New Xhip alpha

[aciddose]

If you want to save all parameters I should really put some extra options in.

"Save state + current preset" and "Save complete state".

So that would be what... "xhipstate" and "xhippstate" ? Ugh damn file extensions

When I decided on adxs, adxi, adxb it was fifteen years ago but these extensions seem dumb and undescriptive now.

"aciddose xhip sequence", "aciddose xhip instrument", "aciddose xhip bank", but "state" also starts with s :'( wtf? "adxx" and "adxy" ? lol.

I guess the solution for "p" is just call both a state, but inform the user with a message box "this state includes a preset, do you want to over-write the current preset? YES/NO."

...and "this state includes a complete bank, do you want to over-write the current bank? YES/NO."

Any suggestion on extensions? Should I just use .xhipstate ?

Oh, of course I could save the state inside a preset too. So maybe continue with ".adxi" and just add an option where it pops a message box "do you want to load the included state information from this preset?"

I'll do that. Easier

[aciddose]

It uses an old Xhip alpha with custom shaped attack part of the envelope (the envelope is irrelevant for this sound, but idk if the patch will even work in the new version).

It should work fine and if it doesn't I can fix it.

[WoodMan]

Patch:
https://app.box.com/s/erlhme8xqg05j0gwg9xtavueak3skh5l
Xhip doesn't save some very important parameters so here they are:
Control / Master Volume = -25dB
Control / Voices = Poly 12
Control / Unison / Stereo ON
Control / Unison / Voices = 2
Control / Unison / Detune = 0.07
Control / Unison / Random = 0.05

It uses an old Xhip alpha with custom shaped attack part of the envelope (the envelope is irrelevant for this sound, but idk if the patch will even work in the new version).
http://xhip.net/temp/xhip_alpha_102_asymptote.7z
Provided by Aciddose in my thread from few months ago.
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6112699
 

Thank you!
The link to xhip_alpha_102_asymptote.7z seems to be no longer avaialabe. I have some older versions of xhip on my pc, so I have a few chances to get your patch working.

[aciddose]

Use the newest alpha version,
http://xhip.net/alpha/

The preset should load fine.

[Mutant]

Giving the DAW an ability to save the Control section state would be nice too, not only in Xhip native format.
One of my previous "projects" was matching the famous THX sound which was a close success, but when i saved the project in REAPER, next time i loaded it, the sound was broken because it depended on the Route section heavily.
Good thing i remembered the settings.

[Mutant]

And about the tube driver:

Xhip on the top, real PM sample on the bottom.
It made the saw curve just right for this task.

[aciddose]

Well the route stuff I haven't done at all yet

Yes the solution I want to use is clicking on the section for "store as part of preset".

For example in the control section it could have a list of options:
"store in preset: control/"
"master",
"unison",
"route",
"effect",
"all"

As well as:
"remove from preset:" and "load from preset:".

Then each of the section options would be part of the page too, so on the route page "store/remove/load route".

I can leave it like that for a while, ultimately I think we need some tick boxes "automatic load from preset" on each page, then "lock this parameter" on certain parameters, for example by right-click menu.

This is super easy to do it'll just take me a day or two and I haven't yet bothered, been busy with other stuff.

[WoodMan]

Use the newest alpha version,
http://xhip.net/alpha/

The preset should load fine.

I opened the preset in xhip_alpha_r623_32_bit - sounds great!

I'm going to try adding the tube driver to see how much difference it makes.

On Xhip, when you modulate the main pitch by +1, then additionally modulate the 2nd oscillator by +1 and 1st oscillator PWM by a small amunt it results in enough movement between the 2 oscillators that is sounds kinda good.

I suspected something like this might be going on. I spent quite a bit of time with Crystal VST (it has 6 LFOs) trying to create this sound but got nowhere near as you.

Thanks agian.

[Mutant]

I opened the preset in xhip_alpha_r623_32_bit - sounds great!

Nice
You may want to turn down the filter saturation, i had it maxed there just to make it sound more "broken", hmm but if you like the "broken" sound, then maybe not.

[WoodMan]

I opened the preset in xhip_alpha_r623_32_bit - sounds great!

