New test version

All about the development and use of SynthFont2
Admin
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Re: New test version

Post by Admin »

Version "V" is here:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/173 ... t2012V.rar

Elven - please have a look at this version. I think it plays the files better, but there may still be issues with playing files without splitting the tracks as SynthFont is very much track-oriented. BTW - why would you actually WANT to play a file in original - "un-split" - form? I can see that you may want to LOOK at the file in original form, but is there any reason for actually wanting to PLAY it in this form also? I guess that there are cases where you may want to EDIT a file and save it in original form, but then you wouldn't really use SynthFont, would you?

Fixed:
- Voice limit setting changed in previous MIDI file does not carry over to playback of the next file
- Pressing the mini play button during "sorting events" causes hanging
- MIDI File specific errors: Both Bad apple and Anti-Chlorobenzene 1 million cannot be rendered/heard properly - how about this version?
- Status bar message voice and note counts are digit-grouped
- Main thread priority is now always normal! I had fixed this once already - I thought - but missed one place where I set the priority to TIME_CRITICAL for the main thread.
- Does this version ("U") have dynamic range compression or something? - NO
- Percussion channels are treated as non-percussion when using a oundfont with no percussion presets. Not really. This will issue will require a lot more explanation by me eventually, but basically SynthFont2 looks around among all known SoundFonts when it encounters a missing preset in the selected SoundFont and normally the percussion preset would be found somewhere else. Works well for me, at least.
- Scrolling in the MIDITrack list causes checkboxes to get out of alignment

That's it for now. (Well, there were a few othe bugs only I knew about, of course. Not worth mentioning.)

Have a nice Labor Day!
Elven Spellmaker
Posts: 37
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 3:02 pm

Re: New test version

Post by Elven Spellmaker »

Admin wrote:Version "V" is here:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/173 ... t2012V.rar

Elven - please have a look at this version. I think it plays the files better, but there may still be issues with playing files without splitting the tracks as SynthFont is very much track-oriented. BTW - why would you actually WANT to play a file in original - "un-split" - form? I can see that you may want to LOOK at the file in original form, but is there any reason for actually wanting to PLAY it in this form also? I guess that there are cases where you may want to EDIT a file and save it in original form, but then you wouldn't really use SynthFont, would you?
This version seems to work much better thanks, except the notes from other channels are coloured black (perhaps because they are a ghost track), it'd be nice if they could be coloured the same colour as the rest of the track maybe? (Maybe as a low priority nicety in the future, colour notes within a track which are different channels different colours toggleable) =)

The reason why I'd like to not split is so I can clearly see the whole melody line (or any other) and keep it on top. Seeing as there is no way to choose the draw order of tracks in SynthFont it means that if you split and then select the main track, the other split track isn't guaranteed to be second in the highlight list (it might hide under the background notes).

Also, is there any reason why (for as long as I remember) the side-bar on the Pianoroll shows "Track 001" instead of the track name (maybe truncated to always keep the [Bar001] visible?

(SynthFont is track-oriented, do you mean channel-oriented? If it's track-oriented then it should be easy to show all the notes from one track in one track, regardless if the track uses multiple channels or not?)

EDIT:
This version seems to get very out of sync with the piano roll, (using the MIDI mentioned earlier as an example).

Also, for the various "Yes to all" dialogues, there seems to be no way to undo them except to edit the SynthFont.ini.

The themes really seem to take a long time to restore from minimised mode, is there any reason for this, and as mentioned before they don't show properly in alt+tab when minimised (perhaps due to this thing). Is it because they are custom Delphi themes and so aren't drawn when minimised or something to that effect.
chasp
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 8:39 pm

Re: New test version

Post by chasp »

Picking up on what Elven mentions about showing track number...... I realize it was relegated to a "one day we will address it" status ages ago but in the MIDI EVENTS display ( which I use quite a bit) it shows ONLY track number where the track number is selected by a slider..... For the record, I still think that a little risky by not showing the track name as well.... YES.. i have gone along making changes to the wrong track because the NAME is missing for a reference...... and Yes the error was mine but a track name showing with the number might have helped me catch myself !
Lol.... just want to make sure showing the TRACK NAME with the TRACK NUMBER on the MIDI EVENTS DISPLAY AND EDIT PANEL stays on that one day over the rainbow list of to-do's. I personally think it important to have .....
Thanks,
chasp :D
Admin
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Re: New test version

Post by Admin »

Oh yes Chasp that is definitely MUST DO item. I also get lost every other day.

