randy's Recent Posts
I have just posted Aalto version 1.3.1 for Mac and Windows to the server, along with the 1.3.1 demos.
1.3.1 changes:
fixed automation sticking bugs
fixed host sync divisions in Logic
new software PLL for tighter host sync
fixed "rectified voice" bug in wave folder
fixed integer dials behavior
fixed possible OSC-related crash in Live
fixed patch display on close and reopen
brought back preset converter on Mac
fixed sequencer offset when stopped
fixed sequencer UI range issue
enjoy!
OK, I toned the wave down for you guys.
Hitting ? a few times after that last one I got some nice bass guitar like vamping.
Reasonable idea. I like to be able to see every parameter at once though. I think just adding more attenuverters is my preferred way forward.
Thanks much for sharing-- I haven't had time to mess with SC though.
Well there is MIDI, which is not too bad if you can use the polyphonic pressure data. I think most DAWs will not be able to deal very well with the density of Soundplane data at 250 Hz -- but that is why the rate knob is there, so you can turn it down to 20 Hz or something.
This oscseq looks great. Let me know if it works at all with the t3d messages.
Use the default value for the attenuator, which is the right tracking amount. Double-click to return to the default.
Soundplane scans at about 1kHz. if each of the 512 junctions were scanned in sequence, that would leave hardly any time per junction to get a good sample.
In general, sampling for a longer time is better, and the continuous wave approach has the advantage of gathering data at each junction truly without any gaps.
I think life is easier for everyone when there's just one place for things and no settings to mess with.
On mac all presets are in the Presets directory, so you can just archive that. I'm guessing you are on Windows where there is less agreement about where things go. It's possible I could have Aalto remember the last directory saved into, or something. Would that help?
I was not in any way offended. Still can't levitate though.
I'm finally setting aside some quality time to play this new instrument. I recorded this yesterday: Soundplane into four voices of Aalto via OSC.
It's easier to play Soundplane when you have quantization on. But here I’m playing in its completely fretless mode. Each row of keys is acting as one continuous pitch control, like a violin string. The rows are separated by fourths, giving the whole instrument a range of four and a half octaves.
I'm playing here loosely in Raga Yaman, and going off the rails a time or two. If you want to hear a breathtaking example of what this Raga really sounds like, Google “Ustad Rashid Khan singing Raga Yaman 1988.”
Thanks for this. I realized that all the automation and new OSC stuff was looking like another update, so I'm keeping this info handy.
Thanks forshaw,
I think the 1.3.1 update coming very soon may fix your issue. Please keep in touch and let me know.
Thanks, will look into this.
Thanks for the feedback and for inventing the word "attenuvert." I know what you mean and will address this somehow in the future.
I'm not going to distribute a solo version of Aalto on the site. However, a magazine in the US might do the same thing as Beat within a month or two. If it does I'll announce that.
I haven't had a chance to try this yet, but I am very excited to!
If you want to save some money, wait a little bit.
Hardware and software and men’s style tips since 2008
I know, I can make a madrona logo patch and you can sew it to a Uniqlo hoodie. Problem solved!
still working on that.
Just a quick note for Soundplane players: the new client application version 0.985 is now available in the usual place: the sticky topic in the hardware forums.
new features:
- Rewrite of carrier calibration.
- Better filtering for raw pressure data.
- Added carrier settings buttons on expert page.
- Added autosave for menu selections.
- Added debug text panel on expert page.
- Added debug output for OSC connection.
The noise performance for all instruments should be much improved over the previous version. To start using the new calibration, go to the Expert page and click "select carriers." Watch the debug window as the client picks out the combination with the lowest noise. This choice will be saved in the preferences file.
I am going to revisit the manual after the 1.0 feature set is complete, so these new features are not described there just yet. Meanwhile, thanks for bearing with me—please post to the hardware forums with your questions and comments.
Fixed in 0.986.
Aalto.
Did they ever really exist and if so where to order?
Only in our minds.
I would love to make some things for all you nice folks to wear. I've just been too busy getting Soundplanes and Aalto out there.
I'm going to go with the T-shirt-- love me some hoodies but with the shirt I can afford to just make some and not need people to pay in advance. Less hassle all round.
In the short two days since its release, I have served approximately eighteen pounds of tasty Aalto downloads! That's over two billion electron volts, or enough salted peanuts to circle the Earth three times! Thanks for your support and all the feedback and comments.
A few issues with 1.3.0 bear mentioning.
Automation incompatibility from previous versions
If you have set up automation curves in Logic or Live with 1.2.6 or a previous version, these curves will be lost in 1.3. Unfortunately most hosts save automation parameters only as indexes. So when adding parameters as I've done there's no good way to preserve older automation data.
I recommend you finish up old work with 1.2.6 or render tracks to audio before installing 1.3. It is also possible to rename the old VST file "Aalto126", and run both versions simultaneously while you make the switch.
Host sync issues in Logic
The new host sync divisions feature may cause drifting off the clock in (surprise, surprise) Logic. I thought I had this problem solved but apparently it still comes up sometimes. I'll be looking for a workaround. Ableton Live and Numerology should be very solid.
Window resize issues
The size of the newly resizable GUI is only saved when the DAW file is saved. Simply closing the Aalto window does not save the data. Since the host only asks for this data when it pleases, it's hard to see how to change this. I'll look for a workaround. In the meantime, just save your file to save the current window positions.
