KVR Audio

elxsound · Post by **elxsound** » Sun Aug 08, 2010 3:40 pm

So how long does it really take to get your license? Do they process anything on weekends?

dburns · Post by **dburns** » Sun Aug 08, 2010 4:38 pm

elxicano wrote:So how long does it really take to get your license? Do they process anything on weekends?

It looks like they don't process on weekends. I paid on Friday.

No problem, I'm looking forward to getting it (Monday,I hope!).

dburns · Post by **dburns** » Sun Aug 08, 2010 5:11 pm

I just got an email with my link.

How about that?

Thanks!

room · Post by **room** » Sun Aug 08, 2010 5:12 pm

Hi everyone - thank you for your patience.

Everyone should have copy now.

I have also sent customer links to an updated version of the MAC version with a bug fix for the midi learn.

Let me know how it goes.

Best wishes

David

darrenj · Post by **darrenj** » Sun Aug 08, 2010 5:25 pm

Just got my updated version for the Mac---works great!! Thanks again for such a wonderful new tool! This is truly a soundscappers dream...at least for me!
Best~Darren

elxsound · Post by **elxsound** » Sun Aug 08, 2010 7:09 pm

I got mine too and I have to say that I like this very much!

I haven't tried any of the midi learn yet, but I definitely will.

Any chance that in a future version, the parameter names will be permanently displayed instead of just displayed when the mouse hovers over? Right now, this is my only complaint, since considering the size of the GUI (and because it's a standalone), there should be enough room to fit the parameter names.

room · Post by **room** » Sun Aug 08, 2010 7:58 pm

Any chance that in a future version, the parameter names will be permanently displayed instead of just displayed when the mouse hovers over?

I guess we were aiming for it to be more exploratory + you should have a built in cognitive learn function to compliment the midi learn

aldusmanutius · Post by **aldusmanutius** » Sun Aug 08, 2010 11:41 pm

Got my code less than 24 hours after donation and on a Sunday, too!

But I'm having a slight problem...as follows:

Running it on a Dell 10" Mini with 1GB ram. I get a nasty stuttering that gets less obnoxious as I increase the I/O and Signal Vectors up to 8192 ... I"ve restarted, rebooted, turned off Airport, running nothing but Ambient. (Yes, it's a Snow Leopard Hackintosh that I've been using for about 9 months now with amazing audio success ... until today.)

I've been able to use the Mini with Kore Player and various plug-ins in bidule, so while it MAY be an issue of insufficient RAM, I'm not inclined to accept that as the "first" issue.

I loaded the app on my MacBook Pro and it ran like a champ (but then, faster processor, 4x the RAM, etc., so I'd expect it to do so).

I'd rather use it on the Mini, since the MBP belongs to work and I perform with the Mini.

Best,

Dennis

elxsound · Post by **elxsound** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 2:21 am

room wrote:
Any chance that in a future version, the parameter names will be permanently displayed instead of just displayed when the mouse hovers over?
I guess we were aiming for it to be more exploratory + you should have a built in cognitive learn function to compliment the midi learn

Here's the thing... I like this a lot. I find it to be a valuable tool for sound design, BUT, It's not something I will use day-in, day-out. I'm sure those cognitive learn functions will serve me well each time I use this, but what would be even better (for me) is to know that I can QUICKLY get a desired result after not having looked at this in months. This is purely a workflow request and nothing more.

Now if you have your minds made up, then fine, as I said I really like this, but on the other hand if you are at all willing to reconsider any features for a possible future release, I would love to see the parameters listed permanently instead of on mouse hover.

Either way, thank you for making this available, it really does kick ass.

Aloysius · Post by **Aloysius** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 2:36 am

Would make an excellent 'option' IMHO. Text or no text. User decides.

elxsound · Post by **elxsound** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 2:39 am

Aloysius wrote:Would make an excellent 'option' IMHO. Text or no text. User decides.

+1

room · Post by **room** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 5:22 pm

Thanks for the feedback & yes you should give me a kick for my cheeky cognitive learn comment

we'll look at this option for v4

In relation to the Dell 10" issue - that has not been reported by anyone else so we have to conclude you have a RAM/computer issue. I've experienced the same issues with my old acer laptop. At the moment, there is no solution though we will be looking into making it less CPU intensive for the next version.

