Modulate This! - Electronic & Experimental Music Tech, Technique, & People

Camel Audio Updates Alchemy to 1.20, Makes Player Free, and Introduces Steamworx

April 29th saw a lot of news from synth maker’s Camel Audio. I actually waited to post on this because their server got pretty crushed with everyone trying to download all these goodies a few days back.

ALCHEMY 1.20 NOW AVAILABLE
After two man years of work 1.20 is now available. Check out the gorgeous new “Nightshades” skin below (click on the image to see it full size). They also updated the default skin to improve readability.

Here is some of what’s new (link to full change log at bottom of post):

• 64-bit support for Mac and Windows - access unlimited memory
• Native RTAS Support for Pro Tools on Mac and Windows
• Improved SFZ support - high quality loading of 3rd party and converted SFZs
• Key switching for fast access to articulations
• Round robin for added realism
• Unlimited zones for velocity, round robin, key switches...
• Intelligent sample memory handling - half the sample memory required
• Multiple audio file import when holding down 'Shift' with automatic mapping to keys
• Easy SFZ loading via File -> Load
• Last used folder remembered for File -> Load in each instance

I’ve installed it already and I’m happy to report that it’s backwards compatible and seems to work fine on all my sets.

PLAY UPDATED AND IS NOW FREE
The Alchemy player was previously included when you bought a sound pack. Camel audio has made this player completely free. I highly recommend you grab this.

“We're really pleased to announce the release of Alchemy Player 1.20 which is now completely FREEfor everyone! This is a major update to Alchemy Player featuring SFZ loading, 64-bit and Pro Tools RTAS support plus lots more. It includes 1GB samples and 200 instrument sounds.”

STEAMWORX SOUND SET

Last but not least they have also announced a new sound set:

“Steamworxis a cinematic netherworld featuring keyboard instruments made from clocks, drum kits built with steam-powered machines, fog-shrouded soundscapes and gothic choirs. With intricate contraptions, grunge-laden grooves, multi-layered arpeggios and hand-crafted percussion that ooze character and round-robin realism, you will find moods suited to epic soundtrack, delicate ambient, sci-fi, industrial and the supernatural.

This library incorporates over 240MB of new sample content, with specially created instruments, extensive field recordings that add a rich patina of detail, 8-bit SID Chip exotica, plus samplings from an extensive collection of bells, chimes, and gongs...”

MUST HAVE
I highly recommend Alchemy and consider a must have. It has it has a strong synth engine, great support for a huge variety of sounds, as well as the ability to incorporate your own audio as an oscillator source for re-synthesis, sampling, and granular synthesis. The 1.20 update just ups the ante even more. Just to illustrate the incredible sample manipulation power of Alchemy checkout this audio from “Emits a Photon”. It’s a free patch from Patchlabwhere I mangle the sound of a florescent light being switched on with granular synthesis?

Emits a Photon Demo for Camel Audio Alchemy Patch for Patch Lab by MarkMosher

If you can't afford the full version, adding the FREE player to your rig is a no-brainer.

Links:

• Official Site
• Camel Audio 1.20: Download & Learn More | Change log
• Camel Audio Free Player
• Steamworx Sound Set
• Other Modulate This Posts on Alchemy
• Free Alchemy Patches

Mark Mosher
Electronic Music Artist, Boulder, CO
Synthesist | Composer | Keyboardist | Performer
www.MarkMosherMusic.com
www.Modulatethis.com

New FREE Factory Bonus 3 Presets for Camel Audio Alchemy

I just got an email blast from Camel Audio with info on a new free sound set for one of my favorite instruments Alchemy.

“Alchemy Factory Presets & Samples Bonus 3 offers over a gigabyte of new samples as a free update for all registered users. Acoustic instruments are a major feature of this latest collection, including a grand piano, baroque lute, cimbalom, autoharp, and hammered dulcimer, plus delicate meditation bowls and crystal glasses. There are also loads of dramatic one-shot hits, sweeps, and crashes, war drums, tabla loops, and bowed cymbal effects. You can read more about this release on our news page.”

See more Modulate This Posts on Alchemy.

Mark Mosher
Electronic Musician, Boulder CO
www.MarkMosherMusic.com
www.ModulateThis.com

Designing Sound Blog + Jim Stout on Organic Sound Design with Alchemy & Open Labs NeKo

Just wanted to pass along a sound design resource - http://designingsound.org/. Below is a cool video tutorial post from this site featuring one of my favorite virtual instruments Camel Audio Alchemy. The video is also interesting to me because sound designer Jim Stout is running Alchemy via an Open Labs Neko and the video gives you a good sense of how this system works.

Watch the embedded video.

Mark Mosher
Electronic Musician, Boulder, CO
http://ww.modulatethis.com
http://MarkMosherMusic.com

Camel Audio Releases 2 New Sound banks and a New Skin

Camel Audio just released two new sound banks. Biolabs: Alchemy LabsGenetically enhanced soundscapes, mutant pads and sound effects machines for electronica, ambient and IDM.

