from the whole preset - I can't tell from your screen if I can save and recall a favorite Kick separately
both are Pattern based drum-machine engine, synced to the host., you have 16X2 and others mtonic has 8X12 and one mTonic advantage is patterns can switch based on MIDI-IN in real time allowing for some real long sequences ....IMHO mTonic's lack of a Matrix pattern view is a big shortcoming .....but they also offer Accent and Fill buttons .....
100% synthetic sound, rendered in real-time. No samples! - dead even on that - I suggest a kick drum shoot out
Over-sampled oscillators and sample-accurate triggering. - not sure what that means
Typically less than 5% CPU utilization on a 2.0GHz P4. - not sure the CPU hit on yours although I'm guessing its good like the rest of the AD stuff
Easy to use interface with context menus, popup hints etc. Plenty of creative editing options, randomizing functions etc., IMHO pretty much dead even - difference more in style than substance , I think you have more modulation choices within your synth
mTonic comes bundled with over 300 presets - how many from you ? - I suggest that you have a forum for folks to post their pattern/presets and share
VSTi 2.0 / AU plug-in, but mtonic does not send midi out even in the VST - however you can export the pattern to MIDI (drag)
Price mTonic $89 Tattoo???
Bottom Line - I'll end up with both unless you make it too expensive
Thanks for your efforts!
OH MY GOD!
In a kick drum shootout, I'm sad to say that mTonic will go down in flames. We will also be quite a bit cheaper. We haven't decided on a price yet, but $89 ain't in it.
I can't really speak to the other aspects at this time.
-CR
i'm horny
I am about to (in one of my first posts here) reveal quite a bit of ignorance. Sorry. I don't use a lot of plugins, and I haven't yet used one with a sequencer. Ok, here goes:
If I program a pattern in that sequencer, and then press the play button, it will play whether or not my host (Live, btw) is playing, yes? And if that sequencer is stopped and I press play on my host, the pattern won't just start, correct? So I assume that if I'm programming my beats in that sequencer, I'll have to program MIDI note data on the track to tell the sequencer to start, yes? But then will it stop when I stop my host?
Or I could just program the beats in my sequencer, of course, but I still want to understand. Also, I want to use the internal sequencer for the pattern sequencing; that seems like where the magic is.
No Foot Drum?
@speak_onion : the sequencer in Tattoo can be set to "internal sync" or "host sync." When it's the former, the plug-in has complete control over its own tempo, starting, and stopping, and what the host does is irrelevant.
When in "host sync" mode, it will start and stop with the sequencer, and get its tempo from the sequencer. You will be able to stop it with the stop button, and if you press "Play," it will pick up again at the next measure crossing, but otherwise, the host will take care of all that.
Note that all the randomization, mod sequencing, and what-not will work whether you're using the internal sequencer or the host's sequencer, but it'll work _better_ with the internal sequencer.
-CR
Just a 'what if' idea -- a third type of sync based on incoming note-on for clock.
Why? Allows you to do several useful things:
1. load a note pattern quantized to a groove to drive the clock.
2. Allow for non-standard clocks -- i.e. put some rests in the incoming note-on pattern, and you get, for example, a rhythmic pattern that takes 11 measures to repeat itself.
3. In the Ableton Live world, you could have a note clip driving the clock, and try on different groove quantizations non-destructively.
No idea how feasible this is, but as someone who likes triggering the Juno60 arpeggiator with a trigger in, it seems a natural idea, and UI-wise, all it takes is going from a 2 way clock source switch to a 3 way. Of course, depending on how the clocking works internally, it could be a royal pain to implement.
Interesting idea. I get where you're coming from. We'll think about it.
-CR
Nobody's asked or said much about the sound, but looking at it, it seems to have a bit of Machinedrum vibe to it. Can you describe what sort of character you were after with the sound?
It sounds like an X0X. It has a 909 topology for the kick, one of the snares, and the toms, an 808 topology for the other snare and the percussion, and kind of our own thing, based on the 606, for the cymbal sounds.
