The effect features adjustable shape, depth and speed. Chorus and phaser type effects can also be achieved by using the dry/wet knob.

The developer notes, “If there is interest in this plugin then I might update it with a couple more features (tempo syncing, custom LFO shapes).”

via rekkerd

New free music software for Mac and Windows – PanCake – a VST plugin that lets you create customized tempo-synced pan automations.

Key Features:

• Free, and available for both PC and Mac.
• Creative Modulation Tool: Create complex pan modulations with ease.
• Unique Waveform Drawing Capabilities: Construct your own modulation curves in a very intuitive manner. Waveforms can be easily drawn using soft or hard breakpoints, thus producing gentle transitions or sharp bends in the waveform. The unique drawing tool is similar to professional graphics/vector software, and allows you to draw with impressive precision and unparalleled ease.
• Customized Waveforms: Up to 10 customized waveforms can be stored.
• LFO Speed: LFO speed can be set free-running from 0.02 Hz to 5.24 kHz. It can also be set in rhythmic units synced to the host sequencer, from a fast 1/128 note modulation up to 32 bars.
• User Friendly Buttons: Reverse the waveform, move it in any direction, or randomize it. Select from a list of default waveforms, or copy and paste between waveforms, including presets.
• Complete Parameter Control via Automation: Absolutely everything in PanCake can be automated. Even the shape of the modulating waveform can be automated, and breakpoint movements can be recorded and played back. And if you want to use more than four modulation curves in a song, you can automate the plugin to switch between them.
• Exceptional Sound Quality: PanCake computes the audio at a per-sample basis; the modulation is interpolated with linear or, for the audiophile, cubic interpolation. The plugin’s LFO will always stay in sync, even when you make tempo changes in your host software, or jump ahead to different parts of your track.

PanCake comes out of this year’s KVR VST challenge.

You can download it here.

The KVR Developer Challenge 2009 has ended and that means that there are some interesting new freebies available.

There were 42 entries:

• 40 of these are available for Windows;
• 6 for Mac OS X; and
• 1 for Linux.

Highlights include a Moog Model D clone, a bassline synth with built-in effects, a granular synthesizer and a convolution reverb.

Here are links to the new free music plugins:

• amphetamine by easytoolz (by NEK-X)
• Anawave (by Lithium)
• Antopya (by L-Day)
• Armchair Guitarist (by Minouris)
• Barberpole Tuner (by Christian Budde)
• Black Ops (by gpunk)
• dimensional vector spider (by afdarhus)
• Drum Synze (by Longsoft)
• dschlon_nzElektrik (by Michael Benjamin)
• Eigenmode (by eigentone)
• EQUINOX (by IIRs)
• Explor3r (by thelowerrhythm)
• FerricTDS (by bootsie)
• FMMF (by de la Mancha)
• Harsh Digital Nose (by insertpizhere)
• HybridReverb2 (by c.borss)
• In-Kult (by mickygemma)
• JBM Jagular (by jobromedia)
• LISAROCK V1.0(VST/AU) PLUGIN (by seibel1)
• massTURBOtar (by LpD)
• MIDI LFO (by gertius)
• MoarF VSTi (by __F__)
• NCL Phase EQ (by matt42)
• New Blend (by xoxos)
• PanCake (by Jakob / CableGuys)
• Phase Shifter (by Astralp)
• Phonics/Attack Entrancer (by nix808)
• Piezo Drum Pad Pack (by FrettedSynth)
• pk_hui (by discodaniel)
• Prodigious Synthesizer (by synthescience)
• Psychic Modulation – Metatron (by Jack R)
• RA Mowg (by Chris Roberson)
• sg-grainbot (by synthgeek)
• SIMPLICITY (by BONES)
• SpectroBits (by g200kg)
• Stolon (by novaflash)
• SynekDC (by duncanparsons)
• The Marcus Johnson Collection (by sunahura)
• Transistorhead (by sonicase)
• Twin Engined Verb (by daz.diamond)
• unicycle (by spacedad)
• _02.circles (by rl)

Free Music Software: The free audio looping application Mobius, available for Mac and PC, has been updated to version 1.4.

Changes in Mobius v1.4

• The following features were added:
  • PACMANS ARE BACK!
  • Shuffle now supports complex patterns in scripts
• The following bugs were fixed:
  • Threshold recording broken, could never stop recording
  • loopCount variable always returns zero
  • script lines ignored if they didn’t end with a newline
  • VST edit window not remembering the last location

Description:

Mobius is based on hardware devices such as the Echoplex Digital Pro and the Electrix Repeater, and moves beyond these in many powerful exciting ways. You can think of Mobius as 8 synchronized stereo hardware loopers with with the ability to copy loops and timing between them. Extensive MIDI and computer keyboard control is available. Audio content may be saved to and loaded from files.

Download here.

Free Mac Music Software: GWS RanPan is a free random pan effect for OS X, which can be synced to tempo:

I couldn’t find an effect that did this when I wanted to apply it to my own music project, so I whipped it up myself. Now any audio application that hosts Audio Units can take advantage of this plugin to randomly pan sound around in sync with the beat!

