Three of the Astralis Synths have been updated with the following changes:

Orgone updated to 1.06:

• Now Portable, ie; can be installed on a portable drive, see Portable readme for more details.
• Added New course Pitch Destinations to the Modulation Matrix capable of up to 2 octaves - 'X Pitch'
• Added New Quantized Pitch Destinations to the Modulation Matrix, quantized to real notes of up to 2 octaves 'Q Pitch'

Bion updated to 1.01:

• Now Portable, ie; can be installed on a portable drive, see Portable readme for more details.
• Fixed a bug where some controllers didn't work correctly through the Modulation Matrix.
• Added New course Pitch Destinations to the Modulation Matrix capable of up to 2 octaves - 'X Pitch'
• Added New Quantized Pitch Destinations to the Modulation Matrix, quantized to real notes of up to 2 octaves 'Q Pitch'

Black magic is Reviewed in the latest edition of Wusik Magazine, pages 27-28!

"Feel free and download a stripped-down free version (Black Magic lite) and try it for yourself. Making music should be fun, and if your working with this magical instrument and you're not having any... well then I really don't know what else it could be. Perhaps you need counseling or a psychiatrist?"

Read the full review online HERE

Free plugin developed for the KVR developers challenge. Designed to emulate Steve Reich's tape loop phasing technique, yet also expanded to a synth to further explorer this concept. More info and download from here:

Phase Shifter Page

Support thread

Don't forget to vote if you like it!

Andy

Black Magic:

* New set of kits & samples thanks to Nielzie - Many Thanks!
* Requested Feature - Sequencer Step Sizes are now automatable via midi
using CC 70-79, this is experimental though.
* CC 80 assigned to Stereo Width
* Master Section LED section corrected, lists were in the wrong order.
* Many Manual additions/corrections.
* A bank of presets added created by Lotuzia of LeLotusBleu. Many Thanks!
* PDF version of the manual added created by Jens available on the files
page. Thanks Jens!
* Default Bank updated for compatibility with v1.04

Black Magic Lite:

* Requested Feature - Sequencer Step Sizes are now automatable via midi
using CC 70-79, this is experimental though.
* CC 80 assigned to Stereo Width
* Many Manual additions/corrections.
* PDF version of the manual added created by Jens available on the files
page.

Available on your Files page.

Andy

"Conclusion: The Black Magic Loop Generator from Homegrown Sounds is really awesome. It's huge fun to create loops and tinker around to this. I have as yet no comparable experience Plugin."

Google Translated version

"Fazit: Der Black Magic Loop Generator von Homegrown Sounds ist wirklich genial. Es macht riesigen Spaß damit Loops zu erzeugen und an diesen herum zu basteln. Ich habe bis jetzt noch kein vergleichbares Plugin erlebt."

Original Page in German

Spanish Version

"Black Magic is a really unique approach to rhythm and while it may share some characteristics with other "drum" vsts, I can't think of one that really does what it does. It is awesome for creating mountains of loops to feed into other apps (for slicing etc) while at the same time functioning as a highly controllable live drum machine\groovebox.
Highly recommended! "

Read Full Review

The natural sounding Microtonal Piano has been complemented by a couple of bonus instruments. A second sample set from the Steinway B has been added which was recorded at a harder velocity than the original Piano. The harder attack results in a much brighter sound and as a result has a very different character. It has all the same features as Homegrown Piano but comes as a seperate instrument called Piano B. Patches are interchangeable between the two instruments.

Also included as a second bonus instrument is Homegrown Rhodes which uses samples from a well worn Rhodes Piano and has one sample per key. The Rhodes had a long history on a cruise ship and was rumored to have been played by Duke Ellington. Some of the keys are in bad condition and the idea was to capture the instrument as is, rather than creating a realistic Rhodes emulation. It has all the same feautures as the other Pianos but with the addition of adjustable key noises.

Homegrown Piano Info

Many of the Homegrown Products have been updated, the updated synths are Orgone, Bion (Preview), FX, Bionic, and Homegrown Piano. Additionally the Microtonal Patches have now been updated to v3.1. Here is a list of changes:

This update primarily addresses issues when used on Multi-Core machines where Multi-Core is enabled in the host. Also an Interactive Flash manual has been added for easily finding relevant help. Here is a list of the main changes:

This small update fixes an issue where the Recorder could cause an Access Violation error in some Hosts after it is removed from the project.

download latest version from here

• Record to WAV added - Wavs will be recorded to a folder called Synth Recordings located in your HGSounds folder (chosen when installing the samples)
• Choice of 16/24/32/32bit float bit depths.
• Open Samples Folder Button
• Open Last Recorded Sample in System WAV player.
• WAVS are auto-named by Synth Name, and then System Timestamp.
• Fixed a bug where Pitch Bend setting would not update on already playing notes.
• Fixed a bug where Microtuner Patch and Info would not load correctly in some situations.
• Enabled an ON/OFF for the polyphony control as this replaces the note stealing rules.
• Polyphony Mode automatically disabled in Mono Mode for the above reason.
• Fixed a small bug where occasionally an incorrect Bank was displayed.
• Samples in different folders can now have the same name and should be located correctly when patches are recalled.
• Added a disable WAV Display Button to Info Section, as one user experienced crashes related to this module.
• Other Minor Fixes.

HGS WAV Recorder is a simple plugin that performs a single role, recording the incoming signal directly to a WAV. It can be used either in an Insert or as a Send Effect. The Sound output can either be direct through, Muted or the Recorded Signal to ensure maximum flexibility. It is a useful plugin for recording spontaneous improvisations, or providing realtime record functionality in Hosts which do not support this directly.

SoundScaper is a VST Effect Plugin for Windows capabable of Reverb, Echo and Comb effects. It was designed primarily as way of creating atmospheric landscapes in the tradition of the HGSounds ethos. It has almost infinite feedback time for many modes, and so is capable of producing rich and complex drones when used with a continuous sound source. It can also be used as a traditional reverb or echo suitable for any application.

Here are the changes:

• Many Visual Improvements
• Envelopes updated with zoom functionality, plus a menu (accessed by clicking at the top of the envelope) which gives access to all Envelope features.
• The Clipper has now been replaced by a Compressor with Threshold and Ratio control
• Patch changes should now work as expected in Sonar when Orgone is closed
• Limiter Added - Orgone output is now limited to prevent clipping in hosts applications
• Various minor bug fixes

Download the latest version from your files page.

The download pages have now also been improved and grouped by product, which will be less confusing when owning multiple products.

I'm pleased to announce a special version of Orgone Released on the August edition of Computer Music Magazine. This version is based on 50 samples and has more Features than Orgone Lite, for more information see the Computer Music Website.