Console7Crunch
TL;DW: Console7Crunch shows you Cascade but with its EQ weighted for more edge and grit.
Hi! I’m sorry I haven’t been continuing to put out an amazing plugin for Mac, PC and Linux literally every week: I’ve recently missed a week (gasp!) for what I said was catastrophic internet issues. Which, TECHNICALLY, was more or less true, as far as that went… which is pretty far really… but that would be telling.
Well, now it can be told… but first, the plugin!
Console7Crunch is a variation on Console7Cascade, to experiment with something. Cascade stacked up distortion algorithms inside an instance of Ultrasonic, basically. For that reason, it distorted the super-highs very early on, and compensated for this in later stages, rolling off brightness and smoothing the distortion out. Well, with experiments like UltrasonX, and some upcoming even-more-intense filtering of that nature, I wanted to do a variation on Console7Cascade where the ONLY thing I changed was the order of the filtering. They’re supposed to combine to a perfectly flat multistage filter, and they do… but the way it hits nonlinearities and clipping is a whole other story.
The result is a Console7Cascade that’s more crunchy, with more obvious clipping and an additional ability to deliver distorted punch in the extreme highs: Console7Crunch. It’s not wildly different (all this is meant to be ultrasonic! But of course it affects everything anyhow) but it’s a noticeably different color for when you’re looking for higher gain in the Console7 system. I hope you like it, and I found the experiment interesting.
There are many more experiments to come: this year I’ve committed to many things and among them is the upcoming plugin format, CLAP. It looks very much like my job will be to stop derping around just adding to the huge Airwindows open source library, and reboot into a new plugin format from which, perhaps, other formats can be generated… and which might finally support the GUIs and visual feedback elements people have clamored for. I know people who are doing it, and my emphasis on supporting retro systems has been kinda dwindling to where some of the things that take plenty of my energy and effort are maybe a tenth of what modern stuff is doing, out there in the world. Plus, I’m very enthusiastic about Apple Silicon and might be able to move forward into an era of Airwindows where I can do just as innovative things in plugin experience as I’ve done over the years in sonics. I’ve got a lot of experiments underway and will try to keep things moving at the rate people have come to expect.
On a more personal note, I’m doing this at a challenging time for me. The internet difficulties I mentioned? Turns out it’s not as easy to get upload bandwidth… in Canada, about halfway to the north pole. That’s right, I was WAY out of my comfort zone, for some mighty good reasons. There’s a prospective Mrs. Airwindows. She’s pretty damn amazing, smarter than me, with similar attitudes and motivations in life (not as good at audio, but very likely smarter at business). This has a lot to do with how I started livestreaming so much lately: inspiration, confidence, the right sort of encouragement. She’s already visited me in Vermont. I think you folks will like how I am with her around. I’ll smile more, and be more inspired and positive.
The reason I was up in Canada is, there’s challenges. She’s extricating herself from some rather scary domestic trouble and ensuring the safety of her kids. She’s got to get her house fit to sell, and move out of there. She’s got some health concerns that deserve better support than she’s had with ’em. And in part due to that domestic trouble, right now she is contending with having a scary ex, a recurrence of cancer, and a dose of covid ALL AT THE SAME TIME.
I am shall we say a little distracted.
Before I get up there again to help I have to have Airwindows more mobile, something I’m working on very hard right now, not knowing if I’ll have to scramble to get back up there in a big hurry. I also have to arrange for my home in Vermont to be secure: I did that pretty well but I’m going to have to be more thorough and not leave stuff here unattended, so when I do travel I’ll have my valuable stuff either with me or in storage away from home. And of course this will drive me to have the mobile rig more heavily weighted in favor of virtual stuff, the Airwindows Free Studio, so what I use when streaming from Canada will be more like stuff you can just download and use for free: that part, I think, is very much a Right Thing to be doing.
When I get livestreams going again you can ask me anything, and I’ll be working like mad for the next few months to prepare for another trip into the Great White North where it is typically 30 or 40 degrees below zero. It’s wild. Next time you can come along with me and I’ll be vlogging it and music streaming and developing plugins on the road: we’ve got plans to solve the internet issues, and I’ll make it work somehow. I did post a plugin from Canada, but there was no hope of uploading a video until I got back. We’ll fix that for next time.
