The Quilcom SIM-BP: Simulate bagpipes. If you want.

[Spogg]

Hello!

With sincere and heartfelt apologies to trog and all those who find the sound offensive, I hereby offer you the Quilcom SIM-BP which aims to simulate the varied sounds of bagpipes.

It’s been a fascinating journey finding out about this type of instrument I must say. There are just SO many variations around the world.

As always with my SIM synths I use no samples, so the sound will rarely match up to sample sets, but you do have fine control of the timbre and behaviour which samplers tend not to provide.

I won’t bother you with the technical stuff here, but I do provide a lot of background info in the download and the User Guide also goes into the methods I decided to use.

Here’s my YouTube video:
https://youtu.be/LcPAKb9A4VY

Here’s the download link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/f4b34qheyodyh ... 1.zip?dl=0

I included an “XP” plugin because one guy said exports from FS4 don’t work in XP. It’s actually just an export from FS 3.06.

If you have any comments please pipe up [groan]!

Have fun!

Spogg

[DaveyBoy]

I think you should call it the 'Quilcom Octopus'

Here's why:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/news/467619/octopus-falls-for-set-of-bagpipes/

[acg2010]

Absolutely brilliant Spogg, gave a quick play in Savihost, love the sound. I have always like the bagpipe sounds and Celtic music. When I lived in Texas, I loved going to the Fireman's bagpipe and drums band concerts/competitions held annually in the small downtown area near where I lived. Bagpipe music and playing tradition is kept alive by groups like firemen and their associations. Years ago, I wanted to make some bagpipe music but at that time, free bagpipe vsts seem far and few between ( there were a couple demo commercial ones). I tried studying simulating bagpipe sound and reed air instrument sound synthesis and tried using series of band filters in combination with organ sound vsts but realized I was in way over my head and had to settle for a very poor sampled vst plugin I made. Great job, keep up the good work.

[Spogg]

Thank you ACG.

One of my comments on YouTube was from an actual real life piper. Fortunately he seemed to like it!

[HughBanton]

A masterpiece McSpogg. Have you tried it yet through one of MV's mega-chorus creations? The result will very likely be the instant massed pipes of the Edinburgh Tattoo - play that at 200 watts on Hogmanay night and your neighbours will be Very Afraid, you'll have them running for the hills

I'm actually half-Scottish (Freedom!! Sorry, got carried away there ...) Anyway, a couple of decades ago, in honour of my ancestry, I had a "How hard can it be?" moment and acquired a REAL set of bagpipes with the intention of learning how. Well, the answer to that question is "Very". I got roughly nowhere. Proper pipers spend many many years from being wee bairns just perfecting playing the chanter (without any drones), whereby you blow it much as you would, say, an Oboe.

Because the big problem with bagpipes is that they have only two modes - Go (=very loud) and Stop. Once you get the wind going there's simply no let up at all in the sound until you stop again. No other instrument does that! So you definitely need to know exactly what you're doing ..

H

[MrFuls]

I got a hearty chuckle out of "If you want"

My only close encounter with bagpipes here in America came in Junior High when a player in full traditional garb randomly appeared in the cafeteria midway through lunch one day, and just started serenading us.

No context, just bagpipes. Never found out the why, but I assume our band director was behind it. Definitely not something you get to see every day!

Now if we can just get some bagpipe-shaped midi controllers made...

[deraudrl]

Because the big problem with bagpipes is that they have only two modes - Go (=very loud) and Stop. Once you get the wind going there's simply no let up at all in the sound until you stop again. No other instrument does that! So you definitely need to know exactly what you're doing ..

A google search for "heavy metal bagpipes" is instructive in this regard.

(One of the more energetic examples blew out a speaker on a laptop I had a few years back. )

[billv]

Great work Spogg...it sounds awesome...well done

[djbrynte]

Rex is a genious

[newdsp]

Very nice simulation. Can anybody improve it or modify it ? Does it include the fsm file ?