APPLIED ACOUSTICS Tassman 3.02 (MAC/WIN)

Nov 1, 2003 12:00 PM, By Dennis Miller

Sometimes the third time is the charm. That's certainly true with Applied Acoustics' Tassman 3.02, the third incarnation of the award-winning modular physical-modeling synthesizer. Though the previous two versions were more than adequate for live performance, various issues relating to integration and usability as a plug-in made Tassman less than an ideal platform. Applied Acoustics has addressed many of these issues and enhanced other aspects of the program as well.

Tassman runs both as a standalone application and as a plug-in using a DXi, MAS, and VST host or Pro Tools' DirectConnect. I tested it on the PC as a plug-in under Sonar 2.2 and as a standalone program. The host computer was a Pentium 4/2.2 GHz running Windows 98SE.

I'll give a short overview of Tassman then focus primarily on the new features. First, a brief overview of physical modeling. (For more on the subject, see “Square One: Let's Get Physical” in the May 2002 issue of EM.)

MODEL THE PHYSICAL

Though physical modeling (PM) has been available in hardware for some time, its appearance in software instruments has lagged. With few exceptions, you won't find more than an occasional plucked-string model in any of the dozens of soft synths on the market today, or even in such otherwise powerful toolkits as Native Instruments' Reaktor. That may be because physical modeling places such a heavy burden on even a modern CPU, or maybe it's because PM is one of the most complex forms of sound synthesis.

Regardless, unlike acoustic or “spectral” modeling, where the intention is to mimic the movement of molecules in the air using additive, subtractive, or other synthesis methods, PM's goal is to model those components of a musical instrument that contribute most to its sound production. These include things like the body of a cello, the shape and material of a flute mouthpiece, and the interaction of a pick and a string. Good PM-synthesis tools give the user intuitive and thorough control over such components and use very fancy math to produce the desired sound.

Tassman is one of the few commercial programs that focus on PM. Its designers, veterans of IRCAM, the French advanced sound-research facility, have created an interface that resembles more-traditional soft synths and samplers, but that includes parameters for instrument design that you won't find anywhere else. For example, you can change the shape or size of a cello as it plays, modify the amount of air pressure being applied to a flute mouthpiece in real time, or increase or decrease the finger pressure used to pluck the string of a harp.

Tassman is not just for building acoustic-instrument models, however. You'll also find components for building synthetic instruments that employ FM, additive, subtractive, and other synthesis methods. A large number of modulation sources, such as LFOs and envelopes, coupled with a vastly improved sequencer, are only a few of the additional tools on hand.

START UP

Tassman's interface is split into two main work areas: the Builder, where you construct Instruments, and the Player, where you perform your creations. In versions before 3.0, these were actually two separate programs, and they were not well integrated. With the new release, the two are tightly integrated, and you can move from one to the next by clicking a single button. Also, when you made a change to a device in the Builder in the older version, you had to recompile it before those changes would show up in the Player. Now updates are automatic.

To create a new instrument, open the Builder, and you'll see a Browser window on the left containing folders for each group of Modules, which are the program's basic building blocks. The Modules are arranged into ten categories: Effects, Envelopes, Filters, Generators, I/O, Logic, Mixers, Resonators, Routing, and Sequencers.

FIG. 1: Tassman's Builder Window is used to design Instruments. Modules are dragged from the Browser window at the left and connected in various configurations. A description of the currently selected Module appears at the top of the screen.

To use a Module, drag it from its folder to the main workspace on the right of the Builder screen. When you release the mouse, a description of the Module appears at the top of the window (see Fig. 1). To edit the Module (if you want to change its label or MIDI channel, for example), right-click on it and choose Module Settings from the drop-down menu that appears or double-click directly on the Module. From the drop-down menu, you can also cut, copy, or paste a Module, and you can use the menu's Locate command to identify the source folder it came from.

Connecting Modules is easy — just click on the output of one and drag to the input of another. Removing a connection is just as easy: click on the “patch cord” to select it, then press the Delete key. A number of new commands allow you to align Modules in various ways, and a new multiple Undo command makes it easy to return to any point in your current work session if needed.

Navigating in the Builder is still a bit of a hassle. If you open a Sub-Patch to see its structure (more on this later), there's no button to take you back to the top level. Instead you have to choose the Previous Patch option from a drop-down menu. It would also be nice if the Browser represented actual folders on your drive. As it stands, you have to use an Import command to add a new patch to your collection.

