PLASMONIC - A new synth from Brian Clevinger

[fisherKing]

I just had this idea. This synth is so rich and lush and I was wondering if I use a high sample rate, like 96KHz, would it be even richer? I'll try it but curious if anyone has experience recording at higher sample rates like this?

what's the endgame? if you record at a high sample rate, and you mix at that same rate, and listen back to those very mixes on studio monitors, it might be worthwhile.

if you end up with mp3s, or your music is streaming, there's no point. but certainly worth trying...

Thanks! Yeh, I'd want to either play live or have compositions that would end up on Soundcloud or other streaming service. Going to try and record at 96 for now. I can't really tell much different with my ears.

in the overall scheme of things, you'll tax you DAW & OS more, use more HD space, for nuances that no one will really hear. worth the experiment, but probably not needed in the 'real world'.

personally, i'm happy at 44/24 (everything generally winds up on spotify etc). but (always) great to have options. so let us know how it goes...

[cthonophonic]

The advantage of running at higher sample rates would be in cleaning up aliasing artifacts, which are noticeable when you run the oscillators at high frequencies. Even the sine will produce strong artifacts when you push it above half-Nyquist. The resonator can alias audibly too, though I've only noticed that when Saturation and Mod are cranked way up.

I'm mostly fine running at 44.1. It might be nice to have individual options to oversample the oscillators or resonator, but Plasmonic still sounds lovely overall.

[karmacoma24]

Wow, I just purchased this over the weekend. Plasmonic combined with the Linnstrument is actual bliss! The sound is a pure delight. The UI has grown on me, as I was a bit hesitant at first, but now I rather quite like it. This synth certainly has something special about it. I cannot stop playing it. I am looking forward to making my own presets with this. Very nice.

[killmaster]

The advantage of running at higher sample rates would be in cleaning up aliasing artifacts, which are noticeable when you run the oscillators at high frequencies. Even the sine will produce strong artifacts when you push it above half-Nyquist. The resonator can alias audibly too, though I've only noticed that when Saturation and Mod are cranked way up.

I'm mostly fine running at 44.1. It might be nice to have individual options to oversample the oscillators or resonator, but Plasmonic still sounds lovely overall.

I'm not sure if its my audio interface but sometimes I get unpleasant click sounds that I attributed to the short envelopes, but if I save and reload they go away and are much more smooth or more interpolated. Kind of a mystery but maybe the cause is something like what you are talking about. hmmm... Next time I get that, I'll set it to 96Khz and see if there's any change.

[Cinebient]

Trying now some strings like sounds. This one maybe has a bit of a sul ponticello, flautando and scratchy flavour.
https://soundcloud.com/user-790535032/p ... gs-hybrids
and a simple flute
https://soundcloud.com/user-790535032/plasmonic-flute

[fisherKing]

Trying now some strings like sounds. This one maybe has a bit of a sul ponticello, flautando and scratchy flavour.
https://soundcloud.com/user-790535032/p ... gs-hybrids
and a simple flute
https://soundcloud.com/user-790535032/plasmonic-flute

very cool. but stop making up words: "sul ponticello", "flautando", "scratchy"...

[cthonophonic]

The advantage of running at higher sample rates would be in cleaning up aliasing artifacts, which are noticeable when you run the oscillators at high frequencies. Even the sine will produce strong artifacts when you push it above half-Nyquist. The resonator can alias audibly too, though I've only noticed that when Saturation and Mod are cranked way up.

I'm mostly fine running at 44.1. It might be nice to have individual options to oversample the oscillators or resonator, but Plasmonic still sounds lovely overall.

I'm not sure if its my audio interface but sometimes I get unpleasant click sounds that I attributed to the short envelopes, but if I save and reload they go away and are much more smooth or more interpolated. Kind of a mystery but maybe the cause is something like what you are talking about. hmmm... Next time I get that, I'll set it to 96Khz and see if there's any change.

Aliasing artifacts are something different than what you're describing. They're not clicks. They're more like ringing or washy-glitchy sounds produced by frequencies that are higher than what the sampling rate can reproduce.

If there are clicks that go away when you reload, maybe it's a bug?

[Old Norse]

Trying now some strings like sounds.

That's just gorgeous! Very rich sounding.

[Cinebient]

Where I have problems is to create a smooth legato transition with Plasmonic.
Like mentioned I also have these clicks and not quite sure when and why they happen. It really seems also happening if I use less voices and a voice get stealed in a pretty hard way.
Not sure yet.
But I just tried now something with my Seaboard Rise and damn its so nice and I could get lost for hours with this. Good that I cannot drive to work right now (not because of Covid-19 but because of snow and ice and no chance to drive to work here).
So more time for Plasmonic

[Cinebient]

Trying now some strings like sounds. This one maybe has a bit of a sul ponticello, flautando and scratchy flavour.
https://soundcloud.com/user-790535032/p ... gs-hybrids
and a simple flute
https://soundcloud.com/user-790535032/plasmonic-flute

very cool. but stop making up words: "sul ponticello", "flautando", "scratchy"...

It also can do some nice "juicy" basses

[Cinebient]

Trying now some strings like sounds.

That's just gorgeous! Very rich sounding.

Yes, thanks. Not quite realistic really of course but it has this organic timbre and you can edit it in all the nuances if you want. These are mainly just the resonator with self oscillating and some modulations to get it not out of control.
Another great thing with Plasmonic, everything can self oscillating here, the resonator, the FX, the filters. Its tricky sometimes to just get a nuance of it and fast get back to no self oscillating. But these are the things which makes it so organic as well. It also shines even more if I start to add some better external FX for reverberation.

[Cinebient]

So here a longer (maybe boring) example about tweaking things on the fly.
I just sustained a chord/arp from Cthulhu and tweaked things on the fly.
Of course it can go more subtle as well as more wild and weird.
But it is fun. Just tweaking here parameters from resonator, Spaces, impulse, filter, a bit playing with envelope... There are 100 things more you could morph.
https://soundcloud.com/user-790535032/p ... y-tweaking

[killmaster]

The advantage of running at higher sample rates would be in cleaning up aliasing artifacts, which are noticeable when you run the oscillators at high frequencies. Even the sine will produce strong artifacts when you push it above half-Nyquist. The resonator can alias audibly too, though I've only noticed that when Saturation and Mod are cranked way up.

I'm mostly fine running at 44.1. It might be nice to have individual options to oversample the oscillators or resonator, but Plasmonic still sounds lovely overall.

I'm not sure if its my audio interface but sometimes I get unpleasant click sounds that I attributed to the short envelopes, but if I save and reload they go away and are much more smooth or more interpolated. Kind of a mystery but maybe the cause is something like what you are talking about. hmmm... Next time I get that, I'll set it to 96Khz and see if there's any change.

Aliasing artifacts are something different than what you're describing. They're not clicks. They're more like ringing or washy-glitchy sounds produced by frequencies that are higher than what the sampling rate can reproduce.

If there are clicks that go away when you reload, maybe it's a bug?

or perhaps voice stealing? but maybe not, cause it sounds more like crackling. Could be just what the sound does once the phases all line up? Sometimes I like it.

[Cinebient]

Next step some "organic" arps. No extern FX again but only using Logic Arp as midi input here.
https://soundcloud.com/user-790535032/p ... allic-arps

[Cinebient]

Another one, yeah sorry, but for some reason I cannot stop to play with Plasmonic.
https://soundcloud.com/user-790535032/p ... -duo-pluck
...something faster...
https://soundcloud.com/user-790535032/p ... uo-pluck-2
https://soundcloud.com/user-790535032/p ... uo-pluck-3