Link: Venom VB-303 VSTi (Beta release)

[antto]

hello everyone, this is my first post on the forum, tho i've been registered for maybe a few years

http://rapidshare.com/files/254612380/VenomVB-303.zip
http://www.box.net/shared/162ot6ot8y
My first Big project!
it is a beta or unofficial pre-release or whatever
there is no documentation yet (tho the synth is not too hard to get going with it)
it requires a CPU with MMX, SSE and SSE2
i hope you send any bug-reports or suggestions to me, while i'm doing the documentation..
the next (official) release will be soon, with the docs, and everything
Example Patterns: http://www.box.net/shared/7ojaszlg75

License: Freeware!
Enjoy!
antto

PS: Excuse me if this is not the right place for the topic

EDIT: beta-documentation provided kindly from xybre
basic guide in working with the beta version, and some tips on programing
check it out here

EDIT: BugFix/Change/Todo (list) for the next version:
-----------------------------------------------------
fixed: ClipBoard not being saved with the project
fixed: filter oversampling bug..
fixed: Sequencer Note C0 calls pattern002 (should be 001)
fixed: Sequencer "To All" & "Invert" initial values..
fixed: Sequencer EditPat button being wrong sometimes..
fixed: Sequencer incorrect display of Currently selected Step on INIT
fixed: FreeBee patterns with less than 16 steps were incorrectly considered "wrong" by the sequencer, and thus - not loaded
fixed: FreeBee patterns with lines begining with ";" now considered as comments and ignored.
bug: pattern switching small desync issue <- damn, i can't fix this

changed: Gimmick circuit readjusted (used audio material for reference)
changed: Filters: 303-ladder (thanks to Ken Tomson), modified-moog, at least one more type will be added
changed: Sequencer pattern randomizer, "pitch" is now limited in range c2 to c5 (the range of the original 303 sequencer) tho the sequencer will still have 1 octave more, the whole randomizer was changed, now step length is almost always 4/8, slides are now more probable
changed: Sequencer - Slide to a note with gate-off, the pitch will be ignored now
added: FreeBee pattern Export (StepLength is ignored)
changed: GUI: the small display of the transpose (that shows pluses or minuses) now displays the key and the octave like "D 3" "F#2" ..
changed: filter cutoff envelopes are now accurate, Decay time too
changed: the filter cutoff frequency can now reach ~28KHz (as the original)
changed: distortion now has a nice antialiasing filter, not perfect but far better than nothing
added: Switch (back panel) to keep the current clipboard when loading a NSM file
added: Switch to "restrict" the Next/Prev movement to the length of the pattern (instead of cycling thru the unused steps too)
changed: Sawtooth/Square waveforms now far better than before, square has specific symmetry (PulseWith) depending on frequency, and is not controlled anymore by a knob, but there will be another square type, with manual PW control

todo: improved distortion, more distortion types
todo: Pattern Shift Mode - switch
todo: "Order" modifier will use pattern shift mode too
todo: BackPanel Slider for MoreReso (remember Josh Wink?)
todo: BackPanel Slider/switch for half or twice the Host tempo when sync'ed
todo: better CPU usage when the synth is not playing (an Economy switch on the BackPanel)
todo: better Default preset/parameters
todo: attempt to remove SSE2 requirement and leave only MMX/SSE
todo: additionaly a non-SSE (non-SIMD) version of the synth
todo: Documentation/UserManual
todo: right before i release it, i'll try to select the best patterns i've created during the developement of this synth and put them into one NSM file..


changed: projects made with the beta version (in other words, the VST plugin parameters that are saved in the DAW project) will be incompatible with the new version, better export your sequencer memory to NSM files, i guess the automation will be usable with some clicking, but probably it's DAW dependant and can't guarantee.. and since the envelopes were changed, the new version will sound a little (or more) different from the beta version.. so probably keep the beta somewhere, and don't mesh the two.. use the new one for your new tracks ;]

changed: because of the new changes, the synth will still work at 44100Hz sampling rate, but the minimum _recomended_ sampling rate now is 88200Hz

27-sep-2009: under-construction-release (Beta2)
find it here: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 67#3779367
read the post first

30-oct-2009: the "under-construction-release" (aka Beta2) has a few bugs with pattern loading

29-mar-2011: all plans for this synth changed, the synth was redesigned, and still under construction
the new Venom VB-303 will be almost like a hybrid between a TB-303, a x0xb0x and a ML303
the biggest change is in the sequencer, which has been completely rewritten, and now it works almost like the x0xb0x sequencer, which makes it possible to develope an almost identical sequencer interface for both this software synth AND the x0xb0x
however, the x0xb0x CPU is very small, it fits 16KB of code, and already i've exceeded it, i couldn't implement even 1/3rd of what i wanted, thus progress has stopped
a new CPU modification is under way for the x0xb0x, it'll replace the CPU with another one which can store about 256KB of code
once i get it and i'm able to continue developement on both sequencers - there will be progress
so far, nothing, i'm still waiting

[S-N-S]

first off

this looks good,but i dont get any sound at all in renoise 2,1 no matter what i do

[RunBeerRun]

I don't have any sound either, tried everything.

