MicroTonic

Support for PO-32.
Standalone Mac.
Bug fixes.
Fresh GUI.
Need sleep.

Microtonic 3.1.1 and Synplant 1.2.1 are relatively minor updates. We have added a couple of buttons in the file browsers for easier navigation between factory and user presets. We have fixed a bunch of minor bugs and compatibility issues and they now include support for our new unified Sonic Charge Plug-in multi-installer. The multi-installer makes installing and upgrading our plug-ins a lot easier than before.

€¢ First fully 64-bit compatible version.

€¢ Supports MIDI CC out for updating MIDI controllers with current parameter values. • Supports MIDI CC for mutes as well as MIDI keys. • Supports using MIDI CC to perform pattern edits.

€¢ Drum patches that are loaded from factory preset folders are now referenced to with relative file paths meaning that it will be easier to use the drum patch browser to change patches in factory presets.

€¢ Signed packages on Mac OS X.

€¢ Name of DLL's changed from MicroTonic(Multi)VST.dll to Microtonic(Multi).dll only. Name of plugin is Microtonic from now on, not ?Tonic or MicroTonic. Logotype is still ?TONIC.

€¢ Fixed a bug where MIDI events occurring simultaneously would be processed in incorrect order, e.g. a note with 100% legato could stop the next note with its note off event.

€¢ Max length of program name reported to host is 64 characters. • De-initializes and releases all resources when last instance is removed from pro-

ject.

€¢ Updated to latest support libraries. Lots of minor stability and compatibility im- provements.

€¢ In the file browser, drum patches are previewed on the individual outputs that they will load into.

€¢ Supports automatic online registration through Sonic Charge Authenticator. • New skin. Bigger. Beautifuller. Spacier. Space is the future.

* Fixed a problem in the AU version when loading version 2 projects that could make µTonic use the wrong program number.
* Fixed a problem with clicks in exported audio when using the "Append" tail mode.
* Fixed a rare timing drift problem between GUI and audio when using certain audio cards.
* Solved a compatibility problem with the Windows version of Nuendo that froze the application when using copy functions in µTonic.
* Eliminated some almost inaudible but unwanted aliasing in the sine oscillator.
* µTonic now displays a special message when attempting to register with a version 1 or 2 key.
* Code is PPC G4 compatible again (just as version 2 was).
* Updated scripting engine.

Major New Features
* A morph slider allows you to interpolate all eight drum patches simultaneously between two end-points. You can edit the drum patches with the morph slider at any position and it will adjust the interpolation end-points accordingly. Morph is an automatable and MIDI controllable parameter, so it can be used both as a performance parameter as well as an editing feature.
* Matrix editor window for viewing and editing the pattern steps of all eight drum channels simultaneously. (Bonus feature: you can drag channel labels to reorder the drum channels of the preset.)
* MIDI Program Change message support for instantaneously switching between up to 16 different presets (loaded into memory). (It is also possible to switch programs with MIDI notes.)
* Drag and drop patterns as MIDI files directly into your sequencer (supported by all major hosts).
* "Edit All Channels" button enables adjusting parameters for all drum channels simultaneously. E.g. turn up the distortion on all channels. µTonic will write parameter automation for all affected channels, so the effect can be automated.
* A new "choke group" feature lets you assign two or more channels that should play mutually exclusively and cut each other off. Useful for closed and open hi-hats for example.
* A preset name display sits in the top of the window, with previous and next preset buttons and a popup list when you click the display.
* Support for MIDI Pitch Wheel for real-time pitch transposition with a range of up to 2 octaves.
* A new "Stop Voices with MIDI Note Off" option makes it possible to sustain the sound while you hold down MIDI keys (if you use µTonic as a synth). It is also useful for changing the length of drum sounds with note lengths in your sequencer.
* Alternative "pattern launch modes": "Switch Next" (the behavior in earlier versions of µTonic), "Switch Directly", "Retrigger" and "Retrigger Gated".
* Undo / redo.
* Shift-click menu buttons to quickly repeat last selected menu item.
* New 3D-rendered skin. Sharper, brighter, sexier with 32-bit graphics. (Yes, µTonic version 2.0 was using 20th century 16-bit RGB graphics still).

