New VSTi Announcement
IVOR
The Microtonal Virtual Analog Synthesizer
by Xen-Arts
IVOR is a two-oscillator subtractive synthesizer that features full-controller MIDI Pitch Microtuning using MTS (MIDI Tuning Standard), where any MIDI Note Number can be freely microtuned to any desired pitch across the MIDI range, thereby enabling musicians and composers to explore the vast expressive possibilities of composing music with alternative intonation systems.
IVOR is a microtonal sound-designer's virtual analog synthesizer with a carefully designed ergonomic workflow for quickly creating powerful sounding and musical useful timbres.
IVOR excels at making categories of timbres that include bass, distortion, keys, pads, broken, weird, leads and other analog synthesis types of sounds.
IVOR is an educational tool for learning about subtractive sound synthesis and musical instrument intonation (aka microtuning and xenharmonics).
IVOR embodies a design philosophy of simplicity for microtonal music sound-design…
IVOR embodies a design philosophy of simplicity for microtonal music sound-design…
- A ‘knob-less’ design featuring slider controls only, which enables intuitive direct control with a computer mouse.
- A dedicated control signal system mapped to the most important synthesis functions.
- Settings are made by typing values into fields, dropdown lists, left-and-right arrows, switches and sliders.
- Enables musicians to specify precise microtonal pitch-bend settings.
- Features arbitrary microtonal oscillator transposition settings.
- Velocity modulation of harmonics enables dynamically playing harmonics of the fundamental pitch.
Features...
Oscillator Section
- Two Oscillators with 22 Waveforms
- Microtonal, Harmonic Series and Subharmonic Series Oscillator Transposition
- LFO (with Rate Sequencer) and Envelope Generator for Phase, Pulse-Width and Pitch Modulation
- LFO and Envelope Generator features both Unidirectional and Bidirectional Modulation
- Analog Pitch Drift Emulator with both Unidirectional and Bidirectional Modulation
- Velocity-to-Harmonics Modulation enables oscillators to dynamically sound harmonics of the fundamental pitch
- Ring Modulation with 23 RM Types
- Oscillator and Ring Modulator Mixer
Filter Section
- Pre-Filter Saturation Stage with 20 Saturation Types
- Two Independent Filters with Six Filter Types: LP4, LP2, HPF, BPF, BRF, APF
- One and Two Stage Filter Cascade
- LFO (with Rate Sequencer) and Envelope Generator for Filter Cutoff Frequency Modulation
- LFO and Envelope Generator enables both Unidirectional and Bidirectional Filter Modulation
VCA Section
- Dedicated Envelope Generator
- Switchable Velocity Sensitivity and Fixed Volume Control
Performance Control
- MIDI Pitch Microtuning with MTS (MIDI Tuning Standard)
- MTS Support for both Single Note and Bulk Dump
- Loads MTS Microtuning Format Files Internally and Receives MTS Externally
- Local (Per-Patch) and Global Microtuning (Static Microtuning for All Patches)
- Microtunings can be loaded from any directory on hard drives or storage devices connected to the computer
- Ten Note Polyphonic
- Monophonic Legato Mode
- Polyphonic Portamento with Three Glide Modes
- Microtonal Pitch Bend
- Vibrato
- Effects include Warm Filter and Stereo Ensemble
Download:
Download | Ivor - Piano's Ghost:
[43 mg]
[11 mg]
Impressive this new free synth.
ReplyDeleteSuper fat, moving sequences and low on CPU yet.
Nice and intuitive GUI.
It takes time to handle completelly and listen amazing results, but it worth it.
Thanks for the freebie and keep up the good work.
thanks so much for this.
ReplyDeletevery good and unique idea! fun to play with with so much parameters to manage.
compliments and cudos :)
thanks for the new tools ;)
ReplyDeleteonly feedback immediately (running windows 7 vst) is that clicking on dropdown lists doesn't take effect when you click on the choice, but requires
a second click on the vst's window to take effect. this is inside ableton live.
bob
http://soundcloud.com/r-37/test-ivor-carlos-alpha
Thanks to everyone for the positive feedback and thanks Bob for sharing your track. I like this quite a lot actually and it's sort of stylistically coming from Oophoi-like spaces; one of my favorite composers of this type of music. I'd like to encourage you to continue to make music of this nature and refine this style. Sounds great.
ReplyDeleteThank you, awesome synth.
ReplyDeleteHi Bob,
ReplyDeleteIn the host I use - Reaper - there is a similar behavior and one must right-click on the plugin (within the Track FX dialog) and check "Send all keyboard input to plug-in". Once configured for a particular instance of a plug-in, then it becomes far easier to use.
Ableton is kind of a world unto itself, but one of our beta-testers uses it frequently. I'll try to ask them if there is a way to configure better keyboard and mouse behavior.
Thank you so much!! I really appreciate your willingness to support the microtonal community like this by sharign such excellent tools!
ReplyDeleteHi Andrew and Chris,
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by and for the positive feedback. You're most certainly welcome.
Please feel free to make me aware if you create music with this new VSTi. I'd love to check it out.
Best,
Here is some doing with your synth (some reverb added)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.musik-und-text.de/musikundtext/streams/kraftfutter_2.mp3
Hi thomekk,
ReplyDeleteI was excited to see that you posted some music, but when I tried to download the file, it didn't work for me. Please feel free to reupload your piece, or just email it to me if you prefer. I'd love to hear what you've done.
