Fathom Synth Development Thread

[Tj Shredder]

What I would really like to find in VST/AU plugin is neither an arpeggiator nor yet another sampler (there are already so many of them) but something really new in the world of plugins : an organ in the type of those modern Technics or Yamaha or Roland or Elka double manual very modern organs. They all are twice organs and synths, and their sounds are absolutely awesome, far, far, far from the old "hammond" sounds.

What these videos showed has nothing to do with synthesis, its all about how you control those sounds. Its the controller! Place whatever sound source you want behind it and you get to it.
Btw. Sound is a matter of taste. Yes, most of these demos sounded far, far older and less interesting for me than an old hammond sound, I prefer more contemporary sounds, which Fathom is capable of. To create those home organ sounds Fathom does not even be enhanced, it can do that already today (if your computer is fast enough...; - )

[BlackWinny]

Yes, but then.... what about "yet another sampler" or "yet another arpeggiator" ?

My suggestion to develop an "organ-synth all-in-one" as software plugin was much more original than "yet another sampler" and "yet another arp". It takes much more time, indeed, but it is much more original in the plugin world.

That's all.

[FathomSynth]

BlackWinny, I agree with you.

It would provide a completely new dimension to the instrument, and like you say, not just the same old stuff other synths are doing.

I'll be watching your videos to see if any of the instruments have features which could translate well to the Fathom interface to get more organ players to buy it.

TJ, I see your point too. I think a deeply sampled organ would be cool, but perhaps a page on the interface which gives the same controls that an organ would have, that way it would appeal to the organ users more.

[Tj Shredder]

Yes, but then.... what about "yet another sampler" or "yet another arpeggiator" ?

My suggestion to develop an "organ-synth all-in-one" as software plugin was much more original than "yet another sampler" and "yet another arp". It takes much more time, indeed, but it is much more original in the plugin world.

That's all.

But how do you put all these keyboards in a plug-in?

There are tons of organ plug-ins, it would still be "yet another".
It would take less time though, organs are simple, only the layering creates complexity, but its also easy to layer plug-ins of any kind...

[BlackWinny]

Yes Everett, it would bring a very great additional value... and a strong argument to interest the very numerous organ players (believe me, they are much more numerous than what we think) as well as many usual hardware synths players and workstations players on stage as well as at home. And many plugin users would also say "Wow ! At last something really new in our plugin world !"

A lot can be done in terms of novelties in the plugin world to enlarge the palette of possibilities and not stay stuck to always the same things as we do for years and years. The hardware world, especially in the domain of the organs, have made a huge evolution these last years, especially since the early 2000s, and many new organs are now as complex and as featured as synths, and with designers and technicians who generally take their techniques precisely from the synth world. So... I'm really convinced that now it is the turn to the plugin world to take a great part of its inspiration from these wonderful new "organ-synths" which are now as much synths as organs. In the organ world that I know very well the "Hammond" sounds are now really considered as an "old vintage" nostalgic epoch but the technology progresses very quickly in this organs world since the early 2000s and all the new organs provide now sounds which have nothing to envy of the performances of the synths.

If we don't want the plugin world to become fossilized in the minds of the hardware funs it is more than time now to propose brand new things in this plugin world. Not necessarily revolutionary things... but things so much inspired from the hardware evolutions that it can invite many hardware musicians to "try" and adopt the idea that plugins can ALSO be very diversified and not always only synths, effects, samplers and arp-sequencers. Because the problem is there : currently what does the plugin world propose outside synths, effects, samplers and arp-sequencers? Almost Nothing. I don't only talk about the sound sources... I talk also about the way to play and the diversity of the instruments. Since the first hardware "organ-synths" made in the seventies (the mythic organ (aka "the dream machine) from Yamaha, the first models (mainly since the which came before the famous 310U) from Eminent and the first models (mainly and from Elka) many new things and many new instruments have been done in the hardware world until today, even without talking about the Rolls-Royces' gems. And beside that... the plugin world stays stuck to always reproduce a very small palette of instruments, as if the inspiration was lacking. That's why I say that it is a very good opportunity now to propose something brand new in this world, and widely inspired from a very very crowded population in the hardware world : an organ-synth. Knowing that many, many amateur musicians (even playing in a band) dream of such hardware instruments but will never be able to afford it... it is in my opinion a very wise and very clever idea to propose to them (and to the plugin lovers) the first software organ-synth plugin (of very good quality of course) which will not only be a event in this plugin world but will also be a huge call to hundreds or thousands hardware dreamers who will be now able to have "their" organ-synth... and who in the same time will put a foot in the software plugin world.

