Patch Librarian for Synth1 (freeware)

[maxym.srpl]

@Neutrino.sky, please don't forget about HighDPI users
Synth1 librarian is almost perfect in this regard, having some minor issues. Would be perfect to get rid of them

[maxym.srpl]

This is how the Librarian looks in Windows 10 set to 175% dpi scale



I extended container window a bit to show that it is Librarian itself cropping right side of it's GUI, not a host container window.
Also I can see that fonts are a bit too big comparing to cells height they are sitting in.

I would really like to see it fixed. No big deal if won't - in fact current state 100% fit my workflow. But would be nice, especially the fix will be ported to Dexed Librarian.

thanx for great piece of SW
With regards

[maxym.srpl]

Since yesterday, any project using the Librarian loads for ages.
I narrowed it down to the fact, that the plugin is attempting to connect to spitfire.pickaweb.co.uk which is unavailable at the moment. This domain has the same IP as neutrinosky.com which is also unavailable.

Please, if you really need to connect this site from plugin, do it in separate thread to not block DAW. Waiting 5 min to load a a project is far from optimal.

Workaround: block outgoing connections from Reaper to 89.187.85.10 address using Windows Firewall

[zzz00m]

Since yesterday, any project using the Librarian loads for ages.
I narrowed it down to the fact, that the plugin is attempting to connect to spitfire.pickaweb.co.uk which is unavailable at the moment. This domain has the same IP as neutrinosky.com which is also unavailable.

Please, if you really need to connect this site from plugin, do it in separate thread to not block DAW. Waiting 5 min to load a a project is far from optimal.

Workaround: block outgoing connections from Reaper to 89.187.85.10 address using Windows Firewall

Neutrinosky.com is still online.

Maybe you should check your network or DNS settings.

[maxym.srpl]

Do you have logs for the recent 24h that you are so confident it is STILL online?
Yes, right now it's online again. But it was unavailable for some time affecting the plugin.

Important thing is that the plugin is dependent on the site availability.

At least I gave you a workaround for such situation.
Hope the author will fix it. The Librarian is great plugin deserving it.

[zzz00m]

Do you have logs for the recent 24h that you are so confident it is STILL online?
Yes, right now it's online again. But it was unavailable for some time affecting the plugin.

Do you have actual proof that it was offline, and not just YOUR computer failing to make a connection?

Sometimes servers do go offline due to maintenance or error, but most modern hosting providers have redundancy built in for 99.99% availability.

Much more likely is that YOUR chosen DNS server (which is unrelated to the host you were trying to reach), had a corrupted update, and was unable to complete the DNS lookup for you.

Bottom line is that the developer has not shut his site down, regardless of what caused the connection error.

And IMHO, maybe you should show a bit more gratitude for a FREE product, rather than demanding that the developer change the program to satisfy you. Maybe send him a donation and ask nicely. A little bit of respect might go far! He obviously spent many hours of his own time to create and share a very useful tool with us.

[maxym.srpl]

Pal, calm down. I'm not disrespectful to anybody.
Just identified and reported the issue. Nothing more or less. And I'm doing it always after checking out as much options as possible to provide as much information as possible.

Do you have actual proof that it was offline, and not just YOUR computer failing to make a connection?

Yes I have.
But I don't feel I have to prove you anything.

Much more likely is that YOUR chosen DNS server (which is unrelated to the host you were trying to reach), had a corrupted update, and was unable to complete the DNS lookup for you.

It seems you know only one kind of network failure: invalid DNS cache. But I assure you again: it wasn't DNS related issue.
If you had tried to understand the issue's consequences you would know that it's really not important what is the reason of network unavailability. The point is that network issues might brake the Librarian. And this is what the report is about.

[DrMEM]

Just curious, what’s the plan for the plugin in the event that the site gets taken offline in the future? (Also why does the plugin need to connect to the website at all? To check for updates?)

