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

[Lotuzia]

I have just bought in- too good to resist.

Any chance of selectable midi controller prestet maps for different keyboards, drum controls- Beatstep Pro etc...

Thanks,

Controller maps : Could be an idea.

Meanwhile, here are 2 turnarounds :
1/ Make several versions of the file ( located at the root of your preset folder, in StiX installation directory ), and renaming them -only one will be active at a time, and it implies giving the other files different names, and renaming the one you want to use)
2/ Probably easier : Use transformer maps in your daw. As StiX midi map will not change -is 'static'-, your mapping presets will always be effective. The advantage is that several controllers can be used simultaneously in your daw.

You can also adapt maps from the controler itself ( it's what I do with my Novation keyboards).

You might want to read the answer I'm going to make in the following post, cos some aspects are somewhat related to playing and controlling StiX in real time.

[Lotuzia]

I've been interested in this, and downloaded a couple of demos, including the latest. There are a few things that have me a little confused, maybe its a bit of RTFM here.

First, I like to hear the variety of different sounds in the preset list, but I find the browser a bit baffling. I finally worked out if I set the first 2 parameters to "all", I can just arrow down through all the sounds available, but if I don't do that, by default only 3 presets show up, one called "init"

......

Hi Simon,
Lots of points, so I'll try to adress them one by one in different posts.

1/ Browser lists : StiX has Global Presets, Drumkits and Drumpads presets, Sample presets, etc. To find the good preset as fast as possible, you can filter the list of displayed presets by sorting them with 2 criterias.

It's important to note that the +- arrows will cycle through the FILTERED LIST.

1st, I'll take the Drumpad Presets as example, because I think your question refers to drumpads, and because in the Drumpads list, the 1st criteria is fixed, it's always the Drum 'category', ie BD, Snare, HHcl etc, and it can't be changed like in the Global Preset view :

So if you want to filter the drumpads/drums_sounds by Synthesis, choose 'synthesis' with the 'sort by' function : What happens is that your Snares for example are now sorted by 'Analog', 'Sample', 'FM', 'Hybrid', 'Analog + Sample' snares. If you finally choose a 'sampled snare', with the +- arrows, you will cycle through all 'Snare' presets based on 'Samples'. If you want to cycle thru the 'Analog' snares, just select first an 'analog' Snare in the list, then use the arrows to browse the analog snares.

If we take now the Global Presets (top bar), you can filter them for example :

1 Soundbank --> 2 BPM : Allows to select presets in a similar BPM range thru different soundbanks ( Factory, preset made by Mr X, Ms Y, or .... yourself).

or

1 BPM ---> 2 Genre : allows to select all presets in a similar Tempo range, in a precise musical Genre.

or

1 Genre --->2 Author : ALl the presets made by Mr X, for a precise musical genre.

Please note that :

A/ You can create your own Tags ( Like the **next thing after dubstep** genre , or a new drum subcategory -congas, bottles-cans, ghosts, splashed tomatoes etc- )

[stardustmedia]

First, I like to hear the variety of different sounds in the preset list, but I find the browser a bit baffling. I finally worked out if I set the first 2 parameters to "all", I can just arrow down through all the sounds available, but if I don't do that, by default only 3 presets show up, one called "init"

I second that... in all my feedbacks, you kindly accepted and replied professionally, I somehow forgot to mention that. And somewhat I got used to it, although that's no good for that product. I also understand it's a filter set by two values and the third column will just show the results.

I realized that the other Xils plugins I have, uses the same preset systems. It's kinda confusing to use, and not very intuitive. It took me a while to understand it, and I believe it takes too many clicks to use it.

On a side note: The GUI of the preset browser doesn't fit StiX. I believe that it is like a shared code between different Xils products. Maybe it's time to overhaul it

It would be pretty helpful if something lit up in the buttons at the top, so I know when I hit a C# it is maybe "perc 1" that's being triggered, or whatever. I had actually assumed they would be sequentially related to midi notes from C, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Even if it was, it would be really helpful to see some visual feedback on that.

