Available now: Tone2 Icarus2.5 - Wavetable Workstation

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Icarus3

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Bought Icarus 1.6 on sale over BF/CM weekend.

Upgrade to Icarus 2.0 - $89.

Is the upgrade truly worth that much?

Thoughts?

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Indubitably, yes!
If it were easy, anybody could do it!

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rj0 wrote: Sun Dec 15, 2019 1:21 am Bought Icarus 1.6 on sale over BF/CM weekend.

Upgrade to Icarus 2.0 - $89.

Is the upgrade truly worth that much?

Thoughts?
If you just bought Icarus 1.6, then v2 should be free for you...

But yes IMO... it is worth the upgrade price.

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pdxindy wrote: Sun Dec 15, 2019 7:36 am
rj0 wrote: Sun Dec 15, 2019 1:21 am Bought Icarus 1.6 on sale over BF/CM weekend.

Upgrade to Icarus 2.0 - $89.

Is the upgrade truly worth that much?

Thoughts?
If you just bought Icarus 1.6, then v2 should be free for you...

But yes IMO... it is worth the upgrade price.
Not always free! Here are the details again:
- Customers who purchased Icarus1 through our own webshop (www.tone2.com) after April the 1st get the upgrade for free.

- Customers who purchased Icarus1 through a 3rd party reseller between April the 1st and November the 29th 16:00 get the upgrade for free.

- Customers who purchased Icarus1 through a 3rd party reseller after November the 30th 16:00 through a 3rd party reseller will be able to ugrade for the difference price.

- Icarus2 will not be distributed through a 3rd party reseller

- Icarus2 will be the final synthesizer that i will release, since i have health problems and it is not longer economic for us to develop new products. After this one there will be only free updates and soundsets
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Intel® Core™ i9-9900K•Cubase 11•Presonus Eris E8 XT•Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 & Octopre•NI Kontrol S61 MK2•Stein­berg CC121•Synthesizers: Arturia Casio Korg Roland Yamaha

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Started to demo and i must say it is awesome. I would say worth the upgrade price (at least for me).

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Is there any user preset zone/preset exchange? looks like the only way to get new sounds is by paying lots of money?

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It is possible to build own soundsets. Icarus2 has an open patch format. The sounds as well as the wavetables are stored in fxp files within Icarus_sounds. It is also possible to import and export wavetables in wav format.

Icarus2 does come with a random-button. It allows you to create an infinite number of new patches. In v2.1 the random-button will be enhanced further so that it can create also complex patches.

There are also a couple of Soundsets available from 3rd party designers. I can recommend this one:
https://www.patchpool.net/tone2_synths.html

If there is demand i can create a section in our forum where users can share their own patches

Markus

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But if I get it right at the moment it is not possible to save/load patches for any oscillator like you can with Electra 2 or do I miss something ?

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Hello Tatanka,

Icarus2 and Electra2 got a very different architecture.

Electra2 is a multi-layer synth. It has 4 layers. Each layer is a complete separate synth with an own arp, osc section etc. You can load and save patches individually to these layers and stack them.

Icarus2 has a lot more features than Electra. It a synth with a much more complex single-layer. Instead of the 4 layers it has an additional drum-synth.

Markus

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Hi Markus,

thanks for the answer, I just ask cause it would be really awsome if there could be a way to handle the "easy" sounddesign in Ikarus 2 (espeially for the 1key "songconstruction kits") like in Electra 2 only with loading/saving osciallator patches instead of complete layers. That would even give a noob like me endless possibilities to just piece together his own 1key-"songs" by only using parts from existing presets :-).

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Markus Krause wrote: Mon Dec 16, 2019 11:21 am

There are also a couple of Soundsets available from 3rd party designers. I can recommend this one:
https://www.patchpool.net/tone2_synths.html
Thank you for the mention, Markus! :tu:

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rj0 wrote: Sun Dec 15, 2019 1:21 am Bought Icarus 1.6 on sale over BF/CM weekend.

Upgrade to Icarus 2.0 - $89.

Is the upgrade truly worth that much?

Thoughts?
Icarus 2 is CR (Callange Response) - Dongle Software and reqires Internet connection for activation !!!

