randy's Recent Posts
I just meant, use the VST version to run the VST presets. Anyway, very soon this issue will go away...
Thanks for catching that. There is an AU version number I have to set separately from my internal version and apparently I forgot to do this. I will automate that step now!
Hiya,
The 'note' property sets the start note of each zone. You can edit this in the JSON file to make your own zone maps. Do you see the zoneExample1 preset and so on? If so, the presets are in the right place. You can put your own zone maps there with notes, sliders and other controls laid out as you wish.
I'm attaching the JSON for the built-in "rows in fourths" below. You can edit this to your liking, and save it in the presets directory for use. Let me know if this makes sense.
{
"zone": {
"name": "B2",
"type": "note_row",
"rect": [0, 0, 30, 1],
"note": 50
},
"zone": {
"name": "E2",
"type": "note_row",
"rect": [0, 1, 30, 1],
"note": 55
},
"zone": {
"name": "A2",
"type": "note_row",
"rect": [0, 2, 30, 1],
"note": 60
},
"zone": {
"name": "D3",
"type": "note_row",
"rect": [0, 3, 30, 1],
"note": 65
},
"zone": {
"name": "G3",
"type": "note_row",
"rect": [0, 4, 30, 1],
"note": 70
}
}
I'm hoping to sneak OSC control of parameters into the next update. But if not now, soon.
Well, I will still have to check out the Yosemite performance soon, but I'm very relieved to hear that there are no serious issues now.
Yes, I have only had Logic do that thing with occasional OSC latency. As OSC is system-wide the problem could be elsewhere, but something Logic is causing somehow.
Amazing, thanks for sharing! I don't have time to try it this week but I hope someone does and reports back.
This really makes me want to add better formatting for things like code to the forums here... we are always tweaking and have some more redesign in the works.
OK, good to hear. The hub may not be capable of transmitting the Soundplane's isochronous data for some reason. Some hubs do work OK.
Sorry the preset situation is a bit frustrating right now. The preset converter has been broken in version 1.5. I'm fixing it and also moving to a new unified preset format for 1.6. This will be out very soon.
I plan to add search to the site, but meanwhile you can use Google with a query like "site:madronalabs.com presets" to see results.
Hmm. This is the first time I have heard of this happening. The Soundplane is being recognized by the app, but data is not flowing.
Can you go to the Expert page and tell me any messages you see there?
Also try plugging the Soundplane in without any other USB devices connected (except keyboard / mouse).
Fixed for the new build, will release ASAP. Thanks for the info.
Thank you for the offer! Since it's a general performance issue but not a crash, there's not too much I can do to move forward short of running some profiling tools on your system.
Meanwhile, if you could look at some things for my sanity, here are my requests:
- pull up a new Live project and make one instance of Aalto running "ancient 4-voice" preset.
- close the Aalto window (we are ruling out graphics for now)
- what is the CPU use in Live's meter?
- what is the CPU use in Activity Monitor? (will vary by 2--3% after settling down)
- what is the buffer size in Live under Preferences / Audio?
if you have a minute to look at this on both 10.9 and 10.10 with the same buffer settings and audio interface I would appreciate it. Also be sure Multicore / Multiprocessor support in Live is the same setting on both machines.
Also, please let me know the CPU details for each machine, or if it's the same machine so much the better.
MANY THANKS
Thanks for the info Joel. Looking around I see a lot of complaints like "Yosemite made my audio / view slow."
Try running Aalto with animations ("anim") disabled. Does it help?
@copernikit, there may be a couple of things at play here. Let's separate the OSC issue out first.
The OSC outputs from the KEY module are not compatible with the MIDI outputs. This is by design because the Soundplane over OSC just puts out different kinds of data. So you can't plug in a Soundplane and get anything out of an arbitrary preset. You could have a situation where the ENV is triggering but the pressure from OSC is coming out in place of a gate, and things sound weird and delayed.
Here's a zip of Aalto presets for Soundplane:
http://www.madronalabs.com/media/soundplane/Aalto%20Soundplane.zip
Now, regarding latency, once in a while I have seen Aalto in Logic go into a mode where latency is just horrible, 1/2 second or something. It happens very rarely, and remaking the plugin instance seems to take care of it. I don't know if this is a Logic problem or what and haven't been able to track it down yet.
There is a known fixed latency in Aalto 1.5 of 256 samples. I have reduced this to 64 samples in the 1.6 version coming out soon. The reason it's there is because in a patchable, modular synth with feedback you need some kind of latency to implement patching.
Also there is an issue in 1.5 with playback timing, fixed in 1.6. But it sounds like you are just talking about playing live.
I haven't tried Yosemite yet, but getting Logic + Apple's latest + my plugins running smoothly is always a high priority so it should work. People seem to be saying things work well overall. As soon as I can get Aalto 1.6 out, I will upgrade here and then do more testing myself.
