Saal Digital Quality EU printing service quick shout-out

I recently had the chance to use the printing service from Saal-Digital and since the print I've ordered arrived in my place, after checking it I cannot avoid recommend it, if you're EU based and need to print on any kind of size, material and format.
Saal digital is a company based in Germany and their websites and services are available online and accessible from all over Europe.
Considering my personal needs and the space available where our image is gong to be hanged I've chosen to go for a print on a PVC panel measuring 60 x 80 cm and 5 mm thick, with opaque finish.

I'd like to pont out immediately a bunch of good points.
First from the moment I've done my order, after uploading the image on their website to be printed, I've immediately received a confirmation and incredibly only few hours later another email saying the print was already done, packed and ready to be shipped.They have been extremely rapid. A very good point on that !

Second: since at the moment I'm doing this review I'm Italy based, and maybe you too watching this video could not be living in Germany, I had a certain worry concerning the package may have come in many days and/or maybe damaged as it's a not standard shape.
But my worries completely disappeared as soon as the print arrived, in just 3 days, and considering the distance and the weekend in between, at the time we made the order, the delivery too has been quite quick.
It was indeed shipped in a slim and big pack, totally sturdy and safe, made of thick heavy cardboard.

Inside the print was extremely well wrapped in nylon film and again protected inside another thick and heavy cardboard folder.
When I've unpacked everything the pvc panel was totally straight, not even slighlty bent and neither a single scratch on any area of the prints.

Another point I'd like to mention, and I guess the most important, is my total satisfaction regarding the quality of the print itself, the colors, the saturation, the brightness and contrast of the image rendered on pvc. I'm pretty happy about it, specially considering that my image was not a normal photography, where "what you see is what you get" so to speak, but an image I made composing and editing material from different sources, like 2 different 3d models I did of our DCSI Productions logo blended together, and 2 different backgrounds mixed and edited, with a bunch of added light & color effects inside a photo editing software.

Watch this review as video on youtube

 
Please don't be mislead by the low quality of the quick video
done using a consumer camera, the quality of their product is very good.

Since I mostly use my present computer for audio editing and just occasionally for image editing, the LCD monitors available are not calibrated for an accurate image and video editing at the moment, therefore you never know about how much of what you're seeing on the monitor will be actually the same when printed, regarding the image saturation, brightness, contrast, and so on.
Moreover what you see on a monitor is through RGB technology which is different from the color management used when printing, and, as my 2 monitors by now are not the same brand and model, even on screen the image was a bit different when seen on each monitos.
So I've been totally happy when I saw the print was somehow right in between the two versions on my monitors, a correct balance. Another good value of the quality of their printing service.

When you upload your own image to be printed, it can be done directly through their website or through their free designing software available for OSX and Windows.
It's very easy to use and stable, where you can actually edit, create layouts in case you need to compose a collage of several pictures, or you go for a photo-book, or a calendar, and want to arrange the pictures disposition on each page.

This can be done in two ways: an automatic one where different kind of premade layouts are available, or manually, where you have total freedom to organize the photos disposition as you like.
I'm not going into details regarding the several kind of printing formats and products you can order, as you just need to pay a visit to their website and you'll see by yourself.
But I can quickly mention they print on canvas, any size, panel of different materials, high quality photographic paper, photobooks, on pvc, or as posters, fine art prints, calendars, wall decors, cards, and much more.

They use several priting techniques and finish, both for indoor prints or outdoor ones, such as a store sign for example.

Often Saal Digital offers discount codes so you can test the products on your own at a very good price.

If you wanna pay a visit and see yourself here's their website
http://www.saal-digital.co.uk/

I can only honestly say I've been extremely pleased by the whole service, the kindness of the customer service too when I had twice to get in touch to ask some informations, and most of all for the quality, the speedy handling of my order, the safe shipping and delivery. Totally recommended.

Thanks for reading guys and see you around soon.
Cheers, DCSI Productions

Audified with SYNERGY R1 makes move into 500 series software/hardware hybrid digital/analogue processing

“SYNERGY R1 is something new that sounds superb; I believe it’s a must-have processor for every studio — project or commercial.” - Boris Carloff, Czech composer/producer/SYNERGY R1 designer, 2017 
Host application and audio effects developer Audified is proud to announce (upcoming) availability of SYNERGY R1 — representing its first foray into hardware with a ‘remote-controlled’ software/hardware hybrid digital (REVERB)/analogue (SATURATOR) processing module for the 500 series modular rack frame format popularised by API (Automated Processes, Inc.).

