Syntheway Virtual Sitar VSTi .:. Indian Musical Instrument Software

Virtual Sitar VSTi

Home (Intro) Dream Theater cover

Wherever I May Roam (Intro)

Overview

Syntheway Virtual Sitar is a VST instrument designed to emulate the Indian Sitar.

Features

Mastered sitar samples recorded with special equipment in a low noise environment. Full length sustain, no loops (natural decay).
Includes 18 predefined sounds.
Optimized CPU and memory usage.
ADSR envelope generator with Attack, Sustain, Decay and Release parameters and several modulation targets.
Multiple-Mode Filter: The values are automatically computed when you select any of the filter types. Filter switch includes: LP (Low pass), BP (Band pass), HP (High pass), notch, peak, low pass and high pass shelving filter with adjustable cutoff and bandwidth.
Variable room simulation. Reverb effect can control the "room ambience".
MIDI Automation: Added complete MIDI CC#. The following MIDI Continuous Controllers (MIDI CC) messages are recognized and affect the described parameters:

Syntheway Virtual Sitar Demo Songs:

Home (Intro) Dream Theater cover

Wherever I May Roam (Intro)

Phrygian Dominant Scale (D-Ahava Raba)

Chromatic Scale

More MP3 Demos

Tracy Katz's review for Gearwire.

:: MIDI Implementation Chart for Virtual Sitar::

# Decimal / Controller Name

CC# 07 - MASTER VOLUME

CC# 71 - DECAY - ENVELOPE GENERATOR
CC# 72 - RELEASE - ENVELOPE GENERATOR
CC# 73 - ATTACK - ENVELOPE GENERATOR
CC# 74 - SUSTAIN - ENVELOPE GENERATOR

CC# 88 - REVERB SIZE ROOM
CC# 89 - REVERB WIDTH ROOM
CC# 90 - REVERB DAMPING FACTOR ROOM
CC# 91 - REVERB MIX LEVEL

CC# 20 - CUTOFF - MULTI-MODE FILTER
CC# 21 - BANDWIDTH - MULTI-MODE FILTER
CC# 22 - GAIN for EQ Peak, High/Low Shelf - MULTI-MODE FILTER
CC# 23 - FILTER TYPE - MULTI-MODE FILTER

The Sitar is a Hindustani classical stringed instrument which utilizes sympathetic strings along with regular strings and a gourd resonating chamber to produce a very distinctive sound.
It was popularized by "legendary sitar virtuoso" and composer Ravi Shankar in the 1960s.

System Requirements

Operating System : Windows® 98SE/ME, Windows® 2000, Windows® XP, Windows® Vista, Windows® 7.
Linux Operating System, with the following requirements (Special Thanks to Paul Davis):
- - JACK : 0.100.0 or above (http://jackit.sourceforge.net)
- - Wine : preferably 1.0 or above (many older versions will work too) (http://www.winehq.org/)
- - FST : 1.7 or above (http://joebutton.co.uk/fst/)
Processor: Pentium®, Celeron® or equivalent - 500 MHz or more.
RAM: 64 MB of memory minimum (128 MB or higher recommended)
VST 2.0, 2.3 Host application like: FL Studio 9.xx, Steinberg Cubase 5.xx - 4.xx, Synapse Audio Orion 7.xx, Sony Acid Pro 7.xx - 6.xx, MakeMusic Finale 2010 v.15 - 2009 v.14, Mackie Tracktion 3.xx, Cockos Reaper 3.xx, Audio Mulch 2.xx, Steinberg Nuendo 4.xx - 3.xx, Magix Samplitude 11.xx - 10.xx, Cakewalk SONAR 8 ( Producer Edition and Studio Edition), SONAR Home Studio 7, Magix Music Maker 15.xx, M-Audio Ableton Live 8.xx, 7.xx, M-Audio Evolution Sound Studio II Standard & Pro 2.xx, PowerTracks Pro Audio, Making Waves Studio 5.xx and more ...
Graphics (minimum): 16-bit 800x600
Work with other hosts, as a DirectX plug-in using the FXpansion Vst-Dx V3/4 adapter or running ToneWise's DirectiXer 2. Is the easiest way to gain access to the hundreds of VST plug-ins from your DirectX audio application. Compatible with the Cakewalk Audio line (v6 and higher), Sound Forge and Vegas (as an Aux effect only, in Vegas), Acon Digital Media Acoustica 4.0 (Effects only) Syntrillium Cool Edit Pro, and many more.
Via FXpansion's VST-to-RTAS Adapter: M-Audio Digidesign Pro Tools M-Powered Recording Software.
Via FXpansion's VST to AudioUnit Adapter for Mac OS X: A highly-integrated plug-in wrapper that allows users of AudioUnit-compatible applications to integrate VST plug-ins and instruments seamlessly in to their working environment.
Other Components: PC configured according to the specifications of the host application
An ASIO® soundcard is recommended for low latency real-time play.

