Alright folks, the long-anticipated release of the engine sound synthesizer has finally arrived:

I.C.E. Drive

Finally, a solution for those that need engine sfx without having to track down and record an original source.

From I.C.E. Drive’s Page:

I.C.E. Drive specializes in replicating the sounds of internal combustion engines through limited physical modelling. It can simulate engines of cylinder counts between 2 and 12, and with tweaking can simulate rotary and 2-stroke engine sounds. With simulated forced-induction as well as a virtual transmission that allows the simulation of “driving” the synth much like a real car in a straight line, as well as support for the wireless XBOX 360 Controller for operation, there is no better option on the market.

Special System Reqs:

It should be noted that I.C.E. Drive is a fairly cpu-heavy tool; on my build and test machine running an AMD Phenom II 965BE at 3.8GHz per core, the tool uses roughly between 35-50% of processor time.

Purchase:

The I.C.E. Drive plugin is available at a price of $150 USD, plus an additional 8.25% sales tax to Texas buyers, and comes serialized to the buyer.

Currently, Roberson Audio Synthesizers is only accepting payment through PayPal.

Given the fact that all transactions are processed individually rather than purely by computer, please allow one to two days maximum to receive the plugin through email.

*Click Here for I.C.E. Drive!*

I.C.E. Drive PE

Enjoy the sounds at a fraction of the cost:

I.C.E. Drive was first and foremost designed as a production tool, to assist in creating engine sound effects for movies, TV shows, games, etc. RAS recognizes, however, that not everyone that would like to enjoy this product is a producer or sound engineer. For that reason, I’ve created a special feature-limited edition that contains all 32 of the original presets and can be controlled the same way as the fully-featured version, but cannot be tweaked or automated beyond what is seen on the screen. Furthermore, the virtual transmission has been locked out of “S” (static RPM mode) to ensure that this instrument isn’t used for streamlined sample harvesting in the way that the full version is designed for.

This tool is ideal for car enthusiasts and casual users alike, those that would wish to hear their favorite engine sounds even though they may not own a vehicle with such an engine, or if they do own such an engine and simply want to enjoy the sound while away from the vehicle.

Special System Reqs:

It should be noted that I.C.E. Drive is a fairly cpu-heavy tool; on my build and test machine running an AMD Phenom II 965BE at 3.8GHz per core, the tool uses roughly between 35-50% of processor time.

Purchase:

Pricing of the Player Edition is 1/10th the cost of the fully-featured edition, or to be specific, $15 USD (+8.25% sales tax for Texas buyers), and comes serialized to the buyer.

Currently, Roberson Audio Synthesizers is only accepting payment through PayPal.

Given the fact that all transactions are processed individually rather than purely by computer, please allow one to two days maximum to receive the plugin through email.

Enjoy a little slice of automotive heaven right from your desktop! Order today!

*Click Here for I.C.E. Drive PE!*

Just a reminder everyone:

Tomorrow, April 27, the engine synth goes on sale to the public!

Pricing has been decided at:

$150 USD for the fully-featured production version

$15 USD for the feature-limited, non-production “Preset Edition” version

For those that haven’t been following on the RAS Facebook Page (hint: go there and follow RAS now!), here is a small collection of samples of the instrument so far:

In the meantime, I’ve created a small plugin that allows you to test compatibility of the wireless XBOX 360 controller on your system. In the event that not being able to use the controller with the engine synth would be a deal-breaker, this app will allow you to double-check before you purchase, just to be sure. It can be downloaded here.

Cheers!

-Chris

Another update to Prophanity has just been uploaded: Prophanity version 1.5 Factory Edition.

Only a few small changes have been made to the actual sound core, but this particular instance has been programmed with 32 of the 40 factory presets of the original Prophet 5. The only drawback is that unison functionality has been broken; now instead of unison mode triggering all voices at once, it enables per-voice detuning but only triggers one voice at a time. This can be used, however, to simulate in a limited fashion the potential for per-voice drift in older analog poly synths.

You can download this new version, as well as the older version 1.4, on the Prophanity page.

I hope everyone enjoys!

-Chris

After a couple of weeks of server downtime, Roberson Audio Synthesizers is finally back online.

Plans for the engine synthesizer to be available for purchase have been moved back to April 27th, next Saturday.

For the slim chance that there is another service outage for the site, please follow Roberson Audio Synthesizers on the business Facebook Page !

Sound demos of the engine synth are still soon to be posted pending some coding issues to work out with the site. Pricing will be announced as well.

More updates to come as RAS continues preparation for sales!

Roberson Audio Synthesizers has some exciting news:

As of April 15^th, I will be officially open for business!

That’s right, I’m branching out from doing freeware replica software to providing completely original intellectual properties, first of which being the much-talked-about engine sound synthesizer.

Pricing has yet to be decided, but currently plans are to offer a fully-tweakable version for those that want to customize and create sounds from scratch, and a trimmed-down “player” version that allows no tweakability but still fully behaves as the full version in terms of virtual engine operation and includes the same factory presets, essentially a little something for those that simply want the feeling of revving a hot rod V8 or supercar V12 straight from their desktop.

