It appears hgsounds.com is down

[killmaster]

Does anyone know why? Maybe it's temporary but hope things are ok over there.

[Ambient Mechanics]

Must have been a temporary thing..just checked and it's loading fine for me. Granted.. it's been a couple of days..but all seems well now.

[Astralp]

Sorry about that, I do have an occasional issue on the server where a service shuts down, I’ve yet to track down how it happens, but it shouldn’t be for more than a few hours when it does happen, as I wrote a script to check and restart the relevant service when it has stopped. It’s annoying!

As for HGS it’s been on quiet mode for a while, I was diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia earlier in the year, I’ve just had chemo last week which should kick it into submission for a few years. I’m feeling a bit whacked but other than that OK, just hope it worked so I can get on.

I’ll be picking up things where I left off with the sampler development.

Hope things are good with you both!

[Ambient Mechanics]

Sorry about that, I do have an occasional issue on the server where a service shuts down, I’ve yet to track down how it happens, but it shouldn’t be for more than a few hours when it does happen, as I wrote a script to check and restart the relevant service when it has stopped. It’s annoying!

As for HGS it’s been on quiet mode for a while, I was diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia earlier in the year, I’ve just had chemo last week which should kick it into submission for a few years. I’m feeling a bit whacked but other than that OK, just hope it worked so I can get on.

I’ll be picking up things where I left off with the sampler development.

Hope things are good with you both!

Really sorry to read that, Andy..life seems hell-bent on poking you with the sh*tty end of the stick these last few years.

I sincerely hope things improve for you, my friend..or, at the very least, you have the strength of mind to battle through everything and enjoy your life as much as you can.

The number one thing is you don't stress yourself out over anything. Forget about meeting project deadlines, when it comes to coding software..it should be fun to do..not something that ends up being a chore or a hassle in your life.

Take care of your self, dude and relax..none of us are going anywhere.. we'll still be here whenever you post a message or release something new.

[Astralp]

Thanks, it could be far far worse tbh, I try not to let these setbacks get me down.

I’m not doing anymore development Group Buys in the future though, that’s for sure. It’s just not financially viable or worth the stress. I think that is the lesson I’m supposed to learn this year lol.

[Ambient Mechanics]

Probably for the best, I guess.. though they'll be missed.. that's for sure. That said.. I'd personally much rather you were able to release something new every now and then, than run yourself into the ground trying to complete Group Buys to keep us happy.

Just know whatever you do, it's very much appreciated.

[telecharge]

Good to see you, Andy. Thanks for the update, and all the best with your recovery.

[killmaster]

You've already contributed so much goodness and value to all of us! You projects are all so unique and inspiring! I really hope you find a new lower stress way to earn a decent living and stay creative! I also hope you can keep us posted on your recovery and new endeavors if you feel like it!

[Astralp]

Thanks so much

I definitely want to get back to working on SideTrack, but without the time stress. Tbh I don’t think HGS is financially viable at all any longer so will probably end up looking for a job in a few months, but would like to continue working on HGS stuff in a part-time/less intensive capacity. I’m currently getting some financial assistance, which has taken the pressure off, and I really can’t go back to that kind of financial insecurity/stress.

I think it’s very tough across the board to make a living in the audio instruments/samples world these days, it’s over saturated with already excellent choices for most things.

[Kalamata Kid]

I miss Andy and HGS.
Wonder what he is up to.

https://hgsounds.com/
is still functional.

I love his Kontakt instruments. I would love to see a multi-touch sample based VST with a an alternive virtual midi keyboard.

Andy,
if you read this message please chime in and let us know how
and what you you are doing and and your plans are with music in mind.
Any comments on AI and midi and plugins?

[Astralp]

I’m still here! I’ve done a ton of work building a system for quicker development of VST/AU plugins. After the Group buy collapsed, I went back to the drawing board and have built a system that works from a couple of xml files to build the GUI so that no compiling is required. I then also more or less have built Sidetrack from scratch and have spent most of this year working on that.

