FYI!! Melda SoundFactory ON SALE til JUNE 30

[Niowiad]

Finally getting a chance to dig into this. I have not used Melda synths in the past. The depth and multitude of options does not bother me. I like that. But some of the design decisions are just bizarre. I'm guessing all of this behavior is inherited from choices that Melda made with their other plugins.

The first thing is velocity. Velocity is normally a modulation source that you must assign or it does nothing. Even just starting out with a single Osc with a saw wave, the global per-voice volume responds to velocity, and the range is such that it's way too soft. Clicking the per-voice Mod map showed no assignments, so I could not figure out how to control this. Turns out it is under Global, Advanced Settings, Velocity Shape. If you ONLY want to control your volume in your generators, you need to turn Range all the way up to 0.00 dB. Then you can then assign the velocity mod to your generator volume controls. In any case, the default global velocity shape is probably the first thing you need to change, to raise the minimum to something more reasonable.

Second: Filter frequency is specified in octaves, and key scaling is either on or off (at least without applying key scale modulation separately). This is called "pitch mode". Set it to normal, and you are getting 100% key tracking. Set pitch control to "constant" and octave is relative to A440. I really hate this. When I use a filter, I want to work in Hz, not octaves. Yes, even with key tracking, because that's just the standard, and everyone else does it this way.

Envelopes: When you set sustain to "Silent" there is a weird GUI thing that makes the envelope look like a sawtooth for the release segment which starts at -6 dB. If you set sustain to -48 dB you can see no release segment (as expected).

I also hate premapped velocity to vca. that's the first thing I went and changed.
Still better than Sytrus which on my system has literally no way to disable it (and has been reported in their official forum since 2013 ).

Fair point on the filter keytracking, About the reading value, I brought it up here:
viewtopic.php?p=7400182#p7400182

About the envelope, I immediately thought it was bugged but now I'm thinking it might be a (not actually bad) intentional way to visually show the release curve and indicate the different volume decay behaviour of a note which is decaying at "Decay" rate (key pressed until the end of the attack duration), and a note which is decaying at "Release" rate (key lifted off before the end of the attack duration).
I agree it looks weird though. And maybe it's bugged, I'm basically trying to make sense out of it.

[teilo]

I found the issue with editing devices. One of the tags in the save dialog box is "Editable." You have to set that tag, or the device cannot be edited.

That's a poor UI choice. It looks just like another tag, but it changes functionality.

[David]

…
Devices: I assume this will eventually change, but currently they are locked to the factory-supplied devices. This means that when you create a preset with extensive controls on the Easy Screen, you cannot save your own sub-presets as you can on a factory-supplied device.

EDIT: Looks like the manual is incorrect regarding devices. I claims that devices are locked to the factory-provided ones, but that you can edit them and save them as normal presets. Not true. You can indeed save new devices, and at that point sub-presets become available.

However, once you do this, and load your new device, the Edit button becomes disabled. I assume there is some functionality that has not yet been implemented for those who will be selling devices - a way to block editing that is currently on by default. There's nothing I see in the GUI to change this. New devices are just not editable once you save them.

You definitely can save, re-save, and re-Edit your own devices, with Device presets, AND all the so-far available Factory devices. (You've got some "Factory" Devices that aren't Editable? Where'd you find them?) Just be sure to select Editable in Save Device dialog.



Thread on this here:

viewtopic.php?f=138&t=525092

[David]

I found the issue with editing devices. One of the tags in the save dialog box is "Editable." You have to set that tag, or the device cannot be edited.

That's a poor UI choice. It looks just like another tag, but it changes functionality.

Soon to be changed so the default is Editable.

[bite_me]

…
One thing I wonder: Has this Synth Beast MSEG´s?

Sure…

Hi David,
thanks for your efforts. I find no way to (custom) edit the ENV. Right clicking brings no menu.
How do I get from standart ENV to MSEG? I RTFM with no results

Edit: Found that I have to click CUSTOM and then the ATTACK FIELD. Weird behaviour, but well...
Will test now.

[Chandlerhimself]

double

[Chandlerhimself]

…
One thing I wonder: Has this Synth Beast MSEG´s?

