2CAudio Kaleidoscope | It's A Trip | Latest Update 1.1

[jowen]

Does not work in Numerology 4 AU on OS 10.7.5

[Sampleconstruct]

Not helpful. Metasynth is a tool for affecting sound.....but what are their respective capabilities, strengths and overlaps? Andrew is uniquely qualified to comment, as is Simon.

how to compare this and metasynth. ok this is an effect and metasynth more a tool

The most obvious difference is the ability to process any real time input source with KS, of course you can also use only the white noise source to make the resonators resonate, or mix a bit of noise into the input signal to enhance more high frequencies in case the input signal is dull or lacks transients which could make the resonators resonate. Then you have 3 different resonator models, a plethora of tuning scales, the ability to sync modulation speed to host tempo (or use it free running based on Hertz), determine the number of harmonics, and much more - the manual has to be studied to get the best out of it - so KS is a very different tool than the Image filter in MS, you can achieve similar results but totally new, unheard stuff in KS.

But just read the post below to get the real explanation

[Andrew Souter]

Just beginning to get a feel for this, but seems to overlap some with Metasynth. Other than being a realtime plugin, what are key differences?

I personally love MetaSynth and have been a HUGE supporter of it over the years. I am listed second in the MetaSynth credits for my large contributions to it in the past. Eric and Edward are great guys! As of this day, I actually still sell MetaSynth via Galbanum web shop and I fully intend to continue my relationship with U&I Software. Kaleidoscope is not meant to replace MetaSynth. If anything I hope that KS might reinvigorate interest in MetaSynth as well.

There have been several products that use images in some fashion (MetaSynth, Photosounder, Alchemy, Iris, RX, Harmor, etc.). Using Images in some manner is not unique. Spectrograms do it, and even piano roll notation is a visual representation of data in a manner that is not completely dissimilar from what we see in Kaleidoscope. Even the idea of using an image to control an additive synthesizer was first published by a Russian man over 100 years ago.

Most products that use Images in some fashion use FFT. We do not. This is a key difference. Images for us are simply a massive array of 2D control data. We use this to control Input and Output gain to a bank of resonators. The image data manipulates physical properties of the resonators. The images are purely arbitrary and abstract data. Kaleidoscope can offer far more precise control over VASTLY more data.

Metasynth uses images in two ways:

1) to control an FFT-based filter
2) to control play-back instruments based on wave-tables or samples

We do NOT do either. We control/automate properties of physically modeled resonators that react to incoming audio signals and can transform it in ways that are not possible with the above two methods.

A very large part of the usefulness of such ideas is having a meaningful way to work with the complexity offered by massive arrays of data. This involves a ton a thought into organizational systems for tuning/frequency data as well the time-varying performance (i.e image). The usual approach has been to do a spectral analysis via FFT of a desirable sound. Or the use a random picture idea. The "take a picture of yourself and put it in your song" idea, was a cool parlor trick the first time Aphex Twin did it for Windowlicker, but we are in 2015 now, and there is much more that can be done with using purposefully designed Image Maps -- both for sound-design and music.

I want to do much more. I have more or less very significantly advanced the language of these type of ideas with the ideas originally presented in Architecture Volume One. There is a lot more I want to do with them however, and so we have spent three or fours years to develop a platform with which to explore these topics. I have created tens of thousands of resource files for sound design over the years, maybe hundreds of thousands at this point. These resources hold the key to making technologies such as additive synthesis and massively parallel data arrays, etc useful and meaningful. In this regard the tuning system within Kaleidoscope is a huge leap forward compared to anything else.

MetaSynth can use some of the same tunings and can use the same pictures, primarily because I have personally created them both in this case, but the sonic result will not be the same. MetaSynth can NOT reproduce the same sound as ANY of Kaleidoscope's resonator models. MetaSynth can for example play back a sine wave wave-table, but this NOT the same thing as our Spring resonator models. Our resonator models will sound like real-world instruments, objects, biological systems, whatever, whereas this is quite hard to do with other methods.

Furthermore Kaleidoscope uses multiple pictures at the same time which can have independent timings. This can create INCREDIBLY ornate and evolving patterns that are not possible with using a single image. Pollyrhythms are possible to establish, and evolving textures are easy to create. These things breath life into the sounds they create.

Put simply:

1) both our timing and our tuning systems found in Kaleidoscope advance the art of these families of technologies very significantly

2) the idea of using multiple control images at the same time with different timings has not been done before AFAIK

3) Our physical resonator models are unlike anything that has even been combined with image-based approaches

All combined this creates an entirely new class of products. It is only really superficially similar to MetaSynth in that both use pictures to control sound in some way (like several others do as well), and shares some of the same content (because I made it personally.)


MetaSynth is a full stand-alone suite of many different techniques. It has it's own Montage room where people can even do mixing. We have zero interest in doing anything like that. MetaSynth also has the Spectrum room which is a another cool tool we have no interest in. MetaSynth also has within it tools to create your own images. This is really cool. I personally love it, and many do, but more still are not graphic designers-- they are musicians and/or sound-designers. I still like exploring this myself, but that's me. Kaleidoscope does not nor does it intend to offer this at any point in the foreseeable future. In Kaleidoscope we like the idea of non-destructive manipulation of Image Map data. Simple non-destructive transformations are more interesting to us, as we want to focus on using Kaleidoscope within existing musical and production environments... I have found the image generation step is perhaps best left to a separate process that does not disrupt music/sound production, and most effectively performed by someone who has thought a lot about these topics.

Which brings us to the white elephant in the room: usability with the DAW world. I will let someone else comment on that one. Let's just say, I thought I lot about how to make Kaleidoscope "Play well with others" and this is really a rather huge topic in the grand scheme of usage in the real world. Being a plug-in is actually a rather huge point. And there is also the question of Windows?

