Hello guys,hello Zircon!

I'm a happy owner of shreddage and shreddage x,which I consider the best metal libraries out by now (with eeg of orange tree),so I would like to know if you're really planning new stuff as it seems from the news,or if you've already begun work on it.Am I asking too much?
I think users would appreciate a new version of shreddage,maybe less cheaper than the first one but with more articulations and so on (eg with unison bend,double bends,feedback sounds,different types of harmonics,scrapes,slides noises...).

Hey, thanks for the kind words We've finished the planning process for Shreddage 2 and will start recording soon. My goal is to have it done by November or so. Some of the major additions include:

* 3x levels of vibrato (from subtle to wide)
* 5x palm mute layers
* Full sampling of ALL strings, not just the lower pitches
* True hammer-on and pull-off
* More fine attention to transition noises and releases for extra realism

We'll of course have all the same kind of articulations as the original libraries too: pinch squeals, tremolo picking, standard harmonics, pick scrapes, neck slides, full chokes, powerchords, all that good stuff. The idea will be to have two main patches: Lead and Rhythm. This way we won't be cramming everything into a single, hard-to-use patch.


I'm curious to hear more about what you mean by double bends, unison bends and feedback sounds. Got some YouTube links?

Unison bend is this:

e--12----
B--15(b)-
G--------

So, striking two strings, bending the upper one to make it sound like the lower one, so they end up at the same pitch.


Personally, I don't think you need to record these. You could just script pitch bend behavior: all notes, last played note, upper string note.



Feedback is your glorified sinewaves that you get when your guitar is too close to the cabinet speaker. AKA dolphin calls

hi Zircon,glad for the new additions!
as Evildragon said,for unison bend i mean when you bend the string to where the sound goes up a full step,also called full bend,so a half bend is where the sound goes up a half step,like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaE-sQZSP5Y

or if you want to listen to a song where unison bend is activated:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InOmV_ih3vs

from 1:20 to 1:23 you can clearly hear it on the 1st,2nd an on the last note.

for feedback i mean a sound like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMoigb_Q9cA

I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to add some features like these,they could help to give more reality to all!

hey Zircon any news about Shreddage??

Absolutely. We have the bulk of it recorded, and are well-underway in terms of editing. It's pretty exciting!

great!
for articulations do you think you'll add keyswitches?
and what about new features,new sounds etc?
so is the library divided in 2 patches for the leads and for rhythm?

Currently we don't need keyswitches. Here's the layout SO FAR... keep in mind everything is subject to change via testing!

* 4 layers of mutes. The tightest/most muted layer is at lower velocities, going up to about velocity = 70 which is barely muted at all. 2x as many layers as the original Shreddage.
* Velocities 70-109 or so are standard sustains.
* 110-119 are HARD sustains (aggressive picks)
* 120-126 are STACCATOS - not muted, but open. These are a new addition and have 8x RR... will be very useful for many things.
* Hammer-on/pull-off is automatically activated when you play legato between notes. You can tweak the settings of this (eg. turn it off entirely, change the hammer-on/pull-off range from the default of 3 semitones).
* Powerchords are the octaves below the lowest note of single notes... same as the original. This is OK because the powerchords don't have nearly as much range.

The most notable feature so far is the fact that we recorded a SEVEN string guitar, and went up the neck on each string. So with our custom script (that I'm writing myself!) this means that depending on how you play, a D4 could trigger on one of several strings. Not only does this add to realism in that it closer mimics how a guitarist would actually play, but it also effectively increases the # of total round robins.

Here are some features of the script so far:

* Intelligent string detection (modeled after how a guitarist would actually play and move)

* Realistic handling of hammer-on, pull-off and trill volume

* TRUE randomized round robins: in Shreddage 1, the order was 1-2-3-4, or 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8, over and over. In Shreddage 2, the script intelligently selects RRs so you don't ever hear the same sequence over and over.

* Stroke detection; default mode is alternate picking, but you can switch to down or up-only on the UI (this will probably be linked to a CC, keyswitch, or both for easy access).

* Tied to the above, chord detection. The user can control the threshold (in ms) that chords will be detected; if a chord is detect, the script will place your notes intelligently across the strings, AND make sure the stroke directions are all normalized in ONE way.

* Slight tuning randomization, user-controlled, so each note doesn't sound surgically equal in tune/pitch

Coming soon:

* Three types of vibrato, which will be accessible via modwheel (an expansion from the original Shreddage, AND you will be able to crossfade into vibrato from sustained notes, as opposed to only being able to start the note with vibrato)

* Tremolo picking on the highest velocity, like in the original

* Full chokes, likely to be mapped between powerchords and single notes

* Built-in amp/distortion controls (in addition to ReValver HPse of course)

* Portamento slide mode (like the legato in Shreddage X, but with more control and realism)

* Intelligent release, fret squeak and transition noises triggered as you play

* Pinch squeals, pick scrapes, neck slides and other FX!

Hi Zircon,i'm very glad for the new features of Shreddage,in particular for the new range of the notes and the slight tuning randomization,im sure it will add more human feel to all but how precisely does it work?
and what do you mean for intelligent release?
For new sounds is it possible to have different types of harmonics (natural,artificial,pinch,tapping...) and feedback sounds (like in Prominy V Metal and Sc)?
For the release date and the price?

The tuning randomization will come from a knob that you can control. So if you want more randomization, you can just turn up the knob and that will introduce more variation on each note you play. The same goes for a lot of the controls and parameters; you will be able to use the UI to customize them.

Intelligent release refers to NOISES like fret squeaks, extra pick noise, that sort of thing. The goal will be to have these noises play back realistically, so like if you're chugging on one note, you won't hear a lot of noise, but then if you move up a fret or string, you'll hear a little transition noise. That sort of thing.

We will have pinch squeals - no other plans for harmonics at the moment, but I won't rule it out. Feedback sounds are something I would like to have.

Release/date price, too early to say, release PROBABLY within the next 3 months but I want to make sure it's really amazing. Price will also be amazing. That much I know

Holy.......


brb changing pants.

I can't wait 3 months!
However it's a genial idea the knob for the tuning randomization,and so the intelligent release.
Then if you aren't planning to add natural harmonics and so on it would be nice if it could be possible to add them in future updates.
Hi Zircon keep us informed!