update: Strings Dream 2.0.1 VST2 x64 Windows free/donationware

[liqih]

So, if you want to help to make Strings Dream 2.0 sound even better you can help by trying this beta release, it's all about to find which settings sound the best and what can still be improved.
Give me your feedback and I'll be very happy to use your impressions to improve the machine.

http://nusofting.com/SDS/NUSofting_SDS_ ... a_safe.zip

1) This is the SDS 2.0 public beta, please report you impressions to lqhminei@nusofting.com or here on forum.
2) The plugin needs to be restarted after 20 minutes of use.

Things you NEED to know to fully enjoy Strings Dream Synthesizer:
1)The ranges of the stops/registers, by checking the SDS help docs.
2)Cello and C.Bass voices are monophonic and can be played in legato
at the same time of the polyphonic main voices.
3) A hidden bonus feature is the 20 sounds Analogue Drum Kit, playable with the top range MIDI notes.



##### What's new:

- VST2 64-bit for Windows* (and soon also VST2 for Mac).

- Brand new control for waveshape morphing.

- Extra sound engine for the paraphonic mode ("Paraphony" on GUI)
with new timbral characteristics, featuring "analogue pulsed noise" emulation.

- The paraphonic mode allows very different articulations
compared to the standard polyphonic mode ("Polyphony" on GUI).

- As per above, "Polyphony" vs "Paraphony" is now not just a change of behavior
of the ADSR envelope.

- Redesigned filters for the voice stops, especially for the ones labeled "Brass" and "Horn".

- Recalibrated relative gains of all the voice stops.

- "Ensemble" chorus DSP upgraded to higher order interpolation (improved transparency and warmth).

- Rewritten "Spring" algorithm for Reverb, to allow longer resonances.

- Reviewed all presets/patches.

- Analogue Drum Kit: bonus feature : 20 of the best LoFi sounds from Drum Machines* of the late Seventies.
(playable using the MIDI keys above the Strings sound range)

- Minor changes in the GUI and other minor bugs fixed. Larger GUI also available.
Three skins included. User can easly make custom skins by making PNG files.

- Everything that was already good in 1.x has been kept.
(Presets previously made for SDS 1.x needs to be adjusted when loaded in SDS 2.0)



*Formats: 32-bit VST2 will be delivered on customer request.
SDS AU for macOS will be produced after at least 100 requests.

*Drum Machines samples from NUSofting DK+ Library.
MIDI keys range: note 92 to 111. Volume controlled by MIDI Velocity.
[note: this is just a bonus feature for SDS, if you are interested in a true
Analogue Drum Set VST plugin to be release please let me know]

Sound --------: Note Number
HiHat1--------: 92 [usually G#5 in pianoroll]
Snare1--------: 93
KickDrum1-----: 94
Rim1----- ----: 95
Clave1--------: 96
CowBell1------: 97
Cymbal1-------: 98
Guiro1--------: 99
Bongo1--------: 100
Bongo2--------: 101
Conga1--------: 102
Maracas1------: 103
HiHat2--------: 104
Snare2--------: 105
KickDrum1-----: 106
Cymbal2-------: 107
Tom1----------: 108
Tom2----------: 109
Tom3----------: 110
Tom4----------: 111

[liqih]

Update:
- fixed muted notes when wave 3 and paraphony
- added extra mono outs for basses and drums
http://nusofting.com/SDS/NUSofting_SDS_ ... a_safe.zip

[liqih]

BTW when installed correctly (remove the previous beta first) you should see this

SDS_beta5a.png

[liqih]

Update:
- fixed parameters automation in DAW
- less CPU usage
http://nusofting.com/SDS/NUSofting_SDS_ ... b_safe.zip

[liqih]

beta5h available, many improvements, first 20 presets of the bank updated.
http://nusofting.com/SDS/NUSofting_SDS_ ... h_safe.zip

[liqih]

warning! I updated the link above with a new build of beta5h because there was a bug in main Volume and Meter, so if you already got it please uninstall, download again and install the new build.

[Lotuz2019]

Hi Luigi,

It's been a long time since the days of ComboSister.

Just installed the Beta 5h and gave it a brief test run. Before installation I doubted if there was room in my VST collection for another another string synth besides the Solina V, the Esline and the Cheeze Machine, but it has a (very nice) sound of its own, so I guess the answer is yes.

There's just one thing I don't like so much and that's the reverb section. At higher settings the spring reverb 'overloads' and not in a pleasant way like a delay self-oscillating. Try the preset Night Swells for example. That really made me want to turn off Spring all the time and search for another reverb plugin.

And there are some presets that sound like there's some clipping/rumbling going on. But turning down the Master seems to fix that fortunately. Maybe a 'soft' setting as on the ComboSister could be added?

*Formats: 32-bit VST2 will be delivered on customer request.

Yes please!

[liqih]

Hi Lotuz,

many thanks for everything you wrote.

About String Dream own sound, I don't know all synths you mentioned (Solina V, the Esline and the Cheeze Machine). What I wanted to do with this new String Dream is to make also something fun to use and that can go beyond just strings machines emulation.

