dissidents Releases Sample Wrench 5.0

(Click for a close-up)

dissidents is pleased to announce the release of version 5.0 of their Sample Wrench sound editor. Sample Wrench 5.0 is a visual sound editor for Windows 95, 98, and NT which offers high precision, flexibility, numerous effects, and support for MIDI/SMDI samplers at an affordable price.

There are several changes and enhancements in the system. Perhaps the most notable is that sound sample data is stored in 32 bit floating point format, yielding 24 bits of resolution (over 144 dB signal to noise ratio and a dynamic range of over 190 dB). The internal calculations routinely use 64 bit values, ensuring the cleanest and most pristine results. Combined with its high sample rate capabilities, Wrench offers a great 24 bit / 96 kHz sample editing solution, far above normal CD quality.

Wrench's FFT capability has been completely overhauled and is now more flexible than some stand-alone spectrum analysis programs. View in either 3D (waterfall) or 2D (sonogram) styles. Choose wire-mesh or solid forms, color coded intensities, contours, log or linear frequency, normal or dB amplitude, etc. Zoom, pan, and scroll with the mouse. View your 3D graphs from any angle. It's easy too: grab your graph with the mouse and rotate it! You can print the graph or save it as a JPEG or BMP file. You can even save the data in text form so you can import it into other applications such as spreadsheets or statistics packages.

Multiple Undo/Redo has been added, complete with an Undo/Redo History List. Any previous point is just a single mouse click away. Of course, the undo depth is completely programmable so you can optimize it for your system.

There are great new functions and effects as well, including:

• Click and Pop Removal. Got some vinyl albums with a bit too much snap and crackle? Clean them up with this. One application and nobody will ever know that your little brother used to put a quarter on the tonearm.
• Impulse Modeling. This is a great way to get realistic reverb sounds or to emulate musical devices. With a little equipment, you can even make your own reverb presets. Really like the sound of your friend's basement? Now it can be inside of Sample Wrench!
• Harmony. Create second and third voices from an existing source.
• GraFreq EQ. A multi-band graphic with adjustable center frequencies (quasi-parametric).
• Noise Reduction. Great for removing background hum!
• Convolution. A very neat tool for folks looking for cutting edge sounds.
• Cut/Keep List. Need to chop up a sound file into several separate chunks or remove a series of segments? It's great for dialog editing or pulling beats out of songs.

Sample Wrench supports popular file formats such as WAV, AIFF, RealAudio, AU, and others. The retail price is $259, which includes extensive context-sensitive on-line help. Anyone purchasing Sample Wrench 4.1 after July 1, 1998 is entitled to a free upgrade. A 16 bit data version with CD quality is also available for $199. A free evaluation copy is available from the dissidents website.