It has much more extensive parameters than the above machines, but even so, that's its happy place. I'll put up some samples this week that also highlight the mod sequencing and the like, but the sample I put up in the Varese thread is fairly indicative.
-CR
Glad to hear this isn't another sample based drum vst. Can't wait to check it out.
Stunning! Finally I'll be able to replace Ultrabeat and it's horrible UI...
One quick question, will Tattoo output each channel to a separate midi track?
@ Lorcan, Bomes MIDI translator.
Master tune knob PLLLLEEEASSE.
hell yeah
@krell: not if you're using Logic, it won't; it won't output MIDI in any form in the AU. But the general answer is no.
-CR
I. want. Don't need, but definitely want.
Will there be an option to limit the amount of any given parameter's response to controllers? If you catch what i'm trying to say =o]
That thing looks so good for live performance - love all your design decisions, especially the single screen sequencer and individual output knobs. In a sea of plugs someone finally got it right!
This looks like it will be fun. A couple of thoughts on the GUI...
How do you select which drum sound and mod sequence you are editing? I'd assume by clicking the instrument name next to the sequencer for the drum and the knob in the instrument editor but it is not really clear.
Are the selected and random beats specific to the highlighted instrument? It appears that way but the placement of the controls would make you think they are global.
Other than that the GUI looks quite intuitive.
Personally I'd like more than 3 outputs but I'm sure I could work around it using the pan controls.
The drum sound to edit (and its attendant channel control) all come up when you click the name, as you surmised. It's a lot more obvious when you have it in front of you. There are still some UI elements that are missing from that iteration; all will be clear.
The mod sequencer for whatever control comes up when you click that control. If you don't click a control, the mod sequencer shows velocity.
-CR
Master Transpose a must.
awesome, and sub $89! This thing could be unstoppable.
"love all your design decisions, especially the single screen sequencer and individual output knobs."
Seriously agreed. I deal with software testing all day, if I have to worry about workflow too much my eyes glaze over and I don't get a thing done creatively.
Looks very nice. How long before i can resell it for $1500?
Fucking Epic.
great featureset, i'm looking forward to it very much.
- will the sequencer have "accent" (and Flam ?)?
- will each "drumslot" have some kind of macro-presets (so when building a kit you can import for example one snare from another kit, etc) ?
- will we have soon a screenshot of the hats section :) ?
I'm with snk on accent and flam. And Huggie on a hardware version :)
(I guess this is a giant no-way as well, but) how about supporting sequencers, controls and (crucially) support functions like copy/paste, clear, instrument selection, etc. with OSC.
This would allow people to hook up their own hardware interfaces (Monome, Lemur, homemade OSC controllers). I would personally like to do more live programming/playing on my VST drummachines, but it requires physical interfaces to make it quick and immediate.
With arduino these days pretty much anybody can cook up their own custom physical interfaces.
chaircrusher: "Just a 'what if' idea -- a third type of sync based on incoming note-on for clock..."
seconded. mightily. if implemented, my shit will have been officially lost.
Just out of curiosity, how do you control individual hit velocities in the internal sequencer? Will that be a function of the mod sequencer, or is that function hidden somewhere else?
The mod sequencer displays velocity for that channel if you haven't clicked on a knob since clicking the voice.
It sounds complex, but it's actually very easy. When you click on any voice, the whole panel is reconfigured to be that voice and all its accouterments.
-CR
GOD DAMN IT! I know I already commented, but after reading the whole thread threw now....I WANT THIS YESTERDAY!!
Looks beautiful, as always. Credit card is cued up.
Chris and Adam - don't sell yourselves short on the pricing - you guys deserve to make a few bucks. And considering that Lexicon announced their native reverb plug in will cost a staggering $1899, then people are obviously willing to pay money for quality code, right? I mean, Harman Kardon must have completed some very serious and intense market research to come to the realization that someone, somewhere would pay $1899 for a plug-in.
