Review - Rack Performer 0.99.4.1
#1
GENERAL ISSUES:
- I'm now getting frequent "wave engine error: operation time out" when I connect or disconnect processors.
- It would be nice to be in patch mode and press an "F" button to go directly to respective edit window without having to go to [ctrl+2] first. Fewer clicks are always better.
THE NEW PROCESSORS:
- Some of the new processors have bypass buttons. I like this. All processors/skins should have bypass buttons.
- many of the new processors have very small GUIs. I like this. Though some text on these is difficult to read.
- In "edit' mode some of the new processors have labels. Some don't. I like the labels.
. Overdrives/Waveshapers:
. they seem to have radically different output levels. Some are surprisingly low.
. they have little windows that sometimes show waveforms of some sort, but sometimes they disappear.
. all Overdrives/Waveshapers need to be followed a cab model to work for guitar. In general they sound quite good when they do.
SOME OF THE PROCESSORS I HAVE TRIED, SO FAR:
. Amplitude Inverter: cool destroy sounds, needs a gate, though.
. Asymetrical Clip: cool destroy sounds, needs a gate, as well. Counter intuitive knobs - why turn them down to turn the sound/dirt up?
. BF2 + BF2: Not very interesting to me. Maybe under other circumstances I could find a use?
. Asymetrical Gain: I don't get it
. Full Wave Rectifier: I don't get it
. Sasquatch Distortion: Nice dynamic distortion.
. dub delay: I love dub type delays. Missing many of the features I would expect from something called "dub" but very usable non-the-less. Mono, I think.
. Ring Mod: I like this. Not sure what the extra input is. I'm guessing an external source can be used as a modulator? Had trouble reading "leakage" label. Is it a wet/dry balance? Not sure. Overall, great sound. I would use this quite a bit.
. Amplitude Mod: I was expecting a "vibrato" type effect but initially seemed like a less useful Ring Mod - Until I realized I had to set the modulation near the first 5% of knob. Then it worked well. I suggest re-calibrating mod freq to a more useful range, between 0.1 to 40hz. Anything faster than that seems pointless. Perhaps, also add a dry/wet mix and more waveforms.
Will test further and report back as new issues arise.
- I'm now getting frequent "wave engine error: operation time out" when I connect or disconnect processors.
- It would be nice to be in patch mode and press an "F" button to go directly to respective edit window without having to go to [ctrl+2] first. Fewer clicks are always better.
THE NEW PROCESSORS:
- Some of the new processors have bypass buttons. I like this. All processors/skins should have bypass buttons.
- many of the new processors have very small GUIs. I like this. Though some text on these is difficult to read.
- In "edit' mode some of the new processors have labels. Some don't. I like the labels.
. Overdrives/Waveshapers:
. they seem to have radically different output levels. Some are surprisingly low.
. they have little windows that sometimes show waveforms of some sort, but sometimes they disappear.
. all Overdrives/Waveshapers need to be followed a cab model to work for guitar. In general they sound quite good when they do.
SOME OF THE PROCESSORS I HAVE TRIED, SO FAR:
. Amplitude Inverter: cool destroy sounds, needs a gate, though.
. Asymetrical Clip: cool destroy sounds, needs a gate, as well. Counter intuitive knobs - why turn them down to turn the sound/dirt up?
. BF2 + BF2: Not very interesting to me. Maybe under other circumstances I could find a use?
. Asymetrical Gain: I don't get it
. Full Wave Rectifier: I don't get it
. Sasquatch Distortion: Nice dynamic distortion.
. dub delay: I love dub type delays. Missing many of the features I would expect from something called "dub" but very usable non-the-less. Mono, I think.
. Ring Mod: I like this. Not sure what the extra input is. I'm guessing an external source can be used as a modulator? Had trouble reading "leakage" label. Is it a wet/dry balance? Not sure. Overall, great sound. I would use this quite a bit.
. Amplitude Mod: I was expecting a "vibrato" type effect but initially seemed like a less useful Ring Mod - Until I realized I had to set the modulation near the first 5% of knob. Then it worked well. I suggest re-calibrating mod freq to a more useful range, between 0.1 to 40hz. Anything faster than that seems pointless. Perhaps, also add a dry/wet mix and more waveforms.
Will test further and report back as new issues arise.
