Topic: Preview: Zynewave Nucleum

Viewing 15 posts - 31 through 45 (of 164 total)
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  • March 5, 2008 at 15:02 #11883
    Conquistador
    Participant

    @kyran wrote:

    Synthmaker has an assembler component, which means you can optimize you dsp algorithms at the lowest level.

    Interesting. I was not aware of the assembler component or it’s functionality but…

    Ofcourse the more you put into low level code the more time it takes to develop.

    I guess Frits will have to make a judgement call on how much time he will have to put into it before the level of optimisation is comparable to non Synthmaker plugs.

    but if you keep the gui closed I’m certain you can get a very good performance out of them.

    Maybe, but I doubt Frits would want to find himself having to provide such a warning for new users to avoid optimization issues that should not be there in the first place.

    The performance of a synth is for 80% in it’s dsp code (and the other 20 in stuff like gui’s), and synthmaker allows you to make just as many optimizations as any other way to develop software.

    Ok…but it still boils IMO down to how much time Frits has to give to this, to optimize it to an acceptable level or comparable to good quality 3rd party plugs. Just my opinion but I don’t think that is the best use of his time.

    Up to him of course. It might work out, it might not.

    March 8, 2008 at 20:50 #11899
    Zynewave
    Keymaster

    Even if your final verdict of Nucleum will be that it is better placed in the recycle bin, I do think that the time I’ve spent learning SynthMaker can be valuable for me in the future. I can use SM as a prototyping tool for the development of future zPlugins. It’s fast and relatively easy to construct algorithms in SM, and it offers various components that can be used to analyze the audio in realtime. If I some day start development of e.g. a zComp plugin, I would start out in SynthMaker and get the parameters and sound as I want it to be. When done, it would be a simple job to port the algorithm to a natively coded zPlugin.

    March 10, 2008 at 10:41 #11904
    Conquistador
    Participant

    @Zynewave wrote:

    Even if your final verdict of Nucleum will be that it is better placed in the recycle bin, I do think that the time I’ve spent learning SynthMaker can be valuable for me in the future.

    Heh heh, I would not say “recycle bin” 😛 But more of a delivery of Nucleum and other new Zplugs in future through your own Zynewave code.

    I can use SM as a prototyping tool for the development of future zPlugins. It’s fast and relatively easy to construct algorithms in SM, and it offers various components that can be used to analyze the audio in realtime. If I some day start development of e.g. a zComp plugin, I would start out in SynthMaker and get the parameters and sound as I want it to be. When done, it would be a simple job to port the algorithm to a natively coded zPlugin

    This seems like a much better idea. Synthmaker used as a prototyping tool seems like a better approach especially if as you suggested, you do port the algo to a natively coded plug.

    That seems a much better way forward for future plugs.

    As a side note…some of the best software available today took a very long time to code…Podium interestingly is a superb example of this. Years in the making before it ever became commercially available but as a result it is an extremely stable host. Every Podium release maintains this very high level of stability.

    Sometimes it really is better to give a project more time for a really good or best possible result.

    Plugin / Device management problems (as discussed in detail elsewhere) definitely need to be addressed but the stability of Podium remains superb, these are separate things IMO.

    March 11, 2008 at 12:56 #11907
    H-man
    Participant

    hmmmmm …I’ve been thinking and am a bit confused by this.

    One side of the argument basically says – When as Frits ever done a less than elegant implementation of a new feature? You know so …let’s hear it!

    The other side says – What the? Thomas over at Angular Momentum, as an example, has 15 (or so) SM plugs ready to download for free?!? Thers’s Drums, step sequencers, wave draw etc. etc. so why on earth go over such well-trodden ground?

    I guess ultimately I was always happy with Podium being a fine DAW with a “go get your own plugs” ethos, but Frits is obviously having some fun away from the core app and my money is on him to produce a fine set of instruments, what ever format they are developed in.

    I know it’s been mentioned but I’d love them to eventually match the Podium GUI that we all respect so much. Imagine those cool podium level dials inplace of the default shiny 80’s home stereo brushed metal knobs!

    ….can’t wait to test.

    March 12, 2008 at 20:34 #11914
    Zynewave
    Keymaster

    I’ve updated the screenshot on page 1 again. The UI is more compact now, as I’m almost settled on the number of knobs/parameters. I’ve added a waveform selector for the three oscillators. The synth is now a true hybrid of subtractive and FM synthesis. If all the nine FM knobs in the center are set to zero, the synth behaves as a pure subtractive synth.

    Hopefully only one more day of testing and I’ll have an alpha version ready.

    March 13, 2008 at 08:31 #11917
    Reject
    Participant

    I’m still undecided wether or not this is a good idea or not. The bottom line though is that its not up to me, so I try not to worry too much 🙂

    I would be very happy if I could have a go at Nucleum nonetheless!

    March 13, 2008 at 08:52 #11918
    rinxai
    Participant

    Looking forward to testing the controversial Nucleum. Bring it on! Something for the weekend please. 🙂

    I suppose the proof is in the pudding…. 😉

    March 13, 2008 at 11:20 #11919
    H-man
    Participant

    errrrmmmmmm….. Podium with bundled instruments ready to go out of the box.

