Tone2 Rayblaster: OUT NOW! (demo version available)

[Echoes in the Attic]

...then buy it, or delete it. freedom of choice! at least there IS a demo (z3ta+2 anyone?).

another option is mention it frequently which has caused a number of companies to loosen demo restrictions... freedom of choice!

As happened with tone2 themselves. ElectraX had it's demo time lengthened. I think from 10 minutes to 20. Makes a huge difference and is the reason I've had the demo on my computer for months. Eventually I'll probably buy it again. An annoying demo just makes you lose interest. It should be their goal to NOT annoy you with the demo too much so that people on the fence leave it on the computer and one day fire it up again and have a good session with it, inspiring them to buy.

The Resynthesis feature was one of the last added and is more or less independent from the "normal" waveform import. The Resynthesis results in a kind of granular synthesis.

For "normal" use you could either use one of the factory waveforms or load your own ones (not sure if this will be enabled in the demo version).
The presets contain additional waveforms as those are stored within the preset file.

For creating an impulse response you could load a single cycle waveforms based on your favorite synth for example.

I always thought a tone2 granular synth would be great. So it actually lets you load smaples long enough that you can identify the source? 4096 samples (which you mentioned you were using) is about 93 ms, too short for much outside grabbing waveforms. What's normal mode?

[kmonkey]

Odd; the promo-video starts off with an annoying noise that made me think the neighbour had started drilling the walls followed by a voice sounding like a slightly sick robot. And that's only the start. It really sounds like they tried to put in as much vomit-inducing sounds as possible it this video.

Agreed. And i was even more annoyed with that weird voice which seems to be computer generated or altered. Oh well..

[ariston]

Agreed. And i was even more annoyed with that weird voice which seems to be computer generated or altered. Oh well..

Actually, it kinda reminded me of the speech synthesis used on the Radiohead track "Fitter, Happier". Great memories... but still the worst promotional video since Sonivox Vocalizer... or perhaps the Izotope T-Pain disaster.

[LeVzi]

I would go as far as to say if you get Rayblaster you are going to want to get the Wave Designer too, as that's part of the fun.

I am sure Ingo or someone will flat up the need for a longer demo time on the T2 forums, or if you are a member there already you can suggest this, not sure if there is a RB section yet, probably is.

RB is a strange one tbh, I don't understand the science behind it one bit, nor do I get how it works, but I can say that it throws out some pretty mad sounds just by messing about with the factory stuff.

[Crackbaby]

Ingo, on the video it seemed to be 'hard' to load the waveforms on your harddrive. Is it really open a folder, browse and pick or is there a faster way? It looked like the way a generic synth edit sampler loads files. Please tell me it's fast and simple, preferable with previous/next

http://www.adventurekid.se/akrt/waveforms/ <- this must be heaving for the plugin, no? Tons and tons of single cycle waveforms (now don't tell me they have no mass, you'd ruin my day! )

[LeVzi]

Just whack them all in the right place and they form a giant drop down That simple.

[Ingonator]

I always thought a tone2 granular synth would be great. So it actually lets you load smaples long enough that you can identify the source? 4096 samples (which you mentioned you were using) is about 93 ms, too short for much outside grabbing waveforms. What's normal mode?

Hi,

the "normal" mode is that you load waveforms up to 65536 samples or usually short single cycle waves into the oscillators.

The Resynthesis features is available from a menu in the orange display and could load samples up to 4 seconds or more. Anyway at a certain length the pitch will become so high that it will be unusable. This seems to work best for e.g. Drumloops or Vocal sounds.


Ingo

[Ingonator]

Ingo, on the video it seemed to be 'hard' to load the waveforms on your harddrive. Is it really open a folder, browse and pick or is there a faster way? It looked like the way a generic synth edit sampler loads files. Please tell me it's fast and simple, preferable with previous/next

http://www.adventurekid.se/akrt/waveforms/ <- this must be heaving for the plugin, no? Tons and tons of single cycle waveforms (now don't tell me they have no mass, you'd ruin my day! )

Hi,

you either load single files from the folder you want or add them to the default folder which will create a huge drop-down menu like Levzi already mentioned.

BTW for using the waveforms properly as an Impulse response they must have a zero-crossing at the beginning and the end.


Ingo

[ChiTown24]

FAO beta testers & factory patch designers:

if the demo is going to forbid the wavecycle/resynthesis import options, can you please request or make sure that there will be a significant amount of unconventional/odd/strange/found audio files to choose from.

dog barking, sea shore, helicopter, glass breaking, etc etc.
I'm not even asking that you make patches out of them, just make sure there are plenty of such source files to choose from in the demo so I can make my own and see if this synth is worth buying in that respect.

thanks!

[rj0]

ElectraX resynthesis plus Gladiator formant meets Nuklear?

[TwoToneshuzz]

I am quite interested in this "RayBlaster" It would be interesting if you could load a series of waves and play them as a wavetable. But by the looks of things it just plays a single file in each slot..

Great idea though..

[Krakatau]

yeah, looks promising...

...i was slightly disappointed by ElectraX after the enormous surprise that has been Gladiator for me, but this last one seems to give something brand new to the tone2 sonic palette

[Numanoid]

This seems like a cross between granular synthesis and pulsar/pulse train synthesis. I'm liking that the "pitch noise modulation" and low cut filters from Saurus have carried over. Those two features go a LONG way.

So is it sort of related to Hamburg Audio's Nuklear which is based on advanced granular pulse train synthesis

[Sendy]

This seems like a cross between granular synthesis and pulsar/pulse train synthesis. I'm liking that the "pitch noise modulation" and low cut filters from Saurus have carried over. Those two features go a LONG way.

So is it sort of related to Hamburg Audio's Nuklear which is based on advanced granular pulse train synthesis

That would be my guess, though there are somethings Nuklear can't do that RB can and vice versa. For example, Nuklear lets you microsequence the pulse train by turning off certain pulses, which creates suboctaves and stuff. RB doesn't have this, but it does have lots more waveform options, loadable impulses, etc. RB can do resynthesis and mangle music/drum loops as well, so it seems more interesting to me.

Also, this is pure assumption based on the GUI and blurb (which I take with a massive dose of salt and a few chuckles here and there... you gotta love t2's marketing division ). I suspect Rayblaster will offer a lot more value for money when compared to Nuklear, which I felt was a tad overpriced.

[TwoToneshuzz]

Chime in once more. I too think Tone2's marketing is a bit strong..

But still I'm interested in this. Also as I see it as an interesting container for the waves available out there. Like the Galbanum architecture series that seem like a very good pairing with this device.

On the other hand I find the sound in the demos really grating bright and agressive which even though it effects the listeners experience of loudness in a positive way, perhaps may be tiring on the ear as well. It's a too well aimed tool. Like a lazer light show is for the eyes.

Just conjecture..