Yoshimi V 1.4.1 - Lyrebird

[folderol]

Maybe not be the prettiest, but this bird sure knows how to create great sounds!

First of all, we have a new quick guide that's in Yoshimi's 'doc' directory. It's just something to help new users get started.

We've always logged warnings if it wasn't possible to run either audio or MIDI, but now we also give a GUI alert.

From this version onward it is possible to autoload a default state on startup, so you have Yoshimi already configured exactly as you like, with patches loaded and part destinations set etc.

To make it easier to position program change CCs in a MIDI file, there is a new option to report the time these take to load.

Vector control settings are now stored in patch set and state files.

We implemented a simpler way to perform channel switching so the 'current' MIDI instrument can seem to be changed instantly, but retaining the note tails of the previous one.

All the usual background improvements.

When installed, full details are in either:
/usr/local/share/doc/yoshimi/Yoshimi_1.4.1-features.txt
Or:
/usr/local/share/doc/yoshimi/Yoshimi_1.4.1-features.txt

To build yoshimi fetch the tarball from either:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/yoshimi
Or:
https://github.com/Yoshimi/yoshimi

Our user list archive is at:
https://www.freelists.org/archive/yoshimi

[folderol]

Just thought I'd mention that yesterday I 'wasted' and entire evening playing with the new channel switch feature, running it in 'single row' mode.

With early tests I was using a rotary controller on my keyboard - doable but you've got to be rather precise!

Since then I built an Arudino based controller with two foot switches, specially for this. It stores a part number internally, then depending on which switch I press, it increments or decrements the value and sends it via the appropriate CC.

I used to (try to) play one of my compositions from a long time ago on a Yamaha SY22, switching between voices. The timing was really critical, and it never actually sounded good.

Anyway, yesterday I was playing it on Yoshimi so much my wrists were aching - doing ten fast patch 'changes' totally seamlessly, with all proper note releases and reverb tails.

Just messing about, at one point I was able to get all 10 of those parts showing release tails at the same time in the mixer panel, and had a good giggle!

Now I'm practising double and triple tapping the switches so I can jump backwards or forwards across a full bank of 16 parts. It's just pure fun, and so liberating for this wannabe live musician!

[briandc]

This sounds fun for sure. Looks like there'll be a hardware controller on the market soon!

Are Yoshimi's presets still fully-compatible with those of Zyn, or are we looking at pretty much 2 different instruments now? (If the latter, I'll need to update my website a bit..)


brian

[folderol]

Hi Brian,

Instrument patches (.xiz) are the same and should sound identical, but do make sure you have the same config settings - especially buffer and oscillator sizes. Scales (.xsz) and edits stored in the presets directory (.xpz) should also be the same. Yoshi has extensions to Patch Sets (.xmz) which will not be recognised by Zyn, but will otherwise still work. Yoshi has vector control which appears in patch sets and also has it's own file type (.xvy). Yoshi also has a saved state (.state) which is the entire state of the synth including all patches, scales config. etc. Zyn has a midi learn type (don't know what its extension is).

There is one important difference in saved patch sets and instruments. With both of these if you change a setting then disable it Yoshi still saves all the info and the fact it is disabled, Zyn only saves the disabled condittion not the data.

e.g set up a patch set with instruments in the first 4 parts, but deactivate 2 & 3 then save. If it was with Yoshi, re-loading will show all 4 parts with their instruments and with 2 & 3 not active. Saved with Zyn, 2 & 3 will have just the basic sound and not active.

[briandc]

Hi Brian,

Instrument patches (.xiz) are the same and should sound identical, but do make sure you have the same config settings - especially buffer and oscillator sizes. Scales (.xsz) and edits stored in the presets directory (.xpz) should also be the same. Yoshi has extensions to Patch Sets (.xmz) which will not be recognised by Zyn, but will otherwise still work. Yoshi has vector control which appears in patch sets and also has it's own file type (.xvy). Yoshi also has a saved state (.state) which is the entire state of the synth including all patches, scales config. etc. Zyn has a midi learn type (don't know what its extension is).

There is one important difference in saved patch sets and instruments. With both of these if you change a setting then disable it Yoshi still saves all the info and the fact it is disabled, Zyn only saves the disabled condittion not the data.

e.g set up a patch set with instruments in the first 4 parts, but deactivate 2 & 3 then save. If it was with Yoshi, re-loading will show all 4 parts with their instruments and with 2 & 3 not active. Saved with Zyn, 2 & 3 will have just the basic sound and not active.

