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

[Dillinger]

NKS : Doable, but lots of work, so it will have to wait (though I've begun to think about how to do it it actually). Currently another Xils-Lab synth waits for NI NKS certification, and I've finished to translate one official add-on bank to NKS, in a way that should greatly enhance the concept of standard nks soundsets translations.

I thought that may stretch the resources a bit. Glad to hear it’s being considered. With as much movement that can be put into Stix already NKS isn’t entirely necessary but would be a welcomed edition.
Perhaps a robust, persistent, midi learn may suffice, one where you can click on the graphic, turn your controller and have it mapped.

These are all just ideas, if you choose to implement any of these or the ones brought up by others I would be glad.

Stix has a solid foundation, let’s build.

[Lotuzia]

...
Though due to the engine tech, as discussed earlier, there is a limitation not doable when trying to change beats_per_bar in one song
Have you ever tried that Lotuzia>> going from say 3/4 to 4/4 with patterns in the same song... if you can do it, let me know how please.
And thanks for this post.

You can change the number of steps for any beat of any sequencer line per pattern. ( So the first beat of pattern A for the snare can have 4 steps, and in pattern B have 5/6/7 steps etc)

But, you can only change the number of beats per bar for the whole song.(i.e it's fixed for one StiX instance)

So I can only think of one trick :

Open two Stix instances , and load them with the same drumkit.

1/ When you are in 4/4 use the first StiX
2/ When you're in 3/4 use the second Stix ( Just select 3 for the number of beats per bar)
3/ Use empty patterns when you don't want one of the StiX make sounds while the other does.

It might not solve all problems though, because it depends when the metrics changes occur ( chances are that after the metric change, the other StiX might not begin the pattern on the first beat, I never tried that, actually when I do metric changes I usually play the drums manually)

However, if you export midi, or audio, then shift them in your daw, it should be ok. ( I'd recommand to work with StiX on consolided loops where the metrics are all the same before exporting, to force StiX to start the pattern on the 1rst beat)

Please, let me know if this turnaround works ok for you.

Also, for other tips on StiX *global* metrics handling, please read one of the following posts, where I'll try to explain in a more detailed way what you can do in StiX.

[Lotuzia]

Given that I have a big monitor the feature I would most want to see is 32 (or even 64) steps on screen at the same time (maybe a pop out window), its so much easier to visualise and make inventive patterns with more steps rather than linking 16 step patterns.

This is actually already possible, from version 1. But you'll have pay close attention to certain (possibly restrictive) details.

First the picture, then the audio, then the details and explanations



StiX metrics tutorial 1
The sound has no musical value in itself, sorry for that, it's just there to explain the concepts and illustrate the picture.

So now the details : You have 64 steps, and you can understand it as a 'two bars patterns'. But, it's under conditions.

1/ Notice I've changed the number of beats per bar to 8 (instead of 4). (located top right under the pattern A-L squares) But this has a consequence : To play the groove at what seems 110 bpm/2 bars, the tempo of my daw is actually set to ... 55 bpm. So if you begin a track with StiX using this trick, it should be no problem, but if you decide to use this trick in a 110 BPM track already populated with many instruments, there's a real problem, and the only way to solve it would be to multiply the speed of all midi clips by 2, then set the daw tempo to 55 BPM

2/ I also changed the number of steps per beat to 8 (instead of default 4) for the first lines of the sequencer. You can use this without using the sequencer divide tempo trick btw, so in any regular/standard situation, and without any restrictions. To further illustrate this, I changed some other sequencer lines to 5 (pentolets) 7 (Heptolets), 3 (Standard Triolets, that can be heard -very loudly- with the crash sound in the audio), or 1 for the last sequence lane ( wich plays a kind of aspiration sound before some first beats that use the micro position feature)

This step per beat settings can be different for every line of every pattern btw, so it opens huge possibilities for those who enjoy to play with sophisticated metrics settings. To set the number of steps per beat for any lane of a pattern, just click on the BEAT tab in the sequencer area to switch to the steps per beat editor, wich should be selfexplanatory.

Hope this tutorial will help to understand what is possible in StiX regarding metrics, sometimes under certain conditions. Please feel free to ask questions if some details remain obscure.

[Lotuzia]

NKS : Doable, but lots of work, so it will have to wait (though I've begun to think about how to do it it actually). Currently another Xils-Lab synth waits for NI NKS certification, and I've finished to translate one official add-on bank to NKS, in a way that should greatly enhance the concept of standard nks soundsets translations.

