TIME WARP
19 September 2014
Pitch-shifting has been quite the trend in pop music for the last decade, ever since Cher asked if there was life after love. Of course, there’s a lot more to it than what auto-tune can offer, which is why engineers will be pleased to hear about the launch of IRCAM Lab TS (meaning “Transpose/Stretching”).
The Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics and Music has created IRCAM Lab as a new company dedicated to the development of applications and plug-ins based on decades of research undertaken at the Institute. That well of knowledge has produced its first application TS, which features time stretch, pitch shifter, remix, formant, noise tweaker in TS, with algorithms based on its unique phase vocoder engine (SuperVP).
The SuperVP engine uses the analysis/synthesis functionalities of “AudioSculpt”, which processes sound in real-time. The Lab has told us that the TS software produces accurate results, with minimal artefacts, even when used to transpose or stretch audio waveforms radically.
The application can transpose and/or pitch a WAV or AIFF audio signal at extreme settings, creating unique sounds. To use the program, all you need do is drag an audio file into TS and stretch it down by whatever percentage you desire, then use the formant, transient, sinus or noise sliders to sculpt your sound to create new and original audio textures.
The ability to transform a sound to your own liking, gives engineers, DJ’s and musicians virtually unlimited possibilities. From a basic drum loop to pianos, voices or any other audio signal, TS can make something original out of it.
TS also includes real time Midi remote control and a live editing export feature.
Product Features
- Sound source Waveform visualisation
- Spectral information shown on screen
- Transposition in percentage and scale format
- Powerful Time Stretching
- A unique Shape Preservation mode for voice transformation
- Transient shaping
- Harmonic and Inharmonic signals Remix options
- Midi remote control option
- Real time recording directly into the application
- Offline bounce (WAV|AIFF, 16|24|32 bit)
The software currently is only available to Mac users, but IRCAM Lab has promised a Windows version will become available in the near future.
Update: IRCAM just released a suite of six Max for Live effects and a SuperVP synth based on this same technology, which puts the technology into some eminently usable forms. IRCAMAX 1 can be had for AU$139.
Price and Availability
TS is available until mid-October at an introductory price of $99, with a regular price of $249.
Plugivery (Official distributor)
http://www.plugivery.com/
Excerpts from PR
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