电音制作

在驴兄还没改版之前,先加入一个SYNTHEDIT的评论。

大家可能都看过驴同志所撰写的那个SYNTHEDIT的教程了，其实这是一个非常不错的模块化合成器构造平台，虽然现在有些在所难免的弱点，但是前景非常不错，希望能同它共同发展……


summary

SynthEdit is a modular softsynth, similar in ways to Reaktor or SynC Modular, though cheaper than either one ($20 US). There are also other notable differences, the two biggest being:

1) "Save as VST"- you can save your creations as VST plug-ins (synth or effect).

2) Voltage control- instead of having control signals that run at a different sampling rate from audio signals, everything is treated as a voltage signal (just like hardware modulars). This means you can use any audio signal as a control source- very cool indeed. All values range from 1 to 10 (or -5 to +5, as in the case of pan controls). The only exceptions to this are MIDI signals & text-based controls like the List Entry module, which is what you use for waveform selection in oscillators & other such tasks (there is also a voltage-to-list convertor, in case you're wondering). You may be thinking that this way of doing things would add significantly to the CPU usage, but it doesn't seem to. In fact, it performs much better than the demo of Reaktor on my old PC.

Although SE doesn't yet have the same amount of modules as the two previously mentioned programs, there is a freely available SDK for creating your own (assuming you're proficient with C++). The "stock" modules include analog-style oscillators (with sync & FM capabilities), a phase-distortion osc, 2-pole SVF & 4-pole LPF filters, 1-pole low and high pass filters, basic math & logic modules, MIDI input & MIDI-to-CV convertor modules, a VST loader, plus a bunch of other goodies. There should be enough there to keep most folks busy for quite awhile, I'd say.

ease of use

Well, you'll want more than a passing knowledge of synthesis to get the most out of this program, or at least a desire to learn. If you understand what the modules do & basically how they work, you probably won't have too hard a time getting something done- it's just a matter of connecting things properly. The connections & "wires" are color-coded, which is helpful. The help file does have explanations of each of the modules, though in the case of some of the more advanced modules, a little more in-depth info would be nice.

There are tutorials included for building basic synths, as well as for creating custom skins & VST plug-ins, optimizing your creations for CPU efficiency, & calculating the "real" (dB, freq, etc) values of voltages. There are also a few example project files included in the setup package, and more on the official website (as well as elsewhere on the net).

functions

In addition to what's already been mentioned, there is the ability to assign MIDI controllers to parameters, as well as set up MIDI automation. You can also play audio files or input live audio, as well as stream output to disk. There is also basic soundfont support.

Probably the coolest thing about SE is the Save as VST feature... though there are other modulars that allow you to use the main program itself through VST, this is definitely a good-size step up from there. You can embed files in your plug-ins- currently, I believe you can embed MIDI, wave, and soundfont files, as well as VST plug-ins.

problems

SynthEdit is currently in beta (as of this writing, the current release is v0.87). As such, there may of course be a few bugs- however, Jeff (the developer) is very active on the user mailing list, and (from my experience) is open to suggestions & eager to fix any problems. That said, I haven't yet experienced any major problems in the latest version.

There are a few things I'd like to see added to SE- for instance, it doesn't currently support feedback paths. There's also no way to perform pitch-shifting on audio signals, nor is there a way to do granular synthesis in the traditional sense, though you can use delays to do something like it.

performance

Considering the complexity of this program, the CPU usage is quite good I think. I have a very old, slow PC, and I can still get at least a few voices of polyphony out of most things. In comparison to an average VSTi of similar build, SE-made synths tend to be at least a little more demanding on the CPU, however. Running your creations in SE (meaning the .se1 file) is a little more efficient.

Stability is good- I've had crashes from time to time, but it's improved a lot in recent versions. As for saved VST plug-ins, there's been a few problems in the past, but again, Jeff seems quite dedicated to fixing these problems. As far as I know, there aren't currently any major host compatibility issues.

verdict

Let me put it this way: since I got into it, I'd say at least 75% of my free time has gone into tinkering around in SE. Though there are other features I'd like to see, it is still in beta, and many features have been added since I first hopped on board (shortly before the "official" beta release). If (like me) you're heavily into synthesis, you've gotta check it out. The free version has only minor limitations (limited number of presets- 16- in saved VST's, and it mentions SynthEdit in your about box)- and the full version is a measly 20 bucks, which is less than most single VSTi's on the market. How can you go wrong?