One Synth Challenge #149: VeeSeeVSTRack (liqih Wins!)

[kvotchin]

Wow, quite the tangle of legitimacy issues, and so on.

Even if I ever could get the VST version to work (unlikely, as it stands, though I have followed the instructions to the letter, and done all other required things), I’m not too sure I like those other ... complications and comparisons, let’s just say.

In fact, the standalone sounds much better - although I’m on Windows, so can’t choose to use that .. ? - what with polyphony and more modules.

Ugh, what a mess. *sigh* One of these months, I’ll get around to making some music for a OSC.

[Taron]

Its not that I haven't tried or analyzed modular synthesis before. I just have trouble holding on to all the connections in my head to draw any valuable conclusions as to the logic of everything. I'm guessing my best bet is just to stick with the patches, and twist knobs from there.

I wish they had tutorial patches. Any suggestions as to how I could begin actually patching cable? How to make it graspable?

I was a bit stomped at first myself for various reasons, but once you poke the first hole into it, the whole thing opens up and you'll get it. You may find some stuff on youtube, but here's what I've got thus far:

• first, realize that you can search for modules! Right click on the rack to open the module browser. Then type "Midi" and pick "Midi-1".
• Add another module, search for "OSC" and pick "OSC-1"
• Now search "ADSR" and pick it
• Now "VCF-1" (filter)
• Now "VCA-1" (amp)
• Now "mult" and pick "MULT-multiple-3HP"
• Now "Audio" and pick "Audio"

This appears to be most fundamental with a filter. Now comes the wiring fun.

First you may want to connect your control voltage chain for your midi signal...

Out of Midi-1 you want CV for the note and Gate for the gate, of course.
• MIDI-1's CV you may hook into "V/Oct" of the OSC-1
• MIDI-1's Gate you put into ADSR's Gate
• Then I would hook ADSR's out into the MULT's IN-A module.
• MULT's OUT-A 1 you may hook into VCF's CV
• MULT's OUT-A 2 into VCA's CV

Now let's hook up the sound output...
• VCO-1 you may pick the SAW output and connect it to VCF's IN
• VCF's LPF (lowpass) you hook into VCA's IN
• VCA's OUT into MULT's IN - B
• MULT's OUT-B 1 and 2 into Audio IN 1 and 2 (stereo center)

Now you should already be able to play a mono sound.
I've attached the example with a little ADSR and filter setting to get an ordinary filtered saw bass or so... good starting point, I think.

Hope it helped?!

[Taron]

Here's an example of how easily you can get more complex and get curious sounds out of it that sound totally "normal", haha...

• Add Panning "PG panning"
• Add LFO-1

Wire it up, connected LFO's CV to MIDI's CV (by the way, if you wire cables by starting at the target and then go to the source, you can layer cables, making one output go to multiple modules or INs).
And so on... just check the attached patch.

[Taron]

And for the last step to get monophonic basics down, you might want to know how to hook up velocity and a reverb!?

I should probably add that I have no clue about this thing and just inching my way forward as I'm trying to share this with you. I somehow figured, "Attenuation" could help control CV values and that seems to be right.

Here I have hooked up an Attenuator for the VEL out of MIDI-1 and into the Filter's CV in. I also added a connection between LFO and Filter Resonance and added a "Plateau" reverb to it. Kinda fun...

I think, this concludes our first little journey into RACK!

I someone knows of easy ways to make this polyphonic without adding everything "by hand" (8 x all of it, except reverb? Sounds a bit insane, doesn't it?)... I'd be thrilled to know. But I will look around what the web has to offer for advice, of course.

[zarf]

Nice to see you around here again Taron - keep the cool info coming (should you feel so inclined )

[Taron]

Thanks, Zarf! Yeah, it's a wee bit frustrating, because apparently VCV and veeseevst really don't appear to have the same standard modules, or it's really difficult to find the right ones. After checking for polyphony in the manual it shows only stuff I can't find in veeseevst (VIZ, SUM ???). Makes me wonder, if that's the ploy to go commercial with it? I would understand it, of course, but well... frustrating as I said. I don't quite have the time at all to really go deep and need things at least somewhat near my fingertips. Whatever I get there, I share with joy here!

