Zebra Patchwork Contest?

[hakey]

in addition i think a simple mp3 demo should be submitted with each path to encourage voting (single held keys with modulation, not fancy show off Old School style demos ) or there could be stranded midi file/s that have to be used

I did think about that, but then if it were say a pad sound, a single key isn't going show the patch in it's best light(/sound?). Or where a patch makes good use of mod wheel, AT, XY pads etc. how can this be appreciated without playing the patch yourself? I kind of think that playability would be a big part in how someone judges the quality of a patch - I would say that it's as important as the tonal qualities. And then a well programmed arp/MSEG'd type patch is going to sound more impressive to many ears than a less dynamic patch.

If we said, ok, you can include a short mp3 of the patch being played 'in context' as it were (I know that this isn't what you're saying), then there's the danger that a judgement is based as much upon the players musical abilities as the patch itself.

I think that voting should at least be restricted to those who can be bothered to dl the patches and try them out. That shouldn't be too much to ask.

[Echo Voodoo]

1. Should the vote be restricted to those who've contributed a patch?

I'd prefer open voting.

2. Should patch submissions public or anonymous?

Anonymous, as long as there is someone willing to manage the entries.

3. Should voting be public or anonymous?

Public.

4. Should voting be just 'vote for the best patch', or 'list all of the patches in order of preference (as in the Music Cafe comps). I prefer the latter - seems more fun to me?

Something like a top 5 would be my preference.

[PaulSC]

or there could be standard midi file/s that have to be used

This is how I've always thought a patch design competition ought to work. And it means you don't need a "theme" per se -- the competition could be about making the best preset to play the given MIDI file.

[hakey]

or there could be standard midi file/s that have to be used

This is how I've always thought a patch design competition ought to work. And it means you don't need a "theme" per se -- the competition could be about making the best preset to play the given MIDI file.

Sorry, I didn't see that suggestion first time around.

It's an idea worth considering. I would say that the result could tend to be a load of patches that work well with that one file, but aren't necessarily useful, genuinely playable patches - and I was hoping that one of the benefits of this kind of patch comp. would be to build a collection of really good, playable user generated patches.

Just for now I'm tending towards the first comp. being fairly uncomplicated, just to get the ball running.

If it works out then I'm sure that there's potential down the line for setting all sorts of different tasks, whether it be patching for .mid file, very specific acoustic emulation tasks, or non-specific abstract themes.

[billstei]

The prize should be a real instance of the object that normally produces that sound. So if I synthesize an elephant trumpeting and win, I get an elephant.

[pdxindy]

1. Should the vote be restricted to those who've contributed a patch?

open voting.

2. Should patch submissions public or anonymous?

don't care

3. Should voting be public or anonymous?

public.

4. Should voting be just 'vote for the best patch', or 'list all of the patches in order of preference (as in the Music Cafe comps). I prefer the latter - seems more fun to me?

I like the top 5 idea. Better than just the top one and nobody has to suffer as the 'worst' one! hehehe

[justin3am]

Wait, I'm getting lost here. I thought we were going to be doing a Zebra themed patchwork blanket. Where did all this sinthithither stuff come from?

[kodama]

I actually don't care about the voting, I just want to see what happens if we all take on a specific patch type. Maybe one type a week.

[elxsound]

1. Should the vote be restricted to those who've contributed a patch?

No... Keep it open

2. Should patch submissions public or anonymous?

No preference

3. Should voting be public or anonymous?

Keep it public... Since there's no prize, then this should be about having fun and learning as you participate. No real reason to lock the voting down, IMO.

4. Should voting be just 'vote for the best patch', or 'list all of the patches in order of preference (as in the Music Cafe comps). I prefer the latter - seems more fun to me?

I'm also up for the idea of top 5.


Preferably, no standard midi file to play and no mp3 demos so it'll require that other users have Zebra in order to judge the patch.

[elxsound]

I actually don't care about the voting, I just want to see what happens if we all take on a specific patch type. Maybe one type a week.

My big interest too!

[hakey]

I actually don't care about the voting, I just want to see what happens if we all take on a specific patch type. Maybe one type a week.

