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getting_started_vividshaper [2023/07/06 21:48] – lars | getting_started_vividshaper [2023/11/12 19:46] (current) – lars | ||
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Later, in 2002, Dave Smith released his first instrument after selling Sequential to Yamaha. It was called the Evolver and it was a real wavetable synthesizer. It had the same waves as the Prophet VS, plus 32 user waves that could be uploaded via MIDI. That allowed users to create their own waves and play them back. | Later, in 2002, Dave Smith released his first instrument after selling Sequential to Yamaha. It was called the Evolver and it was a real wavetable synthesizer. It had the same waves as the Prophet VS, plus 32 user waves that could be uploaded via MIDI. That allowed users to create their own waves and play them back. | ||
- | It should be noted that there is some misconception around the term " | + | It should be noted that there is some misconception around the term " |
===== VividShaper introduction ===== | ===== VividShaper introduction ===== | ||
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Today, there are many software synthesizers that have adapted the concept of wavetable synthesis, including Native Instrument' | Today, there are many software synthesizers that have adapted the concept of wavetable synthesis, including Native Instrument' | ||
- | VividShaper is quite different. It is a wavetable AUv3 plugin synthesizer for macOS and iOS that borrows the idea from the early wavetable synthesizers | + | VividShaper is quite different. It is a wavetable AUv3 plugin synthesizer for macOS and iOS that borrows the idea from the early wavetable synthesizers |
When you start the plugin for the first time, you will see a window with the Lua coding editor on the left side and a waves view on the right side. | When you start the plugin for the first time, you will see a window with the Lua coding editor on the left side and a waves view on the right side. | ||
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{{: | {{: | ||
- | There are only a few buttons that you can select. On the left side, there' | + | There are only a few buttons that you can select. On the left side, there' |
+ | <code Lua> | ||
+ | -- Patch: New | ||
+ | wave[1] = VSSin(1,0) | ||
+ | vol[1] = gate | ||
+ | </ | ||
- | A simple Lua program may look like this: | + | This patch creates a sinewave and sets the volume to 1 if gate is on. The variable gate is either 1 if the key is pressed or 0 if the key is released, so in this very simple example the volume is either on or off. |
+ | |||
+ | The Parse button is pressed when you have coded something new and want to use the new code. You can also reset the synth using the parse button (even if it is the same code). The View button will change the view of the editor and the graph (only editor, only graph view, editor left to graph, editor below graph). Finally, there is also a Help button. This button loads some text into the editor, telling which version you have and gives you a simple example. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Another | ||
<code Lua> | <code Lua> | ||
-- Patch: A simple example | -- Patch: A simple example | ||
wave[1] = VSTriangle(1, | wave[1] = VSTriangle(1, | ||
- | vol[1] = VSADSRE(1, | + | vol[1] = velocity*VSADSRE(1, |
</ | </ | ||
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Each generator has eight oscillators, | Each generator has eight oscillators, | ||
- | On the second row, we will call the built in function VSTriangle(frequency, | + | On the second row, we will call the built in function VSTriangle(frequency, |
- | On the third row, we set the output volume using the Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release (ADSR) envelope (VSADSRE). The E stands for Exponential release. If you don't want exponential release but a linear release, you can use VSADSR instead. They take the same arguments. The arguments are as follows: | + | The term ' |
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | * A frequency of 1 Hz means that the wave will be filled with exactly one complete cycle of the triangle wave. | ||
+ | * Increasing the frequency to 2 Hz results in two complete cycles within the sample 128-sample space. | ||
+ | * Higher frequencies will pack more cycles of the wave into the sample. | ||
+ | * A frequency of 1.5 does not mean it will create 1.5 higher frequency at playback, but rather that the waveform will not complete two cycles, ending at a point which may give interesting timbre. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The phase is given in degrees (0-360) and is here set to zero. The ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | It is important to grasp these concepts. VSSin, VSSaw, VSTriangle all works the same, with one argument for frequency and one for phase. VSSquare has an additional argument for the width. Here is some additional examples: | ||
+ | |||
+ | * wave[1] = VSTriangle(2, | ||
+ | * wave[1] = VSSaw(1,45) -- This create a saw wave form with one saw wave, phase shifted 45 degrees | ||
+ | |||
+ | On the third row, we set the output volume using the Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release (ADSR) envelope (VSADSRE). This is then multiplied by the velocity of the note. The E stands for Exponential release. If you don't want exponential release but a linear release, you can use VSADSR instead. They take the same arguments. The arguments are as follows: | ||
