Now available: Gladiator 4.2

[street spirit]

Gladiator is a cool synth. Always wished it had mono legato though. That didn't get added did it?

Agreed.

[Korg Supporter]

Is there a reason that oscillators 1-4 can't load or analyze custom morph tables or wave tables when Icarus and Electra can? Is it because of how they operate differently?

[Markus Krause]

Icarus:

With Icarus anyone can build fantastic sounds quickly and easily. Traditional resynthesis methods require a deep knowledge of sample-editing in order to achieve good results. It needs time-consuming pre-processing with a sample-editor and precisely tuned samples.
We have taken care of these problems for you and have developed completely new algorithms. Icarus' innovative wavetable-resynthesis can rebuild sounds with a single mouse-click! It works with nearly any kind of audio-material and produces high-quality results. Simply click the button, select a wav file and Icarus will automatically create a patch, which sounds like the original. Optionally, you can further shape your sound with morphing, BPM-synchronization, time-stretching, the filters, the effects or any other module.
Traditional sample-import, auto-tuning, beat-slicing, pitch-shifting, noise-reduction and granular playback is also supported.
All waveforms, wavetables and samples are automatically stored within your patches or songs. This means you don't have to worry about any files missing on your hard drive or broken song-projects.


Electra:

The Resynthesis function is not as powerful as Icarus. It is limited to re-synthesizing a single-cycle waveform. The waveform then can additionally shaped with PWM, sync or FM.
It works pretty well, since Electra automatically detects the proper wave-lenght and correctly loops the waveform.

Gladiator:

In short: Here resynthesis does not work well from the technical and does not make fun.
The HCM synthesis in Gladiator stores 256 spectral snapshot of sounds. These spectra can be altered, morphed and looped. The (additive) spectra do not contain phase information. This gets lost during the conversion process. The loss of information means that most sounds do not longer sound the same. As a result, it only works well with certain sounds. And these sounds need to be manually preprocessed and fine-tuned with an external Audio-editor by someone who is very experienced. The results are mostly not good enough to convince. So the whole process quite painful and time-consuming.

Resynthesis tool for Gladiator:
(not recommended - It's crappy and wrote this old software only for myself. It's no fun at all to use it)
www.tone2.com/Resynthesis_Tool_for_Tone2_Gladiator2.zip

What does it do:

It allows you to create custom vocoder sounds or to resynthesise instruments.
It loads a 16 bit mono wav file and creates a custom mf2 files (custom HCM synthesis oscillator) for Tone2 Gladiator2.


Please note this:

- This tool is interesting for professionals only. You should be skilled with computers or sound design.
- The utility is PC only
- We do not provide support for this utility
- The software is provided "AS IS" and to be used at your own risk.
- Results may vary, not all wave material is suitable for resynthesis
- The utlility works with 16 bit mono wave files (default header)
- The sounds must have a wavelength of 512 samples
- Some wave material will crash the utility, note that extra header information (wavelab) could be a cause for this


How to create a custom vocoder sound for Gladiator2:

1) Start resynthesis utility
2) 'File->load WAV' and select a 16 bit mono WAV file which contains speech like 'VocoderMe.wav'
3) Resynthesize it with 'Analyze->Cos 2048'.
4) Play it back with 'Play->Resynthesis slow'.
5) Save it with 'File->save MF2 Multiwave'. It will create a file called 'new.MF2'.
6) Rename 'new.MF2' to '137VO Gladiator.mf2' and overwrite the file in Vstplugins/Gladiator2_data
7) Load Gladiator2
8 ) Press Init to create a new patch and select 'VO Gladiator' as waveform for oscillator1. use 'OSC12 LOOPSPEED' to control the playback speed.


How to resynthesize a an instrument for Gladiator2:

1) Start resynthesis utility
2) 'File->load WAV' and select a 16 bit mono WAV file like 'ResynthesizeMe.wav'
3) Resynthesize it with 'Analyze->Kaiser 16384'.
If you can see vertical lines on the image the tuning of the wave file is not suitable for resynthesis.
The wavelengh of the source MUST be exactly 512 samples. This is a base frequency of exactly 86.13Hz @ 44.1 Khz Samplerate. Not all sounds can be resynthesized without artefacts.
4) Play it back with 'Play->Resynthesis slow'.
5) Save it with 'File->save MF2 Multiwave'. It will create a file called 'new.MF2'.
6) Rename 'new.MF2' to '137VO Gladiator.mf2' and overwrite the file in Vstplugins/Gladiator2_data
7) Load Gladiator2
8 ) Press Init to create a new patch and select 'VO Gladiator' as waveform for oscillator1. use 'OSC12 LOOPSPEED' to control the playback speed.

[DrGonzo]

Icarus:
Icarus' innovative wavetable-resynthesis can rebuild sounds with a single mouse-click! It works with nearly any kind of audio-material and produces high-quality results.

The resynthesis / wavetable functionality in Icarus is absolutely amazing. The best I have ever tried.

