Zynaptiq has just announced Pitchmap::Colors and Orange Vocoder. The first has our vote already, as it has Sick, Insane and WTF modes and chipmunk sounds. 'WTF?' you may very well ask.
Aside from the headline-grabbing names for its modes, Zynaptiq's Pitchmap::Colors does sound like a genuinely useful tool. It can transform any audio to fit the pitch of your song with ease, but can also be used for creative sound design.
The thinking is, we guess, that you create a wild and wonderful sound with it, but you needn't worry that it won't fit in with your music.
The pitching part of Pitchmap::Colors works by splitting your audio into sounds based on pitch and then matching it with the keyboard pitch on the Pitchmap::Colors screen (or external MIDI keyboard). You simply choose a key or play a chord and the software 'shapes the tonality of your audio' i.e. matches its pitched elements to your music.
The three modes you switch between dictate how the processing will work, with Sick sounding more natural, Insane anything but natural, and WTF described as 'mesmerisingly electric'. ('WTF' stands for 'Warp Those Frequencies', by the way, not for what you thought it did.)
As well as the pitch-mapping, the plugin also features scale-shifting, advanced formant processing and transient bypass features, plus a couple of filters. Scale-shifting is a pitch-sweeping effect while the formant processor will give you vocal effects including 'huge demon voices to hyperactive chipmunks'.
Zynaptiq's second plugin – and there is a reason we've included both in one story – is Orange Vocoder Nano, a cut-down version of the company's Orange Vocoder One. This features four vocoder algorithms, a formant shifter and a mono synth with a sawtooth oscillator. If nothing else, it does prove that Zynaptiq likes to mix and match its plugins with seemingly disparate modules coming together to great effect.
And the reason we included both on this story? Well, you can currently get Orange Vocoder for free with Pitchmap::Colors for €109/$99.
More info at the Zynaptiq website.