Best,
j:l
Hi Jacky,
ReplyDeleteand sorry for the wrong link.
The corrected one is:
http://www.musik-und-text.de/streams/kraftfutter_2.mp3
Hi thomekk,
ReplyDeleteThis sounds great and reminds me a bit of the spaces that Steve Roach explored on his album The Magnificent Void (1996), except, significantly, your sound is clearly xenharmonic in nature.
You should consider putting together an album or EP in the future. I'd enjoy the opportunity to hear more of your work.
Hi Jacky,
DeleteI've heard of Steve Roach, but did not know the music of him, googled, heard some snippets and wow - great stuff worth to dive into.
Love your synth and will use it more, lots of stuff to try and learn from it. Thanks again.
My works is very diverging - I'm synapsed by sound synthesis since my Korg MS-10, besides I'm a guitarist, so all is mixed up.
My site with actual stuff is this: http://www.musik-und-text.de/wordpress/ (Pop, Improvised Music, Collabs = a lifelong work in progress)
cheers,
Thom
Thank you, awesome synth. Is it possible to have the same VSTI divited in pieces? I need only the first part(Perfomance Control ) of IVOR! I would like a VSTI that use MIDI Pitch Microtuning with MTS (MIDI Tuning Standard) and is very flexible i.e. could be used as a Midi in for ALL Vsti plugins! In other words I would like for a vsti microtuner that replace some hardware microtuners(like H-Pi Instruments Tuning Box TBX1)
DeleteCheers,
Charis
I'm loving this thing! Thanks so much for making it! I'm gonna have a lot of fun with it. ^_^
ReplyDeleteHi Ryan,
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by and for the positive feedback.
I'd been wanting to design a synth that featured a pre-filter saturation stage and this is the end result.
Ivor can do heavy fairly well. :)
Best wishes.
Just learning about microtonal music....recommendations for an appropriate controller? I am OS agnostic...whatever works. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHi Tom,
ReplyDeleteIn the sidebar to the right there is a Controller section you can explore, if you like, which takes one to the sites of a lot of different inventors.
One's budget and the type of controller one prefers are factors in making a recommendation. Check out Starr Labs if you are looking for a guitar-style controller, although they also sell many kinds of keyboards as well.
Quite some time ago I bought an Axis-64 from C-Thru Music, which I like a lot, although the inventor of the Axis-64 has his own site, The Shape of Music, and makes what I've come to believe are fine instruments with perhaps superior key action and velocity response. One of my colleagues, Carlo Serafini (blog also in sidebar at top right), bought a really nice custom controller from The Shape of Music and actively uses this in his exploration of alternative intonations, which includes working with the family of non-octave CET microtunings discovered long ago by the venerable Wendy Carlos.
Elaine Walker's company, Vertical Keyboards, adapts Halberstadt keyboards to custom key layouts, in order to accommodate various equal temperaments, and these are some very innovative ideas as well.
If you are a wind player, there is also the Akai EWI USB. I've been pretty keen to pick up one of these, as I've played a MIDI wind controller quite a lot during the years I was involved more in improvisational music.
I'm also still using a Halberstadt style MIDI keyboard controller, with a standard key layout.
These are just a few ideas, and it seems there's almost constant innovation happening in this area. Another such instrument, which to my knowledge has never been mass produced beyond a few prototypes, is the Terpstra Keyboard from Cortex Design Inc. These are very interesting instruments, although information about the MIDI implementation is sketchy, and very importantly, these boards to not appear to feature a pitch wheel or mod-wheel controller. Personally speaking, that is a bit of a deal killer and I'm not as excited about buying one of these without this important expressive feature. But the key action, velocity response and the fact that it features polyphonic aftertouch, is extremely compelling all the same. If it had pitch/mod wheel controllers, I'd have already made an effort to get one, but I'm certain this is something that would required for my performance style. Hard to believe they left that off, but one can only assume they are catering to musicians and composers who are more into piano-style musical gesture.
Thanks for dropping by and good luck with you music.
Jacky,
ReplyDeleteHow would I visualize a key layout for microtonal scales when using a Halberstat MIDI keyboard with Ivor? I have some that I would be willing to modify, like the Vertical keyboards. I was also thinking of doing something like this :
http://andymurkin.wordpress.com/2011/12/31/alternative-keyboards-1/
For a class project, I was thinking of using algorithmic composition techniques with Puredata that would output microtonal MIDI information to Ivor. Thoughts?...thanks...tom
Hi Tom,
ReplyDeleteObviously if the number of tones in the microtuning is greater or less than 12, then the repeat interval (typically an octave of a 2/1 ratio), will be displaced, requiring one to master performing on the instrument by taking this offset physically into account.
In the past, as one possible solution, I have created paper or fabric strip overlays that can be affixed to the area above the entire length of the keyboard, where I make written notations for navigating complex tunings; typically in the form of note names and accidentals; cents and or ratios, for instance.
I'm aware that other musicians and composers have their own methods, such as using stickers on the keys and such like; to each their own, and whatever works for the musical task at hand.
I'll be very curious to hear what you produce with PD/Ivor; sounds like a fascinating project. Please feel free to make me aware of your compositions as they take final form, as I'm alway eager to check out new works, especially when created with these VSTi tools.