Ircam Trax

A suite of three ingenious processors using technology, developed during many years, by the sound analysis/synthesis team at IRCAM with the objective to provide signal transformation algorithms allowing for altering of sound characteristics such as; pitch, timbre and duration, using perceptually intuitive high level controls.

- Transformer - Real-time Voice and Sonic Modelling Processor

TRAX Transformer is based on an augmented phase vocoder technology, and a cutting edge transformation algorithm, allowing for manipulating characteristic properties of a voice such as gender, age and breath, and on any other sound; expression, formant and pitch.

These voice transformation algorithms have already been used, with great success, in international and French cinema productions. (Farinelli, Vatel, Tirésia, Les amours d'Astrée and Céladon).


- Cross Synthesis - Spectral Envelope Morphing Processor

TRAX Cross Synthesis utilizes a phase vocoder (the amplitude and the frequency/phase spectra), to morph the spectral characteristics of two sounds. The amplitude and frequency/phase spectra can be blended continuously and since the features that are used here are strongly nonlinear, the sound morphing is nonlinear as well, offering a way to create a wide range of new exciting and unusual sound effects.


- Source Filter - Enhanced Sound Filtering

TRAX Source Filter is based on a signal model that allows to decompose the signal, into a time envelope describing the energy/loudness contour of the sound, and a spectral envelope describing the spectral color of the sound timbre.

The energy contour and the spectral color of a source sound, can be continuously blended with the spectral color and energy contour of an arbitrary filtrating sound, allowing transformation that extend the well know source filter morphing effect.