VST 2.4 is still mandatory if you want to be compatible with most of the DAW / Sequencer applications on the market.
For this first article, we’ll talk about Visual Studio on Windows.
When it comes to debugging, you want something fast! Continue reading
It’s time for archaeology : let’s exhume 4 or 5 applications that ran on Windows 95 and try to make a nice freeware virtual studio for dance / techno / jungle production.
the first thing we need is a good solid hard kicking BEAT BOX :
Rhythm device for the headstrong
Download it here : http://www.threechords.com/hammerhead/download.shtml
Old school beat !
This rhythm making software is basic and come with rock solid drum kit : 909 oriented, with hard & hardcore bass drum + closed hihat / open hihat / claps / snare & some nice breakbeats.
The software come with funky presets : hip hop beat , jungle beat, hardcore gabber rhythm…
of course, it lacks some of refinements we found on our “modern” plugins, like time stretch / slice , accents, filters etc.. But from the limitation come the creation!
Now that we have a good pumpin’ beat, we want some drivin’ TB303’s aciiid bassline: Continue reading
Wavosaur for Mac OS X : works !
If you want to run Wavosaur audio editor on MAC OS X, it’s now possible : with Wineskin, one can do a wrapper that handle a Windows software into a Mac app.
And we have done it for you !
=> Wavosaur for MAC OS X <=
It has been tested and works for :
VST plugins are working : just be sure to use the Windows dll version (not the Mac version)
Download the ready-to-use Mac app or follow this guide for building a Wavosaur application for MAC :
Come on, one more time !
The real time pitch correction, the “autotune“, is the effect we all love to hate (and vice versa).
T-Pain, Cher, Daft Punk, Tatayet, Black Eyed Peas, and so many artists have used it creatively, for getting this weird robotic voice feeling.
We have searched all around the interweb, and tested for you : 5 FREE autotune VST plugins, to use in real time in any sequencer or DAW. We tend to prefer vocoder over the pitch corrector/autotune effect, but anyway, here’s the TOP 5 :
KeroVee VST
Info & download @ http://www.g200kg.com/en/software/kerovee.html
We already talked about this one in the “Voice FX post”, because it can do wicked chorus effects !
It’s also a nice pitch corrector autotune plugins : it’s intended to sound robotic, and works great for that “T-Pain effect”. Do you belieeeeeve it is free ? => yes it is.
before / after :
Direct download : archive
AAS Autotune VST was coming with Aodix, a tracker/sequencer created by Arguru http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Antonio_Arguelles_Rius
It works nicely and give instant autotune effect without too much effort on parametring the knobs/sliders. This old plugin is still the best !
before / after
AU Speek
VST Speek and AU Speek are free text to speech plugins for recreating the sound of the Commodore 64 Software Automatic Mouth vocal synthesis software.
More info here.
You can download AudioUnit or VST version :
download AUSpeek1.3 (64 bit Cocoa) for Mac OS X 10.8 (Moutain Lion) or later
download AUSpeek1.3 (32 bit Cocoa) for Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) or later
download AUSpeek1.3 (32 bit carbon) for Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or 10.7 (Lion)
download manual
Choose the 32 bit carbon version if you are using an OS older than MAC OS X 10.8
Choose the 64 bit version if your host only supports 64 bit AudioUnits (Logic X)
some help on how to install :
http://music.tutsplus.com/tutorials/quick-tip-how-to-manage-vst-and-audiounits-plugins-in-mac-os-x–audio-7439
download VSTSpeek 1.3 (64 bit Cocoa) for Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) or higher
download VSTSpeek 1.3 (32 bit carbon) for Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or 10.7 (Lion)
download manual
Sometimes(very often!) we need to add effects on our voice recording. To make it sound better, to make it sound thicker, or just to maker it sound incredible!
For widening/thickening, or making choir like voices, you can use : chorus, voice multiplier, voice doubler, stereo wideners.
For radical changes or special FX, you can use harmonizer / pitch changing, genre changer, pitch correction / autotune.
Here’s a top 5 of free VST effects for changing the voice :
Azurite chorus VST
This great chorus can work on many type of sources : guitar, voice, etc..
It works nicely for voice, it’s not too hard/harsh and does a good job on mono inputs for spreading voices and give a stereo effect.
information & download @ http://distorqueaudio.com/plugins/azurite.html
Dry voice :
Voice with chorus!
Techno is reactivated
VST Speek is a free vocal synthesis VST plugin for recreating the old skool robotic text to speech we all love. Choose a preset, type any text and let’s speak !
download VST Speek 1.3 for Windows 32 bit
download VST Speek 1.3 for windows 64 bit
VST Speek + reverb
UPDATE
v1.3:
– fix for crash in Cubase when selecting preset from drop down menu
– add hack for Presonus Studio One : text is now editable
– fix memory leaks
– MAC OS X version !!! => see https://blog.wavosaur.com/text-to-speech-vst-now-for-mac-vst-speek-au-speek-audiounit/
v1.2:
– now the hack for getting keyboard events in Ableton is less dirty 🙂
– fixed potential bug on close plugin
v1.1:
– 64 bit version for Windows
– Fixed bug with audio buffer
– Added hack for Ableton Live 9 : plugin should get keyboard keys input now
– Added support for VST Key (not tested ! we don’t have Cubase)
VST Speek text to speech is 100% freeware, the plugin is based on the Software Automatic Mouth (SAM) vocal synthesis software created by Softvoice Inc for the Commodore 64.
The original C64 software has been reverse engineered and ported to C by Sebastian Macke : http://simulationcorner.net/index.php?page=sam
This one is a classic, it’s very easy to achieve, all you need is a reverb and a software able to reserve the sound:
1) Launch Wavosaur
2) load a vocal sample :
Vocal sample in Wavosaur
If you need to add some LOFI grit to your drums, and / or to sample reduce to sound like a sick 8 bit sampler. You want the harsh sound of quantization error, or the sweet ugliness of aliasing.
you got all you need in Wavosaur !
Here we talk about sample reducing used as a special effect. The final goal is to have something not transparent.
Go to “Process” menu then select “Resample”, this windows appears :
resample window
One of the most used effect in music production / sound design / FX is the DELAY.
Many VST delay plugins are available, from very expensive to absolutely free.
Wavosaur can host VST plugins, with his VST rack, and it also can load presets ! single preset FXP or presrt bank (FXB)
We have picked one of the best (and oldest) reverb plugin and made about 10 presets to show all you can do with simple delays : Blue Delay VST !! by Digilogue
BlueDelay VST plugin
Information and download blueline vst pack @ http://www.digilogue.de/download.htm#BlueLine
Download 10 presets for bluedelay ! => https://blog.wavosaur.com/download/BlueDelay-preset bank.fxb