dbRackModules releases

FiroLFO · June 10, 2022, 9:07am

Anybody experiencing crashes with dbRackModules 2.1.0?

I think there’s something going on with RSC. I was crashing VCV Rack multiple times a day recently. The only common module was RSC in those patches.

I can’t really report it to Christian as I have no evidence and I can hardly even recreate the crash. But it’s mostly happening when RSC is already in the patch and I’m trying to plug a cable in. Rack starts freezing and then crashing. After re-opening the patch everything looks and sounds okay.

It can easily be that I’m still using VCV Rack 2.0.6 (Win10) but I don’t know. I don’t even see anything suspicious in the log.txt

[1330.224 info src/app/Browser.cpp:86 chooseModel] Creating module docB RSC
[1330.224 info src/app/Browser.cpp:90 chooseModel] Creating module widget docB RSC
[1330.224 info src/app/ModuleWidget.cpp:545 load] Loading preset C:/Users/aszabo/Documents/Rack2/presets/dbRackModules/RSC/template.vcvm
[1330.225 info src/engine/Module.cpp:167 fromJson] Patch created with dbRackModules v2.0.5, currently using v2.1.0.
[1337.675 info src/patch.cpp:194 saveAutosave] Saving autosave C:/Users/aszabo/Documents/Rack2/autosave/patch.json
[1337.681 info src/settings.cpp:437 save] Saving settings C:/Users/aszabo/Documents/Rack2/settings.json

Is it only me?

DaveVenom · June 10, 2022, 11:43am

Not just you - but like you, nothing that I can reproduce on demand. I also am using dbRackModules 2.1.0 with Rack 2.0.6 (standalone) on Win 10

However, I don’t think I have tried RSC.

I am not even confident that the common factor has been dbRackModules.

It has happened often enough under some condition(s) (that I can’t put my finger on) to be more than a fluke, but not enough to detect the pattern. And I don’t trust my memory enough to know what minimal set of plugins were in use. I have been using two pre-release plugins - dbRackModules and Stoermelder PackOne. I remember I was trying some modules that were new to the plugin pre-release version when the crashes occurred, but I can’t remember which one(s) And of course they were not the only modules in the (small) patch.

Not much help, I know. I will try to be more diligent if/when a crash happens again.

Actually I am still using Rack 2.0.6 because it appears to be more stable, based on all the reports of instability with the unreleased newer version(s). I haven’t been following the Rack pre-release too closely since I made the decision to wait for the official release. But I was tempted to jump on board until I saw the flurry of problem reports.

TroubledMind · June 10, 2022, 12:06pm

I’ve had crashes like this lately too where Rack just suddenly stops responding (but keeps playing audio) and I have to kill the process, and I’ve definitely had it happen without dbRackModules in the patch.

docB · June 10, 2022, 12:21pm

the only change in RSC in 2.1.0 was that on startup it is ensured that the pitch modulation parameter is evaluated and the reverb is initialized correctly. in the previous version RSC made occasionally some noise after startup which disappeared when adjusting the PM parameter. therefore it seems unlikely that the new version is causing crashes - but if you can say for sure that the 2.0.5 version does not reproduce this behavior, i could have a deeper look at it.

FiroLFO · June 10, 2022, 12:29pm

Reading @DaveVenom 's and @TroubledMind 's responses I think it should be a general issue and not related to your modules.

Just some coincidence. I admit I happen to use RSC too often in my newer patches.

k-chaffin · June 10, 2022, 1:31pm

This sure sounds like the issues that lead to me creating this thread:

And to the one pointed out by @marc_boule here:

Note, for me, this problem is worse in Rack 2.1.1 than in 2.1.0 , but, since I have been able to totally avoid this crash by not doing any module resets automatically with a small delay after patch load, I have quit worrying about it, even though I know there is still an apparent bug in Rack 2.1.0 and 2.1.1 .

With this bug, it seemed sensitive to connecting cables to modules when editing the patch, but was impossible for me to track down what was happening.

