Finally: Venom VB-303 v1.00

[sleek]

also, how the hell do you add and remove steps in host mode. I held function and pressed step a few times to add steps but couldnt add anything. Help!

[chk071]

sounds good though, but i'd rather pay for ABL than struggle with all those VB quirks. and sound-quality wise the difference is not that big after all.

Antto posted some A/B comparisons with his x0xb0x, which pretty much nailed the sound, apart from some slight differences. Was pretty impressive. I don't know about ABL, but this is very authentic.

[Kiiika]

How do you enter the 2nd, 3rd and 4th digit when "unlocking" midiplay?

[sleek]

nevermind i figured it out! thanks!

[antto]

Randomize - no, those functions got broken and i disabled them..

because of all the question about unlocking - i knew it, no one gives a f*ck about the sequencer, ehm i expected that ;]

why it's so complicated: because it's a bit hard to transfere the original sequencer interface into a VST plugin

bear in mind that, at one point in 2010 or so, the VB-303 project was dead
it was at some time later that i managed to buy a x0xb0x which inspired me in a different direction and made me rethink the "plan" for VB-303
that's why i decided to clone the sequencer interface, even if that requires a bit more effort afterwards as a user..

i wanted a 303 .. i bought a x0xb0x, well the x0x sounds like a 303 but lacks the sequencer.. so i still wanted a 303..
for me, the effort required to use VB-303 is acceptable, when i check the 2nd hand prices of 303s

someone mentioned whether it can be changed to that one of the mouse buttons acts as "hold"
i've had this idea too, but it's hard to do in SE since the right mouse button is taken away.. i think only a custom GUI module can capture it if it handles the event queue, but that's a bit too complicated to do
and even if so, the DAW will not be aware of these actions, so it won't be automatable

[Tuth]

if it cannot load the modules - it won't work, you have to put the plugin somewhere with read/write access

the GUI won't be bigger, i've spent too much time and whatnot to make this finished..

HOST SYNC: this only "sticks" to the host BPM but does not start/stop automatically.
to start/stop you have to use a midi note (any) on the Trigger channel
when this note is held down - the sequencer will run

i'll try to make some tutorial videos

1680x1050 monitor here and ican enjoy it flawlessly. Abl cant reach the VB-303's perfect sound. Abl not bad but the sawtooth waveform osc more different from TB, and not want to list the other weaknesses, my choose is VB, yes the fonts are tiny but the GUI is perfect 4 me. Anyway if any1 have trouble with the GUI... start using a midi controller with knobs thats all.

[chk071]

Thanks for the video Antto, i begin to realize how powerful the sequencer is.

[Davias]

It is nice already to have put an option for midi mode if you don't like it yourself. But this seems broken, cannot play in reaper, cannot even activate in renoise. Honestly, a switch on the back panel would have been more nice but that's my opinion...

If I can't make it work I will have to go back to TB4005, CM303 and muon ton... Yesterday was my best day of life (almost !) when I finally saw VB out, but I guess it will be sad day to abandon it just after it is born.

I hooope hope for midi fix and more easy to unlock

[Ch00rD]

Thanks for the video, antto. You really nailed the 303 sequencer part there. As a TB-303 owner I can vouch for that part being VERY authentic, up to the programming errors (perhaps emulate a 'unreliable switches' mode, too). Bonus points for the pattern linking feature! Does it also emulate the track (programming) mode?

I should perhaps add that I don't think the distortion effect is as good as the 303 emu - but that's quite a separate issue, and I definitely welcome the inclusion of it. So again, bonus points.

[Ch00rD]

[...] Abl cant reach the VB-303's perfect sound. Abl not bad but the sawtooth waveform osc more different from TB, and not want to list the other weaknesses, [...]

I respectfully disagree, and would like to hear more details about your criticism of it. But I also don't want to have that discussion here. I would appreciate an elaboration elsewhere though, perhaps via PM? In any case, I welcome (fair) competition and having multiple options available, the more good 303 emulations out there, the better.

[antto]

yes, trackmode is also there, you can extend tracks, and use the "Sign" marker to jump to a specific Bar on demand
i've only changed the way you input bar numbers (like on a calculator) and also how bars are displayed (on the LCD instead of the LEDs)
other than that, it's the same

you have twice the number of patterns and 16 tracks

you can chain patterns without the small restriction like on the 303 (so a chain between [3,4,5,6] is possible)

[phankiejankie]

@ antto Thanks a lot for this and don't get disappointed about the sequencer because it is a bit difficult to use plus it requires a midi keyboard (I couldn't find another way to emulate the HOLD function personally) so I guess people are a bit discouraged by those two things.

Plus if you need to quickly double track a bassline or just record an accented stab you don't need to mess with the sequencer. It's much faster to just copy the pattern than remake it internally in Venom or draw that one note you need.

But the sequencer is fantastic for jamming and experimenting, coming up with crazy sequences that would be almost impossible to make with standard midi sometimes even through plain trial and error. What I am trying to say is that each mode has its uses and making easier to use the midi play would not devalue the internal sequencer.

[chk071]

Unfortunately even after reading the manual i wasn't able to get a sound out of this thing.

My bad btw. Mono plugins loaded into Cubase's VST instrument tracks won't make a sound. The trick is to load Venom into Cubase's VST instrument rack which supports mono plugins. For anyone wondering.

[tl]

A possible bug:
I was testing the Distrortion FX (from REAR panel) and after switching back to the normal panel the filter controls (Cutoff etc.) were gone.
Same after reloading the Ableton Live 9 project. After deleting the plugin from the track and reloading it the controls were back again.


Ingo

Thank you for the great work and the huge efforts you put into VB-303.
At the moment I'm trying to wrap my head around the function of the internal sequencer...
The possible bug Ingo described occurs on my system, too. Loading the plugin in Plogue Bidule most of the time the GUI for the Filter controls are missing. Seems to be a graphics-only bug 'cause using the mouse over the area where the knobs should be still changes Cutoff, Resonance etc.

Cheers,
tl.

[Ingonator]

@ antto Thanks a lot for this and don't get disappointed about the sequencer because it is a bit difficult to use plus it requires a midi keyboard (I couldn't find another way to emulate the HOLD function personally) so I guess people are a bit discouraged by those two things.

+1

@antto:

please don't misunderstand my comments here.

The sound of the plugin is fantastic (same for thh distortion) and the internal mode seems to work perfectly too.
I even figured out how to start the internal sequencer from a MIDi track in my host (by routing the track to channel 16 of the plugin).

I was just a little disappointed and/or frustrated that i was not able to unlock the MIDI mode as i was not able to enter the unlock code beyond the first digit.
Having an option to use the plugin without the sequencer would be a great addition IMO.

UPDATE:
Kiiika showed me that the solution for the "problem" could be found in the tutorial video from antto. Many thanks for the video and the help.


Ingo