Harmor Image Line
Kathleen Denson
We're always carrying on about how we'd like tosee developers exploring new territory, and while additive synthesis ain't exactly on the bleeding edge, it's a darned sight more futuristic than yet another analogue retread.
The company even gave us a taste of the new offering in the form ofits stripped-down, proof-of-concept sibling, Harmless. If that one knocked you out, then this will blow you away. In many ways, Harmor is a return to form for Image-Line.
The developer positions Harmor as an 'additive/subtractive' synthesiser, but there's no doubt that the emphasis is on the former. Even typically subtractive elements like the filter are achieved via additive technology.
Yes, some things will be familiar. There are, for instance, selectable oscillator waveforms - a pair per 'Timbre' - that can be mixed as you see fit. However, those waveforms are generated by additive means, and displayed in the Env window.
You can draw directly in this window and import single-cycle waves, audio files or images to create your own waveforms. Up to 520 partials may be present in any waveform. It should be noted that each patch can consist of two complete and individual patches that are stacked or dynamically mixed.
The former simply shifts the positions of the partials, making them inharmonic; while the latter replicates and transposes harmonics. Both have the effect of thickening the sound in some way, or creating dissonant timbres.
Harmor sports a dual-filter configuration thatincludes allof the normal goodies. You canchoose from the usual filter mode suspects, with the addition ofCustom Shapes; these are defined inthe ENV(elope) display and are drawn in just like the additive waves. This is seriously powerful stuff!
The filters are joined by Phaser and Pluck sections. The latter deserves special mention: it functions as a fast-decay low-pass filter envelope to simulate plucked strings. Setting short times garners sounds similar to synth legend Don Buchla's low-pass gate, making it easy to get your bongo on, if you are so inclined.
These are the massive multistage envelopes also seen on Image-Line's Sytrus, and they can be applied to virtually any parameter that matters. They are powerful enough that they double as sequencer and arpeggiator as well as a standard envelope. As you'd expect, stages can be locked to project tempo.
Of special note is Harmor's ability to analyse audio and create an envelope based onthat analysis. This seems an obvious task for an additive resynthesiser, and we're glad to see it taking its place here.
There is an EQ and a nifty visual feedback panel that can help get an idea of what's going on under the hood, too. There's also an awesome Strum function that does what its name suggests but turns out to be excellent for wind-chimes and other clangorous patches as well.
There can be few among us who haven't heard the story of how IDM hero Richard D James converted a pic of his own mug into a spooky, spectral sonogram for the classic Aphex Twin track Windowpane. Image-Line itself has trodden this path before, and with good results.
As with audio files, the image file is scanned from left-to-right when you play and hold a note. You can control the speed, mix, loop and position in time. The Frequency Scale parameter enables you to determine how much pixel brightness affects the pitch.
Of course, an instrument of this complexity begs one to dig into the parameters and do one's own thing. Sound designers and all other preset-shunners will find a lifetime's worth ofinspiration, even if it does take a bit of head-scratching to figure out at first.
And that's just it. Image-Line has taken a different approach to the additive hybrid. Normally, developers cludge subtractive elements onto an additive synth to make it easier to use. Not so, Image-Line, which means Harmor can be a bit intimidating on first blush.
Harmor is the flagship VST synth for Image-line, the same people who brought us FL studio DAW. For this review, I had the chance to play with the synth and learn a whole lot about sound design in the process. Early on one thing became very clear, Harmor is a beast with an immense amount of sound design capabilities. Resulting in its powerful soundscapes.
Harmor is an additive synth, meaning that the sounds are built up from a sum of sine waves. The default setting is a saw wave, which consists of every harmonic frequency smashed together. Harmor produces every harmonic individually, up to 516 instances of them per part (A/B), which are visualized on the right panel in the visualizer.
The ADV tab lets you determine the order of both the additive/subtractive modules and the FX modules. Some of the other features are involved in the amount of CPU you permit Harmor to use to produce its sounds, you can lower the image resynthesis quality and lower the live playback quality without affecting the rendered audio output.
This is where the harmonics are initially synthesized, the following modules will influence how this one creates which Harmonics, when and how to produce their frequencies. The sound produced in the image section will also pass through the following modules and will be discussed after.
You can either have them function in parallel or in series. It has a logical envelope knob and frequency cut-off knob. Since any parameter can be customized in the line editor you can easily create your own custom shapes.
Keyboard tracking: When enabled the cut-off will follow your keyboard notes and it makes sure that there are an equal amount of harmonics for each tone. Going above 100% will add or decrease (inverse) the amount of harmonics, another tool to add flavour to your sounds.
In traditional subtractive filters, resonance is the product of the set cut-off. In Harmor it is actually an additional filter, following the cut-off frequency of the main filter to emulate the traditional effect. Again this can be customized by a variety of knobs.
And once again, you can customise these effects for the individual harmonics in the line editor of the harmonic unison pitch, giving you ultimate control. This means that you can detune the high end of your sound without detuning the low end.
But why stop there, lets dive even deeper into these individual modulations. In Harmor you can use the line editor to have each harmonic in the unisons be uniquely affected by most modulators, such as the filter resonance with, or any other editable effect.
The spectrum view unfortunately only shows one voice (the compilation of all the harmonics of that particular one), instead of the combination of all possible nine variations, this is probably due to the insane complexity that these nine combined would represent.
Once again you can make a custom shape, which will determine the shape of the applied filter of the phaser. So now you can make phasing comb filters, neat! Putting it on Freq mode will make it sound even more alien.
And of course you can create a custom blur mask, to create different attack and release times for different frequencies. With blur enabled you can use the pluck shape to determine the amount of the blur effect over the frequency range. This can also be used to make some reverb-like effects.
And now some of the weirder modules, prism. It will spread the harmonics around based on the set values. The great thing is the customizable wave editor, where you can go crazy with the effect. The prism will shift the harmonics accordingly to the set graph.
Since you play the image like a set of harmonic, the sound can be edited the same way. You can also insert actual pictures and play them, which might sound like something cool, or you can embed your logo into sound, which looks cooler than it sounds with my logo.
The effects actually process the audio coming out of Harmor instead of the synthesized audio, making these the only actual subtractive modules. All the basic FX are there: distortion, chorus, delay, reverb, and compression.
Harmor is perfect for sound designers to create any soundscape they can imagine since nearly everything is customizable. The amazing stock presets, and their diversity will convince you of the synths strong sounding capabilities.
93ddb68554