Now available: Gladiator 4.2

[Tone2 Synthesizers]

Preview - Gladiator 4.2

New additive synthesis modes for the 'PHASE MOD' spectrum:

• 'Tune partials +' detunes the higher partials of a spectrum without detuning the base harmonic.
• 'Tune partials -' detunes the partials in reverse direction.
• 'Splash tune' heavily detunes the partials without detuning the base harmonic.
• 'Fluppy tune' heavily detunes the partials without detuning the base harmonic.
• 'Crackles' creates random phase garbage.

Enhanced sound:

• The new quality mode 'ultra high-end' calculates oscillators with double precision and 4x oversampling.
• The enhanced FFT precision results in more accurate resampling of waveforms.
• Replaced 'Reverb Large' with a much better unit. It has a smoother rolloff and more detail.
• Replaced 'Reverb Trance' with a much better unit. It has a smoother rolloff and more detail.
• Replaced 'Reverb Small' with a much better unit. It has a much smoother rolloff and more detail.
• Replaced 'Reverb Predelay' with a much better unit. It has a much smoother rolloff and more detail.
• The threshold for bypassing the FX processing for saving CPU is lower. Reverb tails do not longer get cut-off.
• The microtuning-mode 'silky chords' sounds more polished.
• The psychoacoustic postprocessing unit uses more precise coeficients and 64bit processing for calculations.
• The equalizer uses more precise coefficients and 64bit processing for calculations.

Enhanced graphics:

• Much faster animations of the displays.
• More precise layout of some knobs.

Product page: https://www.tone2.com/gladiator.html

[tumface]

'Tune partials +' detunes the higher partials of a spectrum without detuning the base harmonic.
'Tune partials -' detunes the partials in reverse direction.

Oh, interesting. Does that mean Gladiator's oscillators can produce inharmonics, now? (IIRC they were purely harmonic before?)

[Korg Supporter]

Wow. This is really cool. Is there any way to make the detuning mimic that of a piano or carillon?

[zvenx]

Great to see my first Tone2 Synth still being updated.
Looking forward to this.
I think this one has been in more of my projects than any other Tone2 synth.
rsp

[perox]

Preview - Gladiator 4.2

New additive synthesis modes for the 'PHASE MOD' spectrum:

• 'Tune partials +' detunes the higher partials of a spectrum without detuning the base harmonic.
• 'Tune partials -' detunes the partials in reverse direction.
• 'Splash tune' heavily detunes the partials without detuning the base harmonic.
• 'Fluppy tune' heavily detunes the partials without detuning the base harmonic.
• 'Crackles' creates random phase garbage.

Enhanced sound:

• The new quality mode 'ultra high-end' calculates oscillators with double precision and 4x oversampling.
• The enhanced FFT precision results in more accurate resampling of waveforms.
• Replaced 'Reverb Large' with a much better unit. It has a smoother rolloff and more detail.
• Replaced 'Reverb Trance' with a much better unit. It has a smoother rolloff and more detail.
• Replaced 'Reverb Small' with a much better unit. It has a much smoother rolloff and more detail.
• Replaced 'Reverb Predelay' with a much better unit. It has a much smoother rolloff and more detail.
• The threshold for bypassing the FX processing for saving CPU is lower. Reverb tails do not longer get cut-off.
• The microtuning-mode 'silky chords' sounds more polished.
• The psychoacoustic postprocessing unit uses more precise coeficients and 64bit processing for calculations.
• The equalizer uses more precise coefficients and 64bit processing for calculations.

Enhanced graphics:

• Much faster animations of the displays.
• More precise layout of some knobs.

Product page: https://www.tone2.com/gladiator.html

Great!!! One of my most favourite synths. When it will be released?

[exmatproton]

Tone2 is on a roll! Lovely to see all these QoL updates (some small, some quite a lot bigger) across their plugins. Very nice indeed

[Sakke80]

Wow, can't wait

[Aloysius]

It would be nice if the GUI got some attention. I still like the look but find it diffucult to read.

