Topic: New FX Grid and Instruments Grid (Preset Panels…)

Frits, Tracktion 3 has a very nice new looking explorer, very similar to KORE and The new Cubase 4 Soundframe browser.

I use Tracktion2 and will likely upgrade to v.3 as I still need it for collaborations. I still use other more feature heavy hosts (Sonar, Ableton Live e.t.c) for client work, as client needs can sometimes be quite wide and varied, but I use Podium for all of my own projects and have no plans to change that for the future. 8)

As a result I would really like to see this new way of browsing for sounds and presets in Podium if possible.

I guess the easiest way to explain it would be to watch the Tracktion 3 video preview which predominantly features the kind of search functions that I would really like to see in Podium.

To simplify the implementation perhaps you could offer a standard set of options in a predefined grid as in the movie…
http://www.sonicstate.com/news/shownews.cfm?newsid=3553

A user would then be able save whatever preset he is working on by simply right clicking on any of the predefined sound descriptions in the grid….so if I was adjusting a ZPEQ guitar preset (or saving one from scratch) I would right click on the Guitar box in the grid and simply save that preset there.

When I am looking for a Guitar preset I will simply left click on that box for a list presets to drop down, but there is more…any FX could be recalled this way so if there was a list of Guitar FX presets saved by a user like Bass Guitar or Funky Slap, the Bass Guitar preset could be saved with the Camel Crusher FX mapping if it was used to make the preset and the Funky Slap preset saved with the ZPEQ FX, if that was used to sculp the sound you wanted.

What happens next? When the Bass Guitar preset is chosen in a new project for instance the Camel Crusher is automatically mapped to the chosen track. See what I mean? 🙂

So that is just using the Guitar preset box in a new FX Grid Preset Panel as an example…one could of course have 20 or more guitar presets with each preset belonging to a different FX. 😉

Clicking on any saved preset automatically maps that FX to a chosen track. So we would effectivley be able to work in terms of preset type or sound not just by calling up an FX first, mapping it then choosing a preset, which we currently do. Very useful Track templates exist, but this is another great way to use Instruments and FX that is fast becoming a standard feature. 😉

The new ‘browse by sound’ type of feature in KORE, Cubase4 and now to a degree, Tracktion 3 is really becoming a standard new way of working with FX and Instrument presets even loops as seen in the Tracktion 3 video.

Instruments…
I think that as in KORE, there would need to be a new Preset Panel for FX and another separate one for Instruments to avoid confusion, but the approach would be identical…

Lets say I am working with the Imposcar in Podium and have a growling bass sound. I right click on the Bass preset box in a new FX Grid Preset Panel and choose ‘save as’ I type in the name Growling bass. I then start up Trilogy and have a nice Acoustic bass sound I have tweaked using the Trilogy interface I simply right click on the Bass preset box again and save as Acoustic Bass.

Now whatever project I am working on new or existing I can simply go to the Instrument Grid Preset Panel and left click on the Bass preset box to see my two new presets in a drop down list, now of course I am browsing by sound or preset not by Instrument name or brand.

So I click on the Acoustic bass preset I saved earlier from the list and Trilogy is automatically mapped to a track. 😉

KORE’s implementation is more complex, but the way I described it here is with ease of use and (hopefully for you) ease of implementation in mind. It can of course be expanded further in future. Should you wish to.

For instance KORE had thousands of presets (9000+ pre mapped NI plugs) that sort of effort is simply unreasonable to expect from you. NI is a huge organisation.

However…I would be happy to get the FX ball rolling by categorizing the 51 ZPEQ presets I put together and the zReverb presets you created. Just let me know if you are happy to do it and when you are ready.

KORE uses this structure for Instruments….

Instrument – Source – Timbre – Articulation – Genre

KORE sound browser movie (Video2 find sounds fast)
http://www.native-instruments.com/index.php?id=koresound_us

While nice to have, I think it may be too much to ask of you right now.
Here are screen shots of the Instrument browser and the FX browser

KORE Instruments
http://www.native-instruments.com/uploads/pics/screen_1_step_2_Kopie_01.jpg

KORE FX
http://www.native-instruments.com/uploads/pics/fx_browser2.jpg

I suggest this simpler and possibly easier to browse (and populate with our own presets) layout suggestion for FX (FX Grid Preset Panel) and another identical one for Instruments (Instrument Grid Preset Panel)

Drums……Synth……Guitars ……….Piano/Keys………..Strings
Kicks ……..Bass……….Bass…………….Rhodes……………….Bowed
Snares……Pads……….Slap……………..Organs……………….Woodwind
Hi hats……Leads……..Distorted………..Bells………………….Plucked
Shakers…..FX………..Wah Wah……….Wurlitzers……………Cellos

Of course the names chosen here are just for lllustration. Left clicking on any one of these would bring up a drop down menu of any presets saved by a user.

Right clicking would bring up a simple save as option.

A user could even be able to rename these categories for even more flexibility or even better, add their own categories to the initial number there as well. So instead of just 4 sub categories for Drums a user could add 3 or more if it suits there style of working.

The idea I have is really to just give the user the ability to recall FX or Instruments by sound or the user saved preset decription.

Time frame for implementation? Only you know that and as it may be a very complex thing to implement, even though it is a more basic (in some way better IMO) suggestion than KORE or Cubase 4’s sound browser.

He he, you might not even like the idea 😉

I guess as it is becoming a standard feature in hosts it would be good for Podium to have it’s own version to remain competitive. I remember Podianer suggesting you add the track templates feature to the Podium list of features on the website.

By taking that suggestion onboard it meant that people browsing the features list on the website could see at a glance that a major feature had been added. Most people buy a product for what it has now. So please at least give some possible consideration to this feature at some point in future. 😉

Many (probably most) people just look at a list of features and think “does it have this new feature that host X or Y has?” Few will take the time to trawl through posts and ask questions.

So if a certain feature is the new buzz feature, I think it would be a good idea (at some point) to at least consider adding some sort of implementation as suggested above in Podium. 😉