Another major product in the Roberson Audio Synthesizers pipeline is a new take on FM synthesis, offering the broad sonic palette inherent to FM synthesis with the ease of access of wavetable synthesis. The name has yet to be decided, but the majority of the sound path has been constructed and so far results are very promising!

Sound bytes to come soon for both instruments.

With all of this said, however, Roberson Audio Synthesizers has not completely abandoned freeware from its efforts: to commemorate RAS being officially established as a business (and not just a hobby), I will be uploading an updated version of Prophanity! This new upload will include 32 of the factory presets from the original Prophet 5 and will also include some minor changes to the sound circuit for just that touch more of the idealized analog sound. An update will be posted when this new version of the synth becomes available.

And on the note of updates, Roberson Audio Synthesizers now has a Facebook business page!

http://www.facebook.com/RobersonAudioSynthesizers

If you are a Facebook user and want a easier way to find out news about RAS or contact me for questions or comments on existing or upcoming products, follow the link and “like” the business Facebook page!

Furthermore, I will no longer be fielding questions or comments at the blu_gruv@lycos.com address; if you want to use email to contact me, you must write to robersonaudio@gmail.com . Any further inquiry emails to blu_gruv@lycos.com will be ignored. I’m sorry to have to tow such a hard line, but it is imperative that my communication traffic be shifted away from lycos and to a dedicated business email. Thanks for your cooperation.

I think that that about covers all the news for RAS for now.

To sum it up:

Be sure to “like” the Facebook page for quicker access to news and the ability to contact me!

New sound demos coming soon!

New Prophanity version coming soon!

Cheers to all, I hope my products have given you much pleasure in use so far and I hope my new ones will be able to continue to do so.

-Chris

Hello folks!

Well, good news, I’ve finally finished my Bachelor of Arts degree!

With that done, I now have more time to devote to the site and my instruments, at least until I find a more permanent career.

Now, onto business:

I’ve created pages for and provided download links to a couple of my old instruments, Mini-Vyn and TerVoxSyn. Of all my older creations that didn’t have pages here already, those two were the ones that I received the most mail about, asking where they could be downloaded and if they were still available.

As a refresher (or for those that have never seen them), Mini-Vyn was my first big virtual analog synth, and TerVoxSyn was my Theremin emulation. Both of them are excellent pieces, in my opinion. Let me know if there is any trouble downloading them.

I’ve also updated all of my info at KVR.com . If you are here after having visited there, welcome.  I hope to use that site as another avenue for promotion and troubleshooting if necessary.

Other projects:

-I’ve made some progress with my engine synth. At this point it really is a game of tidying things up, so making sure that the minutia is in order is taking quite a while.

-My hybrid analog/PCM pad synth is coming along nicely. Within that project, I am playing with some interesting ideas involving Soundfonts and real wavetable scanning.

That should just about do it for now. As I mentioned, I plan on devoting more time to my instrument work since I don’t have studies that need devotion any longer.

Enjoy the new (old) synths.

-Chris

Hello folks!

As you’ve no doubt noticed, I haven’t been able to post for quite a while. Something about finishing one’s education and trying to do a thesis eats a lot of time.

Anyways, I felt it was about time to post up a brief update:

–Currently, I’ve made continued progress on the engine synth:
1. I was able to isolate and remove most of a sort of “zipper” effect that came from ramping cylinder detonation pitch while changing global RPM.

2. I built a working manu-matic shifter setup.

3. ESPECIALLY FOR GAME DEVS: I’ve included a component that allows for static RPM and throttle/load settings at 2K, 4K, 6K, and 8K RPM, in an effort to streamline the recording of samples for sample maps in game usage. I’m considering writing a MIDI file to be included with the instrument as well that essentially allows one to hit record and press play and generate a sound clip that can be chopped and trimmed to fit each RPM band sample

All that I feel I have left to build is to integrate a braking system, reintegrate a turbo and supercharger, and design a UI and maybe aside from a few small tidying up tasks it will be commercially ready to go.

–I’ve completed to about 60-70% a synth that is a hybrid virtual analog and PCM playback engine, designed specifically for long, evolving, esoteric sounds. To be quite honest, I was inspired by the concepts of the FIZMO and by the works of youtube user BetterOffTed; if you happen to see this Ted, props to you, I could listen to some of those vid clips all day.

–On a related note, I’m currently in the market for a FIZMO. If you have one and are looking to sell or know someone that is, by all means, pass the info on.

–I have not really made any progress at all with my previously mentioned DX7 and CS-80 synths. Currently, I’ve fully-built the framework of a DX7, but it seems to be lacking some finer details that made that synth what it was, and I’m not sure if I’ll pick up that project any time soon. As for the CS-80, I began framing the instrument virtually, got about half-way through the first voice path, and was forced to drop it for other more pressing matters. Like the DX7, I’m not sure when or even if I’ll pick it up again. Sorry gang.

–Soon I hope to re-host my KVR competition entry from a few years back, the Mini-Vyn, on this site. I had a chance to sit and play around with about a month ago and I had forgotten just how absolutely wicked the filter in that thing can sound. As soon as I can set aside time and get it sorted, I’ll try to post it up.

