Smooth subsession transitions - idea shadow plugins

[TiUser]

To create sessions with guaranteed smooth random subsession transitions without any interruptions or glitches is not easy... Bypass helps just for planned consecutive transitions.

Now my idea...

A "shadow plugin" option in rack slots... means the plugin is loaded twice. During a transition the active plugin can sustain the current sound while the new sound is loaded in the shadow plugin and midi flow is toggled there. Each change will automatically toggle plugins again, resulting in hassle free sustain phase over transitions.

I am aware that loading a plugin twice doubles computation need... but trying to get the same transition behavior with the options available is no different...

[bradr]

interesting idea, I'll keep it in mind.

[TiUser]

Well, it's all about making things more comfortable for users - and more difficult for you...

Ok, back to serious... What works perfect is loading instruments and changing sounds via subsession by muting the ones you don't need, leaving the presets untouched... so any sustain phase between changes is perfect.

Any other methods can be hazardous - depending on the plugins behavior.

I am aware that there are some things around this topic that are interweaved and not easy to resolve...

So changing sessions always interrupts sound because the sound engine is stopped and restarted - for reasonable reasons... however session changes are much faster if plugins are already preloaded.

Another idea is scanning a session list and reporting the needed plugins for that list... then supporting an dialogue which of these plugins may be optionally preloaded when loading this session list to speed up session changes.

Thinking of the Virus TI loading a "TI preset" is not fast either... but what about good old bank/program changes?... these are nearly instant.

Same with external modules routed via the midi routing table. Selection of sounds or sending other midi data seems to be a complicated process to me when one just looks at patch changes...

To make that more comfortable there should be use of "instrument definition files" basically specifying the relation between a name and the bank/program change. There are several applications using this and there are some such files around...

I think there is much headroom to fill here and a starting point for discussion anyway...


Just one dream: Two session spaces in cantabile... while you work on the first you can load a new session in the second via a background process... then switch fast between them - like a DJ from left to right turntable... taking time to exchange the vinyl is ok but never stop the sound...