Imagine a studio reverb with seven types of algorithms in synergy with three kinds of true analogue saturation, remotely-controlled from your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) with an outstanding sound and world-class user interface. Imagine no more! Make room (in your 500 series lunchbox) for Audified’s SYNERGY R1, a studio reverb for a new era, enabling all of that… and more.

Modern-day producers tend to shy away from audio hardware effects in this day and age. Why? Well, the luxury of recalling such sessions like yesteryear’s production pros is a time-consuming process and shrinking production budgets dictate that today’s time-stressed producers often take to sacrificing CPU (Central Processing Unit) power for plug-in processing convenience. Conceptually — and in reality, as a ‘remote-controlled’ software/hardware hybrid digital (REVERB)/analogue (SATURATOR) processing module for the 500 series modular rack frame format popularised by API, SYNERGY R1 is an altogether different production proposition, one that effectively turns modern-day production preconceptions on their head. How? How about the fact that users can control the device from their DAW, automate it, and store session settings, courtesy of its easily accessible, front facia-positioned USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection. And that’s just for starters.

 

Seriously designed and sturdily built in the Czech Republic, beating at SYNERGY R1’s hardware heart are two switchable sections. REVERB is digital, providing premium-quality 24-bit A/D (analogue-to-digital) and D/A (digital-to-analogue) convertors, 32-bit floating point DSP (Digital Signal Processing) and true BYPASS functionality; all told, there are seven selectable reverb algorithms (simulating several different types of spatial acoustics), ranging from Room all the way up to Tunnel, and users can control four front panel-accessible parameters: DECAY, PREDELAY, COLOR, and TYPE. The second — true analogue — SATURATOR section features three switchable saturation circuits with GE (Germanium), OA (OpAmp), and JF (J-FET) types (that add harmonics to the signal) and a GAIN control. (Centrally positioned, a distinctive display is packed with Light Emitting Diodes to assist with parameter editing visually via numeric and bar indication of values — LEDs for the edited parameter change colour to yellow and the value is visible in the numeric part of the display while other parameter LEDs remain green; when editing is finished, the display returns to the default view — numeric area displaying preset number and all value indicators in green… or red if the parameter is switched off.) Both sections include wet/dry MIX controls, so SYNERGY R1 can be used as a 100% digital reverb or a 100% analogue saturator (and anything between those two worlds).

What truly sets SYNERGY R1 apart from the run-of-the-mill 500 series pack, however, is that each and every one of its functions can be remote controlled via the included SYNERGY R1 plug-in that can be used from within all major DAW host applications on Mac and PC (with AAX, AU, VST2, and VST3 support). Hardware parameters can be fully automated and are saved within projects. The control plug-in supports multi-instance usage, so several plug-ins could be assigned to one hardware unit. Also included is a standalone SYNERGY R1 control application, allowing for independent control of SYNERGY R1 via Mac or PC. Production pros of old school-style thinking, of course, can still get hands-on with the hardy hardware itself… if they wish to do so!
 

 Watch Audified’s informative introductory SYNERGY R1 video

So who better to sing SYNERGY R1’s praises than the talented individual behind its innovative design? “I’m a reverb guy,” gushes well-known Czech composer/producer Boris Carloff, before adding: “I own 11 hardware reverb units in my studio, including an EMT 251, Bricasti M7, and AKG BX25 spring reverb — all classics, but I always dreamt of having something with the mellowness of old plate reverbs like the EMT 140. The analogue saturation of overdriving circuitry made their sound so lush, three-dimensional, and significant that I think I prefer them to any of the classic digital reverbs. On the flipside of the coin, I love the versatility of digital’s different algorithms. And, of course, I also like simple DAW control. So something with the best of both the analogue and digital worlds, with all their wonderful possibilities combined, seemed like a good solution to me, which was the thinking behind SYNERGY R1.”