Also, Live does a weird thing with the AU version where it tries to smoothly fade the window size, resulting in glitches during resize.
Live 9 beta crashes
While Live 8 is working fine, I have reports that the Live 9 beta is crashing with Aalto. I've asked Ableton for the beta and will investigate as soon as I can.
Manual stuck in the past
The manual was last updated for version 1.2.6. I'll update it to reflect the 1.3.0 changes as soon as I have time.
If you find any more issues, please start a forum thread under software, or email them to support at madronalabs.com. That email just goes to me, since I'm the only one here, but it allows me to file it in the right place more quickly, so your help is appreciated.
Hmm, haven't heard of any other modulation problems. I did find one bug that could in rare cases cause crashes in other areas. This will come out with 1.3.1 very soon and hopefully fix your problem. Please keep me posted.
I could add some at the end if it were needed. Why do you ask?
The new Aalto installer is not code signed to pass Gatekeeper on Lion and Mountain Lion. To install your Aalto download on these systems, please visit Apple’s page here [support.apple.com] and follow the instructions under “How to open an app from a unidentified developer and exempt it from Gatekeeper.” That will get you up and running. For the whole story, read on.
If you bought a licensed copy of Aalto, you have experienced one aspect of it I’m particularly happy with, its watermarking system. Making this software is my livelihood, so I need people to support my work by buying it instead of just using a copy downloaded from somewhere. This is a problem faced by all developers, big and small, and typically, addressed with some kind of copy protection.
I'm not happy with the idea of copy protection for my software because I think copy protected software is broken software. You should be able to move and copy any data on your computer without worrying if it will be usable later, programs and media files included. This is hard enough to accomplish without software publishers deliberately making it harder.
Hardware dongles are probably the worst example of making things harder for the user. I assume the reader is familiar with iLok and the like, and has possibly experienced the nausea at the gig on realizing the dongle is at home in the desk drawer. Thankfully, dongles are on the way out. Any company that uses them is willing to make your life more than a little worse in return for a little more sales, and should be avoided.
A kinder solution is the software challenge/response system. These come in many different forms, and can be very bad, or only a little annoying, depending on implementation. The ones that are just a little annoying will ask you to upload some information to identify your machine, then give you a code that authorizes you to run the software on that machine. Sounds simple, but this can go wrong in quite a few ways:
• breaking the software when seemingly unrelated hardware configuration changes
• interfering with the operation of debuggers (I'm looking at you, PACE)
• not allowing copy/paste of the response code, resulting in manual errors
But these are all minor problems. The overriding problem is that from the user’s perspective such a system has no reason to exist in the first place, and can only make life worse, unless you buy the argument that the company making the software could simply not pay the bills without it in place.
With the release of Aalto, I implemented a watermarking system that works transparently for the user. If you have bought a license to use Aalto, you can log in to the website, and click a link at any time to download the latest version. When you click the link, the server makes a personalized version of the installer with your name and serial number encoded into it. Your registration is inserted into the executable plugin code itself, so when you copy the plugin to use on another computer, it will just work---there's no key file to hunt down and copy, or installation process to do over. I think this was a good solution to the problem of how to encourage buying the software, but without creating any hassles for the user.
Enter Gatekeeper. Gatekeeper is a new feature in Mountain Lion and OS X Lion v10.7.5 that is intended to keep malicious software from running on your computer. It allows us developers to sign our apps, using a certificate that can be traced back to Apple verifying the source of the actual bits being downloaded, and that said bits have not changed since being registered with Apple, a process called code signing.
Code signing, by design, obviously breaks the watermarking process I was so proud of implementing. The watermark is a change to the installer binary, the very thing Gatekeeper regards as malicious. You might think, what if the code signing had some feature that allowed for a watermark, but rejected other changes? Unfortunately this isn't possible for Gatekeeper to do while fulfilling its mission. There's no way to insure that the changed bits aren't going to be executed by the program, and any change in an executable file could be enough to turn a program malicious.
I have no problem with Apple’s strategy... so far. Malicious software is a huge problem for many users, and overall this will make life better for people. Expert users who want more control and know what they are doing can turn Gatekeeper off. If Apple ever decides to make that impossible, it would be a huge blunder in my opinion, but that doesn't mean it won’t happen. So I should have some plan for delivering my software on Mac OS X if it does.
Is there a way I can both watermark and code sign my products? Yes, in theory. It would be possible to do the code signing process on the server, on each watermarked installer before each download. However, porting Apple's tools to my Linux server would be a lot of work I don't have the resources for, work that would need to be redone every time Apple changed any small aspect of their code signing process. I would love to hear about someone who’s currently doing this, because I'd like to have the best of both worlds. But it’s nothing I can take on myself.
The next best thing I can come up with is to move to a key file system. I will try to think of a way to use the website to make this as transparent as possible. People are used to having registration files, so this won’t be a big problem. It will be kind of sad though because, for a while, I had something way more awesome.
Hi Randy - I've been having automation issues with 1.3
Well this is covered above-- I had to change the parameter order which I realize is a pain for some people. It will break old files. If it's not working with new automation you're trying to make, maybe your host is caching the old parameters somehow.