Would really like to get a hold of Alchemy

[macmuse]

I wonder why it doesn't show in mine then. Shows my name but no longer my address or any other personal information.

Does yours show perhaps social security or something else? Mine just shows 0123456789 and "name@domain" then some other numbers.

How long has yours been installed ? I reinstalled mine on a new DAW in late 2019 I think and installed it on this system yesterday just to see if it still installs and they both show the same things like:


Alchemy 082320-1.png

Mine never showed a social security, but does show name, address, phone and email.

I did a migration assistant with my latest computer in December. I do seem to recall a time when I had to dig out the old Camel files to install again when the migration didn’t fully work, I just don’t remember when, since I was dealing with a lot of software I have bought over the years.

[bmanic]

Been playing a bit with Alchemy 1.55 today and I have to take back what I said about the filters. Yeah, sure they aren't perhaps the latest and greatest zero delay designs but they are definitely not as bad as I remember them being. Somehow I had this memory that 1.55 sounded a lot rougher than Alchemy 2 and while that is true, it's nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

Still, Alchemy 2 set to it's highest quality mode sounds a whole lot better.. there's no doubt about that.

[Teksonik]

Mine never showed a social security, but does show name, address, phone and email.

Ahh that's it phone number. I couldn't remember what the other information was.

I can't think of why my version no longer shows anything but my name and generic information like "street city 0123456". I just installed it from the same installer that I've always used.

It didn't ask for for a serial number but it shows my name on the GUI right under the word Alchemy and in the readout window so it's fully authorized.

Alchemy 082320-2.png

[Teksonik]

Been playing a bit with Alchemy 1.55 today and I have to take back what I said about the filters. Yeah, sure they aren't perhaps the latest and greatest zero delay designs but they are definitely not as bad as I remember them being.

I spent some more time with Alchemy today as well and it's not the filters that are the problem to me. Like you said they're not the latest and greatest but they do the job quite well.

It's the VA Osc's that seem to give Alchemy a harsher sound than say Dune 3 especially with Unison. I'd explain it as Alchemy sounds like sandpaper while Dune 3 sounds like silk.

Alchemy does have a pretty raw sound compared to what's available today. Some people may prefer that but I like a more refined and smooth sound.

But the Granular feature is still capable of creating some crazy wild sounds so for that reason alone I'd never want to get rid of my copy.....

[TS-12]

Sucks that anything Apple is only-apple, Logic, Alchemy... wonder when Apple will make iTunes Apple-only

[collider]

Sucks that anything Apple is only-apple, Logic, Alchemy... wonder when Apple will make iTunes Apple-only

iTunes is gone/done with Catalina.

[bmanic]

Been playing a bit with Alchemy 1.55 today and I have to take back what I said about the filters. Yeah, sure they aren't perhaps the latest and greatest zero delay designs but they are definitely not as bad as I remember them being.

I spent some more time with Alchemy today as well and it's not the filters that are the problem to me. Like you said they're not the latest and greatest but they do the job quite well.

It's the VA Osc's that seem to give Alchemy a harsher sound than say Dune 3 especially with Unison. I'd explain it as Alchemy sounds like sandpaper while Dune 3 sounds like silk.

Alchemy does have a pretty raw sound compared to what's available today. Some people may prefer that but I like a more refined and smooth sound.

But the Granular feature is still capable of creating some crazy wild sounds so for that reason alone I'd never want to get rid of my copy.....

Very true. I think that's probably why I'm so keen on using the parametric EQ that is available per oscillator (heck, you can run 3 of them). Keytracking it's gain gives you the opportunity to very specifically target any frequencies that become harsh.. or simply removing some more harmonic content for higher notes, or really whatever you want.

So yeah, while the basic oscillators themselves are definitely not ideal (the VA section), because you get so many possibilities to tailor them, it's possible to still create really cool sounds.

I remember having some demonstrations in one of the expansions.. I think it was called dance/trance something. I don't exactly remember, but I have two presets there, one called "Butter Cut Saw" and the other "Butter Cut Square" that should be using this technique.

