New Xhip version

[ClubHo]

thanks! hopefully this next one will work perfectly.

http://xhip.presetexchange.com/temp/xhip_x64_c.dll

if it doesn't i'll be wondering...

i've actually discovered a bug in microsoft's compiler. otherwise it should have worked the first time.

i've tested the function now and it produces the right result so hopefully it should work fine - although it isn't optimal i can worry about that later.

In the C version I can play a pulse sound, but the rest of the synth is unusable.

Club Ho

[aciddose]

Hi, thanks for your time accidose but unfortunately...

hm, it must be some other attribute.

what i can do later on is install winme on a vbox virtual machine and try to figure out what is going on if nothing else works. for now i'll just try to improve my error handling.

http://xhip.presetexchange.com/temp/xhip_me.dll

i named it for good luck

http://xhip.presetexchange.com/temp/xhip_x64_d.dll

the problem with the x64 bit version should be that i forgot to sign-extend. there is some kind of bug in the linker that crashes it when you try to compile a 64bit int multiply.. which is just insane. although i'm using the 2008 compiler so oh well. it might be fixed in 2010.

now i should do a voodoo dance to ensure these versions actually work

[eidenk]

Hi, thanks for your time accidose but unfortunately...

hm, it must be some other attribute.

what i can do later on is install winme on a vbox virtual machine and try to figure out what is going on if nothing else works. for now i'll just try to improve my error handling.

http://xhip.presetexchange.com/temp/xhip_me.dll

i named it for good luck

You're a star, nothing more to do, this one is running perfectly.

Thank you so much!

[aciddose]

it's all in the voodoo dance.

hopefully in the future it'll also spit out a valid error like "you used an invalid class attribute"

http://soundcloud.com/aciddose/c64ish-2003-1

this is one of the files in the adxs archive that you can load and play. it should explain the idea behind the name "xhip" as in "x-chip" and the original intention for the synthesizer/tracker combo

sorry it's so repetitive, i did it in five minutes back in 2003 to show #xylem

[glokraw]

one question i'm still trying to find an answer for though is what i will provide with the commercial effects which will make someone want to pay for them rather than just using the free versions.

i'd still like to provide free versions also.

Sell a simple rack interface, like jack-rack in a linux setup,
where the fx could be saved in desired combinations, when a full daw
isn't needed, such as live guitar/synth/vocal processing.

If you have a dozen fx, let users pick three with the rack, and buy others
alacarte.

or give away mono versions, and charge for stereo versions.

or have a monthly quiz, where the first ten correctly answering a number
of tough fx questions, get a free download. (I know you could be a professor
grading tests late at night )

I suppose a lot will depend on your schedule, and the time constraints
various ideas would impose.
Cheers

[aciddose]

the rack idea is one i'm working on. all the effects are actually modules - that's how they can be included easily in xhip. they all have the ability to be parameter modulated as well.

so the effects rack with modular audio routing, audio feedback, modular modulation and modulation modules is definitely what i'm aiming for.

actually i started with that idea back in may 2010.

there just isn't much point to having the modular when you don't have the effects and everything else in really good shape. a lot of effort has to go into just the gui for example these days. maybe three months worth of effort would be what it takes - of course i haven't been spending every waking moment working on it and i haven't only worked on that stuff either.

it'll all come together eventually though. just hope i don't get hit by a bus or something.

[V'ger]

honestly asking $15 for it would only do damage to it's appearance. "$15? so what is wrong with it? any real product is at least $200!"

that is unfortunately really the way the world works.

Not entirely the case as for example DDMF has a top reputation and crazy cheap plugins. It was like that when they were pay-what-you-like ($5?) and before his plugins went up to $29. Look also at Valhalla and Toneboosters.

People and especially at audio forums like here know what's good and bad despite the price. My guess is that factors like GUI, copy protection, installers, openness to suggestions etc can matter much more for sales than the 'wrong' price point.