Ok, thanks. This info is good to have on hand, especially now that some structural differences start to develop. (I am very curious to try out the vector control in Yoshimi, for example.) Time to start treating them as distinct "entities," me thinks.


brian

[briandc]

I don't know if I should post here or start a different thread.. I got a crash in Yoshimi (ver.1.2.4) when loading a sound in a bank I got over at KVR called "net-wisdom." The preset is no.50, "Aura." I clicked on it, tried a note; there was no sound, but the yellow indicator on the meter strip (main GUI, bottom) went to the stop and stayed there. When I selected another preset, it crashed. (This preset works fine in Zyn, however.)

I'm wondering if there might be other presets that do this...

brian

[folderol]

You sure you got it from KVR? I can't find any sign of it.
Yoshimi 1.2.4 really is quite old. All the usual suspects are carrying 1.4.1 these days!

[briandc]

Hmmmm.. you're right. It's not at KVR. It was probably included in the version of Zyn that I have installed.

I know that 1.2.4 is a bit old; I suppose I can also add the git version, and have both (1.2.4 and 1.4.1) available to use, right? Or will they conflict?


brian

[folderol]

OK found it. It is in the current Zyn banks. It plays fine in Yoshimi 1.4.1, so it probably hit a bug in 1.2.4.

From 1.4.0 onwards Yoshimi will pick up all older config data, although it might re-configure the banks (they are now no longer part of the main config file). Older version will fault if given a config setup generated by V 1.4.n.

From the instrument point of view all newer versions will accept instruments created by older ones. Going the other way some of the parameter extensions won't be recognised, but they should still play.

[wolftune]

Is there (or can there be) an FAQ entry somewhere or something that references (A) why Yoshimi was forked from zyn and why continue the fork instead of collaborating on one project and (B) what the differences are?

[glowrak guy]

You are assuming having two separate projects is a bad thing.
Both developements are making good progress, with their chosen
goals and priorities. Sometimes having too many chefs in the kitchen
fails to benefit both the dinner, and the diner.

The code is available, if a new feature in one,
is desired in the other, nobody stands in the way.
Cheers

[wolftune]

You are assuming having two separate projects is a bad thing.

Don't speculate carelessly about what I'm assuming. I just asked for a published explanation about the two projects. What's wrong with that? It would be useful and is a totally sensible request.

Whether two projects is good or bad depends entirely on the details of the case. There's no way to usefully assume that two forks of a project is better or worse than a unified project. There are certainly clear cases of both situations and fuzzy cases that are less clear with various pros and cons and debates about what's best. I'm not making any assumptions at all about the status of this case. I only asked for more information.

[folderol]

This has been done to death here and on other forums. It is doubtful anyone now knows the full story, and those of us who know the most are sick of demands that we explain. Attempting to make some form of 'official' statement is a recipe for endless argument.

Listing differences is futile. Both projects are in active development so are moving targets. You describe yourself as a scholar, so do your own research. Visit both projects. As ever, try both and use whatever suits you best.

[wolftune]

Hey, if there's been drama, and you're just too frustrated and sick of the whole thing to even respond helpfully to reasonable question, that is understandable, in that one can empathize with the emotion and accept that people have feelings about things.

But if you have a situation where just explaining the situation in a public statement or post is "a recipe for endless argument" that sounds like the entire situation is "a recipe for endless argument", so there's no way to avoid the arguments. And listing differences at any particular point in history isn't futile, it's just an extra step beyond changelogs at all. But it would be fair to say it would be extra work nobody is up for doing.

"Do your own research" includes things like inquiring about whether there are any resources to check. I didn't ask anyone to explain here everything about the history and differences, I asked (not demanded) whether there was a useful resource I could go read (i.e. could research).

I'll not conclude much from this exchange as it's pretty opaque, but refusing to even offer any sort of explanation about the fork or a link to something and setting up such an opaque reply doesn't come across as having good will about things. I seriously have no clue what the animosity is about here. But I get that it's there, so I'll at least try to be gracious in leaving open the possibility that the sense of resentment I'm picking up has some basis in some history that I'd possibly sympathize with if I had any clue what was going on.