ERA, EST, and Gat’R have all received additional features and bug fixes. New bundled pricing is also announced for those interested in purchasing the complete SONICBYTES line.
ERA – the Pattern sequencer VSTi/MFX:
– New in 1.2:
* The GUI and interface logic have been completely redone. ERA now
shares all the interface features of EST, which means that each of
the rows in a pattern has its own settings for swing, gatetime,
transposition, humanization, etc. Pattern editing is easier, and
it now has the same 32-edit-deep “Undo” capability that EST has.
People using both products no longer have to learn two ways of
working. (Because of these changes, patterns saved using ver. 1.12
will not load into ver. 1.20, but it is possible to run the old
version alongside the new.)
* The sync-engine has been completely rewritten for better host
synchronization. The Autosync option is gone–ERA is always ready
to respond to both direct control AND to your host’s transport
controls.
* Every row in a pattern now has a complement of four LFOs (with
seven waveforms). That means 48 LFOs that can be routed out as CCs
to target synths as part of the pattern, or that can be routed
internally to the pattern’s own velocity, gatetime, delay, or even
to transpose steps. This opens up a whole world of rhythmic
modulation of the patterns, Gat’R-style!
* Two new arpeggio playmodes have been added. ERA can be a sequencer
or a live performance arpeggiator.
* A new Mono mode for pattern rows removes any MIDI overlaps for
those synths that require monophonic input.
* ERA can now load patterns and banks created in EST, and vice
versa. You can specify the location of a shared pattern directory,
in addition to a directory for ERA-specific presets.
-Bug fixes:
* Problem switching out of chained patterns.
* Problem with pattern end marker in front of start marker.
* Browser menus would include empty folders.
Gat’R – the pattern-based audio multi-effect:
– New in 1.1:
* Two new LFO waveforms have been added to the six LFOs. A pulse
with 25% duty cycle lets you isolate the first step in sequences
of four, for rhythmic modulation. A 33% duty cycle pulse does a
similar thing for triplet tempi. In addition, the plug-ins global
dry/wet control has been added to the list of possible LFO targets
(for a total of 30).
* 7fan has created a new skin, CELSHADING. In addition, a new
FLAT style has been added (with two examples).
* The built-in preset manager has a new capability. It is now
possible to move just the steps from one pattern to another
(leaving all settings such as Open/Close values, Filter Cutoff,
etc. unchanged). This lets you build up libraries of basic
sequences and drop them into complicated patches.
* Playmode has been made a global parameter. Switching from
threshold-triggered to host-synced now applies to the entire bank.
* A tutorial is now provided, and the number of presets is more than
100.
* Gat’R now comes with its own installer. (The gdiplus.dll is no
longer needed–support for transparent PNGs is now native.)
– Bug fixes:
* Crash problem in Cubase SX.
* No. of steps for filter sequence not updated.
* Problem when host-synced with some triplet tempi.
* Problem specifying MIDI-in channel for pattern recall.
EST – the sampling-groovebox VSTi:
– New in 1.2:
* Sample loading has been completely revamped. Next/Previous buttons
let you swap samples on the fly; or you can access your entire
library with a hierarchical load menu that opens with a right
mouse click.
* Once loaded, samples can be automatically sized to loop to 4, 8,
16, or 32-step patterns.
* Just like individual samples, complete instruments (samples plus
all their settings) can be quickly auditioned in your instrument
kit with a Load Next/Previous command.
* Instrument kits can now be reset with a single command.
* EST recognizes and loads patterns created in ERA.
* EST gets the same new sync engine that ERA gets. With chaining,
patterns can be virtually any length.
– Bug fixes:
* Problem switching out of chained patterns.
* Browser menus would include empty folders.
These updates are free to all customers. Demos are available.
Individual prices for the plug-ins are ERA eu 69, EST eu 69, Gat’R eu 44.