In summary I personally love MetaSynth. I will continue to use it myself. I will continue to sell it as long as U&I Software agrees. I will love to continue to praise it, and when I make Architecture Volume 2, I would love to continue to support it if possible. I do NOT wish to replace MetaSynth. I would love to see a future where MetaSynth and Kaleidoscope could even potentially share file formats if desired. Actually I would love to suggest to everyone to try U&I's Artmatic program to make your own images for use in Kaleidoscope if you are interested in such topics. It's really cool.


My goal is simply this: I want to vastly extend the concept of using Image Maps and 2-dimensional data to offer the ultimate control over musical organization in time, frequency, and space and help discover and build new forms of sound-design and music structures. This is fertile ground, and it has not been thoroughly explored IMHO. Hopefully some of the Kaleidoscope factory presets demonstrate this fact. And finally I want to make this more accessible to more people: specifically people who work in pro music production and sound-design.

[Neon Breath]

After reading some posts, now I just hope it's gonna fire up and work correctly in Live OSX...

[hangars liquides]

Trying to run it on Live 9, 10.6.8 (which is not officially supported, but who knows...) - the plug-in does not process the sound with the VST version. And the AU simply does not show up within Live (in spite of the component being visible in the its folder).

It’s not supported in Live on OSX ?

It is supported. I meant 10.6.8 is not officially supported. Please make it supported by the most stable and fastest OS for audio on mac...

[V0RT3X]

Im sold.


@ Galbanum
I read everything you wrote and have been listening to the sound demos. The Mp3 compression on the sound demos to my ears gives the impression that it's using FFT stuff, so i guess in order to get the best examples I'll have to demo it.

After reading your lengthy and in-depth explanation of what this actually is i now have a better appreciation of your work, so kudos for that.

The use of resonators like this is absolutely amazing! Some of the sounds in the demos reminds me of Reaktors Space Drone, but in a much more musical way. It sounds absolutely perfect for ambient producers, but i think you could also use this for many other things too.

I think i see myself now owning all your products, because i appreciate the level of complexity you are putting into your work.

Cheers,

[aMUSEd]

When you've imported the addon library can you delete the original file it's imported from?

[Andrew Souter]

I think i see myself now owning all your products, because i appreciate the level of complexity you are putting into your work.

Thanks man I really do put my heart and soul into them, often much more than is reasonable. But I think that is what it takes sometimes, and I have a great team in Denis who tolerates my obsession enough to make these things a reality.

[Andrew Souter]

When you've imported the addon library can you delete the original file it's imported from?

Yes.

[asksol]

Think I have tried everything now to get it to work in Logic X, or maybe I need a quality DAC to hear the difference

Weirdly it also installed a "2C Aether" component that crashes validation, it's listed in the AU manager but there's no actual .component file.

I guess this is something like a midi-controlled effect version that exists in the same bundle, and they forgot
to change the name of it.

Edit: not a midi controlled effect, force enabling it adds a 2c-Aether that loads up Kaleidoscope, but still doesn't process sound.

[Andrew Souter]

For people who say they don't hear anything: Have you linked it to the "2CAudio Resource Library" as described in the install Readme? Do you see any pictures in the image map area, or do you only see a black area? You should see images when loading presets. If you don't you are not linked to the Resource library.

The installer installs the plug-in. It then needs to be linked to the resource library. This holds the content (Images, tunings, waveforms). It can be saved anywhere you like (as this is expected to grow to be quite huge over time as we develop more content for it.)

This is true for the demo and the full version.

If you purchase the full version you should delete the demo Resource Library and use the one from the full version download. The full version has more content than the demo as listed on the main product page.

[Hez]

Can't turn the knobs in real time in Bitwig Studio, the volume/sound gets weird and a lot of crackles etc. (thought maybe because different buffer size set in Bitwig & KS but aligned them to no avail). Parameter automation also isn't working very well, it keeps flitting immediately between minimum and maximum values e.g. when trying to automate BaseFreqNoteIndex. No issues like this with B2 or Breeze so not sure why it's handling KS differently.

Other than that.... absolutely unreal. Never heard anything like it. Obviously shares a little bit conceptually with Kaivo and I was worried about overlap at first, but after about 30 minutes I can see they will probably end up being very complimentary. Finding it much easier to fit into a mix than Kaivo for a start. Love the manual, 200% phase ftw.

And I don't want to make any assumptions about how the company name came about, but I just had a nigh on religious moment listening to a preset and clicking through the increasingly psychedelic image maps - one of the immediate jumps from extremely fluid, biological patterns to some stark geometry reminded me of certain past experiences... The combination of having to think visually, spatially and aurally is really something I've never felt before while making music. So thanks for that, I guess!

Once the issues with parameter automation and real time knob tweaking are ironed out (assuming they're going to be - if that's an inherent limitation of the technology then I guess I'll have to rethink the way I approach it), this'll be an instant buy. Can't wait for the midi import.

[Echoes in the Attic]

It was said that it likes large buffers. But how large? We still need to play things from a midi keyboard and I don't find any higher than 512 really usable.

But I think most of the patches where I wasn't hearing anything maybe because it choked everything up, not sure. On an i7 2.2ghz quadcore that shouldn't be the case right? On most of the ones I did hear it was full of crackles, so I couldn't really get a feel for it.

[Kalamata Kid]

is Cycle
http://www.kvraudio.com/product/cycle-b ... io/details
the alternative to
Kaleidoscope?
http://www.2caudio.com/products/kaleidoscope

[MillerSam]

Cycle is more a standalone synth but the image thing is coming in version 2 what I have read