I thought that may stretch the resources a bit. Glad to hear it’s being considered. With as much movement that can be put into Stix already NKS isn’t entirely necessary but would be a welcomed edition.
Perhaps a robust, persistent, midi learn may suffice, one where you can click on the graphic, turn your controller and have it mapped.

These are all just ideas, if you choose to implement any of these or the ones brought up by others I would be glad.

Stix has a solid foundation, let’s build.

Good news are : Midi Learn is possible since version 1.0 ( well, it was broken in the 1srt 1.01 version with a regressive bug, but is now back in thelast version)

Here's how it works : Assign midi cc# 21 to the cut-off. this midi controller will always control the cut-off of a drum-sound, but wich drum sound/drumpad is controlled depends on the Midi Channel it's sent thru ( so, It's channelised)

In other words : each StiX drumpad has it's own midi channel to receive midi Cc control information. The same parameter will always be controlled by the same midi Cc.

Resulting in : If you assign 100 parameters to 100 different midi Ccs , you'll be able to control in real time, more around 1000 synthesis parameters of StiX simultaneously ( 10 drumpads * 100). Of course no one will ever do that, but you'll still be able to choose several parameters to control between a thousand possible ones)

Midi learn is implemented : Choose the parameter to assign, turn the knob on you midi KB. Done.
To enter the midi assign process, it's in the OPTIONS MENU

Please note that : only one Midi Assign map is possible. The settings are stored in a file, and updated in real time any time you use the assign utility. This allows you to map StiX midi CCs controls according to the hardware device you use to send midi CCs ( though you can use your daw also to perform such tasks)

And, finally, this feature is only possible in StiX full version. Afaik, it's not possible in CM version.

[Lotuzia]

To complete the above post, here's a tutorial showing what you can do with a few StiX drum sounds using midi CC automation on only the easy synthesis page parameters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODoyer1m2KE

As you can see/hear, you can derive/create many sounds form a single one, and make subtle, or crazy variations for each sound.

(Now, if a video program ON PC could let me record in real time the sound + video, I would have notr been obliged to use midi cc automation for this video !!! But it seems none of these, even pricey, do exist in the PC world So I have not only to use Midi Cc automation, but also resync the video to the sound each time I make a tutorial, and it's VERY frustrating and long !!!!!)

[toonertik]

So I can only think of one trick :

Open two Stix instances , and load them with the same drumkit.

1/ When you are in 4/4 use the first StiX
2/ When you're in 3/4 use the second Stix ( Just select 3 for the number of beats per bar)
3/ Use empty patterns when you don't want one of the StiX make sounds while the other does.

It might not solve all problems though, because it depends when the metrics changes occur ( chances are that after the metric change, the other StiX might not begin the pattern on the first beat, I never tried that, actually when I do metric changes I usually play the drums manually)

However, if you export midi, or audio, then shift them in your daw, it should be ok. ( I'd recommand to work with StiX on consolided loops where the metrics are all the same before exporting, to force StiX to start the pattern on the 1rst beat)

Please, let me know if this turnaround works ok for you.

Also, for other tips on StiX *global* metrics handling, please read one of the following posts, where I'll try to explain in a more detailed way what you can do in StiX.

Yes, I tried with 2 instances... I don't think it gave the results I was expecting. I don't remember exactly what happened, I might even have saved the project for later examination. I'll get back to you.

[mcbpete]

(Now, if a video program ON PC could let me record in real time the sound + video, I would have notr been obliged to use midi cc automation for this video !!! But it seems none of these, even pricey, do exist in the PC world So I have not only to use Midi Cc automation, but also resync the video to the sound each time I make a tutorial, and it's VERY frustrating and long !!!!!)

Lotuzia - This app looks like it'd be some utter garbage bloated mess but is completely lean (<5mb download size) and currently only $20/$25 (depending if you want to use the footage for personal or business use): http://www.nchsoftware.com/capture/index.html

I've used it for many a screen capture and it works absolutely brilliantly !

[Lotuzia]

(Now, if a video program ON PC could let me record in real time the sound + video, I would have notr been obliged to use midi cc automation for this video !!! But it seems none of these, even pricey, do exist in the PC world So I have not only to use Midi Cc automation, but also resync the video to the sound each time I make a tutorial, and it's VERY frustrating and long !!!!!)

