Airwindows

Average

TL;DW: A lowpass filter you probably don’t have in your DAW, with a distinctive tone!

This plugin is an exploration of a fascinating filter type that, I think, is really underrated. It’s a straight-up extremely simple averaging filter. If you set it to integer values, it exactly averages that number of taps on the input audio (adjacent samples). If you pick in-between values it interpolates, causing the ‘frequency’ of the filter to smoothly blend between the values.

There’s a reason you don’t see this filter used for lowpasses: it’s not technically correct. In fact it whacks a great big cancellation node into the high frequencies, and the tone (while pleasing) is very obviously affected by this. It’s a bit of a flangey quality.

BUT, we know better than to be limited by technical concepts, right? After all, the classic Scream Tracker resonant lowpass is known to be broken, and that has a real character to it. And even the Roland Supersaw is known to have some quirks that make it what it is…

Average has a fantastic tonality once you accept the response quirks. You can dial in the notches to suppress unwanted content, and (in a post-video revision) it’s got a dry-wet control so you can moderate the effect—and, typically for Airwindows, if this dry/wet is set to full wet, the calculations for doing that drop out of the plugin entirely so you’re not doing an unnecessary multiply. And it’s AU, Mac and PC VST and free (because this whole project is supported by Patreon and continuing to grow month by month into a very awesome public service for all plugin users!)

Hope you like it :)

Date October 11, 2016
Author Chris
Comments 6 Comments

Slew2

TL;DW: Limit or wipe out the highest frequencies, near the Nyquist frequency.

Slew2

Sometimes I just get lucky :)

This plugin is just the anti-aliasing technology I was experimenting with in 2010, applied to Slew, my simple slew clipper. I thought it was going to make the slightly grungy Slew smoother (Slew is a clipper, and can be expected to have clipper-like qualities). That anti-aliasing code was a bit odd. It’s possible I made a mistake somewhere.

If so, I’m keeping it, and now what I invented is out for VST also, and free to all.

Slew2 doesn’t act anything like Slew. What it does, is it puts a particular behavior on the extreme highs. Set to an intermediate value, it’s an acceleration limiter. Cranked all the way up… well, check out the video. It behaves like one of the nodes in Average (also coming to VST) with a 100% cancellation, but the point of total cancellation is also the Nyquist frequency. Slew2 produces a very natural-sounding brickwall filter exactly at that frequency, with the response falling off faster and faster until it’s totally gone when you hit the Nyquist limit (digital sampling theory: at 44.1K (CD quality) it is 22.05K where the treble cuts off).

People are using this for de-essers, and it’s pretty much ideal for any sound that must not be overwhelming in the super highs. The peculiar character of the rolloff means it’s suitable for almost anything because it won’t affect lower treble, and the fact that it’s really a clipper means you can use the slider to set a threshold where, the harder you push Slew2, the more it’ll refuse to let more brightness through. I’ve not tried using it as an acceleration limiter on a mastering lathe, but it could probably do that: which also means if you’re going for classic analog tone, you can just toss this on the 2-buss and use just enough to take excess brightness away. Slew2 is one of the ‘secret weapon’ plugins I was specifically asked to port to VST, and I’m happy to bring it to you all.

Still doing the Patreon, without which I will be one poor and hungry DSP nerd. Please support it and encourage others to support it, because I have a lot of plugins still to come. It’s already 11 plugins in just a few months, and there are many more, not even counting new inventions in the works.

Date October 5, 2016
Author Chris
Comments 10 Comments

Dimensional Kicks/Hats/Snares for Patrons

https://www.patreon.com/airwindows

I’ve been asked to do something that’s only available to my patrons, but I’m not willing to do that with my plugin software. Therefore, I’m doing it with samples, because I can!

These are collections of kicks, hats and snares, for EDM or sample augmentation. They’re tracker-style, not ‘simulation’ style, meaning they use no round-robining or dynamic variation (many do have several intensity levels that work together, though).

