Hi folks
I'm looking for an additive synth with the following features:
- is capable of good resynthesis of acoustic samples
- is capable of morphing between at least two (preferably four) resynthesized samples
- lets you edit all the partials in different ways (for example, I would like to be able to modulate the amplitude of certain partials with MIDI CCs/velocity/aftertouch, etc)
- has a powerful modulation matrix
At the moment I'm demoing Image-Line's Morphine, and I like it's workflow very much. It's pretty intuitive. All the partials editing, as well as morphing between the generators is done in a clear and straight-forward way. But the resyntesis engine seems quite weak, especially when doing more complex acoustic stuff.
In the past I tried Alchemy and although the resynthesis engine seemed a little better, I find the partials-editing and the morphing capabilities in Morphine superior.
I also tried Harmor which does a great job at resyntesizing complex acoustic material, but I find Harmor so unintuitive and cumbersome that I gave up on using it. I think it can do morphing between two resynthesized samples, but I wasn't able to figure out how.
So, what other alternatives are out there?
Cheers
A better alternative to IL Morphine?
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- KVRAF
- 25852 posts since 20 Jan, 2008 from a star near where you are
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 649 posts since 20 Jul, 2009
Thanks, Numanoid
I demoed Cube, as well, some time ago, but, to be honest, I don't remember exactly why I didn't continue using it.
How does it compare to Morphine?
I demoed Cube, as well, some time ago, but, to be honest, I don't remember exactly why I didn't continue using it.
How does it compare to Morphine?
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- KVRAF
- 25852 posts since 20 Jan, 2008 from a star near where you are
Like Morphine Cube has four morphable sound sources.KTlin wrote:How does it compare to Morphine?
When it comes to resynthesis Cube handles AIFF/WAV sample import also.
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- KVRAF
- 8805 posts since 7 Oct, 2005
If you want to learn about additive synthesis, then Morphine is fine but if you want an additive synth with a good sound, then anything is better than Morphine! 
My favourites are Razor and Harmor. No resynthesis in Razor but there is a morph function between two presets (Reaktor or Reaktor player).
Harmor needs some time and more than one revisit but it pays in the end while Razor is so easy to have incredible results with it and fast.
There are others you might want to demo. Vertigo and Iris come to mind.
My favourites are Razor and Harmor. No resynthesis in Razor but there is a morph function between two presets (Reaktor or Reaktor player).
Harmor needs some time and more than one revisit but it pays in the end while Razor is so easy to have incredible results with it and fast.
There are others you might want to demo. Vertigo and Iris come to mind.
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 649 posts since 20 Jul, 2009
Thanks EnGee!EnGee wrote:My favourites are Razor and Harmor. No resynthesis in Razor but there is a morph function between two presets (Reaktor or Reaktor player).
Harmor needs some time and more than one revisit but it pays in the end while Razor is so easy to have incredible results with it and fast.
There are others you might want to demo. Vertigo and Iris come to mind.
I never tried Vertigo, but now that you mentioned it, it looks it could be very close to what I'm looking for. I'll try the demo. And I'm gonna try Razor and Iris as well, although I don't think they have the features I need.
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- KVRAF
- 2376 posts since 17 Apr, 2004
Don't give up on Harmor. It seems completely overwhelming at first, and even after you've got a handle on it, it's still amazingly complex. It's not a synth you can just pick up and make sounds with.
Take time to investigate the various knobs and dials on the UI and watch the effect in the graphical view on the right. If you want to increase the size of the view, enter "can i haz moar view" as you preset name. Watching this view helps you understand what the various options actually really do to the sound's partials.
If you've never used IL's stuff, the envelopes are a whole world to explore on their own, but there's not much point investigating them until you've understood tha basics of the parameters you can modulate. Once you've got that far, exploring the modulation options should keep you busy for a long time too. After you've got a handle on them, you'll often find yourself wishing that other synths had more flexible envelopes.
Harmor is a synth you need to put some effort into learning and you can't expect to install it and feel at home straight away. What seems unintuitive and cumbersome at first is really just the complexity of the synth shining through and the lack of any kind of hand holding to make the initial teething period easier. I think you'll be hard pressed to find anything "better" than Harmor, although some of the other suggestions are quite different in their approach and may click with you better.
Take time to investigate the various knobs and dials on the UI and watch the effect in the graphical view on the right. If you want to increase the size of the view, enter "can i haz moar view" as you preset name. Watching this view helps you understand what the various options actually really do to the sound's partials.
If you've never used IL's stuff, the envelopes are a whole world to explore on their own, but there's not much point investigating them until you've understood tha basics of the parameters you can modulate. Once you've got that far, exploring the modulation options should keep you busy for a long time too. After you've got a handle on them, you'll often find yourself wishing that other synths had more flexible envelopes.
Harmor is a synth you need to put some effort into learning and you can't expect to install it and feel at home straight away. What seems unintuitive and cumbersome at first is really just the complexity of the synth shining through and the lack of any kind of hand holding to make the initial teething period easier. I think you'll be hard pressed to find anything "better" than Harmor, although some of the other suggestions are quite different in their approach and may click with you better.
Voted KVR's resident drunk Robert Smith impersonator (thanks Frantz!)
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2myYesRBRgQB3LkZzEYdt5 | https://soundcloud.com/steevm/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2myYesRBRgQB3LkZzEYdt5 | https://soundcloud.com/steevm/
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- KVRAF
- 8805 posts since 7 Oct, 2005
How I forgot Loom 
It's a very good additive synth in both features and sound. The morphing function is the best I have seen in a synth. Not only you can morph between 4 states but you can specify the speed in every line.
it also has modules you can insert what you need.
it doesn't have modulation matrix but there are envelopes and lfos you can assign to the main parametrs in the modules.
Have a look at the groove3 tutorial first video about it to have some ideas
It's a very good additive synth in both features and sound. The morphing function is the best I have seen in a synth. Not only you can morph between 4 states but you can specify the speed in every line.
it also has modules you can insert what you need.
it doesn't have modulation matrix but there are envelopes and lfos you can assign to the main parametrs in the modules.
Have a look at the groove3 tutorial first video about it to have some ideas