By 'specific patch type' do you mean the conventional way that patches get split into banks of - 'synth bass', 'lead', 'keys', 'acoustic emulation', 'analogue strings' and so on - or even more specific, say, 'Moog bass', 'Blade Runner lead', 'Rhodes piano', etc.?

Just to keep things interesting I quite like the idea of a mixture of the very specific, the more general all the way to very abstract concepts and 'novelty' themes - say, one week 'Cello', followed the week after by 'Synth Bass' and the week after '2001 A Space Odyssey', you get the idea. That way over time there's more likely to be something to suit all tastes.


One more question - should this be a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly thing?

Bi-weekly seems to me to be the happy medium. Every week might lead to competition fatigue? I don't know - what does everyone else think?

[Urs]

I think bi-weekly can be tried, and then we'll see if it's doable within the given time frame. I think there should be 2 full weekends included in the submission phase.

I also think that there should be various kinds of topics, like "sound that fits this .mid file", "The sound Howie forgot to make for Alien 9", "The most authentic solo Miles never played" (thinking that Miles Davies was renowned for the notes he didn't play, a sequence of 2-5 notes might already be considered a solo) or just, well, "cello".

I like the idea of privat entries for fairness, but I think it has a disadvantage: If someone posts a patch that someone else finds great, it could spin off a conversation right away, while it's "hot", such as "OMG How did you...". This is what I like about the contests in the Music Cafe. As the main purpose is learning, I think there's more learning with entries whose authors are known. And it's also less work for the admin of the competition (he would have to strip the author information from each entry etc.).

I also like Subz' idea of adding a little mp3. A great patch might need to rely on ModWheel or a certain way of plaing things. An mp3 could demonstrate that. This is of course not necessary for contests based on .mid files.

[hakey]

I also think that there should be various kinds of topics, like "sound that fits this .mid file", "The sound Howie forgot to make for Alien 9", "The most authentic solo Miles never played" (thinking that Miles Davies was renowned for the notes he didn't play, a sequence of 2-5 notes might already be considered a solo) or just, well, "cello".

Yes, that's exactly the kind of thing I had in mind.

I like the idea of privat entries for fairness, but I think it has a disadvantage: If someone posts a patch that someone else finds great, it could spin off a conversation right away, while it's "hot", such as "OMG How did you...".

Yes, I see your point. How about if the contest is 'nominally anonymous', but if such a conversation starts the patch author could choose to reveal themselves? I suppose that would detract somewhat from the basic principal of fairness, but it would at least allow those who, through modesty or embarrassment, would rather remain unnamed to do so.

The anon. issue aside, I do think, for reasons of convenience and clarity, that it would be a good idea to collect and uploaded all of the entries to one online file, rather than them being scattered through a subs. thread.

I also like Subz' idea of adding a little mp3. A great patch might need to rely on ModWheel or a certain way of playing things. An mp3 could demonstrate that.

I worry that some people may end up judging the musicality of the mp3 rather than the inherent qualities - tone, playability, etc. - of the patch. This might particularly be the case if voting is open where there is a real concern that people may vote having listened to the mp3's but without actually playing the patch in Zebra.

If a patch requires a certain way of playing couldn't this be explained in the patch notes (the ones that you see if you press Zebra's patch 'info' button), or within one of the XY description fields - say, 'play chords and move mod wheel whilst looking at your naked body in a mirror'?

Or how about allowing simple illustrative .mid files instead? With all of the control inputs, velocities and notes visible it would be a better illustration of how a patch is used for a particular end. It would also mean that to hear it one would need to upload a patch to Zebra.

[hakey]

Urs, would you be willing to choose the first theme? It seems kind of appropriate to me. How about if everyone who's interested makes one suggestion and you could make the final decision, or even pick a theme of your own.

If we can come to some sort of a consensus about the format by the end of the day, we could announce the first comp tomorrow with final entries received a week on Monday, say midnight GMT Monday 13th July, (allows for two weekends).

What do you think?

[jupiter8]

5 bucks to the one who nails the SARRAR(ARR1) Fairlight sample in Z2.