MSF Instruments bank first draft and feedback

[LaNonchalance]

Hi everyone

I'm really excited to tell you that I've finished the first draft of an instruments bank that I was working on.
Since I've recently started to learn sound design, this is my first attempt to produce a cohesive bank of instruments.

I thought that it could be a good thing to share it with you so that I can have feedback, but also so that we can have more examples on how people use MSF (By the way if you didn't know about this, you can download the online preset that people have made, it's fascinating.)

However, I've met some trouble when I've tried to open the devices on a 13" screen. (all the easy gui was messed up).Does somebody knows how to fix it? Either way I hope that it will work fine on your computers. I've added a picture of how it should look when everything is fine.

Finally, I've made a small form about the Bank and I will really appreciate if you could answer it. It will be of great help to me so that I can improve the project.

There is the link to the bank :https://mega.nz/file/3tRgkIYA#Gn1tnB70h ... fM4Vd1MizY

There is the link to the form:
https://forms.gle/ywF8DN25LVNqYJTA6

Don't hesitate to comment or pm if you're facing any trouble or for any question.

Have good day and thanks Meldaproduction!

[LaNonchalance]

This how it should look!

[MeldaProduction]

So there are nearly no controls?? And you removed the actual GLobals . Hmmm, please check this out:

https://www.meldaproduction.com/tutoria ... undfactory

[David]

Got'em; install worked fine, already marked quite a few with hearts, nice!:) My favs tended to be arps, bells, and any that evolved when held, of which there are a healthy selection. Most of these also had additional controls, so the prospect of saving Device Presets for them was enticing.

A few wishes, fwiw:
I missed having a level control on the Easy Screens! I didn't miss more FX or the Globals tab; once I saw that these weren't going to be there, I adapted fine:) At least these ARE all devices and so can have their own presets, unlike the Patchpool collection, or, I presume either of the two other MSF preset collections I know of, which I very much doubt offer any devices, either. I almost never use that tab myself in other presets or devices, and would definitely prefer to have the Level controls on the same tab as all the main sound parameters, in this case anyway.

I wished the few dual-arp presets had included arp enable buttons for each arp, since the controls for these arps are hidden deep inside the FX EDIT grid, unlike all those that use a single arp, for which the arp switch and open button are clearly visible so long as you have the toolbar open.

I was initially perfectly OK with the 50 or so offerings coming in as Devices rather than as Global Presets like the only other preset collection I've seen (from Patchpool). But I seriously didn't like seeing that the root view of my installed devices suddenly grew by 50+ entries! I've got lots of other Devices, having been seriously building them for over a year, but now that view's become thoroughly unwieldy, not just with entries but with hearts as well to the extent that they've become clutter and no longer a distinguishing aid. Obviously now I'll have to change my default viewing mode to one in which I'm forced to choose a sub-folder. I hadn't anticipated this and was rather bummed when I saw it—hmph! I suppose it was inevitable that I'd get to this point on my own anyway…but it felt like that was a long way off, not landing today.

I don't suppose it's likely that the basic operational features of the Device Browser will change anytime soon, so any other solution seems unavailable. Molehill, not Mountain, I admit; but little things can certainly get in the way!

[Held]

I tried a few, and they are really interesting and sound pretty good. I alway go to the edit screen immediately, since the easy screen isn't very useful. But I can understand why you didn't bother with it. Creating a decent easy screen is super painful.

The CPU load is often a little higher than I'd like, but I'm also using an older laptop, so that's probably not an issue for many. Also, you started your directory with a '1', so it's at the top, but I want my own directories there, so it's a little annoying. Especially since I don't know how to rename it (see below).

Overall, a great collection and I'm going to study it to get some inspiration for my own sounds. Thank you for sharing!

I had some issues with the installation, though, which aren't your fault, so this is feedback for Melda:
The new directory for the instruments didn't show up in the tree until I reloaded the plugin. Also, I can't find a way to rename, move, or delete folders and instruments in the tree. Are those options hidden, or do they not exist?

