IrcamLab News

Today, Ircam Lab proudly announce the availability of The Snail on the Windows OS platform.

Over a year ago a revolutionary new standalone tuner software called The Snail was released on the Macintosh platform by Ircam Lab, it set new standards in this software category with its flexibility, its wide range of uses, and its unusual interface.

This attractive Tuner/Analyser software with its user-friendly visual interface offers a new and extremely accurate way of tuning and analyzing instruments. It also breaks new ground with its abilty to show any intonation issues, phase discrepancies and actually visually represent the music and sounds in a way that helps anyone improve their listening and recognition of “in-tune".

It is called "The Snail" due to it's cool spiral interface that represents every note from Bb-1 to G9 in concentric fashion from the highest to the lowest audible frequencies.

The Snail is a very high-precision frequency-domain analyzer which delivers an easy to understand representation of sounds, based on the scales and notes aligned in spectrally active zones. Resulting from numerous years of research and development, this product is based on a recent patented technology, conceived at the laboratory of Science and Technology of Music and Sound IRCAM-CNRS-UPMC based in Paris, France.

View the product page here for more information... IRCAM Lab 'The Snail'.

To celebrate this release of the Windows version, The Snail will be on special promo at the introductory Price of $49 (List price $99) until March 31st, 2017.

The Snail Compatibility:

Windows (XP and above) : Standalone, AAX, VST (32/64-bit)
Mac (OS X 10.6.8 and above) : Standalone, AAX, AU, VST (32/64-bit)

The Snail is distributed by Plugivery and is available at select reputable pro audio dealers worldwide.

There is a new version of The Snail!

The new 1.2.8 version from Ircam corrects some GUI details to make the SNAIL even easier to use. The incorrect initialization of the intensity color mode has been fixed, and a GUI Plugin UI animation getting stuck occasionally on project reloading.

The exciting news is there is a new function where you can click on the new icon which resembles a snowflake and 'freeze the display' so you can easily see how far or close you are in your tuning of an instrument or pre-recorded track.

So, you will no longer have to play the same note over and over. Or loop a section of music to be able to see how far it is from the tuning you want.

Following the successful launch of The Snail, with input from the QA team and customer feedback, a redraft of the manual for furthered clarity, the IRCAMLab developers have been at work implementing a series of new features that will surely enhance workflow and the usefulness of The Snail, and highlight it as the premier tuning analysis software and plug-in avaiable on the market! With lots more features planned for a posed version 2 in the not too distant future, here are the details for this 1.2.4 current update...

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The Snail [1.2.4] What’s New Guide

IMPORTANT!

Users shall need to recreate their presets for this new version. Older presets are not compatible and do not recall correctly. Manually copy your settings for each parameter to a text file and then proceed to recreate them in the new version.

Product Name Change

• The product name has changed to The Snail; previously Snail Analyser.

[ Standalone ] Active Input

• Input is now active by default when you launch the application. It has a preset fade-in to avoid pops/clicks/feedback.

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Fixes

• Presets do not recall as expected.?
• Clicking 'Revert To Default' and then back to a preset failed to reload preset.?
• Note names ("Flats") are cut off in Zoomed Tuner view.
• Recompile for El Capitan.
• AU Validation across Mac OS's and DAW's.

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Interface Update

MIDI Note Octaves Have Changed

• C4 is now MIDI note 60 (middle C). Previously it was C3. DAW’s have different octave numberings, we thought this the best.

Hz Information Display

• In Snail, Zoomed Tuner and Sonogram views you will now see the Hz information display box in the top right-hand corner. As you center your mouse pointer on a note/thick blue line, you will see a green spot to indicate you are on that note. If you move away from the center you will see either a up or down arrow to indicate you can sharp ? or flat ?.

  A reference chart for note frequencies and their MIDI note names is avaialble in the manual.

  All views (Sonogram, Snail, Tuner) are proportionate to and displayed in a logarithmic scale. This means, as you move the mouse pointer to higher notes or octaves the scale is reduced. If you want finer resolution view of the frequencies please adjust the window size of The Snail interface or utilise the Zoomed Tuner view to visualise a 7 note span (of which you can select by entering Tuner mode, turning off Auto-Detect and clicking on the thick blue line for the center note you desire and just above the octave break lines for the note in the Snail view).

Key Commands

• In standalone, you can now press the “d” key to turn on/off Auto-Detect.

