Orion Platinum Virtual Studio

Orion Platinum is a complete virtual studio software, including multitrack audio recording, a mixing desk with sub busses and effect returns, as well as powerful sequencers, generators and effects.

All common interfaces, VST, DirectX and ReWire are fully supported. Orion Platinum ships with a massive 1 GB sound library of more than 900 royalty-free presets and high quality multisamples. Demo songs and tutorials are included as well.

Using the four-bus Mixer and Master Section, you can build advanced mixes in no-time, and the MultiFX control lets you create complex effect routing.

High resolution post-production is made possible by the enhanced WAV exporter, which supports up to 32-bit / 192 kHz resolution and can render instruments or channels to multiple WAV files.

Orion Platinum comes with a selection of 43 internal effects - including reverb, delay and chorus effects, a full parametric equalizer, and more. Additionally, there is full support for third-party VST and DirectX effects, as well as for third-party VSTi and DXi instruments.

Orion Platinum comes with the following generators:
¢ Toxic II - 6-Operator FM Synthesizer with modulation matrix and multiple onboard effect sections. Orion Platinum includes both the Toxic 2 and its successor, the Toxic 3. Both come with a large selection of outstanding presets
¢ Tomcat - Versatile drum sound synthesizer
¢ Sampler - Multisample player with two LFOs and three envelopes. Supports reading many industry standard formats such as SoundFont (SF2), Akai S5000/6000 and many more
¢ Ultran - Wave-morphing sampler with four oscillators, two LFOs and three envelopes, custom velocity response and more
¢ Wasp - Virtual Analog synthesizer with two oscillators + subosc, two LFOs and three envelopes, integrated effect unit and six different filter modes. From the beautiful to the plain weird, from lush pads and strings to harsh leads and basses - the WASP does it all, and with conviction
¢ Drums - Flexible sample-based drum machine, with up to 18 tracks, containing its own step and velocity sequencer. Both single WAV files, as well as multisampled LM4 kits with velocity layers can be imported
¢ Monobass - Monophonic bass synth
¢ XR-909 - Analog drum synthesizer, with individual parameters for each of the eight individually modelled drum circuits. The XR909 contains its own step sequencer, but like all Orion generators, it can of course be controlled via MIDI, the piano roll or even PC keyboard as well
¢ Wavefusion - Wavetable synthesizer with three oscillators, three LFOs, three envelopes and three filter modes¢ Screamer - 2-Oscillator virtual analog monosynth with special overdrive and accent/slide circuitry
¢ Plucked String - Physical modelling synth
¢ MIDI Out - Use this module to compose with external gear
¢ Plug-in Support - Full VSTi and DXi integration

Sequencing:

Sequencing in Orion is pattern-based, but is not bound by the limitations of classic pattern-based arrangement.

Vintage pattern-sequencing features, such as step-sequencing, are preserved as optional extras, and combined with a high-precision piano roll sequencer - which provides plenty of editing functions, unlimited undo/redo, parameter automation and individual note velocity editing.

Using the playlist, you can easily arrange your patterns from individual generators into a complete piece of music. The playlist provides support for audio tracks, via a special generator for synchronized playback of pre-recorded WAV files, such as vocals or live instrumental recordings. Rather than having it's own interface like other generators, the Audio Track Generator integrates with the playlist, making it a simple task to add audio clips to your arrangement.

In Orion Platinum, you can choose between several types of microtuning scales, which will be applied to Orion's internal generators. In
addition to five built-in scales, any 12-tone tuning file created by SCALA can be loaded, and 20 of the most common scales are included.

Mixing:
The flexible Mixer in Orion automatically expands as needed - whenever you add a new generator to your project, it's outputs are automatically connected to new channels on the Mixer.

Channels on the Mixer have all the common elements that you would expect to see on a real Mixer: gain, pan, mute and solo controls, stereo VU-meters, an EQ section, insert and send effects. All of the controls can be automated, simply by recording knob movements, or by manually editing the graphs in the event editor.

The EQ section is parametric, and consists of 7 parameters controlling 4 bands. Individual EQ sections can be switched to soft saturation ("analogue" clipping).

Each channel supports two insert effects in serial, and 4 send effect slots are available across the Mixer, with individual send amounts for each send on every channel.

Up to 4 insert effects (in serial) can be assigned to the master output. In Orion Pro, this is done via a dialog box.

In Orion Platinum, the Mixer is complemented by the Master Section, which provides master EQ, master effects, four effect busses, and four submix busses.