Eleven - track oriented because the mixer to the right works on tracks and also the preset assignments are stored in the track. Thus, a track with multiple preset changes for multiple midi channels will almost certainly lead into problems.
ray890
Posts: 40
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 4:27 pm
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Re: 2.0.1.2 "V"

Post by ray890 »

I've given 2.0.1.2V a shot, and multitasking stability issues has been completely fixed in this version! This hasn't at all impacted or increased the rendering time either.

Anti-Chlorobenzene 1 million has not been fixed nor does it appear different in V.
Bad apple rendering has been fixed, but the instrument's volumes don't seem to be at the right level compared to whats heard on other MIDI Players (eg. one of the sawtooth instruments are way louder than the vocals).

Here's the audio file comparison that made me wonder if there was a slight dynamics compression going on: [Link]

About the non-percussion soundfonts being treated as a non-percussion instrument thing. The problem is that I also tend to frequently use piano-only soundfonts (and those with simply no percussion), and I only just realized why certain audio renders ended off sounding weird, which was because piano keys were going off for percussion notes.
Also, when it does find a preset mis-match and it assumes the correct preset, the "Set Preset" window is supposed to show up, showing me what synthfont thinks is the correct preset within the selected soundfont for the channel. In this case it doesn't and it should, but this time it should a "None" option just in case the user doesn't want to use any percussion even from another soundfont in memory.

Along my way of testing V I've found yet another batch of bugs:
  • In this specific ini [file], there are missing notes in specific files/instruments, and it only impacts 2.0.1.2Q and newer
  • Clicking and dragging mouse along the Virtual Keys cause infinitely sustained notes (Since 2.0.1.2S)
  • Clicking Forward To Next Bar (or marker) super fast may cause songs to rewind or go on pause (Since 2.0.1.1)
  • Scrolled down MIDITracks' activities don't automatically update until something in the area is selected [Video] (Since 2.0.1.1)
Last edited by ray890 on Sun May 24, 2015 4:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
chasp
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 8:39 pm

Re: New test version

Post by chasp »

i am an avid user of the virtual keyboard because, for me, the selected preset name for a vsti instrument doesn't always show and i get a DEFAULT PRESET text showing instead. I then sometimes need to use the virtual keyboard to "remember" and audition what the hell I selected in the first place. Thats an old issue that at one time was just the way it was going to be for some VSTI instruments..... However, its true that dragging the cursor across the keyboard causes all notes in the path of the cursor to play as sustained notes until I close the Virtual keyboard.
NOTE: I also use the Virtual Keyboard a lot to simply audition Soundfonts or VSTI presets to find the sound I wish to use for a track. Its simply an important tool in Synthfont since the virtual keyboards imbedded in the native VSTI own control panels do no produce any sound

Also regarding selecting a VSTI instrument.... there is a glitch that occurs when one selects a vsti instrument and for whatever reason one doesn't select NEW INSTANCE or and existing instance of the VSTI..... The drop down list disappears and one must then select another VSTI instrument then go back to the desired VSTI instrument and then select NEW INSTANCE or an existing instance of the VSTI...... Personally for some reason i sometimes click on the desired VSTI twice ( as in double clicking the VSTI) causing the drop down list to disappear . The get-around for that as i said is clicking on another vsti the going back to the desired VSTI and click it once to get a usable drop down list of options...

Thanks Kenneth... glad to hear that showing the track name in the MIDI EVENTS edit panel finally made the "Must Do" List... That would be much appreciated.
tayfun
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 3:53 pm

Re: New test version

Post by tayfun »

Hello kenneth.. and everyone!
A few things I would like to add.

1. every process workes with a huge delay. we can only hear what we do after 1.30 or 2 second
2. Hitting on a key in the pianoroll gives no sound

this is it from me. thanks and cheers'
Admin
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Re: New test version

Post by Admin »

Thanks Tayfun,
Maybe you can give me some more details - an example of what "every process" stands for? How do I reproduce it?
ray890
Posts: 40
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 4:27 pm
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Re: New test version

Post by ray890 »

tayfun wrote: 1. every process workes with a huge delay. we can only hear what we do after 1.30 or 2 second
Just to add on to that, indeed there is a 2 second latency/delay with all of MIDI playback (at 44Khz). This is noticeable with the playback activity GUI updates during playback. Ideally, assuming this latency is intentional, I'd like the option to have the GUI updates to delay to match/compensate for the audio playback latency. I would also like to see a menu for the user to be able to adjust this latency inside of the setup and options panel.
tayfun
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 3:53 pm

Re: New test version

Post by tayfun »

when you hit the solo button it still playes on and the channel goes solo after 2 sec. Allso changing the values of the sliders (volume etc)
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