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Settings Panel Update

The Grid Range Has Changed (Respective of the MIDI Note update)

• Bb-1 to G9

Cut Off Frequency Has Been Renamed

• Cut Off Frequency is now called “Frequency Tracking”. This parameter sets a +/- range for frequency analysis. For precise tuning analysis, the optimum setting is 2Hz. If you have a sound however with lots of modulation (pitch deviation) happening, raising the frequency setting in conjunction with the Window Size will allow smoother analysis, particularly for low frequencies.

Colour Mode Order

• The Colour Modes have been reorganised to match the same as the left-hand panel.

Today we are proud to announce the launch of our new revolutionary product, "The Snail"

The Snail is a Tuner, but one that will give a whole new insight into what tuning is all about.

Ever had a guitar that never seems in tune as you move up the fretboard or has a resonance that you found was a problem or was a thing that you loved about it ? Well, now you will be able to see it !

The Snail shows you the fundamental and all the associated resonances and harmonics of any instrument or sound in an easy to see graphic display.

Have you ever wondered what scale a certain song was in? The Snail will show you all the notes and harmonics during playback and their intensities so you can figure out what key it is played in.

And it has the most sophisticated tuner on the market that shows you how close you are to ‘Absolute Tuning’ by slowing down and changing colour until you hit the exact pitch and frequency you need.

It will without a doubt give your ears a training that will open them and educate them to how to tune for your style of playing.

You will be able to find out what pitch any instrument or percussion is set at and help you to ‘fine-tune’ it to your needs. Its incredible analysis engine can even show you the composition of the harmonics of your own voice.

No song or instrument will be able to hide its chromatic makeup from you any longer. The Snail will give you an new insight into the personal secrets of every sound and musical composition that exists.

So if you want to be absolutely in tune, The Snail is the way to do it !

The Snail is available immediately from your preferred dealer.

Today we are very proud to announce the availability of our IRCAM Lab “TS” software (v1.0 for Mac OS X). The PC version will be available in the coming weeks at no extra cost !

“TS” is the first application that we launched under the brandname “IRCAM Lab” which Plugivery.com has been working very closely as an active partner with Ircam.

IRCAM Lab TS will be sold at the suggested retail price (MSRP) of $249. The good news is that we have decided to launch “TS” at the INTRODUCTORY price of ONLY $99.

A fully functional 15 day demo version is available from our official distributor’s website. This is your opportunity to discover all the power of this software that will transform everything you give it.

“TS” stands for “Transpose/Stretching”. It is the result of years of research and development based on our phase vocoder engine (SuperVP) that powers our flagship application “AudioSculpt”.

“TS” is a incredibly impressive time stretch, pitch shifter, remix, formant, noise tweaker that will unleash your creativity with its powerful algorithms. “TS” is a powerful stand alone application that revolutionizes the way audio signal can be processed. Unlike other time stretching applications, “TS” uses Ircam’s advanced phase vocoder engine (SuperVP) ready to satisfy the most demanding needs of audio professionals.

IRCAM’s phase vocoder technology provides high-quality sound processing in real-time and offers amazing results even when used to transpose or stretch audio waveforms radically. It is able to transpose and/or pitch a WAV or AIFF audio file with extremely accurate results and minimal artifacts making it possible to process professional recordings with transparent results. A life saver for audio engineers and broadcast technicians !

But “TS” is much more than a simple time shifting tool. the application can transform an audio signal at extreme settings making it into a totally new sound! Simply drag a WAV or AIFF file into “TS” and stretch it down by 100%. That will give you a quick idea of how powerful it is. Now use the formant, transient, sinus or noise sliders to sculpt your sound and create totally original audio textures. Sound designers, DJ’s and musicians will be amazed by the unlimited possibilities offered by “TS” to create totally new sounds. From a basic drum loop to pianos, voices or any other audio signal, “TS” can make something totally wild and original out of it…

IRCAM Lab “TS” also includes real time Midi remote control and a live editing export feature. This enables users to export totally original sounds created in “TS” as easily as clicking the mouse. A DJ’s dream come true!

TRY it, transform your sounds, try new tempos, new pitches, it is all possible with a fidelity you won’t believe!

An official IRCAM Lab forum has also been created at Plugivery for you to post pre sales questions, testimonials, user feedback, bug reports, etc.