Greg Recco Audible Planets Synthesizer v1.1.5 VST3 AU LV2 LiNUX WiN MAC [Free]

VST3 AU LV2 LiNUX WiN MAC | 45.7 MB
Audible Planets is an expressive, quasi-Ptolemaic semi-modular synthesizer.

Features

"Orbital Modulation" (OM) synthesis
Modulation matrix with monophonic and polyphonic modulation for most parameters
Built-in effects chains

Overview

Four bodies revolve with uniform circular motion, each around one of the others or, in the case of the first body, a fixed central point. Each body around which no other body revolves serves as an oscillator, producing sound. The interpretation of these terminal bodies as oscillators depends on their positions as viewed from a point that is either at the fixed center of revolution or nearby, at a point called the "equant," more in honor of Ptolemy than in strict adherence to his system (hence "quasi-Ptolemaic"). In the engine's fully modulated state (i.e., with the "Demodulate" knob turned all the way down), only the direction of a line connecting the equant to the terminal body matters to the sound, just as, in Ptolemy's system, the distances of the heavenly bodies are unknown. This system of sound generation closely resembles frequency modulation (FM) synthesis. The relative speeds of revolution of the various bodies have their analogues in the frequencies of so-called "carrier" and "modulator" (or "operator") waves in traditional FM synthesis. Accordingly, the interface allows both ("coarse") whole-number and ("fine") fractional variation of these relative frequencies, producing a wide array of timbres, from the pure and simple to the densely inharmonic. An animation of a simplified orbital model (only two planets, no equant) can be viewed here: click on the circles beside the "P2," "demod," and "mod" folders to show the second planet, the demodulated signal, and the modulated signal.

Operation
Enough of that. How to use this thing?

Changelog:

Version 1.1.5
-- updated to JUCE 8.0.1
-- added mono LFO source buttons to LFO pane
-- switched oscillator volume and envelope sustain controls to logarithmic range from linear.

BREAKING CHANGE: Any already existing presets will need to be updated to the new value scales for oscillator volume and envelope sustain. For this purpose, a Python script is included in the scripts directory. Run it with python3 convert-presets.py and it will convert them in place. You might want to make a backup copy of your old presets before running this in case of any difficulty.