randy's Recent Posts
The demo will not install over a newer version. I think you can use the uninstaller that came with the 1.0.2 installer. or simply remove the virta.DLL from VSTPLUGINS.
Sorry you're having trouble. I first heard about something like this (Virta audio locking up) last week. I'll try to sort this out and update ASAP.
If you have time, can you please try this Virta 1.1 DEMO for Windows and let me know if it fixes things? This could help me track down how the problem started.
http://madronalabs.com/media/virta/demo/VirtaWinDemo1.0.1.zip
Can you tell me what buffer size you are using in Live? I have heard of problems with larger buffers, over 1024. If you are using a big buffer you can try reducing it.
I tried to reply to your email but it is bouncing!
You can still get the 1.0 demo here:
http://madronalabs.com/media/virta/demo/VirtaMacDemo1.0.zip
I don’t have the 1.0 version for personalized download, because there has been no need. Can you please try 1.0 and tell me if it gets better again? If 1.0 is better then 1.0.2 for you, I will try to find out why, and release an update soon.
OK, glad you found my reply.
This 1.0 / 1.02 difference in Reaper is very strange and concerning. I will look into this and try to come up with an update ASAP.
@juan, sorry I missed your post until now! Aalto was designed to make it easy to explore scales and lots of people have done this with it for years, so you should be OK. If any problems have come up i'll fix them, it's part of the process.
My most favorite composer that uses alternate tunings is probably Terry Riley. I don't think of La Monte Young as "academic" either.
Hi Tonvater, thanks for the good words.
I can see the use of Virta's tonetracking module in other contexts, for sure. I was about to say that it's impossible to get signals out of the patcher, in general.
But with Virta that's not really true! There is the one "aux" input to the mixer / output module in Virta. So if you have a way of setting up a DAW with another module that can respond to this... eh maybe it's something but since only one output, probably not generally useful.
I do plan to make a modular plugin that will have some of the modules from the other instruments. I think this is the real answer.
This has been requested before on a per-dial level as "parameter locks", which I hear is a feature that people like on some other synths. I'll add it at some point. I guess it will be reached by command-clicking on the dial or something. This could bring up a little dial menu with the lock as well as fine adjust.
Good idea and the first I've heard this request. thanks for the feedback. I think 12-equal is hard-coded in case the Scales directory can't be found, so there's probably no workaround for now.
I understand about this issue and will be adding some kind of "fine adjust" capability.
It sounds like maybe you are not using the relative (non-jumping) mode though? You can shift-drag any dial from a point outside the "track" (over the number is good) to adjust smoothly from the current location.
I made the combination of "jumping" and smooth dragging with live performance in mind.
You can try a higher block size in Reaper's Audio preferences.
I will download Reaper 5.2.1 for testing. Thanks for the feedback.
Hi, did you get this info (/Library/Audio/Presets/Madrona Labs/Scales ) from the manual? If so , please let me know because it's out of date. Sorry about that.
the scales are now installed to ~/Music/Madrona Labs/Scales.
Nice tip, thanks!
Welcome!
After you've tried the patches to get a sense for the sound palette, I would explore by building up a patch from the default. Some of the patches in the "Aalto techniques" section show connections you might not think to make otherwise.
As you've found out you can't save with the demo, but if you come up with a really great patch you can't bear to lose, you can take a screen shot and duplicate it pretty easily because everything is on the one page!
As far as support I usually answer emails and forum posts on the same day. Some days I can't because there's only one of me and I have to go camping sometimes.
We talked about it. I think the rack version is the one to do first, if only because we don't have to worry about a case and power supply. And of course there's noting stopping anyone from making their own enclosures if they want.
I'll take a look at CV Pal for more ideas. thanks!
Thanks for the feedback. I'm doing some work on timing issues across all the plugins soon. I will investigate tuning as well. I have noticed that some scales are not loading properly.
Hi there,
sorry for the delay in replying—I had to find time to open up the relevant code so I could tell you something useful.
The voice allocator is a bit complex in an effort to get it to feel "natural" and get the most out of four voices.
Stealing voices happens when the number of voices asked to sound exceeds the number of available voices. It goes as follows: In the event sustain is held down, the oldest voice will be the one stolen. When sustain is not held down, the voice sounding at a note nearest to the new note request will be stolen.
This is intended to allow you to, say, play a low triad and then wibble away on a solo line up above while the chord rings out.
In the future I will likely add different modes for voice allocation as a preference, of which of course simple rotation would be one.
The second SMMS meeting will take place at Ada’s Technical books in Seattle on April 1, from 7–9pm. This is a monthly meeting for presentations and discussions about making electronic music.
I'm going to do a gentle introduction to Cycling '74's Max/MSP for the first hour, assuming there is interest. Then we can have an hour for open discussion and working on the web site and such.
Sorry for the very late notice on this month—been a bit slammed with the Virta release but I wanted to stick to the regular schedule.
If you’re interested in contributing something to SMMS, like organizational help, or a presentation of your own, there’s lots of room to do so, so please come by!
[http://seattlemusicmachines.org] has the beginnings of a website (thanks Bryan) and should be the place to go for info very shortly. There will also be a Facebook group soon.
Very cool Mark, I'm glad you've taken it into your own hands to make some of these enhancements—happy to have your skills on board! I'll be releasing a new Soundplane version pretty soon and I'll be excited to try and merge in the OSC control.
A good idea for an upgrade. Added to the list...
Thanks for posting this solution!
Yes, it's on for tonight! Info is at http://seattlemusicmachines.org. Also subscribe to the Google group at https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/seattlemusicmachines for emails. Hope to see you!
I have heard of problems with Avast before, so disabling it during the download and installation seems like an OK solution for now.
In the near future I am going to switch to a different way of displaying the license information. Then I can codesign the installers and both Mac OS and Windows will be happier.
I think the installer leaves it there in case you want to uninstall. You can safely remove it.
No worries, I appreciate just about any suggestions.
Thanks for the suggestions! These have the right feel. We are definitely going to keep it simple.
Hi Stefan,
in this patch you have the toggle "x env" on in ENV2. This multiplies the envelope by the MIDI note velocity. When the envelope is triggered by audio, the results may be confusing. This may explain what you are experiencing.
I can confirm that I don't get any output with this patch either. I guess we'll have to ask Ed what the idea was!
Still having problem on Windows, only "pre" lets signal through. Version 1.0.2
I just checked the 64 and 32 bit VSTs on Windows and could not reproduce.
Possibly it's a problem with parameters. Make sure that lo cut and hi cut are letting audio through.
what if you
- go to preset "passthru"
- move patch cord from "pre" to "comp"
Version 1.0.2 of our favorite new voice-controlled synth and effects toolbox, Virta, is now available for download. This release brings the following changes:
- VST version now comes as a MIDI-controlled effect, enabling Cubase compatibility.
- improved graphics performance with OS X 10.11 (El Capitan)
- changed preset loading to strip unused settings
- fixed a problem with Reaper always passing through dry audio
- fixed a problem with audio stopping at some parameter settings
- brightened background color
Enjoy!
Definitely a good idea. I thought about it when designing, will probably add it in the future.