For all its (breakthrough) bells and (wondrous) whistles, what SYNERGY R1 really boils down to is its sound. “New high-end algorithms with real analogue saturation makes for an unbelievably lush- and nice-sounding reverb, but there is also an option to use clean digital reverb,” its creator continues. “With real bypass of the digital reverb it is also possible to apply three different types of parallel analogue saturation to your mix.”

An amazing mix of technologies, then, perfectly packaged into a stereo audio processing module powered by a 500 series lunchbox, but boasting DAW control, carefully tuned reverb algorithms, and the satisfying sound of real analogue circuitry. Concludes Carloff: “SYNERGY R1 is something new that sounds superb; I believe it’s a must-have processor for every studio — project or commercial.”

SYNERGY R1 is all set to make its debut on the world stage by being showcased by Audified’s North American distribution partner, Eleven Dimensions Media, on Booth 227 at Summer NAMM 2017, July 13-15, Music City Center, Nashville, TN, USA. Ultimately, witnesses will want to either add this ‘remote-controlled’ software/hardware hybrid digital (REVERB)/analogue (SATURATOR) processing module to their 500 series lunchbox or get themselves a 500 series lunchbox specifically to add a  SYNERGY R1 — or several — to their studio setup!
SYNERGY R1 is scheduled to start shipping in September 2017, when it will become available for purchase through Audified’s growing global network of distribution partners — including Eleven Dimensions Media (https://www.11dmedia.com) for North America — with a projected MSRP of $1,399.00 USD.

For more in-depth information, please visit the dedicated SYNERGY R1 webpage here: http://synergy.audified.com

 About Audified (www.audified.com)
Audified is the premier brand of privately-owned Boskovice-based DISK Multimedia, s.r.o. in the Czech Republic, created to develop specialised audio applications, as well as handling the company’s high-end hardware product portfolio. Pioneering the development of audio applications for live (realtime) performance, as well as developing the first audio effects plug-ins for Apple’s Mac OS X, the company created some of the first plug-ins for Power|Core, TC Electronic’s hardware-accelerated DSP platform, prompting the Danish developer’s then-PR Manager Thomas Valter to comment, “Our two companies have been working closely together on various projects, and we are very satisfied with the products that have been a result of our cooperation.” Consequently, the company returned to its host application and audio effects developmental roots in 2007 by branding itself with the Audiffex appellation to resourcefully reflect that directional change with an award-winning array of innovations, including MixChecker — a must-have mixing assistant plug-in that transforms studio monitors into classic reference monitors or one of several consumer devices to instantly improve mixes. Moreover, Audified is not just a for-profit business, however; its parental company clearly cares about the future of audio software/hardware development, developing partnerships with both Janacek Academy of Music and Performing Arts (JAMU) in Brno, Czech Republic — realising a research project to bring modern audio engineering technologies to music education, and also Brno University of Technology, one of the Czech Republic’s leading research and teaching institutions — working with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication Technologies on scientific projects. Participating in organising entry exams and teaching at these highly-respected higher education establishments has helped establish the first specialised studies of audio engineering in the Czech Republic. In keeping with spreading the (audio engineering) word, Audified has helpfully seen fit to recently release a range of free plug-ins, available from here: http://shop.audified.com/collections/products/free#tags

Impact Soundworks sends sample library pulses racing with sizzling-hot summer sale savings

Audio software creator Impact Soundworks is proud to announce commencement of its summer sale — sending sample library pulses racing with time-limited sizzling-hot savings of up to 50% across all of its finely-crafted virtual instruments, synth presets, and plug-ins.

Impact Soundworks’ stakes its hard-won reputation on being a maker of finely-crafted sample libraries, created by composers for composers. From acoustic instruments to synthetic sounds, all are deep-sampled affairs, featuring exhaustive articulations, dynamic layers, round robin variations, and ‘sweet spot’ recordings… virtual instruments designed to maximise ease-of-use, yet always sounding superb straight of the box. But much the same can also be said for the company’s more recent move into effects plug-in territory, as evidenced by the (relatively) recently released PEAK RIDER 2, an advanced dynamic processor that rides the output level of a track by an amount based on a sidechain input (for any AU-, AAX-, RTAS-, and VST-compatible DAW host supporting sidechaining).

