Tag Archives: Valhalla DSP

ValhallaShimmer released for Windows RTAS

I just released the Windows RTAS version of ValhallaShimmer. Set your browsers to

http://www.valhalladsp.com/shimmer.html

and check it out. Demo versions available at that link.

To sum up (as there has been several updates in the last few days): ValhallaShimmer is now released for:

OSX VST
OSX Audio Unit (32-bits)
OSX Audio Unit (64-bits)
OSX RTAS

Windows VST (32-bit)
Windows VST (64-bit)
Windows RTAS

I’m going to go out and enjoy the snow with the kids for the rest of the day (it’s snowing here in Seattle, which doesn’t happen in November that much). After that, I will put up a few blog entries about ValhallaShimmer, explaining the history of it, how it works, tips and tricks, that sort of thing. I also have a few generic topics that I want to cover, although coding has taken priority over happy creative thoughts for the past several months.

ValhallaShimmer now available for Windows VST

I just posted ValhallaShimmer for Windows VST. A demo version is available, which mutes the sound every 45 seconds (just like the OSX versions), but is in all other aspects identical to the full version. Check it out at

http://www.valhalladsp.com/shimmer.html

Thanks to everyone who has bought ValhallaShimmer so far. I appreciate your support.

Introducing ValhallaShimmer

I am happy to announce my first commercial plugin, ValhallaShimmer:

ValhallaShimmer is an algorithmic reverberation plugin. It is designed to produce BIG sounds, from concert halls, to the Taj Mahal, to the halls of Valhalla.

There are several reverberation modes available, to allow the user to dial in the preferred initial sound. By adjusting the Feedback, Diffusion and Size controls, the attack, sustain and decay of the reverb signal can be fine tuned. The modulation controls can be set to produce subtle mode thickening, glistening string ensemble-esque decays, and the distinctive random modulation of the older Lexicon hall algorithms. Two tone controls and the Color Mode selector allow the timbre to be adjusted from bright and glistening to a more natural dark decay, similar to that produced by air absorption in large spaces.

In addition, ValhallaShimmer has the ability to pitch shift the feedback signal. There are 3 pitch shift modes available:

  • Single, where the feedback is shifted up or down by the Shift value.
  • Dual, where the feedback is shifted both up and down (in parallel) by the Shift value.
  • Bypass, which turns off the pitch shifting (useful for “standard” reverb sounds).

By setting the Shift amount to +12 semitones, and the Feedback to 0.5 or greater, the classic “shimmer” sound is produced, as heard on Eno / Lanois productions for U2 and others. I have discussed the “shimmer” effect in great (excruciating?) detail in earlier blog posts, and applied the research to the architecture of ValhallaShimmer. The resulting algorithms allow for the classic shimmer effects to be generated with ease, as well as a variety of pitch shifted, evolving ambiences.

ValhallaShimmer is the end result of several years of research, and is highly optimized:

  • The core pitch shifting algorithm uses randomization to avoid the comb filtering artifacts that can be heard in simpler pitch shifters.
  • The code has been optimized for SIMD processors, in order to allow the complex algorithm to run while using a small fraction of modern CPUs.
  • The reverberation algorithm has been designed to work in conjunction with the pitch shifting, to allow for high levels of feedback without compromising stability.
  • The algorithm works well with cascading multiple instances, both from a signal processing perspective and in terms of the low CPU consumption.

I will be posting more sound examples during the week (earlier examples can be heard here and here). For now, here’s a sound file that showcases the use of ValhallaShimmer for deep ambient sounds. The example uses 4 instances of Shimmer in series, with pitch shifting on 3 of the instances (+/- 12 semitones, +/- 7 semitones, and +/- 5 semitones).

ValhallaShimmer has been released for OSX (AU, VST, RTAS) and Windows (VST). 64-bit Audio Units, 64-bit Windows VST, and Windows RTAS will be coming soon.

More sounds from ValhallaShimmer

I was playing around with 8 instances of the new plugin, ValhallaShimmer, in series, processing the same harp loop used in the earlier example. Here’s what came out:

The sound hasn’t been edited – the fading in and out is a natural consequence of cascading multiple instances of this algorithm. This can be viewed as the Central Limit Theorem in action. In signal processing terms, this means that cascading a whole bunch of similar filters will result in an impulse response that approximates a Gaussian curve.

A single instance of the plugin as used to generate this effect sounds like this (with wet/dry mix set to 50%):

The plugin by itself can be set up to produce a Gaussian attack and decay, where the sound fades in over a few seconds:

However, cascading several instances produces a more dramatic version of the same effect. To me, it sounds very similar to the sounds obtained by extreme time stretching.

Progress continues on the plugin. It is in the hands of beta testers, and I am resolving the bugs that are coming up. I hope to make an official announcement in the next few days.

EDIT: I just made the first announcement of the new plugin, ValhallaShimmer. Check it out here.

New video tutorial of ValhallaFreqEcho

James Muir has posted a great overview/tutorial on ValhallaFreqEcho. Besides an overview of the features, he shows how to automate the plugin in Logic. Which I really need to learn how to do.

You can find more of James’ tutorials at makemorenoise.org.

ValhallaFreqEcho MkI Released: GUI. Tempo Delay. VST/AU/RTAS. Mac/Windows. Free.

I am pleased to announce the MkI release of ValhallaFreqEcho:

The plugin now features a custom GUI, as seen above. I have added the ability to sync the delay time to tempo. ValhallaFreqEcho MkI is available for Windows and Mac, in VST, AU, and RTAS formats.

ValhallaFreqEcho MkI has been under development for quite some time, and I am rather proud of the results. I invite you to download it and check it out. Keep checking this blog in the next few days for tutorials, tips and tricks, and a bunch of theoretical musings.