#physical modelling

[Press release]

Applied Acoustics Systems is very excited to announce that Strum GS‐2, the all-new version of its award-winning guitar track production plug-in, now includes both acoustic and electric guitars.

With Strum GS‐2, creating guitar tracks in a DAW environment becomes a straightforward endeavour as it reproduces the sound of a huge range of guitars but also the playing technique of a guitar player. To achieve this, Strum GS‐2 uses modeling to reproduce the various parts of the guitar chain—strings, bridge, soundboard, pickups, amplifier, and speaker cabinet. Strum GS‐2 also embeds an elaborate chord recognition and voicing module which automatically voices chords played on the keyboard as a guitar player would on the fretboard. Strumming and picking swings into action with an auto- strum function and special strumming keys. Elaborate rhythm figures available from a large collection of MIDI loops are on hand to supplement chord progressions.

Strum GS‐2 is a complete redesign of its predecessor. In addition to the synthesis and strumming engines which have been completely reviewed, Strum GS‐2 ships with a new streamlined interface, a new equalizer and compressor module, a new multi-effect processor, brings native 64-bit operation on Mac OS X and Windows, and much more. Strum GS‐2 also features an all-new factory library comprising an impressive number of acoustic and electric guitars, both in natural and production-ready configurations.

“We have completely reviewed the modeling of the complete chain behind Strum—including the strings, bridge, body, pickups, amplifier, speaker cabinet, and effects—and reconsidered how the different elements interact with each other. We have also re-examined how strumming is performed, now giving us a whole new level of realism, tone control, and expressivity,” said Marc-Pierre Verge, CEO of AAS. “With its extensive collection of acoustic and electric guitars in a single package and the ability to tweak them as required, Strum GS‐2 represents exceptional value. Strum more than ever allows you to experience the genuine feel of playing guitar on a keyboard!”

Pricing and Availability

Strum GS‐2 is available now at a suggested retail price of US$199 but until June 30th, 2015, it is offered at the introductory price of US$149.

Upgrades are available for Strum Acoustic GS-1, Strum Electric GS-1, and Strum Acoustic Session users starting at $39.

Strum GS‐2 runs on both Mac OS X and Windows in 32- and 64-bit host sequencers supporting the VST, Audio Units, RTAS, and AAX Native plug-in formats.

For more information and purchase, visit applied-acoustics.com

Madrona Labs' Kaivo

I recorded this little video as basic kind of introduction to Madrona Labs' more recent offering - Kaivo.

I've been pretty excited and enthusiastic about this instrument since Randy released it in early 2014, mainly because it's really unique and at this point it occupies it's own little space amongst the vast sea software instruments. In short, it's based on an interesting combination of granular sampling and physical modelling packed into a tight semi-modular package. The GUI is strikingly similar to Aalto which is somewhat comforting to those already familiar with this.

The video basically explains most of functionality of the components, and demonstrates some of the sonic territory the instrument lends itself to. The physical models produce remarkably natural sounds, but the modulation possibilities expand and push these sounds into new and experimental contexts and directions. If you're just wanting tried and tested kinds of timbres, it may not be your cup of tea, but those that are a little more sonically adventurous and enjoy challenging sounds, it's a fun and rewarding tool. The amazing sound quality comes at a cost though, and has a pretty hefty hit on the cpu, is some pretty complex math going on under the hood in relation to the physical models. It's not based on IR's or sampling in that regard.

The Continuum is something that I've been following with great interest. It's an extremely sensitive and accurate digital instrument, designed to be an extension of your fingers really. It's not an on-off synth. The Continuum almost feels like an acoustic instrument, in that it is just as (or in a way more) sensitive as, say.. a chello. All the sounds are designed to respond to your fingertips, continous pressure, pitch and Y-position changes.

The sound engine(s) itself is extremely impressive with a powerful Physical Modelling part, and also a beautiful FM implementation. I wish for them to be taken more seriously, and to get into the spotlight so that they could enter mass production at some stage. As of now, it is built and assembled specifically for each order, and thus has a pretty high price tag.

You can hear that for a newbie like me it'll take a great deal of practice to get the tune right, and if you don't have proper monitoring it'll be extremely difficult to stay in tune. But when Ed was playing you can hear that with years of practice you'll become the instrument.