Tone2 RayBlaster3 - Impulse-Modeling-Synthesizer

[himalaya]

The highs are easy to control, sure, there is the 'Damp' parameter there after all, but that's not what I'm referring to. The spectral balance of some of the sounds (mostly, textures, sustained, open sounds) can be very saturated with mid-high frequencies and peaks that need to be dealt with somehow and without a good EQ it's not possible. So, I could arrive at this scenario: I have a sound where I want to preserve the very top end (ie: I do not wish to use a LPF/Damp) but I need to cut some mid-high frequencies to balance the sound. That is not possible. A cut at, say, 1K, 3K, 5K and boom, all of sudden the sound is perfect.

It shouldn't be surprising to wish for a good parametric EQ in a synth like RB, one that can output such complex spectra. In a standard VA, one is not needed, but here it is badly needed.

Ah yes, that makes total sense. Thanks.

Actually, I don't think it's weird to wish for a parametric EQ. I was only surprised that it was the #1 request, but now it makes sense.

I think it could be cool to have a polyphonic keytracked EQ, too. (I really like this feature in synths that have it, like Zebra 3, Filterscape VA, and Phase Plant.)

It was number 1 request for me since RayBlaster is a perfect little synth otherwise, well maybe if it had another FX page too, then it would be perfect in this context: power vs ease of use.

and because I've spent a lot of time with vintage analog synths lately (massive sampling sessions of vintage gear, yet again, ouch) it was so refreshing to go back to a synth like RB, one that has such powerful unapologetic digital sound. It just it needs a little taming with user editable EQ (and not some system generic optimisation, you hear Markus?) .

[Funky40]

@tone2:


ohh wow, i just wanted to buy it, but the tone2shop wants to screw me.
I had that the last months several times.........i don`t do this anymore.


usually, a shop would chose US$ for us in switzerland rather than €.
In this case the shop shows directly CHF (swiss currency). But my currency stands better than $ or €. (16% rsp. 5% )
Talking the price bevore additional taxes are added.

i have a price OCD......i`m tired to get f*cked by currency exchanges by some shady shops.
And i just don`t pay more than 99.- for a SW synth.
$99 should turn here to something like chf 85.- ( "then" add the taxes)
€99 should turn to chf 95........(but i`d take the $ price....)
But it wants ~101 plus taxes.

it`s not much i`d lose, but my price OCD.........

[Tone2 Synthesizers]

Our webshop (Cleverbridge) is the same platform as U-he, Synapse Audio, refX and many other well known developers use. There is no intention to screw anyone. We are a German company and the currency in our country is Euro and not Dollars. The additional fee is what you pay to Cleverbridge and not to the plugin developers as exchange fees to CHF. We developers got no way to control the fees that Cleverbridge takes or what the current exchange rate is.
I checked it out and Cleverbridge does support gross prices in CHF. I'd also prefer a gross price of CHF 99. But that's currently technically not possible.

I sent you a link with a discount as a PM which will solve your exchange-rate problem. We will take care of the costs.

[Funky40]

Off Topic to anybody but Markus:

Our webshop (Cleverbridge) is the same platform as U-he, ..., ....

Yes, U-He Zebra3, i payed significantly more than what "would have been". Zebra 3 is so good, i just went over it. But it was nevertheless the moment when i felt like: it`s enough now.

Some backround info for context:
I`m in Switzerland, "they" try to screw us here all the time, since decades. "They". that`s alots alots of importeur people. I give you an example: Märklin Modell trains were here 45 years back+ 50% more expensive than in Germany. While the importeur was Märklin itself.

With "us", "they" think they can just grab whatever works. It nags on us. Since decades.

Our webshop (Cleverbridge) is the same platform as U-he, Synapse Audio, refX and many other well known developers use. There is no intention to screw anyone.

I know ! I know it was not you as a firm.
I should have added a comment vs. that. My aplogies for missing out ! (thought that`s obvious. But since many are reading here......)

I sent you a link with a discount as a PM which will solve your exchange-rate problem. We will take care of the costs.

