thetechnobear's Recent Posts
If OSC is working better for anyone than MPE
I've always felt OSC works better (in Aalto in particular) , feels noticeably more responsive and smoother.
main disadvantage is you cannot record, but I mostly want to play, and often just record audio anyway.
you could have a look at MPE+ as used by Haken Audio (Continuum), this would give you higher resolution.
note : be aware, of Lippold's comments about ensuring more throughput during attack transient (basically, only use 7 bit during this phase).
@randy - sounds really nice... really enjoy it.
but... do you know when MPE and OSC will be added?
it's a pretty important part of ML plugins for me ;)
any news on releasing native/universal versions of existing plugins?
Ive been doing some dev for apple silicon, including a native host - so would be great to be able load my Madrona Labs plugins :)
Apple Silicon - Soundplane App - 1.8.3 (now) works under Rosetta .
background:
in the early days (Dec 2020 ;) ), Soundplane App was crashing on apple silicon under Rosetta. however, I've just re-tested today (*) , and it is now working fine (and probably has for a while).
my suspicion is Apple have been improving compatibility with applications, so at some point 'fixed' the Soundplane App.
perhaps others didn't notice, if they got their new Macs later - as it always worked for them... but just in case, you tried in the past, and had issues - its worth retrying.
(*) I patched my Soundplane App a while back to work on M1, so never thought to re-test it ;)
of course, still hoping for a native/universal binary from Randy, one day... but Rosetta has been great, so no real worries.
yeah, it might be an interesting combo....
I've used a continuum a little bit, and a I did enjoy using the EM, and love the sound of it.
I'm tempted, but I also waiting for my Osmose (which has the EM)...
so I for now, Ive been thinking I'll wait and see how much I enjoy creating patches for that.
also the Eagan Matrix Module is not available at EU distributors yet, so thats helping me 'resist' :)
one thing to be aware of... all expressive controllers have a very different feel, and so really 'presets' created for others, do not tend to translate well to other surfaces.
so, I doubt that the Continuum presets present on the EMM will work well with the Soundplane - as they are VERY different surfaces. The continuum surface really 'moves' alot.
but as I said, thats not unusual... not a fault of either Soundplane nor EMM, its just the way it is.
This will mean creating your own EMM presets, but honestly, thats part of the fun.
BUT be aware if you have not used the Eagan Matrix before , its a little 'different' in its approach.
anyway, when its more generally available I might get it, and pair it up with Soundplane via Bela Salt.
I think more would be interested in this eurorack/EMM/Soundplane combo, if Randy releases his Soundplane Eurorack module ;)
to my total surprise, it appears I'm not the only one interested in Eurorack and the Soundplane - as @timoka posted yesterday he also has Bela Salt and a Soundplane.....
so whilst we await the official Madrona Labs Soundplane module, I thought I'd post about how Ive been using Soundplane with Eurorack, and how you can make it happen...
(and also to discuss any issues with my software to do this :) )
an admission to start with... as I thought I was largely alone in this area, the software Ive created is aimed at developers, i.e. no fancy installers
but I'll help people move forward, and if there are enough interested, then I will better document, and also make some installers.
so, what Soundplane options can I provide on eurorack :)
they are all really derived off using ARM based microcomputers, so Raspberry PIs or Beaglebone - but these come in quite a few forms, and options :)
I'll give the basics here, but will expand if people are interested...
a) Bela Salt or Bela Pepper
this is the most interesting, as its a flexible platform
Salt is bought off the shelf , and is a bit expensive (and you'll want the expander too)
Pepper less flexible, is an easy DIY project and is much cheaper.
my repo: https://github.com/TheTechnobear/BelaPatches/
the ScLite project gives you cv and gate outputs, using the available hardware, there are different modes - so you can treat the soundplane as a (chromatic) playing surface, or a bunch of xyz pads.
b) Terminal Tedium
this does not have any cv outputs, but instead you can run your own patches e.g. Ive just released Orac for it.
so you can plug in your Soundplane, and directly drive a synth, or use it to control an FX.
this is based on my MEC project, which incorporates SCLite
https://github.com/TheTechnobear/MEC
Orac supports MPE and OSC which MEC can produce.
or you can write your own PD patches...
c) QuBit Nebulae
another Eurorack module that is based on the rPI. again no cv output,
but again we could run my MEC project for Soundplane integration.
Ive also released Orac, so you can use that
but perhaps more interesting is using MEC with csound using osc (from mec/soundplane)
what could be fun here, is to integrate it with the factory Qubit Granular patch,
so use the soundplane to start controlling grains!
d) Standalone soundplane to interface with Eurorack
so this is not really eurorack specific... but is still fun :)
you can the mec soundplane stuff on other 'portable' hardware, some of it is relatively cheap.
with something like the raspberryPI or Organelle, not only could you control synths on the box, but connect them to something like an Expert Sleepers ES-8 (or ES-9 untested) to get CV into your eurorack.
Alternatively, you can again use Bela, which can 8 analog cv (0..5v) and 8 digital.
so a small DIY project to connect to your Eurorack.
so whilst Im really looking forward to Randy's Madrona Labs Soundplane Module, we do have quite a few choices, where we can still liberate ourselves from the laptop and get the soundplane interfacing to eurorack simply.
are you running on apple silicon?
if so the issue is, Max is now a universal binary... so will run natively by default.