Kaivo can be very CPU heavy, but there are plenty of ways to make it less so. I wrote an article on the topic here: http://madronalabs.com/topics/3565-getting-the-most-out-of-kaivo
I don't know why Reaper is so different in its CPU reporting from Live in your experience. Each host can have its own idea of what CPU means, so it's not always a good comparison to look at in-host meters.
A good way to compare different apps is to look at Activity Monitor (or Task Manager on Windows.)
I found 5-6 small in the box and one large. If you want one, email me your address and I'll request money via PayPal. randy at madronalabs.
Run 3 of Soundplanes is all wrapped up, and for a couple of weeks most of the instruments have been in happy new hands. Some people weren’t available to receive them, so here are a couple of stragglers going out this week.
After this run, I find myself with two or three remaining sets of good parts, as well as some prototype cases I had milled from walnut. I look forward to building out these instruments when I have time to get back into the shop, so watch this space for info if you're looking for a Soundplane because I plan to put one or more them up for sale if they make the cut.
Right now, though, I am on a dive back into Aalto land, and I'm not coming out until the 1.6 version is ready. This will fix the bug with the preset converter in version 1.5, as well as many other issues. This won't be a "fancy new features" release, rather the result of a whole lot of work under the hood that should make everything more solid and efficient. You know, the kind of release you wish companies would devote more time to.
Apple just released a new version of MacOS called Yosemite. I haven't tried it yet because of the aforementioned Aalto work. I have heard a few rumblings about problems with window management in VST plugins. So for now, I would recommend that you not upgrade, unless you can't resist all the nice new eye candy, and you're not in the middle of a project. If you do try it out, please drop by the forums and let us all know how it's going.
I want to believe...
More seriously, I want to get this done well again (with local printing, sewn-in tags, etc) but that takes time. Especially the mailing part.
I could just use some online service but that's not very Madrona Labs-like!
I'll look at getting some local help and doing another run once I get Aalto out...
Yosemite: I haven't tried it here because I have software to write. Someone on another thread was saying that closing windows on the VST versions wasn't working? Hopefully others can chime in with their experiences.
What version are you using?
Can you go back to the previous version with your previous installer?
Some OSC issues should be fixed in the 1.6 release coming very soon, so if nothing else is working please wait just a bit and try 1.6.
Oops, looks like I deleted part of my comment when posting.
I wrote something about how with overlap, isn't an overlap of
[EDIT] Oh wow, it did it again, looks like a problem with writing the "less than" sign in our Markdown engine. Will look into this.
was trying to say, with overlap less than 1, it sounds like what you are describing to me, how is that different than what you want?
Good feedback all around, thanks for the good words Tobias.
I have plans to address some of these mixer features soon.
With overlap
It sounds like the OSC port got "stuck" at some point and now Aalto can't reconnect. Hopefully a restart will fix this.
I mean, use the VST plugin.
I can confirm the problem and have it fixed for the 1.6 update. I'm working hard to release it soon.
Hi Richard,
Thanks for your patience, I know it's been a long time. I had a new run of Soundplanes in the shop, and those were taking up most of my work hours the past few months. Now that the Soundplanes are done, all my time will be going towards Aalto 1.6.
The main way to load a preset is through the big menu at the top of the plugin. If Kaivo (either AU or VST) is installed using the .dmg installer, all the presets should be in place, and viewable through this menu.
Hi Kurt,
Sorry this is frustrating you. I hope I can help.
First of all let me clear up the aupreset issue. Logic Express (or any DAW) will be able to read Aalto / Kaivo presets in the new format just fine! Otherwise it wouldn't be much good to me and the many users of my AU. Both the AU and VST will use mlpreset files going forward.
In general, it looks like your biggest complaint is that there has to be a DAW in the chain. I guess the main thing that would help you is a standalone version of Kaivo. You're not alone in wanting this so I'll plan to make standalone versions available for v.2. Either that or my own dead simple VST host.
Meanwhile, I think the channel mapping you want can happen in the Soundplane client, so you just need a simple VST host.
I use Apple's free AU Lab all the time for testing. I assume this is what you have. Just start it, select "Add Audio Unit Instrument" and start playing. The Soundplane will talk to the AU over OSC, so there will be no MIDI setup required. This ought to be easy.
There is also Apple's GarageBand which probably came with your Mac. Just type "Audio Units" into GarageBand help and it shows you how to start an AU synth. I just tried it out with Kaivo and it worked fine.
Thanks for sharing this info.
Very cool! I'm glad you're using the OSC capabilities from somewhere other than Soundplane---that is a huge deal. Keep the feedback coming and I'll do what I can to support.
Or you can use the VST format for now. The update should be very soon.