This is very nice behave ! I thank you alots. It also triggers something.....you know, the other direction

While i spent my money to some major degree just last night, and already decided to leave "that GAS" behind, i took advantage of it....streching my "this month" budget.

again: Thanks Markus !


P.S. yes, Cleverbridge*.......(* i have this stuff not preset in my brain)......it`s -to me- screwing the people. it`s literally 15% more for them - vs. $US ( as currency exchange stands right now / and it`s not our currency losing it next minute )

[Tone2 Synthesizers]

Off Topic to anybody but Markus and Funky40:

First of all thanks for supporting our small company by purchasing RayBlaster!

Märklin Modell trains were here 45 years back+ 50% more expensive than in Germany. While the importeur was Märklin itself.

I collect Märklin trains for myself and I am a member of our non-profit association. In my free time, I enjoy repairing old Märklin locomotives.
I've also noticed that Märklin trains from Switzerland are more expensive than those from other countries, even if they are exactly the same model with just some different printing. The sales department clearly performs the philosophy 'People from Switzerland should pay more as they are richer.' This really sucks and I can fully understand your frustration. It's the insane prices (also here in Germany) make me buy most things second-hand.
If you're in Bavaria, feel free to visit me and my friends here:
https://www.eisenbahnclub-rosenheim.de/

[mutagen]

I have fond memories of reading the Märklin catalog as a child. I’d imagine building out a collection of Z scale railroads as to have more railway in the limited space I imagined. What a fun reminder of those memories!

[Funky40]

If you're in Bavaria, feel free to visit me and my friends here:
https://www.eisenbahnclub-rosenheim.de/

Haha, schön. Wir können auch Deutsch sprechen btw.

Ich hatte nichts mit Eisenbahnen zu tun ausser in meiner Kindheit.
Aber, ich landete damals als RC-Segler crack in einem Laden für RC Modelle.
Mein Chef kaufte dann ein Haus, vergrösserte, und entschied sich auch Eisenbahnen anzubieten.

Der Typ machte folgendes: er eröffnete eine kleine Filiale ennet der Grenze in Wheil am Rhein, DE. Damit konnte er für sich selbst innerhalb von DE -nach DE- bestellen.
.....und importierte das dann einfach selber nach CH.

Damit öffnete er aber ne Büxe, so gross, das konnte niemand vorab wissen.
Der Laden war damals für RC Leute in der ganzen Schweiz, und auch für alle Schweizer im Ausland "Die" Anlaufstelle für Bestellungen per Paket post. Wir waren -im kleinen- was Thomann heute im Musiksektor -im grossen- ist.

Der Typ machte extrem faire Preise. Wir waren ja bereits davor am billigsten. Und: wir waren die Experten. Alle die dort arbeiteten waren real Experten (RC Flug Sektor).

Als der neue Laden anrollte fing er an Werbung zu Schalten........auch für Modelleisenbahnen.
Auch dort gab er die guten Preise zu grossem Anteil weiter.

Die Leute fingen an bei uns LGB Grossbahnen zu kaufen als gäbs kein Morgen.
Ich hab Geschichten gesehen das glaubt dir kein Mensch. Ich habe Leute gesehen die ihre Mercedes bis fast unters Dach mit LGB Schachteln füllten.
Wir waren quasi => halber Preis als wie normal zuvor. Und ca. 30% billiger als wie der Jumbo markt, Die supermarktkette für Heimwerker & Hobby, die zu Wheinachten auch LGB führten.


Unsere Werbung in einschlägigen Bahner- -und auch RC- Zeitschriften löste nen regelrechten Krieg aus. Wie mussten die Preise erhöhen !
Half aber nichts. Der Krieg brach erst richtig aus.

Bis hin dass man uns -auch in DE- nicht mehr belieferte. Das gallt auch für gewisse Modellbau Buden. Robbe z.bsp.

Mein Chef machte dann folgendes: er kickte hinter den Kulissen irgendwelche andere Läden in DE an, und bot denen nen Deal an. Die bekamen einfach was ab. Dabei liess er sich aber nicht Lumpen und fing an noch viel grössere Bestellungen zu tätigen........


