FR theme: Synth/Sampler comp

[soma]

-midi learn range keys and/or velocities
-make all attributes per voice mod assignable and midi mappable (in nested menus by voice) (including start and loop points)
-find zero crossing and loop cross-fade
-use "key" as an input for moding
-ballsy distortion with resonant tube character
-more control of effects
-allow re-ordering of the synths vertically in the zone panel
-allow copying a synth sound to a new synth (drag and drop, action)
-display of time on envelope parameters on drag/mouse-over
-noise oscillator
-display of modded wave
-slicer (and in audio clips, and in drum tracks )
-Real-time adjusting of "offset"
-hand drawn envelopes/LFO with time grid
-Physically modeled oscillator would be a cool bonus
-allow midi to apply to inverted/non-linear ranges for mod
-add amplitude/filter/effect layers for grouping "sounds"
-modulate/sync one sound with another
-load vst for a zone
-work with drum tracks
-quick drop samples to single key zone
-more filters (formant, more slopes, allpass, notch, comb)
-bring back sampler unison

[disturb]

I really wish there were some kind of interaction between the synth and the samples.
Since phase distortion is close to FM, would it be possible to modulate a sample with the synth's waveforms, in the same way ableton's sampler can FM the loaded files ?
Something along the lines would be great anyway, that's what i was hoping for when i first read about a 'sampler that can do FM'...

[soma]

-Ability to link chosen parameters/effects between synths! Perhaps macros would be the way to go?
Probably the best way to do this would be to allow users to add a filter/effect/envelope/midi layer (a layer with everything but the sound) that you could rout sounds to... In that layer you could allow each sound to modulate the other too

How could I forget that one!

Right now if I want to create a velocity layered or zoned instrument, there is no way to tweak one slider to adjust the attack of the whole instrument, or the cutoff, width, etc. I could do it with CC's if those parameters were mappable, but I think grouping at the GUI level would be much better.

And +1 to having a synths modulate/link oscillators to each other and even samplers.

[soma]

-pitch mod on mod page to have greater range (for making bubbles and trippy effects)

-allow modulators (on mod page) to effect other modulators

-"phase" righ now is only set per trigger. You could have great PWM type effects if you allowed it to be changed and moded in real time with invert on. (Think Reason traktor)

-drag and drop selected material from audio tracks or audio editors to sampler (or drum tracks)

[DarkStar]

i bet this one has been mentioned already but, being able to set zones in the sampler by dragging the zone box with your mouse left to right, under the piano roll would be a helluva lot faster than manually typing in the notes with your computer keyboard. basically how you do it in kontakt when you open up the mapping editor.

[DarkStar]

...or via midi learn as in 1.4

[pw]

I really wish there were some kind of interaction between the synth and the samples.
Since phase distortion is close to FM, would it be possible to modulate a sample with the synth's waveforms, in the same way ableton's sampler can FM the loaded files ?
Something along the lines would be great anyway, that's what i was hoping for when i first read about a 'sampler that can do FM'...

I was also expecting a more integrated approach where the PM and sample engine were one and the same, and one could choose either an oscillator or a sample/multi-sample. The current synth/sampler requires constant navigation through page after page to do any slightly evolving patch, or anything except for a simple bass or lead.

[DarkStar]

Zone tab:
- drag edges of zones to set them
- read root note from .wav file name

Also:
- the Zoom icons are greyed out in the "Light" colourway, but still active
- in the Sound tab, a wav file name overlays the next/previous buttons

[jens]

here are some simple requests (you know me by now: for me it's all about being able to use the existing stuff properly instead of reaching for the stars):

- the root-key for samples should be set in notes (midi# as it is now perhaps optional) - or is the manual supposed to include a conversion-table or what's the idea behind it?

- I think it's hilarious that I have to switch to the zone-page just to add a new oscillator: there needs to be a context-menu for the 'sound'-dropdown-menu with at least 'add' and 'copy' (copy should of course work with samples as well)

- about the 'edit all'-button: yes, really nice - but what if I want to edit (say) three samples out of ten at once?

