OK I think I’ll leave it in the menu, but more importantly have the sane option as default (DC block on). This matches hardware and most users expectations.
Re anti-click, I do know the effect you mean (it is a problem say with Muxlicer which I want to fix) but I actually can’t really hear anything when changing lowpass/BP/highpass. Maybe it’s because it’s so noisy anyway? What is white noise if not just a constant stream of ‘click like’ impulses no? If others disagree/think it’s bad I can fix though (or if you have settings that sound particularly bad).
Just a few licensing hiccups to finalise then hopefully we can get it into the library. In the meantime, any test reports etc very welcome.
Can I give you another nudge about the sync input on Even VCO please?
I was watching Dash Glitch do a live stream with Rack 2 the other day and he was trying to sync Even VCO and was wondering why it didn’t seem to be working. I think this probably happens a fair amount as users don’t expect an input on modules as high quality as Befaco to simply not work - they therefore think it must be something they are doing wrong and spend time trying to figure out what the problem is, only to finally come to the realisation that it’s not them after all, it’s the module - which is not a good user experience. Even disabling/removing the sync input altogether would be an improvement on the current situation I think, although clearly a working sync input would be the ideal outcome.
Yup good point, I also spotted this on a stream. As a stopgap I added a tooltip to the 2.0 release, but agree that it needs fixed. It’s a bit more complicated now it’s simd/polyphonic, but still I know what needs done. Once Noise PLethora is out the door i’ll try and take a look.
this has been a known issue for literally years. Why bother worrying about it now? There are plenty of VCOs out there. My EV-3 is three of these (with the same CPU as one even), and has limited sync. And of course there are plenty of vcos out there that have sync. I think the Fundamental VCO is the same code as this one, but of course sync has always worked.
The fact it was never finished and included anyway is still annoying to some of us.
Sure, there are other oscillators with sync out there, but this one has octave switching (sure this could be patched up, but it’s more elegant to have it on the module).
Also, it looks good. Sorry Squinky, but I don’t use your modules because I don’t like looking at them.
Well you’ve known about it for years and so have I but I bet there are a lot of users who still don’t know about it - particularly all the new users the VST has brought in.
Why bother? I think I mostly covered that above but 2 main reasons:
User Experience: Users expect things to work. Having features that look like they should work but don’t, makes users question their own abilities as they presume they must be doing something wrong and wastes their time as they try and figure out what - when the problem is not them at all, it’s the module. This is bad user experience.
Brand Reputation: Befaco are a well-respected hardware manufacturer and one presumes they have their modules in VCV to promote their hardware counterparts. If the software doesn’t work properly, what does that say about the hardware? Should a user expect similar problems? If the problem has been known about for years but no one has bothered fixing it in all that time, what does that say about the company’s approach and how much they care about their products?
My day job is as a designer so I tend to look at things through the lenses of user experience and brand reputation. Your argument that there are alternative VCOs with working sync is really not the issue - “but your customers could just use your competitor’s products instead” is not an argument that would go down well with my clients haha The fact that this sync issue has existed for years is all the more reason to get it sorted out, not less.
Fair enough. I also would prefer that bugs are fixed. I would certainly never make a module with a feature that completely did not work, and then never fix it. But it doesn’t seem to bother most VCV users, who happily use this module year after year.
It’s for sure a tough business to compete in the free module market!
Thanks for appreciating my honesty. I was a little worried I’d come off as a bit snarky, which wasn’t my intention.
Even though EvenVCO is a free module, it was included as part of Rack’s initial release and thus there was a sense that it was in some way an official part of the VCV environment and not the work of a “competitor”. The fact that it was never finished just seems a bit unpolished and unprofessional to me. I’m feeling much the same way about the current state of the VCV manual. Maybe it’s just me, but I would want to dot all the "i"s and cross all the "t"s, so to speak, before pushing a release. Maybe it’s a developer mindset or something (FD. I am not a dev).
I feel this is the trade-off with the VCV Rack ecosystem in general. The price is very low and the selection and creativity is enormous, but the level of finish, polish and stability varies wildly. However, there are a few developers who distinguish themselves on those points I feel and if you stick to their plugins you’ll have a good experience. As examples I’d mention Impromptu, Mindmeld, Geodesics, Vult and Bogaudio.
While I can understand that point of view, I think the prime focus was to just get v2 out the door after such a long and stressful period of development. Everything else was secondary - and I totally understand that point of view too. Personally I’m very glad we didn’t have to wait even longer while manuals etc were polished off.
It’s understandable, and whilst I really like it when things are finished I think Andrew understands the importance of “Christmas sales” in the US and really needs to make some income now, plus I kinda picked up an “oh yeah?” to all the people saying “but it was promised in November but not coming now”, releasing on the last day of November and all
The manual however has been unfinished for a looong time now…
Yeah I get that for sure. I don’t expect that every developer on this open-source platform is going to put in the effort to ensure that their free plugin is presented perfectly. I just see the initial run of Befaco modules as a kind of official VCV release which ought to be held to a higher standard. I’m glad they’ve been taken into someone else’s care.
Your examples are great, and I would add to that list Count Modula, Valley, Alright Devices, Unless Games, Erica Synths & Starling.
There is of course the flipside to all of this with someone like Antonio and his NYSTHI plugin. It is impossible to not appreciate how prolific he is and how much he has given us for nothing in return. Manuals be damned
TBH I’m quite glad that I can remove a big chunk of his modules from my library now, because many of his earlier contributions were U.G.L.Y. but for a long time, there were things that my patches required that only those modules could provide. He has always had a knack for filling the empty spaces within the library. He’s been getting better with the UI design lately though.
Antonio’s speed of development is also incredibly impressive - sometimes you can hardly finish the sentence of an idea before he comes back with a module that does it - “like this you mean?”
The fact that this sync issue has existed for years is all the more reason to get it sorted out, not less.
