Phuturetone GR-8

[Phuturetone]

Just two things that would make it even better from my point of view:

• Less hungry for CPU power: Three instances plus a better drum plugin, and Ableton reports already 30 to 40% CPU usage on my music laptop...

• And one personal thing: resizable! Maybe simply with something like "small", "medium", "large". As I am often using plugins mapped to one of my controllers, I really like UI's nearly filling the small screen of my laptop for better readability and focused work.

Hi Linus,

Thank you for your comment!

From the comments that I've read so far, less CPU usage is the #1 request. I've already investigated the synth part-by-part and found all the places where I can make improvements. I fixed several easy-to-fix, while some will need more time. With the next update, the synth will hopefully be less CPU hungry.

Yes, I wish there's the resize feature too. The platform that I'm using for plugin development still doesn't support resizable windows. One solution would be that I make the plugin in 2 more sizes, then a user would load the preferred size. Just a theory for now.

BTW, how much wider/taller GR-8 would need to be to fill your screen the way you prefer it?

Thanks,
Sasha

[BONES]

For the record, it is just about the perfect size for me at the moment and works perfectly with Windows' scaling, unlike several VSTi from big name companies (yes, Korg, I am talking about you).

[linus_369]

Hi Sasha,
great to hear that you have one or two eyes on code optimization Agreed with Bones - it's useable as it is right now - and 30 to 40% are nothing to worry about in a project. But why not make good things even better if it's possible (and as you have already worked + investigated on this topic, it seems to be possible ).

I know that my request regarding higher GUI size(s) is a little bit special and may not be too relevant for most of other users. Current size is perfect and useable for most things - but when using it with laptop + controller size does matter Have 1920x1080 on 14" - so would say 1500x900 would be the maximum, keeping the current aspect ratio.

BTW: have to agree with Bones' comment on "classic" synth. Absolutely, the excellent effects section makes it more than just a classic synth. Let's say it is something to start with classical sound design and then go beyond

[Clem4]

Strange arpegiator behaviour when recording... Who tried to record an arp ?

[Sinisterbr]

Holly ****, does this synth sound beautiful!

[Sinisterbr]

I have a question, is it possible to create new preset categories? I'm missing "keys", "drums" and "strings" categories (and would be nice - but not essential - to be able to create some others for myself)

[Sinisterbr]

BTW, the GUI is really beautiful as well, and clearly well thought (great workflow)

[OzoneJunkie]

I see BONES and linus_369 mentioned both of the things I came here to request: mousewheel for scrolling presets, and resizable GUI (for me, a 25% bump higher would be perfect). And of course, CPU optimization is always welcome.

GR-8 sounds awesome, and I love the user interface. I'm not really looking for any new synths these days, but I saw a video of someone playing around with it, and thought "wow, I like the interface and the sound..." and so figured I would try it out. Glad I did.

Cheers!

EDIT: Oh, what about MPE? Is that possible with Synth Edit? If so, is MPE something you're considering?

[EdSfer]

Hey, thought I would drop a message here, as I don't know if you, Sasha, read the other thread about GR8, so here is what I wrote :

Having some fun with this synth right now and I must say it does sound really good, best of the KVR dev challenge so far (have also tested Reducktion and WhispAir). Congrats to the dev!

I tend to think, as pc2000, that a big part of the sound lies in the FX's (which is not a bad thing, FX's are part of any synth). They make me think of Tranzistow's FX actually, kind of subtle, not in-your-face FX, yet they do a very nice thing on the stereo image.

One little thing doesn't seem right to me though, and it is the filter envelope's range : you just can't do a full filter sweep with an envelope, because, even when turned all the way up, the envelope won't fully open the filter, it goes only halfway (by ear, I think it is PRECISELY halfway, filter envelope amount would need a 2x range to work properly). I don't think I know a lot of synths which behave like this, so I would consider it as a bug.

To make it even clearer : If Cutoff is fully closed, Filt Env amount all the way up, "neutral" envelope (0 attack, 0 decay, full sustain), I expect that no filtering should occur, the filter should behave like cutoff is all the way up with no envelope. In the actual state, with these parameters, it's as if the cutoff was at 50%.

[BONES]

Yeah, I noticed that but, weirdly, it hasn't bugged me yet. Even the lack of velocity modulation hasn't worried me so far (which is mighty unusual for me) because it sounds good with what it does have.

[EdSfer]

Yeah, I must say that some velocity capabilities wouldn't bother me though.

Just noticed some other little bug : Set any patch to mono or unison mode, play one note, then a second in legato, and release the keys. Now set the mode to poly, all the keys are transposed by the same amount of semitones that you had between your 2 legato notes. Go back to any other mode than poly to fix it.

Ex : You play C3 then D3 legato in mono mode. Release so that the ending note is D3 (ie release C3 while holding D3, then release D3). Set to Poly mode. Play C3 on your keyboard, and you will hear a D3 (or play any other note and you will hear it transposed by 2 semitones).

[Phuturetone]

I have a question, is it possible to create new preset categories? I'm missing "keys", "drums" and "strings" categories (and would be nice - but not essential - to be able to create some others for myself)

Hi Sinisterbr, I don't know the reasoning why users are not allowed to create categories, any preset created by a user is categorized as "User".

One solution could be to include the category name in the preset name. Since the presets are sorted alphabetically it makes more sense to write a category first, then a preset name i.e:

DRUM-Distorted Kick
KEYS-Electric
STRINGS-Analog


Another solution could be to edit the .aupreset files. Aupreset is actually an XML file, which can be edited in any text editor app. The 7th row in the code looks like this:

<Preset pluginId="67526d38" name="Preset Name" category="User">

Change the "User" to the desired category name.

[Phuturetone]

Strange arpegiator behaviour when recording... Who tried to record an arp ?

Hi Clem4,

I just tried recording the arp and it sounded as expected. While the sequencer is stopped, the Arp is synced to the first triggered note. Once you play the sequencer, the Arp is synced to the song position.

Please provide me some more details if you still think the Arp is behaving strangely.

Thanks,
Sasha

[Phuturetone]

One little thing doesn't seem right to me though, and it is the filter envelope's range : you just can't do a full filter sweep with an envelope, because, even when turned all the way up, the envelope won't fully open the filter, it goes only halfway (by ear, I think it is PRECISELY halfway, filter envelope amount would need a 2x range to work properly). I don't think I know a lot of synths which behave like this, so I would consider it as a bug.

Hi EdSfer,

Thanks for the comments. Yes, you are right, the Filter Envelope Depth is 50% from the Filter Cutoff range. This is by design, to mimic the design of some classic '80s synths. I prefer the full range too, not sure why I choose the less loved option.

I'll fix it.

Thanks,
Sasha

[Phuturetone]

Yeah, I must say that some velocity capabilities wouldn't bother me though.

Just noticed some other little bug : Set any patch to mono or unison mode, play one note, then a second in legato, and release the keys. Now set the mode to poly, all the keys are transposed by the same amount of semitones that you had between your 2 legato notes. Go back to any other mode than poly to fix it.

Ex : You play C3 then D3 legato in mono mode. Release so that the ending note is D3 (ie release C3 while holding D3, then release D3). Set to Poly mode. Play C3 on your keyboard, and you will hear a D3 (or play any other note and you will hear it transposed by 2 semitones).

Oh my, this one's huge. Thank you!