Live wavetable synth

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.
Post Reply
Aken
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Apr 05, 2013 5:08 am

Live wavetable synth

Post by Aken » Fri Aug 12, 2016 2:16 am

Hello everyone :)

Since yesterday I'm trying to jam with a guitarist friend and she was using the input of my soundcard to direct the audio signal trough Guitar Rig. Nothing fancy. Then I thought Ok What if you could produce synth sounds with yur guitar, since you are sending the signal to my computer I guess something like that can be easily done in 2016 :D

SO I ended up looking for a VST instrument or FX that was using live audio (audio in) as a wavetable/waveform.

Do you know any synth like this ?
I know there is The Mouth but its more an FX than a synth and I don't really like how limited it is when it comes to tweak parameters anyway. I would like a real complex synth that is feeded with the guitar signal.


Thanks in advance!

Stromkraft
Posts: 7033
Joined: Wed Jun 25, 2014 11:34 am

Re: Live wavetable synth

Post by Stromkraft » Fri Aug 12, 2016 9:09 am

Aken wrote: SO I ended up looking for a VST instrument or FX that was using live audio (audio in) as a wavetable/waveform.

Do you know any synth like this ?
Interesting idea. As a wavetable seems a bit strange as I would imagine the signal to be continuous. Maybe if the signal is automatically extracted to predetermined slots it could form a base for a synth patch that is different every time. I'm pretty sure Reaktor or some of its synths can take external signals and I'm sure there are others as well.
Make some music!

Angstrom
Posts: 14921
Joined: Mon Oct 04, 2004 2:22 pm
Contact:

Re: Live wavetable synth

Post by Angstrom » Fri Aug 12, 2016 10:24 am

I dont think you mean "wavetable". That would imply a pitch to midi solution driving a synth with wavetable oscillators. You can do that with Jam Origin and the wavetable VST of your choice.

I think you must mean wave-shaping, taking the incoming wave and fucking with it. The problem with waveshaping the whole signal is intermodulation. If you apply a distortion, or Ableton's saturator to a chord you know that the harmonic input is so complex that the outcome is often messy. That's why god gave us power chords.
So that's why Hex pickups were invented in the 1970s. Each string sends audio to be parallel processed. A distortion on each string sounds very different. Because each monophonic wave is shaped discretely.

Or a more advanced version : real-time resynthesis. That's more akin to what Melodyne can do : extract each poly-pitch (on a guitar that means each string), map the sound each string is making, and reshape that sound ... But in real time.
We are at the point where that's pretty much possible, I think there's a Boss pedal which does this.

Aken
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Apr 05, 2013 5:08 am

Re: Live wavetable synth

Post by Aken » Fri Aug 12, 2016 9:03 pm

Hmmmm I really don't want the audio signal to be converted into midi, neither I want it to be segregated by any mean. I just want it to be used as the waveform, like if you chose your own wave in well known VSTs (Serum, ...)

Aken
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Apr 05, 2013 5:08 am

Re: Live wavetable synth

Post by Aken » Sat Aug 13, 2016 4:00 am

I did some more researches and I found what I was looking for. The only problem remaining is that all these plugins i'm going to list are 32 bits only and I'm looking for a 64 bit solution:

- Super Eel 2: file:///C:/HIVE/VST/32/SuperEel2/manual/manual.html
- Antares Kantos 1: http://antares-kantos-vst-rtas.software.informer.com
- Clone Ensemble Alien Solo: http://www.cloneensemble.com/al_main.htm
- NI Vokator: https://www.kvraudio.com/product/vokato ... ruments_ni

Any ideas? ^^

Stromkraft
Posts: 7033
Joined: Wed Jun 25, 2014 11:34 am

Re: Live wavetable synth

Post by Stromkraft » Sat Aug 13, 2016 10:16 am

Aken wrote:Hmmmm I really don't want the audio signal to be converted into midi, neither I want it to be segregated by any mean. I just want it to be used as the waveform, like if you chose your own wave in well known VSTs (Serum, ...)
Can you use a continuous, as in an on-going forever changing waveform, i e input signal in Serum? I think not though I'm not overly familiar with Serum. You either choose the waveforms there is or add your own after having made a sample of it and placed it in a slot. My beloved Z3TA+ 2 can take my waveform samples as raw material, but not in real time.

A "waveform" typically means a snippet that can be repeated — one-cycle or a some more cycles —  and modulated.

What you seem to want is some kind of synthesizer that can take a real time input signal and modulate that. That's not "Wavetable". It's something else.
Make some music!

siliconarc
Posts: 2836
Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2007 12:27 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: Live wavetable synth

Post by siliconarc » Sat Aug 13, 2016 10:21 am

give Madrona Labs Virta a try.

Stromkraft
Posts: 7033
Joined: Wed Jun 25, 2014 11:34 am

Re: Live wavetable synth

Post by Stromkraft » Sat Aug 13, 2016 5:11 pm

garyboozy wrote:give Madrona Labs Virta a try.
Looks kinda interesting though seems heavy on CPU. That's what freeze was invented for of course (the other tracks). Here's a review on it.
Make some music!

Aken
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Apr 05, 2013 5:08 am

Re: Live wavetable synth

Post by Aken » Sat Aug 13, 2016 8:15 pm

garyboozy wrote:give Madrona Labs Virta a try.
Thanks buddy! I'm downloading it right now :)

siliconarc
Posts: 2836
Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2007 12:27 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: Live wavetable synth

Post by siliconarc » Sun Aug 14, 2016 11:59 am

just noticed it's on sale too 8)

Aken
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Apr 05, 2013 5:08 am

Re: Live wavetable synth

Post by Aken » Sun Aug 14, 2016 9:21 pm

so after testing it it's cool, but yeah it is very heavy on CPU and I could not use it during s live performance since it brings it to 65++% alone.

I found Izotope Vocalsynth, which is very similar but a bit cleaner, easier to use and still quite fancy : https://www.izotope.com/en/products/cre ... synth.html

It was releasednot so long ago and it is less heavy on the CPU in most of the cases even if it is still a huge hit compared to the typical VST intrument or effect.

Stromkraft
Posts: 7033
Joined: Wed Jun 25, 2014 11:34 am

Re: Live wavetable synth

Post by Stromkraft » Mon Aug 15, 2016 8:35 am

Aken wrote:
I found Izotope Vocalsynth, which is very similar but a bit cleaner, easier to use and still quite fancy : https://www.izotope.com/en/products/cre ... synth.html
Certainly looks interesting. I don't have mindshare for another synth at the moment, but it's nice to see new things. Izotope makes quality products too.
Make some music!

condra
Posts: 2755
Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2007 2:03 pm
Location: Dublin

Re: Live wavetable synth

Post by condra » Sat Nov 04, 2017 8:59 pm

Very heavy on CPU unfortunately.

Post Reply