+1, the buttons should lit up when playing them via keyboard or via sequencer. Or just via keyboard.

[Lotuzia]

I've been interested in this, and downloaded a couple of demos, including the latest. There are a few things that have me a little confused, maybe its a bit of RTFM here.

.......

Second, I have been auditioning this with a normal keyboard, and I like to hit all the available 10 keys to find interesting sounds. I have noticed that many presets feature the same incongruous pitched sounds, often on the C# or D# key (but others too), where I'm used to finding maybe a rim shot or alternate snare on other software. I'm guessing these may be assigned to the perc 1 or 2, or misc sounds? But they sure sound like they don't belong, and the are exactly the same or nearly so in quite a lot of patches, which brings me to the 3rd point…

There doesn't seem to be an easy way to know which category of sound I'm triggering when I hit a key. The only thing that changes in the display is in the bottom right corner, which shows a graphic of which key I'm playing, which I already know, coz I played it … It would be pretty helpful if something lit up in the buttons at the top, so I know when I hit a C# it is maybe "perc 1" that's being triggered, or whatever. I had actually assumed they would be sequentially related to midi notes from C, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Even if it was, it would be really helpful to see some visual feedback on that.

But currently, as I bash out weird rythyms on my keyboard, I have to watch out for strange unrelated sounds that seem to blast out from some keys.

Ok here's a few examples… based on playing the sounds from a keyboard, starting on C
Square house II, both the Eb and A play a similar pitched sound
Technotron, the A plays a variation on it too
Tzadificator, C#, D# and A all play variations of the same pitched note. Its a C in all cases.
Am I just out of touch and this is a common note that featured in rhythym parts these days??

Oh, and also, if I arrow down through the presets, and then click on the name, there is a tick beside a different sound in the list, than one which was displayed. Eg, Tzadificator is displaying, if i click on it to show the list, drums of war is ticked.

Playing drumsounds via Midi ( C1 Octave range )

C : Bass Drum
D : Snare
F# : HHcl
G# : HHop
F : Low Tom
G : Hi Tom
etc

These are fixed assignations. You can also audition the sounds with right click on the pads. And yes it could help if a visual signal on the drumpads showed. ( but it would eat a bit of cpu too ) Some sounds might sound similar because of one of the following reasons : They were not used for the sequences, and therefore are the init sounds for these pads, or they receive different modulations programmed for the sequencer, and they sound similar when playing via midi, but different if you use the different modulators in the sequencer, or the macro knobs. In any case, just select another drumpad preset to replace them will fix this. Theere are sometimes little errors in the ticks of the list. Most of times, selecting another drumpad, then going back to the previous one fixes that (in other words, it's only a graphic bug) This will be improved as time goes by (it already have been)

And finally, a general note about playing the drums with keyboard or other Midi Devices : StiX drumsounds will sound different according to the GATE parameter : Some sounds are designed to be played with a zero gate time, and it implies that to play them properly thru the keyboard you'll have to play VERY STACCATO ::: If you dont play staccato, you won't hear the release. Other sounds were programmed to be played 'normally', ie you will hear the DECAY stage, and possibly the SUSTAIN stage. These sounds are easier to play manually via a midi keyboard.

I'd recommend playing (and recording in the daw) StiX sounds manually via an HYBRID MIDI device populated with BOTH keyboard AND Drumpads. Drumpad usually transmit very short notes, ideally suited to trigger certain StiX drumsounds -the one that were meant to play with zero gate time-, the remaining sounds beeing properly played via normal keys. ( Please note that the Recommended Gate Time is also one of the criterias of the database engine, so if you have recorded a sound that require a Zero Gate time, you can filter the presets list to all other drum sounds suiting this criteria )

Oopps, long post. I hope I answered your question.

