randy's Recent Posts


Yes, some of you are very excited about Aalto for Windows. I'm busy here trying to make sure that when it's out, it's as enjoyable to use as its Mac counterpart. And, as a relative Windows noob, this is taking some time, so I appreciate your patience. The Windows version is in beta testing now, so please, mister hedgehog, put that pointy stick down.


I'm using Visual Studio 2010 Express with the JUCE framework to create the Windows version, and I'm getting a grip on some performance issues with the nice free profiler Very Sleepy. I feel pretty comfortable with this toolset and with Windows 7 now. There are only a few bugs, it seems, but one or two are the Nasty kind.


The Windows version will run under 7 and XP SP 3. I have a couple of people trying out Vista, and it seems to work well for the most part, but I probably won't have the resources to track down Vista-specific bugs. It's a little like the situation with the many different VST hosts out there-- there are so many combinations that the best thing I can do is give you the chance to try before you buy. Which you can do. Soon.


And for those of you wondering, "have they forgotten about the Soundplane?" Quite the opposite, we are working to finish it. Stay tuned for news.

that's a Duncan Fegredo panel from Hellboy.

It's possible I would implement it if it really caught on and lots of customers wanted it. I'm more interested in the possibilities with the Soundplane and OSC linking to a whole world full of new soft synths that aren't hampered by a MIDI interface to begin with. Check out some of Roger Linn's recent demos with his Linnstrument. He has been explaining to people the same thing I demoed with my prototype Soundplane, which was, you don't need envelopes any more if you can articulate each note individually. So I see this kind of control as a new baseline, not something added onto MIDI.

Did you know that Aalto has polyphonic aftertouch right now? The "after" signal is the sum of the channel aftertouch and the polyphonic aftertouch for each note.

My favorite kind of feedback to get is when I stumble on something on the Web, some traces left by a person who's gotten excited by something I made and what it's doing for their creativity, how it's helping them make music. They're not trying to get a free product or get their name out there into every conceivable nook and cranny. What they're doing is, spreading the word about their process and about a tool that they think is awesome, and I start to think, wow, maybe I'm on the right track.


five Aalto ideas and bonus beats [april28-may1] by morendifernt

More soundplane news soon! I have had to focus on getting Aalto Windows out (obviously), but exciting things are happening with electronics nearby...

I'm like 15 blocks west of the I-5, so it's all good.

tik-tok

Hi,

I did talk to Roger Linn for a while. He was very supportive and I'm happy he's out there evangelizing for the next generation of pressure-sensitive instruments.

We are getting really close to a working prototype. The design has not changed much. More info soon.

best,
Randy

Hey, a DIY question. It's been a while.

Yes I used 1/4" cables in my prototype, with only the + attached to the plates. The most important thing is length, the shorter the better. If you can take apart the interface and put it in a box with the sensor, that would be best.

As to interface I'm pretty sure any cheap one should work fine. You can look at what the G-Tar guys did in their forum post.

The 1.2 update will bring many improvements to the Mac side of things.

Hi there! Maybe you're here courtesy of the very nice review in MusicRadar today. I thought the reviewer, Scot Solida, did a good job of presenting the mostly pros and few cons of Aalto.


Aalto Glitch Groove by ARTrythall


There's an ever-growing Soundcloud group full of Aalto sound examples, some from me and some from other Aaltophiles.


I'm currently working on the next release, 1.2, which will have major UI improvements, further optimizations, a brand new manual, and most importantly, a Windows VST version. 1.2 will be free for current customers. This release was planned for February and we are not far behind. Beta versions will go out soon. If you're interested in beta testing, stay tuned to this channel for updates.


Now and for a limited time after the 1.2 release, Aalto will come with a $99 discount on the Soundplane A, a new instrument for computer music we are developing. It's been a long time in coming but we are still actively working towards finished hardware.


That's all for now, keep in touch!

@nickster that's a good question-- I'm still trying to make it work here but I hope so.

Thanks for sharing! Here is great too---it's just not, you know, as active.

Well that could definitely be the problem!

Sorry for the delay.

I have heard reports where having other apps open makes the install fail.

But I take it things are working well for you now?

Great patch! Reminds me of some Analogue Bubblebath action.

@ ak4115, please go ahead!

e7f4dac9f95ddad10600d5ff36db75b0a8c32504

Hi and thanks!

I have enough people now to try a bunch of different hosts.

If you didn't get here in time, don't worry --- If all goes well the release should be in 2-3 weeks.

I know the forum software is a little bit primitive. I will fix some of these issues soon after Windows beta.

I have heard there are some good LPG clones out there.

I'm not sure there's anything close to the oscillator. The Harvestman Hertz Donut does some wicked sounds and has a similar layout, but sounds quite different.

As far as the waveguide, I don't think there's anything like it in a modular-- if there were, it would have to be a DSP.

OK, if the update does not fix this, I will get back to this issue.

really?

@piebald80, did you ever get it working?

I finished a big step yesterday! Now I'm knocking down Windows bugs and really expect to get to beta soon.

Hi Markus,

Thank you for the report. Having no Maschine unfortunately I can't investigate this. I am hard at work getting the next release out which will include a VST version. Hopefully the VST will be a workaround for this problem.

then you're in the right place...

It's "paste from clipboard" you want. Should work, even if you grab extra characters...

getting closer...

Yes.

I mean, if you just use the default patch without changing any patch cords, and let it run while you compose notes, or go to a movie or something, can you ever get the audio to cut out? The bug I found would only manifest for more complicated patches.