[aciddose]

well, that is why this stuff is still bugging me. i haven't really made a decision yet.

i think $99 for the effects is too much in some cases which is why i want to provide "effects PLUS!" for the commercial version while still providing the free "basic" versions of the effects for people who can't afford it. i suppose people would still pirate the "plus" version, but the real concern is people who do get a lot of use out of the effects and could pay not paying because i don't push them to.

of course if i were a psychopath like most successful business owners i'd just pull the plug on the free stuff long ago

no i really like the idea of xhip 2 (modular) and xhip effects "plus" (modular). i think even just having presets or not having them could be the "commercial" aspect. it's annoying of course but if you can't afford the software or you're not serious about using it, the free version without presets makes perfect sense. you can still save one configuration in your project, or manually manage presets if you want.

people who want huge numbers of banks and so on though should also be willing to pay for the commercial version. it's like the difference between bread and cake.

[aciddose]

regarding the x64 version:

it looks like the last version works OK.

>>> todo

menus
preset menu
storage of preset/bank project chunks
0700

getting very close!

i'll probably be ready to do the release when i post the next version now that everything seems to be stable and working. then the bug testing will really need to happen.

thanks to everyone who participated so far and thanks again for those donations! i really appreciate the support, donations are great and testing, commentary and direct participation are awesome too.

>>> minor bugs

oscillator offset (dc + phase)
presets need "dirty" flag - store random UID
drum mode doesn't reset presets allocated different on each voice
parameter filter time isn't adjustable
sample rate for pcm doesn't work right (?)

>>> major bugs

[hcv242]

thanks a lot for xhip. i really like the sound of it. a lot. a question:

what does mono retrig do ? i was hoping it to restart the oscilator on midi note on. can i do that i any other way ? that particular feature is very neat to make percussive sounds....like kicks...where you want the patch to always sound the same.

a quick note...i find the naming "lfo cycle" to be a bit misleading... "lfo phase" would make more sense - at least to me me

[aciddose]

the background is from a draft of branis' GUI he sent to me when he first proposed it.

the name for "cycle" should be "duty". he attempted to shorten the name from "duty cycle" and didn't understand that "duty" is the correct name. it's similar to "pulse width", but it also applies to the sine wave, triangle wave (tri - saw), will applies to noise (changes distribution log/lin/exp) and s&h/random (smooth blending between them, rather than needing two settings)

there are other errors on the gui which will need to be fixed - i don't have the exact configuration used by branis to render the fonts and i will ask him about fixing it.

mono retrigger will do exactly what it says in the display when you select it.

sync the oscillators to keypress (gate) by selecting that in oscillators sync.

thank you for reminding me i need to write an instruction manual

[glokraw]

of course if i were a psychopath like most successful business owners i'd just pull the plug on the free stuff long ago

Around here, business owners, especially successful ones, are in short supply.
Owners with math skills, are less likely to freak out, especially as
April 15 draws nearer

[lazerkind]

The Clear function seems to clear only some of the voices?
Load a program and play a note, then press Clear.
now play one voice, if the same voice as before plays, it plays the previously loaded program, play another voice and the init sound plays.
Pressing Clear before playing any notes set all voices to the init sound.
I still have not figured out the FM in this one but I know when I tried this a while back I liked the filter alot. Nice to se this progress.

Also when trying to click past the Absolute waveshaper the plugin kraches.
(Tested in Renoise 2.7)

[mztk]

+1, voodoo dance.

the effects 'rack', if you give it its own audio i/o in a
standalone, as an extra, could be very positive for people looking
for something to plug an audio source into.

[aciddose]

The Clear function seems to clear only some of the voices?
Also when trying to click past the Absolute waveshaper the plugin crashes.

yep.

the first bug is "presets need dirty flag". if you enable the option "set programs immediately", when clearing a preset it will set all voices to the same preset again after it is cleared. remember that xhip is multitimbral. each voice can have it's own preset, and it supports layers and unisons.

in order to fix this i just need to monitor whether voices have changed their state since they were set last. currently the voice stores a copy of the preset index, but when you clear a preset or load a new one the index stays the same while the content changes. to solve that, i'll generate a random value and the voice will check to make sure it's current state matches the value, otherwise it will automatically update.

the problem with the old "immediately set programs" behavior is that when you're flipping through presets it will update all voices, even if you're in a multitimbral mode.

if you flip to a new program then back, it'll set all active voices.

the waveshaper is due to the fact that there is nothing past absolute anymore. this has already been fixed in my code.