A few feature requests
Posted: 04 Sep 2010 02:53
Hi,
I'm really impressed with this Synth package; it's pretty much Reason in a VST!
There were a few things I've found as odd. I apologize in advance if these have already been requested. I did search through the forum and didn't find mention to them.
1. No way to quickly remove a cable. I discovered ctrl+mouse drag and click to connect cables but the only way I've found to remove cables is the menu on a module via right-click. It'd be really nice if you could put your mouse over the cable and hit ctrl/shift/alt+click to automatically disconnect the cable.
2. The only way to view knob values is to move them. I'd like a method more like the one in Reason where if you leave your mouse over a knob for about 1 second the tooltip pops up and shows you the set value. If you wait over one knob and the tooltip pops up you can move your mouse to several knobs and see their values instantly. This would be very nice to see a knob's setting w/o changing it.
3. The delay module (vst or in KarmaFX) has a very different (to me at least) method to tune a delay in units of beats. I tend to think in musical notation or Hz when setting a delay. It's somewhat trivial to convert beats to note lengths when they're straight notes (1/4 note = 4 beats) but gets much more difficult for triplets and dotted notes. Quick what's 1/4trip in beats? Yeah, I know it's 2/3rds of a 1/4 note but I have to get out my calculator to convert a 1/6th note into beats. It takes me out of the left-brain creative mode for sure. Also I don't understand why the Delay knob is set in beats while the fine tune is set in ms. Pretty please musical + Hz tunings!
4. Since I'm still unregistered I do not have a manual. Is there a way to split stereo pairs into mono L and R to process the signal chains separately? The input menus seem to just list the other modules and don't mention stereo/mono pairs.
5. I noticed another thread about portamento. It sounded a bit odd to me with the current implementation. Is it time or rate portamento? When hitting high and low notes both legato and staccato I couldn't get the predictable results I've heard before. Given the choice I'd prefer the option for either like in u-he Zebra or D.CAM Synth Squad.
6. It's nice that you can assign multiple things to a single macro knob. However it's rare I'd like the same range of motion (or direction) for the macro knob. For example, let's say I'd like to make a "dirty" knob. I want to open up a LP filter, add a touch of resonance and add some of the signal in from the bit-crusher. Since this gets louder I'd also like to lower the output volume a bit. As it stands today I scale all 3 knobs the same amount in the same direction. I can't turn up one knob 100% and have another move up 20% or turn one in the opposite direction. See the u-he Zebra2 performance page or the Reason Combinator Rotary knobs as examples.
7. If a patch is starting to get large I noticed there are no scrollbars to extend your work area. The only option I saw was custom layout sizes with a new fixed edge. Maybe something like the Propellerhead Record rack that has a mini window on the right hand side with a colored rectangle you can drag around to get a macro view of the current preset. Here's an included screen-shot if you haven't seen it before. If you've ever played Blizzard's Starcraft it's a lot like the map rectangle in the lower left.
All in all though these are some pretty minor things. The synth engine is amazing, it's definitely on my to-purchase list. Excellent work all around!
(EDIT: Purchased! I'm eagerly awaiting my registration info. Thanks!)
I'm really impressed with this Synth package; it's pretty much Reason in a VST!
There were a few things I've found as odd. I apologize in advance if these have already been requested. I did search through the forum and didn't find mention to them.
1. No way to quickly remove a cable. I discovered ctrl+mouse drag and click to connect cables but the only way I've found to remove cables is the menu on a module via right-click. It'd be really nice if you could put your mouse over the cable and hit ctrl/shift/alt+click to automatically disconnect the cable.
2. The only way to view knob values is to move them. I'd like a method more like the one in Reason where if you leave your mouse over a knob for about 1 second the tooltip pops up and shows you the set value. If you wait over one knob and the tooltip pops up you can move your mouse to several knobs and see their values instantly. This would be very nice to see a knob's setting w/o changing it.
3. The delay module (vst or in KarmaFX) has a very different (to me at least) method to tune a delay in units of beats. I tend to think in musical notation or Hz when setting a delay. It's somewhat trivial to convert beats to note lengths when they're straight notes (1/4 note = 4 beats) but gets much more difficult for triplets and dotted notes. Quick what's 1/4trip in beats? Yeah, I know it's 2/3rds of a 1/4 note but I have to get out my calculator to convert a 1/6th note into beats. It takes me out of the left-brain creative mode for sure. Also I don't understand why the Delay knob is set in beats while the fine tune is set in ms. Pretty please musical + Hz tunings!
4. Since I'm still unregistered I do not have a manual. Is there a way to split stereo pairs into mono L and R to process the signal chains separately? The input menus seem to just list the other modules and don't mention stereo/mono pairs.
5. I noticed another thread about portamento. It sounded a bit odd to me with the current implementation. Is it time or rate portamento? When hitting high and low notes both legato and staccato I couldn't get the predictable results I've heard before. Given the choice I'd prefer the option for either like in u-he Zebra or D.CAM Synth Squad.
6. It's nice that you can assign multiple things to a single macro knob. However it's rare I'd like the same range of motion (or direction) for the macro knob. For example, let's say I'd like to make a "dirty" knob. I want to open up a LP filter, add a touch of resonance and add some of the signal in from the bit-crusher. Since this gets louder I'd also like to lower the output volume a bit. As it stands today I scale all 3 knobs the same amount in the same direction. I can't turn up one knob 100% and have another move up 20% or turn one in the opposite direction. See the u-he Zebra2 performance page or the Reason Combinator Rotary knobs as examples.
7. If a patch is starting to get large I noticed there are no scrollbars to extend your work area. The only option I saw was custom layout sizes with a new fixed edge. Maybe something like the Propellerhead Record rack that has a mini window on the right hand side with a colored rectangle you can drag around to get a macro view of the current preset. Here's an included screen-shot if you haven't seen it before. If you've ever played Blizzard's Starcraft it's a lot like the map rectangle in the lower left.
All in all though these are some pretty minor things. The synth engine is amazing, it's definitely on my to-purchase list. Excellent work all around!
(EDIT: Purchased! I'm eagerly awaiting my registration info. Thanks!)