Molecular Bytes releases Membrane v0.12.1 beta

Molecular Bytes has released a pre-release demo version of Membrane, a new multi-track sample sequencer that, Molecular Bytes claim, allows you to easily edit, adapt and change audio data like samples, loops and sequences in new ways.

Membrane analyzes and separates the most diverse physical characteristics from the audio material, so it becomes freely variable and editable. Membrane resamples the audio material allowing you to assign completely new characteristics to the audio, in real time and without destruction of the original input data.

Membrane can make an unskilled or unclean voice sound like that of a professional singer; you can change the data arbitrarily in time and formant correct the pitch. Or after stretching notes you can simply add a rising Vibrato or shorten a too long chanted portamento phrase.

You can change the timbre of vocals to let the singer sound younger or taller, or, in the case of instruments, let them sounds smaller or more voluminous. Furthermore you can modify characteristics like breathiness / airflow or adjust voice squeezing / humming, or adapt an unsynchronized song simply to the beat of a percussion sequence.

An extra feature is the 'Added Resonance Wavetable EXtraction' technology. This enables the user not to have to make a distinction between rhythmical or melodic audio data, but to be able to use all parameters for any material.

The pre-release beta version is available for Windows as a stand-alone application. Future versions will also be available for Mac OS X and will host VST/AU effects and also function as a VST/AU effect and instrument via an AU/VST bridge application. ReWire is also supported.

Feature Overview

Integration and compatibility:

• Supported sample rates: 6 - 192 KHz; 8, 16, 24, 32 Bit.
• Sample import / export: all system codecs installed (WAV, MP3, AIFF, etc).
• Infinite tracks.
• Unlimited undo (memory dependent).
• Audio output: native (DirectX), ASIO or over ReWire-Mixer application (full integration).
• Low latency.
• MIDI output and -input as elastic-audio-sampler with different synchronization modes.

Analysis and synthesis:

• Fast realtime-resynthesis through calculation in time space and fast SSE2 command sets.
• Playmode for MONOPHONE and POLYPHONE samples.
• Formant- and "airflow" / consonant corrected pitch shifting (using "resonance-continuity-prediction" for realistic formant correction for downpitch).
• Separated processing of tonal parts and "airflow" / noise parts.

Editor:

• Non-destructive editing.
• Automatic and manual separation of the source samples (notes and beats).
• Random arrangement of tracks using markers, copy, cut, and paste.
• Edit MONOPHONIC samples: pitch, phrasing, vibrato, timestretch and timeshift, time distribution, resonance box size, roughness, envelope, vocal / airflow.
• Edit POLYPHONIC samples: pitch, timestretch and timeshift, time distribution, envelope.
• Configurable graphical user interface supporting skins and multi monitor display.
• Different time scales, synchronization, metronome, fade in / fade out, note scaling based of different scales giving keynotes for every step.
• Editors have magnetic snapping, intuitive track visualization with direct 'look-and-hear'.

Producer:

• The "producer" is like an assistant which can manage your creativity. So membrane can do what you wish - without knowing all parameters and functions.

You can download the pre-release demo version of Membrane v0.12.1 for Windows directly from here (It's not yet available on their website).