Installation

To install VST plug-in, follow these steps:

The files must be in a directory where the VST host is looking for VST plug-ins.
Unzip the file.
Put RetroMagix.dll into VST Plug-ins Folder of your host application.

To uninstall simply remove the *.dll file of your VST Plug-ins folder.

Version History

v1.0: Initial version.
v.0.9: Beta (Beta Tester version only)

Plug-in Credits

Design, optimization, DSP and GUI by Daniel Alberto Laiseca

Evaluation & Registration

The DEMO VERSION is full functional. You can do anything you can do with the full version, you can even save your presets. Also in the demo are some presets included to demonstrate the instruments capabilities. The only restriction:

The Demo generates a short beep in all output channels every 10 seconds.
THE REGISTERED VERSION DOES NOT HAVE THIS INTERMITTING NOISE.

The program is a SHAREWARE. You are hereby licensed to use this software for evaluation purposes without charge for a period of 30 days. If you use this software after the 30 day evaluation period a registration fee is required.
Note that by registering the software, you enable me to improve it and design new features.

The full version is available to purchase, as downloadable software, the promotional price is US$25,90, and you can download the full version as soon as your payment is received.

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Syntheway Virtual Sitar VSTi download test: PASSED

More Demo Songs available here in MP3 and Flash format to download or Streaming

VST is a trademark of Steinberg Soft- und Hardware GmbH


	::: ::::: Syntheway Virtual Sitar is based on the real Indian instrument and designed for creating a variety of Sitar sounds. :.: The purpose of this VSTi is to create a real-time instrument that emulates the Sitar :.: Acoustic and Electic Sitar (e-Sitar) Indian String Instrument -- eSitar / e-Sitar digitized Indian String Instrument -- Available for Windows and Linux based VST/FST hosts., Free Demo Version available here *Includes 18 predefined sounds. Also you can create new sounds combining MM Filter and ADSR parameters in different ways, turning it more acoustic or electric as desired. keyboard sitar - electro acoustic Sitar *- The Sitar is an plucked string instrument from India known for its unique and exotic sound. It is a Hindustani classical stringed instrument which utilizes sympathetic strings along with regular strings and a gourd resonating chamber to produce a very distinctive sound. In one or more of the more common tunings (used by Ravi Shankar, among others, called "Kharaj Pancham" sitar) the playable strings are strung in this fashion: Chikari strings: Sa (high), Sa (middle), and Pa. Kharaj (bass) strings: Sa (low) and Pa (low). Jod and baaj strings, Sa and Ma. Etymology and History: The sitar is often said to have been developed in the thirteenth century CE by Amir Khusrau from a member of the veena family of Indian musical instruments called the tritantri veena and to have been named by him after the Persian setar.[1] The sitar is, like the setar, a member of the lute family while the north Indian veena is a zither, but it shares the veena's resonating gourds and sympathetic strings. Amir Khusrau does not mention the sitar but he does mention the tanbur and, by the mid 18th century, Indian tanburs were referred to as sitars. In his Bharatiya Sangeet Vadya Dr. Lalmani Misra traces its development from the tritantri veena through the nibaddh and anibaddh tanpuras and later the jantra. Construction of the similar tanpura was described by Tansen. During the time of Moghul rule Persian lutes were played at court and may have provided a basis of the sitar. However, there is no physical evidence for the sitar until the time of the collapse of the Moghul empire.