Aalto VST is currently only Intel, so it won't open.
however, Audio Units (AU) will open since macOS bridges (intel binary -> native) them.
so your choices are : (currently)
a) use Audio Unit
b) make Max run under Rosetta
get info on binary, and "open in Rosetta"
Randy has said he was working on universal builds
https://madronalabs.com/topics/8323-apple-silicon-plugins?locale=us
not sure, if he plans to release these for existing plugins , or only new plugins....
I hope existing plugins as well, since Apple WILL at some point axe Rosetta (they have done this in the past with PPC -> Intel) , so that would stop any Intel plugins working at that point.
looks very interesting :)
nice to see direct lfo and learn modulations.
(will learn be multi channel ... mpe/osc? can we attenuate it?)
I'm intrigued by the 'time' input too
as Randy says basically you have to record audio into a separate track..
you can do this either by sending the kaivo audio to another track or by setting the audio tracks input.
I find the former easier, then if you set the kaivo track to IN, you only have to arm the audio track (and not kaivo and audio)
e.g.
there are a couple of other options.. if you don't want to do this as live audio recording...
a) freeze kaivo track
if you just want to save cpu resources, you can just freeze the track, and it will use audio instead of kaivo, but it will still have kept the midi, so you can unfreeze it if you want to later make changes.
b) flatten track
once a track is frozen, you can then use flatten to convert the track to audio.
this is useful if you want to edit as audio. (but it irreversible)
is this on a Mac? which OS? which Mac?
I thought this just worked... I'd need to go test it, I half remember using this with Axoloti...
certainly on the mac, you can select hardware devices in the output dropdown, and enable mpe... so cannot see why it wouldn't work.
note: there was an issue with the Soundplane Binary on the M1, which recompiling fixed for me... this was very early on, 11.0 :) - so that may or may not still be needed.
cool, will check it out - thxs
yeah, i used this a while back when porting some other stuff for rPI
it was really easy to use, due to single header - I just used the arch to decide if to pull in sse or sse2neon, job done :) ....performance was great, since its all inline
it was missing a couple of functions, but they were trivial to add.
but this looks like its a newer version.. so, id not be surprised if this just works.
so yeah, definitely think it would get you going on apple silicon really quickly.
I've now ported all my apps/libs to apple silicon , and have to say it was generally really straight forward , mostly done in a few hours - a plesant surprise, as I was dreading doing a couple of them.
anyone else taking part?
its been a good exercise for me to 'create' something everyday :)
Ive been using the Soundplane and Aalto very often, and today its was used exclusively :)
check out my channel for other Soundplane videos for Jamuary
thank you...
I've been plesantly surprised how often the Soundplane has featured in my Jamuary videos (again today) .
I think partly I'd been going through a bit of a 'dawless' phase, but now Im much more into a hybrid setup - combining the best of hardware and software... and the soundplane is remarkable for this.
my experience with the M1 (mac mini) has also been very good, better than I expected.
for Jamuary , Ive regularly been using the Soundplane, Kaivo and Aalto all running on the mini m1.
Soundplane App, Kaivom, Aalto,all running under Rosetta.
Plugins hosted mostly under Live 11 (beta) under Rosetta.
Today, I did a jam with vcvrack hosting Aalto, being driven by the soundplane.
all going really well , much more powerful than the MBP i7 I was using before.
(and wow final cut pro for video editing is just a dream!)
great news Randy...
Ive got a Mac Mini ordered :)
have you done any tests with the Soundplane? does this work with Rosetta?
I don’t have a norns to test on
( I do have a fates, but that’s slightly different )
My code is open source, so you could try yourself.
Bela - If your in the EU, I actually have a of (built) Bela pepper for sale
I've started using Bitwig on Linux (laptop), so add another person interested in a Linux port of madrona labs plugins.
oh, and and if someone can get Sean of ValhallaDSPs attention, id love those as well... ML/Vahalla are pretty much my 'go to' when in the DAW on the laptop.
fyi: timoka is up n' running with bela salt + soundplane
thanks to his patience, the instructions are now complete and improved, so easier for next person.
if anyone has the Nebulae or Terminal Tedium (and Soundplane), then give me a shout, i can help get orac/mec setup.
also anyone with experience of pd/csound/supercollider? (or c++ ;) )
we could perhaps collaborate on something.
id quite like to focus on building some kind on instrument, but time is was always lacking.... but might have a small window of opportunity before Bela Trill ships in April ;)
yeah, nearly there...
Ive updated the BelaPatches repo with better build instructions.
but for the future what Im going to do is to reorganise it so that 'end-users' don't have to build all the libraries - this'll make it much simpler.
wow, small world... Id never imagine there would be another person with both Salt and a Soundplane!
perhaps its just us 'Soundplaners' are adventurous type, who like to experiment!?
received your email and replied, but code is
https://github.com/TheTechnobear/BelaPatches
(you'll want dev branch)
Lets start a new topic to discuss... so we don't hijack this one.
whilst I doubt any others have a Salt+Soundplane, its also relevant to anyone wanting to use a Bela or BelaPepper +Soundplane which is actually a cheap option for standalone soundplane use.