[Lotuzia]

First, I like to hear the variety of different sounds in the preset list, but I find the browser a bit baffling. I finally worked out if I set the first 2 parameters to "all", I can just arrow down through all the sounds available, but if I don't do that, by default only 3 presets show up, one called "init"

I second that... in all my feedbacks, you kindly accepted and replied professionally, I somehow forgot to mention that. And somewhat I got used to it, although that's no good for that product. I also understand it's a filter set by two values and the third column will just show the results.

I realized that the other Xils plugins I have, uses the same preset systems. It's kinda confusing to use, and not very intuitive. It took me a while to understand it, and I believe it takes too many clicks to use it.

On a side note: The GUI of the preset browser doesn't fit StiX. I believe that it is like a shared code between different Xils products. Maybe it's time to overhaul it

It would be pretty helpful if something lit up in the buttons at the top, so I know when I hit a C# it is maybe "perc 1" that's being triggered, or whatever. I had actually assumed they would be sequentially related to midi notes from C, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Even if it was, it would be really helpful to see some visual feedback on that.

+1, the buttons should lit up when playing them via keyboard or via sequencer. Or just via keyboard.

It's a very powerfull system, because once you master it, it allows you to find the right preset very quickly, AND also to create your own tags ( Something that NI system doesnt allow for example, probably because the array size is fixed) . But it has a -short- learning curve, it's true, and can be confusing indeed if people dont want to spend a bit of time to learn it.It could be enhanced, it's true. The difficult thing, if I refer to the NI system for example is the *create your own tags part* : You can't predict the resulting array easily, and therefore display it properly.

Otoh, StiX has nearly 2000 presets atm, and it will have more in the future, so content management IS mandatory. I use a lot of synths that present endless lists of presets, or old fashioned 128 presets 'banks', and it's very hard to find the sound you want with these systems. With StiX, or Xils, or NI, or Omnisphere, or other multicriteria databased systems, at least, ... it's possible.

[someone called simon]

thanks for your reply, I think my use of drum software might be a bit idiosyncratic ... I shall look into it some more... But i definitely like some of the sounds I'm hearing

[masterhiggins]

Is it possible to change the behavior of the sequencer so that you can paint patterns in instead of clicking on each step individually?

[Lotuzia]

thanks for your reply, I think my use of drum software might be a bit idiosyncratic ... I shall look into it some more... But i definitely like some of the sounds I'm hearing

Thanks. StiX is simple and fast to operate, but it's also powerfull, and offers a lot of unique features that need a bit of time to master. We should also do much more video tutorials, to ease that process. And yes, reading the manual might help too (I'm currently rewriting and updating it). I'm also finishing an overview video that -hopefully- will answer some questions users might have regarding how to operate it.

[Lotuzia]

Is it possible to change the behavior of the sequencer so that you can paint patterns in instead of clicking on each step individually?

It would be very difficult to implement, due to the fact you can change the number of steps per beat, and have per step divisi in the sequencer multiline view. Add to that all the per step parameters in the single line editor.

You can however 'FILL' individual sequence lines, or 'Clear' a sequence line in the multiline editor (also Randomize' a sequence line).

[plexuss]

Its really important to have good usability and features that make editing easy and fast. It's generally preferred by users that usability be the priority over added features. just some free advice from my 25 years as a digital user experience designer. the risk of not doing so is a product that has tons of cool features that people wont use because its too difficult or unclear. 'nuff said.

[Lotuzia]

Its really important to have good usability and features that make editing easy and fast. It's generally preferred by users that usability be the priority over added features. just some free advice from my 25 years as a digital user experience designer. the risk of not doing so is a product that has tons of cool features that people wont use because its too difficult or unclear. 'nuff said.

Yes. Well, I think a good balance between all elements is necessary.( but i guess any developer will say that )

So, I don't know what you refer to for your post. I'd like to make one thing clear though : For example, the Polystep modulator is unique. I created it to make organic and grooving variations on any sequence line with just a few clicks. And it works. Now, you can also use it in a naive and trial/error way. It will always give nice results. If you want to dominate this function however, and want the PolyStep do exactly what you intend it to, you'll have to read the manual, and understand exactly how it works.

