Available now: Tone2 Gladiator4 - Harmonic Content Morphing synthesizer

[Markus Krause]

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

The award-winning Gladiator is a popular synthesizer which is used for a large number of professional productions. It provides a groundbreaking approach to sound generation. It's exclusive HCM-synthesis covers a new and unique aural territory.


Click here for a big screenshot: https://www.tone2.com/mypic/Tone2_Gladi ... enshot.jpg

Overview

• Innovative, new synthesis method (HCM™)
• Unique sounds which no other synthesizer can create
• Huge sonic range
• High-end quality: Warm, crystal clear & rich sound
• One of the most successful software synthesizers
• Has been used in a vast number of movies and chart hits
• Different synthesis methods can be combined freely
• 40 filter types and 37 effects are included
• You can select from 14 different interface sizes
• Native support for Retina, WQHD, 4K, 5K and 8K UHD displays
• Psychoacoustic processing
• Low CPU and high reliability
• Over 1200 sounds from professionals
• Context-sensitive tooltips and handbook in 5 languages
• Flexibility, expandability
• What's new in Gladiator 4?

Reviews:

Recording magazine:
"Finally, a company that makes a synthesizer that offers a new synthesis technique. HCM is not just some meaningless buzzword. It gives a new direction in dynamic expression."

KEYS magazine:
"Nearly boundless possibilities ... opulent sound processing ... new, very specific sounds, which no other synth can do ..."

Sound&Recording magazine:
"The developers succeeded in packing a huge variety of features to an easy to use interface. Gladiator sounds powerful and impressive."

Beat magazine:
"Sound monster with inspiring presets, fat sound, top-quality effects, extremely flexible, huge sonic range"

Computer music magazine:
"This is a seriously fine-sounding instrument and hardcore synthesists in particular will love the innovative approach to sound generation"

https://www.tone2.com/mp3download/Tone2_Gladiator3.mp3
https://www.tone2.com/mp3download/Tone2 ... sion_1.mp3
https://www.tone2.com/mp3download/Tone2 ... ansion.mp3
https://www.tone2.com/mp3download/Tone2 ... ematic.mp3
https://www.tone2.com/mp3download/Tone2 ... ansion.mp3
https://www.tone2.com/mp3download/Tone2 ... eWorld.mp3
https://www.tone2.com/mp3download/Tone2 ... undset.mp3



Synthesis

Gladiator is a very powerful synthesizer, which supports an exhaustive list of synthesis methods. Most synthesis types can be combined freely to create new and exciting sounds. Synthesis types supported by Gladiator are:

• Tone2's exclusive Harmonic-Content-Morphing™ (HCM)
• Frequency Modulation (FM)
• Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)
• Subtractive
• Re-synthesized instruments
• Vocoder sounds
• Oscillator Sync
• Phase Distortion
• Amplitude Modulation (AM)
• Phase Modulation (PM)
• Waveshaping
• Super-saw
• Additive spectra
• Sampled noises and plucks
• Unison

How does HCM-synthesis work?

The award-winning HCM-synthesis is not just a marketing buzzword. It is a synthesis that is exclusive to Gladiator and not available from any other company.
Our engineers analyzed how the spectra of natural instruments, voices, and synthesized sounds evolve dynamically. For each sound, they created 256 temporal spectral snapshots. As time passes, these snapshots change dynamically. These spectra can be morphed, looped, and manipulated in a wide variety of ways. In addition, the harmonic content can be modified with 10 modules and 132 different algorithms to change the sound. The sum of all this results in a virtually unlimited number of different sounds.
A powerful randomization function allows you to create an unlimited number of musically useful and unheard-of sounds with a single mouse click!
Gladiator supports up to 18 oscillators per voice with stacking, 4x stereo unison and crystal clear sound quality.

Sounds

Gladiator ships with an inspiring library of over 1200 outstanding presets from professional sound-designers. A variety of expansions is available to extend Gladiator's features and preset library. All sounds are arranged into categories for a quick and easy access to the sound you need.


Click here for a big screenshot: https://www.tone2.com/mypic/Tone2_Gladi ... nshot.webp

Filters

The filter section comes with top-quality stereo-filters. Many of them are exclusive to Tone2 products. Gladiator ships with 40 different filter types: Low Pass, High Pass, Band Pass, Vocals, Comb, EQ, FM, AM, Phaser, Re-sample, Analog, ...

Effects

Gladiator comes with an impressive selection of stereo effects. 37 different units are included, all carefully crafted to offer the highest quality possible, such as Reverbs, Delays, Flanger, Phaser, Chorus, Ensemble, Rotary, Bitcrusher, Talkbox, Ringmod, Dolby Prologic II surround encoding, Waveshaper, Pingpong, Filters and so on.