[Ranoka]

@RR have you re-scanned in Reaper Prefs? Note there's new options to the Scan button these days! Also, double check you have it in the right place and have the VST path correct.

Thanks, db, for writing once again.
I did all the above. Both dlls show in Reaper's new rescan dialogue as "plugins that failed to scan". So Reaper recognices them but can't read the files. Launching Reaper as admin doesn't help either. This might be the same error as Ranoka's with Bitwig.

For Bitwig at least, the solution seems to be to run Bitwig in Administrator Mode (Right click the exe and choose Run as Administrator). I found the suggestion in the thread here - it may also work for Reaper.

If anyone is having trouble scanning/opening VeeSeeVST, it's worth trying that!

viewtopic.php?f=23&t=507216&p=7168736&h ... g#p7168736

[Aro]

@Taron Thanks so much! I got a free day, so looking forward to diving in. Great to hear from you!

[Leonard Bowman]

VeeSeeVST is built on an old version of Rack and includes many of the open source modules from that version. But it loads as a VST, and that's valuable to some folks.
VCV Rack (the official, standalone version) has progressed a lot since then and now has more modules and many quality of life features (pro-tip: try crtl+dragging groups of modules around, or ctrl+clicking a cable to make a new one from the same output). But it doesn't load as a VST.

Personally, I think it's a fair deal to allow both to all users and let people choose based on what works on their system and how they want to compose.
As long as it's okay, I plan on using (the standalone) VCV Rack even though VeeSeeVST does work for me.


side note for clarity: VeeSeeVST is not made by VCV, and technically Rack and VeeSeeVST are two separate (although related) products. If I'm talking about VCV Rack, I will always be referring to the official, original, and (for now) standalone version.

[Leonard Bowman]

I someone knows of easy ways to make this polyphonic without adding everything "by hand" (8 x all of it, except reverb? Sounds a bit insane, doesn't it?)... I'd be thrilled to know. But I will look around what the web has to offer for advice, of course.

In VeeSeeVST, the Gratrix modules. not perfect but it makes 6-voice poly much cleaner to patch.

in VCV Rack, of course, there are polyphonic modules and cables - of those I've had good success with Fundamental and Surge for Rack.

[MilksterX]

I did find some polyphonic patches in veeseevst they were in one of the patch folders think it was called 4 OSC poly they used the midi-4 module to trigger each OSC from a different key

[RuediRena]

(...)
Launching Reaper as admin doesn't help either.

For Bitwig at least, the solution seems to be to run Bitwig in Administrator Mode (Right click the exe and choose Run as Administrator). I found the suggestion in the thread here - it may also work for Reaper.

I already tried this, doesn't work as quoted from my original post.

Maybe I will retreat to the standalone version and do something TJ-Shredder-style with "one" instance/set of modules edited live while recording it.

[Aro]

@ Taron, I put together your first patch and I'm starting to see the logic. I had trouble with the mult module at first, because i thought it meant multiply, but then I realized it simply meant that the output of the adsr controlled both filter and volume etc. Thank you for taking the time to help me out! I'm starting to understand the thinking involved.

[Taron]

@ Taron, I put together your first patch and I'm starting to see the logic. I had trouble with the mult module at first, because i thought it meant multiply, but then I realized it simply meant that the output of the adsr controlled both filter and volume etc. Thank you for taking the time to help me out! I'm starting to understand the thinking involved.

My pleasure, Aro! I know what it feels like.
Yes, I had a similar issue earlier on, because I was looking for a multiplication module. While I was making the little tutorial for you I then found the Attenuator, which does exactly that.

[Taron]

I someone knows of easy ways to make this polyphonic without adding everything "by hand" (8 x all of it, except reverb? Sounds a bit insane, doesn't it?)... I'd be thrilled to know. But I will look around what the web has to offer for advice, of course.

In VeeSeeVST, the Gratrix modules. not perfect but it makes 6-voice poly much cleaner to patch.

in VCV Rack, of course, there are polyphonic modules and cables - of those I've had good success with Fundamental and Surge for Rack.

Thanks, that's great! I'll have a look at it.