randy's Recent Posts
A few people have written me to ask if it’s possible to give Aalto as a gift. Yes, it’s easy, and you can do it using the website.
If you want to give Aalto to a friend, just make an account and buy the software in the usual way, but enter your friend’s first and last name for the account instead of yours. You can also make a username (login) that your friend will want. However, use your own email so that the PayPal transaction will go through. Then when it's time, you can give your friend the account login and password, and he or she can change the password and email using the website. I hope it's pretty simple—let me know if you have any questions.
I'm off my normal support hours until Thursday the 27th. Meanwhile, I'm going to listen to a lot of eighties vinyl, eat a lot, and be thankful for the company of loved ones. Merry Christmas to all!
My advice to everyone is to experiment with one junction first, in the geometry you are thinking of making. I think smaller strips could be OK. It depends on a lot of things like what amps you are using and what the voltages are.
I think a 6x6 matrix would be useful-- even a 2x2 matrix could be a good single-touch xyz sensor with the right geometry of strips.
I thought of using some kind of oscillators in the Soundplane but the best solution was using the DSP to produce all the frequencies. In general I think using the DSP is more flexible --- with Arduino or something like that you could probably make at least a few oscillators in software.
OK, I added this feature but apparently completely failed to document it. Sorry for the confusion.
Here's how to set up Aalto to respond to MIDI program change messages.
- Make a "MIDI Programs" folder in your user presets directory: ~/Library/Audio/Presets/Madrona Labs/Aalto/MIDI Programs. Note the capitalization and the space.
- put any programs you want to trigger through MIDI in that folder.
- send Aalto a program change message to select a program from the folder.
The folder is scanned by Aalto on startup and the presets in the "MIDI Programs" folder are assigned numbers in alphabetical order. If you go to the folder from the preset menu, you will see each preset listed with its MIDI number afterwards.
To rearrange the programs, you can give them new names so they are in a different alphabetical order. I realize this is a little clunky, but this way it got done instead of not done. Someday I could come up with a GUI for making sets of MIDI-selectable presets.
I have just posted Aalto version 1.3.1 for Mac and Windows to the server, along with the 1.3.1 demos.
1.3.1 changes:
fixed automation sticking bugs
fixed host sync divisions in Logic
new software PLL for tighter host sync
fixed "rectified voice" bug in wave folder
fixed integer dials behavior
fixed possible OSC-related crash in Live
fixed patch display on close and reopen
brought back preset converter on Mac
fixed sequencer offset when stopped
fixed sequencer UI range issue
enjoy!
OK, I toned the wave down for you guys.
Hitting ? a few times after that last one I got some nice bass guitar like vamping.
Reasonable idea. I like to be able to see every parameter at once though. I think just adding more attenuverters is my preferred way forward.
Thanks much for sharing-- I haven't had time to mess with SC though.
Well there is MIDI, which is not too bad if you can use the polyphonic pressure data. I think most DAWs will not be able to deal very well with the density of Soundplane data at 250 Hz -- but that is why the rate knob is there, so you can turn it down to 20 Hz or something.
This oscseq looks great. Let me know if it works at all with the t3d messages.
Use the default value for the attenuator, which is the right tracking amount. Double-click to return to the default.
Soundplane scans at about 1kHz. if each of the 512 junctions were scanned in sequence, that would leave hardly any time per junction to get a good sample.
In general, sampling for a longer time is better, and the continuous wave approach has the advantage of gathering data at each junction truly without any gaps.
I think life is easier for everyone when there's just one place for things and no settings to mess with.
On mac all presets are in the Presets directory, so you can just archive that. I'm guessing you are on Windows where there is less agreement about where things go. It's possible I could have Aalto remember the last directory saved into, or something. Would that help?
I was not in any way offended. Still can't levitate though.
I'm finally setting aside some quality time to play this new instrument. I recorded this yesterday: Soundplane into four voices of Aalto via OSC.
It's easier to play Soundplane when you have quantization on. But here I’m playing in its completely fretless mode. Each row of keys is acting as one continuous pitch control, like a violin string. The rows are separated by fourths, giving the whole instrument a range of four and a half octaves.