[BlackWinny]

Yes, but then.... what about "yet another sampler" or "yet another arpeggiator" ?

My suggestion to develop an "organ-synth all-in-one" as software plugin was much more original than "yet another sampler" and "yet another arp". It takes much more time, indeed, but it is much more original in the plugin world.

That's all.

But how do you put all these keyboards in a plug-in?

There are tons of organ plug-ins, it would still be "yet another".
It would take less time though, organs are simple, only the layering creates complexity, but its also easy to layer plug-ins of any kind...

Ha Ha ! You have a very wrong idea of what are the organs since the mid-70's.


Watch all the videos I have posted (including those in the very last post just above this one) and keep on telling me that organs are simple and are simply layers to create or fake complexity and take less time that synths to develop.

Already in 1974, with its 35 oscillators for a huge synthesis, the Yamaha GX-1 was one of the favorite instruments of Keith Emerson, and the same for Stevie Wonder. It is not also "by simplicity of a layers technique" that Jarre used the Eminent 310U, the Elka X705, etc. Kraftwerk also used these organ-synths, and Tangerine Dream too, and Rick Wakeman too, and Klaus Schulze too. Why didn't they simply "stick to synths" as people generally think by mistake ? He... because these organs have things to offer which are not in the synths. It is a huge error to think that synths are the panacea in music. Not only modern organs (I don't talk about the tons of Hammond-like organs nor about the combo organs) are true very comprehensive instruments which are real compliments to the synths but they also bring many advantages on some stages, and for professional musicians as well as for amateur musicians.

I could cite many professional synth players very known (and not only in rock genres) who are also used to play these organ-synths on stage or in studios.

[Tj Shredder]

Ha Ha ! You have a very wrong idea of what are the organs since the mid-70's.


Watch all the videos I have posted (including those in the very last post just above this one) and keep on telling me that organs are simple and are simply layers to create or fake complexity and take less time that synths to develop.

Already in 1974...

Don't get me wrong, I love also organ music, and its a wonderful controller for wonderful musicians.
But all the videos you posted, showed old fashioned organs with old fashioned sounds, especially the last one showed sounds the synths could play already in the lets say early eighties. Great instruments still! But this has nothing to do with innovative synthesis, its about how you play them and layer the sounds, have multiple keyboards and so on.
There is nothing wrong with playing old fashioned instruments, I still play my violin, it still sounds amazing, better than any synthesized violin.
But I also play my LinnStrument, that is something really new... And I just added as a second layer a Seaboard block to it. Expressive as hell... I am so glad that Everett will implement MPE it will turn Fathom into a magical soundsource...
On some of the videos, you see a lot of sound switching, preset recall and such, like with the real organs pushing buttons to change the sound. On a MPE compatible controller, you do not need to lift your fingers to change the sound, you do it directly...

[BlackWinny]

I prefer to stop instead of entering into a sterile polemic.

[tonedef71]

I especially like the sound of the organ in an orchestral setting...

[BlackWinny]

Yes, I love this "oboeish" sound on the second manual.


It's been quite a long time that I know Olivier Latry, having met him several times in this last decade. He is a very kind guy. And he has been teacher of a friend of mine in several masterclasses. And I'm used to assist at least one or two times per year to one of his concerts at the immense organ of Notre-Dame de Paris where he is the titular organist.

For those who love the huge cathedral organs played by grand-masters :



It is of course very different from the modern organs-synths.

[FathomSynth]

Now that's what I call a "midi controller" !

[fmr]

Now that's what I call a "midi controller" !

It's not MIDI, but it's quite a controller, all right

[BlackWinny]

Yes. J.S. Bach has certainly dreamed of the techniques of today. A huge "MIDI" controller like this would have been an incredible new extended source of inspiration for his genius mind.

[jmg8]

I hate organs.

[fmr]

Yes. J.S. Bach has certainly dreamed of the techniques of today. A huge "MIDI" controller like this would have been an incredible new extended source of inspiration for his genius mind.

He already had organs with three keyboards and a full pedalboard. And he did a lot with them