Please check this short MP3, here I used only one String Dream instance and no external effect,
you can hear Horn and Viola sections blended and the wave "Shaper" used to morph the timbre.
Effects active are Chorus and Reverb.
http://nusofting.com/SDS/Starlight.mp3

And this MP3 below, here I play two instances at time, changing presets, and there is a little external delay plugin added. You can hear all waveshapes and effects of Strings Dream.
http://nusofting.com/SDS/Strings_Dream_Sound_Show.mp3

###

About its Reverb module, I agree that it can be improved, I think it should perhaps be darker
since analogue reverbs of that era were not digital and very limited in the highs. The Spring feature should work nicely if added just a bit, anyway I left active a wide range for its resonance for extreme effects ( if one wants that), so my question to you is: are there settings for which you like the Reverb in this synh or would you exclude it completely?

###

And there are some presets that sound like there's some clipping/rumbling going on. But turning down the Master seems to fix that fortunately. Maybe a 'soft' setting as on the ComboSister could be added?

That was my mistake in the saturation stage that emulate the transistor amp, it should be fixed in the next update.

[Lotuz2019]

What I wanted to do with this new String Dream is to make also something fun to use and that can go beyond just strings machines emulation.

That's exactly what you did and why I'm interested in the SDS. I like that you have included several controls to make many more sound combinations than the basic Solina. And manipulating the voice controls (from Brightness to Shaper) in realtime gives the sound some nice movement.

Please check this short MP3, here I used only one String Dream instance and no external effect,
you can hear Horn and Viola sections blended and the wave "Shaper" used to morph the timbre.
Effects active are Chorus and Reverb.
http://nusofting.com/SDS/Starlight.mp3

And this MP3 below, here I play two instances at time, changing presets, and there is a little external delay plugin added. You can hear all waveshapes and effects of Strings Dream.
http://nusofting.com/SDS/Strings_Dream_Sound_Show.mp3

Cool! Especially the second one.

About its Reverb module, I agree that it can be improved, I think it should perhaps be darker
since analogue reverbs of that era were not digital and very limited in the highs. The Spring feature should work nicely if added just a bit, anyway I left active a wide range for its resonance for extreme effects ( if one wants that), so my question to you is: are there settings for which you like the Reverb in this synh or would you exclude it completely?

I gave it another try, with and without the Spring (! never turn Spring to 100%, because it will distort and crash eventually), and I guess it's an interesting kind of reverb, but it simply sounds too sharp for me and the spring sounds a bit artificial in my opinion. The reverb is rather dominant meaning it has a big impact on the sound, so I'd only use it with a very low Mix setting. I wouldn't add just this one as the main reverb. A reverb that I find very nice sounding together with the SDS is the TAL-Reverb-3:

https://tal-software.com/products/tal-reverb

And there are some presets that sound like there's some clipping/rumbling going on. But turning down the Master seems to fix that fortunately. Maybe a 'soft' setting as on the ComboSister could be added?

That was my mistake in the saturation stage that emulate the transistor amp, it should be fixed in the next update.

Great!

[liqih]

Can you please try this DLL for the volume issue, maybe now it's too soft?
http://nusofting.com/SDS/SDS_beta5h_x64_DLL_update.zip

[Lotuz2019]

Are you sure this is a new dll?

[liqih]

I didn't change the beta5h name yet, do you still hear the clipping/rumbling with this?

[liqih]

So I guess you prefer an official release, fair enough, I will do shortly

[Lotuz2019]

Am I the only one here testing the beta version?

I didn't change the beta5h name yet, do you still hear the clipping/rumbling with this?

I still hear some rumble. For example start with preset Standard Springs. See my changes to this preset in the attached jpg (Master/Ensemble/Reverb/Bright/HPF/Shaper). Now play a chord consisting of F3, A3, A#3 and D4. This produces some kind of looped rumble in the low frequencies. Now turn Phase from 0.00 to 1.00. The rumble seems to be gone.

[liqih]

Am I the only one here testing the beta version?

No but often I'm lazy, <wink>

I didn't change the beta5h name yet, do you still hear the clipping/rumbling with this?

I still hear some rumble. For example start with preset Standard Springs. See my changes to this preset in the attached jpg (Master/Ensemble/Reverb/Bright/HPF/Shaper). Now play a chord consisting of F3, A3, A#3 and D4. This produces some kind of looped rumble in the low frequencies. Now turn Phase from 0.00 to 1.00. The rumble seems to be gone.

OK, I see, but mind that you are playing in that chord A3, A#3 + A4, A#4, a semitone dissonance in two octaves,
so it's not surprising (at least to me, <grin>) that you need to adjust the phase of A4, A#4, to reduce the rumble of the fighting frequencies. Unfortunately I have no more a real strings machine to check its behavior in that chord case.
My main oscillator produces a lot of harmonics maybe too many. I will see whether I can reduce them without loosing richness in sound. Thanks for the report!