- why is the delay just available as a send?

- why is there no filter-saturation for the sampler?

Thats it for now.


P.s.:

Oh, and of course the synth needs to be heavily optimized - either that or the XT2 page should include a disclaimer which informs potential customers that they need at least an AMD XP4800+



edit: terrible typos

[jens]

Zone tab:
- drag edges of zones to set them
- read root note from .wav file name

oh, almost forgot:

HyperFree can read keyboard-input for setting the zones - XT2 however doesn't.

[larm]

jens: got a sucky cpu eh?

my fr for the samplR:

- up/down arrows so can do nice sample browsing from the disk
- ... with hold loop settings when swapping samples (i.e. loop start & end are relative to sample length instead of absolute)
- editable step lfo and gate fx like in xt1 sampler
- zone page should let me click on the nice keyboard to let me specify start/end note of zone
- auto drum mapping of dropped samples (could drop files on a "drum map" button or something)
- auto loop slicer and option to toggle reverse
- having sample start/end automatable
- velocity -> sample start

- more saturators! need some cheapo filters and distortion units
- ... and a bit crusher//alias machine somewhere in there so one can make some really bad retro sounds/add some distortion (imagine the possibilities when layered with a clean copy/layer of the same sound)

- accent parameter, i.e. set up one one CC/modulation/velocity etc. to one accent controller and then have the accent (internal to the synth) controller able to modulate 4 other parameters

[djsubject]

multi outs for both sampler & drum tracks

& +1 to the rest

[soma]

Jens great stuff there!

- about the 'edit all'-button: yes, really nice - but what if I want to edit (say) three samples out of ten at once?

You started to make drums eh
This si what I thought of

-Ability to link chosen parameters/effects between synths! Perhaps macros would be the way to go?
Probably the best way to do this would be to allow users to add a filter/effect/envelope/midi layer (a layer with everything but the sound) that you could rout sounds to... In that layer you could allow each sound to modulate the other too Very Happy

Basically a new "sound" that all it does is have an amp, filter, pan, effects and uses other "sounds" you pick as it's oscillators.
encapsulation and inheritance! Common, Jorgie, you said it would be more OO.

[Caleb]

This is a really small thing, but when I started working on this thing, I went to the FX tab to add some reverb effect. I changed the value in the box, playback and - nothing.

Oh - I have to go to the master tab to activate the reverb fx and then go to the fx tab to send to it.

This seems like a counter-intuitive organisation of "fx".

I'm trying to think of the best way to handle it, but am struggling a little at the moment. Maybe a tab within a tab on the fx page? Insert tab and Send tab? And maybe get rid of them from the master tab.

I think the master tab should have items that are going to affect the whole mixed signal at the end - like an extra filter and eq, volume panning etc... There should even be send values in the master tab for the reverb and delay so that parts of the mixed signal are sent to the effects.

And now I'm going to start tripping over myself by suggesting that maybe there should be insert fx on the master tab too. Yeah - OK that seems to be taking a more sensible (I think) approach to the synth/sampler and then turning it upside down.

I'm not 100% on this idea yet to tell you the truth - it probably would take some bashing around of ideas until the best approach is found, but - for what it's worth.

Regards
Caleb

[DarkStar]

Also . . .
Zone tab:
- ability to drag zones around
- when a sound ia selected, highlght the Org key in the piano keyboard
- show Org Key as the note name not the MIDI number [do the same on the Sound tab] (as Jens said)

Mod Tab:
- in the Light colourway, the number of the selected LFO or Envelope is not easily visible

Sound panel:
- show the Cutoff value as a frequency, not 100...0
- show Pan values with L/R prefix (as in Mixer), not as numbers and positive numbers

FX panel:
- put a box around the Reverb and Delay and label it "Sends"