In Summary

PITCHMAP::COLORS is Zynaptiq’s transformation and pitch-mapping tool for sound design or music production. Adding harmonic structure to ‘grey’ atonal sounds, or conforming pitched audio to mapped or MIDI pitches, here we take our first look and listen to its exotic textures.

Going Deeper

Switching Up

For engineers and producers working in certain styles, any tool that can warp sounds beyond recognition brings a welcome flavour. Older shape-shifters such as the vocoder, ring modulator, and other relatives first raised eyebrows in the middle of last century before synth tech found a proper home on record.

Creatives making sounds for electronic and other styles now have a wide range of ways to dazzle the listener thanks to the availability of tools to deconstruct things such as the very harmonic structure of music. Whether for music, experimental audio, or straight ahead sound design for game and picture, these new tools promise to give any sound a massive injection of Wow.

Zynaptiq Pitchmap Colors

This tool sets out to transform either musical or atonal sounds to create new textures. Following either internal pitchmaps, or external MIDI, Pitchmap Colors offers brand new sounds from existing ones.

Pitchmap Colors changes the pitches contained in the audio polyphonically. Rather than just shifting all pitches up or down together like a traditional pitch shifter, it can for example change a chord from major to minor, or force any audio to conform to the desired tonality. It does this by separating the input audio into separate notes, then shifting each of these to the closest pitch played via MIDI or set up in the GUI - they are then mapped to new pitches. Notes activated on-screen or played via MIDI are copied to all octaves to make up a pitch grid.

Pitchmap Colors is a MIDI-controllable audio plugin. In the video we use it to create a completely new part from an existing audio recording of a sequenced synth. Strapping it across a duplicate, and piping in some external MIDI, we explore its SICK, INSANE, and WTF modes, the latter standing for (you’ve guessed it) Warp Those Frequencies…

Zynaptiq Describe Pitchmap Colors:

Designed in collaboration with music production prodigy Au5, PITCHMAP::COLORS fuses our popular pitch-mapping tech with additional transformation features and a user interface stream-lined for creative sound design. Conform audio to your song's key/scale, colorize your basses and synths, and turn atonal elements into gloriously resonant harmonic textures with unprecedented ease, quality and fun using PITCHMAP::COLORS.

Pitchmap Colors is available now for USD 99. Buyers will receive the new Orange Vocoder Nano for free with each purchase until 12th November 2023. Existing Pitchmap users can buy Pitchmap::Colors for just USD 35.

A Word About This Article

As the Experts team considered how we could better help the community we thought that some of you are time poor and don’t have the time to read a long article or a watch a long video. In 2023 we are going to be trying out articles that have the fast takeaway right at the start and then an opportunity to go deeper if you wish. Let us know if you like this idea in the comments.