Cool to see a guy making new sems, although it looks like the old familiar tb-whatever that rebirth is, which has been done infinity times.

[antto]

damn, i really had to do the docs first
first: the synth is only played thru the internal patterns
if you press a midi key - you start playing a pattern, not the note itself
so make a pattern (either use the Clear button, or the Randomizer) and play it
the default patterns are empty (no gate, no accent, no slide, no nothing)
note: you can load patterns from ABL ;P~

and yes, the whole idea of this synth is to sound like a 303, or at least close, i don't claim anything
personaly, i love the Rebirth bassline, and i've always hated i can't use it in my DAW as a vst..
so i did this ;]
i'm just sharing it now

btw there's a backside panel, and an XY control for Cutoff and EnvMod

please tell me the OS'es and VST hosts you used! it will be very helpful!

[RunBeerRun]

win vista-savihost

I think some demonstration presets would be great, even if it was cool, I'd never use it like this.

It's your duty to provide presets, and if you don't, I'll strike with everybody in kvr. We demand better hours and free coffee in the mornings.

[antto]

RunBeerRun: well, there are no presets, the synth stores it's patterns in the VST Patch memory, so loading a preset will spoil you're work
and the whole point in a 303-like synth is tweeking it yourself, that's my opinion..
i could only provide demo-patterns..
thanks

[antto]

um, anyone figured it out?
i found just one bug with the pattern clipboard, it stores it correctly, but it displays it as free on the next reopen of the project.. thus dissallowing you to paste it..

[sinkmusic]

Hi
Thank you for sharing your creation.

2 little advices if you want more feedback :
- provide a GUI screenshot in the thread ;
- please consider skipping RapidShare : having to wait 2 minutes before being able to download the file is just a true pain in th _ss. Why not uploading to Stashbox.org or Box.net ?

[antto]

sinkmusic: thanks for the suggestion, i didn't know a better alternative to rapidshare.. link updated
i added a screenshot of the front panel too (the back panel isn't very interesting)

[geoslake]

Impressive emulation for a synthedit creation, me think...
Thanks for sharing.

[antto]

Thanks! i'm currently playing with it in an actual track in my DAW, i love it
here are a few patterns i made while developing the sequencer:
http://www.box.net/shared/7ojaszlg75
they are in the native NSP format (just 41bytes each)
you can load them into the currently selected pattern/slot by pressing the little Load Pattern button, that's in the top-left corner, right below the Keyboard
these patterns are not special, i just liked them and saved them..
there's one pattern from Rebirth, and another from ABL

[VSTJuNkiE]

I love 303's and FREE ones even BETTER. Although ya should of held onto it for this years DC. Even if ya don't win, ya still have FUN and get some exposure.Thx for tha fr(T)eebee

[antto]

DC? Developer Contest?
i remember something like this.. haven't checked the when is it..
i had such ideas 2 years ago maybe, when i did my big-fat decimator/bitcrusher plugin, but i realised that it wasn't anything special.. there were other plugins like that one

now i actually did this 303 so i can use it in a track of mine, yes, it waited about 3 or 5 months (not sure exactly) to make the synth, yesterday i finaly was able to reopen the track after this time, and load my 303 in it! i felt so wierd

btw who said SE can't do <nice> synths? well, yeah, the most important modules i did myself, but i didn't write a GUI system as i would have to if i used VST SDK, and i'm a "musician" after all.. at least i hope i am ;P~
anyways..
it looks like there are no OS problems for the most common OSs
the synth was built with SynthEdit "v1.0170 Unicode"
this would never be possible without SE

[sinkmusic]

Hello

The GUI is very well done, congratulations ! We really feel the attention paid to details, and the love you have for the hardware 303.

Some little annoyances, however :
- Not being able to trigger the sound using a midi keyboard or using a midi clip from the host is a bit sad (i'm not a 303 freak and can't stand the Roland-pattern-seq in software form, as it is damn slow to edit) ;
- Despite being gorgeous, I think the GUI is also very small : it's very difficult to read on a resolution higher than 1024pix ;

I hope it is positive criticism and that it helps, keep up the good work !

[phankiejankie]

Spend some time yesterday playing with it. First impression is that this new silver box clone is solid. You can make patterns and sounds beyond what the 303 could due to the additional features while retaining the 303 feel and I like that.

Soundwise I can't say how close it is to the original but it certainly has the trademark 303 characteristics. My only two concerns so far is the very small GUI and that the sound "struggles" on higher resonance (especially with a square wave and heavy distortion) and even in x4 oversampling it comes out a bit on the "cheap" side.

In general though this is a very nice plugin and enjoyed my time a lot tweaking it. Keep up the good work, thumbs up! I will continue mess up with it and post any issues I may find.

Ps: Some pattern presets would help people a bit too since at first you just think this vsti makes no sound