Soundpaint 2.0’s Hyper Acoustic Legato could be a big step for realistic sampled instruments
Soundpaint says hyper acoustics are to audio what photorealistic renders are to visual art.
Image: Soundpaint
Soundpaint’s 2.0 update introduces Hyper Acoustic Legato (HAL), which the company deems its “biggest leap” so far in sample technology and realism – and all this while the engine itself remains a free download.
HAL is presented as a new approach to polyphonic legato on virtual instruments; it aims to achieve greater realism with orchestral tones such as choir, brass and strings. Audio artefacts, crossfading and phase issues – these are suggested to break the illusion on some sample-based polyphonic virtual instruments, and it’s what Soundpaint aims to correct with using HAL.
It seems Soundpaint is digging into the timbral qualities of such instruments to do so. Dynamic Sustains, one of the new features, rehashes the brand’s take on velocity by again generating 127 layers – this time for the mod wheel – to give you a wide variety of dynamic held notes.
How these notes move between one another is handled through a form of wave morphing too, rather than crossfading. This approach is said to curb phase issues and lends greater realism to intimate arrangements, for example, where the timbre of the instrument drives how melody and counterpoint weave unto one another.
Then there are the larger configurations – you can design custom ensembles and perform them within the engine with the same realistic output as individual instruments.
It all sounds rather complex, but Soundpaint shows off HAL in a 30-minute demo, which you can see and hear below:
You can access the HAL instruments with the Legato rack from within Soundpaint. Soundpaint released in 2021 as a free engine. Today, almost 100 deeply modelled instruments are available to buy.
Soundpaint 2.0 also supports all major DAW editions, including AAX for Pro Tools, AU for Mac, VST 2 and VST 3 for PC and standalone. We’re not too sure about support for MacOS Ventura just yet though.
Learn more at soundpaint.com
