Free FM Synthesizer Dexed (VST Windows and Mac)

[sebber]

Are Dexed for Win/OSX/Linux and Dexed for iOS and KQ Dixie for iOS all the same thing?

[crimsonwarlock]

But you can use Notepad++ without understanding what a regular expression is!

You mean you can use Notepad++ if you don't need regex




+1 for TotalCommander, another great tool for this is Agent Ransack which has a regex wizard for people "without understanding what a regular expression is!"

[planetearth]

I tried and had success with this : Notepad++

https://notepad-plus-plus.org/download/v7.6.4.html

It has a find in files search function, it will search for a word/presetname in all the files in a folder and present you with a list of files that contain that word.

Searching files using Text Editor... bleh. Where this world is heading to?
Isn't it better to use filemanager, like TotalCommander, to work with files?

I'm not searchin FOR files I'm searching INSIDE a group of files looking for a text string.
Text string...text editor ?
Hey...it works..

Out of curiosity, what are you doing when you're presented with a list of patches with the word or preset name you were looking for in it? Since you can't tell if the presets sound the same, are you just using this to see where you might find a "brass" or "bass" sound, or something like that? Or were you planning to somehow weed out the duplicates?

Steve

[maxym.srpl]

But you can use Notepad++ without understanding what a regular expression is!

I wrote "even with regexp". You can search for simple textual strings without using regular expressions too. You can search selected files, including archives content (zip etc), nested folders etc.
You guys make things overcomplicated But it's your choice obviously

[zzz00m]

Out of curiosity, what are you doing when you're presented with a list of patches with the word or preset name you were looking for in it? Since you can't tell if the presets sound the same, are you just using this to see where you might find a "brass" or "bass" sound, or something like that? Or were you planning to somehow weed out the duplicates?

Steve

Exactly!

We could use a real librarian software to manage the DX presets with.

Searching the test string will only lead you to target specific .syx file names that may have a sound you want, that you will still need to open in Dexed to audition, or create your own favorites cart files from.

Working with 32 presets at a time is a bit like digging for artifacts in ancient ruins.

[planetearth]

Out of curiosity, what are you doing when you're presented with a list of patches with the word or preset name you were looking for in it? Since you can't tell if the presets sound the same, are you just using this to see where you might find a "brass" or "bass" sound, or something like that? Or were you planning to somehow weed out the duplicates?

Steve

Exactly!

We could use a real librarian software to manage the DX presets with.

Searching the test string will only lead you to target specific .syx file names that may have a sound you want, that you will still need to open in Dexed to audition, or create your own favorites cart files from.

Working with 32 presets at a time is a bit like digging for artifacts in ancient ruins.

Well, I didn't exactly have an agenda with that question; I was just trying to find out if I'm missing something useful by not using Notepad++ to search for strings in the files. Like probably everyone else, I'd like a much more efficient way of sorting these patches. And while I know it could be done easily with a database, I also know that any dev who tried it would be slammed by a lot of people complaining that it doesn't do what they want--when they can't agree on what they want. (For example, I know I'd like it to be online, so that we can all add subjective notes about each sound, and we could all help categorize the sounds, similar to the way Arturia uses "characteristic" tags for each preset.)

That said, the thought of digging for artifacts sounds interesting--especially if those artifacts are Roland and Korg synths from the pre-historic era known as "the late 1980s".

Steve

[moshimoshi]

ergonomically, my issue with the knobs in the envelope is that the different rate values that they control, as well as function are ambiguous to me as a dyslexic user. (and if you are not dyslexic, trying to program a DX7 will make you dyslexic.) Because these identical looking knobs do secret things, i need to store and recall physical memories in my brain as to what the function and value of the envelope controls, and this reduces the intuitiveness of the gui. this is why i have called for a symposium on this problem. This is not a criticism on Stanford University or Dr. Chowning. This is not a scolding of the small elite handful of gatekeepers either. This is an invitation to open DX7 programming to a wider audience with the hope that they will compose amazing new presets so that I don't have to.

OK so let's see - you will ignore suggestions of other FM synths which do what you want, you will also ignore when people directly link you to manuals which explain how the envelopes work in a few paragraphs with diagrams. I get it. We must have other programmers change Dexed for you (in so breaking true DX7 import), so that other people can make patches for you, and all for zero cost, for your convenience.

I am not saying I'm right, but You are wrong. You can change the mechanics the GUI (Graphical User Interface) and still constrain the output of those controls to correspond with DX7 patch values.

Also a DX7 doesn't have a filter, I'll wait for anyone to explain how that is compatible with a DX7.

(edit) I was agreeing with the post above me that said Dexed needs a new GUI. I didn't anticipate someone getting mad at my expertly worded comment.

