Overview
In the worlds of electronic music and sound design, a tool occasionally appears that promises to leave a permanent imprint. Avid’s new Synchronic software instrument is such a device, providing musicians and sound sculptors with an intuitive, deep-featured means of developing truly distinctive loops and enhancing the originality of their work.
Compatible with both Pro Tools LE and TDM systems, Synchronic is a novel new RTAS plug-in that enables you to easily manipulate audio loops to create an innumerable variety of unique rhythmic and sonic variations. With Synchronic, you can easily create rhythmic modifications and in-tempo effects with individual beats and beat subdivisions within a loop.
Features
An innovative sound design and beat creation tool for the Pro Tools environment
Performance-inspired design, user interface, and functionality for DJs, live electronic musicians, and others
Modular configuration with presets allows for endless combinations as well as instant recall
MIDI-synchronized intempo effects with real-time control
Controllable directly through its own graphic user interface, MIDI, plug-in automation, or Avid-qualified Pro Tools control surface
Graphical slice point editor for automatic and manual loop-slicing
RTAS plug-in support for both Pro Tools LE and Pro Tools TDM systems
Support for up to 96 kHz Pro Tools sessions
Over 200 MB of free audio loops from Avid Development Partners (box version only)
iLok-protected for portability
Details
In the worlds of electronic music and sound design, a tool occasionally appears that promises to leave a permanent imprint. Avid’s new Synchronic software instrument is such a device, providing musicians and sound sculptors with an intuitive, deep-featured means of developing truly distinctive loops and enhancing the originality of otheir work.
Compatible with both Pro Tools LE and TDM systems, Synchronic is a novel new RTAS plug-in that enables you to easily manipulate audio loops to create an innumerable variety of unique rhythmic and sonic variations. With Synchronic, you can easily create rhythmic modifications and in-tempo effects with individual beats and beat subdivisions within a loop.
Tweaking, Synchronic-style
Whether in a studio environment or onstage, Synchronic gives you the power to substantially modify looped audio on the fly and, in the process, define your signature sound. Much like a typical DJ rig’s deck arrangement, Synchronic’s interface includes two discreet channels through which audio is displayed, manipulated, and played back. Synchronic features five main sections or modules, each of which can be edited, stored, and recalled through presets accessible via the plug-in:
Sound Module — The Sound Module can load up to twelve different mono or stereo audio files of any bit depth and sample rate. After importing a file, the loop can be sliced up to play in synchronization with the Pro Tools MIDI Beat Clock. Any two sounds (A and B sources) can be played back simultaneously.
Playback Module — The Playback Module manipulates the output of the Sound module. Various aspects of sound playback — such as speed, order, duration and direction, as well as modes such as “Stab”, “Spin” and “Smear” — are synchronized with the Pro Tools MIDI Beat Clock.
Effect Module — This module processes the output of the Playback Module and can be synced to the Pro Tools Beat Clock to introduce any combination of four concurrent intempo effects: Gain, Noise, Filter, and Delay.
XFade Module — Synchronic’s XFade (crossfade) Module mixes the A and B sounds after they have been processed by the Sound, Playback, and Effect modules. The crossfade between the A and B sounds can be controlled by either a Synchronic preset or through a DJ mixer-style crossfader. The XFade Module presets can also be synced to the Pro Tools MIDI Beat Clock for intempo crossfading.
MIDI Module — Synchronic’s MIDI Module enables you to assign and trigger combinations of sounds and module presets via MIDI. You can also freely map MIDI controllers to Synchronic controls.
Once your audio loops are loaded into Synchronic, they can be controlled using Synchronic’s user interface, Pro Tools MIDI tracks, an external MIDI controller, a qualified Avid control surface such as Command|8, and/or Pro Tools plug-in automation. Unlike other beat and looping software products, Synchronic synchronizes to the Pro Tools MIDI Beat Clock directly. This relationship causes Synchronic playback to lock to the Pro Tools session tempo (including tempo changes) even while the operator creates modifications in the playback order, speed, and volume of individual beats and subdivisions of the beat (or “slices”) within a loop.
As explained, the benefits of Synchronic are not limited to the studio environment or to sound design applications, although the plug-in exceeds in both capacities. An ideal instrument for spontaneous composition and improvisation, Synchronic offers performing electronic musicians and DJs the ability to sculpt loops and create tempo-based effects in a live setting in real time. With its many possibilities and ease-of-use, Synchronic invites you to interact with its control set to achieve your desired affect or something completely unexpected. When combined with a MIDI controller, all of its parameters can be controlled in real time, and individual presets within Synchronic’s modules can be recalled simply by triggering a MIDI key. And multiple instances of Synchronic can run within the same Pro Tools session to meet your creative demand. Synchronic can even work alongside other music software products such as Ableton Live and Propellerhead Software Reason to bring a new breadth to your music.
With Synchronic, beat reordering is only the beginning. Synchronic is fully capable of performing complex beat manipulations, effects, and cross-modulations tightly synced to the Pro Tools Beat Clock. These effects are not limited to being applied only to loops in their entirety but also to individual beats within the loop, allowing the user to create complex soundscapes that are still tied to an underlying pulse from the Beat Clock.
Synchronic ships with over 200 MB of royalty-free loops contributed by Avid’s acclaimed Development Partners to get you started (boxed version only); you can also bring your own SD II, WAV, and AIFF files into the mix through a simple import. 96 kHz sample rate support ensures that no matter where or when you’re making your music, sound quality will not be an issue. Additionally, iLok protection offers portability so you’re never at a loss when inspiration strikes.
