Sound from a Virtual Planet

Summer for me means that my schedule slows to the point where I can indulge in some of my guilty pleasures…. Fishing perhaps? Not quite. I’ve always been interested in building things, or at very least taking things apart and trying to put them back together. When it comes to electronic music, there are two really great toolkits available for building software instruments: MAX/MSP/Jitter and Reaktor. My April 26 blog post talked a bit about the new version of MAX, so I’d like to give you a quick look at Reaktor.

Reaktor is perhaps one of the most misunderstood products in the musical instrument industry. Everyone has heard of it, but everyone seems to have a different idea of what it is. I like to think of it as a combination of three different things that users will all make use of differently. Reaktor is a collection of software instruments, an object oriented programming environment, and membership to big fellowship of users. It’s really the first two here that throw people. While Wikipedia provides a good history and overview of Reaktor, there are a few basics to understand before you get started.

First off, Reaktor is a commercial product from Native Instruments. The package contains the software and documentation that will get you started. Reaktor is not a single synthesizer per se, but a player that comes with a collection of factory Ensembles, each it’s own self-contained software synthesizer. Each Ensemble is made up of one or more Instruments, these are typically some sort of synthesizer, effects processor, or a step-sequencer. While this may seem somewhat confusing, these are exactly the types of components that make up a commercial hardware synthesizer. So, your new Virus TI might be thought of as an "ensemble" of instruments in Reaktor-speak.

Opening the program, you need go no further than opening Ensembles either as a standalone software instrument or as a plug-in, to experience Reaktor. More adventurous users will want to dig a bit deeper, and that’s where things get a bit more involved. Ensembles are viewed in panel mode, where only the user interface –knobs, sliders, buttons, and displays– are visible.

A Reaktor Ensemble in Panel View

Structure view shows how the ensemble is made. On the top level, you’ll see the various instruments used, but clicking on any of them will reveal the components and connections that make up that instrument. This is where the programming work in Reaktor is done.

A Reaktor Ensemble in Structure View

The individual modules you see can represent anything from a simple math calculation to something more akin to a synthesizer module, like an oscillator or envelope generator. Fortunately, Reaktor comes with a wealth of objects, but more importantly, you can build and save your own, as well as share them with other users. Which brings us to the Reaktor community.

Native Instruments maintains an online database of user submitted Ensembles. Currently, there are about 2700. The community of Reaktor users that contribute to this resource is nothing short of amazing and there are submissions here from novice users all the way to legendary mad scientists. Bob Moog said in the film Modulations that building electronic instruments was "hot-rodding for the 90s," and Reaktor and the community that supports it is a software version of exactly what Bob was talking about.
For those of you getting ready to take the plunge, here are a few thoughts to get you started:

Tips for Learning More About Reaktor

1. Learn all you can about using the factory instruments. You will be amazed at the clever synthesis architectures that you’ll find. However, the documentation for many of the factory Ensembles is rudimentary at best, and you should plan to spend a good deal of time mastering any of the instruments.
2. Start simple. Start by building simple subtractive instruments and work your way up by adding features to your creations. There’s a quick tutorial in the user guide that will get you started.
3. Analyze and create your own variations of the factory instruments. This is where you can start hot-rodding your own ensembles. Here again start simple with swapping instruments and then component modules between ensembles
4. Look through the collection of Reaktor patches on the Native Instruments website. Here, you’ll find countless variations on basic synthesis tools that in many cases will offer different approaches to the same basic design.
5. Make friends and ask questions. Many Reaktor users are online in various discussion boards and are often quite willing to help newcomers. Find other musicians in your area, where possible who have been using the program and share your knowledge.
6. Lastly, have fun. Use the ensembles you hack in your music whether it be in the studio or live.

Links to Online Support Resources

Reaktor Tips
NI Reaktor User Forum
NI Reaktor Tutorials
Reaktor-Phile
Sound on Sound Reaktor Tips part 1
Sound on Sound Reaktor Tips part 2
Reaktor Wiki Tutorials

Perhaps the most anticipated software development this spring was the release of the MAX/MSP/Jitter version 5 from Cycling 74, which came out last week. For those of you who don’t already know, MAX is object oriented programming environment for sound, music, video applications. Wikipedia has a very good overview and history of the program listed under Max (software).