Sure…

Hi David,
thanks for your efforts. I find no way to (custom) edit the ENV. Right clicking brings no menu.
How do I get from standart ENV to MSEG? I RTFM with no results

When you see the ENV look at the top for a button that says Custom shape. Click on it and from there you can manually edit the envelope. The window will change and you'll see a bar that says Preview, Attack and Release. You can't edit preview, but when click "attack",you can edit the attack(which includes decay), and release. The sustain can be edited using the Tremolo, which is basically an LFO(that is also highly editable. Use the preview to check to see if it is set up the way you want.

[David]

LOVE that Envelope Tremolo:)

[mrdoghead]

At best, I'd design the wavetable in another editor and import it into MSF. Certainly not an ideal solution and I would expect better from such a powerful synth.

You wouldn't be the only one. I remember Urs Heckmann asking Marcus Krause about using Icarus generated and modified waveforms for Zebra.

Urs did nothing of the sort. He asked if anyone knew the licensing policy of Tone2 regarding using their wavetable editors to make changes to wavetables for use in other products. As one can do with most editors that can import and export wavetables. Unfortunately, the general EULA posted on line made it clear it might be best to ask, because the posted EULA was bad news for anyone but a copyright lawyer looking to stay busy. So the post went up. (Urs did not mention the synth that would import user wavetables, which turned out to be Hive 2, not Zebra.) Krause and one or two others decided Urs wanted to steal Tone2 wavetables, which was a spectacular misreading of the post.

Krause had a crazy set of convulsions about this, coming off really badly amid all the flying drool. Apparently, he thinks making a wavetable in an app he sells gives him a copyright claim on that user wavetable - unless Krause judges the user's wavetable is sufficiently creative not to be his. Because, uh, randomization algorithm.

This exchange convinced me to buy Zebra and Bazille on that day.

We digress.

On the interface talk, it is clear much consternation can follow from using simple graphics and not labeling certain buttons. I understand being annoyed by unmarked buttons. Best to label them.

Beyond that, the fetishes for or against the utilitarian approach Melda takes are of a sort that can only exist in an online discussion group. Lots of drama about simple things arises in these contexts. Yes, the modulation buttons should be larger and labeled. That said, lots of things in lots of interfaces in lots of products should be labeled but are not. With Melda, however, people care more. Maybe it is a frustration with the lack of graphical flourish in these apps. No, there are no pretty images.

In the end, we seem to agree, Melda products sound good. It is worth finding the buttons here. They do not seem inclined to hire a graphical designer, years into doing things this way. Maybe they will improve labeling. We will still need to read the manual once, whatever happens.

[mevla]

Urs did nothing of the sort. He asked if anyone knew the licensing policy of Tone2 regarding using their wavetable editors to make changes to wavetables for use in other products. As one can do with most editors that can import and export wavetables. Unfortunately, the general EULA posted on line made it clear it might be best to ask, because the posted EULA was bad news for anyone but a copyright lawyer looking to stay busy. So the post went up. (Urs did not mention the synth that would import user wavetables, which turned out to be Hive 2, not Zebra.) Krause and one or two others decided Urs wanted to steal Tone2 wavetables, which was a spectacular misreading of the post.

Yes, that describes in much more details, hence adds precision and correctness to my vague mention which was still, though, about using another synth, another editor, to do something, a mention which followed up on:

At best, I'd design the wavetable in another editor and import it into MSF. Certainly not an ideal solution and I would expect better from such a powerful synth.

Strikeout edit: it's really dumb from me to derive precision and correctness from sheer piling up of words. Gotta wake up.

[bite_me]

You can't edit preview, but when click "attack",you can edit the attack(which includes decay), and release. The sustain can be edited using the Tremolo, which is basically an LFO(that is also highly editable. Use the preview to check to see if it is set up the way you want.

Thanks Mr. Chandler
Stumbled over it and had edited my post.

Next question:
I can modulate the filter cutoff by selecting envs, lfos and sequencers.
Chose that sequencer but cannot directly open it like envs or lfos.
Where do I find it? It says sequencer 1 and sequencer 2. Where do I open it?

[JunSev]

At best, I'd design the wavetable in another editor and import it into MSF. Certainly not an ideal solution and I would expect better from such a powerful synth.

