GezzMC
commented
5 years ago Solution to stuff not sounding the same issue/non-issue
In my particular case of using the factory Mellow Guitar, the somewhat large variations in sound can be eliminated by turning Modulation to 0. (After messing around some more, it'll actually take some more experimenting to figure out if I actually want to do that. But at least there's the option.)
So I set Modulation to zero and turn up Drive to get the high end that's there sometimes in Mellow Guitar, and sometimes not.
An example that, in my case, I didn't know how to use the synth. Tunefish is lacking a large set of experienced users to help people sort through the pseudo-problems, problems with workarounds, problems with partial solutions, and things not to do or expect.
But thanks for the graphics showing the modulation of the waveform. Before the possible solution came to mind, I could see what the problem was by watching the changing waveform. Sometimes it was clipping a lot, due to the Drive level, and sometimes it wasn't clipping at all. So when it wasn't clipping at all, I would get a too dull sound, and at upper octaves of the keyboard, when it was clipping at the max, I would get a too harsh sound.
But a magic button would be nice so that waveforms are reset at the gating of a key press. What I called RETRIGGER is actually called RESET in the Full Bucket synths. The oscillators are reset at a key press.
From the other issue, the writer says this:
So, in my opinion you should at least implement the synchronization with the host. In this case every render will be exactly the same.
It's a nice feature when oscillators of any type can be synced to the host, but I don't think this would solve the problem of there being large variations in sound due to key gating and waveform generation being asynchronous. (Well, if someone wanted to micromanage stuff with DAW automation, unwanted variations might could be tamed for a given fixed sequence.)
Subtle randomness is generally not a problem. It's unexpected, unwanted, large, uncontrollable randomness that's the problem.
But as I stated above, by giving my solution, I got rid of the unwanted big variation of "too dull" and "too harsh". As to what the future holds, and what problems there will be with future presets, only God knows.
I'll close this issue within a week if you don't, and maybe sooner. Maybe I can make some music to get people on the Tunefish 4 bandwagon, and maybe I can't.
Overview
Thanks for the software. I'm using Windows 10, Tunefish v4.2.0, and REAPER.
There's an issue here, and it would be nice to have it fixed, but the context is larger than me trying to get a fix for my own use of music software.
Everything should be viewed in the context of how I'm trying to incorporate Tunefish 4 into a minimal DAW setup. If there's a short version, it would be this:
So what's below will cover these subjects:
The preset name problem
Here are bullet points I've taken from my notes about the problem:
C:\Users\fooUser\AppData\Roaming\Brain Control\Tunefish 4.program0.txtis used for a DAW instance of Tunefish 4program0.txtwhich are created whenSaveis used, or whenLoad presetis used.program0.txt, but it doesn't use the other parameters ofprogram0.txt.AppData\Roaming\Brain Control\Tunefish 4\program0.txtwill exist. It's good in that Tunefish 4 uses the other parameters that are in the DAW Tunefish instance. If it didn't, Tunefish 4 would be unusable for me, because I don't use VSTs which have a scheme of that involves external, user-created file dependencies.That's enough about that problem. The workaround is to put the name of the preset in the REAPER FX chain.
But if I give a REAPER project file away, I can't expect the other person to have my set of presets in their
AppData\Roaming\Brain Control\Tunefish 4(or the user folder that's used by Mac and Linux).So at the bottom, to make my point, I include a REAPER project file that uses a slightly modified
Mellow Guitar, along with some Voxengo's plugins. (VST3 for Tunefish 4, and VST2 for Voxengo VSTs.)The good thangs about Tunefish 4
10kbyou mention on tunefish-synth.com, I would need to write lots of words.88.Mellow GuitarMellow Guitarwouldn't have already been in the VST, there's a good chance I wouldn't have figured out how to get something like it, and would have given Tunefish 4 the reject.README.txt mistake about Windows user folder
README.txtsays that the user folder isC:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Local\Brain Control\Tunefish 4.C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Roaming\Brain Control\Tunefish 4.Some parts of the GUI don't get refreshed on preset load
Closed issue GUI refresh bug #13 says something similar.
It was a major source of confusion until I figured out it was happening, and figured out the simple workaround. The parameters get loaded, but some things don't get refreshed. It's not obvious that
EFFECTS STACKdoesn't get refreshed, because of the color scheme.Here are my notes:
RestoreorLoad preset, do aNextand then aPrev.VoicesEFFECTS STACKLoad preset doesn't remember the last folder used
Clicking
Load presetalways defaults toC:\Users\fooUser, even after I've loaded a preset.Other VSTs sometimes do this, but on the other hand, many VSTs remember the last folder used, at least until the DAW is closed.
The workaround is simple. I use some shortcuts in File Explorer, because I don't work out of
C:\Users\fooUser.GENERATORwaveforms don't get retriggered by a key pressI guess this is essentially the same as open issue Each note sounds differently #19.
My first big experience with something similar to this was with a Full Bucket synth that didn't retrigger the oscillators on a key press, because I guess Bjorn, the developer, wanted to stay true to the Korg synth he was modeling.
So what I say here is based on what I've seen with other analog modeled synths, like Full Bucket and Arturia, where a key press is a gate signal.
If you're looking for a suggestion, and it can be done, then retrigger
GENERATORon a key press so waveforms start the same every time. But there's a good chance I don't know what I'm talking about.This, of course, would be a
RETRIGGERbutton option, so we could get randomness if we wanted it.Tunefish 4 & minimal DAW/VST scheme, for future tracker-style culture
But that's a long blog post. And I first have to make some good music using a fixed minimal setup, which I haven't locked in on yet, and maybe never will.
It's kind of a One Synth Challenge idea, but not really, because there's no commitment to anything but minimal, ease of setup, VSTs, and tying into mainstream DAWs.
My REAPER project with the Tunefish 4 instance
And, so of course, if you load this project, the preset will sound right, but the name will be
Saaaaw, or whatever name is in yourprogram0.txt. At least that's how things works for me.Maybe this is bad etiquette, since it's 36KB, 3.6 times the size of the Tunefish 4 engine; it's 467 lines.
I was hoping that GitHub Markdown would only show the first so many lines, but all lines are shown.
To justify this, or at least provide a partial distraction, I'll talk about the future.
So there will be this standard file format, MINIDAW, and there will be a bidirectional file converter from/to RPP/MINIDAW, and eventually this will happen for other DAWs, too.
MINIDAW will be a subset of what REAPER can do: MIDI tracks, tempo automation, and the use of a select set of VST plugins, where, of course, Tunefish 4 is one of these VSTs.
There's a playback engine for MINIDAW, and, of course, you and your fellow demosceners will create this program, as I'm only qualified to be a pipe dreamer. There's more to dream about, but I leave you with 467 lines of a REAPER project.