Feature requests

[como baila]

Multiport MIDI:

For those who have difficulty with the VSTi, it sure would be nice to have Multiport MIDI implemented.

With Multiport MIDI you could route tracks to different sound modules including hardware or free standing VSTi with virtual midi cables. You could also use virtual MIDI cable to port to your DAW.

This can be done now but perhaps I misunderstand your request como.

I send from RC on one computer to my DAW on a second computer via midi over lan program rptMIDI by Tobias Erichsen.

With this I can route to any instrument via midi ins. So basically I can send RC track 1 to RP Blue, RC track 2 to Zebra, RC track 3 to Diva, etc.

This is the advantage I find when using RC stand alone as opposed to as a VST inside my DAW.

If you decide to use RC stand alone and you are on one machine you may want to consider Tobias' loopMIDI. You can find these great programs at no charge here:
http://www.tobias-erichsen.de/

Happy Musiking!
dsan

Hi Dsan ... thanks for trying to help!

Yes, I understand and use loopMIDI ... but this is not what I mean. You are talking about 'Multi-channel'... I am talking about 'Multi-Port' where each port has the equivalent of 16 midi channels.

The reason I'd like this is that I have a hardware rack with about 12 synths hooked up and each requires a separate port, not just a channel. Some of thee synths are also multi-timbral so I can play more than one track ... but I like to use them all at any given time. Currently RC only connects to a single midi port or one instance of loopMIDI.

[como baila]

Phrase Inspector Preview:

Currently there are three options: Midi Channel 1/ Chord with soundfont and Scale with soundfont.

Could there be a midi channel selection option for the midi channel instead of only permitting channel 1?

I'd like to preview phrases using the instrument voice I intend to use for a given track. Can't do that right now without repeatedly rerouting channel 1.

[dsan@mail.com]

Hi como,
Yes, I understand the issue. Perhaps I did not explain my solution clearly.

I am suggesting routing through the DAW. I realize RC can only use a single port at a time so my solution is not the perfect solution; however, doable.

rptMIDI will allow for as many ports as you want to create. Inside your DAW you then route to the instrument you want to use.

Unfortunately, for your purposes, RC will limit you to 16 channels so I understand your desire for multi-ports; however, I feel giving RC this capability hinges on making RC a DAW which, in my mind, defeats the purpose of RC and runs the risk of adding bloat. Heaven knows we have enough DAW's with this problem!

For my purposes and work flow, 16 channels is sufficient due to my routing techniques; however, I realize for another this may not be the case.

I hope you are able to find the solution that works for you. I am confident Attila will attempt to find solutions too!

Happy Musiking!
dsan

[como baila]

Hi como,

<snip>

Unfortunately, for your purposes, RC will limit you to 16 channels so I understand your desire for multi-ports; however, I feel giving RC this capability hinges on making RC a DAW which, in my mind, defeats the purpose of RC and runs the risk of adding bloat. Heaven knows we have enough DAW's with this problem!


<snip>

I hope you are able to find the solution that works for you. I am confident Attila will attempt to find solutions too!

Happy Musiking!
dsan

Thanks, again, Dsan.

Undestood. Yes, I do route through my DAW ... it permits me to redirect midi channels and load patches without having to touch my hardware. It's the greatest midi patch bay of all.

Since RC is essentially a midi program, I'm not sure I'd consider multiports "bloat," but I guess that's a matter of opinion.

What I really want is for the VST version to function flawlessly. I'm still having a few hiccups in Cubase, but RC is getting pretty close. Anyway, for the time being I've found the perfect workaround. I just unload RC VST before I save the project and then reload it after opening.

Como

[tonedef71]

[2] Custom folders for chords, chord progressions, scales (to be consistent with the way that the Phrases database works)

Allow for the user specification of custom folder locations for chords, chord progressions, and scales. Any user-created content (scales, chords, and chord progressions) that was added to a particular database would be saved as a separate file to its respective custom folder location for easier backup and retrieval. The name for the separate file could be generated based on the display name in the appropriate browser with a special character (e.g. '_') substituted for those reserved characters that are not allowed by the file system, along with an appropriate file extension (or something like that) to help RC distinguish between the possible different content types (chord, scale, progression) when all stored in the same custom content folder. In addition, it would be useful to have support for automatic import into the database (if not already present in the database) of content data files found in the custom content folder (I believe it already works this way for phrases).


--Tony

Hmm... another benefit of having the custom content handling in RC implemented consistently is the preservation of one's custom content after the installation of a new RC update. Right now, I see my custom scales get wiped out whenever I update RC to the latest revision.

[musicdevelopments]

Good point. I changed this behavior in the installer, so in the future scales and chords won't get overwritten. This is how it worked before v2.5.
This feature is high priority so it will definitely be included in the next update (v2.6).

Thanks!
Attila

[tonedef71]

Moving these ideas to here from another thread discussion, because it has evolved into a full-blown feature request...