And to think, you've been collecting $49 for Eos when you should have been collecting at least $1499.
The hubris of the Lexi release makes me grind my teeth a little bit. I mean, $1899 + iLok + native = are you fucking kidding me? They're gonna sell like 2 of them. This makes me sad, because I'm a Lexi Fanboi of the first order.
That said, I'd love to charge what we felt these products were worth rather than what the market will bear. However, we ain't the only girl at this dance.
-CR
Yes, but AD is my favorite kind of girl at the dance: nice to look at, cheap, easy to use, and doesn't ask me to use protection.
Anyone who feels that they paid too little for our products is welcome to make donations to Audio Damage to ease their guilt.
Seriously, though: yeah, I find it sad that Lexicon is either so arrogant or so out of touch with reality that they think that $1899 is a reasonable price point for those plug-ins. I'm sure that they sound very good, and they look nice, but wow, $1899? I paid way less than that for the quad-core PC that I use for music, just as one random example.
--Adam
"And so, just for fun, I figured out if you sell 3000 tickets at $800 a ticket, the gross will be two million, four hundred thousand dollars.
And, uh, this is what I'm...shooting..for.
One show...GOODBYE."
- Steve Martin, "A Wild and Crazy Guy"
Honey, I'm heading out to the store to buy some lexicon algorithms - ah fuck it, I'll just rent the Royal Albert instead
I'm actually alright with Lexicon's hubris. Makes my job easier.
I *love* the idea of OSC for extended parameter control. I'm thinking TouchOsc here, of course, but there lots of OSC devices that would be fun with this.
"Wow, it's Orson Welles! Say, is that a classic drum machine from overseas?"
"It's a new virtual drum synthesizer, made right here in the Western United States. It's not made of electronic components and doesn't come in a box, but it's coded on a computer that is made of electronic components and came in a box. And like the best drum machines, it's fermented in the bottle. Audio Damage: We will sell no drum-synthesizer plugin before its time."
best idea for advertising ever... you grab Orson, I'll grab my cam!
Reading about the topographies is making this even more exciting, to the point it offsets the fact I missed the noon deadline on the new shirt. Bummer.
Will buy drum synth for sure though. I might get one for my friend too. Could I do that on my account though and have you guys email it to him? Would that be like an AD e-gift-card of sorts?
If you end up with extra T's I rock a medium.
Thanks
The easiest thing to do would be to buy the license, transfer it to his account, then buy another one for yourself.
Regarding the shirts, there probably won't be extras of these. Through the weirdness of the ordering process, I ended up with near dozens of everything. (We have to order in dozens, and through similar weirdness with the Schaeffer shirt, I ended up with like 10 extra of each.)
-CR
*has an erection*
chaircrusher: "Just a 'what if' idea -- a third type of sync based on incoming note-on for clock..."
Third this. This would make it integrate really well with Numerology.
RE: $2k for a plug-in: now I know why Lexicon reverbs sound so great.
They're all high.
- c
Beta testers? Experienced here, looks great
Does the Random work just on the sequencer, per drum voice, or the whole enchilada?
also, will it accept midi input into the sequencer for recording them beats?
It's per voice. So you can set, say, 32nd note ghost notes on the high hat part, but nothing else getting random triggers, just as an example.
Regarding recording, we hadn't planned on it.
-CR
Yeah, i was thinking "i'd like to beta test" as well =o]
Lexicon is looking at Waves pricing, so they're high but not out of their minds. The TDM Pro Fools will be all over it, it will sell a lot of copies. Also, you can always lower the price but you really can't raise it. Big hit product, I predict.
Tattoo looks sweet as hell, can't wait to check it out.
Do lexicon really think their native plugin is 38 times better than Eos?
Because I doubt that.
The Lexi plug has moving colored waves in the UI and shit.
just to be clear though, the drum synth itself won't have the randomize feature?
this is gonna be great, been waiting for a proper Waldorf Attack (ish) plugin for a good while :)
sold. the midi out is a ++++
Looking forward to this!
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