Available now: Tone2 Saurus4 analog synthesizer

[Examigan]

With different knobs added, but unfortunately it doesn’t work correctly anymore:

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[JonSolo]

Very nice!

[Tone2 Synthesizers]

A public beta for Saurus 4.1 is available.
The update includes enhanced sound quality and new features. It will be free for anyone who owns Saurus. Details: https://www.tone2.com/saurus-update.html

Free beta download (limitations: you can't save):
https://www.tone2.com/demo/Tone2_Saurus4_demo_PC.zip
https://www.tone2.com/demo/Tone2_Saurus4_demo_Mac.pkg

You can currently get Saurus with a time-limited DOUBLE discount for only $59:
https://www.tone2.com/saurus.html

[Benjamin923]

This may be specified somewhere but I can’t recall where if so. Is there any advice given on what the ‘best’ sample rate to use is for Tone2 synths? I often run my DAW at 88.2khz to try and guarantee some oversampling across my signal chain, and to play nice when down sampling to 44.1khz.

[Tone2 Synthesizers]

The recommended samplerate is 96 kHz. It offers the best sound quality (no resampling required) combined with the lowest CPU demand.

[Benjamin923]

Thanks for the response. Does this mean that Tone2 synths always run internally at 96khz and resample to whatever the user is using?

[Tone2 Synthesizers]

This depends on the synth and the synth version. Some of them always run with 96kHz internally.
In short you can't do anything wrong with 96 kHz

[Trancit]

This depends on the synth and the synth version. Some of them always run with 96kHz internally.
In short you can't do anything wrong with 96 kHz

I am not sure if I can follow here...

I am not so into producing at higher sample rates... if oversampling is needed it should imho happen in the plugin internally (user adjustable) but not demand having everything running at 96k

So I am sticking to my old beloved 44.1kHz...
What consequences does this have when using in this case Saurus?

[koalaboy]

The recommended samplerate is 96 kHz. It offers the best sound quality (no resampling required) combined with the lowest CPU demand.

It does put a higher demand on the audio hardware though, and so may well impact the required buffer sample size in a DAW, especially as then everything else would also be doubling up.

Not saying your assertion is incorrect, but 96KHz can absolutely impact performance for many.

[Tone2 Synthesizers]

if oversampling is needed it should imho happen in the plugin internally (user adjustable) but not demand having everything running at 96k

All hardware synths run with a fixed sample rate. Usually 96 kHz.
There are also serious reasons to do this with softsynths. The advantage of running a fixed samplerate internally is that you can do additional performace optimisations. And filters / distortions /dsp modules sound exactly the same - no matter what samplerate is used in the DAW.

96KHz can absolutely impact performance for many

The CPU demand on Tone2 synths is exactly the same - no matter what samplerate you use.
The DA converters of most soundcards also run with 96 kHz or 192 kHz (=2x 96 kHz) of it.

96KHz needs twice the CPU demand as with 44.1 Khz

Nope. That's not true at all for modern CPUs.
Apart from this the CPU demand of Saurus is extremely low in general.

What consequences does this have when using 44 kHz with Saurus

If you use Saurus 1.0 - 4.0 you can measure a tiny bit of aliasing, which is caused by the realtime-resampling. It is audible only under special conditions.
If you use Saurus 4.1 is has no consequences. Resampling has been improved here and it sounds exactly the same.

Why is 44.1kHz an ugly samplerate

44.1 kHz is an ancient standard from the 80s. It is commonly used for audio CDs. It has its origin in video cassette recorders (VCRs) like Sony's U-matic format to store digital audio in the late 1970s.
When you use 44.1 your soundcard/drivers will upsample to 96 Khz by an ugly factor of 2.1768 (96 / 44.1). This is worse than 48 kHz (factor 2 = 96 / 48) or 96 kHz (factor 1).
If you are doing professional productions you should run your productions at 96 kHz and then downsample to 44.1 kHz in the mastering step.

So I am sticking to my old beloved 44.1kHz...

You can use whatever you want. It is purely your own decision.

[chagzuki]

I'm getting some good tones out of this, which surprises me as previous sessions with the demo led me to believe it had a bit of a woolly sonic character. Actually it seems to lend itself to aggressive timbres.

I know it's not trying to be Diva and emulate existing hardware, but I wonder whether some extra control over timbre could be achieved by being able to shape the harmonic content of the filter saturation?

[Tone2 Synthesizers]

- You can change the saturation by clicking on the SOFT button next to the resonance knob.
- You can also add non-linearity by using the 'FEEDBA.' knob (= nonlinear feedback) on the top right of the filter section.

[El°HYM]

The recommended samplerate is 96 kHz. It offers the best sound quality (no resampling required) combined with the lowest CPU demand.

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[christian f.]

I love the experimental Digital Sounds coming out of Tone 2 synths especially Icarus3, but Saurus has a vey nice analog vibe to it.

[wintoid]

available soon: Saurus 4.1

The update is available for PC and Mac. It is free for anyone who owns Saurus.

Hey Markus,

I hope you're well. Just wondering how this is coming along, I'm intrigued

Cheers,

Simon