Bringing from other thread since this is not specific to this month.
I saw this in the SC comments as well and it made me wonder so now that it is on the forum I would like to talk about it.] Peter:H [ wrote:... On a analytical side I would recommend to take a look at this post beta software, which allows you to see the spectrum of 4 channels (pay version 16) in a single display, each channel with it's unique color: https://www.kvraudio.com/product/spectrum-by-ben-schulz (actually I use Melda Production MMulitAnalyzer but that is not free...). After detecting collisions in that tool, it's usually a EQ or even a dynamic EQ or MB-Compressor to tame frequencies...obviously.
I am waiting until after voting is complete to post this so there is no potential impact on the results. But the idea sprang to mind on the day of the quoted post above. I have also touched on some of this previously without much response. So asking again basically.
My first reaction was to question how one could use any commercial(one with a monetary cost) 3rd party(not a part of the DAW package) plug-in in an OSC track. Because that is how I thought the rules were set up. And I thought it "odd" for anyone to say they use a commercial plug-in when discussing OSC tracks.
But, the rules are specific to "effects" and lists several different types of "effects".
Personally I had justed lumped anything that wasn't an instrument into the "effect" category. Peter's post makes me wonder if there is possibly a 3rd category(or maybe even more).
Now I'm not saying or implying Peter actually used the MMultiAnalyzer in any OSC track (it is not listed in his LotS submission), nor am I implying that even if it had been used it would or should actually be against the rules.
It is just what brought the idea to mind that I could be mis-interpreting the rules to my own misfortune.
Maybe a definition of "effect" for OSC rules is just something that alters the sound chain once it is past the instrument.
Everything listed as an "effect" on the rules pages seems to fall under that definition.
So do the rules allow for things that do not meet the above definition of "effect" to be 3rd party commercial products(things that are not free) used in our OSC productions?
Example 1:Things that only provide feedback to the user but do not alter the sound chain in any way for the final render.
Like say meters. While downstream of instrument it does not(or if built correctly should not) alter the sound.
Or Various headphone calibration software packages? If on monitoring channels only has no impact on sound past instrument.
Example 2:Things that help with midi input or provide data to feed into the instrument.
Two types that might fall under this is HY-SEQ16 or Xfer Cthulhu. Neither (as far as I know) generate sound or affect sound once sound is generated by the instrument.
Example 3:Products that produce midi data based on audio input or other capture/conversion method.
Like Jam Origin Midi Guitar 2. Upstream of instrument no effect on sound past instrument.
If I had a hardware guitar with a nice Roland or Fishman setup with it I could generate midi data with that similar to using a midi keyboard. I see nothing against that in the rules. Or for example one could use a Seaboard or other alternative hardware controller that allows the user great control over instrument parameters while the midi data is being recorded. So does the fact that Midi Guitar 2 is software and not hardware really make any difference?
Example 4. Software products that help control/modulate parameters of the instrument but do not create sounds or alter sounds once past the instrument.
MuTools Mux(parameter modulations only) or CableGuys MidiShaper I think are examples of this.
In the case of Mux I could buy MuLab as my DAW and use the features of Mux and be well within the rules. Or I could buy Bitwig and get many modulation options that I would be allowed to use. Yet it seems unclear if I could just buy and use Mux or Midishaper to accomplish the same goal of easier parameter modulation in Reaper because I don't know if they count as "effects".