You wouldn't be the only one. I remember Urs Heckmann asking Marcus Krause about using Icarus generated and modified waveforms for Zebra.

Urs did nothing of the sort. He asked if anyone knew the licensing policy of Tone2 regarding using their wavetable editors to make changes to wavetables for use in other products. As one can do with most editors that can import and export wavetables. Unfortunately, the general EULA posted on line made it clear it might be best to ask, because the posted EULA was bad news for anyone but a copyright lawyer looking to stay busy. So the post went up. (Urs did not mention the synth that would import user wavetables, which turned out to be Hive 2, not Zebra.) Krause and one or two others decided Urs wanted to steal Tone2 wavetables, which was a spectacular misreading of the post.

Krause had a crazy set of convulsions about this, coming off really badly amid all the flying drool. Apparently, he thinks making a wavetable in an app he sells gives him a copyright claim on that user wavetable - unless Krause judges the user's wavetable is sufficiently creative not to be his. Because, uh, randomization algorithm.

This exchange convinced me to buy Zebra and Bazille on that day.

We digress.

This post has so much exaggeration and false facts, You know I have seen the very few post Markus had when was here and the few forums and topics he responded. And no, it is not as you are trying to put it, In that conversation they were talking about that and Markus explained the reasons why he needed to know about the porpoise and use of the synths and all these things, he wasn't implying Urs wanted to steal anything, he explained that due to the abuse that some people did creating material with his synths was a reason for some of these procedures, do you want to create a flame or something?.

It might be true Markus looks something paranoid when is about the synths he creates, but your narrative is just really exaggerated.

[DarkStar]

...
On the interface talk, it is clear much consternation can follow from using simple graphics and not labeling certain buttons. I understand being annoyed by unmarked buttons. Best to label them.

Beyond that, the fetishes for or against the utilitarian approach Melda takes are of a sort that can only exist in an online discussion group. Lots of drama about simple things arises in these contexts. Yes, the modulation buttons should be larger and labeled. That said, lots of things in lots of interfaces in lots of products should be labeled but are not. With Melda, however, people care more. Maybe it is a frustration with the lack of graphical flourish in these apps. No, there are no pretty images.

In the end, we seem to agree, Melda products sound good. It is worth finding the buttons here. They do not seem inclined to hire a graphical designer, years into doing things this way. Maybe they will improve labelling. We will still need to read the manual once, whatever happens.

Labelled button would increase the GUI size significantly, given the framework used to build the plug-ins. After a bit of use their meaning does become familiar; and, at that point, the labels might become irksome. If in doubt, hover over the button (or knob, or slider) and press F1 (or Ctrl+F1 or Ctrl+H).

I am not sure what larger modulation buttons would bring. Do you mean the ones next to the knobs?

[mevla]

Next question: I can modulate the filter cutoff by selecting envs, lfos and sequencers. Chose that sequencer but cannot directly open it like envs or lfos. Where do I find it? It says sequencer 1 and sequencer 2. Where do I open it?

I asked the same. Chandler makes use of Sequencer 1 in his latest video on Unison. It seems to turn out that there's no editor for either 1 or 2. They add some kind of randomness. EDIT: The quoted explanation from Dark Star below shows the diff between random and sequence.

[DarkStar]

...
Next question:
I can modulate the filter cutoff by selecting envs, lfos and sequencers.
Chose that sequencer but cannot directly open it like envs or lfos.
Where do I find it? It says sequencer 1 and sequencer 2. Where do I open it?

There is no Sequence Editor. Click [?} on the "Select Modulation Source" window:

Sequence
Sequence source produces an exact same pseudorandom sequence of values for every note. This is especially useful for modular unison processing, where you want each unison voice to be different, so you can simply attach this modulation source to all of the parameters, that should differentiate the voices. Unlike using Note true random source, where the resulting sound will be different every time you press a key, using note sequence the results will be the same, but each parameter (therefore also unison voice) will be different.

True random
True random source produces a different random value for every note. Unlike Note random the value is NOT shared between all parameters, you modulate using this source. Hence it produces a different value for each parameter and also for each voice. This is especially useful for modular unison processing, where you want each unison voice to be different, so you can simply attach this modulation source to all of the parameters, that should differentiate the voices.