MODULARITY

Though Tassman doesn't have the same number of building blocks as Native Instruments' Reaktor, its offerings are thorough nonetheless and very different in type from what any other modular synth provides.

Physical modeling often involves combining an exciter, which is the source that stimulates the movement of a vibrating object (such as the reed of a clarinet or mouthpiece of a trumpet), with a resonator, which is the body of an instrument that amplifies certain frequencies, attenuates others, and in general transmits the movement into the air. Tassman provides a number of exciters (which it calls Generators) and resonators that can be freely matched.

In the Generators category, for example, you'll find a plectrum (pick), two types of mallets, a noise source, a flute mouthpiece, and more. These can be freely mixed with the various Resonator Modules, which include membranes, plates, strings, and tubes. The MP3 file Flutetubeplate, which you can hear at the EM Web site, uses, as its name implies, a flute passing through a tube and then running “across” a plate. Different amplitudes and varying amounts of noise are used in the example. The result has a clear metallic ring to it, with a good deal of breath noise and some overblown qualities as well. Also listen to Pluckedbeam.mp3, which uses a plectrum to stimulate a metal beam. Here, the Damping Frequency of the Beam Module changes on every note.

In the Envelopes category, you'll find no fewer than 15 Modules for adding time-varying qualities to a sound. In addition to ADSR and a number of variations thereon, Envelopes offers Rms, which can track the amplitude of one sound and use it to control some parameter of another, and Portamento, which can apply a smoothing effect to any type of input signal. The Envelopes category is also where you will find various knobs and sliders that can be used for a variety of purposes — for example, adjusting the gain of a signal or modifying the range of values sent out by an Effects Module.

You can type values into the parameter fields for an Envelope — defining the initial attack, decay, sustain, and release values for the ADSR, for example — or assign a MIDI Control Change message to animate the parameters of an Envelope or any other component of a Module. However, there's no way to create an Envelope graphically.

Moving to the Effects arena, there are a number of new Modules, including a compressor, tremolo, delay, and several filters. The Reverb module is unique in that it models an array of three tubes, with the mic and speaker set in the center of the array. The lengths and radiuses of the tubes can be set individually, but Decay is the only Reverb parameter that can be adjusted in real time.

There are a number of “ready-made” processes available in the Sub-Patch category, including several effects; two filters; a large number of drums, plates, and strings; and a variety of utilities. Unfortunately, descriptions are included for only a small number of the Sub-Patches, so you'll have to use the Open command to see what they contain. You could also build them into a patch and then switch to the Player to see what controls appear on the Module's interface, but that's an awkward work-around. Moreover, the name of the Sub-Patch does not appear on the icon as it does for the other Modules. Though you can see the name if you choose Module Settings from the right-mouse-button menu, things can get very confusing when you have more than one icon labeled “sub patch” onscreen.

Tassman includes a Player Module, used to read in and play a preexisting sound file on your drive, and a Recorder, for recording the output of an Instrument directly to disc. Though it's no trouble to add a Recorder to a new or existing Instrument, it would be nice if every Instrument had one by default. Of course, if you're using Tassman as a plug-in, you can always record its output in your host program.

SEQUENCE THIS

FIG. 2: A vastly improved sequencer is among the new features of Tassman 3.02. Notes are entered using the graphic display that appears at the top of this synth (which is open in the Player window).

Among the most important new features are Tassman's vastly improved sequencers, which come in several flavors. In the past, the one Tassman sequencer offered a very lame “virtual keyboard” for entering notes with the mouse. Now, three different Sequencer Modules provide a number of new options, including the ability to enter notes by selecting pitches in a clearly marked graphic display (see Fig. 2).

The Single Gate Sequencer is the most basic — like the others, it supports patterns of up to 16 notes and can store up to 32 different patterns for recall. The Dual Gate Sequencer adds a second layer of 16 steps; a Shift feature, which will delay the output of any step in increments of 0 to 127 steps; and a Loop button, which is used to change the length of the pattern. The top-of-the-line Multi-Sequencer has all the features of the first two and adds a Slide function, which doubles the length of a step, and a Velocity parameter.

