I just released my latest module. It’s a direct spectral synthesis VCO. The hardware version is nearing completion too. The user manual is not quite ready but will be on my website www.gregsbrain.co within the next few days.
10 Likes
I spent some time trying to experiment with DSPEC, got nowhere, and gave up.
I find it extremely difficult without any documentation or tutorial (I think I am in the minority in that I prefer documentation)
It probably would have been worthwhile to postpone release until the documentation is complete.
Once the documentation is available, be sure to create another library so you can include a link to the manual in the plugin.json. Also post an update to this announcement to let people know.
3 Likes
on the contrary, i had a blast exploring this module!! figuring out the relationship between all of the parameters is really satisfying. i just wish the encoder was easier to use … im sure in hardware its fluid but exposing those menus would make the experience in vcv even more satisfying.
regardless, i was able to discover some neat waveshapes & sequences!
i also noticed that initialization commands dont seem to work at all (either the keyboard macro or selecting it from the right click menu).
i would also love if randomizing affected encoder-menu items in addition to the panel settings (:
edit: one last weird thing - double clicking a knob returns it to its 0 position rather than its default starting position (which for most knobs seems to be the 50% position). these quirks seem to be from the module being optimized for a hardware version rather than for the vcv version, which i completely understand … but would love to fit this into my vcv workflow a lil more seamlessly! i find this to be a particularly unique module … theres some other spectral oscillators but nothing quite as expansive or in-depth as this one
1 Like
Thanks for the feedback. I will take a look at the initialization issue and also see if there is some way to provide a menu structure to make it easier to use.
I use Rack as a prototyping platform so I am running the exactly the same code as my embedded implementation. The Rack implementation is just an alternative board support package. I could have done something different on the UI front but my hardware has a 128x128 OLED display and I need to emulate that.
The documentation is actually complete but I am fighting with my (fairly crappy) web authoring tool to get things into shape.
1 Like
I do look forward to seeing it, and experimenting with the module!
Document is live: dSpec
4 Likes
For people who didn’t click on the document, there’s a video link inside it too! Here it is…
2 Likes
I just posted another dSpec video. I forgot to set the render quality to HD but the audio is ok.
1 Like
I did a bit of beta testing on this (not that much really as I didn’t have time!). I think it makes some really interesting sounds but I did struggle slightly with the encoder too.
I think there’s a general problem when interfaces designed for hardware are implemented in software form. I get this with the ALM stuff like MFX, great sounds but the interface is infuriating! I’m not sure what the solution is apart from completely redesigning a different UI for the software version, which isn’t practical for most developers. I’ll grab the release version from the library anyway and have another play. It’s quite unique.
1 Like
IMO it works reasonably using a mousewheel to turn the encoder. Midi/OSC mapping is not good / impossible. Suggest adding three pushbuttons for Inc. Dec. and Click. to allow mapping from vcv midi-map, stoermelder mapping modules, oscelot, modscript etc.
maybe this needs VCV involvement - a more advanced MIDI-MAP + a virtual Encoder component for reuse.
I finally figured out why I struggled. Yeah, the encoder is awkward unless you use the scroll wheel. But I navigated that OK. I simply couldn’t figure out how you modify the sound in the Wave and Spectrum “menus”. Now I understand you don’t. They are simply a built in oscilloscope and spectrum analyzer for visually monitoring the output, so you don’t need to use additional modules.
I agree, some great sounds to be had. And the CPU usage is quite good. I can see many people loving this, as long as they don’t mind encoder menu diving. I don’t like encoder menu diving, so I probably will not use this. But thankfully not everyone is like me.
1 Like
The current menu system certainly works, but I have some suggestions that I think would make it better.
After clicking on a main menu option, it takes you to that screen with the original menu item at the top as a title. Activating the title takes you back to the main menu.
For example, if on the Algorithm screen, then activating the Algorithm title returns you to the main menu. That seems counter intuitive to me.
I would like to see the title at the top that is nothing but a label such that you cannot interact with it. In the upper left corner put a return arrow that you can activate to take you back to the main menu.
Also, in the main menu, take away “Spectrum” and “Wave” options and replace them with “Monitor”. Then for the monitor page put “Spectrum” or “Oscilloscope” as the title, whichever is currently active, and show the appropriate graph. In this case, do allow interaction with the title to toggle between the two modes. Of course activating the back arrow still takes you back to the main menu.
I see the following benefits to the proposed changes:
- Monitor is more intuitive on the main screen. Seeing Wave and Spectrum on the main menu implies to me you can modify those properties.
- Pressing a back arrow to return is more intuitive to me.
- Once on the Monitor page, pressing the title to toggle between oscilloscope and spectrum analyzer is much more convenient than going back to the main menu and then entering a new screen. That is a bit of a double edged sword. If you are on the main menu and want to see the oscilloscope, but the active selection is monitor, then it takes two encoder presses. But I will accept that minor inconvenience if it means I can quickly toggle between the two modes with one encoder press.
1 Like
I like both your ideas. I will play around with the back arrow and see how it works visually in my pixel space. It’s easy to get locked into an echo chamber when you are a one man show. I will probably call the “monitor” page “visuals” or similar.
Have you tried assigning screen controls to the AUX inputs? For mapping list controls I am thinking of adding a option to restrict which items get mapped. For example map only to user defined scales making it easier to sequence chords.
Greg
2 Likes
Nice. I like Visuals better than Monitor.
1 Like
I just updated my dSpec plugin. It has several UI improvements (thank you for the suggestions DaveVenom!) and various other improvements. It also has a new detune option for chorus effects. The documentation is here:
4 Likes
I just had a brief play with dSpec - I find it much more intuitive with the changes! It works well.