Fathom Synth Development Thread

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Fathom Synth

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Bought Fathom for 12USD through Apple Pay on my phone. Seamless experience, no delay. (And that’s not because Shopify is local to me.)
A very good deal for any macOS/Windows synth and a better deal for one which supports wavetables. Some of the presets are quite neat and they do help us learn how to create our own patches.
First ended up in this thread because of Tj’s mention of Sektor and MPE. Like Tj, got issues with the way that synth overpromised and underdelivered. Fathom is almost the opposite. No hype, but quite a few niceties. Don’t know yet about the update pace but it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s much more regular than most overhyped synths.
So, Fathom was an “instabuy” for me, but not based on Gear Acquisition Syndrome. Like Reaktor, Fathom can help me solve GAS by replacing some “must-have” synths.

Tj has a point about Open Source software and there are some cool musicking things in that world. For instance, been using MODEP (MOD Emulation for Pisound). It’s all Open Source or Free Software, which is “free as in free puppy”: need to take care of it.
https://blokas.io/pisound/docs/MODEP/

There’s also something to be said about the market for iOS musicking apps. Most of them are closed source but these apps are much cheaper than desktop equivalents. So, even with strong bouts of GAS, the impact on the wallet isn’t nearly as bad. In turn, the “guilt factor” or buyer’s remorse is much lower, at least in my case. While my “app attic” is full of synths which didn’t do it for me, there are enough gems that it doesn’t feel bad. All of these other apps were about exploration. Many didn’t stick, at least not yet. But they still inspired me to try new things.
Also, iOS workflows have greatly improved with AUv3 and, especially, AU MIDI. You can quickly try different setups, save them, go back to them when you feel like it. To me, it tends to be more efficient than a DAW. And, again, much of it is way cheaper than Windows and macOS setups.
It’s also a big addressable market, even if music apps are a tiny niche.
It might be strange to spend so much effort developing a synth and then selling it for less than 10USD. But it does sound like it’s working for some devs.

For instance, Audio Damage has been releasing a large number of iOS apps in parallel with desktop offerings. Their newest plugin, Quanta, is concurrently in beta phase for both iOS and desktop. In a video during Superbooth, they mentioned their pricing strategy: the iOS version costs 10% of the desktop version. Assuming it’s sustainable for them, it’s quite remarkable.

Bram Bos, the one iOS dev which has been impressing me the most, though, doesn’t currently sell desktop apps. He created a free drum machine app for Windows 20 years ago, but currently focuses his development efforts on reasonably-priced apps for iOS. As a side hustle. No idea how much financial sense it makes for him to do so, but his pace of development puts major dev shops to shame. Each of his apps is an instabuy for me, but not out of compulsion. His apps allow me to expand my horizons and deepen my interests. It’s like establishing a connection with a coach, trainer, sensei… Instead of a dependance on new stuff, it’s about increasing your own capability.

Similarly, purchasing Fathom might be the beginning of a new relationship, for me.

Tj Shredder wrote:
FathomSynth wrote:Tom, that might just be the best post on being a musician I've ever read!

BW, Good points also, I too am guilty.
You are not guilty, not at all. You did not get people into the "no brainer" state, as your marketing abilities are also limited and the product including the support you give is unparalleled and all worth you ask for.
My last GAS attack made me buy Sektor, because they claimed it is MPE compatible, and I found out it isn't really. Contacting them did not lead to any helpful response... Whereas your responses here are mind blowing, and the speed you fix bugs is rocketing...

There is one area completely without gas, at least in terms of money. That is the open source scene. And though all is free there, there are players who can work professionally and make a living. They won't get rich, because to become rich you need to have a capitalist carnivore mind, which is a contradiction to a creative mind...; - )
But when people pay the money out of a being grateful, instead of thinking making a good "deal", we would be in a different world. To aim for that world is rewarding in its own right...
Don't get me wrong, it is fine to ask for money, in your case its even necessary, especially when you transparently show your personal situation...
I am myself always in a precary situation and its hard to keep going with what I love to do. But I believe it is the best possible contribution to this wonderful world. If I would take a badly paid job and work for a capitalist just to get some more money in the pocket, it would be a waist of talent and spiritual resources...

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Enkerli, Hi. It's great to have you aboard.

I'm very proud that Fathom is the one of the few synths where you can make a request and actually see it in the software in a week or two.

We haven't discussed this before in this thread but I do have some semi-open source plans for Fathom. There are some secret Algorithms I developed myself which will never be released. But I do have plans on adding a C++ Visual Studio DLL developer's interface to Fathom where people can code their own audio object and Fathom will load them up. My code tends to be very object oriented anyway.

There will be a generic audio processor component DLL to serve as an example and developers can replace the guts with their own audio algorithms and effects and Fathom will load them and display them in the audio units list. There will also be an interface to each component for specifying which dials you need and the range of each one as well as some control over the GUI layout. Some of the code will be exposed for other developers such as the standard filter algorithms.

