the new module is basically a weird little noise-based oscillator idea i had while learning about oscillators using lookup tables.
essentially, you choose a ‘table size’ in the right click menu, and can generate a new sequence of random values to fill the table, and that table is used as a repeating waveform with the frequency controlled by knob/input. generating a new ‘table’ results in slightly different timbres of sound, and increasing the ‘table size’ results in noisier and noisier sounds.
i’m also adding a “simplex mode” to use simplex noise values to fill the table instead of RNG, including a ‘speed’ slider for the simplex noise source. simplex mode results in (usually) less harsh sounds.
unlikely to be popular with people who hate aliasing lol
it does depend on the values stored in the table. the available table sizes are 64, 128, 256, 512, and 1024. 64 leads to the closest to a ‘normal’ oscillator sound you’ll get, with higher table sizes resulting in more and more chaotic/noisy sounding waveforms (this is with the normal random number generation, that is - with simplex noise, the sounds are typically less harsh and ‘smoother’).
a few more tweaks and fixes to both slips and slipspander, and added what i have so far of the new module ‘nos’.
EDIT: as a note, and as i said in my previous post about it, ‘nos’ is a bit… chaotic by nature. filtering is recommended. if you’re looking for a ‘good’ or ‘normal’ oscillator - this ain’t it.
i’ve been thinking about it a bit, and depending on how i feel down the line, i may or may not remove ‘nos’ from alef’s bits and stick it into a separate plugin i make for more ‘experimental’ modules. i really like the module even though it can sound harsh at times, but i don’t know yet if it’s something i want to include in the main plugin.
i am very curious to hear what other people think about it, though.
Any reason why the table sizes have to be a power of two? Seems like a continuous/exponential range could be interesting, especially if you develop other types of signal (or samples) to initialize the tables with.
i just implemented an arbitrary table size slider in the context menu, in place of the static options. i’ve left the minimum and maximum at 64 and 1024 respectively, for now, mostly because i don’t yet know what a better min/max would be.
EDIT: also, i added an easter egg to one of the modules.
ok i was thinking about hiding nos for the next update, but i just added more functionality to it, so i decided ‘screw it’ and i’m keeping it in and visible.
changes this build:
added new module ‘lucc’ - clock divider, similar to ‘fibb’ but based on the “Lucas numbers/sequence”
nos: added new ‘worley noise’ mode option
nos: reorganized context menu a little bit
nos: included the new table size slider in the menu (min = 64, max = 1024, subject to change)
probably a couple other minor tweaks here and there
EDIT: nos: added perlin noise option, because why not
also, added in a recent build that i forgot to mention:
added a “speed” param and cv input to my ‘simplex and hold’ module, to control the speed of the internal simplex noise source
if i don’t get any new feedback or reported issues about the new modules in the next few days, i’ll probably submit an update to the library to fix ‘slips’ and include the new modules.
@alefnull tbh I didn’t notice any issues lol. I have to say Slips deserves a tagline my friend… like “Slips is your/my homeboy”. I’ve been playing the hell out of this module as of late! Thanks for this, cheers! oh and in conjunction with Oct Sclr
wow, thanks so much for the kind words! i’m excited that you’re enjoying the module
EDIT: as for the issues with slips, it had to do with the root note and quantization, and it wasn’t a particularly huge problem, but it did occasionally produce incorrect results. in any case, it’s been fixed and should be in the library soon, along with a couple new modules
i’m honestly surprised at myself for not including it in the original release, and that i didn’t even think of it until it was suggested to me by Omri Cohen himself lol
I’m having a lot of fun with slips. Of course I am using it to accompany my Meander module I have slips set up to a C chromatic scale and then either quantizing the seq out with Grande Quant to the Meander outout scale or with Chinenual Tint to the Meander chords. Both sound very good, but usually not together. Meander is playing a 12 bar blues chord progression in Am with bass. Just using 4 steps for now.
This one module gives a lot of variations for a generative piece.
never get tired of hearing that someone enjoys something i made. it’s part of why i love developing for Rack so much these days. this community is very supportive and it makes the process of developing new ideas that much more enjoyable.
after quite a lengthy break, i’ve finally started opening vs code again, and have been making some changes and updates here and there to this plugin (still not quite ready to get back to tackling NullPath and Turbulence’s polyphony issue just yet).
i’ve been talking back and forth with @Omri_Cohen about how he uses the ‘slips’ module, and what he would like to see changed or implemented. i currently have a working build on my local machine with the following changes:
removed the extra quantizer input/output pair, because i never use them myself, and Omri said he doesn’t either, and they were just taking up space on the panel
removed the ‘slip range’ parameter and cv input, and am now using the same internal “CV Range” single-header library from @Patheros to control both the base sequence range and the slip value range from the right click menu.
added an entirely separate sequence alongside the primary one, mainly to be used as a random modulation source (one of Omri’s primary requests). it too has a right click menu option using the same “CV Range” library as the primary sequence and slip ranges. i’ve also added two menu toggles to control whether or not the modulation sequence is affected by either the slips and/or the step probability.
(EDIT) i forgot to point out, as you can see in the video below, i also added a “mod gen” trigger input/button. this will generate a new modulation sequence independent of the primary “seq gen” triggers, which will generate a new primary sequence AND a new modulation sequence.
i’m also considering adding an option to also quantize the mod sequence to the module’s root note / scale, just so it could also just be used as a secondary v/oct sequence.
here’s a quick 30ish second clip of using the mod sequence (with a custom range of 4V-10V, thanks Path :P) to control FM-OP’s feedback.
i’ll update more here as things progress, and when i have a stable and fully updated build available in the github repo.
also interested to know if anybody else has any suggested changes/additions to any of my modules while i’m focused solely on this plugin. please feel free to let me know here.
