randy's Recent Posts

Getting there!

I haven't done pre-orders but I wouldn't rule it out. I assume most people just want to pay when it's done, and they can have their software. What about a pre-order is attractive to you?

Hey thanks for the nice feedback. I'm glad to hear my intentions as far as usability and sound are coming across. What you're describing is the way I think of them too.

I wanted the focus of Kaivo to be making timbres from a sound as more of a palette, not so much playing back samples. And didn't want to add the complexity of a scrolling interface. And also, until version 1.2 all samples were loaded into RAM immediately when the plugin was made. There are all reasons why I made the maximum length short.

When the "key/seq" toggle is set to seq, the envelope is triggered by the sequencer gates. The gates are turned on with the blue toggles under the sequencer. The left gate output controls seq 1 and the delayed gate output controls seq 2. That's all there is to it.

What @garf said.

@stefagleykin, do you mean Madrona Labs, or @kroaton?

All the source and instructions for my Soundplane 8x8 project are posted at http://madronalabs.com/DIY.

In MPE mode, x and y are always controller #s 73 and 74. You can see all the outputs for the different modes here: http://madronalabs.com/topics/4718-key-outputs-by-protocol

OK thanks for the report, I'll look into this.

Yes it would.

The bent pitch would always line up with the notes on the grid. There is no concept of "bending" separate from the grid of notes actually. There are only the notes on the grid and spaces in between them, which interpolate the grid points. So everything always aligns.

Did you go from 1.5 to 1.6 or higher? The preset format changed with that release. Choose "convert presets" from the main menu to get all your presets moved to the new format.

Did you try turning animations off and closing the window to see if it was graphics issues?

OK, I understand a little better. Originally there was no menu for selectin gprotocol—it was all automatic. Then when I added the menu (because of MIDI MPE support), is stopped being automatic.

Auto detecting t3d is not what everyone wants—imagine a system where you have t3d data flowing from your Soundplane but you want to use another Aalto or Kaivo via MIDI.

I think that Aalto should remember the last manual protocol setting and use that as the default for the next instance of the plugin created. Unfortunately there is no "plugin class preferences" that would allow this to be implemented easily. I don't see a problem with adding it and have added this to the features list.

The video right now would be me going back and forth between XCode and my coffee maker.

@spacefunk, you selected a patch that plays continuously. Unlike most other software synths, Aalto can play when no notes are being played, just like a modular synth. if you select any patch that does not play continuously, then turn up the level in the GATE module, you will have a drone.

Clicking on other channels can cause Ableton to send clock information which may affect the sequencer. It all depends on the patch.

In the Aalto track, are you playing notes at 4:60? These can cause Aalto's sequencer to restart if "key trig" is on in the SEQUENCER module.

The correct behavior should be: changing the preset never changes the input protocol selection. So it shouldn't be restoring it. That information is stored in a song, but not in a preset. I think you are saying the following:

  • given: you have OSC input working in Aalto
  • action: you load a preset using the preset menu
  • result: OSC input stops working
  • result: the OSC protocol menu does not change
  • action: select MIDI input protocol, then select OSC
  • result: OSC input works

Is that correct? You don't have to be quite this pedantic when submitting bug reports, but from your language above I can't tell what steps to take to reproduce your problem.

You mention AU presets only. Does the VST work for you?

Thanks for the report.

Not currently, but I want to add OSC control over all parameters, including matrixes like the patcher.

Thanks for the tip.

You are doing fine. It's the patch file format that has changed since 1.2. They are now in a JSON format like Aalto, and contain all the parameters for the synth.

So they are a little long. I plan to tweak the website to display them better.

Sorry that Apple link seems to have expired. Thanks for the update.

It's hard to guess because there is a wide variety of Windows systems out there, but I would guess Aalto should take no more than 25-30% of your CPU. Aalto is far from the most CPU-intensive soft synth these days.

What happens if you close the plugin window? If using Live, make sure to close it by clicking the close window box or wrench. Do not simply switch to another track, because Live can keep tying up CPU when the window is merely hidden.

If closing the plugin window helps, you can work with smaller windows, or turn animations off to get better performance.

Unlike most synths Aalto is always active, so it may look scary because CPU is eaten without playing a single note. However, playing notes does not increase this amount much. Aalto's DSP models discrete, individual voices that are simply running all the time. This is by design, to make a more flexible sound making tool.

Please try this: make a new project with Live 9.2 and make a new Aalto 1.7 in it. Save this and try to load it. Does this work?

If so, I think we may be running into an issue with automation. Please email me at support@madronalabs for a fix.

Hi Michiel,

Sorry you're having trouble. There was a weird issue with the latest installer where a reboot was sometimes needed after install. So it may seem like weird advice but you could simply try rebooting.

If that fails, I would try removing the old AU component manually and reinstalling. You can find it in ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components (your home dir) or in /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components (the root dir).

Then run the new installer again. After installation the new plugin component should be visible in ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components.

You can also try this voodoo to remove your Audio Units cache: http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1086

The 32- and 64-bit Audio Units are in the same file, so if one is installed, we know that both are. The problem is likely somewhere in Apple's complex system of validating and registering and caching plugins.

I have no firm plans, but for what it's worth I get more interested in doing Linux versions every year.

It would be a cool thing to have, so I'll stay tuned for info. I'm not up on all of Apple's latest. I do know that Aalto would have to be recompiled for ARM at the very least.

I like the idea of it as an add-on to the full version.

Pitch signals are bipolar—0 is the note A3. So A2 is -1, A1 is -2 and so on. The li'l dials (we sometimes call them attenuverters) will flip a positive signal to become negative, or vice versa. I think this can explain what you are seeing.

You caught me during my morning coffee and customer service part of the day. :-)

The linear pitch input has a very big range so that you are able to get these typically analog kind of percussion sounds that go from 10000Hz to 100 Hz in 0.1 second or something. (You probably know the sound I mean: like "chewp.") The dial being linear, this means in the first quarter of its range the dial will cover several octaves of a low note.

Of course, the exponential dial does better at resolution, but you are probably using it for pitch. The LFO and sequencer have output level controls, so you can control the amount of those mod sources there before sending them to the pitch.

And sometimes you want a linear offset for flanging effects and so on.

With the linear dial what I do is just drag real slowly with the shift key held down in the low part of the range, then i can dial in a few Hz shift. The UI can definitely be improved for these fine adjustments and that task is on my list.

It could be cool but I have no such plans.

I like the idea of Aalto working on an iPad, I really do. But as far as I can tell, people are not willing to pay enough money for iPad apps to support my developing one. That's my current impression and I am open to suggestions.

Thanks for these good tips!

Hmm. Could be something changed in what Local Pro X is sending me. I'm refining the clock code right now, so I'll have a look. Thanks for the report.