BlueARP VST Arpeggiator development - let's discuss! (Apple M1 ready, 4K)

[Tevez]

I'll try, but it looks like English isn't your first language...

What gave me away?

I think you're asking if you can play a certain chord and have BlueArp produce a certain series of notes? If that's the case, then yes it can! It will try to detect what chord you're playing and modify the pitch of the notes based on that.

Can you give me an example how to set up BlueARP so that it plays this Bass melody (I posted) when playing a Cm?
I just need some assist-starting.
Once I know the first steps, I might be successful for other cases.

I think you're talking about the humanization feature many sequencers have, which makes the notes less perfectly timed...as far as I know, BlueArp doesn't do this.

Well, that's a pity...
I don't know if MIDI Translator can help (I have that program too).
I might ask on their forums.

BlueArp can save and load *.fxb files like any other VST plugin, and I've never had problems with state saving in any of the DAWs I've used BlueArp in (Ableton Live, Bitwig Studio was just fixed with the latest update, FL Studio, Studio One)...if there's some kind of problem you're having with saving and loading presets then you'll have to be more specific and give more information.

Do you also work with programs?
As far as I see, in BlueARP you can define up to 128 different programs.
That would be really useful for me as well.
Then I could run different instances of BlueARP (each connected to a unique track) but with different programs.

And thanks for taking your time!

Regards

[A Recurring Problem]

I'll try, but it looks like English isn't your first language...

What gave me away?

When you grow up speaking a language and meet someone who hasn't, you can usually tell...but I also happen to have a particular knack for languages I'm sure you'd be able to notice if I tried using your language too!

Can you give me an example how to set up BlueARP so that it plays this Bass melody (I posted) when playing a Cm?
I just need some assist-starting.
Once I know the first steps, I might be successful for other cases.

I'll attach a screenshot of how I set it up to play that pattern. I'm using the 2.2.6 so if you're still using 2.2.5 it might look slightly different, but the main things to note are the way the note grid is arranged and the settings just underneath it:

• STEP TYPE is what BlueArp is supposed to be doing on that step - the grid shows this visually so you can usually just ignore it. The important bit is Norm = play a note based on KEY SELECT, Rest = hold a note, Tie = play a legato note, Chord = play every note that's being pressed on the keyboard at once
• KEY SELECT is what note BlueArp is supposed to play, if it's supposed to be playing a note - it can ONLY be a key you're pressing. So for instance, if you're playing a your C-Eb-G chord, k1 would be C, k2 would be Eb, and k3 would be G.
• OCTAVE should be pretty self-explanatory - it just transposes the note up or down however many octaves you want.
• SCALE STEP lets you transpose chromatically, allowing you to create sequences without actually having to press those keys (for instance I could play a Cm arpeggio or chord by simplying pressing C on the keyboard)

Of course there's many other options to play with, but those are the basics that should get you started. Try playing with the default programs as well to get a feel for how everything works.

Do you also work with programs?
As far as I see, in BlueARP you can define up to 128 different programs.
That would be really useful for me as well.
Then I could run different instances of BlueARP (each connected to a unique track) but with different programs.

The programs are stored in the *.fxb files. For instance, BlueARP_FactoryBank.fxb contains the default bank of programs. Like I said before I've never had a problem saving and loading programs and I'm not sure what trouble you're having here...it should work fine.

[Tevez]

Hi "A Recurring Problem",

I finally had time to check this topic again.

The good news: I made some progress!
Your screenshot definitely helped me go in the right direction.
There are some unclear points, though.

1) Version
Where did you get the version 2.2.6 from?
On the official site http://graywolf2004.net/wp/ (if that's the official one) I could only find 2.2.5.

2) Files
Ok, at the beginning I made the mistake that I only copied the file BlueARP.x64.dll to my VST directory.
Now I also copied the BlueARP.ini and BlueARP_FactoryBank.fxb into that folder.
(And I gave write-permissions for these files).
However, there is absolutely no change in the behaviour.
I can set programs, save presets (and save the song), as soon as I restart my DAW,
BlueARP looks like the beginning...

3) Chord inversions
When I play left-handed chords on my Yamaha keyboard (to set a harmony for the current style),
it doesn't matter what kind of note order I choose.
Cm for example can be:
C-D#-G
or D#-G-C
or G-C-D#

This is nothing special, but the generated Arpeggios (I think Arpeggios is the right word here too),
are always the same.

When doing this on BlueARP, there is a difference.
Harmonically seen it's still correct, but I wonder how it would be possible to define the exact tones.

So let's say when playing Cm, I want a Bass melody:
C1-D#1-G1, no matter how I play that chord.
Can this be set somehow?
I think "Transpose" will generally transpose a note, it won't "force" the note to be in a specific octave.