Shabdahbriah · Post by **Shabdahbriah** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 5:36 pm

elxicano wrote:
Aloysius wrote:Would make an excellent 'option' IMHO. Text or no text. User decides.
+1

+2 for at least the 'option'.

I've been using a "QWERTY" keyboard for longer than I care to recall, but I would (admittedly) be completely lost, if the letters and symbols were not on the keys...

aldusmanutius · Post by **aldusmanutius** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 5:40 pm

Ah, thanks ... I have a 9" MINI, similarly configured, but with double the RAM; will try it on that and see if does the same thing ... otherwise LOVE it and can't wait to spend some serious studio time with it...

room wrote:Thanks for the feedback & yes you should give me a kick for my cheeky cognitive learn comment

we'll look at this option for v4

In relation to the Dell 10" issue - that has not been reported by anyone else so we have to conclude you have a RAM/computer issue. I've experienced the same issues with my old acer laptop. At the moment, there is no solution though we will be looking into making it less CPU intensive for the next version.

room · Post by **room** » Sat Aug 14, 2010 11:17 am

Nice review from The Ark:

Audiobulb Records specialize in exciting and experimental ambient music and they have just released a piece of software that allows even complete beginners to manipulate sound; creating huge sound-scapes. Ark Magazine was one of the first to get our hands on a copy. Here's what we thought…

There's something about ambient music that has always fascinated me. While some would dismiss it as "just noise," the level of subtlety and images created in that noise can be simply awe-inspiring.

I play the guitar but I'd never tried to making music using a laptop, preferring to use instruments rather than relying on a cold, clinical machine to do the work.

That was until I loaded up the simple Ambient software. I didn't have any instructions and having tried this kind of software before, and understanding it about as badly as the noises I made it produce, I didn't hold out much hope for making it work.

To my complete surprise, however, I quickly and painlessly managed to load up a song that was stored on my computer and was ready to begin manipulating it.

10 seconds later, I was cowering as a throbbing, disturbing bass tone was being emitted from my tiny speakers. It was shaking my eyeballs and was genuinely unsettling.

Considering the song I'd put in was a pleasant jaunt with acoustic guitar and a tambourine, the transformation was simply incredible as the song was now unrecognizable but was absorbing to listen to, and like nothing I'd heard before.

I twiddled a few more of the labeled, virtual knobs, and the noise was gradually tamed back to a state where it sounded like a human could have created it.

Intrigued by my first adventure into the software, I decided to do some experimenting and so I plugged in my guitar and recorded a few samples of noise from long drawn guitar notes to high pitched squeals of feedback.

Considering what the software had done to the gentle tune I'd tried earlier, I thought that it would revel on getting its hands dirty with some more abstract sounds.

I first tested it with some random stabs on a guitar, which was already being distorted. On putting it into the software I had no idea where to start manipulating it so I hit the 'random' button. The many reverb, pitch shift and grain size knobs suddenly jumped to all different positions and what sounded like a fierce wind was ripping through the room. I pressed it again and somehow it had managed to construct a gentle beat out of the mess of noise I'd entered.

I wasn't prepared for what it threw back at me though as I twiddled with a few knobs for the feedback sound and my speakers pierced the room with what sounded like somebody dying painfully.

I tried another setting and was presented with what can only be described as peace in sound form. As I listened carefully to it, drifting into a state of eternal bliss, the sound was comprised of many different layers of noises which were floating in and out giving the sound different textures to it. I've no idea how it had produced them from what I'd put into it though.

The software is certainly not just for mucking around on though as it has a record facility which will record as you play with the noise and can record for as long as you want, until your computer runs out of space. This gives the option to twiddle with knobs while recording and it has already been used by Christopher Hipgrave to create his album 'Slow, With Pages of Fluttering Interference.

I found that the controls were a little fiddly and if you needed to be extremely precise in what you were altering this may cause a little trouble as some of the mouse movements were a bit clunky in dragging the virtual knobs around.

The random button was a brilliant idea though and ten seconds after loading up a few high pitched notes from the guitar, I'd managed to make them sound like the biggest mosquito of all time and elegant churchbells -just by clicking my mouse twice.

In all this is a pioneering and yet beautifully simple piece of software. It opens up endless possibilities for creativity and at only £10, is an absolute steal.

- Alistair Webster

AMBIENT - Standalone Module (PC & MAC)