Sundog Scale Studio 2.2 coming soon: Undo/redo BETA available

[hauke]

Hey everybody,

Sundog Scale Studio 2.2 is coming soon . I spent the last weeks on a feature that was lacking so far: Undo/redo.
Personally I think that it works stable now, but I would be very happy if you could do some beta tests as well! If you find any bugs or quirks (or think that something should work differently) please contact me via mail (hauke [dot] menges [at] feelyoursound.com) or leave a note here. Thanks so much in advance !

You can download the new beta 2.2 here:
http://www.feelyoursound.com/beta-sundog/ (Windows and Mac OS X)

Simply install it over the old version. The installer will detect your settings and your license (if available).
ATTENTION: If you save a song with version 2.2.0 you won't be able to open it again with version 2.1.0.

If you haven't heard of Sundog so far:
Sundog is a tool that makes it easy to find new chord progressions on any scale, to generate harmonically safe song parts and melodies within minutes, and to get rid of writer's block. Sundog is a standalone app that works with any DAW via MIDI.
You can find more information (including a full manual) here: http://www.feelyoursound.com/sundog/

This video will show you all the basics to get started fast:


Cheers and thanks in advance,
Hauke

[dsan@mail.com]

Hauke,
Thank you for this update! Testing now, but a couple of things I have run into:
1.) Norton 360 reports the file hazardous and removes it from my system right after the download. I am sure this is a false positive but wanted you to know in case others run into the issue. To overcome Norton, I have restored the quarantine, and instructed Norton AV to ignore this program in the future.

2.) An ongoing situation occurs with MIDI sync. I use rptMIDI (1 port over LAN both directions) as well as CopperLAN MIDI, 4 ports both directions.

If I set MIDI IN device and MIDI OUT device to the same device (rptMIDI for example), and then set Receive MIDI Clock Sync From Device to the same device as MIDI IN, the setting does not retain itself.

If I use a MIDI Clock Sync other than a MIDI In Device already used, the setting is retained; however, depending on what I am using at any given time, these devices may not be available for use in Sundog Studio. That is to say, it may skew my routing for a given session.

I understand the perils of MIDI loop and how to avoid this; however, the LAN Devices I am using should not present this problem, or at least in my set-up, MIDI loop back is difficult to achieve, since these devices have both send and receive within the MIDI LAN port.

This scenario seems to be isolated to Sundog Studio, as other programs I run happily get along with the routing; MIDI IN - rptMIDI, MIDI OUT - rptMIDI and Send/Receive Sync - rptMIDI (All as an example. I have the same results with CopperLAN MIDI).

Again, this all happens over LAN (Master/Slave scenarios where Sundog Studio is on a slave machine).

Is what I have described appropriate? Should Sundog Studio behave this way? Actually, it was this behavior that caused me to install the CooperLAN software.

I hope this all makess sense. Looking forward to an explanation. Please let me know if you need additional information.

Thanks very much!

Best regards,
dsan

[hauke]

Hi dsan,

thanks for your test !

1) Yeah, that should be a false positive then. I uploaded the installer file to virustotal where it was checked with over 50 engines. Apparently it is clean. Does Norton 360 complain about the 2.1 installer as well? http://www.feelyoursound.com/download-sundog/

2) Does this also happen with the currently official 2.1 version? I implemented a feedback loop check in v2.2, because quite a few novice users created loops in the past. Does Sundog 2.2 display a warning to you?

Cheers,
Hauke

[dsan@mail.com]

Hi Hauke,
Thanks for you quick reply!

1.) Norton has never complained in the past about Sundog Studio. This time I think it has to do with their sensitivity to a "new" program. The warning stated the program is less than a week old and has no trust verification. It also said it contained "WS.Reputation.1" which I believe is their way of stating it's too new. It's Norton - go figure Can't live with it, can't live without it

2.) No warnings have been shown. Sundog seems to accept the settings I give it, but after closing the setting window and then re-opening it, only the Ins and Outs are retained (when using the same MIDI port for In/Out/Receive Sync), the Receive Sync reverts to "None".

BTW - Send MIDI Clock is set to "On". (I should have stated that earlier as now I realize this may be the cause of a possible loop back that Sundog Studio is avoiding.) Still, no warning of a loop back scenario.

Thanks for taking the time to look into this!

Best,
dsan

[dsan@mail.com]

Hauke,
With the way I use Sundog Studio (on a slave machine), this is what I need to be able to function:

1.) Sundog SEND the MIDI data to my DAW. (which it does)
2.) Sundog Studio to RECEIVE MIDI START/STOP/CONTINUE (which it does)
3.) (Would be nice to have) RECEIVE Song Position Pointer. (doesn't do yet )
4.) Occassionaly I need Sundog Studio to SEND MIDI Start/Stop/Continue to the DAW (on the master machine). (Which it sorta does )

This routing is not a big deal as I have developed work arounds. Just thought maybe you had some ideas to fix this. OTOH - don't fix what ain't broken

Thanks again!
dsan

[hauke]

This routing is not a big deal as I have developed work arounds. Just thought maybe you had some ideas to fix this. OTOH - don't fix what ain't broken

Hehe, I see you know how devs feel in such situations

I will see that I can recreate the situation here. There are nearly no visible changes to the GUI this time, but I had to work on some parts of the core engine to make undo/redo work. I better make sure that I didn't overlook something. Thanks again for the pointer!

Cheers,
Hauke

[dsan@mail.com]

Just so you know, the scenario I describe has been since the beginning. This is not a new situation

Cheers!
dsan

[hauke]

Just so you know, the scenario I describe has been since the beginning. This is not a new situation

Cheers!
dsan

That's very good to know, thanks !

Best,
Hauke

[Dunc]

Is it possible to do different measures like 5/8, 7/8 etc ?

I've tried to get the input pattern editor to retrigger back to start of pattern, but it does not do it (double clicking on occupied spot does not seem to work).

I like this, but I do need the capabilty for different measures.

Edit: I'm on Windows 8.1 64 bit.

[hauke]

Is it possible to do different measures like 5/8, 7/8 etc ?

I've tried to get the input pattern editor to retrigger back to start of pattern, but it does not do it (double clicking on occupied spot does not seem to work).

Hi Dunc,

at the moment Sundog only supports 4/4 measures.

Regarding the retrigger: Do I understand you correctly that you tried to find a way to automatically jump back to the start of the pattern to "fake" a different measure?
You can manually retrigger the pattern by either clicking on the timeline on top or by clicking on the timeline numbers in the pattern trigger editor. One click is enough in both cases

Best regards,
Hauke

[Dunc]

I was indeed trying to retrigger a "jump" back to the start to fake different measures.
I've just tried the timeline trigger etc, but it's a bit too easy to get it wrong anyway (my false triggering).

Do you plan to offer support for different measures in the near future ?

[hauke]

Do you plan to offer support for different measures in the near future ?

I plan to support different measures in the future, but I cannot say for sure when this will be. It probably won't be "near" though (I guess you mean something like "within the next four months" or so).

Cheers,
Hauke

[patchhunter]

Can you divulge what feature you will be working on next.

[hauke]

Can you divulge what feature you will be working on next.

Hmmm.. not yet . I just released an update for one of my other products (XotoPad Windows multi-touch tool) and haven't decided yet what the next Sundog feature(s) will be.

All the best,
Hauke

[AKJ]

VST, please