4) BlueARP_FactoryBank.fxb
I opened that file with Windows Notepad and it seems to be readable.
If I open, edit and save this file while my DAW + BlueARP are in use,
will BlueARP read the freshly written data?
(For example if I switch the program.)

This would be very interesting because it would give users much more possibilites.
I mean if I have 100 styles with 4 melodical tracks,
that would be up to 400 different Arpeggio types.
At the moment I see 128 programs "only".

Thanks again for taking your time!

Edit
By the way, I fixed the issue "Accept only Chords" by using Midi Translator Pro.
When playing 1 or 2 notes, my DAW doesn't receive them.
If I add a 3rd note, all three notes get sent at exactly the same time.
The generated Arps by BlueARP always sound smooth now!

Best regards

[A Recurring Problem]

Glad you're getting the hang of it! I'll try to answer what I can from your last post.

1) Version
Where did you get the version 2.2.6 from?
On the official site http://graywolf2004.net/wp/ (if that's the official one) I could only find 2.2.5.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=361311&start=1305#p7087587 - If you're on Mac then you'll have to wait, only the Windows version is out for now.

2) Files
Ok, at the beginning I made the mistake that I only copied the file BlueARP.x64.dll to my VST directory.
Now I also copied the BlueARP.ini and BlueARP_FactoryBank.fxb into that folder.
(And I gave write-permissions for these files).
However, there is absolutely no change in the behaviour.
I can set programs, save presets (and save the song), as soon as I restart my DAW,
BlueARP looks like the beginning...

Download 2.2.6 and see if you still have the issue...I had a similar problem in Bitwig that no longer happens to me with the new version.

[/quote]3) Chord inversions
When I play left-handed chords on my Yamaha keyboard (to set a harmony for the current style),
it doesn't matter what kind of note order I choose.
Cm for example can be:
C-D#-G
or D#-G-C
or G-C-D#

This is nothing special, but the generated Arpeggios (I think Arpeggios is the right word here too),
are always the same.

When doing this on BlueARP, there is a difference.
Harmonically seen it's still correct, but I wonder how it would be possible to define the exact tones.

So let's say when playing Cm, I want a Bass melody:
C1-D#1-G1, no matter how I play that chord.
Can this be set somehow?
I think "Transpose" will generally transpose a note, it won't "force" the note to be in a specific octave.[/quote]
In the settings on the left panel, look for "input range (wrap)" and set the two boxes under it to the appropriate values - left box is the lowest note, right box. For instance, if you set it from C1 to C2 then it will always transpose the notes to be between C1 and C2 no matter where you play them on the keyboard.
You can also change "order algorithm" to change how notes are assigned to k1, k2, k3, etc. The default setting plays the notes from lowest to highest according to the chord that BlueArp detects you playing (e.g. if you're playing Cm in root form with the input range wrap set to C1-C2, then k1-k2-k3 will be assigned to C1-D#1-G1, but if you played it in first inversion then k1-k2-k3 would be assigned to D#1-G1-C1 instead...hopefully that makes sense, it should become clear after playing around a bit).

4) BlueARP_FactoryBank.fxb
I opened that file with Windows Notepad and it seems to be readable.
If I open, edit and save this file while my DAW + BlueARP are in use,
will BlueARP read the freshly written data?
(For example if I switch the program.)

This would be very interesting because it would give users much more possibilites.
I mean if I have 100 styles with 4 melodical tracks,
that would be up to 400 different Arpeggio types.
At the moment I see 128 programs "only".

The programs are stored in a bank, 128 programs per bank. You can save individual program files but I find it much easier to save and load by the bank instead because then you can load 128 programs at a time instead of 1 at a time. I don't think BlueArp will automatically reload the file if it changes, so you'll have to do it manually with menu->bank (or program if you're loading a program)->load from file.

[UnionS8]

The Bluearp is simply amazing, thank you.
I have one problem though (on Windows). The plugin isn't latency compensated somehow. I mean when I set quite high buffer size in the ASIO configuration (for example 2048 samples), the Bluearp is delayed 2048 samples behind the pure MIDI notes. HY-SEQ16 (another step sequencer VST) for example doesn't suffer this. Is there any workaround? Does anybody else experience this behavior too? Oh and I use Ableton and Reaper, by the way.
Thank you very much,

Stepan

[gentleclockdivider]

Possible bug in renoise .
Sometimes the first note is NOT recognized , doesn't matter if inoput is set to syn or no sync , and when blue arp is set to 6 steps or a number not dividable by 4
This happens when the note ( to trigger blue arp ) is set on the first line of the first pattern ( in renoise ), and there are multiple patterns followed in renoise .
Sometimes it start's at step five , seems like some sync issue ...which can clearly be seen from the position read out in the information screen .