Nice
You may want to turn down the filter saturation, i had it maxed there just to make it sound more "broken", hmm but if you like the "broken" sound, then maybe not.

It's nice being able to tweak the parameters like this. Until now, I have been using a sampled instrument for this sound which has very limited tweaking options. Thanks for your help (and of course, a big thanks to aciddose for the superb xhip).

Oh, of course I could save the state inside a preset too. So maybe continue with ".adxi" and just add an option where it pops a message box "do you want to load the included state information from this preset?"

This option makes the most sense to me. I think all of the parameters affecting the final sound should be saved in the preset. I wouldn't even worry about the message box asking about pulling in state information. The ability to pull in parameters by section is a nice-to-have that could be implemented later.

[aciddose]

Well, technically it isn't the best solution because it requires exactly the same effort

I already save the control section in state (FXB) only the additional route/effect pages aren't yet included. Once I do include those writing them to the presets is trivial, it's just writing exactly the same stuff. Write once, use many.

The trouble however is that it makes Xhip's behavior radically different, which is unacceptable. So in order to make it compatible these things must be an option.

Sure, I'll enable these options by default (the load check boxes) but they must be optional. Making frequent changes to the polyphony or unison or route or effects also requires some significant redesign.

Enabling this by default will slow down switching presets by about a hundred times. In other words it will take a hundred times longer to load the preset. Not acceptable.

Anyway this is all quite a bit of effort, I haven't done it yet and it's a matter of time before it gets done. It will get done eventually.

BTW, right-click on the logo and select a larger GUI size. Perhaps it should be 200% by default, but it isn't and won't be. Clicking the option only takes you a second when needed and in most cases you don't need to. This isn't saved in state yet either.

Also, all this is completely incompatible with multi-timbral or unison and key-mapping options. Your preset may depend upon effects or other modes to sound right, but if you use "drum mode" none of that can be applied. Why? There is only one "master" section and if you're playing multiple presets at once, how do you decide which settings to use?

The solution is, you don't. The control section isn't a part of presets and never will be. It can be optional.

I knew this when I first designed Xhip over fifteen years ago. Trust me, I've thought of this stuff.

[WoodMan]

I must admit, I had not considered using the synth in multi-timbral mode or with the key-mapping options. Usually, if I want another timbre from the same synth, I'll load up another instance in my host.

[aciddose]

People complain like crazy about having to do that, and I can see their point.

Mostly I like the capability because it allows me to build a whole set of drum sounds and play them from a single instance. For example with the whole 61 (I think?) sounds in the GM kits you'd need a lot of instances. Even common basic rock kit rhythms use seven or eight different sounds. (Kick, snare, rim, clap, tom, hi-hat, crash, ride.) That also assumes you can transpose the tom, otherwise we have five or six different toms too. As well as closed, open and muted hi-hat we assume you can just change the attack/decay while playing from one instance using MIDI CC or similar.

It also is extremely handy for layering in general, though. This is something I've wanted to implement correctly in Xhip for a long time. Since I have the debugger running and the source in front of me I can just pause Xhip and change the preset assigned to each unison voice internally, although I haven't added that to the GUI yet.

This has been a feature of Xhip since before it was first released due to the fact Xhip was originally the synthesizer in a "tracker". A tracker has many "tracks" which are basically single voices you can fully control individually with different presets assigned to each. So due to maintaining compatibility with that and enjoying these features so much myself, I've never wanted to remove them. You can actually still load a module file and have Xhip play it although there isn't any GUI to display any of the sequence.

So it's really a combination of all those things, I don't want to throw out any of those features although they aren't really core to the VST plugin, that's just because I haven't added them to the GUI yet. They've always been part of the plan.

[aciddose]

BTW, I've uploaded some sequences and instructions/notes to the alpha page you can check out if interested. Nothing really good there (at least not mine, some AHX are good) but they demonstrate the general idea

https://soundcloud.com/xhip/ddose

Sequences + effects = fun.

[WoodMan]

Wow! There's a lot more to this synth than I ever imagined. So Xhip is a synth with a tracker inside it. Thanks for taking the time to explain - now I understand the reasoning behind some of your earlier comments.