Zynaptiq Pitchmap

PITCHMAP is the world's first and only plug-in that allows processing the pitch of individual sounds within mixed signals in real-time.

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PITCHMAP is the world’s first and only plug-in that allows processing the pitch of individual sounds within mixed signals in real-time. It lets you change the melodies and harmonies of any recording by simply playing your own on a MIDI keyboard or creating a pitch map using our stream-lined GUI, and optionally corrects any tuning issues at the same time. As if that weren’t enough, PITCHMAP provides functions to remove or extract individual sounds from a mix, and can apply advanced synthesizer-like sound transformations to your audio. In short, it is an inspiring musical instrument, a precision corrective tool and the only processor that literally lets you shape music with your hands.

PITCHMAP has so many uses we haven’t yet discovered all of them ourselves. Here’s a couple of the applications we’re aware of:

• Engineers can correct tuning accuracies in mixed recordings
• Composers can try different harmonies for their works in an immediate, hassle-free and inspiring manner
• Music producers that work with sampled material can now sculpt the music inside the samples as if they were clay in the hands of a potter
• DJs can adapt the key/scale of their songs to fit into a seamless set
• Sound designers get a bunch of unique new ways of creating the sounds that make the films and games of today so immersive
• Mash-Up artists and Re-Mixers now spend minutes instead of hours (or days) adapting the components they use to fit each other
• Rapid song/score prototyping using existing recordings that can be transformed to be something new on-the-fly
• Mix element suppression/isolation under MIDI control
• Creating unique synthesizer sounds based on a live input
• Create instant remixes and professional accompaniment tracks directly from your favorite songs or play list

MAP That Pitch
Based on our Mixed-Signal Audio Processing technology (MAP), PITCHMAP internally de-mixes the input signal into individual sounds, including their harmonics and transients. This technique is quite literally rocket science, and is done using perceptive modeling and pattern recognition techniques also used in artificial intelligence applications. The separated sounds can then be individually tuning-corrected and mapped to other pitches, a process we call Pitch Mapping. MAP also enables PITCHMAP’s  simple-to-use, yet very effective functions for suppressing or isolating mix elements. In real-time, of course.

Natural
Our MAP process is based on a model of the human perceptive system, including the cochlea and the brain region responsible for interpreting its data. Hence our process is inherently very natural sounding with correct settings and reasonable amounts of pitch modification. The human voice, however, has a very specific sonic topology that is very different from any musical instrument, and human hearing is trained to detect even the most subtle sonic variations in a voice. As a result, processing voice simultaneously with other instruments has been a challenge in the past. To accommodate for this, we’ve added an extra layer of intelligence that recognizes voice elements and processes them separately. We’ve called this Natural Mode.

Electric & Creative
Certain pitch correction algorithm artifacts have become quite popular. We’ve got those, too, if you want them. But our MAP process has more sonic options than that.  We’ve added parameters called Purify and Electrify that allow making your sound more or less synthetic sounding, and threw in a polyphonic Portamento option named Glide, for good measure. In combination with the live MIDI function, these parameters can basically turn PITCHMAP into a unique synthesizer allowing some very far out sound design.

No PhD Required
Although the DSP code itself is insanely complex, the process of Mapping Pitch is as simple as playing some notes on a MIDI keyboard or dragging sliders on our super-slick GUI to assign source pitches to target pitches. Or you can let your computer do the pitch mapping by using dedicated macro controls to go from one key/scale to another with just a couple of clicks. Changing pitches in a mixed signal has never been so intuitive and musical. Instant correction of tuning issues, straight-forward re-harmonisation or intricate restructuring of a composition’s pitches… the choice is yours, PITCHMAP does the rest.

Lightning Fast
To increase workflow efficiency even more, we’ve provided comprehensive Snapshot functionality. 8 Snapshot slots let you compare multiple settings, adapt the process to different parts of a recording individually and create parameter automation without a headache. Summed up, PITCHMAP gives you near-instant results while at the same time giving you access to every little detail.

Specifications
Format: PITCHMAP is initially available as stereo AU (AudioUnits) Plug-In for Mac OSX 10.5.8 or newer. 64bit operation is fully supported. VST and AAX formats for both Mac and Windows PC are planned for release shortly – stay tuned!

System Requirements
• Apple Mac computer
• OSX 10.5.8 or newer
• Intel CPU with at least 2 Cores
• Apple AU (AudioUnits) compatible Host software
• Internet Connection for Software Activation

Please note:
• AudioUnits (AU) is a plug-in format by Apple, Inc, and is not related to Avid AudioSuite (AS), RTAS/AAX or Steinberg VST, so this plug-in will currently not work in ProTools, Cubase, Nuendo and other hosts that do not support the AudioUnits format. We will be releasing AAX and VST versions later this year.
• MIDI functionality depends on the implementation of the Host software.
• PITCHMAP uses a lot of CPU! Please download the trial version to see whether your DAW has sufficient resources to use PITCHMAP effectively

