Back in the early-to-mid '00s, sampling came of age. One of the companies at the forefront of the pursuit of multi-sampling perfection was Synthogy. Its original Ivory package was accompanied by rapturous applause from the professional and producer community, as it became an overnight industry standard.
Shuffle on 19 years and Ivory reaches its Mk3 phase, centred around an extensively sampled, Hamburg-manufactured, Steinway Model D-274. Steinway is arguably the most highly regarded piano manufacturer in the world, with the Model D considered to be the finest concert grand. It's certainly the largest, at 274cm in length, but with this size comes an authority in sound, which has established the brand as the primary choice for most concert halls.
It's therefore hardly a surprise that Synthogy has chosen to capture this European Model D by reuniting members of its established sampling team, in the prestigious venue of Le Domaine Forget de Charlevoix Concert Hall.
Under the lid
There are a considerable number of new features included in this sizeable upgrade. Firstly, Synthogy has a new sound engine called Real-time Gradient Blending (RGB). In layman's terms, it's an update to the real-time playback technology and DSP, taking the sound of the plugin to the next level. This translates to some impressive stats; Ivory 3 now responds to the MIDI 2.0 specification, although original MIDI controller users will still benefit from the usual 127 velocity points on the curve. This single piano will require 42GB of disk space, although Synthogy specify that this needs to be in SSD format, presumably because of the impacted speeds for reliable sample retrieval.
Denne historien er fra May 2024-utgaven av Computer Music.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra May 2024-utgaven av Computer Music.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Explore Black Salt Audio's cm bundle
In a new series, we're highlighting the best plugins from the CM Plugin Suite V3.0 and showing you how to make the most of them
DH Plugins LFO-EQ-1
Modulating your EQ parameters opens up a multitude of exciting effects. Can this affordable plugin really hit the mark? Jon Musgrave finds out
SSL Module8
Multi-effects are getting more powerful at the expense of ease of use, but Module8 manages both and is therefore pretty gr8, says Andy Jones
Dawesome/Tracktion Myth
Peter V is fast becoming the most ground-breaking plugin developer around. His latest is a synth of mythical proportions, says Andy Jones
Tailored reverbs
Reverb is a great tool, but cleverly thinking about its application can really take your mix to the next level. Here’s how to get tailoring…
Make a spicy lead with GForce Axxess
It's time to turn up the heat and Axxess a searing lead, with a little help from an ultra-cool addition to the plugin suite
Cherry Audio Chroma
If you're after a colourful new synth, Cherry Audio has something that covers the whole spectrum. Roland Schmidt looks through the prism
GForce Software VSM IV
This updated VSM continues to prove that strings are very much the thing! Roland Schmidt swots up on his virtual string theory
KATIE TAVINI
A ubiquitous name in the world of mastering, Katie Tavini’s intuitive senses and aptitude for bringing out the best in a huge array of music has been rightly praised. We were keen to catch up with Katie – fresh from moving her studio into a new setup in Liverpool – to find out more about her acclaimed approach
Make a loop into a track
It's simple to make a killer loop, but how does that become a dancefloor-filling hit? It only takes a few steps to get the process started...