The four effect busses, as well as the four submix busses, have EQ sections, and allow application of multiple effects on each bus. The submix busses can optionally send to multiple ASIO outputs, where supported by hardware. Both the mixer and master sections can be controlled via external MIDI hardware.

Effects

Orion platinum comes with 43 high quality effects, and full support for all DirectX and VST effects. Integration of effect plugins is seamless - for example, the preset system works in the same manner for internal and plugin effects, and automation features are available where supported by the plugins.

Effects are assignable via the Mixer, where two Insert effects can be assigned per channel. Up to four global Send effects can be used in one song, and four master inserts can be assigned to the main output.

The screenshot on the left shows a couple of effects, and shows how to create and assign an insert effect via the Mixer.

Certain effects support audio and/or MIDI sidechains.
A sidechain is a secondary effect input, used by some effects that allow, or require, simultaneous processing of two different inputs.

Orion Platinum includes the MultiFX Control - a handy utility for chaining multiple effects, either in serial or parallel. In parallel mode, a 2D Controller can be used to pan between four different effects. In serial mode, you can use it to insert up to eight effects on a single mixer channel.

Groove Slicer

The Sampler comes with an integrated Groove Slicer system, which makes it possible to cut up and rearrange sampled drum loops and grooves, from mono or stereo WAV files.

The Groove Slicer is fully automated - after adjusting a few simple parameters, it can automatically detect all the slices in a loop, and optionally reconstruct the original loop in a pattern. On most loops, automatic slicing is highly efficient, but of course you can also manually edit the slice points after the automatic slicer has done the basic work. Reconstruction of loops is a powerful feature in combination with another one of Orion's features: Groove Templates. By applying a Groove Template to your reconstructed loop in the sequencer, you can effectively apply a "feeling" to it: shuffle, groove, jazz swing, salsa etc.

Volume, panning and pitch of each individual slice can be adjusted, and you can of course use all of the other features from the Sampler, such as filtering, envelopes, velocity response and so on.

Orion Platinum additionally supports the REX2 format from Propellerheads Software. It's a popular loop format used by the program ReCycle 2 from the very same company. After importing REX2 files you have direct access to the slices.

Templates System

The sequencer comes with a special note editing feature, called Groove Templates. By applying a Groove Template to a pattern, you modify the timing, lengths and velocities of notes slightly, giving "feeling" to rhythms and grooves.

For example, Salsa, Shuffle and Jazz Swing templates are included - when you apply one of these templates to your pattern, it acquires a certain "feel" that is typical of a certain style of music.

In Orion Platinum, an additional template system is available. This one is designed to alter the chords in a pattern, in a way that is similar to a hand moving over the strings of a guitar. Instead of playing all the notes of a chord simultaneously, very short delays are introduced between the triggering of each note in the chord - this adds a pleasing touch to stringed instruments, such as the Plucked String, or the Sampler with an appropriate multisample.

Arpeggiator

Orion comes with an advanced Arpeggiator integrated into it's sequencing system, which can be used for sequencing as well as for realtime performance, like the arpeggiators you would find on performance keyboards.

The Arpeggiator creates melody lines from single notes and chords, using various predefined patterns. It has a large number of parameters you can play with, including a fully programmable autochord system.

Convolution reverb

It is often a great tool for inspirational experimentation, and if you come up with something good and decide you want to manually make changes to a few details, you can use the rendering feature, which will generate a non-realtime copy of the arp sequence into a pattern, as notes.

The impulse response processor (also called convolution reverb) is an effect exclusively available in Orion Platinum. It allows you to apply the sound of real spaces such as rooms, halls, cathedrals etc. on your mixes. The effect works in realtime, thus it can be used in live situations as well.

Any impulse response in WAV format can be loaded and used as a convolution source. 16, 24 and 32-bit WAV files are supported, both mono and stereo files at any sampling rate.

Plug-in support:

Orion provides full native support for all major VST and DX plugins, both instruments and effects.

Effect plugins (VST and DX) fully integrate with the entire system, and using them is identical to using internal effects - controls can be automated, and plug-in effects can be assigned freely as inserts, sends or master effects.

The integration with instrument plugins (VSTi and DXi) is completely seamless - sequencing, mixing, automation and effects processing all work exactly the same as with any of Orion's internal synthesizers.

In Orion Platinum, you will also find an exciting new feature for VST instruments - Preset Genetics. Using two presets of your choice, or two random presets, this feature breeds new presets - it's a fun and easy new way to explore all the possibilities of your VST instruments.