Software improvement suggestion

For the Voluum™ Digitally-Controlled Analogue Volume Effects Pedal

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james
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Re: Software improvement suggestion

Post by james »

Hi,

We have no plans to improve it because it's already very, very good :-) It's a very fine balance between catching every single intentional transient, and rejecting what looks like transients but aren't (sustained complex chords with lots of notes beating for example). The transient detector is very robust and has been extensively optimised to work well in most situations. It's the same technology we use in our MIDI converters.

The Sonuus Phone preset can be played quickly, but sometimes you do have to give it a helping hand -- damp strings to make sure the transient dies away quickly enough for the new transient to be seen easily.
canbaz
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Re: Software improvement suggestion

Post by canbaz »

Good to know that it is the optimized balance. Thanks!
canbaz
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Re: Software improvement suggestion

Post by canbaz »

Hi James,

I have some suggestions and questions:

1) Sometimes I would like to create a preset from another preset, but this time I would feel more comfortable with the hi-lo settings the other way around (lo setting values for hi and hi setting values for lo). In order to obtain this, I need to spend some time to reconfigure the effect. It would be useful to interchange hi and lo settings of the selected effect by pressing a button. I guess a long press of the hi/lo button can do the job.

2) I played around with the volume effect controlled by the envelope. I still feel something strange with it. For instance, the Sonuus Phone preset can track the bridge pickup (hotter and louder) of my guitar pretty well, while I feel some problems with the neck pickup (quieter than the bridge). I tried to change the global envelope sensitivity to find a better configuration for the neck pickup. However, there isn't any effect of the global sensitivity on the envelope with the volume effect. Is this a bug or does it work like this on purpose?

In addition, an envelope sensitivity control for the attack could be useful for the situations where a little bit configuration is needed for better tracking.

3) Are you going to participate in the next NAMM? Will we see anything new from you?

Thanks,
Happy new year!
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james
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Re: Software improvement suggestion

Post by james »

Happy New Year!

Some answers:

(1) This is a good suggestion. The Wahoo lets you do something similar on the editor, and swap the hi and lo settings. It is very useful. A long press on hi/lo would work. Should this only swap the parameter being edited, or for the whole preset? Maybe there's an extra button press to do the whole effect (e.g., LFO, or volume, but not both at the same time)? Clearly it's easier to add this to the editor with a button on each effect.

(2) There is nothing to configure because it's all automatic. The Global Sensitivity adjusts parameters that are absolute levels (compressor threshold, for example) but the volume envelope detection is always relative to a "quiet" level that is updated in the background. If you change from a loud pickup to a quieter pickup it might take a short time to settle and adjust the levels to match the new baseline. Try playing lots of short notes after switching pickups to see if this helps.

But I can see that it could be useful to have a sensitivity control on this -- I expect it would work by allowing signals smaller than normal to trigger. The problem is working in all situations whether very gently plucks, or big chords where you don't want to retrigger on each note of the chord and on the evolving envelope (that can get quite complex) on a big chord.

(3) Yes. We should have something new. Possibly a few new things if all goes to plan over the next 2 weeks!

James
canbaz
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Re: Software improvement suggestion

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1) My suggestion is: long press on hi/lo to swap the parameters being edited and long press on hi/lo + control button to swap all the parameters of the effect being edited, like your example all the parameters of LFO, or volume, but not both at the same time. Yes, same functions on the editor would be great. Such as a swap button between each hi/lo parameter and a global swap button on each effect page tab...

2) Ok, I understand how it functions now, thanks. I can modify my playing to obtain better results now. However, somehow my bridge pickup still sounds better than my neck pickup :? :). If a sensitivity control would yield in worse situations, it is better to keep it as it is.

3) Great!!! I am looking forward to your news.

