v1.26 & 1.27 - fixes and MPE support

v1.27 is the most recent major feature update - MPE Support:

Demo: https://youtu.be/tjeycG23MPo

MPE support is available with individual settings for each layer - so you can set each layer to have different bend ranges, bend rate, bend release modes as well as per layer voice count with the usual voice stealing options. Another new feature is the ability to set the bend range independently for up/down. Full details in the release notes provided with the installer. There will be a video covering these features on the Hyperion Youtube channel soon.

Pitch bend now features individual up and down range settings, a bend smoothing rate, and a bend note release mode option.

The MPE node now includes two extra output pins - A for polyphonic after-touch, and Y for MPE Y-axis MIDI cc data. MPE mode pressure data will output at the channel pressure pin P - which in MPE mode becomes polyphonic (as is the pitch bend and Y axis data) because each note is received with an associated MIDI channel.

When the ‘avg pressure’ (average pressure) option is selected the MPE pressure is averaged from the data of all channels - in some cases this is useful, yet still allows for polyphonic bend and Y axis data.

Full details on MPE parameters and pins are in the updated user guide, and the Notes Input node info text available within the UI.

v1.26 was released on 19th April 2022:

Fixes a couple of issues including a rare but potential crash related to cable deletion handling. Additional audio engine status display which blocks the UI if your audio device is not running (Hyperion cannot work including patching/patch loading unless audio is running). More space for typing out multi-line 2 input node math expressions, additional (optional) mode to save entire state snapshots of Hyperion on node deletion/duplicate operations - may be useful for some - but does slow the experience slightly, so off by default (snapshots are made on patch/combi load or layer deletion by default - principally to save you from accidental layer deletion so that you can recover and then properly save a worked on patch/combi).

v1.25 Sample playback node upgrade

The latest release of Hyperion Synth includes updates to improve the usability and versatility of the sample playback node, as well as many updates to node description texts to clarify node usage.

The new features of the sample playback node:

• Sample waveform viewer with voice animations, loop points, fade lines, and cross-fade zone indicators (open by clicking the ‘eye’ icon as for the oscillator waveform viewers).

• Modulate-able start and end position offsets (modulations are read at each new loop if cross-fade is not active).

• Cross-fade up to 50% of the sample within the loop start/end points - makes it easy to create consistent tones for usage as sample based oscillators.

• Reverse sample option.

Additionally the latest build improves the usability of the Macro controls input and output nodes by reflecting the names of the macros that can be edited in the Macro controls area per layer in the pull-down selection lists.

The user guide has been updated and is now at version 1.9 and features an extended usage guide which covers information about polyphonic vs global modulation as well as the voice offsets node, and more information about the latest UI features in general.

v1.23 & v1.24

In relatively rapid succession we have two new builds with some major feature updates:

Firstly v1.23 which was released on 7th February 2022 includes several UI updates including major changes to the large mode patch browser which now features a multi-column patch list which allows re-ordering by the available group types.

v1.24 released on 21st February 2020 includes a few updates and bug fixes, but most notable is the new colour varying oscillator waveform viewers with ‘3D mode’.

The waveform viewer is also now available for FM oscillator types, and for wavesequences it was updated to show smooth transitions between each wavesequence step, so representing the actual cross-faded sound.

(Waveform viewer in 3D mode)

Some tweaks were made to improve the bit-crush node, improve cross-fades in the wavesequence oscillator nodes, and a new ‘1 in 4 out’ Vector mixer node was added.

(Vector mixer usage example - both for voice mixing and FX bus mixing)

Other than these exciting updates some more basic but hopefully helpful updates come in the form of text description updates to a number of nodes, as well as clarifying the names of some nodes to match their functionality more closely.

v 1.20 / v1.21 - VOWEL/COMB FILTER/VOICE OFFSETS

V1.20 and v1.21 were recently released:

(In v1.21 there is a known issue with crashing the plugin if the clear patch button is clicked whilst the new ‘Voices offsets’ node value editor window is open - please be aware of that and close the window before doing any patch clear operation - a fix is coming in the next release.)

Bug fixes:

• Echo algorithm low level noise/click sound issue.
  Combi name should clear on clear all layers.

• CC output/sender node float values were not sending in plugin.

