Buffer Synth Alpha

by ndc Plugs (http://www.niallmoody.com/ndcplugs)

Version : 1.22

Author : Niall Moody (niallmoody@yahoo.co.uk)

Format(s) : Windows VST

Created with : C++

CPU Usage : 0.01% (tested on a P4 2.8GHz)

Description :

This plugin reads audio into a buffer, and when you give it a MIDI note, it will play back the contents of that buffer at the pitch of the note you gave it. Checking the Freeze Buffer parameter means that the buffer will not be updated while you hold the MIDI note (will give the familiar 'stuck buffer' effect). Buffer Size is measured in samples, and can give interesting results when you alter it. Checking 'Only Output When Frozen' means the plugin will not let any sound through until you feed it a MIDI note. You really need a MIDI keyboard to get the best out of this plugin. The Nice parameter smooths out the output by altering how audio is read into the buffer and using linear interpolation (if you want to use this plugin to pitch-shift sounds, this'll give you the best results - see the 'For Pitch-Shifting' preset).

By the way, this is the final release (barring bug fixes) of this plugin (it is not an 'alpha' release as such) - if you want to know the reasoning behind the name, see http://www.niallmoody.com/ndcplugs/buffersynthalpha.htm.

MIDI CCs :

(MIDI notes trigger the effect, and set the speed the buffer is played back at)

Oh, and it should also respond to MIDI program change messages.

Credits :

VST is a trademark of Steinberg Media Technologies AG.

Installation :

Copy the BufferSynthAlpha.dll file into your vst plugins directory.

Hosts tested on :

Tracktion v1.5.1.16

Version History :

v1.22 – Fixed stupid memory leak.

v1.21 – MIDI handling actually works now (doh!).

v1.20 – Upgraded MIDI handling (now takes delta position into account).

V1.10 – Added a 'Nice' parameter, Buffer Size now responds to the Modulation Wheel, smoothed out the (amplitude) transition between Note Off and Note On when using 'Only Output When Frozen'.

v1.00 – First public release.

License :

This plugin is freeware.

This means you can copy it, give it to your friends, reverse-engineer it, and use it in whatever way you like, basically. It would be cool if you let us know if you ever have a number 1 using it though :) Oh, and we'd prefer if you didn't change the graphics and try and pass it off as your own work...

The one thing you CANNOT do is sell it for profit - we do this for our own pleasure and don't make any money from it, so neither should you. If you want to include it on a magazine cover CD or with a hardware VST box (e.g. Plugzilla etc.) though, that's fine, just let us know first.

Also, we don't take any responsibility for any damage it might cause your system, though if you let us know about any problems you have, we'll do our best to rectify them (see e-mail address above).