FAQ: PITCHMAP
CPU Load Optimisation
PITCHMAP does some very complex mathematics, and thus uses a considerable amount of CPU processing time. Here are a couple of suggestions how you can avoid CPU overloads:
• Try increasing buffer sizes in your host software to their largest values, then gradually bring them back down until you find a suitable balance between latency and CPU load. In Logic Pro, this also includes the “Process Buffer range” parameter.
• Try closing the GUI of any plug-in that you don’t currently need to have visual feedback on.
• Quit any open applications that are not needed.
• In Logic Pro, all processes that are fed by a live source are processed on one CPU core. When using PITCHMAP under MIDI control, this means that all down-stream plug-ins are run on the same core as PITCHMAP whenever its software instrument track is selected and the record enable switch is lit. Selecting a different track in the arrange, or un-setting the record enable button allows CPU load to be spread out across all available cores, so this may help reduce CPU load.
• Setting Electrify very low causes a higher CPU load due to more sounds being recognized, which causes the Display to render more symbols. Keep the value of Electrify around 50% if you don’t explicitly use it for fine-tuning your sound.

Using PITCHMAP in Logic Pro, I’m getting the error message “Error while trying to synchronize Audio and MIDI”…what is wrong?
This indicates a CPU overload. In some cases, Logic does not report a CPU overload as expected, but throws this error message instead. There’s nothing wrong, you’re just overloading one CPU core. See the FAQ article “CPU Load Optimisation” for hints on which PITCHMAP and/or host settings can be modified to avoid getting CPU overloads.

What is your update policy?
Bug-fixes and OS compatibility updates are always free. We may add additional features or optimize existing ones in a free update. Payed updates will always introduce significant new features.

If I buy PITCHMAP now, will there be extra charges for the VST/AAX/Windows versions once they become available?
No. Your PITCHMAP license is valid for any platform that we support in the future. We will never make you pay twice for the same thing.

PITCHMAP is a real-time plug-in… does that mean “no latency”?
No. When we say “real-time”, we mean that you do not have to do any off-line analysis, rendering or recording into a new file or plug-in buffer prior to editing pitches. PITCHMAP can be inserted into a live audio stream but does use a stream buffer, which introduces some latency. In a studio setting, this is compensated for on playback by the host.

How do I control PITCHMAP using MIDI in Logic Pro 9.x?
To use PITCHMAP under MIDI control in Logic Pro, first insert it into the instrument slot of a software instrument track object. You will find PITCHMAP in the category “AU MIDI-controlled Effects”. Then route the audio track you wish to press into the side-chain input of the PITCHMAP plug-in. Done.

Is PITCHMAP a pitch-shifter?
No. PITCHMAP de-mixes your signal into individual pitches and allows you to correct their tuning and map them to new pitches individually. Non-tonal mix components such as drums are excluded from the processing. By mapping all pitches up or down by the same amount, you will effectively be pitch-shifting (which sounds great, by the way), BUT that is only one of the options that PITCHMAP gives you.

Can PITCHMAP be used as Guitar-To-MIDI solution?
Currently: no. PITCHMAP comes as AudioUnits (AU) plug-in, and the AU standard does not allow sending MIDI from an effects plug-in to the host software. Also, as PITCHMAP does not only detect separate notes, but actually de-mixes them as well (which is a mathematically very complex process), the processing buffer induces a latency which, while perfectly OK for studio work, is probably too long for guitar-to-MIDI applications.

How is PITCHMAP different to other pitch correction software?
PITCHMAP combines polyphonic capability with real-time operation and automatic correction and mapping, and allows for real-time MIDI control over the polyphonic pitch grid. Other pitch correction solutions are either real-time and automatic, but not capable of polyphonic operation, or they allow manual polyphonic processing but require recording into a file/buffer and/or offline analysis of the signal prior to processing. Also, PITCHMAP uses a proprietary technology called MAP that works in an entirely different way than other software. In effect, these differences result in a significant change in workflow — you can instantly try different chords, manipulate melodies and otherwise manipulate the pitch aspect of a mixed recording while it is playing. Try it, you’ll be amazed.

How does PITCHMAP work?
PITCHMAP uses our MAP technology to de-mix your signal into the sounds that make it up, including their harmonics, transients and noise components. The separated sounds can then be individually processed, tuning-corrected and mapped to other pitches.
MAP is based on artificial intelligence technology that models the human auditory system.

Is there a Microsoft Windows compatible version of PITCHMAP?
No, not at this point. PITCHMAP currently comes as Apple AudioUnits (AU) Plug-In only, which requires an Apple Mac computer based on Intel architecture and Mac OS X 10.6+. We will release Windows-compatible VST and AAX versions later this year.

Does PITCHMAP work in Steinberg Cubase/Nuendo?
No, not at this point. PITCHMAP currently comes as Apple AudioUnits (AU) Plug-In only. Cubase and Nuendo do not use this format, they use the VST format. We will release a VST version of PITCHMAP later this year.

Does PITCHMAP work in Avid ProTools?
No, not at this point. PITCHMAP currently comes as Apple AudioUnits (AU) Plug-In only. ProTools does not use this format, it uses RTAS, AudioSuite (AS), TDM or AAX formats. We will release an AAX version of PITCHMAP later this year.

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