A MAX/MSP Patch

While updates over the years have focused on, new objects and support for new OS technologies, the basic look and feel of MAX hasn’t changed much since it’s initial commercial release from Opcode. (Does anyone remember them?) MAX 5 addresses this with a complete rewrite of the entire underlining code, aligning it with current hardware and OS software platforms. A revised user interface includes a variety of on-screen de-bugging tools. Some of these, like a visual display of signal level at any connection, easily translate into powerful ways to learn about signal flow and processing. Visually, objects are much easier to look at, and a new user interface view separates the underlying patch structure from how it appears to a user/performer. Last year Cycling 74 announced an alliance with Ableton, makers of Live, and entire look of the new release of MAX looks a lot like its German cousin.

Pretty cool… That said, MAX (or Reaktor for that matter) isn’t for everyone. If you’ve got some hacker instincts, you’ll be able to get around MAX after working through the excellent tutorials that come with the program. Plan on a few weekends of focused study and experimentation and you’ll be on your way. Cycling 74 has a very good video introduction that will give you a taste of what the program is all about.

With the start of the 2008 Spring semester at Berkleemusic.com, I’m looking forward to the arrival of Absynth in my online course, Sound Design for the Electronic Musician. I spent the beginning of this year revising the course, and I’m excited by the educational opportunities Absynth will provide. So, what makes for a good teaching tool anyway? As with anything, we learn by doing, and you’ll learn from your experience with any electronic instrument. However, in my mind, a tool that’s particularly well suited to teaching is one that helps you make connections with larger concepts or principles. Absynth does that in a couple of useful ways: by using absolute values and providing time and frequency domain displays of waveforms.

Most synthesizers use arbitrary values for parameters. By arbitrary, I mean that a given value has no correspondence to an objective measure of a particular setting. For example, in Reason we can set a filter cutoff frequency to 85, but 85 what? Don’t we usually use Hz to describe frequency? As far as I can see, the values used for the parameters in Reason are totally arbitrary. By and large we’ve gotten used to this way of working with synthesizers and even in some effects processors. Take a look through your collection or virtual and hardware synths and see what you find.

Two things contribute to this, first is the legacy of analog instruments, which serve as the model for many current synthesizer designs. Back in the days of the Mini Moog, there were no display readouts of values. You used your ears and adjusted a parameter to taste. Any frequency values on analog gear is an approximation anyway, and it’s just not possible for a potentiometer to set a specific numeric value. Second, while the arrival of digital control and MIDI meant that absolute display of values like filter cutoff was more of a possibility technically, manufacturers often didn’t see the need. MIDI control has a range of 128 values in most implementations, so it can only address 128 specific values in any range. While a MIDI parameter value of 87 might correspond with a specific frequency, manufacturers often spared the user those details. Yamaha in it’s DX line of instruments was a notable exception here.

To my knowledge, the first synthesizer to fully implement absolute values for parameters was the Kurzweil K250, introduced in 1984.* Filter cutoff frequency was displayed as Hz, levels as dB, LFO rate as Hz, and time values, including envelope segment durations, in seconds. This made it a particularly powerful teaching tool, and it was a staple in the Berklee Music Synthesis Department labs for years, followed by the K2000 series. Absynth follows in this tradition by using absolute values for any parameter.

One synthesis concept that’s difficult for many students to grasp at first is the relationship of wave shape to spectrum. Early analog synths usually had two or three waveshapes available in their oscillator sections. With the arrival of digital oscillators and wavetables, synthesizers offered a greater selection of single cycle waveforms, however these were often displayed numerically. We see this in Reason’s Subtractor where waveshapes beyond the basic geometric staples are selectable by numbers 5 through 32. While a description of timbral characteristics can sometimes be found in the instrument’s documentation, we often don’t see the shape itself or the actual spectrum, the number and level of individual partials.