By the way, I did have a crash bug in an early version of Meander for V2 that was related to connecting cables to my module and how I was handling internal detection of those connections. Basically, I was accessing the CableWidget in my ModuleWidget:: step() override. I had to add the isComplete() check on the CableWidget object before doing anything with it.

Don’t know if this is relevant, but I have never discussed this here.

for (CableWidget* cwOut : APP->scene->rack->getCablesOnPort(outPortWidgets[Meander::OUT_CLOCK_BEATX8_OUTPUT]))
				{
					if (!cwOut->isComplete())        // new for testing, from    vcvrack-packone strip.cpp                                              
                   		continue;
					if (cwOut->cable->id == cwIn->cable->id)
					{
						module->theMeanderState.theHarmonyParms.STEP_inport_connected_to_Meander_trigger_port=Meander::OUT_CLOCK_BEATX8_OUTPUT;  
					}
				}

fractalgee · June 10, 2022, 2:13pm

Rotary works peachy here in every patch I make as it is part of my default effects in my template. That is never crashing here, nor have I had any crash in 2.1.1 on MacOS 12.4. M1 Mini.

k-chaffin · June 10, 2022, 2:26pm

PLEASE, Ignore any specific plugin or modules discussed in my thread. At various times several modules seemed implicated in the crash but that seemed to just be due to the crash being more likely to occur the more modules there were in the patch.

That seems similar to what is happening here in this thread, perhaps.

k-chaffin · June 10, 2022, 2:41pm

Note, I edited my first post in my linked thread to clarify that this bug seems to be in Rack rather than in any specific plugin or module. But, this all still unresolved, so there is no solution closing out that topic, yet.

DaveVenom · June 10, 2022, 8:12pm

For anyone interested - I posted the following PAD2 enhancement requests on github, in case you want to express interest (or lack thereof) in the ideas:

github.com/docb/dbRackModules

PAD2 enhancements - more CV control plus slew

opened 07:23PM - 10 Jun 22 UTC

DaveBenham

I am loving the sounds and design of PAD2, and it is spawning lots of ideas: …The Generate button that randomly creates partial amplitude profiles is begging for a trigger CV input to go with it. And it would be great if there was an option for slew (knob and CV input) during profile transitions, expressed as seconds to morph from one profile to the next. I think there should be 3 polyphonic CV inputs to cover the 48 partial amplitudes. There should be an option (control or context menu) to control whether the input voltages are sampled continuously, or by trigger. To keep things simple, you could ignore all partial inputs if the first input (2-17) is empty. If the first input is patched, then any missing channel(s) would default to 0. I think less important, but still potentially useful would be 3 polyphonic outputs for the instantaneous partial values (reflecting any slew or morph state) I envision the following rules for how the various inputs would interact: If 1st partial input is empty, then: - 2nd and 3rd partial inputs are ignored - generate button (and new trigger input) randomly assign partial values following current method - time to morph from old profile to new is set by slew If 1st partial input is not empty, then: - any unpatched partial channels default to 0 - method control is ignored - If input mode is sample: - generate button/trigger samples inputs to assign partial values - time to morph from old profile to new is set by slew - If input mode is continuous: - partial values continuously updated by input values - generate button/input and slew knob/input are ignored