You can download from http://www.camelaudio.com/Biolabs-AlchemyLabs.php for $59. One of the coolest things about this sound back is that it also comes with a new skin which is shown below. Click the screenshot to enlarge.

The second sound bank is Junkie XL: Future Oldskool. Oldskool synths, fat basses and driving loops for dance, electronica & house.

Again, available as a digital download for $59 at http://www.camelaudio.com/JunkieXL-FutureOldskool.php.

Mark Mosher
Electronic Music Artist, Composer, Sound Designer
Louisville/Denver/Boulder

http://www.modulatethis.com
http://www.markmoshermusic.com
http://www.twitter.com/markmosher

Download/Buy my album REBOOT on Bandcamp
Buy on iTunes

Camel Audio Alchemy V1.12 Released Along with New FActory Content

Camel Audio has released Alchemy V1.12.22. It is a free update for registered users. Along with this update they have released a new set of samples and presets for the Factory library as part of the Group Buy bonuses.

Alchemy is one of my favorite synths for sound design and AudioCube work. I think it’s amazing that they are still offering content to reward those who participated in the group buy! I’m really enjoying some of the new presets, especially the Choirs. I also find that with each point release, Alchemy GUI gets a little snappier.

Registered users should visit http://www.camelaudio.com, login and download updates.

I’ve pasted update info from their web site below.

Modulate This! - Best of 2009 Electronic Music Tech

Despite the economic downturn, 2009 was thankfully a huge year when it came to new technology for electronic music artists. Rather than try and cover every significant release, I’ll instead list some of my favorite products and notable trends.

The Year of Ableton
What a big year for Ableton. Live 8 with great new features set, Max for Live, 10th Anniversary of Ableton, launch of Live Intro, dedicated hardware controllers (APC40 & Launchpad). Awesome!

Grid (Matrix) Controllers
 

Grid controllers everywhere in 2009. New controllers like the APC40, Launchpad and Bliptronics 5000. Continued development with existing controllers like Tenori-On and Monome. The grid metaphor also became quite prevalent in apps as well. I have the APC40 and Tenori-On and simply love them.

Percussa Audio Cubes “Tangible Interface”
 

Not new in 2009 but new to me, Percussa AudioCubes are self-powered wireless computer systems. Cubes can detect and interact with each other and can detect the proximity of your hand near a cube face sensor and send this controller information to your DAW or to various free software apps provided by Percussa. I working with a 4 cube configuration within Ableton Live.

Fantastic Synths
A great year for virtual instruments. Below is a list of new and updates synths that I used over and over again in 2009 for both sound design and for music performance.

• u-he ACE (Any Cable Anywhere)
  
  This synth just released by I use it all the time now! It’s a fantastic virtual analog synth with a great UI with patch cables. Sounds like butta’.

Percussa Audio Cubes: Lights & Tangible Interface with Ableton Live and Alchemy

I recently added Percussa AudioCubes to my studio and performance rig. While I’m planning a longer post offering an overview of how AudioCubes work, this is a quick post to mention two applications of AudioCube technology I’ve been experimenting with.

First, I’m using them as lights. You can send RGB values to the cubes via MIDI. In the picture above, you can see a color fade being sent to an AudioCube via an Ableton MIDI clip. In a nutshell, you can sequence cubes as multi-color light sources against a timeline.  Controller number 14 is used for Red, 15 for Green and 16 for Blue.

Second, I’ve been experimenting with using AudioCubes+Ableton Live +VSTs to create "performance instruments” that I can play via cubes. In the picture above (click to enlarge), , I’m using Camel Audio Alchemy as a MIDI device with Ableton Live 8. The picture shows crop of a free Percussa app called MIDIBridge which is used to configure the cube settings. I’m using MIDI Yoke ports (I’m on Vista-32) between MIDIBridge and Ableton Live.

I am mapping device parameters to the X/Y of the remix pad in Alchemy. I then MIDI map faces of a an AucioCube in “sensor” mode to the performance parameters. In sensor mode, the AudioCube detects the proximity of my hands to their sides of the cube face and sends out a continuous controller value based on my hand position. So one face controls X, another Y. The same idea would work with Native Instruments KORE2.

Result = radical sonic changes within Camel Audio Alchmy presets with real time control via an AudioCube.

Links:

• Percussa.com
• AudioCubes Getting Started Manual
• Camel Audio Alchemy Posts on Modulate This

Mark Mosher
Electronic Music Artist, Composer, Sound Designer
Louisville/Denver/Boulder

http://www.modulatethis.com
http://www.markmoshermusic.com
http://www.twitter.com/markmosher

Download/Buy my album REBOOT on Bandcamp
Buy on iTunes

Camel Audio Group Buy

Modulate This reader Steve C. sent me a heads-up email on a group buy from Camel Audio. Here is a brief summary from the group buy page:

As widely requested by potential customers in our recent survey and in view of the tough economic times, Camel Audio are pleased to announce the Camel Audio Group Buy opportunity.

