PaulXStretch plugin (1.2.4, February 26th 2019)

[Xenakios]

I'm struggling with the concept of this as a plugin

The plugin allows using other plugins before the capture and using other plugins after the PaulXStretch plugin as well as take advantage of whatever other routing possibilities the host application has.

Also multiple instances are actually intended to work with the plugin version. (If there are problems with that, I consider that a bug.) With the standalone app it is not something I even ever bothered testing. That may or may not work with the stand alone app, depending on lots of factors.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

I'm struggling with the concept of this as a plugin

The plugin allows using other plugins before the capture and using other plugins after the PaulXStretch plugin as well as take advantage of whatever other routing possibilities the host application has.

Also multiple instances are actually intended to work with the plugin version. (If there are problems with that, I consider that a bug.) With the standalone app it is not something I even ever bothered testing. That may or may not work with the stand alone app, depending on lots of factors.

I guess I was thinking too much in terms of long-form files, like with the app. The capture does allow for short experiments, where you are only grabbing segments, and applying the effects to those.

The routing is a bit of a pain, at least in logic. I could easily be getting this wrong, but so far, I have an instrument I am playing on track 1. If the stretch plugin is in the effect chain on the same track, audio will only pass through once 'capture' starts. To be able to audition/hear what you're playing before capturing, the plug has to be put on a bus, with input monitoring on. Then, to record that to a track, it has to be bussed to another channel So, that's 3 tracks. Not so elegant, but it works.

One thing that seems to happen is that after re-capturing/overwriting, the previous waveform/capture is still playing. Is there a way of clearing the buffer without having to remove, and re-instantiate the plugin? Also, is there a way to zero/default sliders other than double-clicking and typing?

Cheers

[Xenakios]

The routing is a bit of a pain, at least in logic.

Unfortunately that is something I cannot test and debug here. Maybe some setting in the AU build is wrong but it would be a quite a lot of guess work to try out if the operation within Logic can be improved by changing any of those build settings.

I am quite tempted to just put Logic in the "not supported host" category at this point...

edit : Obviously I could add a mode where the incoming signal is always mixed in.

[hersisson612]

I tried it on Cubase Pro 9.0, on Windows 10 64 bits. It worked very well on capturing a vsti output... for a while.
After a few minutes, everything died. There was no more sound coming out.
So I removed PaulXStrech from the effects. Still no sound. I killed the track and regenerated it, but only with the vsti (and no PaulXStrech effect). Still no sound. I killed the project and started a new one. Same result. I had to close completely Cubase and restart it in order to gain back sound.

Sad, since I really liked the plug-in when it was working.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

I am quite tempted to just put Logic in the "not supported host" category at this point...

It would be a real shame. I guess there's nothing you can do, without access to Logic to test.

With regard to the routing: As I said, it isn't elegant, but it does work. I'm sure it's something that will become easy with practice. Maybe, all it will take is to have a template project set up as a stretch workshop

If you do end up dropping Logic support for the plug, would you at least consider minimum os compatibility updates for the standalone app, so that we don't lose that gem?

[Xenakios]

After a few minutes, everything died. There was no more sound coming out.

OK, I think someone else had this same problem in FL Studio.

Is a counter on the right side of the Import button perhaps constantly increasing, even when not touching the plugin GUI? That counts the number of parameter changes the plugin has got so far. (That was added mainly for my own debugging reasons, but I thought it would be useful to have that counter at this stage in the public release too.) There might be some issue if the plugin gets excessive parameter changes.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

edit : Obviously I could add a mode where the incoming signal is always mixed in.

That would make a huge difference

[hersisson612]

[quote]OK, I think someone else had this same problem in FL Studio.

Is a counter on the right side of the Import button perhaps constantly increasing, even when not touching the plugin GUI? That counts the number of parameter changes the plugin has got so far. (That was added mainly for my own debugging reasons, but I thought it would be useful to have that counter at this stage in the public release too.) There might be some issue if the plugin gets excessive parameter changes[/quote]

No. The plug-in works perfectly for a long time (let's say more than 10 minutes) and suddenly it freezes. The counter doesn't move - It stays to its last value. The GUI still works (one can move the sliders), but no parameter seems to be updated since the count remains the same.

