StiX : MultiSynthesis Drum Machine (v1.6 Released + Flash sales)

[plexuss]

I think it's more important to have good usability than to have space for future features. If we allow feature creep and business decisions to take a higher priority than usability, out tools will become harder to use, costing us time and likely money. Suggesting that we just get used to scanning from left to right trying to keep our eye on track is asking too much, if usability is a priority. for something like this drum tool, usability is more important because of the complex workflow we usually have when creating drum sounds and patterns.

You can see in this mock-up there is plenty of room for the additional labels on the right, and that is without attempting to shorten them. you can also see, or perhaps not, that the added labels on the right help to make the usability and workflow faster. why would you not grab at such low hanging fruit?

I still think the list of track names on the left should be replicated on the right between the track cells and the track functions. this will make it easier to scan the row and keep your eye on the track you want to apply a function to.

Actually there's simply no room left for this on the sequencer pane. And I prefer to spare any possible room for future functions. I dont want to eat the space of the XoX sequencer itself neither.

Then,

As on traditional XoX harware sequencers, you'll see that your brain/eye will be trained very quickly to distinguish between the different lines if you use StiX on a regular basis. It's there that giving generic names (BD, SN, etc) makes also sense : Its much easier to make a representation of the sequencer for the mind. The relative place of hits etc, indicates you on what line you will act. And there's always the sound to give the most valuable feedback.

Also : If you want to make sure that you edit, this line, and not that line, it's always possible to switch to the inline editor.

[lalo]

Hello Lalo, sorry to hear this, this is really unfortunate . Well, as you know, we spent a lot of time with you to try to replicate and understand this problem. We exchanged some project files, and the project files you sent us were working totally OK in our systems ( Same Daw/etc) We sent you some files that we knew were working in the host you use, and it unfortunately happens that they were not working for you. So that we cant see what we can do atm ( Midi automation of StiX parmaeters by Midi Ccs is also working in all the daws where we have tested it)

So, I suggest the following, a different approach :

1/ Make sure you run the last version of your Daw
2/ Post on the forum of your daw and explain the case, and see if other people can help, or have encountered similar problems, with StiX or with other plugs.
By this I mean, it might be something to configure on the daw, and maybe specialists can help there.
3/ Exchange files with people using your daw and StiX, and see if someone can find a solution, or at least more elements that could help to the understanding of the problem.

If someone else reading this has the same problem, or at the opposite doesn't have it, or can make further tests in Reaper, please feel free to post here, and contact Lao and/or us. Thanks in advance.

Thanks Lotuzia,
A few thoughs about it...

1. My DAW(s) is(are) updated at the very last version.
2. I have the same bug in other hosts (Max 7, Usine, Ableton Live) and i can send project files for you to check.
3. I guess is something "system" related at the time of my first StiX install?
4. All other MIDI CC controllable plugins i have reacts correctly in all the host (i did not checked other XILS stuff i own as Xils4 and the vocoder).

(5. All this MIDI mess is a nightmare, please invest some time to implement proper VST automation in all Xils stuff. I have other companies' stuff with tons of parameters like u-he Zebra and i have no flaws in my hosts. )

6. I find the "MIDI channel 1 to the selected drum pad" thing pretty illogical and can lead to some confusion when producing tracks with lots of modulation/automation goin' on.
Would be more logical for the channel 1 to be a global one and affects all the i.e. filter cutoffs of all the drum pads at the same time (respecting relative values).

7. I use to run all my hosts with Administrator rights beacause jBridge (wich i need to use) requires it. Could it be related to the bug?

Anyway my CC assignment is right beacuse on channel 1 StiX reacts correctly. Channels 2-16 are not workin' at all.

In the meantime i try to unistall and reinstall StiX.

i really hope we can solve this issue.
can you make a test case for other windows users?
thanks a lot and all the best
a.

Hi, i've unistalled and then re-installed again...
... ...
now it works.

This time i installed the VST 32x version too.
Now my C:\Users\Public\Documents\XILS-lab directory has a lot more files than before.
Well, may be if the 32x version is disabled at install XilsFiles32.dll and XilsFiles64.dll are not installed correctly?

Anyway still i think that XILS stuff deserves full VST automation implementation.

all the best!

a.

[Lotuzia]

I think it's more important to have good usability than to have space for future features. If we allow feature creep and business decisions to take a higher priority than usability, out tools will become harder to use, costing us time and likely money. Suggesting that we just get used to scanning from left to right trying to keep our eye on track is asking too much, if usability is a priority. for something like this drum tool, usability is more important because of the complex workflow we usually have when creating drum sounds and patterns.

You can see in this mock-up there is plenty of room for the additional labels on the right, and that is without attempting to shorten them. you can also see, or perhaps not, that the added labels on the right help to make the usability and workflow faster. why would you not grab at such low hanging fruit?

I still think the list of track names on the left should be replicated on the right between the track cells and the track functions. this will make it easier to scan the row and keep your eye on the track you want to apply a function to.

Actually there's simply no room left for this on the sequencer pane. And I prefer to spare any possible room for future functions. I dont want to eat the space of the XoX sequencer itself neither.

