Software:Psycle

Short description: Free software sound tracker for Windows

Psycle

Psycle 1.12.2 (beta) main interface
Original author(s)	Juan Antonio Arguelles Rius (Arguru)
Developer(s)	Various (Open source)
Initial release	2000 (2000)
Stable release	1.12.2 / March 4, 2017, 20:53
Written in	C++
Operating system	Windows
Platform	x86, x86-64
Type	Music tracker
License	GPL, Public domain
Website	psycle.pastnotecut.org

Psycle is a modular music production application for Microsoft Windows IBM PC-compatible computers. It is based on the tracker interface (the vertical timeline sequencer) but also includes features like VST compatibility, 96 kHz / 32 bit wav rendering and ASIO support. Psycle songs are stored in .psy files although the software is able to import other popular tracker formats as well like .xm (FastTracker 2), .it (Impulse Tracker) and the original .mod extension files.

Psycle is an open source program, and is released under the GNU General Public License (GPL). The Psycledelics website is a community driven portal that contains program development status, Questions and Answers, links to current versions, source code and a discussion board.

History

Psycle

Psycle was created by Juan Antonio Arguelles Rius (Arguru), who developed the program in May 2000 until version 1.0, which he then released into the public domain. Early versions focused on the Jeskola Buzz-influenced modular 'machine' paradigm: each pattern was linked to a machine, and the individual patterns were then arranged in the sequencer to make a song. Subsequent versions made Psycle into a more classical-style tracker, only keeping the Machine View. Each song position defined in the sequencer was linked to one pattern used to enter notes and data for all machines at the same time. The Psycledelics community took the source code from the public domain version and forked development to Open Source. Psycle supports the VST 2.0 standard, so all stages of a song production can be accomplished natively - from mixing to mastering. Since version 1.12, Psycle has a Lua scripting engine, that enables the program to offer a set of platform independent generators and effects. Current version is 1.12.2 (beta).

Psycle 2 and Psycle II

There have been multiple Psycle 2 projects but none of them have seen the light of day. There have been a few developments regarding big plans and setups, of which most information has been lost over the years, only small bits of information are found around the forums and archive sites of the internet. Most projects have the goal of being truly multiplatform software, and being built on only free and open source software. Psycle II also focused on more technical features like a full featured scripting engine and full modularity everywhere. This made the project look very promising and cutting edge.

QPsycle

Of all the spin-offs from the Psycle project, QPsycle is the one that is currently in development. Since this is a big project, there is still a lot of work to be done and currently this application is not in a usable state. QPsycle is using the libraries from Psycle, making the audio engine mostly complete. The software is being built using Qt, a crossplatform GUI toolkit. Using Qt and different sound engines enables the software to run on a variety of operating systems. When starting this project, sharing code with the main Psycle application has been one of the most important steps to guarantee the future of both projects, and thus preventing fates similar to the Psycle 2 and Psycle II development cycles. However, the project still is very low on developers, so progress is slow.

As of 2019, Psycle appears to be the only branch still in active development, with its most recent release in 2017.

Features

• A 64 Tracks Pattern Editor, with up to 1024 lines.
• 256 sequence positions.
• Multi-channel audio Routing (machine) view to interconnect the virtual machines in order to apply different effects.
• Internal Stereo Sampler unit which supports .wav, .aiff, .iff/svx, .s3i, .its files of any sampling rate, 8/16 and 24 bits, mono or stereo.
• Tracker-style Sampler (Sampulse) which extends support to .xi and .iti as well as Psycle's own .psins instrument formats, and supports most of the usual module effects.
• 70+ Native Plugins (generators & effects), most of them open-source and with an easy to use API to create new ones.
• Multithreaded audio engine.
• Support for VST 1 and 2 plugin standard, including support for JBridge.
• Importing of .xm, .s3m, .it and .mod tracker formats.
• Exporting up to 96 kHz/32 bit wav, as well as recording realtime to .wav.
• Support for ASIO technology.
• Built in Audio Editor (basic).
• Configurable Keyboard Layout and shortcuts.
• MIDI-In Support (control Psycle using a MIDI keyboard, or even a software sequencer).
• Themes and skins support.

See also

• List of music software
• Modular software music studio
• Module file
• Demoscene

External links

• Psycle on SourceForge.net
• Psycle wiki
• Article published in Personal Computer & Internet magazine (Spanish)
• Article published in Computer Music magazine (Spanish)
• Modland FTP free .psy files repository