The price of Alchemy is currently $249 outside of the Group Buy, but with a maximum discount of 50% you could end up paying just $125 for Alchemy, $43 for CamelSpace/CamelPhat or $29 for a soundbank. Whether or not we reach this level will depend on your efforts as well as ours to tell more people about this program.

Ben of Camel Audio mentioned on the KVR forum that “Its been four years since we last ran a group buy, and we don't plan to run another for a similar period of time” so if you are at all interested in Camel Audio products this seems like the time to buy.

The interesting thing is that this group buy applies to many products, not just alchemy.

They are using a survey to register your commitment to buy and will send out a discount link at the end of the group buy. The group buy also benefits existing customers. Free bonuses based on points include:

Points : Bonus
75 : Free Alchemy Soundbank: Choirs, Basses & Keys - 500MB samples + 30 presets <- Current Level
400 : Free Alchemy Soundbank: Viral Infection from Nuceleus Soundlabs - 1GB samples + 30 presets
800 : Free Alchemy Soundbank: Extra 90 presets

They hit the 75 point mark yesterday.

CLICK HERE to visit the group buy page. Pass it on!

Before you go, check out this awesome YouTube video by Torley where he walks you though some features and presets of Alchemy:

Links

• Modulate This posts on Alchemy
• Visit official Camel Audio Page

Mark Mosher
Electronic Music Artist, Composer, Sound Designer
Louisville/Denver/Boulder

http://www.modulatethis.com
http://www.markmoshermusic.com
http://www.twitter.com/markmosher

Download/Buy my album REBOOT

What's New in Camel Audio Alchemy v1.10

Article Update 7-21-2009: Just got this from Camel Audio. “IMPORTANT: An update to the original v1.10.6 release has been issued to correct a problem with some presets being too loud. If you have previously installed v1.10.6 of Alchemy, or the release candidate, you are strongly advised to update to v1.10.10 to avoid any issues. Registered users can download the latest update for free by logging in on the support page, and going to the Product Downloads section.”

200 New Sounds 
 In addition to new features and bug-fixes, they’ve released over 200 free sounds. They describe these sounds as “purer and less experimental sounds, the Electronic bank now has an additional 35 dance sounds and the Atmospheric bank has 30 extra smooth pads and soundscapes.”

Context Sensitive Help 
Simply right-click on an interface element to bring up a corresponding help page in a browser.

Sample Import Improvements
1.10 adds ability to “analyze files up to 5 mins in length, an easier to use file import dialog including scroll wheel support”.

Miscellaneous New Features

• New additive pitch setting
• Easier to use import file dialog including scroll wheel support
• File browser recognises alias's (OSX) and shortcuts (Win)
• Reduced GUI opening time
• Improved auto assign and remix pad variations
• Choose whether Alchemy should start in simple or advanced mode
• Option to invert performance knobs on right click menu
• Effects rack scrollbar shrinks/expands depending on number of effects loaded
• Mod depth snaps to semitone values when applied to tune
• Additive editor shows active partials
• Snap additive partials to semitone/dB
• Copy/paste commands in additive file menu update depending on view
• New snapshot volume control
• Extra 6dB of volume
• User details displayed in about box and at startup
• Sampler now supports forward/back loop mode
• Right click option to assign single knob

Links:

• Official Web Site
• Modulate This articles

Mark Mosher
http://www.modulatethis.com
http://www.markmoshermusic.com
http://www.twitter.com/markmosher

Camel Audio Alchemy Tips: Link to Manual, Keyswitching, and Manager Presets for Controls

 

The more I use Camel Audio’s Alchemy, the more I like it. I’m using it right now to create some original content for some of my music, and for some upcoming libraries for Modulate This!

As I use it, I’ll be sure to pass along tips. Here a few.

Manual
The manual is quite good. In case you somehow missed it, it’s available in two forms:

• Online Searchable Alchemy Manual
• PDF Alchemy Manual

Keyswitching

You can use keys on a MIDI controller to switch between performance snapshots (Keyswitching). Click the Octave pop-up menu next to the Remix Pad select the bottom MIDI note you want to user for control. Eight notes starting from the one you selected (including white and black keys) now map to the Remix Pad and will no longer trigger notes.

File Pop-Up’s

 

Alchemy has  “FILE” buttons in various locations on the interface. These button open a context-sensitive menu and can be used manage presets for a particular control. Menus typically include load, save, copy, paste, clear, and randomize. In the above image, I clicked the file button in the MSEG section to load Pulse 16 Multi-Segment Envelope Generator. You can also build your own presets. The same idea applies for managing presets for LFOs, Envelopes, Effects and more. This is simply a fantastic feature you use over and over.

See other Modulate This! articles on Alchemy.

Mark Mosher
www.modulatethis.com
www.markmoshermusic.com
www.twitter.com/markmosher