- Sitar mechanics - The mechanics of a sitar. The sitar's curved frets are movable, allowing fine tuning, and raised so that sympathetic strings (tarbs, also known as "tarif" or "tarifdar") can run underneath them. A sitar can have 21, 22 or 23 strings, among them six or seven played strings which run over the frets: the Gandhar-pancham sitar (used by Vilayat Khan and his disciples) has six playable strings, whereas the Kharaj-pancham sitar, used in the Maihaar gharana (Ravi Shankar), has seven. Three of these (or four on a Kharaj-pancham sitar), called the chikari, simply provide a drone: the rest are used to play the melody, though the first string (baj tar) is most used. The instrument has two bridges; the large bridge (bada goraj) for the playing and drone strings and the small bridge (chota goraj) for the sympathetic strings. Its timbre results from the way the strings interact with the wide, sloping bridge. As a string reverberates its length changes slightly as its edge touches the bridge, promoting the creation of overtones and giving the sound its distinctive, tone. The maintenance of this specific tone by shaping the bridge is called jawari. Many musicians rely on instrument makers to adjust this. Materials used in construction include teak wood or tun wood (Cedrela tuna), which is a variation of mahogany, for the neck and faceplate (tabli), and gourds for the kaddu (the main resonating chamber). The instrument's bridges are made of deer horn, ebony, or very occasionally from camel bone. Synthetic material is now common as well. The sitar may have a secondary resonator, the tumba, near the top of its hollow neck. -- Tuning: Tuning depends on the sitarist's school or style, tradition and each artist's personal preference. Generally, the main playing string is tuned to the tonic (approximately C - D#), called Sa or vada and the drone strings both to that tone and to the samvada or second note, which is usually the perfect fifth. The sympathetic strings are tuned to the notes of the raga being played: although there is slight stylistic variance as to the order of these, typically they are tuned: I Sa, VII Ni, I Sa, II Re, III Ga, IV Ma, V Pa, V Pa, VI Dha, VI Ni, I Sa, II Re, III Ga, (the last three in the upper octave). The player should re-tune for each raga. Strings are tuned by tuning pegs, and the main playing strings can be fine-tuned by sliding a bead threaded on each string just below the bridge. Jawari In one or more of the more common tunings (used by Ravi Shankar, among others, called "Kharaj Pancham" sitar) the playable strings are strung in this fashion: Chikari strings: Sa (high), Sa (middle), and Pa. Kharaj (bass) strings: Sa (low) and Pa (low). Jod and baaj strings, Sa and Ma. In a "Gandhar Pancham" (Imdadkhani, school of Vilayat Khan) sitar, the bass or kharaj strings are removed and are replaced by a fourth chikari which is tuned to Ga. By playing the chikari strings with this tuning, one produces a chord (Sa, Sa, Pa, Ga). To tune the sympathetic strings to raga Kafi for example: I Sa, vii ni (lower case denotes flat (komal) I Sa, II Re, iii ga, III Ga (Shuddh or natural, in Kafi the third is different ascending and descending), iv ma, V Pa, VI Dha, vii ni, I Sa, II Re, iii ga. However, there is a lot of stylistic variance within these tunings. An artist will develop a particular tuning for a particular piece but there is no guarantee that other musicians will choose the same tuning. = = = = = Design, Optimization, DSP and GUI by Daniel Alberto Laiseca Used throughout the Indian subcontinent, particularly in Northern India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, the sitar became known in the western world through the work of Pandit Ravi Shankar beginning in the late 1950s, particularly after Beatle George Harrison took lessons from Shankar and played sitar in songs including "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)". The Rolling Stones used sitar in "Paint It, Black" and it was also used by others such as thrash metal band Metallica on the introduction of "Wherever I May Roam". = = = = = = = = = = -: -- -:All instruments & effects are VST 2.0 plug-ins**. You need a PC to run them and a compatible host software -: