Swanky Amp (release 1.4.0)

[garrinm]

Everything sounded good but after working on the track for a while I noticed I couldn't hear my guitar any more, and somehow the volume had dropped considerably - reselecting my preset got things back to where they should be, but none of the controls seemed to have changed.

Hi Vom, thanks for reporting this. There's a user over on GitHub that got me some info on this issue. I think I've got it tracked down. With some luck I can get a fix out tomorrow.

I'm glad you're enjoying it otherwise, hopefully I get this resolved quickly. And thanks for filling out the survey!

Garrin

[Bug Music]

Hi Garrin,
I did the survey, hopefully the info helps you !
Still not much to report on the Mac front (which is a good thing).
I've been using it in both Cubase and Logic Pro last few nights without any problems.

Having said that though, the preset management still seems a bit wonky to me.
I would usually expect that once I've made changes to a preset and hit save, that I would be prompted to save my changed preset with a new name rather than just overwriting the original.

Also I tried duplicating one of the xml preset files in the folder "~/Library/Audio/Presets/ResonantDSP/Swanky Amp" (to have a fresh file to modify and save), but unfortunately the duplicated xml file is not recognized by the plugin when I relaunched it.
It didn't matter if I renamed or even opened and edited the contents of the new xml file, the plugin still would not see it.

As long as I'm nitpicking... , I'd say that I do find the stock cabinet sounding a tad dark for my taste, but I know that's very subjective so any more control over the cabinet modeling would be a welcome improvement (hey sorry I'm a Princeton Reverb type of guy ) !

Thanks again for this, it is a great sounding plugin !

Having done all that griping now, I'll throw in ...
If you are looking for a Mac beta tester for any upcoming stuff just PM me, I'd be psyched to give it a try.

Thanks !

- Jay

[garrinm]

Having said that though, the preset management still seems a bit wonky to me.
I would usually expect that once I've made changes to a preset and hit save, that I would be prompted to save my changed preset with a new name rather than just overwriting the original.

Also I tried duplicating one of the xml preset files in the folder "~/Library/Audio/Presets/ResonantDSP/Swanky Amp" (to have a fresh file to modify and save), but unfortunately the duplicated xml file is not recognized by the plugin when I relaunched it.
It didn't matter if I renamed or even opened and edited the contents of the new xml file, the plugin still would not see it.

As long as I'm nitpicking... , I'd say that I do find the stock cabinet sounding a tad dark for my taste, but I know that's very subjective so any more control over the cabinet modeling would be a welcome improvement (hey sorry I'm a Princeton Reverb type of guy ) !

Hi Jay, thanks for that feedback, and I'm really glad you're getting some good use out of it. There's also jbraner here who's been trying to get me to implement sensible preset management. What you said there makes a lot of sense and hopefully I've addressed those cases correctly in the next update.

As for the cab, in some upcoming updates I'd like to add a bit more customization there. For now I think a lot of users are just disabling it and using a purpose made cab emulator downstream of the plugin.

[garrinm]

Version 0.9.0 is released. Two notable changes: 1) the bug which caused the audio level to drop over 15 - 30 minutes (depending on your sample rate) is fixed. 2) preset management has again been improved. As usual you can find the downloads and change log at:

http://www.resonantdsp.com/swankyamp/
https://www.github.com/resonantdsp/swankyamp/

This is a minor version number increase since the model did change a bit. The changes were needed to fix the volume issue and to add more stability to the model to avoid issues in the future. The model changes also allowed the model to fit the simulation a bit better, so this should be an increase in quality.

As per the ongoing conversation with jbraner and bug music now (thanks for helping sort this out) I've changed the preset management as follows:

• Preset names are now picked up from the file name, no more weird surprises and unexpected behaviour when copy pasting presets around

• When changing the name of a preset in the UI, you will be prompted to determine if you want to create a new preset with the name, or if you want to rename the existing preset

• Re-ordering presets is even easier and a bit more intuitive: just add any number at the front of the preset name (no longer need to add ":"). The plugin will do the work to keep the numbers sequential.

Preset behaviour has also been changed slightly:

• The output level is now restored from the preset file. However the input level isn't as this is probably session / guitar dependent.

• The cab on/off is no longer restored from the preset file as this is also session dependent.

Thanks,
Garrin

[garrinm]

I did make and save a new Test preset, exit the plugin, and when I open it again there is still no preset name displayed in the Preset field (so no way to know what preset is selected as far as I can tell). Maybe I just misremember how this is supposed to work.

Right, I'll add that to the list. The first implementation of preset management would've caused issues when loading a preset name. But I might be able to handle that case without too much trouble now.

[vom]

Excellent news on the volume bug, thanks! Looking forward to giving this new version a proper test.

[jbraner]

I'll have a play with this in a little while but:

The cab on/off is no longer restored from the preset file as this is also session dependent.

I think that is a pretty important part of the preset (cab on/off).
I'll check that it stays out of the way - once I switch it to "off"

[jbraner]

When changing the name of a preset in the UI, you will be prompted to determine if you want to create a new preset with the name, or if you want to rename the existing preset

This is great! There's one thing missing though - when you change a preset name, or type a number or whatever - you need to "un grey" the save icon - to make it obvious that something has changed. I'm sure it used to do this.