Well folks, I think that about does it for now. I’ll try to be more regular with status updates in the future, but as I said, working on a thesis kinda absorbs a lot of your time.

-Chris

Hello folks!

Just posting to make you all aware of a new blog I’ve created, the Roberson Audio Synth Review!

This blog will be my dedicated venue to talk about new synth technology and new music creation technology that comes out without cluttering the news feed here at the Roberson Audio Synthesizers home page. This way, you can get a purely Roberson Audio-based feed for all your news about our instruments!

I hope to see you guys over there.

In a similar bit of news, I’ve finished the semester finally and am on to summer break, so I will be operating Roberson Audio on a much more full-on basis for at least the remainder of the summer. I unfortunately don’t have more news on instruments from Roberson Audio at the moment, but I have many plans that I want to have accomplished before the summer is over, so stay tuned and get in touch if there is anything RAS can do for you.

Cheers,
Chris Roberson

Hello folks,

Small post here to let everyone know all my synths have been updated!

Oddy-Free and Prophanity have been bumped up to version 1.4, and RA Mowg has been updated to version 1.2.
The main changes to all have been the filter implementation so that these instruments have a bigger sound to them without being untrue to the original instruments. As listed on their respective pages, it should be noted to USE RESONANCE ON THESE FILTERS WITH CAUTION. When pushed to the limits they will absolutely scream, and not necessarily in a good way. Different sample rates create different problems with this effect, generally observing this to be more common with higher sample rates. Consider yourself warned, and please play it safe for your ears’ and speakers’ sake.

In other RAS news,
The engine synth development is nearing an end. I’ve tested some of my more wild theories and ideas for it, and most of them have come back and proven either irrelevant or not capable of being implemented with the system it has now, so it’s time to design a GUI then test, test, test! I’m considering opening up a beta testing phase to a select few, if you are interested in taking part please let me know at my email or contact me on KVR via username Chris Roberson.

I’ve also been making huge leaps of progress on an instrument I’ve been wanting to make but never got far with in the past. This instrument is designed to create huge evolving atmospheres, and to some degree was inspired by the Ensoniq Fizmo. Unfortunately, for as absolutely stunning as it sounds already, it pretty much kills my 3.8GHz quad-core PhenomII processor when it runs all 8 of its voices, so much optimization/cutting back will be necessary. Nevertheless, this is turning into one amazing sounding synth, so progress will continue.

I have unofficial plans to create and release an emulation of the Yamaha CS-80 as well as the Yamaha DX-7. These will definitely be released free for the public like my three main existing plugins.

Also, I want to get it out there that Roberson Audio Synthesizers does plugins by request and commission. Rates are discussed on a per-plug basis, along with all the details and a decision of feasibility. If you have any requests, email me. Contact information can be found on the “About Us” page.

That’s all for now, keep checking back for more info and updates from Roberson Audio Synthesizers.

Cheers,
Chris Roberson

Hello everyone!

As you can see, Roberson Audio Synthesizers is pretty officially back up and running, after a shaky couple of years (and tripod dropping the ball on my old site.)

I want to give credit and major thanks to Michael, without him pretty much none of this could have panned out the way it did, and with his hard work the site looks incredible!

Now onto business.  :)

I have updated my main three freeware synths (RA Mowg, Oddy-Free, and Prophanity) to version 1.4 (I believe? Will check and post specifics when I upload new products.) Basic improvements include:

-Improved filters for all

-Improved EQ response for all (better tonal range, not as much pre-EQ done to signal

Just some basic stuff to bring them alive a bit more. Expect the updates to be available (with notification on this blog) in the very near future.

My next major product is steadily rolling along, and that project is my engine sound synthesizer!

At the current time, it supports even numbered cylinder count engines between 4 and 12 cylinders, with 3 timing maps per count and the option to be an inline- or v/boxer-oriented layout. Max effective RPM has been tweaked to accommodate somewhere in the league of up to 22-24K RPMs, making even things like sport bikes and F1 engines a possibility. It has six speeds built in for a limited functionality gearbox, therefore can somewhat simulate acceleration characteristics. The core is based on single-sample detonation .WAVs, so any ‘pop’ sound you have can be made into an engine basically. Adjustments to detonation volume and exhaust tone can be made as well, and there is a pseudo-rev-limiter in place. There was a simulated supercharger and turbocharger model in place, but it’s proving to be more than what is necessary for the time being, so focus is being put back on the main engine right now. There is even an adjustable parameter to simulate the effects of an incredibly large cam profile, allowing for ‘lope’ in the idle. At the current time, there will be two versions: one that focuses on MIDI for control, and one that has full support for Logitech G25 pedals and shifter.

All in all, I feel GREAT about this synth, but this one once released will not fall under my typical freeware. Given the complex nature and the immense amount of time and work invested, I feel it necessary to charge a fee for a fully-featured version. That fee has yet to be decided though.

I look forward to creating and bringing to the public even more great synths, and it’s a pleasure to finally have a real we presence again.

Take care folks,

Chris Roberson

Roberson Audio Synthesizers