Recent posts

#1

Gladiator / Re: Funny thing happened on th...

Last post by Dumtek - January 20, 2026, 11:02:12 AM

" ...Or it helps to confuse sound designers ;-) "     HAHA
Tone 2 synths and Waldorf Largo all over my stuff. All I use primarily, sound effects and drum sounds included.
https://soundcloud.com/papadumtek

#2

Gladiator / Re: Funny thing happened on th...

Last post by Markus Krause - January 19, 2026, 10:07:33 AM

It has been many years since I coded the stuff. But if I remember correctly Gladiator is 'smart' (or tries to be this at least). It has a feature that bundles a default octave which fits best for each resynthesized spectrum/wavetable. A contrabass may have a different one than a guitar or a flute.
If you switch something to 'off' or change to another spectrum of an instrument a different octave tuning may be used.
This feature should help to create builds of realistic instruments more easily. Or it helps to confuse sound designers ;-)

#3

Icarus / New song with Icarus! With Yes...

Last post by aaron aardvark - January 17, 2026, 07:44:00 AM

I was impressed by jcub's Chapman Stick playing on his song "Splitting Atoms", so I asked him if I could use part of the Stick audio on a song of mine; he said yes. I have been intrigued by the Chapman Stick since 1981, starting with King Crimson's song "Elephant Talk". I don't think I have seen a Chapman Stick in person, much less play one. If you didn't already know, jcub has collaborated with singer Jon Anderson on one song, and Billy Sherwood on a different song; both members of Yes. Anyway here is our song, that I named "Splitting Atoms or Splitting Hairs", it is the song on top.  It has some Icarus synth and some non-Tone2 synths.  Please tell me how you like the song and how it can be improved, and I will return the favor (leave me a link if you don't have a recent thread). Here is my link:


https://www.soundclick.com/aaronaardvark/?content=songs

#4

Icarus / Re: New song with Icarus to ch...

Last post by aaron aardvark - January 17, 2026, 07:40:04 AM

Markus,
Thank you for listening and replying!  I appreciate it!  Sorry for the slow reply.

#5

Gladiator / Funny thing happened on the wa...

Last post by Dumtek - January 16, 2026, 09:36:20 PM

Hi..it's me again with a silly question.  Regarding oscillators, I noticed if I say shut off oscillator  1A to off and just try to listen to 2D for instance, 2D drops 3 octaves. But when i turn back on 1 A everything is hunky-dory. Is this normal behaviour? I mean it is not a huge deal as i can isolate 2D with the combine selector, but was just wondering if this was normal as I nearly had a panic attack. 

PS,  I made a dozen patches today alone. Love Gladiator!!!!
Regards, Papa Dum Tek

#6

Gladiator / Re: Creating a custom factory ...

Last post by Dumtek - January 16, 2026, 03:28:15 PM

Ya...that all makes sense really. I just basically saved the factory.glb in a different folder and brought in an innit folder i made and saved and named it factory. All the categories are still there and i can populate them with my saved .glp files. As well as load the original factory when needed. People often say "why buy an older synth when there is all these free ones now"  me..Because i like synths that have their own character. Gladiator, Largo and Zebra are just those types of older synths that makes one creative with the limitations, unique architecture, and produce sounds i can't make with most other synths. 
Thanks for the reply.
PDT

#7

Gladiator / Re: Creating a custom factory ...

Last post by Markus Krause - January 16, 2026, 09:18:36 AM

there is no way to display my bank in the current Browser?

Unlike the other Tone2 synths you can't create a new directoy (=category) with patches that is automatically added when the synth is loaded. You'll have to replace facory.glb or use the 'load bank' button for your own content.

Will the factory patches not be there then?

The bank you're using as a replacement can contain whatever you like. This can be factory patches, your own ones or a a bank with a mixture of both.

why does it work differently than your other synths?

The reason why it works differently than the other Tone2 synths is that the original Gladiator was developed nearly 2 decades ago. Back in the days the DAW was used for patch management and banks were stored in fxb files. People expect downward compatibility and still want to be able to load their old song project. The current solution is a compromise between performance, song file size, downward compatibility and DAW compatibility.
ElectraX was the first Tone2 synth with a new patch management. Here you are able to create new patch categories/directories. However the DAW is not longer able to manage the patches as it is technically necessary to expose only the currently loaded sound.

But i am just an old fart

We're all getting old. I mean vintage

#8

Gladiator / Re: Creating a custom factory ...

Last post by Dumtek - January 15, 2026, 09:09:23 PM

Regardless of various niggles here and there, Tone2 Gladiator and Waldorf Largo are still my 2 favorite plugins EVER.   Which both have...
a. a unique character of sound (despite their age)
b. low CPU requirements that still run older systems
c. innovative approaches to sound design
d. a fixed architecture that makes one squeeze creativity out of what is given.
Even is this modern world of too much feckery and choices...both still hold their ground.
IMHO
But i am just an old fart and that is just my opinion...lol

#9

Gladiator / Re: Creating a custom factory ...

Last post by Dumtek - January 15, 2026, 11:17:02 AM

So ya, i basically figured out most of what you are saying from the previous version i was running (sans Browser version) But...So basically there is no way to display my bank in the current Browser? Which i can on your other synths i own,  I mean, it's not a huge deal i guess, but it would be more convenient than to load my bank from a folder everytime. If you could fix that i am sure a lot of users would be overjoyed. On the last point you mentioned ..."Creating your own custom factory bank:
Go to the installation directory and there to 'Gladiator3_data'. Create a backup of Factory.glb. Then overwrite the file with 'save bank (.glb)..
Gladiator will automatically load this bank on loading."  Will the factory patches not be there then? It would also be nice to have an INNIT bank as a blank slate. Just saying.



PS...I got a Bavarian Tyrolean hat for my birthday...lol, Love it!

[Store a single patch:]

#10

Gladiator / Re: Ermmmm...confuzed

Last post by Markus Krause - January 15, 2026, 08:53:31 AM

Hello Dumtek,

Gladiator 4 is download compatible. You can load patches created in all previous versions.

The patch management however works differently than in other Tone2 synths.


Store a single patch:
Within Gladiator click on the save button and select 'save patch (.glp)'

Store a bank with all patches:
Within Gladiator click on the save button and select 'save bank (.glb)'

Store all patches of a bank separately (I am not sure if this also works with the mac version):
Within Gladiator click on the save button and select 'save bank (.glb) ...'
Then select 'Gladiator signle presets (*.glp) as a file format


Load a bank:
Within Gladiator click on the load button and select 'Load bank (*.glb)'

Load a single patch:
Within Gladiator click on the load button and select 'Load patch (*.glp)'.
Here you can also load several patches at once if you pick more than one glp files with holding down the mouse button. Then 'Open'.


Creating your own custom factory bank:
Go to the installation directory and there to 'Gladiator3_data'. Create a backup of Factory.glb. Then overwrite the file with 'save bank (.glb)..'
Gladiator will automatically load this bank on loading.