<code Lua> | <code Lua> | ||
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wave[1] = VSBiquad(wave[1], | wave[1] = VSBiquad(wave[1], | ||
</ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | Setting the frequency as a function of time since gate on may give you some interesting sweeping filter effects. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Waveform manipulators ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | VividShaper comes with two different sorts of waveform manipulators. The first one is a wavefold effect. If the amplitude is e.g. 1.2, it is going over the limit with 0.2. The wavefold effect will then fold the waveform down again with the amount it was exceeding the limit: 1.0-0.2 = 0.8. This can result in some interesting harmonics. | ||
+ | |||
+ | This is how the wavefold function is called: | ||
+ | |||
+ | <code Lua> | ||
+ | wave[1] = VSWavefold(wave[1], | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | The 1.5 coefficient means the wave should be multiplied with 1.5 first, then folded. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Another important function is a wave normalisation function. If the wave reaches above a given threshold (that we define), we can normalise the wave to a new value: | ||
+ | |||
+ | <code Lua> | ||
+ | threshold = 1.0 | ||
+ | normvalue = 1.0 | ||
+ | wave[1] = VSNorm(wave[1], | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | If the max amplitude of the wave is 1.5, this will divide the wave with 1.5 so that the new max amplitude is 1.0. However, if the max amplitude is below 1.0, it won't do anything. If we always want the wave to normalise to 1.0, even if the amplitude is lower, we can set the threshold to 0: | ||
+ | |||
+ | <code Lua> | ||
+ | threshold = 0.0 | ||
+ | normvalue = 1.0 | ||
+ | wave[1] = VSNorm(wave[1], | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Math functions ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Besides all the built in math functions that come with Lua, VividShaper also comes with some wave manipulating wave functions that you may find useful. These are: | ||
+ | |||
+ | <code Lua> | ||
+ | -- Wave math operators - arguments can be either arrays or scalar factors | ||
+ | wave[x] = VSMul(wave1, | ||
+ | wave[x] = VSMul(wave1, | ||
+ | wave[x] = VSDiv(1, | ||
+ | wave[x] = VSAdd(wave1, | ||
+ | wave[x] = VSSub(wave1, | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | With these functions, you can either e.g. multiply a wave with a scalar value or a wave with another wave. These are very useful functions if you want to create an additive synth: | ||
+ | |||
+ | <code Lua> | ||
+ | wave1 = VSSin(1,0) | ||
+ | wave1 = VSMul(wave1, | ||
+ | wave2 = VSSin(2,0) | ||
+ | wave2 = VSMul(wave2, | ||
+ | wave[1] = VSAdd(wave1, | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Optimisation ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Running all the eight generators may be CPU intensive but there are ways to optimise it. You can either choose to decrease the number of generators in use, by setting the variable generators to a value between 1 and 8. | ||
+ | |||
+ | <code Lua> | ||
+ | generators = 1 -- This sets VividShaper to become a mono synth | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | You can also tell VividSynths how often it should run the Lua code. The default value is that the synth engine runs the Lua code after 512 samples have been played back. If the playback frequency is 48000 Hz, the Lua code will be executed 48000/ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <code Lua> | ||
+ | updatefreq = 1024 | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | You can also increase the speed. This variable can be set to the following values: 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, and 4096. | ||
+ | |||
+ | However, setting it to 128 means the Lua code is called 48000/ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== MIDI CC and other messages ===== | ||
+ | |||
+ | Sometimes, it is very useful to obtain CC-messages so that you can manipulate the sound in realtime using an external MIDI controller. The array cc[x] gives you at each update the current values of all CC messages except CC message 0 which is not used. Hence, cc[1] gives you the message for CC 1, cc[20] gives you the message for CC 20, etc. The values you get are between 0 and 127. If you prefer to get them normalised between 0 and 1, you can use the array ncc[x] instead. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The variable velocity tells the current velocity of the note being played. By multiplying the volume output with velocity, you can make your patch velocity sensitive. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The variable tempo tells you the current tempo from the DAW, e.g. 120. A corresponding variable is beatpos for beat position. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Finally, the array prevvol[x] tells you the volumes of each oscillator when the gate flipped from off to on again. This can be useful information if you are making a monophonic synthesizer (generators=1) and want to start the ADSR envelopes initial volumes to the volume when the gate was turned on: | ||
+ | |||
+ | <code Lua> | ||
+ | generators = 1 | ||
+ | wave[1] = VSTriangle(1, | ||
+ | |||
+ | attack = 1 | ||
+ | decay = 1 | ||
+ | sustain = 0.8 | ||
+ | release = 3 | ||
+ | initlevel = prevvol[1] | ||
+ | vol[1] = VSADSR(attack, | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||