StiX : MultiSynthesis Drum Machine (v1.6 Released + Flash sales)

[ObsoleteAcc99]

not just for hi hats Laruent. I want to be able to choke any drum with any other for creative purposes. Cymbals are often used to choke for example. This for me is something so standard since I learned how to do it and it's regular uses, that i must admit i don't want to learn another method. I'll stick with spark for now, so sorry.
I really just presumed without even a demo, that choking is part of any drum synth plugin available. I think in fact Stix may be the first without?
Even RMV had choke.

[Lotuzia]

not just for hi hats Laruent. I want to be able to choke any drum with any other for creative purposes. Cymbals are often used to choke for example. This for me is something so standard since I learned how to do it and it's regular uses, that i must admit i don't want to learn another method. I'll stick with spark for now, so sorry.
I really just presumed without even a demo, that choking is part of any drum synth plugin available. I think in fact Stix may be the first without?
Even RMV had choke.

Your choice Theo I could mention to you a gazillion things that no other drum machines but StiX can do, but if choke is fondamental for you, then it is.

If you want to choke say a cymbal with a standard choke function on a DM, a second sound is needed, but also this second sound will be heard. ! ( unless you use a slot with a silent sound to do that)

If the DM have a sequencer, then the choke sound will probably happen on a quantised position.

On StiX, you can control the lenght of the cymbal in many ways. Using velocity, sequencer per step GATE time parameter, or assign various EV segments to the step modulations. Or everything together ... for a bit more fun.

In short you can shape and taylor your cymbal sound for each step exactly as you want. And even on non quantised position due to the sequencer micro position. Total freedom, total power. But ... yes you must learn how StiX works I guess freedom has a certain price : A learning curve. (Not saying that choke wont be implemented one day or another on StiX, and if it is I dont know if it will be only for a pair of drumpads (like HHs) or in a more complex way, cos I dont have the answer atm ...)

[Lotuzia]

Thanks. Wich techno kits (names) ?

Do you mean showing values in notes/herz in the info mouseover toolkit ?

I was talking about the Generation Acid and Khemestry banks or are they called Berlin Underground and mnml X ? ... I'm still a bit confused regarding the names / presets.

And yes , I mean hz/notes in the mouse over. Especially for kicks this is handy like in Tremor , Microtonic and Kick for example .

Ok. I've listened closely to these kits. We'll try to get some more like these in the future.

[malachy5]

Very tempted to buy this great Drum machine but the demo freezes a lot on me in latest Ableton Suite on OSX, just gets stuck and loops on a piece of audio buffer, is this something in the demo build that is fixed in 1.01? Even if the project is mostly just StiX. Anyone else notice that?

It sounds great, I was surprised how well it sounds compared to e.g. Heartbeat and Tremor (I own Tremor and demoed Heartbeat).

One thing I noticed and couldn't find in quick scan of manual is if there is a way to type in values to e.g. stretch and pitch?

[Lotuzia]

Very tempted to buy this great Drum machine but the demo freezes a lot on me in latest Ableton Suite on OSX, just gets stuck and loops on a piece of audio buffer, is this something in the demo build that is fixed in 1.01? Even if the project is mostly just StiX. Anyone else notice that?

It sounds great, I was surprised how well it sounds compared to e.g. Heartbeat and Tremor (I own Tremor and demoed Heartbeat).

One thing I noticed and couldn't find in quick scan of manual is if there is a way to type in values to e.g. stretch and pitch?

No type in values, but you can assign them to midi CCs for remote control.

Also please could you indicate if the freeze problem affects both VST and AU versions of StiX ? (You can switch between them on Live) (It's the first time such a problem is reported) Demo version is 1.0 and StiX is now 1.01, but as this behaviour was never seen, it could not have been *fixed* for 1.01, so please be cautious.( or maybe install the full featured, but time limited, demo version so you'llbe able to test the current full version )

[Lotuzia]

About a Choke Function : Might really be implemented in a future StiX version. No promises, no date though, so just read this as 'probably, and not soon'

[CinningBao]

A fascinating battle of minds here regarding the choke issue..

We have a group of musicians who have centuries of drum machine and 'mechanical music' experience and who have practised and incorporated the use of the choke function in their music-making for decades.

And on the other side we have a developer who has implemented an interesting sequencer in his drum machine, who insists that this method is superior to the standard choke function. His sequencer is interesting, with many gate length and micro position parameters. It is even possible to have a closed/open hat on a single line of the sequencer, but only using the same sample/synth configuration.

The developer has developed the drum machine without a standard choke function. We are unsure if he has not played drum machines before and is unaware of the choke function (not just for hats.. cymbal mutes, toms, automatic cutoff of any sound by another..) or if his developer mind has convinced him that there is simply no need for a choke function as he has solved the standard hi-hat choke issue by inventing the high-functioning sequencer.

I, along with other musicians it would seem, don't find Laurent's solution very musical - we are used to dynamic responses in the instruments - not planning to the nth degree when a gate should be released. However, I have to concede the sequencer is interesting and has advancements not seen in other drum sequencers. But we _are_ missing a choke function.

And both sides have their feet firmly planted in the soil.

I'm glad it is now in a 'probably' state instead of 'never'. Thank you Laurent for listening.
I hope it isn't too much work! (though I expect it actually is)

I just had to say it.

[VariKusBrainZ]

Can the original post be updated with new developments, I don't want to trawl this lengthy thread , thanks

[Lotuzia]

A fascinating battle of minds here regarding the choke issue..

We have a group of musicians who have centuries of drum machine and 'mechanical music' experience and who have practised and incorporated the use of the choke function in their music-making for decades.