[maxym.srpl]

I was curious too. Update notification? Might be. But I haven't found any information in docs.

If the requested site is unavailable, depending on a reasons, the plugin might be informed about it immediately or never. In the latter case it will wait for connection time-out, which obviously takes a time.
To inform the plugin quicker that the site is unavailable, you can use a firewall (ie Windows one) to block outgoing communication to requested address. I mentioned it in my original report.

[neutrino.sky]

Hi maxym, thanks for reporting this. You're correct: the plugin calls the website to see if there's a new version available, nothing more. I've got some time off work, so I'll try to get this resolved soon!
(and please, play nicely guys )

[maxym.srpl]

Thank you. I appreciate your effort
with regards

[Teksonik]

You're correct: the plugin calls the website to see if there's a new version available, nothing more. I've got some time off work, so I'll try to get this resolved soon!

By resolved you should mean the plugin never tries to connect to the internet for any reason.

[ozboomer]

I've downloaded the VST yesterday and have been using it for a bit today.

it's a great application and has been sorely needed for years. Thanks for making the effort to create it... I've now made a contribution to the project .

Some thoughts after only a short time using it, though:-

• in each of the panels, there are 'previous/next' buttons to move between the patches. Is it possible to do something with keyboard shortcuts for the same functionality? It would be useful for scrolling through panels, etc

• Instead of 'custom patches' and manipulations being restricted to patches in 'user' categories, it would be helpful to be able to have like a 'clipboard' functionality -- For example, use a patch from a .zip file (now in a 'system' category), bring up Synth1, make my changes.. and then save the 'current Synth1 settings' as a patch in a 'user' category. From what I understand you can only currently do that with a patch that's already in a 'user' category.

• Instead of using a 'row of asterisks' as an indicator of the 'quality of matching' of patches, maybe the colour theme could be used. A full-saturation colour indicates 90%+ and as the quality of the matching decreases, the saturation of colour reduces.

• Is there a way to implement something with 'MIDI Learn' so the navigation through the interface can be bound to a control surface?

• I'm not sure if it's a bug or by design.. but when creating the first 'user' category, the default name is something like '[User Category 59'], which I find misleading. I think it's the 59th category 'in the library'... but it's only the 1st 'user' category, so the default name should be '[User Category 1]' or simply '[Category 59]'... Unsure..

• What's the point of the [X] widget on the 'Main selection' panel? It doesn't do anything when it's clicked.

• Is there a way to balance the output levels of the output, akin to MP3 gain (a Synth1 question, maybe).

My environment: WIndows 8.1 32-bit, Mixcraft 7.7 32-bit, Synth1 V1.13 beta 3 2014.7.

Again, many thanks for providing us with a mighty useful application.

[ozboomer]

You're correct: the plugin calls the website to see if there's a new version available, nothing more. I've got some time off work, so I'll try to get this resolved soon!

By resolved you should mean the plugin never tries to connect to the internet for any reason.

To me, it would be a friendlier behaviour to have the 'Check for Updates' on a button of some sort, so the application isn't dependent on being on-line, which is generally the case for my 'music computer'.

So far, I've only been trying the application on a 'connected' PC.

[zzz00m]

You're correct: the plugin calls the website to see if there's a new version available, nothing more. I've got some time off work, so I'll try to get this resolved soon!

By resolved you should mean the plugin never tries to connect to the internet for any reason.

To me, it would be a friendlier behaviour to have the 'Check for Updates' on a button of some sort, so the application isn't dependent on being on-line, which is generally the case for my 'music computer'.

So far, I've only been trying the application on a 'connected' PC.

Just fyi, but the librarian is no longer being actively developed, although the author may occasionally provide some bug fixes. I only mention this to temper your expectations, while I agree that it's an awesome tool! Although your suggestions may be heard, there is no guarantee that it will result in action.

Since it's a free gift, not a commercial product, just enjoy it as is...