    Are we talkin default Podium track/song on opening here? You know ala Reaper, Computer Muzys, Reason and others?

    Would Frits tolerate such a thing? Kick it to a new thread or burn the idea at the stake right here?

    March 14, 2008 at 22:07 #11934
    Zynewave
    Keymaster

    The 0.20 alpha version can now be downloaded from the Podium download topic in the VIP lounge.

    So far it only contains 10+ presets, so unless you are keen on experimenting with the parameters you may want to wait for a later version with more factory presets.

    I have not made any efforts on CPU optimizing it, nor have I made any Podium look-alike UI yet. No need to do that until we figure out if this is a plugin worth finalizing. I reckon I can halve the CPU usage if I put in some more work.

    Also note that I may decide to change some parts of the synth, so presets you make may not be compatible with future versions. If you create presets you want to keep, it is best to use the file menu on the plugin UI, instead of saving fxp files through Podium. The files saved through the plugin UI are text files, and they will load in future versions even if I change the number of parameters etc.

    Those that try it, please share your opinion about it. If you manage to create some interesting presets, please share :mrgreen:

    March 16, 2008 at 02:10 #11935
    Zynewave
    Keymaster

    @duncanparsons wrote:

    Oh, and for knob creation, look no further than KnobMan 🙂

    I had noticed this utility a while ago, but thanks for the reminder 🙂 . I have now used it to create some Podium style dials instead of the default Synthmaker knobs. I must remember to donate to the creator of Knobman if Nucleum gets released to the public.

    The screenshot on page 1 is updated again. The dials/knobs are now color coded to better illustrate how the oscillators are modulating each other and routed to the filters. To make the colors stand out, the background is now dark instead of the previous silver.

    Nucleum 0.21 is uploaded.

    March 17, 2008 at 03:23 #11936
    Zynewave
    Keymaster

    Version 0.22 uploaded. Screenshot also updated.

    I’ve added two “shape” dials to the modifier section. These can be routed through as source and target in the matrix. This allows e.g. to create a curved dynamic scale for note velocity input.

    March 17, 2008 at 03:32 #11937
    Zynewave
    Keymaster

    @H-man wrote:

    errrrmmmmmm….. Podium with bundled instruments ready to go out of the box.

    Are we talkin default Podium track/song on opening here? You know ala Reaper, Computer Muzys, Reason and others?

    Would Frits tolerate such a thing? Kick it to a new thread or burn the idea at the stake right here?

    I’m abandoning the idea of bundling it with Podium. The plugin would add 1.5MB to the Podium download, which is far more than the 150KB for each of the zPlugins. I think it would be better to create a separate subforum for the plugin, with its own dedicated download topic. The zip download could contain a Podium demo project, which used Nucleum and zPlugins. This will also allow me to get rid of the archaic demo projects that currently is included in the Podium installer.

    March 17, 2008 at 04:32 #11938
    H-man
    Participant

    Okay Frits, makes sense.

    I’ve been having some fun with Nucleum (this is a great choice of name by the way) and realised that FM synthesis can be a bit-of-a wildcat 😯

    I dug up some info on the net from the excellent Synth Secrets series. If anyone has time there’s hours to spend in these pages:

    http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr00/articles/synthsecrets.htm
    (Page loads a bit slowly but worth the wait)

    The subforum is another good idea. I think I’ll wait until you set that up before pushing on with user patches and tracks. I do think it would be fun to collaborate with all the Podium-ers (Podium-sters?) on a track 🙂

    One question though, does it make any difference where things are placed in the mod-matrix (down, across etc.)?

    ….and of course, will there be midi-learn (nag, nag 😉 )?

    Ben

    March 17, 2008 at 04:51 #11939
    Zynewave
    Keymaster

    @H-man wrote:

    I’ve been having some fun with Nucleum (this is a great choice of name by the way) and realised that FM synthesis can be a bit-of-a wildcat 😯

    I dug up some info on the net from the excellent Synth Secrets series. If anyone has time there’s hours to spend in these pages:

    http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr00/articles/synthsecrets.htm

    Wildcat indeed. I’ve read that same article along with a bunch of others that google produced. Much of the time I’ve spent working on this plugin has been spent learning about synthesis. I didn’t have much experience in synth preset design beforehand, so it has been a good learning experience.

    One question though, does it make any difference where things are placed in the mod-matrix (down, across etc.)?

    ….and of course, will there be midi-learn (nag, nag 😉 )?

    It does not make a difference which order you place stuff on the matrix.

    I may look at a MIDI learn feature later on. Something I can do is to set up default MIDI cc’s for all dials. I don’t know if that would be useful to anyone?

    March 17, 2008 at 05:33 #11940
    H-man
    Participant

    @Zynewave wrote:

    I may look at a MIDI learn feature later on. Something I can do is to set up default MIDI cc’s for all dials. I don’t know if that would be useful to anyone?

    Yes that would be useful 🙂 .

    Ben

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