Cytomic Synthesizer

[simmo75]

andy-cytomic, how’s synth coming along, it’s been a while.

[nrosko]

What synth?

[simmo75]

What synth?

Have you checked the name of this thread mate?

[nrosko]

I didn't realise one wad actually being made, I assumed it was more a request. I've just been waiting for scream update.

[pierb]

Any news on the synth Andy?

[electro]

Any news on the synth Andy?

The priority is getting Scream out of beta.

[andy-cytomic]

No news at the moment, will still be a while before a synth is released as I'm just finishing up The Scream, then updating all our software for Apple Silicon native builds and VST3, then doing The Glue HD.

[zerocrossing]

Here’s what I personally would like to see in a Cytomic synth. Sort of a “Cypher 3” with some additions like different oscillator modes. Wavetable, samples, VCO emulation, anything interesting. Definitely make them modulation sources, or at least one of them. We know the filters will be great, so let’s hit them with some audio rate modulation! Feedback too, and modules to add various distortion types pre and post filters. It should purr and scream.

And of course, MPE would be a must, and polyphonic aftertouch. A lot of good modern instruments suffer from ignoring these, IMO. Massive X, Opal, etc. A modulation sequencer and wavetable LFO would also be welcome additions.

Some modularity would be nice, especially if it could add flexibility and keep CPU loads down on more basic patches. I’d hope to have at least 8 voices, though.

I personally don’t think it has to have a lot of effects, though a per voice delay would be nice for Karplus–Strong synthesis. Maybe a flexible modulation effect that can do chorus and flanger type effects, and of course some reverb, if for nothing else, to show off presets.

Anyway, those are my bleary, Monday morning ramblings.

[andy-cytomic]

Here’s what I personally would like to see in a Cytomic synth. Sort of a “Cypher 3” with some additions like different oscillator modes. Wavetable, samples, VCO emulation, anything interesting. Definitely make them modulation sources, or at least one of them. We know the filters will be great, so let’s hit them with some audio rate modulation! Feedback too, and modules to add various distortion types pre and post filters. It should purr and scream.

And of course, MPE would be a must, and polyphonic aftertouch. A lot of good modern instruments suffer from ignoring these, IMO. Massive X, Opal, etc. A modulation sequencer and wavetable LFO would also be welcome additions.

Some modularity would be nice, especially if it could add flexibility and keep CPU loads down on more basic patches. I’d hope to have at least 8 voices, though.

I personally don’t think it has to have a lot of effects, though a per voice delay would be nice for Karplus–Strong synthesis. Maybe a flexible modulation effect that can do chorus and flanger type effects, and of course some reverb, if for nothing else, to show off presets.

Anyway, those are my bleary, Monday morning ramblings.

Thanks for the feedback. That synth sounds like a Frankenstein's monster of every cobbled together sound generation, filtering, and modulation possible. Perhaps I could build up towards such a beast, but I'll most likely keep things a little more focussed and release multiple synths along the way until I can weld / stitch / bolt them together in such a way. Until then you can already do this sort of thing in VCV Rack, and get 16 voices of polyphony, but alas, if you make your own synth like this you also need to make your own presets!

[electro]

Why synth instead of following up the Scream with other realistic stomps? I would be much more interested in pairing up Cytomic Wahs, Fuzz and Distortions with ToneX.

Synths are well covered. Check U-he, TAL, Sonic Projects and Softube Modular.

[andy-cytomic]

Why synth instead of following up the Scream with other realistic stomps? I would be much more interested in pairing up Cytomic Wahs, Fuzz and Distortions with ToneX.

Synths are well covered. Check U-he, TAL, Sonic Projects and Softube Modular.

Because I like synths and I've got some of the worlds best sounding analog modelled filters already done! But doing synths will be on the back burner for a while, I'm finishing The Scream, doing the Apple Silicon update to The Drop, then doing a Glue v2, and also an 1176 - but I may squeeze in a basic synth while working on Glue v2.

edit: People also said this when I first did The Glue: why are you doing an SSL bus compressor? There are already many good plugins that do that...

[dayjob]

@andy-cytomic follow your whims my dude. it's worked so far. go where your interests are. compressor, filters, distortion... synth.. whatever it is i'm sure it'll be interesting and sound great.

[andy-cytomic]

@andy-cytomic follow your whims my dude. it's worked so far. go where your interests are. compressor, filters, distortion... synth.. whatever it is i'm sure it'll be interesting and sound great.

[nrosko]

I picked up the vcv filter its really great, would be really good to see more of those but i guess it super niche market. If a synth ever gets completed it would be aweso1me, i get the feeling even if you aim for a simple synth it will end up with lots of tweekability.

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

My personal take on a Cytomic synth is this: for now, I'd rather see more Cytomic VCV modules rather than a standalone instrument? Why? Andy is capable of being downright prolific in VCV with about 2 filter modules released in the last few months (the Deopfer Wasp filter and now the Cytomic branded SEM). Seems like it's a good platform for releasing things easily.

Whereas the pace of development on Cytomic plugins is glacially slow by comparison (and we're talking about glaciers moving, not them melting). Seems like the boring stuff (manuals, website updates, framework updates, GUI code, etc.) seems to take up either a lot of time, or Andy would just rather use his time elsewhere, so the Cytomic standalone plugins see much slower progress. At least from the outside.

Whereas, all that research on the DSP-side that Andy seems to enjoy, appears to translate well to VCV Rack where new modules (aka "plugins") can be built, distributed, and sold very easily. So I'd take more VCV Rack modules that could be turned aronud quickly versus a synth which may take years if not another decade+ to see the light of day.

I wonder how quickly Andy could patch together some high quality analog oscillators with almost no aliasing that respond well to audio-rate, and some modeled VCA's, and an LFO and maybe another filter and bundle those as a single VCV Rack "plugin" for like $99. The building blocks of a Cytomic semi-modular. Bet that could happen a lot faster than a Cytomic semi-modular synth VST plugin. And I'd be all in.