[Korg Supporter]

Gladiator:

In short: Here resynthesis does not work well from the technical and does not make fun.
The HCM synthesis in Gladiator stores 256 spectral snapshot of sounds. These spectra can be altered, morphed and looped. The (additive) spectra do not contain phase information. This gets lost during the conversion process. The loss of information means that most sounds do not longer sound the same. As a result, it only works well with certain sounds. And these sounds need to be manually preprocessed and fine-tuned with an external Audio-editor by someone who is very experienced. The results are mostly not good enough to convince. So the whole process quite painful and time-consuming.

Resynthesis tool for Gladiator:
(not recommended - It's crappy and wrote this old software only for myself. It's no fun at all to use it)
www.tone2.com/Resynthesis_Tool_for_Tone2_Gladiator2.zip

What does it do:

It allows you to create custom vocoder sounds or to resynthesise instruments.
It loads a 16 bit mono wav file and creates a custom mf2 files (custom HCM synthesis oscillator) for Tone2 Gladiator2.


Please note this:

- This tool is interesting for professionals only. You should be skilled with computers or sound design.
- The utility is PC only
- We do not provide support for this utility
- The software is provided "AS IS" and to be used at your own risk.
- Results may vary, not all wave material is suitable for resynthesis
- The utlility works with 16 bit mono wave files (default header)
- The sounds must have a wavelength of 512 samples
- Some wave material will crash the utility, note that extra header information (wavelab) could be a cause for this


How to create a custom vocoder sound for Gladiator2:

1) Start resynthesis utility
2) 'File->load WAV' and select a 16 bit mono WAV file which contains speech like 'VocoderMe.wav'
3) Resynthesize it with 'Analyze->Cos 2048'.
4) Play it back with 'Play->Resynthesis slow'.
5) Save it with 'File->save MF2 Multiwave'. It will create a file called 'new.MF2'.
6) Rename 'new.MF2' to '137VO Gladiator.mf2' and overwrite the file in Vstplugins/Gladiator2_data
7) Load Gladiator2
8 ) Press Init to create a new patch and select 'VO Gladiator' as waveform for oscillator1. use 'OSC12 LOOPSPEED' to control the playback speed.


How to resynthesize a an instrument for Gladiator2:

1) Start resynthesis utility
2) 'File->load WAV' and select a 16 bit mono WAV file like 'ResynthesizeMe.wav'
3) Resynthesize it with 'Analyze->Kaiser 16384'.
If you can see vertical lines on the image the tuning of the wave file is not suitable for resynthesis.
The wavelengh of the source MUST be exactly 512 samples. This is a base frequency of exactly 86.13Hz @ 44.1 Khz Samplerate. Not all sounds can be resynthesized without artefacts.
4) Play it back with 'Play->Resynthesis slow'.
5) Save it with 'File->save MF2 Multiwave'. It will create a file called 'new.MF2'.
6) Rename 'new.MF2' to '137VO Gladiator.mf2' and overwrite the file in Vstplugins/Gladiator2_data
7) Load Gladiator2
8 ) Press Init to create a new patch and select 'VO Gladiator' as waveform for oscillator1. use 'OSC12 LOOPSPEED' to control the playback speed.

Thank you so much!
So a few more spectral transformations from Gladiator and Warlock like Bell would be great for Icarus
Edit: I see that you can do it in the wavetable editor, but not in real time. I also think the mention of "up to 6 operators" for FM in Icarus is misleading, as most people would thank of FM as algorithms.

[gondii]

When is v4 going to be released? I purchased the upgrade thinking it was right around the corner. Is there an ETA?

[Markus Krause]

I do not think that this is missleading.

Examples:

6 operator FM (parallel routing): 3 Oscillators run in parallel; each one as a 2 operator FM Osc with 'FM Sine' as modulator (synthesis mode). Morph controls the FM depth.

4 Operator FM (serial routing): Osc3 uses 'FM Sine 2x' (=2 operator FM) . It gets FM modulated by Osc1 with 'FM<-Osc3'. Osc2 FM modulates Osc1 with 'FM<-Osc1' .

Furthermore: Unlike many other synths FM in Icarus is not limited to sine waves. You can use any waveform with up to 1024 partials for this. All this can also be combined with Hypersaws or Wavetables or other synthesis medtods.

[Markus Krause]

When is v4 going to be released? I purchased the upgrade thinking it was right around the corner. Is there an ETA?

The beta for Mac is already available. PC most likely will follow this month. You will receive an email with a download link as soon as it is available.

[mikeyo]

Hello everyone
Do we have the option to change the skin in Gladiator 3.54 like in earlier versions or has this option been removed?
I'm on Windows 11, using the standalone version and I've tried changing the number on the text document which is located in the Gladiator Data folder (which on my system is in program files/Steinberg/VSTplugins/Tone2/Gladiator3Data).
I didn't know Electronic Expansion had to be installed but i do have that installed actually.
Thanks a lot
Mikey

[Markus Krause]

The skins are only supported for Gladiator2. They still work inofficially with small size of the GUI in Gladiator3. But it is not recommended as the layout is not completely correct.