Additional questions/suggestions:

4) I tested the tap tempo with a metronome and found out that the pedal runs faster than the tapped tempo. Is there a bug or do I do something wrong? It captures the tempo from heel all the way down to toe all the way down, correct? If it is not all the way down, but it captures somewhere in the middle, this may be the source of the problem, since my ankle movement may not be consistent between the heel down and toe down positions :mrgreen: .

5) I also tested the LFO tempo with a metronome and found out that the LFO runs slower than a metronome. It is more obvious at slower rates. For instance try 60 bpm and compare it with a metronome at 60 bpm. This slowness is very dramatic when the bpm is slower, but it is multiplied by a larger division. For instance try 10 bpm tempo and x 6 division, then compare it with a 60 bpm metronome. You will see a big difference. Is this a bug?

6) It would be interesting to have other divisions for LFO, such as 9, 7, 5, 8/3, 3/2, 4/3, 3/4, 2/3, 3/8, 1/3, 1/5, 1/6, 1/7, 1/9, etc in order to obtain dotted-eighth pattern, complex time signatures and syncopations. You can even add phi (golden ratio) and 1/phi for fun. For instance Pigtronix Echolution has this.

Or, Instead of choosing a predetermined division, you can define the division as a ratio where two parameters can be selected for numerator and denominator. So that the user can define any division as a ratio (eg. 16/1 for 16 etc…).

7) I like to max the tempo to 999 bpm and choose x 16 division, in order to obtain results similar to a ring modulator. For me this is more musical than a ring modulator, because we don't lose the carrier signal. It would be good to have higher tempo rates in order to obtain divergent sum, carrier, difference frequencies. Can you increase the upper limit of tempo and or division to something larger?

8) When the tempo is increased from fast to very fast there is a volume drop. What is the reason of this volume drop? Loss of high frequencies? You can also observe a volume drop at 999 bpm x 16 when you change the LFO wave shape to Saw Down from Saw Up. Is this the same reason?

9) Although the inharmonic output of a very fast fixed modulator is interesting, I would like to see the result of a non-fixed modulator correlated to the carrier. For instance, the pitch of the input signal could be tracked, then the frequency of the modulator could be related to the frequency of the input signal. So, the sum, carrier and difference signals could be harmonically related. As you know, if the carrier and the modulator are both X Hz, the result should be an octave up effect. If the carrier is X and the modulator is X/2, the result should be an octave down + 3rd harmonic. I don't know how it would sound in practice, but in theory this should be like an analog Whammy :D. This would be a great addition to the Voluum, although it is already a fantastic pedal.

10) If I first define parameters, next I select a control either pedal or envelope, I lose the settings that I've defined and that can be controlled. This may be useful for some cases, but usually annoying for me :). Is this done by purpose?

Again too many questions :D
Thanks James!
Last edited by canbaz on Wed Jan 13, 2016 9:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
canbaz
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Re: Software improvement suggestion

Post by canbaz »

More additions :). Suggestions 6, 11, and 12 should make more sense together.

11) It would be useful to start the LFO pattern at a different position rather than its absolute beginning. Is it possible to make the LFO phase adjustment available when the retriggering is not on? When it is being edited it should function like this : If we adjust the phase when the effect is engaged, it does nothing. However, if the effect is bypassed and engaged again, the LFO starts from the selected point.

12) It would be useful to see the tempo clock (value before div multiplication), either parameter or tap tempo, blinking somewhere. This would function like a visual metronome to help the player for confusing tempos that I asked for above (6th suggestion, e.g. x 4/3 division). If the division is set to x 1, it would be useful as well to mark the start point of the LFO if you could evaluate the above 11th suggestion :). So, LED tempo should restart each time the effect is engaged.

If there is a functional LED on the control button, you can use it for this purpose. You may also define the hi/lo button LED (if it is functional) for accents for instance. These accents may be adjusted like div settings, between x 1/16-16, by long pressing control button and hi/lo button together, and selected by the effect knob.