[Xenakios]

The GUI still works (one can move the sliders), but no parameter seems to be updated since the count remains the same.

OK, thanks for the info.

[pottering]

If I leave the plugin window closed (Live projects load with the plugin GUIs closed) it doesn't do any sound and it only loads the sample after opening the GUI.

OK that's certainly a bug, having the GUI open or not should not affect the audio processing at all. I suspect fixing that might resolve some other issues too...

edit : I unfortunately couldn't reproduce this issue on Windows 7/Live Lite 9. Looking at the code I don't understand why the issue would even exist, the audio should process regardless of the GUI being open or not. (I did incorporate some fixes before testing though...)

Probably it is a Live 10 beta thing.

It is not only GUI, if start the main transport, or load an instrument on that track and play it (note: I had tested with PaulXStretch in a empty MIDI Track with no instrument, just loading an instrument in that track doesn't "kickstart" it), or pass audio to it, or just play "MIDI" with the PC keyboard in that MIDI track (even with no instrument), then it starts playing the sample.

Even weirder, if I simply load an sample in a separate Audio Track (without playing it), then PaulXStretch starts playing the sample in Track 1 too.

Kinda funny. Probably Live 10 loads the plugins "dormant" until the user does something "significant". Can't test that as I don't have any other plugin that plays audio all the time like PaulXStretch.

It is not even undesirable IMO, actually gives a bit more control, can load a project with PaulXStretch and only have it outputting if I want to.

[pottering]

OK, I remembered a plugin that plays audio all the time, Melda's MOscillator, I saved a project with it and it loaded and started playing the sine tone as soon as it loaded, so Live 10 beta doesn't really load all the plugins "paused" or "dormant".

[edit: But it is still something with Live 10, as in Reaper's demo it doesn't behave the same way]

[edit2: I was just reporting a funny quirk, not important to me really, the plugin is awesome, thanks again!]

[Julien Unison]

I am quite tempted to just put Logic in the "not supported host" category at this point...

Please, don't give up with Logic :

I've gone deeper into the plugin use in Logic and I can confirm now that it works already perfectly for me.
The .wav import function works, the capture function as well, and all the parameters too.

The sounds it can produce are amazing.

YES, to make it work, you (I mean the lambda user) will have to learn the routing functions of Logic.
But when you have Logic skills, this plugin is totally wonderful.

The only options I could dream about to be added are :

1. An option that can be activated or not : "a mode where the incoming signal is always mixed in."
2. An option that can be activated or not : Sync play/stop with the host (the plugin start and stop playing following Logic's start and stop).
3. An option that can be activated or not : Sync capture/stop with the host (the plugin start and stop capture following Logic's start and stop).

With those 3 options the plugin PaulXStretch could become a real gem (and it is already amazing).

[Xenakios]

2. An option that can be activated or not : Sync play/stop with the host (the plugin start and stop playing following Logic's start and stop).
3. An option that can be activated or not : Sync capture/stop with the host (the plugin start and stop capture following Logic's start and stop).

I can look at implementing these but the problem is again that I don't know what/how reliable info the plugin will get in Logic about the transport states. Initial testing on Windows Reaper and VST produced encouraging results, but I suspect the transport state handling is going to vary a lot between different hosts and plugin formats...

[Xenakios]

There's a bug when offline rendering in the host. That will be fixed for preview 3 but I've so far only tested in Reaper. Hopefully other hosts provide the offline rendering status correctly too, otherwise I am not sure if there's any clean fix for this...

[Xenakios]

One issue I'm having is after using PaulXStretch for about 2-3 minutes and changing various values, the sound suddenly cuts out and won't come back until I've reloaded the plug and a new sample. This happens every time I try to use it. I'm on Windows 8.1, FL Studio 12, using Focusrite Scarlet ASIO as my audio device.

I couldn't reproduce this issue in FL Studio, I let the plugin run for over 10 minutes, changing parameter values as well as switching between the imported sample and captured audio modes. Are you by some chance using FL Studio as 32 bit and the 64 plugin is running bit bridged?