I'm not mad, just baffled at your continued wilful ignorance. As has already been explained several times, the filter is an additional monophonic effect on top of the voice engine, it's not part of the DX7 portion. But obviously you don't want to read, you don't want to learn. If you took 5 minutes to understand how the envelopes work, you'll understand it's actually quite tricky to represent graphically. They are not ADSRs, they are more powerful than that. The representations in Dexed already go far beyond what you see on a DX7.

I'm no 'gatekeeper', I'm just a user with an opinion which deserves to be heard as much as your continued bleating. You want a 'symposium' but you don't even want to approach the first rule of design - understand the 'problem' first. I've seen countless examples of software ruined by dumb user requests, things which the coders themselves have admitted to me they shouldn't have listened to. So if you'll continue to bleat I will continue to argue my point. Lastly, I will say this - you imagine some fairytale world where if only the f**king envelopes were changed, then some magical uptake of amazing patchmaking would happen as a result of this democratic bliss. Well I simply contend that this is absolute bollocks. Any sound designer worth their salt will learn how the envelopes work in 5 minutes - the actual way that FM ratios interact is far more difficult to understand - so what you're saying is total nonsense.

[fanodu1]

This is from the same guy who also made the amazing Synth1 librarian. Too bad it's not released yet.

Not happening...

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=496615&p=7264331#p7264331

Bummer. This would have been a godsend, considering how many DX7 presets are floating around.

[planetearth]

This is from the same guy who also made the amazing Synth1 librarian. Too bad it's not released yet.

Not happening...

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=496615&p=7264331#p7264331

Bummer. This would have been a godsend, considering how many DX7 presets are floating around.

Again, it really wouldn't be that difficult, from a database-design perspective.

The problems begin to arise when you have two (or 2,000) presets called "EP 1" (because, yes, people are that damn lazy) and you have to determine which one is the best representative of that sound. Who decides that? Based upon which criteria? And what happens to the other 1,999 presets with the same name?

Yes, you could add dozens of meta tags to each preset (along with an example sound or two) to further help "classify" (or at least, describe) the preset's sound. But this wouldn't necessarily weed out any of the thousands of DX7 presets floating around, it would simply categorize them. (A dozen or so DX7 enthusiasts could weed out the "bad" presets before the database is created, of course.)

And then you get into the thorny area of IP/copyright. Since hundreds (if not thousands) of the sounds floating around came from professionally created sources, anyone making a profit from the distribution of the sounds is in violation of copyright law. So you couldn't charge for the database (and good luck finding someone to take on this project for free), and you couldn't distribute example sounds of each patch--which means people can't hear the difference between "EP 1" and "EP 1,001"...if they could have heard any difference in the first place.

I still think a database is a good idea, one which could be crowd-sourced (for ideas, meta tags and patches), and which could benefit quite a few people. But it's quite a bit of work, and it's fraught with legal issues.

And you can't argue with a word like "fraught".

Steve

[lfo2k]

Hello, : )

is there some way to let the midi-notes that i send to Dexed as VST, pass trough to the attached DX7 that it controlls? (without some external merging tricks)

Because when Dexed blocks the midi port outgoing to the DX7, i can not play the DX7.
(Even trough the DX7 of course receives the parameter changes via Dexed)

[fabi]

Hello, : )

is there some way to let the midi-notes that i send to Dexed as VST, pass trough to the attached DX7 that it controlls? (without some external merging tricks)

Because when Dexed blocks the midi port outgoing to the DX7, i can not play the DX7.
(Even trough the DX7 of course receives the parameter changes via Dexed)

Would be a sweet feature. Don't think it's possible at this time.

[planetearth]

Hello, : )

is there some way to let the midi-notes that i send to Dexed as VST, pass trough to the attached DX7 that it controlls? (without some external merging tricks)

Because when Dexed blocks the midi port outgoing to the DX7, i can not play the DX7.
(Even trough the DX7 of course receives the parameter changes via Dexed)

Maybe I'm missing something in your question, but couldn't you just create a "MIDI" track (as opposed to an audio or plug-in track), and also echo your input to that track? In effect, you'd then be sending the same data to Dexed (via plug-in) and the DX7 (via MIDI track)?

This is what I'd do in Sonar if I wanted to layer a plug-in with a hardware synth, and I'm sure other DAWs can do something similar.

Steve

[jbraner]

Reaper certainly can

[kingozrecords]

Thanks for Dexed, not so fond of the c7 but dexed has many patches which are impressive and go beyond the limitations of the synth. A thumbs up to the devs and patchmakers. Thankyou.

[synthguy]

Another vote for microtuning. It's a major benefit of the DX/TX lineup, and it would up the cache of DEXED.