[David]

The instructions that came with the set say you have to reload MSF to get the device menu to show up correctly, which I didn't notice at first either, so I also went through a few moments of thinking something hadn't worked.

It's easy to rename and reorganize this menu, though. It simply reflects a folder called MSoundFactoryInstruments, which is here on my Mac:



…and some equivalent place on a PC.

[Held]

The instructions that came with the set say you have to reload MSF to get the device menu to show up correctly, which I didn't notice at first either, so I also went through a few moments of thinking something hadn't worked.

It's not a bug, it's a feature, right?

It's easy to rename and reorganize this menu, though. It simply reflects a folder called MSoundFactoryInstruments, which is here on my Mac:

Thanks for letting my know how to do it.

Might be easy, but not convenient. It's these simple things that make software fun to use, but are boring to program. There are a lot of comfort functions missing from Melda plugins that could be easily added by hiring someone to work on them for a while. Or maybe the code is so messy that no one but Vojtech is able to understand it.

Maybe someday someone will make plugins that are fun to use and as flexible as Melda plugins. That would be the dream

[LaNonchalance]

So there are nearly no controls?? And you removed the actual GLobals

Hi ! Yes, since it was a more like an advanced bank of presets i thought that i add the basic of basic for the control (that still leave a little of room for very simple tweaking ), but with the few feedbacks that I've received I've reconsidered this aspect. In the next draft I will add more controls and also turn them all mpe compatible. However, I did not use the main template on purpose. Those devices were made around a specific structure that in fact needed to have less option to have a sense (it's hard to believe but once you'll, you'll maybe understand where I'm coming from with this) That being said I understand the need of standardization for msoundfactory devices, I will keep that in mind for the next draft and will try to find the best compromise but ultimately, I aim for a full designed GUI like the one that Darkstar have started to show in one of the subject or monarch grand (I'll have to learn how to code so it will take some time). Thanks for your recommendation !!!

A few wishes, fwiw:

Hi David ! Thanks for your full detailed replies!
I've taken into account your wishes for level control and arp switch.Is there any other controls that you often use when you go to the edit screen?
I 've faced the same issues with the root view. I agree with you, I think that having one column where we could choose the bank folder just before the genre column in the categories section(like in massive for example) couldquickly solve this issue. I'm sorry for messing your tree folder.
Once again thanks for your feedbacks it really detailed and will definitely help !!

I tried a few, and they are really interesting and sound pretty good

Hello Held ! Thank you for your time !
Yes I see, the lack of controls issue will be fixed. Could you tell me more about the controls that you are looking for when you go to the edit screen?
I have to admit that since I'm working with pretty good spec' i didn't even thought about this aspect! I will keep this in mind when designing my new devices and try them on lower spec PC!
Normally it should directly appear without having to restart MSF ( it was fixed in the last update if i'm not mistaken). It has certainly something to do with the fact that the product that I've made had to create a new folder in your tree.That's why I've made a small installation guide, it's not big deal, but when installing something the smoother it goes the best it is haha!
Like David said you could manage your tree if you follow this path. But if you have a full license of MSF it's quicker to go to : edit mode, then menu (at the top right ), then open device folder in explorer.
I hope that this will help with your own sound and it's my pleaser to share it! Thank you !

[David]

Is there any other controls that you often use when you go to the edit screen?

Totally depends on the patch/preset/device; nothing else I particularly missed with your collection.

[David]

Regarding standardization for MSF devices, I personally don't see any need for this when not designing potential "factory" stuff, to be included with fresh versions on MSF.

I can certainly understand Vojtech's interest in that from a marketing perspective, but as a user, I've always felt that the most interesting thing about MSF is precisely how little it imposes limits or restrictions on sound, or device, or global preset makers, and hope to see that versatility much more explored in shared or sold new content, along side whatever factory-requirement-matching devices others may be interested in producing. As mentioned already a few times, I see no evidence that any 3rd-party sound and preset patch-makers are bothering to include devices at all, besides yourself—so bravo to you, regardless of how well you're following the guidelines!