So this is not a 'new feature for a new feature' : It's a musical feature that will bring life -if desired- to any drum part. I'd say in this case, it's a full blend of usability, and creativity, because it's both easy and fun to operate. YMMV

[MillerSam]

Since the first beta, I love this drum machine, it's very unique in his way.
What I tell Xavier already and what I have my problems to acclimate but over time it would be fine is the GUI with the modules:
Normally we have on the left the OSC, Filters ... (Design), here we must check the oscillators in the middle, on the left the envelopes.

If you work daily with a lot of different soft and hardware synths, it's a bit confusing in the first minutes
Normally you have OSC, Filter, Envelopes, ADSR, Effects ...

But I'm happy for you guys that StiX is near finish for the final release ,

[plexuss]

Since the first beta, I love this drum machine, it's very unique in his way.
What I tell Xavier already and what I have my problems to acclimate but over time it would be fine is the GUI with the modules:
Normally we have on the left the OSC, Filters ... (Design), here we must check the oscillators in the middle, on the left the envelopes.

If you work daily with a lot of different soft and hardware synths, it's a bit confusing in the first minutes
Normally you have OSC, Filter, Envelopes, ADSR, Effects ...

But I'm happy for you guys that StiX is near finish for the final release ,

... Exactly. You can have all the greatest features in the world but if they are hard to use then users will not use them, or they will have to struggle through in order to use them. it's better to have as the highest priority, usability and ideally the usability direction coming from a user experience practitioner rather than a developer, PM, VP etc. and then build the features into the UX framework. Good features + good UX = good product.

There are many UX issues with StiX which impede it's ease of use. definitely there are great features in StiX and the sound quality is excellent, but I find myself struggling through the less than ideal UX of StiX to use them and it seems some other users do too.

So hopefully as StiX evolves the company will address the UX of it and make it easier to use. For now, we struggle through.

[Lotuzia]

Since the first beta, I love this drum machine, it's very unique in his way.
What I tell Xavier already and what I have my problems to acclimate but over time it would be fine is the GUI with the modules:
Normally we have on the left the OSC, Filters ... (Design), here we must check the oscillators in the middle, on the left the envelopes.

If you work daily with a lot of different soft and hardware synths, it's a bit confusing in the first minutes
Normally you have OSC, Filter, Envelopes, ADSR, Effects ...

But I'm happy for you guys that StiX is near finish for the final release ,

... Exactly. You can have all the greatest features in the world but if they are hard to use then users will not use them, or they will have to struggle through in order to use them. it's better to have as the highest priority, usability and ideally the usability direction coming from a user experience practitioner rather than a developer, PM, VP etc. and then build the features into the UX framework. Good features + good UX = good product.

There are many UX issues with StiX which impede it's ease of use. definitely there are great features in StiX and the sound quality is excellent, but I find myself struggling through the less than ideal UX of StiX to use them and it seems some other users do too.

So hopefully as StiX evolves the company will address the UX of it and make it easier to use. For now, we struggle through.

What things ?

[Lotuzia]

Since the first beta, I love this drum machine, it's very unique in his way.
What I tell Xavier already and what I have my problems to acclimate but over time it would be fine is the GUI with the modules:
Normally we have on the left the OSC, Filters ... (Design), here we must check the oscillators in the middle, on the left the envelopes.

If you work daily with a lot of different soft and hardware synths, it's a bit confusing in the first minutes
Normally you have OSC, Filter, Envelopes, ADSR, Effects ...

But I'm happy for you guys that StiX is near finish for the final release ,

Thanks. Well, I'll post a video overview that will hopefully show how StiX is dead easy to use, and very fast to operate, especially regarding it's power and depth.