Version 2.8 adds 64-bit to the Universal Binary, and fixes a problem with the number formatting in the text fields of the user interface. This version requires Mac OS X 10.5 or greater. For more information, see “GWS RanPan Read Me” in the zipped disk image file.

Universal GWS RanPan is a Universal Binary, includes a 64-bit binary, and is compatible with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and 10.6 Snow Leopard.

Free Music Software: This is a demo video for NuSofting’s free software synthesizer for Mac and Windows, Da Hornet.

It’s available in Windows VST, Mac VST and Mac AU formats.

Da Hornet is an emulation of the vintage synth of the 70’s, The Wasp.

Video demo via UPROAR24

Free Mac Music Software: Sorry, Windows-based musicians, but this freebie is just for Mac & Linux users.

SooperLooper is a live looping sampler capable of immediate loop recording, overdubbing, multiplying, reversing and more. It allows for multiple simultaneous multi-channel loops limited only by your computer’s available memory.

The application is a standalone JACK client with an engine controllable via OSC and MIDI. It also includes a GUI which communicates with the engine via OSC (even over a network) for user-friendly control on a desktop. However, this kind of live performance looping tool is most effectively used via hardware (midi footpedals, etc) and the engine can be run standalone on a computer without a monitor.

SooperLooper is currently supported on Linux and Mac OS X, and any other platforms that support JACK. The Mac OS X package is usable with at least the 0.6 release of JACK OS X. Note that for OS X Tiger, you’ll need to get at least version 0.7 of JACK-OSX. A Mac OS X Audio Unit version is included which does not require JACK to run.

See the SooperLooper site for details.

The plugin lets you drive a MIDI-based synthesizer from any DAW that supports software instrument Audio Units.

Version 1.3, posted on 9/20/06: Passes AU validation under 10.6. Can generate program and bank change messages.

Ohmv Force has released a free plugin for the masses, Cohmpost:

You just NEED some Cohmpost in your music.

Get it in AU for Mac, VST for Mac or VST for Windows.

For your information, no kittens were harmed while creating the Cohmpost (just a bit ruffled, promise). Lawyer warning : Please do not use Ohm Force Cohmpost Mac version unless you totally agree with the license agreement.

Who knows what it’s doing, but you can safely expect to hear the sounds of kittens being harmed.

Give it a try and then leave a comment with your thoughts on Cohmpost.

Glitch Sequencer is a free cellular automaton based MIDI sequencer for the PC and Mac.

It offers an interesting style of composition based on evolving patterns and is great for fast, fluid experimentation.

Glitch Sequencer was written by Bret Truchan in Processing using themidibus MIDI library.

See the video above for an overview of Glitch Sequencer. More videos and documentation are available at the Glitch Sequencer site.

If you’ve used Glitch Sequencer, leave a comment with your thoughts!

Glitch Sequencer Demo

Click here to view the embedded video.

Matthew Davidson has released Obo, a free Mac music sequencer & synth that’s a sort of minimal Tenori On:

There was a recent request on the monome forums for an application that does what the popular tonematrix does, which itself is inspired by the tenori-on. I took some parts out of my residue application for the monome (it’s full of techno! DD103!) and added a simple four voice internal sine wave synth.

If you like tonematrix, but would prefer something standalone, with MIDI output, sync and tweakable note assignments, you can download this standalone application for MacOS X. It is free! Enjoy!

Then, maybe at some point I’ll get around to adapting it to the monome.

It’s very simple as a synth, but it’s got MIDI out.

Give it a try and leave a comment with your thoughts!

The Game of Life Sequencer Bank is based on a game of life sequencer screencast produced by Wesen in 2008. It is a bank of 6 step or drum sequencers that generate patterns based on the basics of Conway’s Game of Life cellular automaton. Each sequencer operates independently of the others, and can be configured in a variety of ways.

The Game of Life Sequencer Bank is written in Java using the Processing, controlP5 and a customized RWMidi library. It should work wherever Java 1.5 is available (Windows, OS X, Linux), though it has only been tested in Windows and Linux.

The Game Of Life Sequencer is a free download.

This is organofqwerty’s first attempt at a Tiction piece, triggering various instruments in Ableton Live 8.

About Tiction:

Tiction is a nodal music sequencer.

Each node represents an event, and a connection from one node to the next triggers the next event after a certain number of tics. Nodes send MIDI note messages and/or MIDI controller change messages when triggered. Connecting nodes in a circuit lets you start a repeating pattern when one of the nodes is triggered.

A node can change its pitch and controller values based on its position on the screen. When a node is triggered, it performs some physical action: either repelling or attracting other nearby nodes, or nudging itself in a random direction. The physical interaction between nodes allows you to construct complex, rhythmic melodies and effects without having to draw filter envelopes or touch a traditional sequencer.

It’s available as a free download for Mac, Windows & Linux.

Description:

PulseModulator is a model of an extremely rare (and exceedingly strange) tremolo pedal from the 70s. Three LFOs effect the VCA at the same time, and the whole mess goes through a distortion circuit, resulting in strange modulating pulses of sound.

