Xhip Synthesizer v8.1 (alpha & RC)

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I had some trouble downloading it so I googled it and found plugins4free had it.
n
I miss the old gui of red and yellow and orange horizontal sliders. Now it looks like u-he made it, too hardwarey for me.

I miss the default preset bank being in there, while easy to load again, i had to searcvh around for it and on win 10 thats rough.
The only site for experimental amp sim freeware & MIDI FX: http://runbeerrun.blogspot.com
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCprNcvVH6aPTehLv8J5xokA -Youtube jams

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I like the GUI. You can even theme it somewhat with your choice of knob types and colors and such. 🙂
C/R, dongles & other intrusive copy protection equals less-control & more-hassle for consumers. Company gone-can’t authorize. Limit to # of auths. Instability-ie PACE. Forced internet auths. THE HONEST ARE HASSLED, NOT THE PIRATES.

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RunBeerRun wrote: Tue Oct 04, 2022 10:38 pm I had some trouble downloading it so I googled it and found plugins4free had it.
n
The KVR plug-in page should have the files for the latest stable versions and the alpha versions posted in this thread (or xhip.net/alpha/ if the server is running) are usually best avoided because I add nearly as many bugs as I fix with each new set of fixes and features.

https://www.kvraudio.com/product/xhip-s ... /downloads
RunBeerRun wrote: Tue Oct 04, 2022 10:38 pm I miss the old gui of red and yellow and orange horizontal sliders. Now it looks like u-he made it, too hardwarey for me.
At some point I would like to get full skinning support working but that's unfortunately a lot of effort that I haven't been willing to invest so far. The old GUI from v5 and v6 was nice, I think a more fluid experience when tweaking sounds ... but it lacked a lot of the new features. The current GUI is unfortunately very dense and will probably get worse before another redesign is needed for all these new functions it keeps accumulating. In my opinion it does work very well though without using pages/layers as much.
RunBeerRun wrote: Tue Oct 04, 2022 10:38 pm I miss the default preset bank being in there, while easy to load again, i had to searcvh around for it and on win 10 thats rough.
That's definitely an issue with v8 and the main reason I've been working on upgrading features for v8.1 is to solve most of the routing/effects/presets/banks issues. The latest alpha does have embedded banks and support for a "library" presets/banks folder to quick-load from the menu.

Now if I can actually get all these little jobs done to replace v8, one day I hope ...
Free plug-ins for Windows, MacOS and Linux. Xhip Synthesizer v8.0 and Xhip Effects Bundle v6.7.
The coder's credo: We believe our work is neither clever nor difficult; it is done because we thought it would be easy.
Work less; get more done.

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Updated r1329 with new auto-kerning and text glyph rendering functionality, tweaked fonts to fit better for different scales. Lots of minor tweaks I need to fuss over later on when I have too much spare time :)

The most obvious issues I still need to fix include the display window scaling/centering (which seems to round to integer or something when it shouldn't giving the wrong position/size for fractions other than 1/2 and 1:1, 2:1, 3:1) and lack of scaling for the waveform icons which only draw at a single size and don't get zoomed.

So that's another one off the to-do list. I'll try compile the same version on Linux next and add that to the post once I have it.

https://soundcloud.com/xhip/cuband
https://youtu.be/m1GEgiGsHS4
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Free plug-ins for Windows, MacOS and Linux. Xhip Synthesizer v8.0 and Xhip Effects Bundle v6.7.
The coder's credo: We believe our work is neither clever nor difficult; it is done because we thought it would be easy.
Work less; get more done.

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Thank you. :)
[====[\\\\\\\\]>------,

Ay caramba !

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https://soundcloud.com/xhip/betahydroxylamine
https://soundcloud.com/xhip/betahydroxylamine-beta
https://soundcloud.com/xhip/betahydroxy ... ma-twotake

I've fixed a few more things, more font tweaks. The slow load times were due to it pre-loading font resources even when they weren't used. Those are loading correctly on a deferred "don't load until needed" basis again so that issue should be completely solved. (That does introduce a situation where on load the resource was deleted which I don't handle yet - will crash there, but it's in my mental notes to handle that too.)

I've compiled a win32 and linux version of the latest source and I'd just like to fix up a few more things (text widths like for "unison" label, display width and centering with non-integer fractions, ...) and I'll put up a new set of versions and get back to focusing on the To-Do list.

Next on the list:
To Do wrote: New version/date/author chunks in preset banks.

This will allow the plug-in to automatically apply any updated versions of "factory" banks or warn/ask the user to backup or replace when they've modified any of the "factory" content in the "library" folder.