The drawback for this drastically change is normally well known:

- Every time your OS crashes you have to activate it online again.
- Every time you change your OS or your hardware you have to activate it also online again.
- If that tone2 server is offline for any reason you are able to activate the product.
- If the company (like Linnplug) stops the business or further support you are also lost with your vsti.
- If the dev gets an heavy illness or dies your vsti is also lost

Beside this, tone2 has no where written in the manual or the support page that this Icarus 2 requires online-connection for activation.

I have not upgraded and don't do this as long as there is such a CR-dongle reqired.
Feature wise the main news are the two MSEGs and the 2 additional sequencers which I personally don't need and the new GUI design.

So, it depends on you what you want to risk, or to achive !!!

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Multistage-envelope-generators:

Two MSEGs are available as additional modulation-sources. The MSEGs can be operated as LFO or envelope and allow you to create any shape you can imagine. The MSEGs offer highest precision, support frequencies up into the audio-range and have been designed with the aspect of musical usefulness.
Literally anything is possible: The MSEGs can be synced to BPM, sync with the arpeggiator or run freely. Triads or dotted rhythms are also supported. You can define loop-points and start points. You can delay or fade the MSEGs. You can move, add or delete points with your mouse. You can bend lines upwards or downwards to change their shape or even create precise rectangular curves. The MSEGs can be edited completely freely or you can snap points to a grid of a select-able size. It is also possible to draw triangles, bars or ramps.

Drum-sequencer:

Icarus2 has been extended with a drum-sequencer. It is an easy-to-use, but powerful X0X-style sequencer-module. It comes with a wide variety of drum-sounds, noises and waveforms. You can also import your own samples and save your own templates. A large collection of 100 drum-patterns created by professional designers is included. The drum-sequencer supports swing, shuffle, loop-length, effect send, key-split, roll, mono samples, stereo samples, looped samples and looped waveforms. Your sounds can be passed through punchy, BPM-synced envelopes, which allow you to create impressive 'gated-drum-sounds' easily. You can stretch wav-files with drum-loops or any other rhythmic content so that they automatically sync to BPM. Furthermore, the drum-sequencer is not only limited to playing drum sounds. It is also a small multi-timbral synthesizer that is able to play looped samples or waveforms with or without pitch-tracking. It does also come with a smart auto-accompaniment which automatically resolves the chord that you are currently playing and plays a bass-line that 'fits'.

Glitch-sequencer:

Icarus2 has been extended with a grid-based glitch-sequencer. You can chop your sounds to get modern glitchy, stuttering effects. 'The Glitch' works similar to a multi-effect sequencer. The incoming audio is passed through 10 different effect-modules. Each effect is controlled by up to 16 segments to adjust the parameter of the effect. Furthermore, it is possible to adjust the speed, groove, routing, mix, smoothness and loop-length. Random-buttons allow you to create new sounds quicky. It is also possible to load and save your own templates.


New features:

The interface has been re-designed completely. It is now more intuitive and efficient to use.
Icarus2 contains 566 new sounds. I does now come with 1600 hand-picked patches created by professionals
The GUI can be displayed with 12 different sizes
You can select from 3 different scales for the interface: Small, normal or huge
Added a random-button that generates new patches
MPE-support (Midi Polyphonic Expression)
Many additional realtime-animations for the interface
Arrows indicate modulation-sources which support drag-and-drop
Additional knobs for filter-panning
Hi-dpi support for sharper text, graphs and knob-handles
Added an optional keyboard which allows playing sounds without midi-input
The current value of the LFO and Step-LFO is displayed with a small circle
A classic wavetable-view has been added, which can be shown by clicking on the display
A vertical line visualizes the current phase of the LFOs
The effect-section has been reworked and is more easy-to-use
Included a new LFO-type called 'White Noise' that outputs real random values
Included a new LFO-type called 'Band-limited Noise' that outputs tuned noise
Included a new LFO-type called 'S&H Noise' that outputs BPM-synced noise
Included a new LFO-type called 'S&H Noise Ramped' that outputs BPM-synced ramps
Included a new LFO-type called 'S&H Noise Digital' that outputs BPM-synced digital-noise
Added a new patch-browser
50 new shapes for the MSEGs
A massive number of additional waveforms
256 new drum-samples
100 new drum-patterns
21 new effect-templates
Support for 'polyphonic key pressure / aftertouch'
Additional buttons to bypass FX1, FX2, FX3 and the feedback
Additional knobs for filter-volume 1 and 2
'FX3 Duck' changes the dry/wet mix of effect3 dynamically, resulting in a more transparent mix
Small triangles indicate hypersaw-spread and the stereo-spread in the osc-section
A triangle indicates the wavetable-index in the oscillator-scetion
A triangle indicates the morph-value in the oscillator-scetion
An additional dry-wet knob allows to change the effect-mix in the main interface
You can draw shapes by clicking with the right mouse-button onto the step-lfo display
A midi-diode indicates incoming signals
Added a realtime-display for the frequency-response of the equalizer
Many menus have been extended with check-marks, which show the last selected item
Additional on/off buttons for bypassing single effects
Midi-out support for the keyboard and the arpeggiator
Additional button to reset the patch-settings
Global mode for the LFOs when the arpeggiator is used
Pitch-wheel and mod-wheel are displayed on the lower left and can be used as drag&drop modulation-source
Note number and velocity can now also be also assigned with drag&drop
Additional 'Tools-menu' for the arpeggiator
Matrix send values are shown when the mouse is mover over a slider
It is now possible to bypass oscillators from the filter section in parallel mode
The names of the sound-designers are displayed in the patch-browser
The GUI can be resized but does not use OpenGL, which results in sharper graphics. OpenGL is deprecated and will be not longer be supported by Apple


