Hey folks,
I've recently discovered MPowerSynth and i would put it up with Serum and Zebra as one of the most powerful VST softsynths.
One thing though i'm yet to get my head around is how to adjust filter keyboard tracking.
Try as i might i can't get the filter to track by extreme amounts over a small range.
By this i mean, for example, that if i was to press C3 the filter would be fully open, and at C5 it would be fully closed. I know this is an extreme example, but it has it's uses.
There seem to be various controls that interact to make filter keyboard tracking work, and i can't work out the right combination to get consistent results!
Could anyone give me an example of the settings needed to achieve the example above?
(to be clear, i mean this behaviour:
If i was to press C3 the filter would be fully open, and at C5 it would be fully closed)
And maybe the opposite settings, so:
If i was to press C3 the filter would be fully closed, and at C5 it would be fully open
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
MPowerSynth: filter keyboard tracking
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- KVRAF
- 10376 posts since 2 Sep, 2003 from Surrey, UK
I haven't yet worked out how the Frequency parameter works, but you should be able to use a MIDI Note range to control any parameter. It's set up in the "MIDI Settings" window / Notes tab (click the [MIDI] button, bottom-right corner to see it).
Enable it, select the target parameter, the source note range (and MIDI channel if you want) and the target range:
Swap the Min and Max values around to invert the controlled range.
Enable it, select the target parameter, the source note range (and MIDI channel if you want) and the target range:
Swap the Min and Max values around to invert the controlled range.
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 587 posts since 8 May, 2012 from E.U.
Many thanks for that DarkStar!
That fixes it for monosynth use, but for poly it's less ideal as it's not a per voice control, so it'll change the value to the last played note.....in other words, it won't work for chords (or at least it'll work in an idiosyncratic way that would have creative uses but is not the effect you'll always want)
So yeah, just to be clear my question was relating to the BY NOTE section in the filter tab. I imagine if i set it there it'll work per voice.
That fixes it for monosynth use, but for poly it's less ideal as it's not a per voice control, so it'll change the value to the last played note.....in other words, it won't work for chords (or at least it'll work in an idiosyncratic way that would have creative uses but is not the effect you'll always want)
So yeah, just to be clear my question was relating to the BY NOTE section in the filter tab. I imagine if i set it there it'll work per voice.
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- KVRAF
- 10376 posts since 2 Sep, 2003 from Surrey, UK
I was going to suggest setting MIDI Settings Channel to, say, 16 and sending the appropriate notes on that channel, but I cannot see how to prevent those notes triggering the Oscillators too.
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 587 posts since 8 May, 2012 from E.U.
I've been playing around with this some more, this is really a weak point of MPS, the keyboard tracking of the filter (per voice) is very unintuitive and fiddly to set up and it doesn't seem possible to have (for example) the filter track over a wide range over one or two octaves (these comments apply to when playing polyphonically).
Dear Mr Melda, it would be great if you could implement it in the same way as in the MIDI > NOTES section, that is the perfect way to set it up!
Dear Mr Melda, it would be great if you could implement it in the same way as in the MIDI > NOTES section, that is the perfect way to set it up!
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 587 posts since 8 May, 2012 from E.U.
OK, i worked out how to do this polyphonically (the scenario outlined in my first post).
If anyone is interested let me know and i'll explain it.
If anyone is interested let me know and i'll explain it.
Last edited by Mr D on Fri Jan 12, 2018 9:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 587 posts since 8 May, 2012 from E.U.
Ok, you need to set the ADSR on the filter to zero attack, hold, decay.....and release to about 90ms (just to avoid pops).
Now map mod 1 LFO to filt ADSR sustain. Set the LFO to be totally flat, no modulation (via a custom shape).
You can now use mod 1 value to adjust the sustain, which in effect is controlling the openness of the filter. But importantly it only adjusts the filter openness for the next new note (the key to this whole workaround). If you play and hold a note, then adjust mod 1 value (so, filter openness), the sound won't change. It only effects the next played note.
Now, go to the midi section > notes and assign to mod 1 value, controlled from C3 to C4 for example.
You can now control the filter over a large range from just a narrow range on your keyboard. And the point is when you play polyphonically the filter won't re-trigger to a new value when every new note is played.
NOTE 1: it's not possible to map midi > note directly to filter sustain for some reason, hence the extra step of using mod 1.
NOTE 2: You need two extra assignments in midi > note. You need to tell sustain to stay at the lowest filter setting from B2 down to the lowest notes you might play, and you'll also need to tell it to stay at the highest setting (C3) when you play C3# and higher. If you don't the filter will react unpredictably when you play outside the range of C3-C4.
Let me know if you have trouble making sense of this word salad!
Now map mod 1 LFO to filt ADSR sustain. Set the LFO to be totally flat, no modulation (via a custom shape).
You can now use mod 1 value to adjust the sustain, which in effect is controlling the openness of the filter. But importantly it only adjusts the filter openness for the next new note (the key to this whole workaround). If you play and hold a note, then adjust mod 1 value (so, filter openness), the sound won't change. It only effects the next played note.
Now, go to the midi section > notes and assign to mod 1 value, controlled from C3 to C4 for example.
You can now control the filter over a large range from just a narrow range on your keyboard. And the point is when you play polyphonically the filter won't re-trigger to a new value when every new note is played.
NOTE 1: it's not possible to map midi > note directly to filter sustain for some reason, hence the extra step of using mod 1.
NOTE 2: You need two extra assignments in midi > note. You need to tell sustain to stay at the lowest filter setting from B2 down to the lowest notes you might play, and you'll also need to tell it to stay at the highest setting (C3) when you play C3# and higher. If you don't the filter will react unpredictably when you play outside the range of C3-C4.
Let me know if you have trouble making sense of this word salad!
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- KVRian
- Topic Starter
- 587 posts since 8 May, 2012 from E.U.
Been testing it some more, its a bit of a kludge, doesn't fix the problem in many cicumstances, for example if you trigger a 4 note chord with all notes coming at the exact same time, it will just stay at one filter setting for all notes. Still, might be useful for some tasks / effects, until the ULTIMATE solution arrives!
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- KVRAF
- 2702 posts since 9 Jul, 2015 from UK
Nice workaround! Well thought out.
I think after the restructurization it may be possible to add an option to the filter. It would be nice as MYYY will probably take a long time.
I think after the restructurization it may be possible to add an option to the filter. It would be nice as MYYY will probably take a long time.
Jason @ Melda Production