Spectral public beta / call for presets and sound/video demos

[Ingonator]

What's the deadline?

Well, there is basically no sharp line as we not yet chose a exact release date, so for now lets say 7th November, but we might extend that a week or two.

Condition for a free license is 12 presets contained in the final product so based on my experiences with factory sounds and soundsets for other synths this would need around the double amount (around 25 presets) to be submitted.

There is no rule of thumb. Wait, there is one: if you are great than 12 is enough, thats the 100% rate that few of our sound designers hit. However, to be honest, sometimes we get presets submitted with a 0% rate, thats not to say you have no chance, it just means IT DEPENDS.
What do we expect from the presets:
- it should please us (wow, thats vague), so it needs to be great (...ehrm, again vague)
- it should preferably use a at least slightly uncommon filter shape and not just a 12db lowpass maybe
- it should make use of Modwheel and AT, some guys then use AT to increase some nearly inaudible modulation to some still nearly inaudible modulation, that wont work, its should _really_ do something
- it not needs to be at an exact level, but please not extremely loud or silent (though thats easy to fix)
- think of CPU, a spectral osc/filter in itself uses quite some CPU, if you run 4 layers with spread and a wonderful long Release you can break every CPU
- make use of effects, but not just drown everything in echos or reverb
- break any rule if you like, but have a good reason

Good luck!

Hi Peter,

many thanks for the detailed reply.

7th of november should be more than enough to do some nice patches (hopefully more than 12). Would be also no problem for me if you use more than 12 as a return foe a free license.

Some of those conditions you posted seem to be quite familar to me, like e.g. using both Aftertouch and Modwheel. Those are also part of the sound designer guideline for e.g. Waldorf.
For one of thefew patches i have finished i created a stepp LPF (60 dB) and for another one is used a BPF. BTW could we also submit Filtershape and/or oscillator shape files?
I'll also try to do a combination of "bread & butter" sounds (e.g. i like to do Synth Bras sounds..) and some more complex and/or "digital" sounds.


One feature request:
Would it be possible to implement import of single cycle waveforms from WAV files? For example Diversion got a nice spectrum editor for the waveforms that support import/export of WAv files.

I made lots of single cycle waveforms for use in e.g. Tone2 Rayblaster (with using e.g. DNR Wave Designer).



Ingo

[satYatunes]

I went through the entire thread. One thing that is still not clear is how to submit the presets or videos or demo tracks Or did I miss that?

Peter,
I would like to suggest the following:
Lets say someone submits 20 presets and you like 8. In such cases, I would request you to give the sound designer a second chance and ask them to submit some more presets to make it to 12. I think it's fair and their effort doesn't go in vain. Nobody gets heart-broken . Whosoever is designing sounds for quite some time must be knowing how much effort it needs to make 20 really good quality presets. Quality is subjective I know. It's not easy, even the professionals spend a lot of time on some presets to make it right. As for you, it has its advantage as well. It will give you a chance to balance your factory bank appropriately. For example, if out of those 8, 5 or 6 are arps then it's clear that the designer is good at making arps so you can request them for more arps. Just a suggestion, hope you will consider.

Good luck to all sound designers

[Peter from LinPlug]

satYatunes,
dont worry, we will find an agreement with everyone, be it a second chance or a discount or whatever, and yes, I know the efforts, you are right its not a thing of an hour Submit it to me peter@linplug.com please, thanks for asking !

[Ingonator]

satYatunes,
dont worry, we will find an agreement with everyone, be it a second chance or a discount or whatever, and yes, I know the efforts, you are right its not a thing of an hour Submit it to me peter@linplug.com please, thanks for asking !

Hi Peter,

thanks for this. Now off doing some patches for Spectral...


Ingo

[Peter from LinPlug]

Ah and one more, you guys can always send 4 or 6 patches when done and ask if you are on track and should go on or rather do something else with your time

[GeorgeZ]

AT isn't really a standard as yet, as the majority of [affordable] midi controllers don't have AT...

[Ameyah Audio]

@Peter from Linplug
is it possible to import any wave forms from .wav/.aiff into spectral?

@tehlord
you also joining? should be hard for me then

i will prepare what i have so far.

also recorded yesterday a pad tutorial, but forgot to set the right audio output - so no sound recorded, but i have saved the preset.
when i have a tutorial video up - i post it here.
(i make silence tutorials, just tweak knobs - but it should helps to inform the world about spectral )

first turorial:

i recreated the simple ambient pad i tweaked yesterday.

[GeorgeZ]

Had a bit of an issue today. I've started working on demo tracks while making patches (as I always do) and for some reason after I loaded one of the tracks I was working on half the presets were the default init. Also, some of the patches I've been working on that haven't been saved as patches yet came up as default init patches (so those patches are lost). I quite often work on tracks with beta plugins, and only start naming and saving patches once the tracks are close to being finished (I can usually save the tracks without having to save the patches individually while still working on them and merely loading the track in it's previously saved state will call up the synth in the state it was when I last saved). I've never had this happen before. I was using FL 11 for this particular tracks "test" on Win 7 x64 (x32 spectral in x32 FL). Might stick to just making patches for now

I've got 3 tracks now and 2 of the 3 loaded as expected but that one just went all weird.

EDIT: In spite of that issue I was able to salvage the track Quick and unpolished (nasty mix ), but you get the idea!

http://k002.kiwi6.com/hotlink/qg7vpipz6 ... uct_gz.mp3

PS: right click and save as as Kiwi6 have been having streaming issues (if the track doesn't want to play in the browser )

[Davias]

Great offer Peter !

I will try to make some presets as well

[EvilDragon]

AT isn't really a standard as yet, as the majority of [affordable] midi controllers don't have AT...

So? That's manufacturer's problem, not sound designer's. I am always happy to see AT being used in patches, it's indispensable performance tool IMHO.

[Teksonik]

AT isn't really a standard as yet, as the majority of [affordable] midi controllers don't have AT...

So? That's manufacturer's problem, not sound designer's. I am always happy to see AT being used in patches, it's indispensable performance tool IMHO.

It becomes a problem for the users whose midi controllers don't have AT. Some controllers allow you to assign knobs or slider to send AT data but that's clunky at best....might as well use the mod wheel.....

But having said that my controller has AT so I often use it to add Vibrato, open up a filter etc so I agree it's an important performance tool. (my Ensoniq VFX has Poly AT which is even more rare in affordable controllers these days).

[Peter from LinPlug]

AT isn't really a standard as yet, as the majority of [affordable] midi controllers don't have AT...

You can set up another Controller to act as AT on the setup page, in example Expression Controller, which you should be able to configure at almost any midi controller.

[Peter from LinPlug]

is it possible to import any wave forms from .wav/.aiff into spectral?

Not yet, it wont be in the first version.

[larsomat]

Spectral looks very much like a new Albino. It would be awesome if it could load Albino presets, even if they won't sound exactly the same.

Edit: I'm only writing this, because I have so many of them. And they would be a great starting point for working with Spectral...

[Ameyah Audio]

is it possible to import any wave forms from .wav/.aiff into spectral?

Not yet, it wont be in the first version.

with first version you mean all v1 labeled releases or only the final 1.0 version?

agree spectral reminds me alot on albino3, its like an inofficial replace for it.

@larsomat so far i remember right, rob papen needs to agree there. i would like to know aswell, but problem is that albino is a bit different to spectral.
Maybe Peter can enlight us there.