Enhancements:

All oscs, filters, the volume-envelope and the step-lfo are displayed on the main interface and accessible without switching through tabs
Icarus_effects, Icarus_arps, Icarus_mseg, IcarColor.cfg, IcarMidi.cfg and the manuals are now stored in Icarus_data
The color schemes can be changed without restarting the plug-in
The arpeggiator is much larger and more intuitive to use
Many additional tooltips which explain features
Reduced latency
Key-follow for the oscs can be toggled without entering the setup-menu
All matrix parameters are accessible within a single tab
All effects, the feedback, the ducking and the limiter are acessible within a single tab
Unused effect-parameters are hidden automatically
The cutoff-knob is located left from the reso-knob
Polyphonic, legato, mono and glide-mode can be selected from the main screen
After loading a new patch the synth automatically shows the most relevant tab-section
The patch-browser shows more detailed info about the patches
The patch-browser displays the names of the sound-designers in the lower right section
The number of semitones are shown within the arpeggiator
The arpeggiator-presets-menu is now more structured
The installer's automatic detection of the vstplugins directory has been enhanced
The 'Low-CPU morph-mode' does now always play on the entire keyboard-range
Enhanced performance for drag&drop
Higher precision limiter displays
Many small enhancements for the interface
Many small performance-optimisations
Better description of many features and more detailed tooltips
Much higher accuracy for Midi-pitchbend messages (if the hardware supports it)


Sound-enhancements:


Enhanced sound and more linear frequency-response for 'Delay Dual'
The default-parameters for many effects have been fine-tuned for a better sound
The sound of many reverb-types has been enhanced and offers a more linear frequency-response
Higher precision rendering
More accurate timing for the shuffle


Changes:

The 'random-lfo' types have been renamed to 'pseudo-random'
The 'Trancegate' is now a 'Gate'
The 'Low-CPU morph-mode' is now called 'Downsampling'
Icarus_waveforms, Icarus_arps and Icarus_effects are now stored within Icarus_data
'Slit Low/High' in the arp-section has been renamed to 'Bypass High Keys'


Fixes:

Fixed some typos
Workarounds for several host-bugs (FL-Studio, Orion, Ableton, Reaper, Cubase)
Several smaller fixes

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https://www.tone2.com/icarus-technical.html

System requirements

PC: Windows XP / 7 / 8 / 10 / Vista (32 bit or 64 bit)
PC formats: 32-bit VSTi, 64-bit VSTi, standalone
Mac: Mac OSX 10.7 or higher
Mac formats: 64-bit VSTi, 64-bit Audiounit
1 GB free hard-disc space
An internet-connection is required for the download and activation. To be able to run the software it is not necessary that your computer is connected to the internet.

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Hey Markus, just out of curiosity - Is there some reason Icarus would be scanned every time Maschine opens? Normally only new plugins get scanned and the rest don't which have already been scanned. But for some reason at startup I always see it scanning Icarus only. It only takes a second, it's no big deal, no issue at all. Just thought it was strange. Like Maschine thinks it's a new plugin every time it opens.

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