And on the other side we have a developer who has implemented an interesting sequencer in his drum machine, who insists that this method is superior to the standard choke function. His sequencer is interesting, with many gate length and micro position parameters. It is even possible to have a closed/open hat on a single line of the sequencer, but only using the same sample/synth configuration.

The developer has developed the drum machine without a standard choke function. We are unsure if he has not played drum machines before and is unaware of the choke function (not just for hats.. cymbal mutes, toms, automatic cutoff of any sound by another..) or if his developer mind has convinced him that there is simply no need for a choke function as he has solved the standard hi-hat choke issue by inventing the high-functioning sequencer.

I, along with other musicians it would seem, don't find Laurent's solution very musical - we are used to dynamic responses in the instruments - not planning to the nth degree when a gate should be released. However, I have to concede the sequencer is interesting and has advancements not seen in other drum sequencers. But we _are_ missing a choke function.

And both sides have their feet firmly planted in the soil.

I'm glad it is now in a 'probably' state instead of 'never'. Thank you Laurent for listening.
I hope it isn't too much work! (though I expect it actually is)

I just had to say it.

A bit exagerated, but not completely false either ...

[Lotuzia]

Can the original post be updated with new developments, I don't want to trawl this lengthy thread , thanks

StiX Version 1.01 has been released, and in case you'd think a whole powerfull and deep synth per drum sound wasn't enough, we added :

* Analog sounding Shelving EQ -HP & LP- ( per drumpad, + shared Q )
* Ability to save change Midi Drum Note (options/misc)
* Ability to save/load Midi Maps ( Midi CCs parameters assignations)
* Osc 3 sample assignation now kept in memory when switching to noise oscillator
* 9 new global presets, 4 new drumkits, around 50 new drumpads, and some new samples ***

*** New presets are derived from the StiX sound design contest.

I replicated this info on the 1st post of the thread.

-----_____ StiX intro Price 30% off still valid for a few days ---_____

[malachy5]

Very tempted to buy this great Drum machine but the demo freezes a lot on me in latest Ableton Suite on OSX, just gets stuck and loops on a piece of audio buffer, is this something in the demo build that is fixed in 1.01? Even if the project is mostly just StiX. Anyone else notice that?

It sounds great, I was surprised how well it sounds compared to e.g. Heartbeat and Tremor (I own Tremor and demoed Heartbeat).

One thing I noticed and couldn't find in quick scan of manual is if there is a way to type in values to e.g. stretch and pitch?

No type in values, but you can assign them to midi CCs for remote control.

Also please could you indicate if the freeze problem affects both VST and AU versions of StiX ? (You can switch between them on Live) (It's the first time such a problem is reported) Demo version is 1.0 and StiX is now 1.01, but as this behaviour was never seen, it could not have been *fixed* for 1.01, so please be cautious.( or maybe install the full featured, but time limited, demo version so you'llbe able to test the current full version )

Thanks for the reply, I won't be able to test for a few days but will send you a PM early next week if I can find out how to reproduce the issue in 1.0.0. I'm still on the fence on this but time is ticking on the intro sale.

[Lotuzia]

Very tempted to buy this great Drum machine but the demo freezes a lot on me in latest Ableton Suite on OSX, just gets stuck and loops on a piece of audio buffer, is this something in the demo build that is fixed in 1.01? Even if the project is mostly just StiX. Anyone else notice that?

It sounds great, I was surprised how well it sounds compared to e.g. Heartbeat and Tremor (I own Tremor and demoed Heartbeat).

One thing I noticed and couldn't find in quick scan of manual is if there is a way to type in values to e.g. stretch and pitch?

No type in values, but you can assign them to midi CCs for remote control.

Also please could you indicate if the freeze problem affects both VST and AU versions of StiX ? (You can switch between them on Live) (It's the first time such a problem is reported) Demo version is 1.0 and StiX is now 1.01, but as this behaviour was never seen, it could not have been *fixed* for 1.01, so please be cautious.( or maybe install the full featured, but time limited, demo version so you'llbe able to test the current full version )

Thanks for the reply, I won't be able to test for a few days but will send you a PM early next week if I can find out how to reproduce the issue in 1.0.0. I'm still on the fence on this but time is ticking on the intro sale.

Thanks. I'm confident that XIls will forgive a few extra time in your case for the intro price, if you explain them the situation.

Intro price period will end on May 5th btw. So there's still a bit of time left.

[Lotuzia]

An in depth (5 pages) review made in amazona.de by veteran M.Schroeder.

here's the conclusion :

' StiX hat, was den Sequencer anbelangt, eine neue Referenz geschaffen, aufgrund derer er über die Konkurrenten, die denken, 16-Steps seien immer noch das hipste, haushoch hinwegsegelt. Bei mir ist StiX ab sofort der GO-TO Drum-Synthesizer Nr.1. Antesten oberamtlich vom Chefarzt verordnet! '

Audio examples, and comparison with other Drum Machines are also there.

https://www.amazona.de/test-xils-lab-stix/

An interesting reading if you're interested into Drum Machines. My German is a bit -euphemism- rusty, so I did not take the risk to translate if even only the conclusion, but from what I understood, the reviewer seems to have appreciated StiX a lot.

[Lotuzia]

Too bad no German reader could translate the above quote. From what I understand Stix has become the Go to Drum Machine of the reviewer, and it's sequencer establish a new mark/reference in the land of drum sequencers... Somebody will certainly correct me if I didn't translate well.

[AnX]

If you ever used any Roland/Boss drum machines, you know how crucial the 'exe' function is. Leaving this out is a massive oversight imo.