Preset names are now picked up from the file name, no more weird surprises and unexpected behaviour when copy pasting presets around

This works great! I could copy stuff into the preset folder, with or without a number - no problem.
If it doesn't have a number it gets added to the bottom of the list.
If it has the same number as something else - it gets added in (subsequent numbers updated)
If it has a number higher than the last one - it just becomes the last one

This is perfect!

Re-ordering presets is even easier and a bit more intuitive: just add any number at the front of the preset name (no longer need to add ":"). The plugin will do the work to keep the numbers sequential.

works like a charm - and *way* more intuitive ("un grey" the save icon though)

The output level is now restored from the preset file. However the input level isn't as this is probably session / guitar dependent.

Fair enough - I'd add the input too (different presets for different guitars) but everyones mileage will vary

The cab on/off is no longer restored from the preset file as this is also session dependent.

OK - I'll go with you on this one. If I disable the cab, it just stays disabled (no matter what happens with presets) - so I'm happy with this.

So thank you very much - the preset mgmt is rocking now! (except for that one small thing)

Soundwise - did you maybe make things a little brighter? I found myself turning the presence down a little, on anything with some distortion in it.
On the higher gain settings I had to "thin out" a little - turning down slope or turning up low cut - but only a tiny bit.
This could all be in my head though

This must be about ready for prime time now - no?


EDIT:

fix bug that would cause audio level to decrease and vanish over time

I never noticed this one. Maybe I don't play with it long enough in one sitting.
(as soon as it's "finished", I'll use it for real...)

[guitarzan]

I did make and save a new Test preset, exit the plugin, and when I open it again there is still no preset name displayed in the Preset field (so no way to know what preset is selected as far as I can tell). Maybe I just misremember how this is supposed to work.

Right, I'll add that to the list. The first implementation of preset management would've caused issues when loading a preset name. But I might be able to handle that case without too much trouble now.

That's cool, about the only thing I expect of presets is that if one is loaded the name is displayed (with the "Save" button greyed out). Then, usually if any changes are made to the preset the "Save" button will not be greyed out anymore, and if the "Save" button is then pressed it should prompt whether to overwrite or save as a new preset.

fix bug that would cause audio level to decrease and vanish over time

I never noticed this one. Maybe I don't play with it long enough in one sitting.
(as soon as it's "finished", I'll use it for real...)

I actually had that fadeout thing happen two or three times, but each time I would automatically suspect the guitar or other hardware — so I'd shut everything down and wiggle and reseat the cables and tighten stuff, etc, fire it back up and everything would be fine again. I really should've reported it anyway as it turns out. Any future odd behavior will be noted even if I think it's something on my end, I'll just also say what I think it might be. This is second time I've falsely blamed my poor Gretsch during this testing period and missed a chance to report a problem early because of it.

[vom]

Hey I was testing with a Gretsch too. Maybe that was the problem all along

[jbraner]

Yeah - and that's why I never heard it with my strat

[acousticglue]

is it swanky or resonant?

[garrinm]

is it swanky or resonant?

Well, swanky might be a matter of opinion xD. In seriousness I changed the name from Resonant Amp to Swanky Amp because someone sells pedals under the brand Resonant Amps. You might have to remove the old plugin for your DAW to pick up the new name, at least guitarzan reported he had to do that. The file to remove would be at "C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\ResonantAmp.vst3".

If I make more plugins I'll keep the branding Resonant DSP. And this particular amp plugin is definitely called Swanky Amp (which was actually the original name, back when I started this). No more name changes.

Hope you like the new version.

Garrin

[garrinm]

you need to "un grey" the save icon - to make it obvious that something has changed. I'm sure it used to do this.

Will do.

works like a charm - and *way* more intuitive ("un grey" the save icon though)

Yep, NP

So thank you very much - the preset mgmt is rocking now! (except for that one small thing)

... yes, I will grey out the save icon xD

Soundwise - did you maybe make things a little brighter? I found myself turning the presence down a little, on anything with some distortion in it.
On the higher gain settings I had to "thin out" a little - turning down slope or turning up low cut - but only a tiny bit.
This could all be in my head though

You're right, I think it is a bit brighter. Honestly if I didn't know what change I don't think I could've heard the difference. But you obviously have a very good ear for that.

This must be about ready for prime time now - no?

Just about. I want to smooth over the last few wrinkles in the preset management, create an installer that windows won't complain about when you try to run it, and make the cab model dynamic (doesn't look like a first implementation will be very difficult, but I don't know if it'll sound right).

(as soon as it's "finished", I'll use it for real...)

Please drop a line if you make a track with it!

Thanks as usual for all the feedback,
Garrin

[jbraner]

You're right, I think it is a bit brighter. Honestly if I didn't know what change I don't think I could've heard the difference. But you obviously have a very good ear for that.

No, I just got lucky. The change was not big.
I can listen to the *exact* same settings (on anything) from one day to the next - and it can sound better/worse/different

Please drop a line if you make a track with it!

I will. I'll just wait until everything is stabilised.