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

[bftucker]

why dont you just airmail the unit to him so he can get it dead perfect?

That may not help. At least on my unit, because the paint Roland used has a certain sheen, it appears different depending on the angle it is viewed from. I think it is fine as is but I am certain I will be pleased after a conclusion is finally reached on its peculiar and subtle "shade of gray."

[ENV1]

Hey, no fighting please.

(ED and TS i mean.)

At the moment its all still trying-things-out, but i think in the end it should look as close to the real programmer as possible.


As for posting WIPshots in this thread; yes, i meant to open a dedicated thread for this, but then again Martin doesnt seem to mind, and since nobody here is compelled to read what they dont want to read i dont really see a urgent need to take this elsewhere unless Martin objects.

[Syntilla]

nobody here is compelled to read what they dont want to read

And nobody's compelled to trawl back through 23 pages to find the download link of the latest beta if they don't want.

[Teksonik]

Hey, no fighting please.
(ED and TS i mean.)

That's half the fun of being here..........

but i think in the end it should look as close to the real programmer as possible.

Why ? The last screenshot you posted looks perfect (yes to me, in my opinion etc). Please don't waste time trying to emulate some plastic that has aged for three decades.......

Anyway of course do as you please I just wanted to preset an opposing opinion to the "make it more brown then color it like candy" camp..........

Your last concept looks fine. Now we just have to get Martin to either adopt it or allow user skinning (which would of course be a lot more work).

[martin_l]

Once the next beta release is finished, I will start a new thread on PG-8X V2.

But, I don't mind the discussion of the GUI as part of this thread, but I it could be moved to an extra thread, if preferred.

By the way, I cannot currently respond to any posted images, as I cannot reach that server where you post them here from work.


Martin

[fluffy_little_something]

That GUI looks pretty authentic already. I wish I had had that programmer thingy when I had the JX-8P. Instead I had to use those stupid membrane buttons

[DrewDale]

Anyway if it doesn't upset lionscub68 too much I'll post the baker's dozen patches I did yesterday........

Teksonik PG8X

Hope somebody finds them useful...............

Top work, many thanks

[lionscub68]

Anyway if it doesn't upset lionscub68 too much I'll post the baker's dozen patches I did yesterday........

Teksonik PG8X

Hope somebody finds them useful...............

Top work, many thanks

Yer killin' me, Smalls!
Patch release announcements are cool. One post and done. (and thanks btw)
But the back n forth banter about the GUI is personal preference... and skinning isn't a feature yet!

[ENV1]

What is it that people like so much about complaining. I really dont get it.


Anyway, heres a new WIPshot. Changes as follows:

- Tried to match color tone of casing with EDs image. I think ive succeeded. Also added some of the glare that was on the pic since it helped making the whole thing look a little 'wetter', therefore more nice to look at.

- Adapted the color tone of the controls to match EDs image.

- Temporarily switched to PS fonts since the result isnt even that bad on this background, plus it looks more 'familiar' since devs usually use PS fonts for their plugin UIs. May or may not be final.


click for fullsize

[AdmiralQuality]

That looks very nice, ENV1.

[ENV1]

That looks very nice, ENV1.

We aim to please.

[EvilDragon]

Smashing!

[DrewDale]

Very impressive ENV1

[ENV1]

I just played a bit with the plugin and found another problem.

Problem: The synth does not respond quickly enough to NoteOn/NoteOff events when sequenced in a host. This results in successive 16th notes being played as one long note. To see what i mean, get the attached archive. You will hear that everything is fine in Poly and Unison modes, but not in Mono mode.

Samplerate and Buffersize do not seem to have an effect on this. With REAPERs pianoroll and PolyGrid in VSTHost the problem is 100% identical. With ERA2 in VSTHost it manifests slightly differently because occasionally the long note is broken and a new note is getting through. Which one is random though. The only other synth i know that has this very same problem is Arturias ARP 2600.


There was something else that seemed a little off balance to me, but i will have to test that again and document it properly. Its related to the CrossMod, where Osc1 would simply fade out to 0 volume when certain parameter constellations are used. I will post the details when i have them.


Archive: https://1fichier.com/remove/t391glmvjg/AfcOH


PS: I must say the sound of this synth is just stunningly good. Definitely one of the best synthesizers ive heard in the software realm, and im absolutely not saying this only to be polite. Great oscillators, great filters, great envelopes that seem to be 100% click-free, (how often do you see that?), its practically impossible to find anything about this synth that doesnt seem perfect. One can see that a lot of work has gone into it over a long period of time, and in my opinion a lot of folks that sell their plugins to people for good money could learn something from this. There is QUALITY in this synth. The only thing thats sorely missing, (and thats of course a complaint directed more at Roland than anyone else), is some form of stepless pulsewidth control, which is why i would vote to add that as a capabilities-enhancing extra option. Since this synths squarewave has such a nice 'sandy' character i find that it is just begging to be used for high-quality PWM sounds.

[martin_l]

I just played a bit with the plugin and found another problem.

Problem: The synth does not respond quickly enough to NoteOn/NoteOff events when sequenced in a host. This results in successive 16th notes being played as one long note. To see what i mean, get the attached archive. You will hear that everything is fine in Poly and Unison modes, but not in Mono mode.

I will have a look at it. Thanks for posting the examples. That is very helpful.

There was something else that seemed a little off balance to me, but i will have to test that again and document it properly. Its related to the CrossMod, where Osc1 would simply fade out to 0 volume when certain parameter constellations are used. I will post the details when i have them.

Please, let me know when you have confirmed it. You say, that OSC1 is affected by the CROSS MOD settings, even if you set the levels of OSC2 to 0?

PS: I must say the sound of this synth is just stunningly good. Definitely one of the best synthesizers ive heard in the software realm, and im absolutely not saying this only to be polite. Great oscillators, great filters, great envelopes that seem to be 100% click-free

Funny thing is that the oscillators are basically(*) pure saw and square waves, run through some static low pass and high pass filters, and the VCF is a simply dual state variable (no zero-delay feedback, no non-linearities...). I think Roland found quite a sweet spot for those filters.
(*) apart from some tricks to reduce aliasing.

Non clicking envelopes are easy, as they are (as many people will say) quite slow, and not as punchy as other synths.

The only thing thats sorely missing, (and thats of course a complaint directed more at Roland than anyone else), is some form of stepless pulsewidth control, which is why i would vote to add that as a capabilities-enhancing extra option. Since this synths squarewave has such a nice 'sandy' character i find that it is just begging to be used for high-quality PWM sounds.

Well, the hardware does not have it, but of course, you can get PWM type sounds by using a square wave on OSC2, SYNC it to OSC1 and then modulate the pitch of OSC2.

There are quite some interesting developments on the hardware side with an firmware update (plus some extra hardware) for the MKS70, which introduced PWM and adds some extra envelopes. I might include that in an extended version of the planned MLS-70, but it is not yet an ongoing project.