PG8X (inspired by the JX8P): new beta version uploaded

[DrewDale]

I think it's so funny how a huge number of folks here are making visual change suggestions which are not in line with the original product, which Martin is trying to emulate 1:1. In fact, the PG-800 looks pretty much just like his layout.

But the lines were on the original PG800 Programmer plus I just think IMHO that there is a lot of lost space in the lower right, the chorus switch looks lonely on it's own

[martin_l]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Please, keep in mind that I said before that the GUI is not yet finished. Yes, I will add these lines, and yes, I will work on the buttons. Also, you might have noticed that in the other panels, some GUI elements are still completely missing or having a non-sensical text (Patch Saving Behaviour: On/Off).

I will get to these details, once the bugs are sorted out. Right now I am trying to find the bug which crashes the AU (which I currently cannot reproduce), and want to fix the file name in the MAC version.

As lionscub88 said, I would be grateful, if you could comment on other things, like whether the sustain pedal is now working consistently, whether there are problems when changing polyphony, and in general if you find anything (sound or behaviour wise) which does not seem right.

The GUI is a relatively minor detail, which I will fix when the functionality is working right.

Thanks,
Martin

[fluffy_little_something]

I keep stumbling upon the thread title. Is it still a new VSTi, after 70+ pages and 3 or 4 years?

[martin_l]

I keep stumbling upon the thread title. Is it still a new VSTi, after 70+ pages and 3 or 4 years?

It is again a new VST, as the discussion now changed to the beta version of the PG-8X version 2, which is coded natively, and will be available in 32 and 64 bit and also for MAC (VST and AU).

Martin

[fluffy_little_something]

OK Didn't read those 70+ pages, was just wondering...

I actually had the JX-8P decades ago, never liked it much, though, wanted to have the 3P, but couldn't

[rastoutoux]

Hi everyone,

i'm new on this post, so the first thing I wish to do is to thank Martin for doing something I had been loking for for years: A true to life emulation of the JX8P. I bought at the time one of the very first ones sold in France, used it extensively, and lost it when the electric connection/transformer chose to break down...
After loading the 32 presets of Bank 0, my first reaction is to congratulate Martin. The real sound is there. The DCO are faithful, so is the filter, the sounds are BIG and recapture the feeling of one of the most under-rated synths of the 80s. Bravo ! I have many many emulations MS 20, ARP, OScar, MiniMoogs, CS80, PPG, etc... of antique synths, and frankly, the PG8X ranks among the ones closest to the original synths.
What I would like to have, is of course, the sysex of the original factory patches banks ! Soundtrak, strings, synthbass, etc... although I haven't tried yet to recreate them. So congratulations, Martin, a marvellous piece of work !!! Well done.

I haven't encountered any bugs yet. I like the esthetics, the look, because I find it true to the original synth and programmer.
I suppose Martin will have to choose between staying as close as possible to the JX8P, or starting from that, making a plug-in with new facilities. easier scrolling of patches, new banks, arpeggios, etc... But that would be something different obviously !
There are a few things , a little hidden perhaps that could be interesting : dividing the sync clock tempo of the LFO, /2/4/etc..., which didn't exist on the JX...
I used the plug in quite a few hours on Digital performer in the Audio Unit format, surfed on firefox, sent emails, came back, changed patches, saved; loade, reloade, and... not a single bug !!!! Congratulations !!!

Best regards
Mike

[Spitfire31]

Hi everyone,

i'm new on this post, so the first thing I wish to do is to thank Martin for doing something I had been loking for for years: A true to life emulation of the JX8P. I bought at the time one of the very first ones sold in France, used it extensively, and lost it when the electric connection/transformer chose to break down...
After loading the 32 presets of Bank 0, my first reaction is to congratulate Martin. The real sound is there. The DCO are faithful, so is the filter, the sounds are BIG and recapture the feeling of one of the most under-rated synths of the 80s. Bravo ! I have many many emulations MS 20, ARP, OScar, MiniMoogs, CS80, PPG, etc... of antique synths, and frankly, the PG8X ranks among the ones closest to the original synths.
What I would like to have, is of course, the sysex of the original factory patches banks ! Soundtrak, strings, synthbass, etc... although I haven't tried yet to recreate them. So congratulations, Martin, a marvellous piece of work !!! Well done.

I haven't encountered any bugs yet. I like the esthetics, the look, because I find it true to the original synth and programmer.
I suppose Martin will have to choose between staying as close as possible to the JX8P, or starting from that, making a plug-in with new facilities. easier scrolling of patches, new banks, arpeggios, etc... But that would be something different obviously !
There are a few things , a little hidden perhaps that could be interesting : dividing the sync clock tempo of the LFO, /2/4/etc..., which didn't exist on the JX...
I used the plug in quite a few hours on Digital performer in the Audio Unit format, surfed on firefox, sent emails, came back, changed patches, saved; loade, reloade, and... not a single bug !!!! Congratulations !!!

Best regards
Mike

That's one helluva good first KVR post. Well spoken, Mike, and welcome!