H / UDmr
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United Deviations
Country: Canada
Joined: Oct 25 2011
Joined: Oct 25 2011
Patch live updating (what happens when the patch is modified and power is enabled) has been changed in this version to correct some very complex bugs that were reported, but this part is very "touchy" and it seems gains that were made on one front led to regressions somewhere else... All of that to say that this is unfortunate and we will have to fix this issue completely before 1.0!
We will first review thoroughly the recent code changes and see if something obvious shows up, and if not I'll contact you directly, so we can investigate together.
That's actually a brilliant idea and from an user point of view it makes sense. I must evaluate in details whether it won't cause other problems (for instance the screen switchers can be MIDI controlled as well as keyboard controlled) but overall we like it and will surely add it if possible.
THE NEW PROCESSORS:
Any specific one(s) on which you would like a bypass control? We included dedicated buttons on all modules GUIs whenever we felt it would be used often (as part of the musical performance process) but if there is none, two cases are possible:
1) the module has a bypass (or mute) control port (aka Cut-port) but it's not displayed on GUI (ex: DubDelay has a Cut-port but it also has a dry/wet control which is more likely to be used instead, so the bypass functionality is available but a bit more hidden) We could add a "status led" on GUI in these cases. Anyway, if a control port is not displayed directly via an associated control on the module GUI, it can still be mapped to MIDI or keyboard control (and if you have setup your keyboard numpad in the config, the "." key will toggle on/off the Cut-port of the module having control focus)
2) the module is not bypassable in any meaningful way (ex: a matrix mixer module could become a "all ins to all outs pass-through" but it doesn't make much sense) in which case the module has no associated Cut-port at all.
I agree some text is too small. You evoked the ring modulator above but if you have other specific examples, I'll add them to the queue and the GUIs will get a small cosmetic lifting.
This does not come as a lousy excuse for small texts, but if you have any doubt about a control, just mousing over it will display the control name in the tooltip.
Yes I'll make sure the upcoming mixer modules include some to display the channel names and we will try to use them more in the future. Currently most modules that are likely to be redundant and/or renamed include one (like gains, the stereo utils, meters etc.)
If they don't and you really would want a label for more clarity, and if you can afford to lose some screen real-estate, in the "Special" modules category you will find the Label x1, x2 and x4 modules. They allow to display arbitrary text on the virtual screens (we use them for instance like column headers in a spreadsheet, then stack all modules pertaining to a particular channel below, say for example "Drums #1" followed by all effects applied to that drums source)
. Overdrives/Waveshapers:
Yes we will have to fine-tune the control ranges and/or default values for the new modules in this private testing round. Please report any issue with specific modules (name + parameter(s) concerned) and we will try to improve them.
They should disappear only if the module is powered off (say if it is unconnected) but if they do otherwise, then it's a bug.
Two things here: first don't forget we will release a "Guitar Edition" of Rack Performer, and it will ship with a set of dedicated guitar effects developed by Antti of Smart Electronix. Secondly, even if (good) cab-sims are more than that, most of the core processing they perform is filtering (to simulate the limited frequency range of a cabinet) and filter modules will be included in the upcoming next private beta release.
Right, a noise gate is definitely handy here. We will add one in internal form at some point, alongside other dynamics processors.
That was briefly debated here...Hm we thought that as the control is effectively a treshold *below which* the sound is affected and as it's expressed in dB, it made sense to have it in this direction (ie you start with maximum value then lower the treshold...) Could be inverted easily though...
Those are definitely on the harder/trasher side, clearly not suitable for all tastes!
It's subtle but it makes the signal asymmetrical and adds even order harmonics in a gentle way. It can be useful when building more complex distortions out of several modules.
This one was the basis of some (rather cheap) octave doubling pedals but it's not very musical as soon as you start playing more than a single note.
What are those many missing features? It's not too late to adde them if possible.
It is multichan compatible but yes, channels are independant. A ping pong delay will be added soon to cover the stereo cases.
Yes the second input replaces the internal (sin oscillator) carrier by the signal patched in. Quite a different beast when using other carriers, you will have to experiment but some use voice over guitar or the inverse etc.
Leakage is a control to simulate the signal leaking in analog ring modulators (because those units were far from perfect) Setting it to zero will give you a pure digital ring modulator.
Yes the two effects can be very similar at times. We will change the range but I take the occasion to tell you about a detail that works for all control ports in the application: if you set the maximum and minimum bounds of a control (using parameter info dialog or "set as min/max value" entries) then once MIDI mapped, your controller will span only this selected range. In this case for instance if you set the maximum value to be 40Hz then you will get full MIDI control resolution on the min to 40Hz range.
