One Synth Challenge #140: Pendulate (exponent1 wins!)

[WasteLand]

in a way outside my comfort zone, such synth challenges..

this is now a submission...

DAW: Reaper 6.15
Pendulates: 4 (programmed from default, played with mouse....)
Send FX: Valhalla Supermassive

nothing on the master, nor any eq, no insert effects, only the Supermassive on 2 pendulates.
not as clean as i wanted. wanted to do only pendulate.

https://soundcloud.com/user-873737123/r ... oaca-clock

[IV!]

Thank you for your feedback on EnveLover! I thing that this is a more lively and more functional tool than the usual transgate.

Pffff...since when would anyone object to using notes being triggered?! ...impossible, you must feel despair and grief when you painstakingly enter each note of a chord for individually created tracks by hand...uhm..wait...is it allowed to put notes in a sequencer by hand?
...next thing you know, somebody has to ask for permission to record automation of parameters, hehe!

Apparently, I experience a different range of feelings, since I record all the parts from the MIDI keyboard, and my despair and grief begin when I learn a solo from my own work for half an hour, so that I can record it in its entirety and then "do not move the notes in the piano roll ". I love live performance and in this sense EnveLover is a cool tool, as I can record a even tone and create a complex rhythmic (or arrhythmic) pattern on top of it, literally tapping it with my finger on the go!

So I wonder what kind of sanctions are there against automation of parameters, and does EnveLover fall under them?

[FrogsInPants]

So I wonder what kind of sanctions are there against automation of parameters, and does EnveLover fall under them?

As far as I understand, the only rule on automation is that you have to keep the parameter modulation below audio rate (eg, no 50Hz LFOs).

[DGillespie]

Random button is totally random. The only tricky bit is to not randomize a couple of the parameters, and to randomly only choose a couple of the mod patches to randomly set to non-zero. Here's the code:
...

So, I don't know much about codes, so I went the other way. I opened Pendulate in Cakewalk, created the first three random sounds, and write down all their parameters. Then I opened Pendulate in VSTHost, created the first three random sounds again (just in case, even starting with a different pattern), and compared them. The parameters were identical Then I scrolled through about 250 random sounds and didn't notice exact repetitions, although there were very similar sounds (let's put it down to randomness ). Here's what I think about it:
1) The Pendulate randomization algorithm really knows how to generate an infinite (at least more than 250!) sequence of random numbers, but, alas, only one This means that all participants will get the same set of "unique" sounds, the only question is how much patience you have!
2) It is possible that some action in working with Pendulate restarts this sequence. In addition, it is exactly reset by restarting Pendulate. This means that you will need a lot of patience!
Conclusions? It's time to stop believing in magic buttons (after Santa Claus, you can definitely survive this) and go make your own presets...

Okay

Sorry about this, I was never able to reproduce this issue, but I did find a code path where the seed was never being set. This is fixed in version 1.0.7 which you can get by filling out the form again: https://eventideaudio.com/pendulate

Thanks all for bringing this to my attention,
Dan

[DGillespie]

Haven't followed everything... forgive me if this random thing has been discussed and solved already

1.) float modProbability = float(rand()%(10000))/250000.f; //From 0 to 50%
The code does not say what comment says. It generates max 10000/250000 which is max 0,04, i.e. 4% not 50%. Am I right?
2.) Using rand() has it's quirks. Its only pseudo random and it uses a seed. The seed starts the pseudo random sequence. If you start with the same seed then you get the same sequence over and over again. The symptoms look like you have a srand(1) call or sth similar in the plugin intializer. May be re-seeding rand in the function itself with unix time utc can help to avoud repeating sequences. And reseeding each time the fct is entered.
http://www.cplusplus.com/reference/cstdlib/rand/

Because this part of the code will not be called to often, at least not in the audio loop, I would recommend to use a different type of random generator method ...

BR Peter:H

Yes, this is the lazy-mans random, works great for things like this, but std::rand should be used for all DSP code. The see was being set, but I believe there may have been some instances where it could have been skipped - I could not reproduce this, but I think it will be fixed in 1.0.7 available here: https://eventideaudio.com/pendulate

[Aro]

So I wonder what kind of sanctions are there against automation of parameters, and does EnveLover fall under them?

