Roadmap Changes :-)

[masterhiggins]

3 things I'm really waiting.

1. DIVA update
2. Omnisphere update
3. Symphonic Instruments 2

It seems that Diva update will be the first one to arrive. Can't wait to play with the arp and new modules!

Things I'M waiting for (in order of importance):

1. Diva update
2. Satin release
3. World peace

[pdxindy]

3 things I'm really waiting.

1. DIVA update
2. Omnisphere update
3. Symphonic Instruments 2

It seems that Diva update will be the first one to arrive. Can't wait to play with the arp and new modules!

Things I'M waiting for (in order of importance):

1. Diva update
2. Satin release
3. Bazille release

Here, I fixed that for you

[Urs]

Diva Arp ? dare I ask

Curious about what this arp can do. Can it be unlinked from pitch and used to control the filters/other stuff? Ran through the lag and used as a complex lfo? etc.

Not the Arpeggiator, but the sequencer can record e.g. ModWheel and Breath Control. So you can create sequences just out of MIDI controllers, and still play notes normally. Unfortunately this doesn't work for AfterTouch - there's no way to record it by step input because it's always 0 when you lift a key.

The sequencer is extremely versatile, but it needs 2-3 hours of learning.

- Urs

[spacecult]

Not the Arpeggiator, but the sequencer can record e.g. ModWheel and Breath Control.

Awesome.

[Ch00rD]

[...] Not the Arpeggiator, but the sequencer can record e.g. ModWheel and Breath Control. So you can create sequences just out of MIDI controllers, and still play notes normally. Unfortunately this doesn't work for AfterTouch - there's no way to record it by step input because it's always 0 when you lift a key. [...]

That's not strictly true... AfterTouch is always 0 when you lift the *last* key. Typically, a simple workaround is to start pressing some notes *before* starting the recording. E.g. press notes with left hand, send an all-notes off command (or use some 'panic' function effectively doing the same thing), start the recording, play more notes with the right hand while applying a varying amount of pressure with the left hand. That could perhaps work here as well?

[Howard]

Good point, Sjörd

[pdxindy]

[...] Not the Arpeggiator, but the sequencer can record e.g. ModWheel and Breath Control. So you can create sequences just out of MIDI controllers, and still play notes normally. Unfortunately this doesn't work for AfterTouch - there's no way to record it by step input because it's always 0 when you lift a key. [...]

That's not strictly true... AfterTouch is always 0 when you lift the *last* key. Typically, a simple workaround is to start pressing some notes *before* starting the recording. E.g. press notes with left hand, send an all-notes off command (or use some 'panic' function effectively doing the same thing), start the recording, play more notes with the right hand while applying a varying amount of pressure with the left hand. That could perhaps work here as well?

Or use the expression pedal...

[Urs]

Well... recording is polyphonic... that makes pressing one key for AT rather difficult...

[Urs]

Well... recording is polyphonic... that makes pressing one key for AT rather difficult...

btw... the sequencer is polyphonic and you can dub in realtime

[longbongsilver]

...Urs are you saying you put a *sequencer* in Diva 1.3 or am I reading this wrong?

If the latter, pls don't take it as advice! I'd hate be the cause of bumping it further.

[Urs]

...Urs are you saying you put a *sequencer* in Diva 1.3 or am I reading this wrong?

If the latter, pls don't take it as advice! I'd hate be the cause of bumping it further.

Well, for a couple of years I've wrecked my brain about the issue of making Zebra's combination of Arpeggiator and control sequence more usable. The fact that people often say "Arp" and actually mean "Sequencer" always caused me tummy pains. It's like "what have we done", because FilterscapeVA had pretty much one of the first "Arpquencers" of this kind, I think even before Albino got this, not sure, and then Zeebs

Yet the combination has always had some perks. It was very difficult to imagine any separate "pure arpeggiator" and "pure sequencer" to interact in much of the same way. I think what we did has preserved most of the perks while at the same time creating a whole new layer of usefulness. One can finally use the sequencer as a mere modulation source, and there's a whole lot of neat tricks inside of it - being able to record the arpeggiator into the sequencer being just one of those things, along with being able to actually play a sequence and live keyboard simultaneously.