A database and embedded file archive has already been implemented to provide the framework for this functionality.
Free plug-ins for Windows, MacOS and Linux. Xhip Synthesizer v8.0 and Xhip Effects Bundle v6.7.
The coder's credo: We believe our work is neither clever nor difficult; it is done because we thought it would be easy.
Work less; get more done.

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Thank you for your Tireless efforts, Acidose! :)
C/R, dongles & other intrusive copy protection equals less-control & more-hassle for consumers. Company gone-can’t authorize. Limit to # of auths. Instability-ie PACE. Forced internet auths. THE HONEST ARE HASSLED, NOT THE PIRATES.

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Image
(edit: minor improvements, slightly better layout into an image.)
Image
Image

The waveform bitmaps seem to scale okay now so it's just a bit more tweaking to get it to automatically generate them as needed for the menus/displays.

edit2:
Alpha blending still isn't perfect but, it's actually working! The only part that doesn't work is after it renders the bitmaps it doesn't cache them to disk, but I suppose that isn't too much harm for now as I may tweak them a bit further. I improved the rendering for the sine/cosine waveform a ton by doing line-segment distance measurements and drawing segments >1 pixel in length with a 1/16th fractional increment. The "random" and ramp/triangle don't use this and so they have a slightly narrower thickness. Ultimately I may need to generate these images by determining polygon vs polygon overlap and shading pixels based upon their % of coverage... but good enough for now since I don't need absolute perfection.

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Now I need to fix some other GUI issues (see the envelope shapes aren't scaling yet for example) and hopefully I can stop mucking around with the GUI.

Many funs:
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(That isn't a thumbnail, that's really the GUI running at 1/2 scale.)

https://soundcloud.com/xhip/pinkabyss-kids
https://soundcloud.com/xhip/pinkabyss-kids-version-x
Last edited by aciddose on Sun Oct 23, 2022 3:42 am, edited 4 times in total.
Free plug-ins for Windows, MacOS and Linux. Xhip Synthesizer v8.0 and Xhip Effects Bundle v6.7.
The coder's credo: We believe our work is neither clever nor difficult; it is done because we thought it would be easy.
Work less; get more done.

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Cool!
C/R, dongles & other intrusive copy protection equals less-control & more-hassle for consumers. Company gone-can’t authorize. Limit to # of auths. Instability-ie PACE. Forced internet auths. THE HONEST ARE HASSLED, NOT THE PIRATES.

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I've posted the latest version r1333 to the alpha page. The main features of this version are better font scaling and improvements to GUI sizing/offsets. Many of these fonts or GUI components still need some fine tuning and polish, but they work more or less correctly albeit imperfectly now.

Image

Those minor tweaks I can throw in with other changes as I go. So now I'd like to get the default present bank(s) updated a bit to use the preset effects and routing features. It's possible for the initial bank(s) to be checked for a version when I update it and the old files can be renamed with a warning displayed.

Since I've updated the fonts, I've also included a r1333 for the alpha version of the effects. In addition, a 32-bit version was requested for windows and I'll put that up soon too. I'd just like to test it a little first, but it seems to work okay.

https://soundcloud.com/xhip/timpanae

edit: the 32-bit version is uploaded. I've briefly tested it and it seems to work so if there are any issues they're probably specific to certain effects or something a bit more obscure rather than immediately obvious.

http://xhip.net/alpha/releases/presets/ ... xhippreset
http://xhip.net/alpha/releases/presets/ ... xhippreset
Last edited by aciddose on Sat Oct 29, 2022 8:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
Free plug-ins for Windows, MacOS and Linux. Xhip Synthesizer v8.0 and Xhip Effects Bundle v6.7.
The coder's credo: We believe our work is neither clever nor difficult; it is done because we thought it would be easy.
Work less; get more done.

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It looks great! Again, much appreciation for supporting Linux! 🙂
C/R, dongles & other intrusive copy protection equals less-control & more-hassle for consumers. Company gone-can’t authorize. Limit to # of auths. Instability-ie PACE. Forced internet auths. THE HONEST ARE HASSLED, NOT THE PIRATES.

