Open Source projects

ZynAddSubFX

    ZynAddSubFX is an open source real-time synthesizer which produces high quality instruments. It is distributed in the most known GNU/Linux distributions and there exists a community around it. I started this project in 2002 and since few years ago other developers started to contribute.

    It has many features and it produces high quality sound, comparable to the expensive hardware. It is real-time, polyphonic and multi-timbral synthesizer powered by its three sound generation engines. The instruments are processed with multiple audio effects, like reverberation, echo, flanger, phaser. Due the "randomness" settings the instrument produced has "natural" quality. It is the first synthesizer which uses thePADsynth sound synthesis algorithm.

    It was released initially under the "GNU GPL version 2 (only)" and later the license has been changed to "GNU GPL version 2 or any later version".

    In 2005 it was presented at the internationalLinux Audio Conference at ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany.

    It was also presented in 2015 (and later) at another editions of the Linux Audio Conference:A Musician's View: Exploring common features of Yoshimi and ZynAddSubFX (byWill Godfrey).

Screenshot:

Availability:

• ZynAddSubFX homepage

  • Official repositories of GNU/Linux distributions: Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch Linux,  OpenSuse,  FreeBSDand many others.

Forks and other software based on it or which use portions of it:

• Yoshimi

  • Zyn 

• Linux MultiMedia Studio 

• Rackarrack

Other links related to ZynAddSubFX:

• •  Official forumof ZynAddSubFX

  •  KVROne Synth Challenge

  •  Computer Music Journal, 27:4, pp. 27–42, Winter 2003 (MIT press) -Computer Music and the Linux Operating System: A Report from the Front (Dave Phillips) 

  •  Linux Pro Magazine, March 2008 -Connecting a MIDI keyboard to your Linux system: Making Music 

  •  LinuxVilag, July 2003 -Szintetizátorok Linuxon  

  •  LinuxJournal, May 2003 -The Linux Softsynth Roundup

  •  Patches, Instruments for ZynAddSubFX

  •  Rosegarden Manual -Working with ZynAddSubFX

  •  RedHat Magazine -Professional audio with Fedora Core 6

  •  Video tutorials onYouTube

  •  On video sharing sites (likeYoutube,Vimeo) there are other thousands videos related to it

  •  The popular audio sharing site Soundcloud contains hundredsaudio tracks related to ZynAddSubFX

Paul's Extreme Sound Stretch

(a.k.a. Paulstretch)

Paulstretch  is a time-stretching of audio designed for extreme stretching. While the most time-stretching methods produces artifacts on extreme (like 10x) stretches, Paulstretch produces high quality sound even at 1000x stretches. The algorithm implemented in Paulstretch is invented by me and it is described in theAlgorithms page.

The main use of this program is to transform any sound into an ambient/relaxing music. It is widely known and appreciated by musicians, sound designers and enthusiasts.

Screenshot:

Availability:

• • Paulstretchhome page

  • Pythonimplementation

  • MacOSX port of Paulstretch

  • Repositories of many Linux distributions, likeUbuntu

Articles, videos and other links about Paulstretch:

• • Washington Post on 31 December 2011 (on-line and in print) - "A 44-minute disc that takes 4 months to play. It’s time stretching"

  • G4TV - Attack of the show - episode: "Paul's Extreme Sound Stretch: Play with Sound! Review"

  • National Public Radio - "How It Works: The Art Of Time-Stretching Bieber"

  • Eric Withacre's blog - "Virtual Choir 2.0 Slowed to 61 Minutes"

  • Paulstretch was used in theDredd 3D (IMDB) movie soundtrack by Paul Leonard-Morgan.

  • It was also used in the soundtrack of the movieOblivion (IMDB)

  • Another film which it's used (for the soundtrack) isEx Machina (IMDB,RollingStone )

  • It'sused in the soundtrack of the "Mr Robot" show

  • Computer Music (Autumn 2010) -"Get your stretch on" (in print)

  • Frieze Magazine - Issue 135 Music (in print andon-line)

  • Warren Burt journal - "More of a stretch"

  • Used in a song by Röyksopp & Robyn - "Monument"

  • Gawker - "How to Make Justin Bieber Sound Incredible: Slow Him Down 800 Percent"

  • Guardian - "How to make Rebecca Black sound halfway listenable"

  • Wired -Music Week: Create Other-Worldly Sounds from Your Music Collection andMonday Jam: Hear a Hip-Hop Beat Made With 14-Year-Old Software and a Justin Bieber Sample

  • Microscopic's blog - "PaulStretch: An Interview with Paul Nasca"

  • Zirconmusic - "Paul's Extreme Sound Stretch (Justin Bieber 800% Slowdown Software) Sound Design Tutorial w/ zircon"

  • WNYC - "Spinning on Air / Beatlestretch"

  • ClevverTV - "Justin Bieber's "U Smile" Slowed Down To 800%"

  • Lifehacker - "How to Create Your Own Slowed-Down Ambient Epics"

  • Alicious - "Stretch music tracks: awesome euphoric music with PaulStretch"

  • Know Your Meme - "800% Slower / Time Stretch"

  • thousands of videos on Youtube and other video sharing sites related to Paulstretch (search for "paulstretch", "Paul's extreme sound stretch", "800% slower", "10x slower", etc..)

  • huge amount of audio tracks related to it onSoundcloud

LDR Tonemapping

Inspired by a well known pseudo HDR technique for Photoshop, I designed a better method for making "fake HDR" effect. It converts a single image to a image where the local contrast is enhanced and in many cases the picture looks better than the original.

Example images:

This effect is highly recommended for creating time-lapse movies. Some movies with pictures processed using LDR tonemapping are available at vimeo:video 1,video 2,  video 3,video 4

Screenshot:

Availability:

• • LDR Tonemappinghomepage 

  • The effect was integrated intodigiKam, as "Local contrast" effect. An article about it is "Improve Photos with digiKam’s Local Contrast Tool"

HyperMammut

Few years ago I had an idea to convert an sound to image and vice-versa. The idea is to analyse the sound as a single block and synthesize the image based on the frequencies found in the sound. This process is reversible and makes possible to add image effects (like rotation, blurring) to audio or sound effects (like echo, reverberation) to images.

Screenshot:

Availability:

I implemented this idea in the C++ programHyperMammut .

The program was rewritten from scratchin Python .

Contributions to existing open source projects

• •   contributed toAudacity with several audio effects: Bass Boost, Phaser, Wah-wah and Paulstretch

  •   contributed toGNU Xaos with a small interface improvement

  •   implemented the LDR tonemapping algorithm forGREYC's Magic Image Converter