randy's Recent Posts

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.

Unfortunately fixing this turned out to be a bigger task than I thought. I am moving to a different registration scheme soon, and at that time everything will be set up for Unicode. Thanks for your patience.

Meanwhile you can edit the appearance of your name in the plugin yourself. Just go to your account settings on the site and edit your name, then download and install your software again.

A minor update, this 1.2.1 version of Kaivo for Mac and Windows brings a couple of fixes to the new granulator code.

  • fixed high CPU usage when granulator pitch env was high
  • fixed distortion with certain pitch env settings in granulator

Upgrade from 1.1 -> 1.2 should of course be OK. The old patches will be translated to the new format. Selecting any old preset is also fine on the new version. The patch will be translated.

Going back from 1.2.1 to 1.1 there may (unfortunately) be problems. The intent is of course not to crash, but I confess I have seen a crash with 1.1 loading 1.2 presets. So, if you are seeing crashes, make sure you are running the new version and not the old one. I was wondering if possibly you have a 1.2.1 VST but 1.1 AU, or something like that.

"convert presets" will convert all your .aupreset files to .mlpreset format, which will be the only preset file format in the future.

Hi Stefan,

I added the 1.1 download to your account.

If you send a Kaivo 1.2.1 patch to Kaivo 1.1, the 1.1 version will be confused and possibly crash. Maybe this is happening somehow?

The presets go into C:/AppData/Roaming which is where the installer should put them. Where did the Aalto plugin appear after you ran the installer? You said you moved it into C:/VSTPlugins but that is where the installer should have put it unless you specified a different location.

Using the installer should be easier than trying to figure out the right places for everything by hand. Make sure you are running the installer from the same user account you are launching Reaper.

Reaper should be a decent option on Windows. I use a free thing called VSTHost sometimes but only for testing plugins.

Soon, I hope!

@bktr, thanks for your purchase. You should see the 1.6.1 in "My downloads" now.

I would still call it a bug, or math fail, anyway, because the resonator shouldn't lock up like that. Made a note and will try to fix for whenever the next Kaivo update is.

Thanks for the report.

What you are describing is a lockup that can occur when turning "nonlin" up. Turning "nonlin" down will restore the resonator to its happy place. I'll work on a fix.

1.1 does the same thing. I haven't changed anything with the resonators in 1.2.

OK, the installer should be good on Windows now.

Oops, installer problem. Will fix shortly.

Version 1.2 of Kaivo is now available for download for both Mac OS and Windows. This upgrade has focused on performance and usability issues. Enjoy!

  • added multiple disk selector to audio file import dialog
  • fixed granulator pitch errors
  • granulator samples now loaded as needed, speeding startup time
  • granulator optimized with SSE instructions
  • fix body model sound blowup with certain extreme settings
  • increased resolution of granulator pitch envelope
  • improve UI responsiveness under heavy load
  • MPE (Multichannel Polyphonic Expresion) support
  • improved Soundplane compatibility with all patches. (requires Soundplane 1.3 or higher)
  • new protocol switching UI (MIDI / MPE / OSC) under settings menu
  • fixed an issue where automation would not play before a note was received
  • improved voice stealing algorithm
  • optimized drawing on Mac OS



Mac OS 10.6 users please note: Kaivo now requires OS X 10.7 or higher. Unfortunately I had to make this change in order to use newer and better dev tools, specifically C++11. I am truly sorry for any inconvenience.

Yes I did, thanks. In your patch the envelope is being triggered by the sequencer. I imagine that Live is resetting its clock whenever the armed track is clicked on, which will retrigger the envelope.

Do that!!! PLEEEEEEAAAAAAASE!!!!!

I definitely want to release a fully modular system in the future. Stay tuned (for a long while, maybe).

So, in Aalto 1.6 I changed the order of the KEY outputs so that Soundplane and MIDI presets would be more compatible with each other. This opens up all of the presets to be played better with the Soundplane, but the downside is that old Soundplane presets need a couple of wires switched. I forgot to update these Soundplane presets.

I just converted the patches in the directory (http://madronalabs.com/media/soundplane/Aalto%20Soundplane.zip)
and uploaded it over the previous link.

I have to try the EigenD Matrix and software again , to be honest the first time I just found it to complicated to achieve very simpolke results but again it must be me.

It's not just you.

Having lots of options is fine. But if they not are presented to the player with great care, more options result in less music being made. I've seen this time and time again with music systems. I'm doing my best to create new environments that are humane and musical.

I just want my Dx back :-)

I'm listening. It's easier for me to do a Soundplane release than a plugin release, so I'll see what I can do to speed this up.