Wanted - Beta Testers

[Bobby Watson]

Okay, this is no "huge" instrument creation. But, is my "first" serious VSTi creation from scratch..

Ever heard an old washtub bass being played? Well this is my recreation of a fun to play instrument. (Although, kind of hard on the fingers)

I need for a couple of folks to try this out of my development environment. To, insure it is not going to blow up..  It is basically just the engine with no added control at the moment. But, should function alright.

Next is to add some velocity control. And, what ever else comes to mind.  Suggestions are welcome, regarding tone, etc.. And, anyone that is willing to help me test it, will get a copy of the final release, if they want it..

Just drop the unzipped .dll into your VST plug-in directory. And, use the host of your choice to load it.
When you are through, simply delete the dll.

Thanks in advance... 
BW@

http://echoprojectstudio.org/post/washtub.zip

[Bobby Watson]

If anyone pulled the first file  ver. .9.0
I've already added a volume control and input meter.
The latest is ver. .9.1 (same zip file as before)
BW@

[Sharpola]

Works for me, 1st 4 keys don't sound, then all keys past key 25

volume slider s'not working as well

Good start!

Ray

[Sharpola]

Sorry the slider works, not the volume

[Bobby Watson]

Thanks Ray... I should have done a little more testing on the volume, I guess... I'll hunt down the error...

As to the keys not working, thats not an error. The range of the instrument is not the entire keyboard...

Just for info, what are you using as a host?

Again, thanks... 
BW@

[Sharpola]

Sonar 6

Ray

[Bobby Watson]

Good, I use that some, as well... Thanks...

Okay, I've fixed the volume slider (I think)....

One other thing to mention at this point...
There's an embedded file "DB COMPRESSOR.DLL" that is being written to a folder "washtub" as a child of where you put the vsti... It's a third party compressor that I am using to boost the output from the sound player.  I will abandon it as soon as I can create my own preamp to drive the output...
Oh, and you can just delete the "washtub" folder to kill the additional .dll
I don't like being untidy... And, will remedy that, in the next version or two

At any rate, the latest .9.2 is packed in the original zip now, fixing the volume slider.

Regards,
BW@

[Bobby Watson]

The zip file now contains beta ver .9.3

Changes:

No longer any third party modules included in the VSTi.
Included a simple I/O preamp to allow boosting the output without coloring the samples.
Removed input meter, replacing it with a simple led to show input is going to the synth.
These changes also compacted the size a bit more...

The only change/addition left on my list will be to include velocity recognition for midi input.
That is unless anyone passes on a suggestion/idea that would enhance the over all quality or functionality of the instrument.

BW@

Oh, and by the way, as a reference to what the #3 WashTub Bass sounds like, attached is a clip of a piece using it for the bass track.. 

[luisma1972]

very interesting Bobby....

Could you tell us more about the process?

[Bobby Watson]

Sure, Luis, that's a good idea...

I will put together a summary with some screen shots of the process...
But, for now will offer the information on the tools I use for the process.

The two applications for creating the VST and VSTi are Synchedit and Synthmaker. After that, there are tons of aftermarket modules both free and commercial... I have several of them as well
You can do a google to find their web sites, for an in depth overview.

In the case of this project, I also produced the samples and built a soundfont .sf2 around them.  It is embedded in the VSTi.
It's also possible to include vst's as modules in your builds. And, believe me, there are thousands of them out there to help with your tinker toy builds...

Being a programmer, by trade, I enjoy doing this kind of work, because, it is not alien to me working with the "logic"...

More to come..
BW@

[Bobby Watson]

Well, I could dig into the "structure" of all the modules. But, I'd run out of picture space. And, you'd get bored... So, this should give an idea of how it works...

Once you have your idea, you outline all the parts and pieces it will take to create it. Much like if you were going to build a physical piece of equipment....

Many of the parts and pieces have already been created. And, you simply have to figure how to fit them together to make them work like you want them to...

There is a lot of voltage and signal flow that you have to deal with.. So, in my case, anyway, there is also a lot of trial and error.. 

For instance, in this instrument, I am having a problem with the use of an external source either keyboard, or midi file creating input with velocity recognized.
That added volume tends to over drive the preamp used to drive the sound from the panel keyboard.... It's not something that is a deal killer.... But, takes some time to map out a solution or work around, without loosing some functionality that was intended...

As I mentioned before, for an old programmer like me, this is a nice challenge. And, helps to keep the remaining brain cells working... 
BW@

[Bobby Watson]

The current beta ver .9.4 (the posted .zip in the topic first post)

I've added a keyboard switch. Which will allow you to choose between the panel keyboard, and an external midi source. Be it a midi file, or controller.

The volume slider works with both input situations. However, you will probably want to lower the volume for external input, Because of the recognition of velocity changes or, key pressure.

The first time you run the VSTi, it will create a subdirectory in the folder where it is installed.  This new folder will be named "WashTub". A MS Windows restriction is the reason for this..   Enclosed in the subdirectory are .sem components, which are actually dll files. Windows will not let a dll be run within a dll. So, it has to be called externally.  That's a long winded way to tell you why additional directories and files are being created on your computer as a result of running this plugin.

If you choose to remove the plugin simply delete the WashTub.dll, and the subdirectory "WashTub".

Comments, before I call it version 1.0 and release it?
BW@

[luisma1972]

Thanks for the info Bobby, very helpful. I think I'll do a more detailed research on the subject 

[Gerk]

Looks neat.  Those diagrams remind me a bit of Max/DSP .. I played with that a bit a long while ago.  Controllers on top of controllers on top of controllers . . .



Mark