Q: What is Prism?
A: Prism is a cross platform DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) plug-in that can be used to create frequency-specific brainwave entrainment (BWE) content, or as just a general purpose multi-sensory content creation tool. It supports visual output to Audio Visual Stimulation (AVS) devices.
Q: What AVS devices does Prism support?
A: Prism supports any device capable of decoding AudioStrobe or SpectraStrobe playback, including devices such as the MindPlace Kasina and Limina.
Q: Do I need an AVS device to use Prism?
A: No, Prism also includes a binaural and isochronic tone generator, as well as a low frequency somatic tone generator. You can absolutely make audio-only entrainment content with Prism.
Q: Does Prism support Apple’s new M1 processors?
A: Yes, Prism supports both Intel or M1 64 bit processors on macOS.
Q: Do I need a DAW to use Prism?
A: Yes, Prism uses industry standard audio plug-in technology such as VST3 and Audio Units and is meant to be used inside of a host audio application.
We are looking into creating a self-contained version of Prism with advanced features that would removed the DAW requirement. If this is something that would interest you, please let us know to help us gauge demand.
Q: What DAWs does Prism support?
A: Prism should work with any DAW that supports VST3 on Windows, and VST3 or AU on macOS. However, many DAWs have interesting quirks so we cannot guarantee Prism will run without issue in all DAWS.
We always strive to make sure Prism works well in Ableton Live, Reaper, and Tracktion Waveform, and we will be adding specific support to other DAWs as time and demand allows.
If you have trouble running Prism in any DAW that supports VST3 or AU on macOS or Windows, please let us know, and we will do our best to investigate any issues encountered.
Q: How can I record Prism’s output from my DAW?
A: Consult your individual DAW for recording instructions, but typically as long as the audio track Prism is on is armed for recording it can be recorded into an audio stem, or the entire composition can be saved to file by using your DAW’s render-to-file functionality.
Please see the Prism documentation on rendering / output for more detailed instructions.
Q: How do I use Prism with my AVS device?
A: You simply connect an audio cable from the audio output of your computer to the audio input of the AVS device. AVS devices like the Kasina and Limina also have a USB mode that allows them to show up as an external USB audio device that you can select from your DAW.
Once you have created a session, you can render it to a file such as 16 bit WAV or 320 Kbps MP3. Playing the file back from your computer should drive your AVS device, and if supported, you can also place this file on your AVS device for direct playback.
Q: Can Prism react to incoming audio signals?
A: Yes, Prism can modulate light output through an incoming audio signal using a host DAW’s sidechain functionality. Most DAWs support this capability. Please refer to your specific DAW to understand how to route an audio signal into Prism’s input channels.
Q: Can Prism be directly applied to an audio track to modulate the audio on that track?
A: No, presently Prism only uses incoming audio signals to modulate light output. All DAWs have audio modulation capabilities using built-in, free, and commercial solutions. The easiest way to synchronize modulated audio with Prism is to use the tempo sync feature of Prism along with the tempo sync feature of any DAW-provided LFO, for example.
However, full audio modulation using Prism’s modulation engine is on Prism’s roadmap, as well as the possibility of an FX version which can be applied to an audio track directly (no sidechain routing required).
Q: Is Prism part of the Cymatic Labs SpectraStrobe plug-in resources?
A: No, although Prism is inspired by, and related to the Cymatic Labs plug-ins (Cymatic SpectraStrobe, Cymatic LFO, and Cymatic Tone Generator), it is a separate commercial project built in a contemporary audio development framework with many improvements over the original Cymatic Labs plug-ins.
Q: Are the original Cymatic Labs SpectraStrobe plug-ins still available?
A: No, the Cymatic Labs plug-ins (Cymatic SpectraStrobe, Cymatic LFO, and Cymatic Tone Generator) were originally created for personal projects as an exercise in learning the SpectraStrobe specification. They were built with an older audio framework that is no longer supported, and therefore will not be developed further.
New AudioStrobe and SpectraStrobe resources can be found here.
Q: Can Prism be used as a replacement for the Cymatic Labs plug-ins?
A: Yes! Prism was created to become the commercial evolution of the Cymatic Labs plug-ins. Although workflows may vary, Prism is nearly feature compatible with the Cymatic Labs plug-ins, and the few current missing capabilities are already on Prism’s roadmap.
If you have been using the Cymatic Labs plug-ins, and are struggling to figure out how to apply equivalent workflows with Prism, let us know, we’d love to help you learn the Prism equivalents (thankfully, most things are fairly similar).
Q: What advantages does Prism have compared to the Cymatic Labs plug-ins?
A:
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Prism will receive continued commercial development and support, and is built with a modern commercial audio development framework. The Cymatic Labs plug-ins were built with an older audio development framework which is no longer supported. This means as new technologies, DAWs, or processor architectures emerge, Prism is poised for future compatibility.
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Prism provides a rich graphical user interface with enhanced visualizations and usability over the Cymatic Labs plug-ins.
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Prism creates more approachable workflows, especially to new users. At a minimum, the Cymatic Labs plug-ins would require 5 different plug-in instances and 5 audio tracks to achieve the same functionality as 1 instance of Prism and 1 audio track. However, you can still achieve similar workflows with Prism by creating multiple instances of it and isolating the signal sources in the settings menu (to isolate individual color tones, or sound tones, etc.).
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Since SpectraStrobe and AudioStrobe encode light control signals into the high frequency bands of an audio stream, it is important to properly filter and EQ audio signals. Prism applies proper band limited filtering to each of the high frequency color tones of AudioStrobe and SpectraStrobe. Users of the Cymatic Labs plug-ins would have to manually apply this filtering.
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Prism provides a user-selectable gamma correction for LED glasses creating a more linear color response that more closely matches color mixing on a computer screen. The eye perceives brightness logarithmically, not linearly, and the Cymatic Labs plug-ins do not provide this LED brightness correction curve.
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Synchronizing the entrainment frequency of the Cymatic Labs plug-ins generally had to be done per instance of the plug-in, where as Prism provides a single global control for the entrainment frequency of light, sound, and vibration. Those wanting separate frequency controls per signal source can still create more than one instance of Prism and isolate the layers accordingly.
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Prism provides advanced multibus routing. In its default mode it operates on a single stereo audio track, but each layer of Prism (including individual colors) can be routed to their own submix bus for fine grained mixing control in the host DAW.