You can watch the video for over an hour of explanation or just download the zip and make some music :) the samples ending in 16 are 16 bit wavs suitable for use in traditional trackers like MilkyTracker (XM can be used somewhat in Unity, and they’re reduced to 16 bit with the Naturalize dither so they’ll adapt to any tracker need). The samples ending in 24 are 24 bit wavs and what I’m using in Renoise, or you can use them in other DAWs anywhere you need a good EDM-style sample.

In the video I explain what’s special about these: such as the ‘crystal’ hat samples that are done with a harp mic for a special dark tonality, or how the Jomox Kicks are all sampled with a DI (from a modded Jomox MBase II) plus run through a guitar amp with a modded Airwindows SM57 miking it, and lastly with a room mic that also picks up the trigger keyboard’s keys being hit with a drumstick for extra air on the transient. This is a pretty killer sample set for any electronic purposes, even before you get frisky with Renoise or whatever. Initially I was going to release these in dribs and drabs along with songs to demonstrate them, but I’m working so hard on plugins I have no time to make music. Therefore, I’m releasing the whole entire collection, because I know I’ll only end up making more.

Join the Patreon at least once for at least 1$ and you can download this there: it’s not on the Airwindows website, just on Patreon. :)

Date September 28, 2016
Author Chris
Comments 1 Comment

Thunder

TL;DW: With this buss compressor, sub-lows get bigger the harder you drive it.

Thunder

Compressors are tricky little beasts: they tend to eat low-end, they react differently at low intensities than when you slam ’em, and each sort of compressor has a ‘voice’ that defines how it acts.

There’s a crude way to deal with the low-end problem, which is to put in a crossover: either to split into multiband compression, or simply highpass the sense circuit so the compressor can’t compress extreme lows and just lets them through. I’ve been asked to do this and have actually tried it on PurestSquish, but I was never satisfied with the results. It seemed like just half-breaking the compressor and I felt there had to be a better way…

Thunder is that better way. Instead of passing through the bass, it transforms it in a way similar to FathomFive, and uses that live, active signal to modulate what the compressor sees, where in turn the compressor’s output is modulated by the intense lows. It’s a little complicated, so you can watch the video or simply download it and try it. Thunder is free (bear in mind that my only compensation is the Patreon I’ve created. To do this onward into the future, that Patreon must succeed)

If you’re auditioning Thunder, a word of warning. You’re going to have to monitor the extreme lows. This plugin can prepare music for the hugest sound systems or the finest audiophile playback, but if you can’t hear what it’s doing you may get in trouble with it. Decent headphones ought to suffice (not earbuds!). If you have subwoofers, this will test them. You can also use the mix-check plugin SubsOnly to test how you’re doing, that will spotlight the subs for you.

The range of adjustment starts with gentle ‘glue’ compression as the subsonics begin to open up the mix. Then, a bottom octave will appear anchoring everything. Push beyond that and you start to get into more compressed 2-buss, with the extreme lows taking on a punchier, thumpier character. Add more Thunder and the bass gets frisky and aggressive and dominates. Then, when you go even beyond that, we’re talking about ridiculous monstrous mega-bass, and more or less wrecking the sound of everything else (it’s useful to be able to go to weird broken settings in case you want to step back just a bit and have a really extreme effect). This is not a multiband compressor (there’s only one stereo comp in the plugin) but when driven really hard it can go even more bonkers than a multiband compressor.

Remember, the low Thunder settings are useful too as a glue comp, for a buss compressor that’s extremely transparent and true to the tone of the mix! The middle settings are just as functional. All of these settings have their own usefulness. Choose wisely (or unwisely, if you prefer).

Date September 21, 2016
Author Chris
Comments 4 Comments

Chris

Average

Slew2

Dimensional Kicks/Hats/Snares for Patrons

Thunder

handsewn bespoke digital audio

Kinds Of Things

The Last Year

Patreon Promo Club