[LAA] Xmonk.lv2 a little sound generator

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tramp
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Re: [LAA] Xmonk.lv2 a little sound generator

Post by tramp »

khz wrote:Much better musically usable. :D
In general I think it makes sense to set "Gain 1.0" so that a digital clipping doesn't occur in the first place. Digital headroom.
To give a bit more control for the gain I've added now support for velocity, so you could control the gain with your midi controller.
khz wrote:Would a freely adjustable envelope still be possible (or useful)?
What parameters does the formant/vocal synthesizer have? Is it possible to add some more controls to the GUI to be able to intervene in the synthesis form? ;-)
I wouldn't implement a adjustable envelope, I think the sustain does a good job for this kind of instrument.
The format filter use the usual a-e-i-o-u vowel filter, here implemented with interpolation, which allow to move smooth between them, instead switch them. So no more control for this one available.
For the synthesis, there is the modulation frequency/gain (vibrato), which I've fixed to 6hz/0.13. The usable range for it is still only 6-10hz.
For the effects we've the delay length, but I like to keep it simple and wouldn't add any additional control to the UI.
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Re: [LAA] Xmonk.lv2 a little sound generator

Post by khz »

On both points: logical.
Does sustain also have a MIDI-CC value? Can you list all MIDI-CC values in the README?
Very lively instrument. IMHO
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Re: [LAA] Xmonk.lv2 a little sound generator

Post by tramp »

khz wrote:Does sustain also have a MIDI-CC value?
:idea:
Now, yes.(0x40)
khz wrote: Can you list all MIDI-CC values in the README?
will do.
khz wrote:Very lively instrument. IMHO
Thanks, I'm glad to hear that.
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Re: [LAA] Xmonk.lv2 a little sound generator

Post by khz »

8) A detune control for the six voices of XPolyMonk? 8)
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Re: [LAA] Xmonk.lv2 a little sound generator

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khz wrote:A detune control for the six voices of XPolyMonk?
For detune there is the Pitch Bend
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Re: [LAA] Xmonk.lv2 a little sound generator

Post by khz »

Pitch Bend detunes all_six_voices.
I would find the (slight) detuning of the individual_six_voices to each other interesting.
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Re: [LAA] Xmonk.lv2 a little sound generator

Post by khz »

Now the poly version is almost too quiet.
The "loudness" is created when you play the instruments with the Modwheel/Pitchbend.
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Re: [LAA] Xmonk.lv2 a little sound generator

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khz wrote:Now the poly version is almost too quiet.
I haven't change anything on the engine side. Maybe your velocity settings?
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Re: [LAA] Xmonk.lv2 a little sound generator

Post by tramp »

But now I've changed it.
I add midi cc volume support, so you've control over the gain within your midi controller.
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Re: [LAA] Xmonk.lv2 a little sound generator

Post by khz »

They were also the same version numbers. Difference was A) Once I had played XPolymonk on the audiophile computer (~good interface/amplifier/speaker) and once on the laptop. B) The second time I played Xmonk and XPolymonk together. In comparison, XPolymonk was very low.

The "volume" (digital clipping) is created when you play the instruments expressively with the Modwheel/Pitchbend. Without Modwheel/Pitchbend Xmonk and XPolymonk are much quieter.
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Re: [LAA] Xmonk.lv2 a little sound generator

Post by khz »

khz wrote:I would find the (slight) detuning of the individual_six_voices to each other interesting.
That formulated better than mine.
Firstly, a single oscillator will tend to produce rather a subjectively 'thin' and static sound. This isn't always the case (as later stages, such as the filter, or a separate chorus stage, can add warmth and movement), and it isn't always a bad thing - but of course if you want to have a one-oscillator sound on a synth that has more oscillators, you can always decline to use more than one!

We're often told that musical sounds are periodic, and that they have overtones that are integer multiples of the fundamental frequency. This often is true of synthesizer oscillators. However, in nature, this is usually only approximately true - a vibrating string will often have higher overtones whose frequencies are a little higher than those multiples, for example. Many acoustic musical sounds also have multiple oscillating elements at slight pitch offsets - the string section is a classic example. Being able to play multiple oscillators, slightly detuned, is therefore useful for producing these subjectively more natural sounds.

You can also take this detuning further and have oscillators tuned in musical intervals (e.g. a fifth apart.) You could also use mix different shapes of oscillator to produce spectra that couldn't be produced by a single simple oscillator.
c/p vrooom here.
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Re: [LAA] Xmonk.lv2 a little sound generator

Post by tramp »

khz wrote:The second time I played Xmonk and XPolymonk together. In comparison, XPolymonk was very low.
Yes, I haven't reduced the volume for Xmonk like I've done for the poly version. But I'll properly set them at least to the same level.
khz wrote:The "volume" (digital clipping) is created when you play the instruments expressively with the Modwheel/Pitchbend. Without Modwheel/Pitchbend Xmonk and XPolymonk are much quieter.
I can't reproduce that here.
It's possible to "swell" a tone, by hit the same key multiply times, so, all 6 voices produce the same tone, hence it swell with any hit (given you've chose a high sustain level). But, with the default gain setting of 0.5, I cant reach higher levels then -5db.
khz wrote:That formulated better than mine.
Well, it wouldn't be a problem to implement detuning per voice, as any voice use it's own oscillator anyway. Just, I wouldn't implement to much controls.
However, maybe I add that feature.
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Re: [LAA] Xmonk.lv2 a little sound generator

Post by tramp »

At first, I've re-add the virtual midi keyboard to XPolyMonk. True, this was only possible with instance access due to the needed fast connection between UI and engine.
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Re: [LAA] Xmonk.lv2 a little sound generator

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khz wrote:The "volume" (digital clipping) is created when you play the instruments expressively with the Modwheel/Pitchbend. Without Modwheel/Pitchbend Xmonk and XPolymonk are much quieter.
Now, I could reproduce what you mean, still it has less to do with the Modwheel/Pitchbend, but with the oscillator's in use (which produce higher volume's on higher frequency's).
I've implemented a smooth function to reduce the higher volumes on high frequency, and implement a compressor to avoid any digital clipping.
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Re: [LAA] Xmonk.lv2 a little sound generator

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khz wrote:I would find the (slight) detuning of the individual_six_voices to each other interesting.
Okay, now implemented is a detune option, which allow detune per voice.
Indeed it's a lot of fun playing with detuned instruments.
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