That’s assuming any of you are interested in hearing about Chris from Airwindows in love and journeying into the land of polar bears (well, bears anyways) to develop his plugins alongside the woman he loves. I can’t show everything of course, but if we get our situation sorted out up there, and get out of there safely, it’ll be the beginning of a new chapter in an amazing story, and I will stay as accessible as I can once I’ve got my home base secured and clear of too many goodies. (nobody wants to steal a replacement hot water heater even if it’s amazing, but it’s bad form to leave the portable Eurorack rig around, so that comes with me ;) )
More will be revealed. I hope you enjoy Console7Crunch. Apologies for not having the video system up to par yet but the entire thing was packed away and had to be set up from scratch: I’m still adapting to this new world I’m suddenly in. Wish me luck, and I believe I’ll be able to keep the plugins coming right up to when they take on an entirely new, fancier form and format…
download 64 Bit Windows VSTs.zip
download Signed M1/Intel Mac AUs.dmg
download Signed M1/Intel Mac VSTs.dmg
download LinuxVSTs.zip
download Retro 32 Bit Windows VSTs.zip
download Retro PPC/32/64 Mac AUs.zip
download Retro PPC/32/64 Mac VSTs.zip
Mediafire Backup of all downloads
All this is free and open source under the MIT license, brought to you by my Patreon.
Thank you and good luck for your adventure in Canada. I was worried tbh :).
Hey Chris, wishing you lots of luck and happiness in your new adventures!
Wishing you the best, Chris! C7Crunch is badass!!
Great to hear about CLAP, I’m using Bitwig and should benefit early on, so thank you!
This is fantastic news, Chris! I’m well chuffed for you :D
Epic work as usual! Such awesome progress and looking forward to your personal progressions and breakthroughs! As for Mrs Airwindows.. EPIC! just EPIC.
Congratulations! And thanks again!
all the best with the challenges Chris. thank you for your excellent work as always
Chris, you genius. The Zbandpass on pads and leads makes everything fizz with bright energy. I wish you all good in your new endeavours and hope everything gets sorted out.
Chris, that’s great news! I hope everything works out for you. Really happy to hear this:)
Congratulations to you Chris and blessings for the life ahead of you with Mrs Airwindows
I am sending much love and blessings to you and especially to your partner!!! may everything come out good!!!
It’s a tough time in many regards.
i hold you both in my thoughts, that go out for the wellbeing of all! and i mean all!!! :-)
All the best! Remember the song of encouragement from the Disney Pixar classic, Finding Nemo: “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming…” :D <3
No GUI is best thing. Instead of GUI just metrring plugin that just resending param change into no GUI fader which position stare represent value a d can work as link param manipulation tool. That plugin by delta can be added to any other airwindows plugin im chain and work as metrring tool. Enter part before chain or plugin and out metrring fader at end. Both for delta difference. What can be measured. Each fader for different value. Gain change between input and end of this change and other values
Yo
I think creating GUI make plugins of airwindows less specjal. These plugins are like book , language to learn that force mind to think deeper about sound and decision to make about sound. This stuff is very mental and that understanding things is most nice thing. Not that deaf decisions by fancy GUI IT sucks
Another idea is another. Maybe kind of airwindows plugin chainer. That can contain inside airwindows plugins. First generation for just chains or paraell chains that can contain that no GUI delta fader metrring system based on in out metrring of chain and stil no GUI. And no GUI for plugins toooo. One fader change can display on position nr of plugin of max and its name
Chris your plugins are another of many parts that can expand mind abilities. GUI in my opinion is virus. That chainer for your plugins can contain GUI system but i still think GUI sucks but at least with this chainer any your plugin that inserted into chainer can have same metrring system and custom GUI graphic cause can be created as one for all from same parts and used on any plugin of yours.
Btw please no GUI. IT destroys future posible generation of geniuses that will grow with your plugins. These are tools to learn thinking and listening. If possibile plugin chainer of no GUI is better mind hacking tool and more usefull tool.
Chris,
Just started following your stellar work and this post is a joy.
Looking forward to getting to know your prolific work and to hopefully working with you down the line.
Thanks for all you do and for sharing so much. Nice to hear of someone outside of the ordinary doing so much extraordinary work.
Regards,
noah