I'm also considering, for the developers addition in exposing the GUI images so people can re-skin it to their own taste.

Some other stuff needs to be done first, but this would all be for later this year.

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Next release 2.12 will include some new GUI elements.

Big Juicy Metal Dials ...
Fathom.png
There will also be new panels, buttons and dial bars that provide greater color and contrast.

The same release or very next release will also have a settings page with color pickers for the background color for all GUI elements such as buttons, major panels, minor panels, dial bars. So you can choose any background color you want for each element.

Basically changing the entire GUI to be any color scheme you want.

For all elements the 3D portion of the graphic will then be overlayed on the color that you choose so the 3D look is not lost even though you are changing the color of everything.

The dials will also have slow realistic hifi animation for the mouse over on the back-light meters.

The settings page will also allow you to choose either the old or new dials if you have a preference for either.
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Not a fan of the new dials. They don't seem to mesh with the rest of the GUI style....... :shrug:
None are so hopelessly enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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Teksonik wrote:Not a fan of the new dials. They don't seem to mesh with the rest of the GUI style....... :shrug:
Me neither, the old ones were a better fit

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Got to agree ... the black dials fitted better. I'm not a fan of 'shiny'.

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Is it possible to export wavetables by chance?
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You can not export an entire wave table for another synth, but you can save an entire table for use in Fathom, Select Wave Table oscillator, Parameters, File, click Save Table.

You can export individual waves in WAV format.

Please be more specific on the dials, what don't you like? The shiny metal? The size? The colors? The relative size of the knob to the rim? The segmented meters?

The one complaint I constantly get with Fathom is that the GUI is boring and that it is too monochromatic.

People constantly say it needs more "color", more "bling", something "shiny". If you don't waht shiny Dials? What then?

Come on people? I was doing this for you?

If you want something shiny but you don't want shiny dials, my goodness, now I'm completely mystified.

I could put some gold trim on the edges, I suppose.

The dials don't go with the panels yet because I've only done the dials, I haven't yet done the new panels, so obviously they won't go with it (yet).

Would it be better to remove the picture until its all done?

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FathomSynth wrote:
Would it be better to remove the picture until its all done?
:lol: yeah ... probably.

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I like the new dials :clap:

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So for the dials, Now that I have the dimensions done changing the graphics a bit is not really any extra work.

I'll provide a few more options for the user to select on the dials.

Metal / Not Metal.
Solid Meter / Segmented Meter.
Ability to change meter colors.

But I'm sticking by my guns with the bigger dial size, I think it looks 100% better than the smaller dials.

Also, don't worry, the old dials will still be a selection for those of you who like the old look, and it will remember your selections when you add a new track.

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I really like the new dials, !@#$ the haters.. :P

If the entire GUI evolved, to adopt more "metallic" elements here and there, over time.. that would be cool. :tu:

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Thanks, at the same time though I don't want to frustrate anyone from being honest.

Brutal honesty here is OK, since the new GUI needs to be great.

Since, like or not, it's a big factor in getting new users.

Like I said, I will provide a few different options for the dial material, such as metal, or something more subtle.

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I actually bought your synth because of its good looks, so no need for concern. :)

Suggestion: since your synth is kind of blue/dark blue, you might want to experiment with bronze as a contrast (it's basically the compliment color). We had the same color scheme for our music software back in the days and the AD used bronze, very successfully. But I also do understand the ones who don't want it realistic - please don't go all Waves-y on us. :D Keeping options open as you suggested is great, and making plugins skinnable breathes new life into them (not that you need it yet!)

In my perspective, Fabfilter's Pro-R reverb is maybe the most beautiful plugin ever created, and I think your synth conveys a bit of the same feeling (but more sparse, for necessity if not else).

I haven't had time to play with it yet (bought it yesternight) but I see a lot of talk about wavetables. It surprises me as all the demos I heard on the site were great but very synthy. Wavetables appeal to me very much, so perhaps that is something that could be added over time, to show the synth as more versatile.
Thu Oct 01, 2020 1:15 pm Passing Bye wrote:
"look at SparkySpark's post 4 posts up, let that sink in for a moment"
Go MuLab!

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FathomSynth wrote:So for the dials, Now that I have the dimensions done changing the graphics a bit is not really any extra work.

I'll provide a few more options for the user to select on the dials.

Metal / Not Metal.
Solid Meter / Segmented Meter.
Ability to change meter colors.

But I'm sticking by my guns with the bigger dial size, I think it looks 100% better than the smaller dials.

Also, don't worry, the old dials will still be a selection for those of you who like the old look, and it will remember your selections when you add a new track.
Great. I love the original look of Fathom. :love:

You are so kind to us!
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