Modulation

Gladiator has a powerful, user-friendly and flexible modulation section. Four fast envelopes add punch to your sounds. There are 22 different LFOs available, which can be synced to your track's BPM-rate. The Step LFO's design was inspired by step-sequencers and can be used to create rhythmic sequences and trance-gates.

Psychoacoustic processing

A special post-processing module in Gladiator mimics the workings of the human ear. It creates deeper basses and adds transparency.
The innovative phase-modifier in the oscillator-section is based on the latest discoveries in phonetic science. It makes a digital waveform sound warm, silky or punchy.
Gladiator offers several micro-tuning modes, which make chords sound more harmonic, fat and transparent.

System requirements

PC: Windows XP / Vista / 7 / 8 / 10 / 11 (32 bit or 64 bit)
Plugin formats: 32-bit VSTi, 64-bit VSTi, VST3, Standalone

Mac: macOS 10.12 or higher / macOS 11, 12, 13, 14
32bit Intel or 64bit Intel or M1 or M2
Plugin formats: VSTi, Audio Unit (AUi), VST3, Standalone, Universal Binary
Native support for M1 and M2

User-friendly copy-protection: No dongle, no cloud, no need to be online

[Markus Krause]

What's new (this list might still change till release)?

New features:

• GUI with 14 different sizes (with and without parameter-editor).
• Native support for WQHD, 4K, 5K and 8K UHD displays.
• Support for hardware-acceleration.
• Now all parameters can be automated in all DAWs.
• The current HCM morph-position is shown with a vertical line.
• The mousewheel can be used to quick-select patches.
• It is now possible to export waveforms or wavetables on PC and Mac as a .wav file.
• Arpeggiator-position is shown in the GUI.
• Ultrasharp graphics with enhanced HiDpi and Retina Display support.
• GUI can be scaled from 66% up to 200% by clicking in the lower right corner.
• Automatic detection of the ideal GUI size.
• Lots of other small stuff.

Higher sound-quality:

• More transparent and clear over-all sound.
• The synth 'sits better in the mix', especially when it is combined with other instruments.
• The audio-engine now uses 64-bit precision instead of 32-bit, which results in a higher sound-quality.
• The timing-resolution of the modulation is now twice as precise.
• Enhanced sound of the automatic micro-tuning. Chords can not longer get too much out-of-tune.
• More precise pitch-calculation.
• All sounds with the quality setting "very high" have a more precise and fast modulation.
• More linear frequency-response for certain configurations.
• Enhanced sound of Reverb large. It has a more transparent tail.
• Enhnaced sound of Reverb small. It has a more transparent tail.
• Enhanced sound of Reverb predelay. It has a more transparent tail.
• Enhanced sound of Reverb predelay. It has a more transparent tail.
• Enhanced sound of Reverb trance. It has a more transparent tail.
• Enhanced sound of Reverb old. It has a more transparent tail.
• Enhanced sound of Super Strings. It has a higher precision rendering.
• Enhanced sound of formant-scaling.
• Higher resolution mixing.
• Sounds with quality setting "very high" have more accurate envelopes.
• Lots of other subtle enhancements.

Enhancements:

• Higher performance.
• Completely rewritten GUI code.
• Reworked big parts of the audio-code.
• Reworked and enhanced graphics.
• Several small enhancemets for the patch-selector and patch-browser.
• Smoother animations and more responisve controls.
• The spectrum-displays show more details.
• The skin has some color-bleeding around the displays.
• More contrast for the spectrum-display and the filter-frequency-response.
• More contrast for the LCD displays.
• Several small enhancements for the VST3 and AU version.
• Fine-tuned some coordinates in the interface.
• The LFO waveforms are drawn with a continous line.
• The automatic screen-size detection is smarter.
• Smarter installer.
• Reworked tool-tips.
• Re-sizing the VST3, Standalone and Audiounit works more reliable in various DAWs.
• More beautiful font for the patch-browser for certain configurations.
• Fine-tuned some colors.
• The animations are faster and smoother.
• Enhanced stability.
• A warning message is shown when the installation is damaged.
• A warning is shown when the user accidently selects a gui-size that is too large for the screen.
• The installers come with a Microsoft/Apple approved certificate.
• Lots of other small improvements.

Changes:

• Removed the demo-version timeout and added a voice-over.

Fixes:

• Some DAWs could show the VST3 version on PC with an incorrect size when Windows scaling was used.