PRODUCT SUMMARY Applied Acoustics Tassman 3.02 modular software synthesizer $499 (boxed) $449 (download) upgrade free to registered users
FEATURES	4.0
EASE OF USE	3.5
QUALITY OF SOUNDS	5.0
VALUE	4.0
RATING PRODUCTS FROM 1 TO 5
PROS: Wide range of unique sound-design models. Myriad excellent Instruments and presets included. Well-integrated user interface.
CONS: No support for Program Change messages. Sub-Patches need to be better identified. Song mode not entirely intuitive.
Manufacturer Applied Acoustics Systems tel. (888) 441-8277 or (514) 871-8100 e-mail info@applied-acoustics.com Web www.applied-acoustics.com

All of the Sequencers offer a Mode control that determines which of five different arrangements (forward, backward, bidirectional, and two types of random play) of the pattern will play. You can also use Song Mode with any of the Sequencers to create a much longer chain of events. A Song can contain up to 1,000 patterns, and any of the Sequencers can hold up to eight Songs. Songs are selected using the eight Song buttons at the top of a Sequencer, and you can start playback at any point within a Song by selecting the current pattern using the plus and minus controls.

Despite the major enhancements, it would be nice if there were other ways to create patterns, such as recording them directly from an external MIDI controller or reading in a MIDI file. It would also be useful if you could select patterns, especially within Song mode, using MIDI note numbers.

Speaking of MIDI, there's still one major flaw that I hope will be addressed soon: you can't change Instruments or even presets using Program Changes. Though you can load as many instances of Tassman as your host software will allow (an improvement over previous versions — in Sonar, for example, loading more than one instance of earlier versions often caused Sonar to crash), or include several Instruments in a single Tassman instance, that's not as efficient as being able to switch Instruments or presets on the fly. According to the manufacturer, this feature will be available in a forthcoming release.

GET PRESET

Applied Acoustics has provided a large number of prebuilt Instruments along with a vast collection of presets. In total, there are nearly 1,000 patches ready to play. The included Instruments fall into a variety of categories that break down even further into subgroups. For example, in the Acoustic category, you'll find Malafons, Bowed Beams, Bowed Metal, Congas, Dulcimers, Electric Pianos, Harps, and more. In general, the quality of the Instruments and their presets is excellent, and even if you never edit a patch, the range of included sounds is alone worth the price of the program.

The Flute sounds are uncanny — I've never heard a more realistic model. You can dial in a significant amount of noise to get an almost entirely nonpitched breath sound or change the physics of the mouthpiece (strength and angle of airflow) as the sound plays. Particular care has been given to the presets here — I can imagine a creative use for nearly all 18. Listen to the MP3 example Modelbach, which uses a flute model (complete with artifacts that result from fast note changes) and a dulcimer in a transcription of a Bach two-part invention.

The various beam instruments are also unique, especially those based on a bowed beam (one of my favorite avant-garde performance techniques). The Bowed Vibes is very nice, though I prefer less tremolo than the Default preset uses, and the Bowed Marimba is also especially noteworthy. If I were scoring a remake of a 1950s horror film, the Singing Beam would come in very handy — it does an excellent impression of a theremin.

The Plate instruments are another excellent resource, especially the Glass, Metal, and Plastic presets. The Bisbo Gong preset (named for the new-age artist Robert Bisbo perhaps?) has an eerie afterlife and a cleverly ambiguous tonal center. FM is well represented, with over five dozen presets for the four Instruments. Among my favorites is Freak Mod FM, whose presets range from the Default, a ghostly, haunting underwater chorus, to the delicate and serene Watery. The Bell Grains preset is tasty, though I would kill the delay effect, which is used too often in general. Remarkably, almost no latency results when switching presets — the change seems to occur nearly instantaneously.

ON FILE

Tassman's file handling has improved dramatically with version 3.02. In older versions, there were far too many layers of individual program components to deal with. These included Builder files, Player files, preset files, snapshot files, and even samples that were used by an Instrument. Now, all elements except samples are neatly bundled into a “master” collection.

Tassman's documentation, which includes a printed manual and a duplicate PDF file, has also been improved. There are four tutorials to get you going, and there's a complete description of every Module.

Tassman 3.02 is a unique program that can provide a huge range of unusual sounds. Any composer or sound designer would appreciate the high quality of its models and the extensive tweaking opportunities it provides, and if you're an instrumentalist, you might consider using it for your next gig. If you have any interest in physical modeling, Tassman is the place to start.

Minimum System Requirements

Tassman 3.02

MAC: G4/400 MHz; 128 MB RAM (256 MB with OS X); Mac OS 9 or OS X 10.2

PC: Pentium III/500 MHz; 128 MB RAM; Windows 98SE/2000/ME/XP