• Potential bad audio in Tube resonator - gain management and soft clipping.

• Clock divider offsets fix.

• Undo with 0 saves crash fix.Several new features:

New features/enhancements:

• Layer controls - Inclusive solo and Exclusive mute via shift-key modifier.

• Vowel filter node (per voice and FX node) - 5 selectable sequences of vowels with modulation and range controls.

• Comb filter node (per voice and FX node) - modulate-able delay and feedback with stereo delay offsets.

• Envelope follower FX node - tracks overall audio level as a control value output, detects peaks.

• Per voice offsets node - with graphical editor - to set fixed offsets for each voice.

• CC output node now has pulldown MIDI CC names list and removed output pins to avoid confusion.

• Tube resonator enhancements to avoid any DC drift.

• Tube resonator radii and length modulation inputs range is now 0 to 1 (older patches will be back compatible by loading the original version of same node).

• FM node now shows operator multiplier ratios under the knobs by default.

• Updated tooltips for several key nodes with longer descriptions than originally found.

• Boost control for main audio out and FX out nodes.

v1.18/v1.19 include many updates & new features.

Many new features in the latest releases of Hyperion including:

Waveform viewer (activated by button in edit panels) for standard oscillators/wavesequence oscillators/LFOs.

'Scroll graph to node' button in edit panels.
Shape parameter in oscillators affects 'noise' and 'sample & hold' wave types with progressive high frequency cut.
Smoothing parameter for CC input node.
Channel pressure (note input node) minimal data smoothing to remove jitter.
Undo snapshots - up to 10 snapshots which can be restored by selecting a time-stamp.

Undo snapshots are created automatically on patch or combi load, or on layer delete.

No more wasted horizontal space when minimize the patch browser and layer panels.
Widescreen mode - moves the modulation mixer and arpeggiator.

Layer numbers for clarity (matching to DAW remote control of layers volume).
Node toolbox info panel now shows the selected node name as title above the info text.

Various updates to node info text.

v1.17 - New knob design & oscillator crush parameter

v1.17 of Hyperion was released today.

The standout feature is the new more ‘conventional’ round knobs design.

Whilst the original semi-circle knob design had some fans, and it was a practical design, most users prefer the traditional knob style of this new update - and the feedback from users so far is quite positive.

In adding the new knob design, the transpose pull-down list is now replaced by a rotary knob to help save a bit of vertical space, and in the standard oscillator and wave sequence oscillator there was a extra space for a new knob.. so we added a new feature :)

The newly added ‘Crush’ parameter is a bit-crush that is applied to the oscillator directly at the wave calculation level rather than on the total unison mix/variable output level - so it is a slightly different effect to just using the existing bit-crusher node on oscillator output, and provides some useful sonic variation - a little extra noise and high-frequency content - the effect depends on the prior processing by the shape/oscillator sync feature.

This parameter is also included in the step settings of wavesequence nodes.

Other than new features, there are a few bug fixes including one for a rare but annoying potential temporary UI freeze up.

V1.16 - Bug fixes and bpm linked echo/dual-times + longer bmp linked LFO times

V1.16 Was released on 8th November 2021.

There were a few bug fixes, including correcting reverb settings on system sample rate changing.

Two feature requests were implemented

• Tempo synced echo times and a dual/independent delay option.

• Longer LFO times option for bpm related times - up to 128 beats period.

Check out also the latest patch demos on the Hyperion channel + the excellent overview/review by S1GNS OF LIFE channel:

4 layer vector patch

Vector FX pad demo

Hyperion review/overview by S1GNS OF LIFE

v1.15 Released - bug fixes + default author feature

Release on 29th October 2021.

V1.15 is mainly a bug fix build, but includes the additional default patch author feature which is handy especially when saving a new patch or a patch from a different author that you have significantly changed (assuming you will respect original patch authors here) and need to update the author info - saves typing it out each time.

Fixes:
Fix LFO beat sync functionality.
Fix Mono Filter MG1 filter type stuck at 15Hz.
Fix patch browser info state/last selected info on load combis.

Hyperion v1.14 release (and v1.13 before)

Hyperion v1.14 is now ready to download at Tracktion.com or via your update manager:

Fixes:

• Fix shape parameter setting in wavesequence node.

