RapidComposer v4 beta feedback and discussion (locked)

[sj1]

Hi. Great to see v4.6b1 !

I observe though that something seems not quite right about the scrolling in the Idea Tool.

I have a 16-bar test composition. In Phrase Editing I can see the whole thing, zoom in if I want, scroll to a different area after I've zoomed in, zoom back out, etc. All seems fine.

In Idea Tool, I cannot see the whole thing, but the horizontal scroll bar is totally expanded and so I cannot scroll to see the rest either. I can drag the lower left of the horizontal scroll bar to shorten it and make it draggable, but even then when I drag it fully-rightward the display will not reach the end of the composition.

So, I think a bit of attention on the scrolling/zooming in general in IT, ideally along with adding collapse and re-opening of the idea area itself, would be a great next improvement here.

Thanks!

[musicdevelopments]

Most plug-in hosts do not allow the plug-ins to process keystrokes, which is a problem for RapidComposer which offers lots of keyboard shortcuts. I managed to add a small keyboard button in the right top corner that allows using keyboard shortcuts even if the host does not support that:



It was a bit tricky, but it works.
This was not an issue on macOS, only on Windows.

Thanks,
Attila

[musicdevelopments]

I observe though that something seems not quite right about the scrolling in the Idea Tool.

You are absolutely right, I did not realize this.
This was fixed yesterday. A new update is already uploaded with the fix, see below.

Thanks,
Attila

[musicdevelopments]

RapidComposer v4.6b2 is available!

Improvements:

• [Windows][Plug-ins] Using keyboard shortcuts is possible even if the plug-in host does not support that! Select the small keyboard in the upper right corner. Deselect it to allow the host to process keypresses.
• Fixed scroll bar when using the Idea Tool

[stefangx]

RapidComposer v4.6b2 is available!

Improvements:

• [Windows][Plug-ins] Using keyboard shortcuts is possible even if the plug-in host does not support that! Select the small keyboard in the upper right corner. Deselect it to allow the host to process keypresses.
• Fixed scroll bar when using the Idea Tool

Where/how can I download betas? The app is saying, "RapidComposer is up to date"

[musicdevelopments]

Hi stefangx,

I'll send you the beta download links in PM.

Thanks!
Attila

[sj1]

> Fixed scroll bar when using the Idea Tool

Much appreciated!

New observation: It seems that the Ideal Tool ignores the Bars: setting when doing 'Add New Part'. Should not the length of the new part be according to the Bars: setting?

[sj1]

Q: In the Idea Tool, I see the Master Track declaring: "Master track excluded from Idea tool."

My apologies if I am missing it, but is this a setting the user makes, to exclude the MT or not?

If so, where is it?

It seems a possible contradiction if I have the Workflow set to 'Generate master track and independent tracks', but the Master Track is in fact excluded.

But, if it is indeed a setting, then I suppose it could be logical, in which case I suggest the message be altered slightly along the lines of: "Master track excluded from Idea tool by user setting."

[rbrown3]

A question:

Will there be a time in the near future when RapidComposer will be able to load and run VST3 plugins? I have Reason 12 and Kontakt 7 -- both of which can only be accessed as VST3 plugins. RapidComposer's restriction to using VST2 plugins is a major limitation that, frankly, prevents me from purchasing it.

It is good that RapidComposer itself is a VST3 plugin. I do not understand why it cannot use other VST3 plugins.

[musicdevelopments]

Yes, hosting VST3 plug-ins is being implemented, it is top priority.
I expect a beta version in about 2 weeks with VST3 instrument hosting.

Thanks,
Attila

[sj1]

Getting close?

[musicdevelopments]

Yes, VST3 instruments work on Windows. Now I just have to move the changes to macOS. I expect a beta version during the weekend.

Thanks,
Attila

[magicmusic]

its also good when can add a master effect in the mix for limiter and speaker or headphone correction.

[musicdevelopments]

Yes, magicmusic, using effects is planned too.

I wanted to ask everyone's opinion about the following: I want you to be able to assign an own instrument to phrases and individual notes. So there won't a strict 1 to 1 relationship between tracks and instruments, a track could include notes and phrases using several instruments, and other tracks could use the same instruments. Basically there will be a list of loaded/instantiated instruments and any of them can be assigned to any track/phrase/note.

This would be implemented for v5.0 as it is a substantial change in the internal logic. Old v4 composition files can be loaded, maybe the track instruments will not be preserved, but I will do my best to make it fully compatible with v4 composition files.

Is this feature worth the effort, is this something you would find useful?

Thanks,
Attila

[musicdevelopments]

RapidComposer v4.6b3 is available!

VST3 instruments are supported in this version on both Windows and macOS. The beta version creates a log file (VST3ScanLog.txt) in Documents/RapidComposerV4 so if there is a problem during scanning VST3 plug-ins, or adding a single plug-in, the log file will contain useful information. I found scanning for VST3 plug-ins reliable.

I was able to test this with a small number of VST3 plug-ins, but bigger plug-ins, like Kontakt worked well.

Improvements:

• VST3 instrument plug-ins supported
• Drag phrase directly to a DAW from the Phrase Editor
• MIDI keypresses can be assigned to any functions as shortcuts
• Fixed a bug in the standalone version that caused the program hanging during exiting when VST plug-ins were used
• Fixed a bug in MIDI Mutator when new MIDI was dropped but some operations used the previous state