Hi everyone! It’s been a while since I last posted. I’ve been having a difficult time landing a new job, and I haven’t been doing as much rack programming lately.
However … I’ve recently started on a new project that’s progressing nicely. At the high level, it’s another module for VCV Rack.
I don’t want to announce it just yet, but it’s a substantial project, and I was wondering if any developers are interested in contributing? It will be released free and open source, just like all of my other modules. If you have spare time and interest, please contact me and I’ll explain all about it.
I don’t know much beyond an audio engineering standpoint, but best of luck with the plugin and the job hunt! The software/tech job market is brutal right now, my poor dad’s been struggling with landing a new job for four months too.
good to see you’re back, I hope you’re doing fine,
I would post the announcement in the development category, as most programmers read there.
I hope to see the new project here soon
Sorry that I wasn’t clear. It’s patch editor that’s similar to Reaktor or the Nord Modular. The patch editor itself doesn’t make any sound. It has save, load, and export capabilities. It has a set number of modules (that will be growing a lot!) which you can string together to make “patches”. You can then export a patch and load it into a new VCV Rack “host” module. The VCV Rack module plays back audio from the patch, and will have inputs and knobs for modulation.
Here’s a typical workflow:
I’d like to create a dance stab-base thing
I create the patch in the patch editor
I export the patch
I add the VCV Rack “host/inception” module to my patch in VCV Rack. Then, in the host/inception module, I import the exported patch, and it will play.
A fair question might be “why??”. And honestly, for this project, I just started programming and worried about the “why” for later. I was mostly goofing around, seeing how much I could do with ChatGPT as my assistant.
I suppose the reasons are:
You can share the exported json with the community.
It might also keep some larger patches tidy.
You could easily integrate the “voice” into existing patches (assuming it’s used for that)
You will be able to modulate the active patch via CV, sort of similar to how you could modulate patches on the Waldorf Pulse using system exclusive messages.
I like any new concept module that allows me access to some “meta” thinking about my patching that does not involve learning to code. I’m not allergic to learning new things, just not sure I’ll ever really get coding like I wish I could. Anything that reduces that available controls to most significant is excellent too, I love options, but when I open an old patch with too many options it takes a while to figure out which ones are most useful. Great work on the new project and I am a happy GrooveBox user that loves how old school Roland/Alesis/Akai it is to me.
Hi Bret
to me your new project looks really interesting,
maybe we could understand it as a kind of modular subsystem within VCV,
and it would be interesting if other developers too could add “modules” (or parts/pieces)
to your environment, that we would have a interesting Nord/Reaktor module inside VCV.
I find your idea very exciting!
Just a quick follow-up. I’m porting the patch editing program from SDL to Qt. It might take a little longer, but the interface will be a lot smoother than using raw SDL, and it will be cross-platform. I think that I’ll have the rewrite done within about 6 to 10 days.
The entire project might take a few months. This is due to the number of sub-modules that I’ll need to build in order for it to be useful. I’ll try to create an minimal-version that I can share with early adopters asap.
This… is one of those projects that could get extremely ambitious. For example, if I made all of the sub-modules stereo, and provides two stereo inputs, it could be programmed as an effect processor. If I lean toward simplicity, it could focus on mono “voice” style patches. I’ll see if I can strike a balance.
Or just keep adding to the log without overwriting it… you know, like very app in the world does. Anyway, sarcasm aside, it’s a super common problem and would be great to have a solution.
I’ve been working on my yet unnamed project. Everything is coming along beautifully!
There’s so much potential, even beyond VCV rack.
My current goal is still to offer a visual editor that saves patches that can be loaded by a VCV Rack module and played back.
It still might be months before I’m ready to release anything for testing. I want to give myself plenty of time to explore the idea and create enough modules to make it interesting. I’ll post a new video soon. It’s all working and super fun.
I will allow each patch to rename the parameters and potentially provide a custom SVG front panel design
I’m contemplating having “composite” modules that contain other modules. These would be similar to “macros” in Reaktor. I intend to provide a lot of primitive math and electronics emulation modules.
Everything is subject to change. I could make this stand alone software… or some type of really flexible front end to various audio “engines”. I’m taking my time to see where things go. However, I really do want the first version to be a VCV Rack module called “Voxbuilder”.
Thank you! I need a little bit more time to clean things up before I share it with you. However, I’ll get it into your hands as soon as I can. I’d love to get your early impressions!
It generates a patch that can be loaded into a host module in VCV Rack, so it doesn’t make it’s own sounds. The host module generates all of the sounds. I’ll be sure to create a tutorial before I send it over. But yet, the host module is working and has audio in and out.
I’d share it sooner, but the host module needs updating to support the “Macros”, and copy/paste doesn’t work with macros yet. And input and outputs haven’t been coded yet for macros. If you want a version without macros that works only in Windows, I may be able to get you something earlier. But if you can wait a week, I’ll probably have the macros worked out.
I’m debating making the editor and module cost a little bit this time. Maybe $10? Although I finally have a job (yay!) it’s not super high paying (boo!) and I could use a bit more incoming to stash away. Lots to consider.
The top and bottom of the border are simply flipped. This makes the top of the grey area look extruded, while the bottom part looks inset. What I’m hoping to do is have the entire thing look inset, but I’m not an artist, and my skills are limited. This is for a potentially commercial module, but I’m hoping that someone might donate their time for a free copy.
Just to be very specific about what I’m looking for: I could use help modifying the top area of the gray area to look inset instead of extruded. Any help would be much appreciated.
~~ UPDATE: I’m no longer looking for more beta testers. The response was overwhelming!! ~~
Hi everyone! I’m looking for a few brave beta testers to try out a brand-spanking new module. This module is a collaboration between @Omri_Cohen and myself, and is slated to be a commercial (yet affordable) module! I’ve been working on this module daily for about 4 months, and it’s amazing, thanks to Omri’s original concept. I’m keeping the details under wraps for now.
I’m looking for a few beta testers to help find and report bugs. In return, I’ll make sure that you get a free copy once we launch.
Qualifications:
Sorry, but Windows only for now. I don’t have a built created for Mac or Ubuntu. I might be able to supply a mac build if @pgatt would be kind enough to build one for us!
You should be relatively comfortable with copying the .vcvplugin file that I send to you into the correct location