• Fix ADSR level restore on system sample rate reconfiguration.

Changes/Additions:

• Minor CPU load reductions and enhancements in Reverb and Granulator nodes.

• Maximize/Minimize button for node graph editing area.

• Changes to layer mute/solo logic to enable default behavior of exclusive solo and un-mute if solo is selected.

v1.13 was release a couple of weeks ago - this was a minor update build to fix issues for Mac M1 system owners, and to revert an issue that slowed down opening the plugin window.

Hyperion v1.12 - new release and demo

Hyperion v1.12 is now released at Tracktion.com

Many optimizations under the hood and 2 main feature updates:

Mono note retrigger option which responds also to key priority modes (very useful for lead lines).

Localized pop-up tooltips (can optionally be turned off) - helpful for patching with pin name details popping up whilst dragging cables, and helpful to familiarize yourself with other GUI buttons.

Otherwise there’s been a number of updates to add additional cache-ing of node and cable drawing to make the UI smoother to use (especially when drag/move multiple selected nodes) + several updates to try to reduce processing load in general.

The latest demo showcases some of the latest patches and also the mono retrig and pop-ups are shown.

V1.12 Sounds Demo

Hyperion v1.11 released - Node search toolbox + graph updates

Hyperion v1.11 has just been released and is available for download at www.tracktion.com/products/hyperion

The latest release features a new searchable node selection toolbox with color and icon representations of node types, as well as the ability to mark nodes as favourites.

Keyword search allows to find nodes by similar/related keywords and partial node names.

The node graph display has been optimized including some transparency effects, extra valid target pin highlighting on cable dragging and extra hinting for ‘T’ trigger and ‘F’ frequency pins.

The cable snap area for pins is increased in size whilst at the same time, pins are closer together to reduce the screen space taken by nodes in general.

There is a new dedicated modwheel output pin on the note input node.

A new ‘patch priority/audition’ mode enables to load single layer patches without first needing to clear all the other layers.

The MIDI CC input node now features a pull-down list of default named MIDI CC controller numbers

Some fixes include: restoring the combi name text when the plugin editor window is re-opened, and fixing the zoom size of pop up dialogs so that they match the overall zoom level.

As with most releases some new patches/combi patches have been added during development - demo video coming.

Hyperion v1.10 released

Since the last update here, we’ve had 2 releases:

v1.09 - Custom macro names entry, several UI bug fixes, and a Reverb algorithm bug fix.

v1.10 - Smoothing of UI parameters that are affected by zipper noise - pitch and shape controls, ring mod pitch, filter cutoff and resonance.

New features:

• Per user request - Pop-up value change knob with modulation animation - on mouse over modulate-able input pins.

• Extra pitch mod control in LFO UI panel/pop up knob

As with most prior releases, some extra patches were added.

Hyperion v1.08(.1) Released

Hyperion v1.08(.1) is now available for download at Tracktion.com.
v1.08 features a large patch-browser mode with multiple columns (folder browser/filters/patch list) and toggle buttons for instrument and sound characteristic tag selection.

Dynamic resizing in the large mode patch browser allows to show the patch edit area if you stretch the window wide enough (this works very well on high resolution wide-screen monitors).

The patch list also now features favoriting of patches and filter by favorites (heart icon buttons) as well as a filter by patch name text entry box.

Deleting patches directly from the patch list is also now added (Trash can icon button).

The latest UI features a custom font for a cleaner look and improved readability.

UI Screenshots:

Large mode patch browser (showing a couple of filter toggle buttons selected)

Wide mode view of large patch browser.

Normal/Compact browser mode (example showing filtering including filter by favorite patches).

Note: The UI should show version 1.08.1 - if not please re-download:

There was a small window of time where v1.08 was uploaded and very shorty after an update 'patch' build was provided to Tracktion and they have now replaced the download files. So if you have got v1.08 displayed in the UI, please re-download the installer to avoid issues with patch save and re-load from modified patches (the UI should show the version number as v1.08.1).

Hyperion v1.07 released

V1.07 Features new touch oriented controls which include trigger pads, vector audio & data mixers, XY data control and sliders. These are quite useful for performance for example with mapping the XY pad to scale mapping and note generation. The vector mixer can also process effects enabling a vector mix of different effects to be applied to an external audio input source optionally. Each of these touch controls is also mouse friendly and feature modulation inputs to provide automatic animation of the touch position, as well as a data smoothing option for the control position.