/Joachim

[martin_l]

Hi everyone,

i'm new on this post, so the first thing I wish to do is to thank Martin for doing something I had been loking for for years: A true to life emulation of the JX8P. I bought at the time one of the very first ones sold in France, used it extensively, and lost it when the electric connection/transformer chose to break down...
After loading the 32 presets of Bank 0, my first reaction is to congratulate Martin. The real sound is there. The DCO are faithful, so is the filter, the sounds are BIG and recapture the feeling of one of the most under-rated synths of the 80s. Bravo ! I have many many emulations MS 20, ARP, OScar, MiniMoogs, CS80, PPG, etc... of antique synths, and frankly, the PG8X ranks among the ones closest to the original synths.
What I would like to have, is of course, the sysex of the original factory patches banks ! Soundtrak, strings, synthbass, etc... although I haven't tried yet to recreate them. So congratulations, Martin, a marvellous piece of work !!! Well done.

I haven't encountered any bugs yet. I like the esthetics, the look, because I find it true to the original synth and programmer.
I suppose Martin will have to choose between staying as close as possible to the JX8P, or starting from that, making a plug-in with new facilities. easier scrolling of patches, new banks, arpeggios, etc... But that would be something different obviously !
There are a few things , a little hidden perhaps that could be interesting : dividing the sync clock tempo of the LFO, /2/4/etc..., which didn't exist on the JX...
I used the plug in quite a few hours on Digital performer in the Audio Unit format, surfed on firefox, sent emails, came back, changed patches, saved; loade, reloade, and... not a single bug !!!! Congratulations !!!

Best regards
Mike

Hi Mike,

welcome to this thread, and thanks for your kind words about the plugin.
Yes, I am trying to do what you suggest, namely staying close to the original, but adding a couple of small improvements.

You might have seen that you actually can sync the LFO and chose different rations compared to the host tempo. There are also different LFO trigger options.

I am not planning to include an arpeggiator, as I think there are plenty of arpeggiator VST's around, which can simply be chained before the plugin.

As for the factory plugins: it would be no problem for me to create the Sysex files from my hardware. I am a bit cautious about posting them, due to copyright issues. But I guess I could send them to individuals interested. Just PM me about it.


Cheers,
Martin

[fluffy_little_something]

The three orange buttons look Korgish

[lionscub68]

Martin -
As far as any copyright issues with posting the factory ROM patches: I can say with a high degree of certainty that there would be exactly zero problems with posting the factory original ROM patches. Native Instruments has the original DX7 patches in their FM7/FM8 plugin; AudioRealism has the original Roland Alpha Juno patches in their ReDominator ((virtual Alpha Juno) plugin; and now the "Virtual CZ" plugin also has original factory patches from the Casio CZ-101 and CZ-1. I'd also mention the Korg M1Le, but Korg themselves made that plugin.

BTW don't forget there are two banks of ROM patches (press the P Bank twice, there's 32 more)
In any case, I'm sending you a PM now to request you send me those. Thanks!

[martin_l]

Just uploaded a new set of files (*-09-11-*). These should fix the filename bug and a bug I noticed when loading sysex banks while using the "immediate write" mode.

You can also find an interesting new file in the Presets folder.
It will load into the positions 65-128.

Please, let me know whether the crash of the AU when loading Sysex still persists, as I could not yet reproduce it in either Reaper or GarageBand.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/m636vgxhta9e ... 3SVaa?dl=0

Cheers,
Martin

[lionscub68]

You can also find an interesting new file in the Presets folder.
It will load into the positions 65-128.

(thanks so much for this, now I can do some *real* testing.

I will test out the laundry list in the next 24 hours.
I might be able to get my JX8P back from where it is this or next weekend and do some sequencing tests (testing for audio & synth behavior, hoping they are identical)

~r

[RexXx]

Happy testing

[AdmiralQuality]

Seems to be an issue with the Dynamics setting.

Try the 74 ORGAN 2 patch to demo this. When I set the VCA Dynamics to 3, then play the slowest velocity I can (presumably MIDI velocity 1), I can still hear the note. But when I set it to 2 and play MIDI velocity 1, I hear nothing. Yet when I set it to 1 and play MIDI velocity 1, it's louder as you'd expect.

It sounds almost like Dynamics positions 2 and 3 are swapped. Some more playing with it reveals that this seems to be the case with the other 2 Dynamics settings as well.

The velocity response also feels kind of "off" (in an exaggerated way) to me right across the board. But I don't have a JX-8P to compare it to. I don't remember them being that hard to play with good dynamics though. Feels a bit wrong.

And it still doesn't keep changes to program state the way a VST is supposed to. You're not supposed to have to explicitly hit a "write" button to keep changes to a program. (If you were, the host itself would offer the Write button. And a one-slider VST like the AGain example wouldn't be possible, as it would never save its program state. Right?)

[dumbledog]

Loaded the new AU version and presets in Logic X, everything working peachy. This rocks.