As far as I understand, the only rule on automation is that you have to keep the parameter modulation below audio rate (eg, no 50Hz LFOs).

So does that mean Studio One's autofilter is allowed... A filter controlled by an LFO

[garryO]

hello.

Right now i tried to download some of the recomended Plugins for One-Synth Challenge. Some worked fine but on Kimu Arp, Phrazor, MidiSeQ! and MidiMod! the Links didn´t work for me. Maybee someone like to check this.

Thanks for this challenge, this is so much input for newbies in making computer music.

[schiing]

PS Nice 70's sounds there Terje ...

Thanks, Doc! I just added some subtle organ as well to add to the prog/kraut feeling.

Just a heads-up to the dev: I discovered a bug when I reloaded my project. The "Double Pendulum" section - possibly the "Wavefolder" as well - loaded my patches with tons of little inconsistencies and variations. The automation on my noise textures sounded differently, my sub-bass lost depth and width, some patches were harsher, others softer.

When I moved all the knobs slightly back and forth, I got back to my original sounds - but it was a bit of a hassle to do it with 65 patches!

I'm good now, though; the final version is wrapped up and rendered . I just thought I'd throw it out there for reference and general warning - I'm on Win 64-bit / Studio One Pro 4.6. Apart from this little distraction, Pendulate has been a joy to work with.

[doctorbob]

@Aro ... the rules say you should not alter the sound coming from the synth in such a way that it is unrecognisable ... modulating the filter params IN the synth with an external modulation source (e.g. an LFO) is of course OK. But sweeping an external filter may be a step too far. But ... that said, we all EQ the heck out of the sounds to get e.g. our hats, (but that is a static effect).

If in doubt, don't do it, or, if you need to, try to be "subtle"!!

Cheers

dB

[Spring Goose]

modulating the filter params IN the synth with an external modulation source (e.g. an LFO) is of course OK.

So you're saying that modulating any of the parameters of the synth with for example Bitwig modulation is fair game? Interesting.

[doctorbob]

Yeah, modulating synth parameters is just fine however you do it. Basically you don't want to be adding fx to the synth audio output which drastically change the sound coming from the synth.

Anything you do *inside* the synth is fair game, however you modulate it, keyboard wheels, knobs,sliders or modulation envelopes from your DAW, or whatever!

dB

[Spring Goose]

Yeah, modulating synth parameters is just fine however you do it. Basically you don't want to be adding fx to the synth audio output which drastically change the sound coming from the synth.

Anything you do *inside* the synth is fair game, however you modulate it, keyboard wheels, knobs,sliders or modulation envelopes from your DAW, or whatever!

dB

Cool. Cheers for reply.

[Aro]

Thanks dB, I might be able to do the same effect within the synth. I just kind of stumbled upon the sound while playing around and experimenting. I like it so much, I don't want to mess with it. But at least I have the sound in mind, so I'll find another way to get at it.

[ELEX]

the rules say you should not alter the sound coming from the synth in such a way that it is unrecognisable .... But ... that said, we all EQ the heck out of the sounds to get e.g. our hats, (but

Just reflecting on that :
If a synth produces only noise that is way to rumbly for a hat, and one uses a static HP-filter waaaaay up, I'd say the result would be decidedly unrecognizable. In those cases I try something like the 808-approach high up the keyboard or forgo hats altogether. Without regrets. Fortunately, Pendulate is quite good at providing bright, noise.

[exponent1]

the rules say you should not alter the sound coming from the synth in such a way that it is unrecognisable .... But ... that said, we all EQ the heck out of the sounds to get e.g. our hats, (but

Just reflecting on that :
If a synth produces only noise that is way to rumbly for a hat, and one uses a static HP-filter waaaaay up, I'd say the result would be decidedly unrecognizable. In those cases I try something like the 808-approach high up the keyboard or forgo hats altogether. Without regrets. Fortunately, Pendulate is quite good at providing bright, noise.

It is possible to share a patch with bright noise from pendulate?