 

All are attractively discounted to the tune of (up to) 50% — including Impact Soundworks’ selection of instrument bundles that already represent remarkable value for money. For instance, IMPACT EVERYTHING BUNDLE, which — as the name implies — includes every virtual instrument and plug-in in Impact Soundworks’ critically-acclaimed catalogue at a massive discount, can currently be bought for $1,599.00 USD, representing a substantial saving on its $3,962.00 USD list price!

Put it this way: with sizzling-hot summer sale savings like these, there’s never been a better time than now to introduce Impact Soundworks’ wonderful world of sounds to your modern-day compositional skillset. Saying that, best be quick, though… that summer sale ends on July 18!
Until July 18, 2017, all of Impact Soundworks’ finely-crafted virtual instruments, synth presets, and plug-ins can be purchased and digitally downloaded directly for up to 50% discount — returning/rising to their respective list pricing thereafter — from here: https://impactsoundworks.com

About Impact Soundworks (www.impactsoundworks.com)
Impact Soundworks creates audio software designed with composers in mind: sample libraries, virtual instruments, and plug-ins. As passionate about creating music tools as its customers are about making music, the company was founded in 2008 by composers Andrew Aversa and Will Roget, II at a time when there were several large virtual instrument companies already around, but few developers creating affordable, flexible, and focused libraries featuring more unusual and unique sounds. Shrewdly, the dynamic duo noticed much in the way of in-depth orchestral offerings, but more unusual instruments were not being sampled with much detail at all. As such, the company’s first two releases were Impact Steel, a collection of found metal objects played as percussion, and Sitar Nation, a set of instruments from North India. It has since been collectively working hard to address the needs of modern composers, successfully striking the balance between depth and ease of use. Ultimately, Impact Soundworks is proud to call tens of thousands of musicians around the world its customers, intelligently investing time to study suggestions and review requests. After all, that is how a number of its best-loved libraries started… from the smallest seed!

Antelope Audio announces availability of Orion Studio HD HDX & USB 3.0 Interface

 

Having relatively recently turned heads heady and blown musical minds with its showstopping showcase when launched at AES Berlin 2017, the 142nd International Convention in Berlin, Germany, high-end professional audio equipment manufacturer Antelope Audio is proud to announce availability of Orion Studio HD — the latest addition to its stellar professional audio interface lineup, and the third to offer full Pro Tools | HD and Native DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) compatibility via HDX and USB 3.0 connectivity offering zero-latency streaming and processing of 24-bit/192 kHz audio (alongside a full library of real-time FPGA effects, high-end clocking and conversion, and much more besides) .

 

Based upon the proven pedigree of Antelope Audio’s recently released Orion32 HD and Orion Studio Rev. 2017 (with which it shares its distinctive looks and a similar set of distinguishing features), Orion Studio HD is truly a shining star, destined to take its rightful place at an already acclaimed family table of top-tier, feature-packed professional audio interfaces. In keeping with Orion32 HD and its industry-shaking Goliath HD bigger brother, Orion Studio HD can operate simultaneously with Pro Tools | HD and Native DAW setups, and any analogue or digital input can arrive in Pro Tools | HD sample accurately in the timeline, thanks to Antelope Audio’s proprietary HDX Delay Compensation.

Cutting ahead of the competition courtesy of an exceptionally powerful, cutting-edge FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) chip, Orion Studio HD has monumental modelling capabilities that only this Antelope Audio-pioneered technology can convey. Indeed, its users can currently access over 40 free real-time models of legendary EQs, compressors, guitar amps and cabs from the likes of BAE, Grove Hill, Gyraf Audio, and Lang. These not only behave and sound as authentic as the real world hardware that inspired them, but can be equally easily applied to recording, mixing, and mastering music. Moreover, though Native plug-ins are attractively convenient, FPGA freely offers a whole new level of performance and sonic excellence that plug-in solutions simply cannot accomplish alone. As such, Orion Studio HD users can take advantage of real hardware circuit and component modelling to track a vocalist with a headphone mix (including AuraVerb reverb), record a guitar part with proper feel and tone using those trailblazing amp and cab simulations, or capture a drum kit with up to 12 mics using that industry-best interface mic preamp technology — and all in real-time!

