Ircam Lab's The Snail Tuner and Frequency Analyser Now Available for Windows, macOS and iOS

February 15 2017, 03:00
Over a year ago, Ircam Lab launched a revolutionary new standalone and plug-in tuner and frequency analyzer software called “The Snail” but it was released only on the Macintosh platform. The Snail set new standards in this software category with its flexibility, its wide range of uses, and its unusual interface. Now, Ircam Lab announced the availability of The Snail for Windows OS, available as a standalone application and as AAX and VST plug-in formats. A limited version of The Snail is also available for iOS devices (iPhone and iPad).
 

This attractive Tuner/Analyser software with its user-friendly visual interface offers a new and extremely accurate way of tuning and analyzing instruments. It also breaks new ground with its ability to show any intonation issues, phase discrepancies and actually visually represent the music and sounds in a way that helps anyone improve listening and recognition of “in-tune".

It is called "The Snail" due to it's cool spiral interface that represents every note from Bb-1 to G9 in concentric fashion from the highest to the lowest audible frequencies.

The Snail is also a very high-precision frequency-domain analyzer which delivers an easy to understand representation of sounds, based on the scales and notes aligned in spectrally active zones. Resulting from numerous years of research and development, this product is based on a recent patented technology, conceived at the laboratory of Science and Technology of Music and Sound IRCAM-CNRS-UPMC based in Paris, France.

Compared to standard spectrum analysers based on Fourier-type analysis, the Snail's frequency coherency accuracy is enhanced by a process based on the demodulated phase. A dedicated algorithm exploits this coherency index in several ways. It improves the frequency precision at an adjustable rate. It lets users fine-tune the accuracy of the tuner and therefore goes way beyond the global stroboscopic techniques used in some expensive tuners. The Snail analyses all the local spectral components of a sound and renders this information in a convenient visual form. Users can finally see ALL the surrounding frequencies and overtones as well as the basic fundamentals delivered by a sound.

The Snail delivers a new approach in "tuning" as it also analyses inharmonic sounds by representing all of it's added harmonics. An old guitar string can be immediately identified as you see its resonance that is out of tune and can cause some notes to be more or less present (ringing) than others. For users who have a guitar that never seems in tune as they change scale or move up the fretboard or have a problematic resonance, The Snail clearly shows the problem.

The Snail shows the fundamental notes and all the associated resonances and harmonics of any instrument or sound in an easy to see graphic display. For example, it will help users see all the notes and harmonics played during an audio playback along with their intensities, so they can even figure out what key the song is played in.

It also helps users train their hearing abilities, provide insights into every sound and musical composition, and develop a more accurate method to tune for any style of playing and on any type of instrument. The Snail incredible analysis engine can even show the composition of the harmonics of the instrument or even someone's voice.

The Snail will be on special promo at the introductory Price of $49 (List price $99) until March 31st, 2017, available through plugivery.com. A “limited” version of The Snail is also available for iOS iPhone & iPad and costs ONLY $1.39 from the App Store. While the iOS version has no spectral or other useful visualization options, it is a complete “polyphonic” mobile tuner.

Windows (XP and above) : Standalone, AAX, VST (32/64-bit)
Mac (OS X 10.6.8 and above) : Standalone, AAX, AU, VST (32/64-bit)
www.ircamlab.com/products/p2242-The-Snail/
www.plugivery.com
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