[Teksonik]

Oh I've done a bunch of VA patches for Alchemy over the years. While I don't find them as pleasing as the same patches made in Dune 3 they're still "really cool sounds".

[andy-cytomic]

But yeah.. would be really nice if they updated them again (remember, Alchemy already did update the filters once! Andy from Cytomic helped create the currently available ones).

Just a clarification here: I did not create any of the filters in Alchemy. Ben got Antti to create the filters, then due to the fact they were breaking at various settings (not just sounding harsh but actually crapping out) I helped stop them breaking while preserving the current sound for patch compatibility.

[carrieres]

But yeah.. would be really nice if they updated them again (remember, Alchemy already did update the filters once! Andy from Cytomic helped create the currently available ones).

Just a clarification here: I did not create any of the filters in Alchemy. Ben got Antti to create the filters, then due to the fact they were breaking at various settings (not just sounding harsh but actually crapping out) I helped stop them breaking while preserving the current sound for patch compatibility.

I am sorry to post some wrong statement.
Did you write the EQ8 filter ? or any filter in Ableton apart the Glue ?

[andy-cytomic]

But yeah.. would be really nice if they updated them again (remember, Alchemy already did update the filters once! Andy from Cytomic helped create the currently available ones).

Just a clarification here: I did not create any of the filters in Alchemy. Ben got Antti to create the filters, then due to the fact they were breaking at various settings (not just sounding harsh but actually crapping out) I helped stop them breaking while preserving the current sound for patch compatibility.

I am sorry to post some wrong statement.
Did you write the EQ8 filter ? or any filter in Ableton apart the Glue ?

I wrote the core linear SVF algorithm (ie no drive) that is used in EQ8, which is only a few lines of DSP that does the innermost number crunching and is told which cutoff / Q (damping), and high/band/low mix levels. I also helped them with the "oversampling" / "natural phase" mode. The guys at Ableton wrote the vast majority of EQ8, including the UI and the shapes being used. This algorithm is in the public domain and you can read about it here: www.cytomic.com/technical-papers

I also wrote The Drop, a non-linear analog modelling resonant filter plugin (ie adds drive / distorts), and Ableton have licensed 4 of the MD (medium detail) filters from it. There are 10 filters in total in The Drop, and they also come in HD (high detail) which gives a better sounding result but uses more cpu to get it. These 4 MD filters are used in various devices including Simpler, Operator, Wavetable, AutoFilter, Echo (PRD filter in the feedback section) etc.

[bmanic]

But yeah.. would be really nice if they updated them again (remember, Alchemy already did update the filters once! Andy from Cytomic helped create the currently available ones).

Just a clarification here: I did not create any of the filters in Alchemy. Ben got Antti to create the filters, then due to the fact they were breaking at various settings (not just sounding harsh but actually crapping out) I helped stop them breaking while preserving the current sound for patch compatibility.

Ah! Awesome, thanks for clearing that up. My bad for getting it completely wrong!

[pbr985]

Same with amplitude.. you already can have a super stable sound that isn't all over the place dynamically, without using any kind of compressor. Again, simply by using the modulation mapper and a few levels of modulation depth.

Could you please teach me how you do this, like with an arpeggiated bassline? Sounds very interesting.

[uselessmind]

Hi Everyone
Does anyone have any idea on how to obtain a copy of Alchemy, the full synth not the player? I know it lives on in Apple Logic but I do not have a MAC and do not plan on getting one any time soon.
It does show up on some web stores when doing a Google search but all of the links I have found are either dead or show it discontinued. Also tried EBay but no luck there. Thanks in advance for any help with this.

Laqua

If you are still interested, i sent you a pm a while ago.

[bmanic]

Same with amplitude.. you already can have a super stable sound that isn't all over the place dynamically, without using any kind of compressor. Again, simply by using the modulation mapper and a few levels of modulation depth.

Could you please teach me how you do this, like with an arpeggiated bassline? Sounds very interesting.

You just map the keys/frequencies that are sticking out to the main output volume of the preset.

Say, if the note C4 is louder than all other notes in the preset (for instance due to the filter + resonance happening to trigger those frequencies more than others) then you just make sure C4 note is modulating the output volume down, while all other notes get no treatment.