Tone2 announces Icarus2

Tone2 Audio has announced that Icarus2 will be released in early December 2019.

The feature-set of Icarus has been extended drastically. Icarus is now no longer just an advanced wavetable-synthesizer, but also a synthesizer-workstation.

The update to v2.0 is 100% downward compatible with all previous versions. All existing song projects and patches can be loaded without any further steps necessary.

YouTube.com/watch?v=J0eG-gormy8

Multistage-envelope-generators:

• Two MSEGs are available as additional modulation-sources. The MSEGs can be operated as LFO or envelope and allow you to create literally any shape you can imagine.
• The MSEGs offer highest precision, support frequencies up into the audio-range and have been designed with the aspect of musical usefulness.
• The MSEGs can be synced to BPM, sync with the arpeggiator or run freely. Triads or dotted rhythms are also supported.
• You can define loop-points and start points. Furthermore you can delay or fade the MSEGs.
• You can move, add or delete points with your mouse. You can bend lines upwards or downwards to change their shape or even create precise rectangular curves.
• The MSEGs can be edited completely freely or you can snap points to a grid of a selectable size. It is also possible to draw triangles, bars or ramps.

Drum-sequencer:

• Icarus2 has been extended with a Drum-sequencer. It is an easy-to-use, but powerful X0X-style sequencer-module.
• It comes with a wide variety of drum-sounds, noises and waveforms. You can also import your own samples in WAV-format and save your own templates.
• A large collection of drum patterns created by professional designers is included.
• It supports swing, shuffle, loop-length, effect send, key-split, roll, mono samples, stereo samples, looped samples and looped waveforms.
• Your sounds can be passed through punchy, BPM-synced envelopes, which allow you to create impressive gated-drum-sounds easily.
• The Drum-sequencer is able to stretch drum-loops that have been recorded in WAV-format, so that they automatically sync to BPM.
• Furthermore, the Drum-sequencer is not only limited to playing drum sounds. It is able to play looped mono and stereo-samples or waveforms with or without pitch-tracking.
• It does also come with a smart auto-accompaniment which automatically resolves the chord that you are currently playing and plays a bassline that 'fits'.

Glitch-sequencer:

• Icarus2 had been extended with a grid-based Glitch-sequencer. You can chop your sounds to get modern glitchy, stuttering effects.
• The 'Glitch' works similar to a multi-effect sequencer. The incoming audio is passed through 10 effects. Each effect is controlled by up to 16 segments to adjust the parameter of the effect.
• Furthermore, it is possible to adjust the speed, routing, mix, smoothness and loop-length.
• Random-buttons allow you to create new sounds quickly. It is also possible to load and save your own templates.

New features:

• The interface has been re-designed completely. It is now more intuitive and efficient to use.
• Icarus2 does come with over 1500 patches created by professionals.
• A massive number of additional wavetables, waveforms and samples.
• The GUI can be displayed with 12 different sizes.
• You can select from 3 different scales for the interface: Small, normal or huge.
• Added a random-button that generates new patches.
• MPE-support (MIDI Polyphonic Expression).
• Many additional realtime-animations for the interface.
• Arrows indicate modulation-sources which support drag-and-drop.
• Additional knobs for filter-panning.
• Hi-DPI support for sharper text, graphs and knob-handles.
• Added an optional keyboard which allows playing sounds without MIDI-input.
• The current value of the LFO and Step-LFO is displayed with a small circle.
• A classic wavetable-view has been added, which can be shown by clicking on the display.
• A vertical line visualizes the current phase of the LFOs.
• The effect-section has been reworked and is more easy-to-use.
• Included a new LFO-type called 'White Noise' that outputs real random values.
• Included a new LFO-type called 'Band-limited Noise' that outputs tuned noise.
• Included a new LFO-type called 'S&H Noise' that outputs BPM-synced noise.
• Included a new LFO-type called 'S&H Noise Ramped' that outputs BPM-synced ramps.
• Included a new LFO-type called 'S&H Noise Digital' that outputs BPM-synced digital-noise.
• Added a new patch-browser.
• Support for 'polyphonic key pressure / aftertouch'.
• Additional buttons to bypass FX1, FX2, FX3 and the feedback.
• Additional knobs for filter-volume 1 and 2.
• 'FX3 Duck' changes the dry/wet mix of effect3 dynamically, resulting in a more transparent mix.
• Small triangles indicate hypersaw-spread and the stereo-spread in the osc-section.
• A triangle indicates the wavetable-index in the oscillator-section.
• A triangle indicates the morph-value in the oscillator-section.
• An additional dry-wet knob allows to change the effect-mix in the main interface.
• You can draw shapes by clicking with the right mouse-button onto the step-LFO display.
• A MIDI-diode indicates incoming signals.
• Added a realtime-display for the frequency-response of the equalizer.
• Many menus have been extended with check-marks, which show the last selected item.
• Additional on/off buttons for bypassing single effects.
• Midi-out support for the keyboard and the arpeggiator.
• Additional button to reset the patch-settings.
• Global mode for the LFOs when the arpeggiator is used.
• Pitch-wheel and mod-wheel are displayed on the lower left and can be used as drag&drop modulation-source.
• Note number and velocity can now also be also assigned with drag&drop.
• Additional 'Tools-menu' for the arpeggiator.
• Matrix send values are shown when the mouse is mover over a slider.
• It is now possible to bypass oscillators from the filter section in parallel mode.
• The names of the sound-designers are displayed in the patch-browser.
• The GUI can be resized but does not use OpenGL, which results in sharper graphics. OpenGL is deprecated and will be not longer be supported by Apple.

Enhancements:

• All oscs, filters, the volume-envelope and the step-LFO are displayed on the main interface and accessible without switching through tabs.
• Icarus_effects, Icarus_arps, Icarus_mseg, IcarColor.cfg, IcarMidi.cfg and the manuals are now stored in Icarus_data.
• The color schemes can be changed without restarting the plug-in.
• The arpeggiator is much larger and more intuitive to use.
• Many additional tooltips which explain features.
• Reduced latency.
• Key-follow for the oscs can be toggled without entering the setup-menu.
• All matrix parameters are accessible within a single tab.
• All effects, the feedback, the ducking and the limiter are accessible within a single tab.
• Unused effect-parameters are hidden automatically.
• The cutoff-knob is located left from the reso-knob.
• Polyphonic, legato, mono and glide-mode can be selected from the main screen.
• After loading a new patch the synth automatically shows the most relevant tab-section.
• The patch-browser shows more detailed info about the patches.
• The patch-browser displays the names of the sound-designers in the lower right section.
• The number of semitones are shown within the arpeggiator.
• The arpeggiator-presets-menu is now more structured.
• The installer's automatic detection of the vstplugins directory has been enhanced.
• The 'Low-CPU morph-mode' does now always play on the entire keyboard-range.
• Enhanced performance for drag&drop.
• Higher precision limiter displays.
• Many small enhancements for the interface.
• Many small performance-optimisations.
• Better description of many features and more detailed tooltips.
• Much higher accuracy for MIDI-pitchbend messages (if the hardware supports it).

Sound-enhancements:

• Enhanced sound and more linear frequency-response for 'Delay Dual'.
• The default-parameters for many effects have been fine-tuned for a better sound.
• The sound of many reverb-types has been enhanced and offers a more linear frequency-response.
• Higher precision rendering.
• More accurate timing for the shuffle.

Pricing:

• Price: €149 / $179.
• Upgrade Price: €79 / $89.

The upgrade is free for everyone who purchased the product after April 2019.