[Markus Krause]

FAQ:

Is Gladiator4 downward compatible:
It is downward-compatible with all previous versions. All existing song projects and patches can be loaded without any further steps necessary.

Is the upgrade free?
The update to v4.0 is a major update. The upgrade is free for anyone who bought Gladiator directly from tone2.com after April 2023. All others can upgrade with a big discount ($39).

Why is the upgrade not free?
We kindly ask to stay fair and realistic here. We provided 12 free updates for a period of 14(!) years for Gladiator. There are not many other companies that provide as many free and generous updates as we do. At some point we need to earn some money to cover the costs to run the company.
The transition to a new GUI with crisp look on high-dpi/retina and zoom support was lots of work. The code for the complete GUI library had to be replaced and we needed to fix tons of bugs and run a massive number of tests in different DAWs.

Do I need to upgrade?
No. The upgrade is fully optional. We do not use a subscription system. Your current version will continue to work without any limitaion.

Will there be Gladiator5:
No. Gladiator4.x is the final version.

Will there be other Tone2 synths in the future?
No. Just updates for the existing ones.

Will you go out of business?
No. But we already got many products that we must maintain. This keeps us busy enough. We want to focus our resources on improving the existing products.

When will Gladiator4 be available?
Gladiator4 will be available in early September.
The beta for Mac is already available now.

Where can I upgrade?
The upgrade is available here:
https://www.tone2.com/gladiator-update.html
or here:
https://order.shareit.com/product?productid=301056193

How do people who bought the "beta of Gladiator4" /"upgrade to Gladiator4" receive it when it is released?
You will receive an email with a download-link.

I bought Gladiator3 after April 2023
You get a free upgrade. You will receive an email with a download-link in early September.

[Korg Supporter]

Will you be able to modulate the lfo speed with an envelope, which you can't do in Gladiator 3

[Markus Krause]

So far noone else did ask for this.
It is possible change lfo-speed with automation. Modulating a modulation source with another modalation source is not possible in Gladiator. It is possible with these products: Icarus, Electra, RayBlaster, Nemesis, Saurus.

[simmo75]

Congratulations Markus!
When can I upgrade?

[Markus Krause]

When will Gladiator4 be available?
Gladiator4 will be available in early September.
The beta for Mac is already available now.

Where can I upgrade?
The upgrade is available here:
https://www.tone2.com/gladiator-update.html
or here:
https://order.shareit.com/product?productid=301056193

How do people who bought the "beta of Gladiator4" /"upgrade to Gladiator4" receive it when it is released?
You will receive an email with a download-link.

I bought Gladiator3 after April 2023
You get a free upgrade. You will receive an email with a download-link in early September.

[Echoes in the Attic]

Don't suppose there's any chance of getting a mono legato mode?

[zerocrossing]

Nice. Something to look forward to, as are all Tone2 synths.

[Markus Krause]

Don't suppose there's any chance of getting a mono legato mode?

Gladiator4 can do these play modes:

- Polyphonic (with 1 to 256 voices)
- Polyphonic glide
- Polyphonic legato
- Fake monophonic (= voice number set to 1; useful for bass sounds)
- Fake monophonic with glide (= voice number set to 1 + glide activated)
- Fake monophonic with legato (= voice number set to 1 + legato activated)

Keep in mind that the "fake monophonic" modes are not real mono modes like in an analog synth. Technically 2 voices can overlap for a very short time for click removal when a voice is released. HCM synthesis is drastically different from analog synthesis and sounds, works and behaves differently.

These synths support "analog-mono-style-legato" playmodes:
Icarus2
Electra3
Saurus4
Nemesis3
RayBlaster3

[Korg Supporter]

How is HCM different from what Warlock uses? Aren't they both spectral synths, but Gladiator is like Warlock on expert mode?

[fisherKing]

congrats on this! looking forward to diving in...

[Robmobius]

Can't wait!

[sacer]

will there be some new presets ???

[Markus Krause]

How is HCM different from what Warlock uses? Aren't they both spectral synths, but Gladiator is like Warlock on expert mode?

Both synths use HCM synthesis.
Warlock is a synthesizer that comes with a reduced user-interface to facilitate an efficient workflow. It is low-budget fun-synth with high-end sound quality. It is targeted towards beginners and hobbyists.
Gladiator is targeted towards advanced users and professional producers. It has a lot more features and allows a much more detailed programming of the HCM synthesis.

will there be some new presets ???

We added 176 new presets in v3.0.
It's very easy to build new patches in Gladiator for yourself. Gladiator 4 has a very powerful random function. Just click on the random button next to the patch browser to create a new patch.