Lotuzia - This app looks like it'd be some utter garbage bloated mess but is completely lean (<5mb download size) and currently only $20/$25 (depending if you want to use the footage for personal or business use): http://www.nchsoftware.com/capture/index.html

I've used it for many a screen capture and it works absolutely brilliantly !

Thanks Mcbpete.
Do you know if it takes the asio drivers sound ? (because the one software I use for now -magix- can capture the sound from my mb chip/cheap soundcard, and it is not only crappy but also add a huge delay on it vs video when I capture Cubase), but it doesn't see my ASIO interace/drivers -resulting in no sound at all-)

[SLiC]

Given that I have a big monitor the feature I would most want to see is 32 (or even 64) steps on screen at the same time (maybe a pop out window), its so much easier to visualise and make inventive patterns with more steps rather than linking 16 step patterns.

This is actually already possible, from version 1. But you'll have pay close attention to certain (possibly restrictive) details.

First the picture, then the audio, then the details and explanations



StiX metrics tutorial 1
The sound has no musical value in itself, sorry for that, it's just there to explain the concepts and illustrate the picture.

So now the details : You have 64 steps, and you can understand it as a 'two bars patterns'. But, it's under conditions.

1/ Notice I've changed the number of beats per bar to 8 (instead of 4). (located top right under the pattern A-L squares) But this has a consequence : To play the groove at what seems 110 bpm/2 bars, the tempo of my daw is actually set to ... 55 bpm. So if you begin a track with StiX using this trick, it should be no problem, but if you decide to use this trick in a 110 BPM track already populated with many instruments, there's a real problem, and the only way to solve it would be to multiply the speed of all midi clips by 2, then set the daw tempo to 55 BPM

2/ I also changed the number of steps per beat to 8 (instead of default 4) for the first lines of the sequencer. You can use this without using the sequencer divide tempo trick btw, so in any regular/standard situation, and without any restrictions. To further illustrate this, I changed some other sequencer lines to 5 (pentolets) 7 (Heptolets), 3 (Standard Triolets, that can be heard -very loudly- with the crash sound in the audio), or 1 for the last sequence lane ( wich plays a kind of aspiration sound before some first beats that use the micro position feature)

This step per beat settings can be different for every line of every pattern btw, so it opens huge possibilities for those who enjoy to play with sophisticated metrics settings. To set the number of steps per beat for any lane of a pattern, just click on the BEAT tab in the sequencer area to switch to the steps per beat editor, wich should be selfexplanatory.

Hope this tutorial will help to understand what is possible in StiX regarding metrics, sometimes under certain conditions. Please feel free to ask questions if some details remain obscure.

Thank you for that- Realy intersting- I own STiX and n ever tried this!

[mcbpete]

Do you know if it takes the asio drivers sound ? (because the one software I use for now -magix- can capture the sound from my mb chip/cheap soundcard, and it is not only crappy but also add a huge delay on it vs video when I capture Cubase), but it doesn't see my ASIO interace/drivers -resulting in no sound at all-)

It can use your external device, but alas you have to set your DAW to MME/Direct X mode to record output rather than ASIO. This is an unedited capture from my Focusrite Scarlett 8i6 so you can see the latency between sound and vision (I can't actually notice any myself !):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x8QL4XHN2c

[VariKusBrainZ]

Do you know if it takes the asio drivers sound ?

this might help
Its been around for a while but was recently updated

http://www.ntonyx.com/vac.htm

[Lotuzia]

So I can only think of one trick :

Open two Stix instances , and load them with the same drumkit.

1/ When you are in 4/4 use the first StiX
2/ When you're in 3/4 use the second Stix ( Just select 3 for the number of beats per bar)
3/ Use empty patterns when you don't want one of the StiX make sounds while the other does.

It might not solve all problems though, because it depends when the metrics changes occur ( chances are that after the metric change, the other StiX might not begin the pattern on the first beat, I never tried that, actually when I do metric changes I usually play the drums manually)

However, if you export midi, or audio, then shift them in your daw, it should be ok. ( I'd recommand to work with StiX on consolided loops where the metrics are all the same before exporting, to force StiX to start the pattern on the 1rst beat)

Please, let me know if this turnaround works ok for you.

Also, for other tips on StiX *global* metrics handling, please read one of the following posts, where I'll try to explain in a more detailed way what you can do in StiX.

Yes, I tried with 2 instances... I don't think it gave the results I was expecting. I don't remember exactly what happened, I might even have saved the project for later examination. I'll get back to you.