 

Reality bites, but not for Antelope Audio’s latest addition to its stellar professional audio interface lineup. HDX has steadily made inroads into becoming the preferred choice for high-end Pro Tools recording setups, so surely Orion Studio HD is perfectly placed to join this recording revolution, thanks to its HDX PORT. But beyond that it can connect to just about anything and everything. By boasting 12 superb-sounding Class-A — Hi-Z-, mic-, and line-compatible — preamps with phantom power (A1 through to A12); two pairs of mastering-grade monitor outputs (MONITOR A and MONITOR B); 16 analogue LINE OUTPUTS (on a pair of standard 25-pin D-SUB connectors); two reamp outputs (R1 and R2); two headphone outputs (H1 and H2); eight channels of digital I/O via ADAT with two further digital I/O channels on S/PDIF; and WC (Wordclock) I/O on BNC connectors (that can conveniently double as Loopsync I/O), Orion Studio HD can comfortably accommodate any DAW workflow and associated recording and production environment.

 

Exceptional analogue and digital connectivity notwithstanding, Orion Studio HD boasts best-in-class conversion, boosting its dynamic range to an unparalleled 124dB. Given that Antelope Audio pioneered the use of atomic clock generators in audio master clocks, it should come as little surprise to learn that its world-renowned 64-bit AFC (Acoustically Focused Clocking) technology for jitter management also lies at Orion Studio HD’s heart, instigating incomparable stability, sonic accuracy, and sonic detail. After all, according to Antelope Audio, best clock equals best sound, so obviously Orion Studio HD adheres admirably to this company mantra. Make no mistake: we’re talking high-end, professional studio language here… OCX HD- and Trinity-style clocking perfection, in other words!

Watch Antelope Audio’s informative introductory Orion Studio Rev. HD video here:

Though that’s not all. As is the case with all Antelope Audio’s recently released professional audio interfaces, Orion Studio HD helpfully allows for fast functionality control via multiple computers with Windows- and macOS-compatible complimentary Control Panel dedicated desktop applications. Highlights here include controlling and using multiple Orion Studio HD units via the serial number selector; switching between two routing matrix view modes; and an all-new application for full session-saving… Session Presets really revolutionises the way studios record and mix with an ability to save, load, and share any routing, mixing, effects, and HDX Delay Compensation settings, so presets can be easily exchanged between studio facilities with (compatible) professional audio interfaces from Antelope Audio anywhere in the world! Want even greater freedom? Apps for both Android and iOS platforms allow Orion Studio HD users to adjust mic preamps and output volumes remotely from smartphones or tablets, so no need (necessarily) to leave the studio sweet spot while reaching for its carefully-crafted volume knob.

Topping things off, Orion Studio HD has no fans for silent operation, obliterating the need for expensive machine rooms or iso-racks. It can clearly be seen and heard, however, on Antelope Audio’s booth (443) at Summer NAMM 2017, July 13-15, Music City Center, Nashville, TN, USA. Ultimately, witnesses will want this heavenly hybrid audio interface — a picture-perfect professional fit for any Pro Tools | HD- and/or Native DAW-equipped studio!

For more in-depth information, please visit the dedicated Orion Studio HD webpage here:
http://en.antelopeaudio.com/products/orion-studio-hd/

For more information about Antelope Audio’s FPGA effects, including a full library list,
please visit the dedicated webpage here: http://antelopeaudio.com/hardware-based-fpga-effects/

 

About Antelope Audio (www.antelopeaudio.com)
Antelope Audio is a leading manufacturer of high-end professional audio equipment, pioneering the adoption of atomic clock generators in audio master clocks through utilising CEO Igor Levin’s 25-plus years of experience in digital audio. Antelope was the first company to design a 1U 32-channel audio interface and a multi-channel portable interface with 12 mic pres. The company’s customers include many GRAMMY® award-winning sound engineers and some of the most renowned recording, mastering, and post-production facilities around the globe.

XILS-lab literally creates plug-in pleasure principal when recreating revolutionary polysynth

Audio software company XILS-lab is proud to announce availability of PolyM — an authentic recreation of the pioneering Polymoog polysynth, dreamed up by American designer Dave Luce and produced by Moog Music between 1975-1980, but benefitting from finest French software skills to truly create a plug-in pleasure principal as arguably the best ‘virtual’ divide-down oscillator technology-toting soft synth available anywhere and teaching the old dog some new tricks in the process.