The "depth" control is more or less equivalent to a dry/wet (at zero percent the signal should be completely dry) and in the same way as the ring modulator, you can change the carrier waveform to any arbitrary signal by using the special carrier input.
Thank you for this report Hani!
Live Factory Team
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Joined: Nov 15 2009
Not getting "wave engine error: operation time out" messages today.
I don't understand what the "DSP rate" blinking lights are for? I find them distracting. Not clear they are conveying any useful user information other than "power on". If it's important to show DSP rate, maybe a numerical display would be more useful.
RP doesn't seem to remember screen size setting in patch mode.
Why would adding a label in patch mode cause audio clicks? It's as if labels use DSP. I find labeling throughout RP very problematic. In patch mode they are too far/not part of the GUI. They would take up less screen space if they were integrated. In edit mode some processors have labels, some don't. I find general GUI to be a weakness of RP. Inconsistent, inelegant, difficult to read, etc. I wrote in other posts about this. I'd really like to see more info, buttons and level meters on wrappers (as in LiveProfessor), as well.
I am getting used to the "F" window select feature in edit mode and find it is probably the best solution compared to many other live host type applications. So, the this GUI logic does have a strong positive side.
Another unique feature of RP that other live hosts do not have is the ability to "swap" processors. This works well and really helps for experimentation and saving time. This is a selling point for RP
EFFECTS PROCESSORS:
The dub delay is pretty good. The pitch shift when changing delay times is really smooth and sounds really good. One thing I look for in a dub delay is the ability to go into self oscillation at high regeneration settings. The TAL dub delays can do this, though sometimes doing so makes them crash - possibly a dangerous feature. Another feature I like to have in a dub delay is a signal input "on/off" switch. A bypass is essential, as well.
I had another look at the distortion processors. Some that I initially thought didn't do very much actually have interesting sounds. For example BF1 + BF2 didn't seem to do very much, but putting in front of an amp sim seems to bring out their unique character.
Some distortions seem to have "bypass" buttons while others seem to be "off" buttons (?).
USABILITY:
Everything should have a bypass. Even if bypass is only available "under the hood", that is too far to look when testing patches. I understand that RP is oriented for live performance, but creating patches (not live) is an essential part of the creative process.
I feel these things are more important than adding delays, distortions, etc which are available in abundance all over the internet already. That being said, some of these effects, such as the ring modulator should be released as separate VST plugins to be used in other applications. I think they are quite good.
For me, for RP still needs a better GUI and a "next song load/switch" feature before it can be version 1.0 ready. [I understand these issues are being addressed in later versions. Already the newer version of RP v 0.9.5.1 has a much better 'Edit Mode' GUI.]
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Joined: Oct 25 2011
By any chance, do you have VST plugins made with SynthEdit in your document? Most of them are notoriously CPU and time expensive. When you power on or power off your document, how much time does it take?
It really should be nearly instantaneous. We have an old AthlonXP machine running WindowsXP for our tests, and the thing is now over 12 years old, yet provided no crappy VST's are loaded, powering is super fast.
I'm asking because the time-out should only happen when RP tries to stop the wave engine thread, and it takes too much time to complete the operation. It might be something else of course, please tell us if the problem comes back.
They do convey information about the machine "health" in several ways. On a properly configured and optimized machine, with the stroboscopic effect you should get a very steady blinking pattern. Any chaotic pattern is often a tell-tale that there is competition for the machine resources and that the application is not running undisturbed as it should.
They can also tell when there is a problem with the wave engine. For instance if you forgot to power on your external sound-card rack, RP will power on but the LEDs will not advance.
Note that not all master modules have these rate LEDs, so you can always use another one if you really can't stand them. Similarily, sometimes they are just on the master inputs GUI, in which case you can hide that GUI part once you have the volumes setup, and the LEDs will be gone from your sight!
You mean the window size and position? It used to work in the past, maybe it is broken now. We will have to check.
They don't use DSP but as they are modules, adding them unfortunately (and unnecessarily) re-builds the patch. For VST modules, nearly all GUI-wrappers now sport a name label (which is updated when you rename the module in patch mode) excepted on the racked wrapper when the original GUI is not large enough (we had to make compromises)
For our internal modules, as I said before we tried to include integrated labels as much as possible when there was a high probability that the user could create multiple instances of the module, and we will try to include more in the future. Now mostly for space reasons, changing all existing module GUIs is not an option I'm affraid (otherwise everything would be bigger)
I hope this wish was fulfilled with the "racked" VST GUI-wrapper upgrade in 0.99-beta5!