However, this comes at a price. We couldn't possibly integrate a DAW-like visual editor for this. Hence it's a rather crude 80ies-style cryptic interface at first sight. Nevertheless, we believe that people who are into this will get the hang of it quickly. It's easier than programming a TB-303, and it's way more versatile than programming an SH-101. Plus, you have Arpeggiator and Sequencer *at the same time*. One can play the other.

There's also drag'n'drop for MIDI files. It won't necessarily sound as expected (Diva's sequencer quantises rather swiftly), but it'll make things easy.

If this takes off then I see a good chance that we'll have a similar combo in Zebra3, and maybe an application or something to edit things with a DAW-style piano roll. And of course drag'n'drop between Zebra and Diva, even if teh editors might look differently.

That said, the combination is an exceptional source of fun

[tehlord]

Oh my facking God give my that JP/sequencing Diva right now!

[pdxindy]

...Urs are you saying you put a *sequencer* in Diva 1.3 or am I reading this wrong?

If the latter, pls don't take it as advice! I'd hate be the cause of bumping it further.

The arp/seq combo rocks! Maybe there is something similar somewhere, but I either own or have tried a lot of softsynths and this is something unique and powerful for creative realtime playing. I think people will be buying Diva just for the arp/sequencer combo!

Of course you can do the basic mechanical arp up/down type stuff... but then you can also do stuff like this using the arp and sequencer together! (all played/recorded realtime using the various performance controls).

http://draigathar.org/sounds/Arpseq1.mp3
http://draigathar.org/sounds/Arpseq2.mp3
http://draigathar.org/sounds/Arpseq3.mp3
http://draigathar.org/sounds/ArpSeq5.mp3
http://draigathar.org/sounds/Arpseq6.mp3
http://draigathar.org/sounds/ArpSeq7.mp3


You can keep the sequencer playing and bring the arp in and out. You can keep the arp going and bring the sequencer in and out. You can transpose the sequencer with the arp and run them at different speeds. You can switch between 7 sequencer patterns on the fly (using a user selected octave on the keyboard). And you can have the sequencer running and freely play notes at the same time... and while playing, do realtime overdubbing/replacing and pattern save plus sequencer pattern reset all controlled realtime from the selected octave on the keyboard.

[longbongsilver]

Urs, you are absolutely nuts. I mean that in a good way.

[Ch00rD]

Well... recording is polyphonic... that makes pressing one key for AT rather difficult...

Still, I don't think polyphony should complicate things that much, that it would be best to dismiss the possibility of recording aftertouch. Typically, as long as a sequencer / recorder does not receive note-ons for the set of keys that were already pressed when starting the sequencer / recorder, you can play 'new' notes polyphonically just fine, while sending a 'continuous' stream of aftertouch events (including non-zero values between the notes that the sequencer / recorder does receive).

A similar trick that you could try, btw, is to start pressing some notes with one hand while the MIDI keyboard has its external MIDI output disabled (typically, synth keyboards allow one to choose between some combination of local / external routing); then enable it again, and start playing with the other hand (and perhaps the rest of the fingers of the first hand, depending on your dexterity... ).

[...] we believe that people who are into this will get the hang of it quickly. It's easier than programming a TB-303 [...]

Oh, so you have tried?

You mean, easier to make it do exactly what you set out to do in the first place, or easier to get a bass line that is good enough to stop editing the sequence and just start tweaking knobs?

Btw... since we already have settings such as Slop and Drift to emulate imperfections of analog gear, how about a tweak to emulate switch buttons that sometimes fire twice or not at all? (I once had a box full of replacement parts including plenty of those switch buttons, but seem to have lost it a few years ago. Sorry for the inconvenience.)

That said, the combination is an exceptional source of fun

I bet, looking forward very much. Do we really need to wait for a new GUI? Especially now that there also is all that new theme editing stuff you told us about earlier? I really don't mind her not being fully dressed, I'll even take her stark raving naked.