Thanks. Hope it will work OK

[Lotuzia]

Do you know if it takes the asio drivers sound ? (because the one software I use for now -magix- can capture the sound from my mb chip/cheap soundcard, and it is not only crappy but also add a huge delay on it vs video when I capture Cubase), but it doesn't see my ASIO interace/drivers -resulting in no sound at all-)

It can use your external device, but alas you have to set your DAW to MME/Direct X mode to record output rather than ASIO. This is an unedited capture from my Focusrite Scarlett 8i6 so you can see the latency between sound and vision (I can't actually notice any myself !):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x8QL4XHN2c

Thanks a lot for taking the time to make the video.
Yes, seems to be a bit of delay between sound and image (merely visible when the sequencer is working). But if the sound is 'as good' as Asio, it could be a solution, and I'll just shift the entire audio in Magix, wich has rather good audio specs and utilities -it can even see the vst effects-. I'll try that ( I think that 'Magix Video de luxe' (name of the thing) might also 'see the audio' (strange formula ) if I change the options in the daw itself. And MME/DirectX might be ok if the are only one intruments in the daw. Fact is that I need uncompromised sound quality, as we're dealing with audio. Anyway thanks for the help

[Lotuzia]

Do you know if it takes the asio drivers sound ?

this might help
Its been around for a while but was recently updated

http://www.ntonyx.com/vac.htm

Thanks a lot VKB Yes, I can see how it could be usefull. Hope it stays neutral when it's not in use, and doesnt add any latency or cpu charge when it's not 'active' (ie routing something to something else) But if it's not really too circonvoluted to use, can hopefully save/load templates of a routing, be quiet when you don't need it, and be seen by the only two poor programs I intend to use it with, it could be really OK !

Between this one and the solution provided by mcbPete, I hope I'll be able to find a solution, that would save me hundreds of hours works in the future.

And these hours would be much more usefull to work on StiX itself !! Eh eh still love Kvr

[Lotuzia]

Given that I have a big monitor the feature I would most want to see is 32 (or even 64) steps on screen at the same time (maybe a pop out window), its so much easier to visualise and make inventive patterns with more steps rather than linking 16 step patterns.

This is actually already possible, from version 1. But you'll have pay close attention to certain (possibly restrictive) details.

First the picture, then the audio, then the details and explanations



StiX metrics tutorial 1
The sound has no musical value in itself, sorry for that, it's just there to explain the concepts and illustrate the picture.

So now the details : You have 64 steps, and you can understand it as a 'two bars patterns'. But, it's under conditions.

1/ Notice I've changed the number of beats per bar to 8 (instead of 4). (located top right under the pattern A-L squares) But this has a consequence : To play the groove at what seems 110 bpm/2 bars, the tempo of my daw is actually set to ... 55 bpm. So if you begin a track with StiX using this trick, it should be no problem, but if you decide to use this trick in a 110 BPM track already populated with many instruments, there's a real problem, and the only way to solve it would be to multiply the speed of all midi clips by 2, then set the daw tempo to 55 BPM

2/ I also changed the number of steps per beat to 8 (instead of default 4) for the first lines of the sequencer. You can use this without using the sequencer divide tempo trick btw, so in any regular/standard situation, and without any restrictions. To further illustrate this, I changed some other sequencer lines to 5 (pentolets) 7 (Heptolets), 3 (Standard Triolets, that can be heard -very loudly- with the crash sound in the audio), or 1 for the last sequence lane ( wich plays a kind of aspiration sound before some first beats that use the micro position feature)

This step per beat settings can be different for every line of every pattern btw, so it opens huge possibilities for those who enjoy to play with sophisticated metrics settings. To set the number of steps per beat for any lane of a pattern, just click on the BEAT tab in the sequencer area to switch to the steps per beat editor, wich should be selfexplanatory.

Hope this tutorial will help to understand what is possible in StiX regarding metrics, sometimes under certain conditions. Please feel free to ask questions if some details remain obscure.

Thank you for that- Realy intersting- I own STiX and n ever tried this!

Thanks. So it was usefull to do it ( it really opens a lot of possibilities imho). Maybe I should make a video tutorial on this particular subject. The thing I quite dont understand is that some videos tutorials I make have far less views on Youtube than StiX has regular users .( even without counting those who only demoed it). Maybe these tutorial videos should be promoted in whatever way ? StiX has a lot of features, and I still think that, even if they don't replace a -good- manual, wich explains things in detail, they are the best way to get as quickly as possible an idea of a concept, along with some audio examples illustrating it.