That’s today. Putting PolyM in its present-day context involves initially looking back. But back in the early-Seventies, setting out to create an analogue, functional voltage-controlled synthesizer that was polyphonic against a backdrop of monophonic mainstays proved problematic for many. Moog’s musical solution came quicker than most, making an appearance in 1975 in its extremely expensive ($5,295 USD), nine-preset original form as the Polymoog keyboard (model 203a). It included a front panel packed with an almost continuous row of slider pots (permitting presets to be fully modified into more individualised analogue sounds via various subtractive synthesis parameters, including a 24dB Moog ladder filter section — allowing modulation modulated from its own envelopes and low frequency oscillation — alongside a unique and flexible three-band resonant filter section with lowpass/bandpass/high-pass filter modes) before being joined in 1978 by a marginally more economically-viable ($3,995 USD), 14-preset stripped back version (with editing reduced to volume, tuning, high-pass filtering, and basic LFO — Low Frequency Oscillator — features), which was also (confusingly) called the Polymoog keyboard (model 280a), though the original fully-variable version was then rebadged, admittedly, as the Polymoog Synthesizer.
 
Saying that, unlimited polyphony united the two innovative instruments in question, albeit unlimited in the sense that all 71 notes of their weighted touch-sensitive keyboards (capable of being split into three sections, each with independent volume control) could sound simultaneously, but based on divide-down oscillator technology — similar to electronic organs and string synthesizers of the time — to generate all notes and pitches using a small number of fixed-frequency oscillators as an alternative to ‘traditional’ VCOs (Voltage-Controlled Oscillators). Obviously, the Polymoog cannot create each voice from individual oscillators and filters, nor store sounds programmed by the user — unlike the first generation of microprocessor-controlled designs that soon followed suit, such as Sequential Circuits’ classic Prophet-5, the world’s first fully-programmable polyphonic synthesizer — as a result. Regardless of those limitations and reliability issues inherent in its complicated, convoluted design downfall, some notable users still shaped some stunning-sounding records using the pioneering Polymoog.
 
Prime example… as an innovative individual almost alone in seeing the opportunity for a star of synth-based music, a futuristic-looking Gary Numan notably ‘drove’ over an endless Polymoog landscape in the pioneering promo video for his 1979 chart-topping ‘Cars’ single and arguably opened the floodgates for the wave of (mainly British) synth-pop acts that trailed in his wake. Wisely — and appropriately — once observed: Gary Numan’s classic breakthrough, The Pleasure Principal, is almost an album-length advert for the Polymoog. Those beautiful, stark, synth-strings frozen all over the songs is the Polymoog’s Vox Humana preset.

Fast-forward, then, to two years ago, and XILS-lab clearly considered those oft-overlooked Polymoog presets to be well worth revisiting, recreating an ‘unlimited’ polyphony polysynth that was recognisably revolutionary upon its initial release and making it fit for today’s creative computer-based music-makers with a state-of-the-art software makeover. Making that happen was easier said than done, however — hence that two-year development time. That equalled the same time taken to develop the original, overly-engineered historical hardware from which it drew its innovative inspiration, ironically — hardly surprising, given that the Polymoog uses a TOS (Top Octave Synthesizer) system with a TOG (Top Octave Generator) chip to create a bank of 12 square waves representing the top octave of the keyboard, each of which are then passed through a divider chip to create all the lower octaves, and can then be processed to create other wave shapes; making matters more complicated, the Polymoog has two sets of TOS chips, generating two wave shapes (pulse and sawtooth) per key — two oscillators per key, effectively. There are also two envelope generators, two VCAs (Voltage-Controlled Amplifiers), and two fixed filters for each key. Those circuits are combined into a custom chip called the Polycom, mounted on a small card, and there is one Polycom card per key. That all adds up to a whole lot of circuit boards in one cumbersome keyboard.… little wonder, then, that reliability became an issue!

 Watch XILS-lab’s lovingly prepared PolyM promo video here:
https://www.xils-lab.com/audiosample/PolyM/PolyMTrailer.mp4

No such issues with the perfected PolyM, but no pain, no gain getting there as XILS-lab CEO Xavier Oudin obviously learned — the hard(ware) way — when taking today’s much more reliable route to software-based synthesized splendour: “Recreating this legendary synthesizer as a virtual analogue synthesizer was a real challenge, but we decided to take up the gauntlet. This was made more difficult due to our real machine’s poor condition.”