Then,

As on traditional XoX harware sequencers, you'll see that your brain/eye will be trained very quickly to distinguish between the different lines if you use StiX on a regular basis. It's there that giving generic names (BD, SN, etc) makes also sense : Its much easier to make a representation of the sequencer for the mind. The relative place of hits etc, indicates you on what line you will act. And there's always the sound to give the most valuable feedback.

Also : If you want to make sure that you edit, this line, and not that line, it's always possible to switch to the inline editor.

Well, I think that StiX is straightforward and intuitive to use, and less convoluted than some other sophisticated drum machines. That's for usability.

Now, this doesn't mean that we could not improve usability in some matters. But like I said, for this precise case I would prefer to save any possible gain of place for possible new functions I have ideas for.

[Lotuzia]

Hi, i've unistalled and then re-installed again...
... ...
now it works.

This time i installed the VST 32x version too.
Now my C:\Users\Public\Documents\XILS-lab directory has a lot more files than before.
Well, may be if the 32x version is disabled at install XilsFiles32.dll and XilsFiles64.dll are not installed correctly?

Anyway still i think that XILS stuff deserves full VST automation implementation.

all the best!

a.

Glad it's now solved Alphonso

Yes, it was possibly the result of a faulty install, or the use of J-Bridge, or admin things, or ... a bad day for the computer. Or a combination of several of these things.

Anyway, the good thing is that it wasn't a StiX *bug*.

Cheers,

L.

[lalo]

Anyway, the good thing is that it wasn't a StiX *bug*.

yeah man!

thanks

[Lotuzia]

Finally time for some fresh news :



1/ Wave Alchemy Demo Kit Syncussion Minimal
Dry/Stereo out/No comps/eq etc. Just a few patterns organised in song mode.

[stardustmedia]

Finally time for some fresh news :



1/ Wave Alchemy Demo Kit Syncussion Minimal
Dry/Stereo out/No comps/eq etc. Just a few patterns organised in song mode.

Phat

[CinningBao]

I have found a graphical bug (Advanced/Easy button stops working and top panel is empty on GUI re-open) which can be recreated:

- load plugin, init kit
- go to advanced mode
- flick back to easy mode
- preset menu 'Save As..'
- enter name, click OK
- Advanced/Easy button no longer works
- closing and re-opening GUI shows empty panel

Let me know if you need more information

[Lotuzia]

I have found a graphical bug (Advanced/Easy button stops working and top panel is empty on GUI re-open) which can be recreated:

- load plugin, init kit
- go to advanced mode
- flick back to easy mode
- preset menu 'Save As..'
- enter name, click OK
- Advanced/Easy button no longer works
- closing and re-opening GUI shows empty panel

Let me know if you need more information

Thanks for the report Cinningbao. It should not be too hard to fix i think. ( momentary turnaround : Relaunch plug in or project)

[Lotuzia]

Finally time for some fresh news :



1/ Wave Alchemy Demo Kit Syncussion Minimal
Dry/Stereo out/No comps/eq etc. Just a few patterns organised in song mode.

Phat

Thanks Stardust More to come.

[lalo]

Hi Laurent!
Could i please have a description of the assignment for the 109 parameters in the ControlMIDI file?
Instead of doin' the long work inside StiX options menu i'd instead generate programmatically (maybe with simple C) another ControlMIDI file and then i'm thinkin of doin' a MIDI VST with 10 banks of 109 CC generating parameters with the proper names of the real Stix parameters (may be using Juce or WD-OL iPlug frameworks). It can be a simple GUI less VST or a tabbed one with a MIDI channel for every tab.
BTW i guess not all the 109 parameters are relevant for single drum pads. I guess things like "Sequencer Start" are global.
Little help needed
thanks!
a.

[CinningBao]

Feature Request/Modification:

Can I suggest the idea that on Load Kit, the Mixer volume settings (and maybe Pan, but not fx sends) are also recalled? This would mean, obviously, that Mixer settings would be included in the Kit save process.

It just kind of makes sense to keep the 'Pad' volume settings captured with the collection of Pads which make up the Kit.

Agreed? (of course you all agree! it's an excellent idea )

[liqih]

Hi Lotuzia,

I was very excited to try a new old school VA drum machine,
I have been making afro beats on a real TR-808 in the eighties,
but my heaven machine for music production is still on Windows XP, with lots of DAWs and audio tools.
StiX installed fine on that but the GUI crashes as soon as I try to open it, so I assume it's not XP compatible right?

[edit] later I was able to open it in the old Chainer host, it plays!
but many buttons of the toolbar still crashes the GUI

[CinningBao]

I had a crash from moving the LFO rate knob - log attached

[CinningBao]

Were any of the text GUI issues I highlighted fixed in 0.98h?

- I still see EnvAtt where it should read 'Env2 Att'
- the LFOs are not yet available in the MacroModulation grid as sources
- and (sorry if this is getting a little too OCD) in the MacroModulation target menus, it says Filters when, really there is only one filter in the chain. (unless more are planned! ) - Filter
- in the Filters submenu, you could then change the rather cryptic-looking FiltFr (which sometimes looks like FiltEr) to just Frequency, Resonance and Drive

Addicted to it, again, tonight...

Maybe I should enter the comp - is there a chance I could win that lovely modular thingy? or V+ would be sweet