Audio Damage added tempo sync to the individual LFOs to make it more useful in a modern DAW environment.

Controls:

• Pulse Speed: These three knobs control the rate of the individual LFOs. If the sync switch for an LFO is engaged (the “1″, “2″, and “3″ switches on the bottom) that LFO will be synchronized to host tempo and the knob will select different tempo divisions.
• Pulse Depth: Perhaps unsurprisingly, these three knobs control the depth of the individual LFOs. That is to say, they control how much each LFO affects the dry signal.
• Boost Amount: This is labeled as it is on the real pedal. However, the label implies a boost circuit, but in fact it was more of a fuzz. We’ve modeled it as a fuzz but called it “Boost” as well.
• Pulse Shape: This controls the waveshape of all three LFOs.

Installation: For Windows, unzip PulseModulator.dll and place it in your VST plug-ins folder. For OS X, unzip the archive and place PulseModulator.VST in your VST folder and PulseModulator.component in your AU folder.

Download page

Mutagene 2WarpDelay is a feedback delay featuring 2 frequency-warped lattice filters in the feedback paths. Lattice filter coefficients are scanned from a bitmap that can be user definable or are extracted in real-time from the input signal.

2WarpDelay v1.5 is available for Mac OSX (Intel only) as a freeware effect plug-in (v1.2 for Windows is still available as well).

via Rekkerd

Scordatura is a Mac OSX sound font software synthesizer and custom control surface design tool created for microtonal composition and performance, compatible with all standard MIDI hardware controllers such as keyboards and trigger surfaces and standard MIDI sequencing and notation software such as Sibelius, Finale, Logic, Digital Performer, etc.

Features:

• creates 16 virtual MIDI input and output ports
• routes MIDI between any physical and virtual MIDI ports
• drives internal synthesizer or external gear or both
• .sf2 Sound Fonts supported
• .csv Tuning Table file format (export files from CSE and TPXE)
• synth capable of up to 256 patches and 1280 voices polyphony
• unlimited tuning tables per port
• unlimited tuning table triggers per port
• programmable held keys and trigger behavior
• custom MIDI control surface design with user definable controls:
  • knobs
  • wheels
  • sliders
  • XY touchpads
  • joysticks
  • buttons
  • switches
  • text boxes
  • trigger pads
  • polygons
• project library file system in human readable / editable XML text format
• project importing and exporting
• integrated HTML based help
• automatic bug reporting

If you’ve used Scordatura, leave a comment with your thoughts!

Hypercyclic is a free LFO-driven MIDI arpeggiator, gate effect and step sequencer for mangling MIDI input chords.

Supported platforms are Windows (standalone, vst), Mac (standalone, vst, au) and Linux (standalone, vst).

Details below.

Two tempo-synced LFOs can be used to modulate various parameters to create interesting rhythmic effects and chord variations. A unique feature is the ability to modulate the sequencer step size itself, which is useful for creating glitchy stuttering effects.

The sweetspot for hypercyclic is the narrow border between chaos and regularity. Or, in other words, how to induce a certain pleasant randomness, yet forcing everything to align again on the bar or beat boundaries.

The product is further complemented by a groove function for playing slightly off the beat. The groove parameters can also be modulated over time by the LFOs, adding to the rhythmic variation.

The main use for hypercyclic is to generate midi that can be recorded and/or sent to other plugins. However it also features a simple built-in synth for testing purposes.

Kapling is a simple little standalone physical modeling synthesizer application for Mac OS X built with Max/MSP 5

It is based on the Karplus-Strong algorithm. Kapling uses this method to attempt the emulation of resonant bodies, like a string being plucked, or melodic percussion instrument being struck.

Eight independent voices are triggered by a 32-step sequencer, with a variety of parameters set up to help you sculpt new timbres in realtime. Kapling also features a tempo-synced stereo delay and recording to disk.

In simpler terms, Kapling can help you make twangy, boingy, klonky tones.

You can preview Kapling below. You can download it from the Kapling site.

If you’ve used Kapling, leave a comment with your thoughts!

Key features:

• 8 independent synth voices
• 32-step sequencer
• realtime timbral controls
• randomized initial impulse to provide natural variation over time
• tempo-synced stereo delay
• store presets for pitch, sequences, and timbre, and export them to disk
• record output directly to disk as an aiff file
• cpu monitor helps keep track of the tax on your system
• each voice has a hotkeyed mute switch for ease of live use
• freeware! (but donations are welcome!!)

Note: this is a standalone synth, not a plugin.

WiiToMidi is a free application that lets you convert signals from a Nintendo Wii controller to MIDI signals.

It is a Cocoa application for Mac OS X and uses the DarwiinRemote WiiRemote framework to decode Wii controller signals. It also supports the Nunchuk controller.

Blue Cat Audio has released a collection of free music plugins for Mac & PC, in AU and VST formats.

The bundle contains a wide range of modulation effects as well as analysis tools and an EQ to get you started with your DAW.

This bundle is available for Mac and PC, in DirectX, Audio Unit and VST plugin formats.