Continuing against all odds, Xavier Oudin and XILS-lab literally created a plug-in pleasure principal when recreating the revolutionary Polymoog polysynth as a soft synth plug-in par excellence — even ending up with more bells and whistles when finally finished. “It took more than two years, analysing, measuring, testing, and scratching our heads,” he concurs, before adding: “But we are proud to now offer PolyM, one of the best — if not the best — ‘virtual’ divide-down-based virtual synthesizers out there!”

In there is what counts, though, and PolyM palpably doesn’t disappoint… deftly reproducing yesteryear’s divide-down technology with two TOD (Top Octave Divider) oscillators — one for the sawtooth wave and another for the square, slightly detuned for a phenomenal phasing effect (when running independently in FREE mode), yet these take the concept further forward by adding polyphonic pulse width modulation. Meanwhile, in LOCK mode, those two TOD oscillators are almost locked in phase, producing PM (Phase Modulation) instead of FM (Frequency Modulation) when the square wave oscillator is modulated in pitch. The two TODs can also be modulated — tempo-sync-able — in pitch by an LFO, while the square wave oscillator has it own pulse width modulation by a tempo-sync-able LFO. Alongside a distinctive envelope generator, this represents the musical heart and soul of PolyM, pushing that revolutionary polysynth sound kicking and screaming into the future!

Further features of note include: 71 emulated chips, offering mixer, VCA, envelope, 12dB filter, and pulse width modulation for each of the available notes; stunning-sounding 24dB ladder filter (using XILS-lab’s critically-acclaimed zero-delay algorithm); nine dedicated acoustic filters — STRING, PIANO, ORGAN, HARPS, FUNK, CLAV, VIBES, BRASS, and VOX — carefully recreated from the original (model 203a); RESONATORS filter bank with three parametric (6dB and 12dB) filters matching the original; three vintage — DEL. (delay), PHAS. (phaser), and REV. (reverb) — effects (with adjustable settings from within an Advanced Settings Panel alongside nine modulation slots for furthering sound design possibilities well beyond the scope of the original hardware); and more…

More than 260 presets are available to help users get going and all parameters are MIDI-controllable, combining to position PolyM as an innovative instrument of its time while retaining the one-time pioneering Polymoog’s performance properties. Put it this way: while what Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud would have made of it is obviously open to speculation, surely Gary Numan should approve… as will anyone’s bank balance by paying (comparatively) so little for so much playing pleasure! Perhaps PolyM pushes beyond the pleasure principal?

PolyM is available to purchase as a USB eLicenser or iLok (1 and 2 dongle hardware or software) protected plug-in for an introductory promotional price of €99.00 EUR until August 31, 2017 — rising to an MSRP of €149.00 EUR thereafter — from XILS-lab here: http://www.xils-lab.com/products/polym-p-160.html

PolyM can be directly downloaded as a multi-format (AAX, AU, RTAS, VST), 32- and 64-bit virtual soft synth plug-in for Mac (OS X 10.7 and later) and Windows (XP, 7, 8, 10) from here: https://www.xils-lab.com/products/polym-p-160/download.html

For more in-depth info, including several superb-sounding audio demos, please visit the dedicated PolyM webpage here:
http://www.xils-lab.com/products/polym-p-160.html

 

About XILS-lab (www.xils-lab.com)
Based in Grenoble, France, XILS-lab is an audio software company, created and managed by Xavier Oudin. Having created some of the best known virtual instruments and effects plug-ins on the market for various companies over the last 20 years, today he focuses on bringing his passion for audio, instruments, and music to bear on his own company. Working with highly-skilled professional musicians and sound designers, the company collectively believes that a virtual instrument or effect is not simply a series of mind-boggling mathematical algorithms designed and scrutinised over by bookish PhD engineers but rather a useful and useable musical tool made for musicians. Moreover, XILS-lab loves to create virtual instruments and effects that inspire its users to create more imaginative music than they ever dreamed possible!   
© 2017 XILS-lab