Products of Interest

Arturia Moog Modular V Software Synthesizer

Arturia has released Moog Modular V, a software synthesizer based on the series of Moog analog modular synthesizers. This virtual synthesizer features True Analog Emulation (TAE), a set of algorithms developed by Arturia for reproducing analog circuits in the digital domain. TAE emulates the sound of vintage synthesizers by providing aliasing-free oscillators, imitating the inherent instability of hardware oscillators, implementing soft clipping, and including an emulation of the Moog 24 dB low-pass filter.

Figure 1.

Moog Modular V Software Synthesizer screen interface.

The interface of this software synthesizer is a replica of a physical Moog modular synthesizer. Controls and switches for oscillators, envelopes, filters, etc., are provided with virtual patch cords available for connecting the various sound generator and modifier functions (see Figure 1). MIDI is supported and 64-voice polyphony is provided. The synthesizer can be used as stand-alone software or as a virtual instrument, compatible with the plug-in formats of many leading audio sequencers. A sampling rate of up to 96 kHz is available.

The Moog Modular V synthesizer includes 9 oscillators, 2 low frequency oscillators (LFOs), 3 filter slots, a noise generator, 6 ADSR (Attack-Decay-Sustain-Release) envelopes, 2 voltage control amplifiers (VCAs), 16 auxiliary VCAs with inputs for modulation, a 24-step sequencer, a filter bank with 14 bands, a stereo delay, and a chorus. The synthesizer has 400 defined presets, chosen by experienced sound designers. A comprehensive manual is available in French, English, and Japanese.

System requirements are: Pentium II or faster, 128 MB RAM, Windows 9x, 2000, ME; or XP; Macintosh G3, 128 MB RAM, OS 9.1 or higher, OS X 10.2 or higher. Both Macintosh-and Windows-platform save-disabled demos are available for free on the Arturia Web site.

Moog Modular V is compatible with Cubase 3.7 to SX and Logic Audio 4.7 or higher on the Windows platform using VST technology, Sonar 2.0 and higher through DXi,and Pro Tools 5 through RTAS. The synthesizer can be used in Macintosh OS 9 with Cubase 4.1 or higher and Logic Audio 4.7 or higher using VST, with Digital Performer 3 using MAS, and with Pro Tool 5 using RTAS and HTDM. Compatibility with Macintosh OS X is available through Cubase SX using VST, and ProTools 6 using RTAS and HTDM.

Moog Modular V is listed for US$ 329. Contact: Arturia, 1 rue de la Gare, 38950 Saint Martin le Vinoux, France; telephone (+ 33) 4-38-02-02-55; fax (+ 33) 4-38-02-05-25; electronic mail info@arturia.com; Web www.arturia.com/.

ATS Lisp Function Library

ATS (Analysis Transformation Synthesis) is a library of Lisp functions designed by Juan Pampin to perform spectral analysis, transformation, and sound synthesis. The analysis section of ATS creates a Lisp sound object which represents a spectral model of the sound. A number of built-in or user-defined transformation functions can then be used to manipulate the sound. Synthesis tools are also provided.

The analysis components of ATS incorporate sinusoidal and critical-band noise models. Short Time Fourier Transfer (STFT), peak detection, and peak tracking are first used to extract sinusoidal trajectories. The residual signal of the sound is computed by subtracting a synthesized version of the tracked partials from the original signal. This residual signal is then modeled as critical-band noise. Noise is added only if partials were tracked in that band.

The transformation tools available are transposition, time stretching, and pitch stretching. The transposition and pitch-shift methods offer the option of keeping the formants present in the original sound. The time-stretch option allows for each partial to be stretched by a different constant or by a dynamically changing value. Along with these built-in functions, ATS allows the user access to the functions and macros of its application program interface (API). This makes it possible to access the spectral data and to implement user-defined transformations.

Synthesis in ATS is implemented in Common Lisp Music (CLM), the synthesis and signal processing language developed at the Center for Computer...