Am Ende so gross, dass die alle am Ende einsehen mussten dass sie nur gegen sich selbst arbeiteten. Das erzeugte hier nämlich nen Einkaufsboom für Eisenbahnen.
Und der Verkaufsleiter von Robbe trabte hiet höchst persönlich an und umschwänzelte den Chef,....es war fast schon eklig zuzuschauen.

Ich hab damals viel mitbekommen wie der Einzelhandel hier lief, und wie die sich organisierten. Was gegen uns lief war real Krieg. Das kann man nicht anders sagen.

Mein damaliger Chef wurde reich, baute sich dann später noch was viel grösseres auf. Er baute sich ne ganze Halle im Industriegebiet, expandierte in die "Kinderspielzeug" Ecke als er selber Kinder bekam. Zog dort dasselbe in Grün grad nochmals frisch durch, verkaufte dann später alles an ein grosses Spielzeug label (Toys R Us (oder sowas) )........und die richteten das ganze in kürzester Zeit zugrunde (zumikndest den RC Bereich). Als ich dort Jahre später mal reintrat war die PC Abteilung noch nicht mal mehr nen Schatten seiner selbst. Denke das Kinderspielzeug brachte mehr. Wirkte aber auch alles unkompetent und und unfreundlich.


Ich hab nie wieder nen Laden gesehen der mit so dermassen kleinen Gewinnmargen fuhr wie wir es taten.
Als ich später mal nen professionellen Buchprüfer traf hat der mir das nicht geglaubt mit was für Gewinnmargen wir gearbeitet haben. De fakto sagte der mir sogar grad an den Kopf: "da musst du dich irren, sowas gibts gar nicht" ( nun, ich habe damals als jung Spunt die RC-Segler Abteilung komplett selbst geführt, inkl. Bestellwesen, VK berechnen, und allem sonstigem)


Anyway, wollte dir nicht die Zeit stehlen....aber das mit den Eisenbahnen damals war echt ne Geschichte


P.S.
Mein Tip: achte auf deine Preise. Heute casht man im plugin sektor in indem man unter gewissen Preis- schwellwerten bleibt. Plugins sind zur Droge geworden. "Das" und Preise unter gewissen Schwellwerten spült enorme summen in diesen Markt, die sonst gar nicht dort landen würden. Das wird aus meiner Sicht total unterschätzt. Grad auch von den kleinen Devs

"Wir" wollen nicht gute Arbeit "un- würdigen", sondern "wir" konsumieren heute plugins einfach in rauhen Mengen. Viel davon ist absolut ein kaufen auf Risiko. Du weisst einfach nie im voraus ob man es überhaupt nutzen wird. Viel läuft da "by chance".....deshalb müssen wir aufs Geld achten. Durch niedrige Preise hauen wir in der Endsumme aber sogar viel mehr raus....als wie geplant. Und sei es nur für drei Abende lang nen neuen kick
.....während sonst alt bewährtes benutzt wird.
Viel hängt da einfach auch von Details wo man erst mit der Zeit merkt dass es "für einen" nicht passt. Oft hilft da ne Demo Zeit einfach nicht.
......d.h. wir wollen das Zeug nicht einfach nur für "next to nothing" kaufen. Da spielt viel mehr mit rein....../ Wodurch sich ein gewisses Budget dann letzendlich einfach viel breitgefächerter auf den Markt verteilt.


Du scheinst ja Emotional recht beteilt. Was ich voll verstehe. Hoffe es hilft "ist zu teuer" posts besser nachvollziehen zu können

[Tone2 Synthesizers]

a 4-band parametric EQ.
This is badly needed as an effect that is separate to the other effects in the FX tab. RayBlaster can produce very sharp sounds. It can get very piercing, very quickly and when this happens it is often more about cutting some specific frequencies while preserving the top end, hence the Damp parameter is not suitable for such occasions as it simply rolls off the highs.

I built many new sounds for the upcoming version. I also missed an additional EQ to tame some rather sharp sounds beside the FX section. That's why I added an additional, simple one for the SETUP section.
The reworked reverb types, especially 'Reverb Big' also do an awesome job to smooth some sounds.

I am very happy with the results that the reworked sound engine creates. Now finally all parts 'fit well together'. It was a very tough job to tame the exotic synthesis.