I have been thinking about how RC could handle complex rhythms more flexibly. The UI in RC handles rhythm quite well already. Just a few more options would it make it more flexible.

The "Manual Editing" option from the "Rhythm Generator:" drop-down menu is quite flexible: it supports the adding of rhythmic steps and specifying their accents (strong, medium, or weak), and covers rhythmic divisions up to 32nd notes. Geared toward percussion, it supports the specification of a note's start location with a fixed-length diamond -- the note's duration lasts until the next diamond or until the end of the phrase. It does not appear to support the specification of silent rests.


New Rhythm Editor option in Rhythm Generator dropdown control; new Rhythm Editor tab; new Rhythm database; new Rhythm Browser
The most flexible option I have come up with involves using a specialized version of the Phrase Editor (call it the "Rhythm Editor"). It works like the Phrase Editor but you only get one row -- which is all you need to specify a complex rhythm. When "Snap" (to Grid) is turned off, the user can draw notes and rests of any length they desire. Clicking a drawn note highlights as selected. Clicking the delete key will remove it (leaving a rest). Clicking the highlighted note again cycles through three types of different accents (strong, medium, or weak) which are shown in three different shades of the same color. Moving the mouse pointer to the left or right edge of the highlighted noted changes the pointer (shown as a pencil in the screenshot) and allows the user to slip-edit the length of the bar.

A drop-down selection (or some mechanism) that is separate from the snap-to-grid settings could be present to instruct the UI to assist the user in drawing common note durations (e.g. eight note, sixteenth notes, dotted eighth, dotted quarters, eighth note triplets, etc.) -- the UI should be able to calculate exactly how many pixels wide would be needed for a particular note duration based on all of the current settings and screen real estate; this could be turned off (as seen in the "Note Length" option in the screenshot below) to allow the user to do free hand drawing of note durations.

A "Percussion Mode" checkbox when checked would switch the editor into using the diamonds (as seen befor with the "Manual Editing" Rhythm Generator option) instead of the stretchable bars, because note length is not really needed when specifying percussion lines.


If possible, the Rhythm Editor might support recording from a midi keyboard (if possible).

Once a rhythmic phrase has been created with the "Rhythm Editor", it could be saved to special rhythm database and later recalled by invoking a new option in the "Rhythm Generator:" drop-down menu: called "Saved Rhythm" which would allow for the selection of the previously saved rhythmic phrase from a new "Rhythm Browser"


These are some of the basic ideas I brainstormed for the feature. There are still more details to flesh out.

[tonedef71]

I may be confused about how the "Line" Phrase generator type was meant to be used:


It does not seem to provide a way to specify the generated phrase length (as does the Generic Generator shown below). Is that a feature that could be added to the Line generator, or does that not make sense for this type of generator?

[HiEnergy]

Isn't the length of the phrase given by the length of the line you draw in your arrangement?

[tonedef71]

Isn't the length of the phrase given by the length of the line you draw in your arrangement?

Hmm... I have just been dragging/dropping a new Line Generator onto a track in the composition window. I am not sure what is influencing the length of the phrase generated by the generator. It may just default to some standard phrase length. *SHRUG* I can edit and apply the length of the generated phrase in the phrase editor, but I think once I do that, the phrase is no longer a generator.

[musicdevelopments]

HiEnergy is right, you typically draw a line on the workspace (Ctrl-drag) and later you can move the endpoints. Resizing a 'Line' phrase is not possible as with other phrases, that is why it has an 'original length' only. For resizing you drag the end-points. Maybe it could be removed from the phrase browser to avoid confusion.

Thanks,
Attila

[yellukhan]

if this is already suggested count me in if not i got an idea
how about 1 location for all those user creations
Phrases ..of course
+ Progressions
+ Idea Tool presets
+ Instrument Presets
+ Chord presets
+ Project Templates

so basically for everything that created/collected by the user
would be in to that one location.

may i call this no more stress?

and plus1

i would love to have this ability if we can reach/select the groups
instead of typing manually
when we are saving our phrases , progressions etc.

plus2

when we want to save progression from selected time line,
it would be more useful and flexible
if we have "open in progression editor" command ,
then we can easily edit and store the progression in one step.

Best Regards
Yıldırım

[musicdevelopments]

Very good suggestions, thanks Yıldırım!
My to-do list is sooo long... but first the remaining bugs will be fixed.

Best,
Attila

[como baila]

In light of Tony 'Tondef's' fantastic suggestions and Attila's "soooooooo long" to-do-list, I'm offering this mundane feature request a little gingerly.

I would love to see a single key switch command that would at one go close all of the programs dependent windows, i.e., browsers and inspectors, etc., and restore just the main gui.

I find that I've often opened four of five and it's annoying to have to go and close them all one at a time. I'd like a convenient fresh start by closing them all.

Hopefully I will be proved ignorant and someone will tell me RC can already do this ... and how?

[themixtape]

That should be easy to implement, como. I had Attila implement all the "fill with" shortcuts (Q, M, N, etc), and other one-stroke stuff for the 2.5 update.