That was our initial intention but during testing we were not really satisfied by the result and we thought it made operating the delay too tricky (prone to dangerous output volumes) and that would have surely put off some users who would not want extreme sounds... We might extend the range later, in an "unlockable" way (ie it would stay the same by default, but you could change the maximum value by hand at your own risk)
For the former we just added the CamoMute module, which you just would have to patch before the delay input. For the latter, the Cut-port is already there but there is no GUI control for it. Use the "." numpad key when the delay has control focus or select "bypass" in the right-click context menu. Alternatively setting the "dry/wet" control to 100% dry is strictly equivalent to a bypass.
Right, there is an inconsistency here. For some reason we thought the distos were prettier with their fat button lighted on, but for all other mute/bypass controls in the app it's the inverse, they are lighted on when enabled. We'll change that, it's just a single code line to toggle.
Pressing the "." numpad key is not really "too far" and using the context-menu is just one extra click (vs having a direct control) Please note that we added a cut control on the upgraded "racked" GUI wrapper, solving the problem for VST modules in the process.
You fail to realize that VST modules are second-class citizens in RP. Internal modules are by definition way more tightly integrated and use less resources, as well as being truely sample-accurate (whether for VST you can only emulate that behaviour for instance)
Actually the list of advantages for using internal modules is pretty long, but above all, we think it is important to be able to use the application out of the box without relying on 3rd party plugins. If we compare to that competitor you cited, when you install and open their app, you get nothing and can't play music without installing extra plugins (and as there is no mixer it also explain why they need so many controls on the module top bars etc)
And again, please be patient, once we are done with the "classics" we plan to add many more original and exotic modules!
As for the document switching, you asked in the past and I told you I couldn't tell you our exact plans yet, but I'm confident you will like what we have in mind. It will be added shortly after 1.0, amongst the first post-release updates (as of course development will not stop after 1.0, it will just mark the beginning of a new phase for us)
Regarding the GUI we will do our best to improve it over time. For the fonts readability issue, we will perform a small lifting soon, and overall I agree it could use some extra polishing. But please do test again after having enabled ClearType as I explained in my last mail! All dynamic fonts will be better looking.
Live Factory Team
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Joined: Nov 15 2009
It is possible I am using VST plugins made with SynthEdit or that are otherwise crappy. Sometimes it's not easy to tell. I have been going through my collection and trying to weed out the problematic ones. However, there are some plugins made with SynthEdit that I really like. Sometimes it seems as if RP can't decide whether to turn on or not. I'll try to be more alert about which plugins I am using.
"DSP rate" blinking lights
OK, I understand. I can see the usefulness of those blinking lights. Using an alternative master module is a good compromise. The more I use Rack Performer the more I find things I like. For example, I recently started using the alternative mini wrappers. I can have everything on one screen and click open the real GUI for minor edits really quickly. I don't have to use the method where the plugin GUI's are locked into a grid.
Adding a label
I really like the new wrappers in version 0.9.5.1. Having the name on the top, even if truncated is a big help, especially if I'm using more than one instance of the same plugin. I hope you will consider the suggestion for smaller GUI and labels in Patch mode that I sent by email.
A bypass is essential, as well
I didn't know the number pad "." worked as a bypass. That's great. Maybe you could have an online page listing all your keyboard shortcuts. Maybe have a link to the page from within RP. Long term, it might be nice to make key shortcuts user customizable.
VST modules are second-class citizens in RP
Ah! This makes sense I guess, but presents a problem for me. Most plugins have unique sound characteristics. Ideally I would hope to replicate my sounds created in recording software when I play live. This means migrating my plugins/patches between applications. I suppose it would be possible to approximate the sounds in each program but this means more work. A partial solution would be to make RP internal processors available as regular VST plugins for use in my composing/recording software.
A better GUI and a "next song load/switch" feature
I resolved the fonts issue by turning on ClearType. Thanks for that.
The GUI in the latest beta 0.9.5.1 is much improved. I will go over some of my latest issues when I write my RP 0.9.5.1 review. I look forward to further developments.
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Joined: Oct 25 2011