I'm playing here loosely in Raga Yaman, and going off the rails a time or two. If you want to hear a breathtaking example of what this Raga really sounds like, Google “Ustad Rashid Khan singing Raga Yaman 1988.”
Thanks for this. I realized that all the automation and new OSC stuff was looking like another update, so I'm keeping this info handy.
Thanks forshaw,
I think the 1.3.1 update coming very soon may fix your issue. Please keep in touch and let me know.
Thanks, will look into this.
Thanks for the feedback and for inventing the word "attenuvert." I know what you mean and will address this somehow in the future.
I'm not going to distribute a solo version of Aalto on the site. However, a magazine in the US might do the same thing as Beat within a month or two. If it does I'll announce that.
I haven't had a chance to try this yet, but I am very excited to!
If you want to save some money, wait a little bit.
Hardware and software and men’s style tips since 2008
I know, I can make a madrona logo patch and you can sew it to a Uniqlo hoodie. Problem solved!
still working on that.
Just a quick note for Soundplane players: the new client application version 0.985 is now available in the usual place: the sticky topic in the hardware forums.
new features:
- Rewrite of carrier calibration.
- Better filtering for raw pressure data.
- Added carrier settings buttons on expert page.
- Added autosave for menu selections.
- Added debug text panel on expert page.
- Added debug output for OSC connection.
The noise performance for all instruments should be much improved over the previous version. To start using the new calibration, go to the Expert page and click "select carriers." Watch the debug window as the client picks out the combination with the lowest noise. This choice will be saved in the preferences file.
I am going to revisit the manual after the 1.0 feature set is complete, so these new features are not described there just yet. Meanwhile, thanks for bearing with me—please post to the hardware forums with your questions and comments.
Fixed in 0.986.
Aalto.
Did they ever really exist and if so where to order?
Only in our minds.
I would love to make some things for all you nice folks to wear. I've just been too busy getting Soundplanes and Aalto out there.
I'm going to go with the T-shirt-- love me some hoodies but with the shirt I can afford to just make some and not need people to pay in advance. Less hassle all round.
In the short two days since its release, I have served approximately eighteen pounds of tasty Aalto downloads! That's over two billion electron volts, or enough salted peanuts to circle the Earth three times! Thanks for your support and all the feedback and comments.
A few issues with 1.3.0 bear mentioning.
Automation incompatibility from previous versions
If you have set up automation curves in Logic or Live with 1.2.6 or a previous version, these curves will be lost in 1.3. Unfortunately most hosts save automation parameters only as indexes. So when adding parameters as I've done there's no good way to preserve older automation data.
I recommend you finish up old work with 1.2.6 or render tracks to audio before installing 1.3. It is also possible to rename the old VST file "Aalto126", and run both versions simultaneously while you make the switch.
Host sync issues in Logic
The new host sync divisions feature may cause drifting off the clock in (surprise, surprise) Logic. I thought I had this problem solved but apparently it still comes up sometimes. I'll be looking for a workaround. Ableton Live and Numerology should be very solid.
Window resize issues
The size of the newly resizable GUI is only saved when the DAW file is saved. Simply closing the Aalto window does not save the data. Since the host only asks for this data when it pleases, it's hard to see how to change this. I'll look for a workaround. In the meantime, just save your file to save the current window positions.
Also, Live does a weird thing with the AU version where it tries to smoothly fade the window size, resulting in glitches during resize.
Live 9 beta crashes
While Live 8 is working fine, I have reports that the Live 9 beta is crashing with Aalto. I've asked Ableton for the beta and will investigate as soon as I can.
Manual stuck in the past
The manual was last updated for version 1.2.6. I'll update it to reflect the 1.3.0 changes as soon as I have time.
If you find any more issues, please start a forum thread under software, or email them to support at madronalabs.com. That email just goes to me, since I'm the only one here, but it allows me to file it in the right place more quickly, so your help is appreciated.
Hmm, haven't heard of any other modulation problems. I did find one bug that could in rare cases cause crashes in other areas. This will come out with 1.3.1 very soon and hopefully fix your problem. Please keep me posted.