Also, others might just find the project interesting...
e.g. we can talk about the 'modes' ive implemented, and perhaps alternatives and that might prove interesting to @randy for this soundplane module to see how we are using the soundplane with eurorack.
I'm eager for this as well :)
@timoka what ive been doing whilst waiting is to get the soundplane working on a Bela Salt - it's a bit expensive,
BUT I can also get the same software working on the Bela Pepper albeit with a reduced voltage range (0-5v, rather than 0-10v) - but its a cheap DIY option!
the disadvantage compared to Randy's module, is they only have 8 outputs (salt has an additional 4 gate outputs), so reduce number of touches or axis.
but, whats nice is... once the madrone labs Soundplane Module becomes available, I will be able to re-program the Belas to do something different :)
another interesting side of using Bela is I've been able to explore how I want to use the soundplane with modular - I do enjoy playing the surface, but I'm also finding it really nice for modulation inputs - e.g. using the surface as 3 or 4 x/y pads (a bit like intellijel planar)
I see it :)
this was a lot of fun... look mum no computer yet a Soundplane ! :)
any news on further development on the Soundplane software, in particular the touch tracker? are you likely to be looking over that code base any time soon?
Ive been doing some more work on MEC, my project which provides a standalone solution for the Soundplane (and Eigenharp), basically turning things like rPI/BBB into 'intelligent dongles' , so the Soundplane can be more like 'a standalone instrument' rather than a computer controller.
https://github.com/TheTechnobear/MEC
currently works with Eigenharps and Soundplane, and connecting too MPE devices (im using the Axoloti to make it computer independent :))
if your back into 'Soundplane' mode, it'd be great to discuss a few thoughts i have. as Im getting a little bit too much latency with the Soundplane due to the CPU requirements of the touch tracker.
so not sure if I can get some performance gains, or really need to move to something more powerful, the O-Driod C2 is quite a tempting candidate, given the rPI3 wont work.
anyway, I know, not much point in discussing unless your actively looking at the Soundplane software... since I think its quite a while since you were look at that code base.
Finally, I've got it finished..... and wow, it was worth the effort!
I use the Bela Salt as a means to allow the Soundplane to be connected to decode its protocol...
Ive made it so that there are custom layouts, and options like playing in fourths, quantised fully and partial, or none.
I was also inspired by the Intellijel Planar, so Im using the CV inputs to you can directly modulate the soundplane touch position.....
also as the Bela has audio in/out, Im using it as a kind of VCA controlled directly by touch (using Z, but also a mode where it can do x/y cross fade :) )
anyway, here's me playing it for the first time....
youtube link
I'll probably do a follow up video that goes into a bit of details, as its really shows how the soundplane could be the 'ultimate' eurorack control surface :)
my software is my Github for those interested, it could be no doubt adapted for other platforms).
I hope Randy does not mind me posting this here,
I think its very relevant to the Soundplane community,
as a small community I hope Soundplane musicians will appreciate being part of a broader community.
If you have Soundplane, or other expressive controller/instrument.
please come and join us, and help spread the word so we can form a community around these wonderful instruments.
PolyExpression.com
Today, we are launching a new community forum for musicians interested in expressive electronic instruments and controllers.
PolyExpression's aim is to form a community of all musicians using the wide variety of expressive electronic instruments that exist today (and tomorrow).
Excellent communities exist already for each instrument, maintained by the manufacture, these are perfect for support.
This community differs as it is independent from instrument / manufacturer, a place where all these musicians can come together in one place, to share their enthusiasm for adding expression to electronic music using this uniquely wonderful instruments.
Whilst these instruments are each unique, and we want to celebrate this too, there are also many topics, issues and inspiration that are shared between them. These range from their goals, workflows, sound design and to more “mundane” topics like software and hardware issues.
Together we hope we can share these experiences with a broader range of musicians, and learn and be inspired by each other.
Please come and join us, help us build a community that shares its love for Polyphonic Expression in electronic music.
https://community.polyexpression.com
this video was a challenge for the AE modular,
but I use Aalto for both the Eigenharp part, and also the Soundplane, so lots of Madrona Labs work in this :)
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(click on image to play, if my markdown-fu is correct ;) ... dont think this forum supports embedded videos?)
any news on this? release at superbooth ? ... my rack is waiting for this now :)
lol - just noticed, first post on this was nearly 4 years ago... doesn't time fly!
yes, Ive had it working in various forms on Linux, both desktop and rPI, and yeah on the mac it was under VMware.
this was the libusb implementation in the madronalabs repo.
Ive not done much recently with it, as I was waiting for Randy to complete the 'reworked' tracker, but now that's done and released - I do plan to come back to it asap.
all plugins updated , and soundplane release too, feels like xmas - hope to get to play with it all over the weekend :)
thank you for your hard work, and continued developments... looking forward to sumu
btw: is the all the code for the soundplane release in GitHub... as its now released/stable, I could look to doing my small derivatives :)