I have kind of burnt out a bit lately, I think I need to just get it out as a public beta so I can get some feedback as I work on it. It’s very powerful now compared to where it was, the Effects Engine is pretty much finished, there is an advanced Modulator engine and an advanced Delay, Shimmer Reverb. There is an advanced LFO with various interesting modes. The Modulation Matrix is now huge & very efficient. The synth is full MPE. The 4 Oscillator Module is also rebuilt from scratch, far more efficient with a lot less aliasing. The whole synth/FX engine can run at a custom samplerate/bit depth which I really like, it can be extreme Lofi! It has a decent selection of filters and drive effects.

The last big thing is the randomization system, I really want to build a generic system that has xml defined behaviour, but it’s proving to be far more challenging than I thought. It’s had to provide a framework that covers complex interactions. So I may have to concede on it for now and for Sidetrack do something self contained. I’d really like move past Sidetrack now, I have lots of interesting ideas I’d like to work on.

Health wise I’m doing OK, I had Chemo last November and the leukemia is in remission and so I should be good for the next decade hopefully!

Sidetrack has become a mountain to climb that’s on the way of getting HGS back up & running, but the framework is pretty good for building new products. Sidetrack was far too ambitious for a first Synth product, it’s had an enormous amount of Labour and it’s a bit daunting to get to presets & release etc… it should be far more robust & cpu lighter than the earlier version too, I’ve learned a lot a long the way!

[Astralp]

Here's some screen grabs:
.

[Kalamata Kid]

Andy, glad that your health has improved!

You are beck! Great news!

"advanced Modulator engine" Interesting!!
Actually that complete paragraph looks interesting!!!!

What I liked about your Kontakt instrument is the randomization.
It's all over the place.
If using Juce than it is automatically multi-touch capable.

Also liked that your instruments were easy to learn.
Would love to see some Midi fx.

Really looking forward to you plugin releases.

[Astralp]

I definitely want to make some MIDI plugins, I think a Fractionate port might be the first. But the thing I’m really wanting to do is a synth based around some of the old Yamaha Portasound keyboards, especially the FM ones. I’ve been collecting a few over the last couple of years, and I really love the simplicity of a limited set of parameters that modify an existing preset which itself has some unique waves/predetermined differences. I’m maybe not interested in precise emulation as much as I am exploration. It needs some experimentation with it all, but I have done some work towards it such as the internal samplerate system that’s in Sidetrack. I’m not planning on reproducing the auto Rhythm aspect though, just the synthesis side. The keyboards I’m looking at are PSS-380/PSS-480 and DSR-500. I think the 480 is probably the one I’ll go with initially, it’s the most advanced, but the 380 is possibly a lot more fun (at least in hardware/editing terms).

I also have an MK-100 which I really like, it’s not FM but early digital waveforms, it’s very unique but I think that one would benefit from a complete emulation which would be a big project. It’s a really great instrument and surprisingly sophisticated.

There’s also another possibility of a 1 year collaboration involving my framework for some AI based instruments. It all depends on some funding, but I really hope it happens!

Yes, the random system is a long standing tradition! I really hope to devise a way of constructing the synth profiles from an XML, I do have something implemented in Sidetrack and it’s kind of OK, but I feel it could be better. Sidetrack is so vast that it’s difficult to ensure useful presets. From memory I think the Mod Matrix has something like 35 inputs and 45 outputs, so even that alone is a very tough thing to randomize to any degree. There’s no point in assigning outputs to things that are not being used etc…

[Kalamata Kid]

Andy,

Not sure how I missed Fractionate. I have it and hope to eventually use it. So thanks for the reminder.

Great that you want to make midi plugins. I am also interested in alternate virtual midi keyboard controllers. I am not sure if this will be profitable. However these keyboards below do not work under Windows. Someone has gotta be first.
https://www.google.com/search?q=ipad+ap ... client=img