Ammonite Is AMMazing!

[abstractcats]

Hey Kids, in case you missed it, the new HGS synth Ammonite is out!

http://www.hgsounds.com/

Try the demo and also,

For owners Black magic try it with BM, you'll be amazed at how they work to gather I think.

And of course if you don't own BM yet try the BM Lite with Ammonite!

HGS ROCKS!

[Astralp]

Thankyou! I like the wordplay in the title!

I think the final release will be out for tomorrow.

[gwill]

But I see _many times_ higher CPU use with Ammonite than with Bion on fairly comparable presets. Anything I can do to lower the hit?

Greg Williams

[Astralp]

hmmm. it does use more CPU due to the extra features especially the FX (depending on what FX are selected, some modulator modes can be intensive). Although it sounds like it may be a denormal spike I've missed perhaps, if it is very high. Can you email me the .fxp and I'll have a look?

take care
Andy

[gwill]

No, not a denormal-style spiking -- fairly steady CPU % in each VSTi, but (with a particular identical input, namely a steady stream of quarter notes at 120 bpm), the first several factory presets run around 8-20% for Bion and around 40-70% for Ammonite. I've turned off and on various parts of Ammonite, and the FX doesn't seem to make all that much difference, but LFOs are more significant. But just the synths alone use a _lot_ more CPU for Ammonite than for Bion, generally, with factory presets. Are the envelope releases typically longer for Ammonite than for Bion?

Greg Williams

[Astralp]

I'll look into it, although it seems pretty light on my system core2duo 2.4. There is perhaps more envelope going on. I wonder if the filter envelopes are still running after the vol ones have finished, they should be shutting down though. I'll check tomorrow.

[JerGoertz]

Any audio demos? The link on the Ammonite page to that guy (:hihi:, sorry, I forgot his name) who is supposed to have audio demos leads to his page, but his audio and sound design link seems busted.

[Astralp]

You should see them in a block on the right in an mp3 player? There is about 5 including one I've done that uses all Ammonite, and Black Magic/Organic Breakbeats for the drums

[Astralp]

Just an update on the CPU usage. I've investigated and yes the filter envelopes have been keeping the voice open for as long as the release time of the FENV! I did address this for the actual filter envelope, but introduced them to the modulation matrix in the final release and that was causing the problem.. So thanks for pointing that out, it's made a big difference. It will be in the next release, which will be soon as I've also fixed an issue where multiple instances could cause a crash.

There will always be a bit more CPU usage than Bion though, as it is built in SE 1.1, and it now uses a system of using extra voices to prevent note stealing clicks, and does add a bit of overhead overall I think. Plus Ammonite has 24 x 2 note polyphony compared to the much lower number of Bion, so having long release times will cause more CPU usage. You can set the polyphony to a lower amount though using the polyphony popup, when it is switched on

Andy