Other Improvements
* New menu functions: "Transpose" (all channels or a single drum patch). "Alter Drum Patches" (all channels or a single drum patch). "Randomize Accents and Fills" (on entire pattern or single channel). "Revert to Saved" (revert to last saved version of preset).
* New trial system: up to three weeks of trial with full functionality. After that µTonic will go silent until you register. Weeks will only be counted when you actually use µTonic.
* µTonic will now reload the most recently used program bank (of 16 programs) automatically when you create a new instance. (This behavior can be changed from the Preference Dialog.)
* From the file browser you can now select to load only the patches or the patterns from a preset.
* All filter algorithms have been replaced with a new custom design based on a modified state-variable topology. It allows exact replication of the original filter response, but with better accuracy, speed and stability when the frequencies are modulated.
* Parameter smoothing improved to allow quicker unfiltered parameter changes as well as slower filtered changes.
* You can optionally remap MIDI Controller Change values so that you can reach zero exactly on bipolar parameters. Also, with this option turned on, MIDI CC on the three frequency parameters will be quantized to whole semitones.
* µTonic can execute simple script files (written in PikaScript) from a popup menu. A script button will show in the top-left corner if µTonic finds script-files in a designated scripts folder.
* A write protect switch can protect the programs in memory by reverting any edits as soon as you switch to another program.
* You can assign the same MIDI key or controller number to several different functions. Useful for layering several channels on a single MIDI key or controlling many parameters from the same knob.
* All existing presets (including those in our additional downloadable patch packages) have been modified to obtain a high degree of consistency concerning which drum channels plays what type of sound. E.g. channel 1 plays bass drum patches, channel 5 plays snare drum patches etc. Also, all presets have been volume normalized using an automatic RMS algorithm.

Minor Changes
* µTonic 3.0 uses a new registration key system. Registration keys for version 3.0 are not compatible with previous versions of µTonic.
* All file formats have been upgraded (using a cleaner and more consistent text format). µTonic version 3.0 files are not downwards compatible with µTonic version 2.0, so new file extensions have been chosen: ".mtpreset" and ".mtdrum".
* Noise levels are much more consistent across different sample rates (the levels at 44.1khz were used as reference).
* New WAV export code allows for 24-bit audio export and improved WAV-file compatibility.
* Improved timing accuracy of notes and parameter changes, especially when host is using odd (or just very large) buffer sizes. This is at the expense of a constant latency of 64 samples, but all major hosts should support latency compensation.
* The envelopes are slightly improved. E.g., they now go all the way down to level 0 exactly (avoiding clicks if µTonic is run through extreme compression).
* Changes to "Mod Amount" will affect the sound immediately. (Previously, changes to this parameter didn't have effect until the next note on.)
* Step buttons light up when notes are played (Yeah, this is the minor changes section.)

Bug / Compatibility Fixes
* Fixed bug with VST midi events outside the current processing block.
* Fixed minor bug in linear noise envelope decay.
* Automation now starts directly when you click a fader (instead of waiting until it is dragged).
* Improved problem with µTonic spontaneously losing registration.
* Fixed a problem where holes(!) would appear in the user-interface on Mac.
* Fixed a problem with the oscilloscope when using the multiple outputs version (in certain hosts).
* Works (better) with host and bridges (e.g. VST Bridge) that runs different instances in different threads.
* Many, many other minor fixes.

Universal Binary

improved compatibility with certain PowerPC Audio Unit hosts

Introduced AudioUnit version for Mac OS X, ported using Symbiosis technology from NuEdge Development (more info soon).

Both AudioUnit and VST version for Mac OS X are compiled with XCode version 2.1 (GCC version 4.0). This makes the code incompatible with any Mac OS X version prior to 10.3.9.

Registration dialog includes e-mail address field (optional for older registrations, but will become mandatory in the future).

Prepared for physical distribution by detecting and loading registration information from removable media.

New logotype and about box artworks by Bitplant.

There is an alternative version of the µTonic with separate outputs for each drum channel ("MicroTonicVSTMulti").

- The µTonic features built-in support for MIDI controllers with easy-to-use on-screen editing and "MIDI learn". A MIDI controller can be assigned to a parameter in a specific drum channel, or if you prefer, to edit the currently selected drum channel. Once you have created your assignments you can save and load them.
- The program and drum patch file browsers feature direct previewing within the browsers. You can preview programs and patterns in their original tempo or synchronized to the music you are playing. Programs and individual drum patches can be previewed and compared directly without leaving the browser.
- There is a "pitched MIDI mode" which allows you to actually play melodies with the drum patches on your keyboard. In "pitched mode", the eight drum channels are addressed with MIDI channels 1 to 8 and you have the entire keyboard for each channel. C3 (note number 60) will play the "original pitch". This opens up new possibilities when you will be able to use the µTonic not only for drums, but also for melodies and bass lines. (Disclaimer: the µTonic will of course remain a drum synthesizer primarily.)
- The oscillator section has been blessed with an attack parameter so that you can achieve a softer sound and reduce the click of those 808-style bass drums. The attack envelope is exponential, just like the default envelope mode of the noise section.
- You can export individual patterns (or chains) to standard MIDI files and WAV files