Changes/Additions:
- Some additional touch control oriented nodes were added (which can still be used with mouse input):
- XY Pad Control (with 9 triggers or single trigger mode)
- Vector Audio Mixer (per voice and FX bus 4 audio source mixer with vector control).
- Sliders Control (4 touch friendly mixer sliders for mixing data)
- Vector Data Mixer (Mix 4 data sources with vector control.)
- These new nodes can be modulated from real hardware touch pads and joysticks or slider panels, however, they've been sized for finger gesture usage with touch screens.
- As such there is now a lock toggle button (above the graph area) – which will prevent accidentally dragging any nodes, or starting any cable connections whilst operating the patch with these controls - which could be handy for live performance.
- Another new node: 9 Note Triggers - can be used in conjunction with the 9 trigger outputs of the XY Pad Control node.
- An extra global version of the note output node ensures it won’t trigger the same note on multiple voices - although that protection has also been build in to it. The global version of the node allows re-triggering of the same note.

Color changes:
- To make things more consistent and a little easier to follow hopefully, the color of the control data input and output pins has changed to mach the control node color – this means that global data nodes will have purple pins, and where nodes output a global value (same value to all voices (triggers) or just the first voice), or only read the first voice as a modulation value (e.g. for the FX bus which is not polyphonic) they will also have that color.
- The notes output node features an additional output trigger which is pulsed on every new note, but the same pulse is provided to all voices since it is a global trigger pin – this is useful for triggering global envelopes on each key down, or for reseting LFO s on each key down.
Note that this global new note pulse can be applied to per-voice modulation nodes – for example multiple voice LFOs can have their phase reset, but if they are modulated by other LFOs or envelopes then their phase and levels can drift apart again.

Patches:
- A few extra patches were added to demonstrate vector mixing and finger control:
“Theremin2000” (combi patch)
“ClassicVectorSyntheis”
“FmWavesequenceVectorFxPad”

Fixes:
- Show modulation animation when no ‘notes input’ node is in a patch.

Knob modulation animations coming in v1.06

An often requested feature that is coming in v1.06 is animation of the modulation value relative to the offset/current setting on the knobs in the edit panels.

Here is a short video showing how that will look (subject to some minor changes before release):

https://youtu.be/xQZwUCmfpE0

You can also still see the same level changes when clicking on the input pins - however this new feature allows to see multiple targets at the same time. The modulation sources view allows fine tune control over the individual mod source levels whist seeing more clearly how each voice is affected.

Hyperion v1.04 released

After a few iterations in beta testing, Hyperion v1.04 is now available to download at Tracktion.com

Here’s the list of the latest changes/fixes:

Fixes:

• Paste nodes across layers - capability restored.

• Pin highlight clearing after dismiss pin menu.

Changes/Additions:

• Hard sync mode for mono/stereo and wavesequence oscillators.

• Quality/Oversampling options in settings panel - with state memory.

• Note priority modes in Note in node - newest, oldest, lowest, highest.

• New ‘Per-voice’ granulator audio processing node.

• Memory usage reduction for audio buffers in several nodes.

• Auto reposition layers viewport to newly added synth layers outside of visible space.

• Minor tweaks to knobs/sliders spacing in edit panels.

Probably the most interesting update here is the hard sync mode - it really adds a lot of different sonic capability to the oscillators - and is applicable to all the existing oscillator waveforms.

The hard sync mode uses a virtual oscillator to implement the phase resetting, so doesn’t require another external modulation source, and it’s applied to the main oscillator as well as the unison detune copies.

I made a test video to quickly show the kinds of sound you can achieve:

https://youtu.be/7J7OSCHG1wg

Also, the per voice granulator node enables granulator effect on each note - rather than the prior FX bus only granulator - the granulator processes an incoming moving buffer of audio - so it’s a audio processor rather than the typical sound generator granulation synthesis.

I made a pad that uses the new granulator processing - and uploaded a video showing how that is constructed from various elements (including a wavesequence with some steps using the new hard sync feature):

https://youtu.be/nQQ1pNol_Q4