[Tone2 Synthesizers]

'Tune partials +' detunes the higher partials of a spectrum without detuning the base harmonic.
'Tune partials -' detunes the partials in reverse direction.

Oh, interesting. Does that mean Gladiator's oscillators can produce inharmonics, now? (IIRC they were purely harmonic before?)

They were strictly harmonic in Gladiator 1.x. This resulted in a cold and additive-style sound.

In v2.x the 'phase spectrum' was introduced. 'PHASE MOD' allows you to distort the phase relationships of the harmonics. If you modulate the phases of certain harmonics quickly it can slightly detune them. More quick morphing/modulation results in more detuning.

Wow. This is really cool. Is there any way to make the detuning mimic that of a piano or carillon?

Yes. Using 'PHASE MOD' with the new mode 'Tune partials +' should do the trick. It stretches the spectrum.

[tumface]

That sounds great. I'll definitely give it a new try once the update is out. (I bought Nemesis after it received an update recently, so it wouldn't surprise me if I also end up getting Gladiator after its update.)

[enCiphered]

I really don’t understand why Tone2 keeps updating Gladiator without addressing the actual visual usability problems of the interface.

The biggest issue for me is the typography. The font choice is extremely thin, tiny, compressed and low contrast almost everywhere in the interface. Important labels visually disappear into the background because everything is gray-on-gray with very little hierarchy. At normal monitor distance, many parameter names are genuinely difficult to read without leaning forward. Things like modulation labels, envelope sections, oscillator parameters and the tiny utility controls all blend together into visual noise. Instead of the interface guiding your eye naturally, you constantly have to search for information.

The knobs are another major problem. They are simply too small for a synth this deep. Many of them are packed tightly together with very little spacing and the visual indicators are subtle enough that it’s hard to immediately recognize current values. Fast sound design becomes frustrating because the interface requires too much visual concentration just to operate basic controls. Good synth interfaces disappear while you work. Gladiator constantly reminds you that you are fighting the GUI.

What makes this more frustrating is that the synth itself is actually powerful and unique. The sound engine is interesting, but the interface feels trapped in an outdated early-2000s fake hardware rack design philosophy with metallic textures, bevels, tiny LCD fonts, glowing gradients and decorative visual clutter everywhere.

The ADSR sections are a perfect example. These are among the most frequently used controls in synthesis, yet the labels and controls are tiny and cramped. The same goes for modulation assignments and secondary parameters. There is almost no breathing room anywhere in the UI. Every section competes equally for attention, which creates constant eye fatigue during longer sessions.

I would really love to buy the update but I’m genuinely asking: is there any chance the interface philosophy itself could eventually change? Not just new textures or small cosmetic adjustments but an actual, modern redesign focused on usability, readability, and workflow? Because Gladiator has a strong synthesis engine underneath all of this, but the GUI makes it much harder to enjoy than it should be.

[Korg Supporter]

I wonder if you can do a similar thing to phase mod with Icarus wavetables

[Tone2 Synthesizers]

I wonder if you can do a similar thing to phase mod with Icarus wavetables

A few modes are available also available in Icarus3:
1) Open the wavetable editor by clicking 'editor' above the oscillator
2) Click on PHASE
3) Here you can find these modes:
- 'Silky static' (Static smear in Gladiator)
- 'Noisy' (Noise in Gladiator)
- 'Sweep' ("Zzzap in Gladiator)

You can also export oscillators from Gladiator and load them to Icarus3:
1) Create your desired waveform/wavetable with OSC1 in Gladiator
2) Below the PATCH' section click in 'save' and select 'Export OSC1 as Icarus Wavetable (wav)'.
3) In Icarus go to the osc and click on 'tools'. Select 'load wavetable'.
4) Use the 'fade' knob to fine-tune the morphing behaviour among waveforms

[Tone2 Synthesizers]

Gladiator 4.2 will be relased on June the 5th

[Tone2 Synthesizers]

Yesterday I sent out an email with the download links to everyone who bought Gladiator4 from tone2.com.
If you did not receive it, please check out your spambox.