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Q v1.5 is out! The C++ audio DSP library gains full MIDI 2.0 (tested with the MIDI 2.0 Workbench, even as a USB device), QPlug for building CLAP, VST3 and AU plugins with an Elements GUI, FM and VA synthesis, and complete docs. MIT licensed.
https://github.com/cycfi/q
I’m pleased to announce that we are now ready to start the third production batch. Thor MKIII is now officially available for preorders. This batch will be limited to 18 units.
Thor is a concept guitar with infinite multichannel sustain and multichannel outputs; one pickup for each string. This opens up an entirely new world of possibilities, including extensive per-string audio processing and synthesis.
My heartfelt ruminations on this day and age of AI and the path to Ascend. Let me take you with me on this final stretch. I’ve made the necessary preparations and everything is in place through the years, prepared and ready to go. This will be an exciting path. Promise.
Ascend is the software that completes the full circle. It’s planned to be a collection of software plugins and possibly hardware implementations (more on that later). This is where the real action takes place. It lets the guitar player ascend to the highest level of expressivity, and as a designer, I can express my creativity to the fullest.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. If you have time, please read this. It means everything to me.
Lap Steel Learns the Bend (Wait, What?)
Greg Gefell gave his lap steel the pedal-steel bend, no pull-rods required, just the Nu Multi 8 and a few pitch-shifter pedals.
DSP Adventures: Dive Bombs, Bends, and Flutters in Real Time
A demo showcasing real-time, zero-latency pitch shifting with expressive octave dives, octave pulls, flutter, and vibrato applied to guitar audio.
DSP Adventures: Zero Latency Pitch Shifting
After years of marinating ideas, a missing eWhammy plugin finally pushed me to build my own pitch shifter on top of the mature Q DSP library, my cross-platform C++ audio signal processing toolkit.
Infinity D Polyphonic Sustainer
The Infinity System is a multichannel system with true polyphonic sustain: you can play single notes, layered harmonies, counterpoint, or chords that sustain forever. Infinity-D takes Infinity to the next level, adding direct BOSS/Roland Serial GK5 connectivity.
Absolutely!
A whammy bar for a synth sounds unexpected, but once you hear it, it just feels right. It brings a familiar, hands-on kind of expression to a world that rarely gets to bend this way.
Sure! Why not?
Sukandar Kartadinata in Berlin just installed the eWhammy on his nylon-string solidbody, where a conventional vibrato system is not really an option.
Latency, input count, gain control, driver longevity. How do fourteen popular audio interfaces hold up for multichannel guitar?
Equipped with our Nu pickups, PolyMap is an ambitious 64-channel polyphonic guitar pickup system that captures each string at eight different positions, turning pickup placement into something you can shape later in the DAW.
eWhammy: Last-Minute Refinements
OK, I’m posting this because I’m all for complete transparency. As we were about to ship, we did a final round of heavy testing and
Thor Mk III: Taking the Infinity Platform to the Next Level
Infinity Driver: True polyphonic sustainer that holds real chords, not your usual one-note-at-a-time trick XR Spectra (FRFR pickup): Full range, wide bandwidth, ready for serious
eWhammy: Nearly Shipping… Help Us Polish the Details
We’re done assembling the first eWhammy batch. Next up is one last, thorough round of testing, then we ship. Can’t get enough! One final test
Preparing for the release of the eWhammy. Here’s the user manual for v1.2: https://www.cycfi.com/assets/eWhammy_v1.2.pdf
This article examines crosstalk in the Roland/BOSS GK hex pickup system, focusing on the GK-5. Crosstalk is unwanted bleed between string outputs. In guitar-to-MIDI and pitch detection, it can trigger false or “ghost” notes when the algorithm mistakes bleed for a real string event.
Iron Man played a key role in developing the Infinity System from its earliest days through Infinity 0.91 Now he has been recalled to active
The eWhammy is finally available for pre-order. It’s a compact electronic whammy bar controller that generates 0V to 5V control voltage (CV), not MIDI. It does not touch the bridge or strings, so tuning stability and sustain stay intact. Target release is the end of February.