[Tone2 Synthesizers]

Preview: RayBlaster 3.5

The update to v3.5 is a major update. It is free for anyone who bought RayBlaster 3. Owners of RayBlaster 1 or 2 can upgrade with a big discount.

Enhanced sound quality:

• Significantly enhanced sound quality when 44 kHz or 22 kHz is used as the DAW's samplerate. Reduced aliasing up to 12 dB.
• Drastically enhanced sound quality when 88 kHz or 176 kHz is used as the DAW's samplerate. Reduced aliasing up to 20 dB.
• The enhanced FFT precision results in more accurate resampling of waveforms.
• More precise interpolation of the oscillator impulses.
• Enhanced sound of 'Reverb Ultra'. It has stereo input, a smoother rolloff, more detail and more depth.
• Enhanced sound of 'Reverb Big'. It has has stereo input, a smoother rolloff, more detail and more depth.
• Enhanced sound of 'Reverb Infinite'. It has stereo input, a smoother rolloff, more detail and more depth.
• Enhanced sound of 'Reverb Trance'. It has stereo input, a smoother rolloff, more detail and more depth.
• Enhanced sound of 'Reverb Band'. It has a smoother rolloff, less phasing, more detail and more depth.
• Enhanced sound of 'Reverb Glass'. It has a smoother rolloff, less phasing, more detail and more depth.
• Reduced detuning in 'Delay Dual' effect.
• Reduced detuning in 'PingPong' effect.
• Slightly reduced detuning in 'MultiTap Delay' effect.
• Slightly reduced detuning in 'Delay' effect.
• Slightly reduced detuning in 'Delay Band' effect.
• Slightly reduced detuning in 'Delay Diffuse' effect.
• The equalizer uses 64bit processing for coefficient calculations.
• The upper midrange is less sharp in the EQ modes 'Psychoacoustic+', 'High Boost' and 'Psychoacoustic'.
• Enhanced sound of the per-voice distortion.

Better factory content:

• The complete factory content has been reworked.
• 50 new sounds have been added.
• Lots of existing sounds were enhanced and fine-tuned.
• All sounds are now properly sorted into the right categories.
• Mediocre sounds have been kicked to provide only top-quality content. You can download them optionally from the website.

New features:

• It is more easy to see soundsets in the patch browser. They have blue color.
• Tutorial patches have grey color in the patch browser.
• The patch browser can show a scrollbar for the categories.
• There is an additional equalizer in the Setup section. 'EQ: Soft Midrange' damps frequencies around 3.5 kHz with -6dB.

Enhanced graphics:

• Much faster animations of the waveforms, the VUs and the effect parameters.
• More precise layout of the small knobs and various GUI elements.

Further enhancements:

• Better default settings for the init patch.
• Better default parameters for various effects.
• Enhanced stability.
• The installer is smarter and VST3 is installed with the default setting.
• Many small enhancements.

[tumface]

Awesome! Looking forward to it. RayBlaster is a true gem.

[Tone2 Synthesizers]

Release is the upcoming Friday

[zvenx]

It is out now...and I did get my email.
Thanks Markus et al.
https://www.tone2.com/rayblaster-update.html

Is there an easy way to find the 50 new sounds?

rsp

[Tone2 Synthesizers]

This is what I know and what I remember:

- All fxp files with a date in the year 2026 are either reworked ones or completely new sounds.
- All new sounds were built by myself. I did not always use my 'MF artist-extension' in the name. Especially not when the file name would be too long.
- I still know that I built a lot of Gate sounds, several Plugs, some Pads, ...?

So you must look for for files which were created in the year 2026 and which have no artist signature or MF in the name.

I hope this helps,
Markus

[zvenx]

Thanks, it does.
rsp

[Neon Breath]

It is out now...and I did get my email.
Thanks Markus et al.
https://www.tone2.com/rayblaster-update.html

Is there an easy way to find the 50 new sounds?

rsp

Is it really?

How can we get the latest 3.5 version?

There is no downloadable version under the Installers for the full versions - latest updates section and the link to download that was sent to me when I purchased it still downloads the version 3.0.3.