v3.066 does not sound the same as before

[flounderhouse]

First off let me just say how much I love this synth! Been using it for some ten years and counting!

I updated to v3.066 and popped open up a project in my DAW (ableton 9 suite). This particular song has a sylenth 8th-note chord progresh that enters near the 32nd bar. The synth very clearly does not sound the same as it did before the update. Obviously this is unacceptable! I'll have to get it fixed before I can continue working on any track that contain sylenth.

I won't lie, it sounds great! But its not what I designed for the track. Specifically, it sounds like the cutoff is slightly higher, and longer decay/release. And its louder. This could easily be the reason why I was impressed by its sound. Sylenth's sweet drive character was suddenly very audible. Alas, its not what I need right now.

I'll report back here when/if I fix it. I'm gonna try reinstalling. Maybe install the old version back again. Also I'll keep an eye out for the issue in other projects.

My system is Mac OS 10.13.6, and I most likely used the AU version as opposed to VST.

[Lennard]

Hi, which version of Sylenth1 were you using before exactly? There have been some improvements in the audio engine in v3.050:

https://www.lennardigital.com/sylenth1/whatsnew.php
What's new in v3.050
15 January 2019
Improved oscillator sound quality (improved high frequency content, reduced aliasing).
Improved filter response and sound quality.
Further optimized CPU performance.
Added oversampling options for realtime playback and render mode.
Added Arpeggiator Swing knob.
Added master tuning frequency adjustment.
Improved pitch accuracy.
Added Nitro skin by Scott Kane.
Improved host automation for buttons and option controls.
Fixes compatibility issue on Linux.
Fixes high memory bug in 32bit version.
Added midi learn autoswitch control option.
Added 156 new presets in FactoryBank6.

So indeed there may be subtle changes in filter and oscillator sound, but mainly it will just sound better, not louder. If you have a certain preset that you think sounds differently, could you please mail the preset file to support(a)lennardigital.com?

Either way, you can still use the old engine. Just click MENU -> Open Data Folder -> Config and open Settings.xml with a text editor. Edit the following line as such:

<Compatibility useV2Engine="1" displayCutoffInHz="0"/>

Then save and restart Sylenth1. Please note that this is not recommended though, as you will not be able to use all improvements or oversampling. Also, the old engine will sound slightly different on different sample rates, we have fixed this in the new engine.

[flounderhouse]

Thanks for the quick response!

I’m 95% sure the version I upgraded from was v3.054. So unfortunately that's not the issue i’m having. Also I’m aware of how to access the pre-v3.050 sound, and I’m familiar with the sonic differences. (much love for the v3.050 update btw!). The current issue is a more significant sonic difference. If it helps, I can post a couple sound snippets of the old and new?

I'm wondering if its a completely different patch somehow? I don’t, however, think it was caused by an accidental midi program change. This because as I work on a big Ableton project, I’ll periodically “save as” a new file names (ie. “songname_1checkpoint.als”, “songname_2checkpoint.als”, etc…). And, in each of these .als versions, sylenth has been afflicted the same way each time.

I’m confident we will figure this out. But as a temporary fix, can I get a download link for v3.054, as well as instructions on how to install correctly. At the moment, I’m anxious to get back in the music zone asap! Also, I want to be very careful how I proceed—as i’m sure you know, it’s very important to me I get all my projects sounding identical to how they were created!

[flounderhouse]

Do you need me to save the afflicted patch and email it?

Thanks for the help btw!

[flounderhouse]

one last thing. As a last resort, I have a Time Machine backup from before the update (Feb. 1). Though, I'd much like to avoid this solution.

[Lennard]

Yes, please click MENU -> Preset -> Save and send the fxp file via email!

[flounderhouse]

sent.

[flounderhouse]

UPDATE! I'm surprised noone has posted ab this on this forum yet. I'm wondering if I'm the only one experiencing the issue?!

First of all, this issue appears to be happening across all my projects. I checked 4 projects so far. The last one I checked is completely OBLITERATED! Sad for me, but maybe I'll post the audio from before and after for this one cause its kinda interesting....

OK, so I'm glad I additionally emailed you the Ableton instrument rack too cause I'm discovering my Macro Knobs are messed up. They behave erratically both when automated, as well as when they are manually wiggled. Are you able to replicate the issue or is it just me?

As a note aside, Ableton's macro knobs are one of the most powerful tools in all of electronic music and I'm not exaggerating! The trick is to program the min/max values of your macro knob's destination param with your right hand on the mouse, while simultaneously wiggling a physical midi controller knob that is mapped to said macro knob with your left hand. In my experience Sylenth has always cooperated FLAWLESSLY with Ableton's macro knobs. That is until now....

Thanks again for the help!

[Teksonik]

Here's a thread with someone else reporting an issue with 3.066. Also Mac OS and also Abelton Live (although 10.1.7). Looks like you're both running Mojave but slightly different version numbers.

viewtopic.php?f=94&t=538892

[flounderhouse]

I'm running Mac OS 10.13.6 (High Sierra). Hes running 10.14.6.

Lennard, Is there anything at all I can send you that will help you troubleshoot? Rendered audio? Ableton projects? AU vs VST tests?

I never realized how much I rely on this synth until its gone!

[e-crooner]

On Windows everything seems to work fine.

Thanks for fixing the rendering crash, which I experienced for the first time today, just a few minutes before I updated S1 my DAW crashed when rendering a S1-based project

[flounderhouse]

Thanks Teksonik. And thanks e-crooner. We are still unsure whether its an issue for all Mac users, or just for the older OS versions. I'm considering upgrading my OS. Its free. But I'd rather not cause I like my current one, and everything else works great.

I'm not sure how close we are to a solution, but to buy time, I'm still eager to get hands a download link for the old v3.054. But would it even install correctly? The last thing I wanna do is permanently lose sound design work.

That said, lets move forward in finding a permanent solution for v3.066.

Lennard, I assume you are not easily able to recreate the problem. Instead, I think it'd be useful to show you exactly this aforementioned erratic behavior in an ableton project. I was thinking I'd record a pair of tracks simultaneously--one being midi loop containing recorded knob automation, and the other being its resulting audio. Its alot of effort to try and explain here what happens. But if you heard what I heard, and saw the automation causing it, it might provide insight.. Let me know what you need from me and I'll knock it all out in one go!

[Lennard]

I checked the preset in versions v3.041, v3.054 and v3.066 and cannot hear any noticable differences.

From your comments I would say the differences are caused by automation. Can you please let me know which automated parameters are causing problems in your project exactly? Are you using Midi CC automation or host automation?

Here's a thread with someone else reporting an issue with 3.066. Also Mac OS and also Abelton Live (although 10.1.7). Looks like you're both running Mojave but slightly different version numbers.

viewtopic.php?f=94&t=538892

That was a very different issue and the problem was not in Sylenth1. One of his midi inputs was messing things up, possibly continuously sending AllSoundOff messages that would turn off the sound. When changing his midi input from 'All Ins' to a single midi device the problem was gone.

[Teksonik]

Ok but that wasn't evident until you posted the explanation today. I simply provided the link so perhaps the two could connect and compare notes. Maybe that could have helped the OP with this issue and perhaps not but it was worth a mention.

[flounderhouse]

This is obviously not right... What happened?! Very concerned about this...