I must say that, having once upon a time struggled to follow (or even understand!) the guidelines myself, I now struggle even more to see how quite a few of the factory examples so far published themselves don't actually follow them, particularly in terms of being easy to just use without getting bogged down in trying to "get" the controls. Certainly having a bunch of device presets makes exploring what's there already very easy. But moving down to the controls to make your own? Not by any means always an easy path!

Also, I see so little feedback or even mention about these existing devices, or anything at all about the Device usability or versatility of MSF, anywhere at all, that I even more wonder about the relevance of the whole issue. I can't think of any posts in the "MSF: Yea or Nay" threads here on KVR that ever mention anything about factory or 3rd-party content. They're virtually all about what it's like as a platform for building. Anybody seen anything more elsewhere?

(I very much doubt I'll ever see an answer to this last question; AFAIK, most everybody seriously using MSF is off building their own stuff with it, quite happily!)

[Held]

Yes I see, the lack of controls issue will be fixed. Could you tell me more about the controls that you are looking for when you go to the edit screen?

I don't know, really. I guess that depends very much on the instrument. The most important thing would probably be labels that make it clear what a knob does. Unfortunately, the english language isn't really equipped to talk about sound, so that will be a challenge.

Personally, I'm looking mostly for inspiration on how to use different modules to achieve different sounds, since there isn't many teaching materials around for MSF. So the easy screen doesn't matter that much to me.

[David]

…
Personally, I'm looking mostly for inspiration on how to use different modules to achieve different sounds, since there isn't many teaching materials around for MSF. So the easy screen doesn't matter that much to me.

Good point! I love using my own devices, since the Easy Screen lets me cut directly to the most useful controls with no digging…and I can so quickly save and recall new discoveries.

But with other people's devices, I spend a lot of time just trying to figure out what's going on, and the Easy Screen is more of a hinderance for that than a help, in many cases. I'm always either switching to EDIT mode, and/or opening the MP control panels to see what they're actually doing and targeting.

Even with my own devices, after a while I usually quite forget many details of how the thing was built in the first place if I only use the EScreen, since that more conceals than reveals what the actual structure of the thing is.

[Schopenhauer]

LaNonchalance what a great job!
The installation was easy, no problems at all, and what a great selection of sounds. You've put so much effort into these devices and to gift them here to us is so generous. Thank you. If this is your first attempt you've done a really good job getting your head inside the world of Melda.
I'll put some time in tomorrow on them and send the Google form back.

[LaNonchalance]

Totally depends on the patch/preset/device; nothing else I particularly missed with your collection.

Noted, I will still look for other controls that might be needed !

Regarding standardization for MSF devices, I personally don't see any need for this when not designing potential "factory" stuff, to be included with fresh versions on MSF.

I totally agree, even more in my case. This bank was not designed for this at all. When I talk about compromise, it's more about finding a way to design my easy screen devices without confusing the user by interfering with the already existing factory devices (For example, not naming my tab global when, in the other devices the global tab is totally something else). Also, It will cause no harm share the similarities that has this bank with the devices.

I don't know, really. I guess that depends very much on the instrument. The most important thing would probably be labels that make it clear what a knob does. Unfortunately, the english language isn't really equipped to talk about sound, so that will be a challenge.

All right, I intended to add more information in the question mark tab. I'll also make a user guide on how it works in general and what to look for if you want to be more precise in your tweaking by going into the edit screen. Do you think that it would fix the issue ?

I'll put some time in tomorrow on them and send the Google form back.

Hi Schopenhauer,
Thank you so much for your words, your time and all those relevant question that you have asked in the form. I'll be glad to discuss those via Pm if you will ! I'm pleased to share it with you all. I did not receive a lot of feedback yet but the few that I already has been really valuable !
Thanks again !

[David]

I did not receive a lot of feedback yet but the few that I already has been really valuable !

Despite how active the entire Melda/KVR board is as a whole, I find it quite rare to get much if any feedback on most individual posts or threads here.

I'd say you're doing pretty well:)