github.com/docb/dbRackModules

PAD2 Enhancement - fundamental freq mode and CV control

opened 07:47PM - 10 Jun 22 UTC

DaveBenham

The fundamental frequency definitely has a significant impact on the resultant s…ound. I generally find that as long as the value is <= the actual V/Oct pitch, then I perceive wavering pitch over time that is pleasing to my ears. As the V/Oct rises in pitch relative to the fundamental, I hear more and more "shimmer" If the fundamental is > then V/Oct pitch, then I typically perceive stepped pitch variation over time that is jarring to my ears. Not sure if there is anything you can do about that. I am curious - Are you using the upsampling/downsampling tip from the algorithm creator? It might be interesting to try with and without, in case you haven't already. Given that the fundamental has such a strong impact, it would be good if it had a CV input. Beyond that, I think it might be nice if you could specify the fundamental frequency as a ratio of the incoming V/Oct. You could have a mode select (control or context menu) to control which option is used. If frequency mode, then the knob would offset the incoming V/Oct. If ratio mode, then the knob would attenuate/amplify the incoming V/Oct. Now the big question - should the fundamental CV input be mono or polyphonic? If computationally feasible, then allowing poly would be good, where each each channel gets its own wave table based on its own fundamental value. If not feasible, then mono input is the obvious choice. You could forgo a separate CV input for the fundamental, and simply use the existing V/Oct input. But I think a dedicated fundamental input gives the most flexibility.

github.com/docb/dbRackModules

Enhancement - PAD2/PAD Expander to sequence/load profiles

opened 08:05PM - 10 Jun 22 UTC

DaveBenham

PAD2 is great for discovering interesting sounds. An expander could be used t…o store the current partial profile, as well as bandwidth, scale, etc. based on the press of a button (and maybe CV trigger input?) The expander could have N slots, each with its own button for setting/recalling a given profile. And there can be CV control to select any one of the slots on demand. And it can honor the slew that I suggested in another enhancement request. There can be a number of modes as to how the CV selects the each profile. Basically I am talking about the functionality of Stoermelder's TRANSIT module, but dedicated to PAD and PAD2. TRANSIT has a large number of interesting selection modes. The beauty of such an expander would be you could discover/dial in and store the sounds you want with PAD2, and then transfer the expander to PAD for a more compact combination that no longer needs the sound discovery UI of PAD2. One thing I have not thought through is what the behavior of the PAD2 controls should be if they are modified after the expander specifies a given profile. I see two different use cases for the expander - To create compact static "instruments" using customized PAD sounds. By static I mean that the partial profile and other parameters would likely not change once set up. - To sequence constantly evolving PAD sounds One other idea is to have a mechanism to write out a given profile to an external file that can then be shared and loaded by others. There could be some interesting preset files distributed with the module(s)

docB · June 24, 2022, 5:32pm

Mainly there are now some features for morphing between PAD sounds. See also:

Changes over pre1:

PAD2:
- Uses bigger wave tables for higher sample rates
- Has inputs for controlling the partials
- The partial sliders start now with one - the fundamental (breaking change) which was set to 1.0 before
new module µPad2: small version of PAD2 which is fully controlled by inputs (see manual)
PAD:
- has now an amp knob for the first partial, was 1.0 before.
- has now a menu for setting a fade time for morphing between changes
- presets are now applied directly
- has now a trigger input for regenerating the wavetable if parameters are externally changed (e.g.) via µMap
- has a new method for generating saw and pulse wavetables (see also manual)
Faders
- has now 100 voltage addressable slots
- has now a knob for setting a glide time to morph between slots
- has 3 additional knob values
- has a special function for fetching values from PAD2 to feed them into µPad2 (see also manual)

ablaut · June 25, 2022, 2:00am

and people can grab these and make a patch still in time for the current vcp challenge!

docB · June 25, 2022, 6:24am

yes, its still a pre release but i think there will no breaking changes anymore so it will stay compatible in the patches.

FiroLFO · June 25, 2022, 10:21am

Those Pad2 demos sound so gorgeous…

LarsBjerregaard · June 25, 2022, 12:10pm

Amazing collection of modules doc, really need to dive into these. Well done and thanks!

docB · July 9, 2022, 8:04am

Thanks all for testing/commenting. dbRackModules 2.1.0 is now in the library.

FiroLFO · July 9, 2022, 4:42pm

It still excludes the latest ACC modification, doesn’t it?

docB · July 9, 2022, 4:52pm

sure, because ACC is dbRackSequencer. There i have to write manuals first, as there are some new modules.

FiroLFO · July 9, 2022, 5:03pm

Ah, right… I’m already dizzy because of the amount of modules you released.

officialdjglitch · July 9, 2022, 5:04pm

Yesssssss new docB modules! So hyped!