Or verry simple .
When the pattern is set to more then 8 steps , it never star on the first step , even if the note is inserted on the first line/pattern within renoise.

Is there a way to reset to blue arp to the first step when a note on/gate is received ?

[gentleclockdivider]

also happens in reaper /fl studio .
So when using it a step sequencer .number of steps 7 , sync 1/8 .
Draw a note that lasts for 4 beats in your daw, then 4 beats rest ( 1bar ) and then another notes four beats.
Tanspose some notes in blue arp , result is that when the second note is reached (in daw ) , blue arp starts somewhere halfway it's sequence due to the continous scanning ( position read out )
So when used as step sequencer it would be great if this continous scanning is reset while it received a gate .

[Nielzie]

Does this arp/sequencer has midi drag & drop to host? That is such a useful function for me in midi sequencers, I just can't live without it anymore!

[KnickersDown]

Just downloaded this thing and it is AWESOME! Thanks for much for this. I love it.

[AzII]

Amazing program.

2.2.6 gives me headache with the MIDI Thru dummy, the notes gets registered but no play through.
Both 2.2.5 and 2.2.6 only sends one note when triads with same base are played 2 times row.


So for instance E G B / B G E with pass through only sends E. Same with any base and second within same triad countless the times in a row. In 2.2.5 there's the same bug however when choosing midi thru dummy and disable arp it works.

When playing many notes with the dummy on it crashes, 5 notes and kaboom. In my instance it is;

F#2 D3 F#4 A4 A5. Im using FL Studio, tried with both 12.5 and 20.

Where do I donate? Love it!

[enabor]

I tried it and I really like it ! But still, I have an issue with it in Cubase :I'm using BlueArp to plays sounds on my hardware synth (Novation Peak). To do so, I created 2 tracks A and B in Cubase: track A is a VST track where BlueArp output is set to track B. Track B is a midi track where input is set to track A and output is set to my hardware synth (Peak). When I select track B I can hear the sound coming from my synth but as soon as I select any other track in my cubase project I loose the sound of my synth. Does anybody knows why ? Thanks

[graywolf2004]

Amazing program.

2.2.6 gives me headache with the MIDI Thru dummy, the notes gets registered but no play through.
Both 2.2.5 and 2.2.6 only sends one note when triads with same base are played 2 times row.


So for instance E G B / B G E with pass through only sends E. Same with any base and second within same triad countless the times in a row. In 2.2.5 there's the same bug however when choosing midi thru dummy and disable arp it works.

When playing many notes with the dummy on it crashes, 5 notes and kaboom. In my instance it is;

F#2 D3 F#4 A4 A5. Im using FL Studio, tried with both 12.5 and 20.

Where do I donate? Love it!

I think MIDI thru still has some flaws in processing logic... It step type is Nrm (normal), then it's normal if it outputs only one note (cause all midi irdering/filtering logic still works). Try to set step type to Chord. If it doesn't work, try to set arp mode to thru.
I will check the logic you describe, I don't think it's Cubase-specific, should be the same in FL (it's in my todo list to fix MIDI thru logic)
Donation link is on my website
http://graywolf2004.net/wp/?page_id=30

[graywolf2004]

Hi All, I apologize for rare posts again, my free time is severely limited these days. I have a stressful dayjob and a little free time only on weekends.

As you know since 2017 I also work on bluearp hardware prototype and recently I completed a big milestone in hardware development - I made USB functionality working (both host and device). I spent nearly 3 months on this. For those of you who doesn't know how USB works - just to say it's hundreds of pages of cryptic manuals and a lot of stuff to memorize until you start barely understanding how it works. It was nightmare for me - more difficult that all the other hardware stuff altogether (MIDI, CV out, display, etc.).
But now I can attach USB controller to bluearp unit and it works. Also when I plug unit into PC it's recognized as a MIDI device. It's all not perfect still, but bug fixing is much more predictable, since I have the "proof of the concept" working.
To celebrate this milestone, I spent this weekend making this performance - hardware only (the same can be done with plugin of course)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3BJSrbi6g0

So for the following weeks I plan to return to plugin, main thins on my todo list are:
1. 2.2.6 crashes on OSX
2. MIDI thru logic

[Drew Lake]

Awesome! BlueARP is by far my favourite Arp/Sequencer.

[phreaque]

Quick update: BlueARP v2.2.6, but yet Windows only

BlueARP_Win_v2.2.6.zip

The main change is enlarged GUI - now all the controls ara again on one screen without page switching.
Basically it's the same version I posted before, but now x64 also included.

I have random crashes in Logic 10 (not sure they were there before).
But it will take more time to fix it on Mac.

Master, just wanted to report a little bug. In FL Studio, when renderning a project, the 1st note in pianoroll of the VSTi linked to BlueARP is being bypassed.
Would you like to send you an flp file for debugging quickly?