Linux LV2 preview

The most common request from Linux users continues to be, "Are your plug-ins going to be available in LV2 format?" And I'm pleased to officially announce: yes. We've in-house LV2 native versions of our entire plug-in line running in LV2 native format, and to prove it, here's a quick glance at String in Ardour 3.

We currently have no official release date for the LV2 versions, other than to say soon. (And of course, the LV2 plug-ins will use the same license key as all the other versions, so will be free to existing users.) 

Shift update preview

Over on the Loomer forum, we've just posted a short preview of the impending update to Shift. Point your browser here for a features breakdown, screenshots, and sound demos. This upgrade will be free to all registered users of Shift.

New oscillators preview

A sneak preview of some new oscillators. These have several advantages over the current Aspect oscillators:

• Reduced CPU usage: They use, on average, about 30% less CPU resources. When taking the rest of Aspect's synthesis path into account, this translates into approximately a 10% reduction in CPU resources for a patch.
  
  
• Reduced memory usage: Overall memory usage for oscillators is reduced by an impressive 80%, although this doesn't have much of an impact to the user.
  
  
• Reduced aliasing and foldover noise: Aliasing and foldover noise at the ultra high end of the frequency range is reduced to practically negligible amounts. Here are two examples. Note that these are unfiltered raw oscillator sweeps, so ensure that your volume is at an acceptable level.
  The first example is a sawtooth sweeping from the low to the high frequency range, and then back again:
  
  The second example is a pulse wave with a duty cycle of 50% sweeping as in the previous example:
  
  
  
• Removed DC Offset: There is no DC offset when sweeping the pulse-width of the Pulse waveform.
  
  
• Reduced Sync Folderover Noise: Aliasing that could occur during an oscillator sync is significantly reduced.
  
  
• Awesome sound: We can't quantify this one, so let your ears be the judge. Here are two raw sawtooth oscillator, with no filtering, tuned octaves apart. The pitch of one oscillator is slowly detuned relative to the other to introduce beating:
  
  

Loomer String Synthesizer

We're proud to announce our next product, String. String is a virtual instrument that emulates the beautiful sound of the polyphonic string synthesizer. Its authentic tone comes from its accurate emulation of the divide-down oscillator technology and bucket-brigade chorus units behind the lush ensemble synths of the 70s.

All being well, String should be available early next week for purchase at £50 (+ VAT if applicable). String comes in VST, Audio Unit, RTAS and Standalone formats for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.

Here are a few teasers of the type of sounds String does so well. All are from a single String instance, recorded dry, and only using String's built in effects. (Note that the first example also has a simple backing drum beat courtesy of some Korg Minipops samples taken from www.freesound.org.)