Waveform Display in Absynth

Spectrum Display in Absynth

As in most software instruments, Absynth has a number of waveforms available in it’s three oscillators. In addition, you can create and save your own waveshapes use the Wave Window editor. This unique editing environment lets the user select between the familiar time domain waveform display or a frequency domain display that shows the number, level and phase of individual partials. You use a pencil tool to simply redraw a waveshape in one window and the change in spectrum is displayed in the next. Conversely, when you change the level and phase of the displayed partials, you switch views and see a new shape. Pretty cool…

While Native Instruments boasts of many more exotic and even revolutionary features in Absynth’s promotional materials, absolute values and graphic displays are some of the basic features that make it a powerful tool for learning about sound. Hello Absynth…

Multi-segment Envelopes in Absynth

* While the Synclavier, Fairlight and perhaps other high-end systems incorporated absolute values, I’m thinking here of instruments that mere mortal, working musicians might be able to afford.

Native Instruments’ free KORE Player is now out and available from their Website. To get going with this, you’ll follow a link for your platform, Mac or PC, and fill out a short form. You’ll get an e-mail message with a time-limited download link and a registration number. Be warned however, the download is over 600MB, so you’ll need lot’s of bandwidth to even think about it. Oh, and by the way, your best bet is to attempt this in the early evening, Eastern Daylight Savings Time, while the Germans are asleep.

Once on your desktop, the install is easy. The installer puts everything in it’s designated place, and KORE can be opened as a standalone application or instantiated as an AU, VST, or RTAS plug-in. Even though the KORE Player is free, you’ll still have to register with Native Instruments using their Service Center application and the registration number provided with your download link.

The free player application comes with an assortment of 50 Kore sounds to get you started. This is an excellent collection of both useful "bread and butter’ sounds, like sample-based drum kits, as well as the more exotic types of electronic sounds NI synths are known for. These sounds are not left-overs, and you could do quite a bit of music making with just this starting collection. However, it’s actually kind of a teaser, since the real power comes with the additional Soundpacks. These are premium collections with 200 patches in each, that cover a broad range of styles, starting at 59.00. Unfortunately, the weak dollar will continue to put customers in the US at a disadvantage with this and any other European product.

All-in-all, the KORE player is a great way to expand your pallet and get some fresh sounds into your electronic music.

Postscript…. On March 13, 2008, NI announced a server upgrades to accommodate the increased traffic.

There’s always been a disconnect between musical instruments and technology. On one hand, we view instruments as things that take years of dedication and practice to master, while the unabashed goal of technology is to make the things we do, from basic communication to art creation, easier, and shall we say, more "democratic." With synthesizers, there has always been a steep learning curve involved with the art of sound design, however manufacturers have repeatedly found that most using these instruments, hardware or software, never stray far from the factory presets. Now let’s take a company like Native Instruments, who have developed an extraordinary line of unique, powerful instruments. How do they reconcile the two, staying on the cutting edge while serving the needs of the marketplace?

In the last couple of years, NI has been promoting its Kore system as a way to simplify working with massive software synthesizer patch libraries. Kore uses a database and browser to organize patches, formatted as Kore sounds, by sound categories. For those who have NI Komplete, this makes for a very powerful way to access sounds while in the production process. Typically, when looking for a bass sound, one would have to open each synth, browse for suitable patches, write them down, open another synth, and repeat the process, over and over again. This gets tiring fast; –not what attracted any of us to electronic music in the first place. With Kore, the patch browser lists all patches designated as bass patches, regardless of which instrument they’re from. They can be opened, auditioned and used in a project, all within Kore.

While on the surface it may seem like we’re opening a new synth each time we call up a patch, we’re actually running off the Kore Sound Engine. What NI has done is built the sound engines for REAKTOR, MASSIVE, ABSYNTH, FM8, KONTAKT and GUITAR RIG into Kore, so when any Kore sound is loaded the engine is ready to go. Pretty cool…

So what’s the next step? Give the software away…free. At NAMM NI announced that a free Kore Player would be available in March, and the company will be selling soundpacks for 59.00 each. The player will have all the sound engine capabilities of the full Kore 2 version with a starting collection of 30 patches. While this is a remarkable development in the electronic instrument industry, giving away the synth but selling the patches, this is a model that we see more and more with technology tools. You need to look no farther than the printer you probably got free when you bought a computer to understand that the cost is in the toner, not the machine. And so it goes for software synthesizers.

It will be interesting to see how this flies in the marketplace. While there seems to be some support for the business model, soundware never appeared to be much of a moneymaker in the music tech industry. But, when you take a look at how musicians actually use synthesizers, as opposed to how they say they use them, our friends in Berlin may be on to something.