Madrona Labs Aalto 1.5 Now Available

via Madrona Labs:

"Hi all! This winter has seen a flurry of programming here at the labs. Aside from finishing up our new synthesizer, Kaivo, I have done some work fine tuning Aalto and making sure it plays nicely with recent operating systems and hosts.

Aalto 1.5 is out now. As always, you can get the release version by logging in and clicking “My Downloads,” and the demo at the Aalto product page. Version 1.5 has some major compatibility improvements for both Windows and Mac users. Performance should be dramatically improved on some Windows systems. I’ve improved the usability of the Patcher and dial UIs.

On Mac OS, if you have a Retina display, you are in for a treat. As always, you can smoothly scale Aalto to a wide range of sizes, or even zoom it to full screen. This new version has a new OpenGL-assisted renderer so graphics are amazingly sharp, at full Retina resolution, in compatible hosts. It may be “only a graphic thing” but I find this change means that using a tiny little Aalto window is now possible, which can really improve workflow on a laptop screen. (note: unfortunately Ableton Live does not yet support full-resolution rendering.)

Here’s the list of major changes in Aalto 1.5:
Fixed an issue that was slowing down Aalto dramatically on some Windows systems.
Fixed an issue requiring a runtime support pack on some Windows systems.
Improved latency through the patcher when running at large host buffer sizes.
Aalto now draws at full resolution on Macintosh Retina Display, in compatible hosts.
Aalto is now compatible with Soundplane version 1.0 and higher.
Fix mousewheel direction on Mac OS 10.7 and higher.
Accelerated drawing to the screen on Mac OS with OpenGL.
Optimized drawing scheduling to avoid glitches, especially in Logic.
User and factory presets now share the same location.
Improved ergonomics of patcher with larger handles and smoother graphics.
Fixed a drawing problem with bipolar dials.
Improved drag ergonomics for dials.
Kaivo is coming soon.

A quick rundown in case you haven’t heard: Kaivo is a software synthesizer that combines granular synthesis with physical modeling. Physical modeling is a way of making sounds using equations that model vibrating objects in real time, capable of generating sounds with an amazing liveliness, but often in forms that are difficult to control. Kaivo brings some of the latest academic research in this area to a very usable, patchable package. It wraps up two distinct kinds of synthesis that make surprising new sounds together. It’s going to be a great machine for new flavors of percussion and for making involving pads and textures like nothing else out there.

The Madrona Labs users group on Soundcloud has been very active this month with Kaivo tests as well as some nice new Aalto-related sounds and songs. Kaivo is in late beta (now closed as we sprint to the finish) and on track to release within a few weeks. I will announce a release date and price very soon.

Soundplane News

Soundplane owners: the 1.5.0 release of Aalto now works properly with the updated t3d format used in the Soundplane client 1.0. So you can now use Aalto with all of the new 1.0 zone features.

The Madrona Labs shop has a new layer of insulation on it, and as the days get longer I'm looking forward to getting back in there to work with some wood again. Very soon after Kaivo comes out, I will take orders for the next run of instruments. So the Soundplane run 3 schedule is now looking like: early March ordering, followed by late spring / early summer delivery. If you have any Soundplane questions in the meantime, please shoot me an email!

—Randy"