Zynaptiq Pitchmap
Some exhibitors at Musikmesse have huge booths, so smaller companies have to be creative to compete for the show’s visitors’ attention. An excellent method to catch people’s eyes — at least in the keyboard and DAW software halls — is to prominently display a vintage synthesizer. Software maker Zynaptiq did just that, and it worked very well for them.
Quite a few people walked over to the rare Hartmann Neuron synth at Zynaptiq’s booth and only then checked out what was being demoed on the inconspicuous iMac placed right next to it. That demo, though, was nothing short of spectacular.
Zynaptiq’s main product, Pitchmap, is labeled “Real-Time Polyphonic Pitch Processor”. Luring behind this dry, techie description is one of the holy grails of audio processing.
In 1996, Antares released a software plug-in called Auto-Tune, which could correct the pitch of a monophonic audio signal. It effectively pulled individual notes to the nearest correct half-note for the selected scale, enabling even the most pitch-challenged singers to sound as sweet as a nightingale.
Other products with similar functionality have been offered since then, but what’s special about Pitchmap is that it does not merely operate on a single, monophonic audio track. It works on the entire mix-down!