[mikeyo]

Hello Markus
Thanks for responding and for the info
Mikey

[Tone2 Synthesizers]

Gladiator 4.0

The update to v4.0 is a major update. The upgrade is free for anyone who bought Gladiator directly from tone2.com after April 2023. All others can upgrade with a big discount.

Downward compatibility:
Gladiator 4 is fully downward compatible with all previous versions. All existing song-projects and patches can be loaded without any further steps necessary. They will benfit from the enhanced sound quality.

New features:

• GUI with 14 different sizes (with and without parameter-editor).
• Native support for WQHD, 4K, 5K and 8K UHD displays.
• Support for hardware-acceleration.
• Now all parameters can be automated in all DAWs.
• The current HCM morph-position is shown with a vertical line.
• The mousewheel can be used to quick-select patches.
• It is now possible to export waveforms or wavetables on PC and Mac as a .wav file.
• Arpeggiator-position is shown in the GUI.
• Ultrasharp graphics with enhanced HiDpi and Retina Display support.
• GUI can be scaled from 66% up to 200% by clicking in the lower right corner.
• Automatic detection of the ideal GUI size.
• Lots of other small stuff.

Higher sound-quality:

• More transparent and clear over-all sound.
• The synth 'sits better in the mix', especially when it is combined with other instruments.
• The audio-engine now uses 64-bit precision instead of 32-bit, which results in a higher sound-quality.
• The timing-resolution of the modulation is now twice as precise.
• Enhanced sound of the automatic micro-tuning. Chords can not longer get too much out-of-tune.
• More precise pitch-calculation.
• All sounds with the quality setting "very high" have a more precise and fast modulation.
• More linear frequency-response for certain configurations.
• Enhanced sound of Reverb large. It has a more transparent tail.
• Enhnaced sound of Reverb small. It has a more transparent tail.
• Enhanced sound of Reverb predelay. It has a more transparent tail.
• Enhanced sound of Reverb predelay. It has a more transparent tail.
• Enhanced sound of Reverb trance. It has a more transparent tail.
• Enhanced sound of Reverb old. It has a more transparent tail.
• Enhanced sound of Super Strings. It has a higher precision rendering.
• Enhanced sound of formant-scaling.
• Higher resolution mixing.
• Sounds with quality setting "very high" have more accurate envelopes.
• Lots of other subtle enhancements.

Enhancements:

• Higher performance.
• Completely rewritten GUI code.
• Reworked big parts of the audio-code.
• Reworked and enhanced graphics.
• Several small enhancemets for the patch-selector and patch-browser.
• Smoother animations and more responisve controls.
• The spectrum-displays show more details.
• The skin has some color-bleeding around the displays.
• More contrast for the spectrum-display and the filter-frequency-response.
• More contrast for the LCD displays.
• Several small enhancements for the VST3 and AU version.
• Fine-tuned some coordinates in the interface.
• The LFO waveforms are drawn with a continous line.
• The automatic screen-size detection is smarter.
• Smarter installer.
• Reworked tool-tips.
• Re-sizing the VST3, Standalone and Audiounit works more reliable in various DAWs.
• More beautiful font for the patch-browser for certain configurations.
• Fine-tuned some colors.
• The animations are faster and smoother.
• Enhanced stability.
• A warning message is shown when the installation is damaged.
• A warning is shown when the user accidently selects a gui-size that is too large for the screen.
• The installers come with a Microsoft/Apple approved certificate.
• Lots of other small improvements.

Changes:

Removed the demo-version timeout and added a voice-over.

Fixes:

Some DAWs could show the VST3 version on PC with an incorrect size when Windows scaling was used.
 

[Tone2 Synthesizers]

Gladiator 4.1

The update free for anyone who owns Gladiator 4. Owners of Gladiator 1,2 or 3 can upgrade with a big discount.

New features:

• You can reset knobs to the default value with a double-click.

Enhancements:

• Enhanced the layout of the font on PC.
• Better compatibility with Windows 11.
• Many small enhancements.

Fixes:

• A GUI glitch could happen on the Mac when when cmd + left-click was pressed to reset a knob.

Downward compatibility:
Gladiator 4 is fully downward compatible with all previous versions. All existing song-projects and patches can be loaded without any further steps necessary. They will benfit from the enhanced sound quality.

[Gosh]

Gladiator 4.1

The update free for anyone who owns Gladiator 4. Owners of Gladiator 1,2 or 3 can upgrade with a big discount.

New features:

• You can reset knobs to the default value with a double-click.

Enhancements:

• Enhanced the layout of the font on PC.
• Better compatibility with Windows 11.
• Many small enhancements.

Fixes:

• A GUI glitch could happen on the Mac when when cmd + left-click was pressed to reset a knob.

Downward compatibility:
Gladiator 4 is fully downward compatible with all previous versions. All existing song-projects and patches can be loaded without any further steps necessary. They will benfit from the enhanced sound quality.

Hi Markus,
where can we (as existing owners of Version 4) download the update to Version 4.1?
Thank you

[JonSolo]

Gosh, the download update was emailed to me.

In other news, and this is likely my bad user error, but in the standalone version, where is the MIDI configuration, so I can set my MIDI inputs? I have Audio Config but that is it.