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audiojunkie wrote: Fri Oct 28, 2022 12:54 pm It looks great! Again, much appreciation for supporting Linux! 🙂
Next version r1334 should be way more interesting. I've quickly added the ability to insert via the "route" page internal voice routings. There aren't many sources/destinations available (just the same as you already have access to with the default modulation depths) but the key feature this allows is xmod depth modulation by multiplicative routing from an envelope.

https://soundcloud.com/xhip/mystic2z

There are a few other improvements like that I'd like to get done just roughly enough to ensure they work correctly so I can use them in new "factory" preset banks. I really wish I could figure out a way to effectively handle layering, keymaps and exclusive groups (like for cymbals and hi-hats) as being able to use three voices at once for a cymbal or snare would radically improve the quality of drum sets. I don't think that will end up nearly as simple as exposing the voice routing via the route page was.
Free plug-ins for Windows, MacOS and Linux. Xhip Synthesizer v8.0 and Xhip Effects Bundle v6.7.
The coder's credo: We believe our work is neither clever nor difficult; it is done because we thought it would be easy.
Work less; get more done.

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thank a lot for this! totally understant 32 bit vsts gettingg dropped, and wasn't expecting any more versions, so ..what a great surprise getting a new one!

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donquixote wrote: Sun Oct 30, 2022 1:55 pm thank a lot for this! totally understant 32 bit vsts gettingg dropped, and wasn't expecting any more versions, so ..what a great surprise getting a new one!
Here's a bit of a rambling response on the topic:

With 32-bit, the floating point code was very hackish in the past to get the most speed possible out of old CPUs dating way back to floating point co-processors "x87" in the 1980s. So this often leads to complicated trade-offs between mathematical accuracy vs processing speed. All that stuff is a major headache and makes up the main reasons I never liked using floating point DSP code in the past.

Today's AMD-64 based processors eliminate almost all those issues and greatly simplify the floating point implementation. It isn't entirely true perhaps, but more or less there is only one way to do things right and when done correctly the math is both fast and precise.

Likewise, much like old 16.5~ bit paged "real mode" addressing complete with segment address wrapping and a whole slew of complete insanity, modern 32-bit processors were a huge improvement up to the point it became common to have more than 4 gb of memory. These days when doing any real computational work it's common for chunks like 4 gigs to be allocated in a single block! The limitations of 32-bit addressing can in some cases lead to lower overhead. For general purpose computation however and again when things are done correctly that overhead disappears and there is no advantage whatsoever to 32-bit CPUs.

When done correctly though, there is little to no difference between 64-bit and 32-bit code, so compiling for the platform isn't something special beyond a simple mode command passed to the compiler/linker. That said, there shouldn't be anyone left running on such outdated hardware as time goes on and therefore the need for those versions will evaporate as well.
Free plug-ins for Windows, MacOS and Linux. Xhip Synthesizer v8.0 and Xhip Effects Bundle v6.7.
The coder's credo: We believe our work is neither clever nor difficult; it is done because we thought it would be easy.
Work less; get more done.

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Here's a preview version of r1334 to test the new route page features:
xhip_r1334_windows_64bit.7z
XMod_r1334.xhipbank

This bank will load correctly with r1333, but the route from/to the voice source/destination doesn't exist and so will not work. It has some potential to crash because of the way I implemented string lookups though so don't play with that (loading r1334 presets in r1333) unless you're willing to see it crash :)

Here's the Reaper project file set up with r1334 and r1333 effects for the sonic "mystic cave" track:
http://xhip.net/alpha/releases/reaper/x ... ceroute.7z

Reaper project for modified "cuban e" version with leslie-effect organ replacing the main piano sound:
http://xhip.net/alpha/releases/reaper/cubane.7z

Some quick noodle doodles with the bank presets (only a handful of sounds I made quickly):
https://soundcloud.com/xhip/phat-br-ass
https://soundcloud.com/xhip/atomic-harp
It's always the one you don't record that you think back to with false nostalgia and assume was so much better when it wasn't!
https://soundcloud.com/xhip/xmod-voice-route-test

Pretty sure the one I didn't record would've been a way better take though. :rage: Oh well it gets the point across that Xhip makes "plonk" sounds now.

Here's the piano stack reaper project, feel free to use or tweak to get better sounds:
http://xhip.net/alpha/releases/reaper/xiano.7z

It would be great if I set up keymapping and layering features so xiano would just be a "sound" made of four or more presets + unison layers. Then that sort of sound could be copied as a Xhip preset file instead of in a format like a Reaper project. It's - in theory - possible to set up the Xhip phaser + reverb effects to create a piano damper resonance effect with control from the sustain/damper/soft pedals but I haven't attempted that yet. Just a plain room reverb applied in the project file.
Last edited by aciddose on Mon Feb 13, 2023 12:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
Free plug-ins for Windows, MacOS and Linux. Xhip Synthesizer v8.0 and Xhip Effects Bundle v6.7.
The coder's credo: We believe our work is neither clever nor difficult; it is done because we thought it would be easy.
Work less; get more done.

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