13) With fast attack and fast release settings on the compressor, there is some buzzing/clicking, and also some tremolo effect. This is more obvious when chords or low notes are played. You can try 0 ms attack, 0.1 s release and high compression/low threshold in order to reproduce this issue. Is this caused by the automatic make up gain fighting back and forth between note beatings? Can this be improved by software or is this the physical limit?

14) LFO LEDs seem a little bit out of sync when they blink fast (for instance F08 preset toe down position). Can this be improved somehow or is this caused by a limitation?

15) In tuner mode, note to midi out would be really great.
Last edited by canbaz on Thu Jan 21, 2016 1:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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james
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Re: Software improvement suggestion

Post by james »

Thanks for all the details :-)

I would like to leave my answer until after I get back from the NAMM show (the show is next week). I've got a lot to get done before I do and I'd rather go through all your points carefully, rather than just give you a fast reply that may not cover all the points. Does that sound ok?
canbaz
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Re: Software improvement suggestion

Post by canbaz »

Yes of course :). Have a nice NAMM show. Looking forward to see your news and videos from the show.
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Re: Software improvement suggestion

Post by canbaz »

Hi James, I know you are busy. Could you check some of my questions?
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james
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Re: Software improvement suggestion

Post by james »

Thanks for the reminder! Indeed, we are very busy right now with new projects. In particular our new Loopa mic (it went down really well at NAMM). I hoped you liked the video.

Some answers for you...
1) My suggestion is: long press on hi/lo to swap the parameters being edited and long press on hi/lo + control button to swap all the parameters of the effect being edited, like your example all the parameters of LFO, or volume, but not both at the same time. Yes, same functions on the editor would be great. Such as a swap button between each hi/lo parameter and a global swap button on each effect page tab...
This seems to be a solution that will work.
4) I tested the tap tempo with a metronome and found out that the pedal runs faster than the tapped tempo. Is there a bug or do I do something wrong? It captures the tempo from heel all the way down to toe all the way down, correct? If it is not all the way down, but it captures somewhere in the middle, this may be the source of the problem, since my ankle movement may not be consistent between the heel down and toe down positions :mrgreen: .
The "switch" for tap-tempo is when the pedal crosses over the middle position (approximately). So you don't need to go right to the heel-down or toe-down position. It actually averages a few measurements to get a better estimate of the tempo. It needs at least 2 "taps" before it will change, then it averages the last 4 "taps". Maybe you aren't doing enough taps?
5) I also tested the LFO tempo with a metronome and found out that the LFO runs slower than a metronome. It is more obvious at slower rates. For instance try 60 bpm and compare it with a metronome at 60 bpm. This slowness is very dramatic when the bpm is slower, but it is multiplied by a larger division. For instance try 10 bpm tempo and x 6 division, then compare it with a 60 bpm metronome. You will see a big difference. Is this a bug?
I will check this.
6) It would be interesting to have other divisions for LFO, such as 9, 7, 5, 8/3, 3/2, 4/3, 3/4, 2/3, 3/8, 1/3, 1/5, 1/6, 1/7, 1/9, etc in order to obtain dotted-eighth pattern, complex time signatures and syncopations. You can even add phi (golden ratio) and 1/phi for fun. For instance Pigtronix Echolution has this.
There was a reason for limiting the available ranges. I believe it was for efficiency reasons (faster calculations) and for MIDI Sync. But the code has changed a lot since the first version we'd need to go through it carefully to work out how much of a change this is.

-
7) I like to max the tempo to 999 bpm and choose x 16 division, in order to obtain results similar to a ring modulator. For me this is more musical than a ring modulator, because we don't lose the carrier signal. It would be good to have higher tempo rates in order to obtain divergent sum, carrier, difference frequencies. Can you increase the upper limit of tempo and or division to something larger?
The division (i.e., multiplier) needs to be increased. But the hardware is capable of fast modulation (a few kHz). However, the LFO itself is limited in how fast it can move to ensure it is very smooth and there are no clicks if the LFO is moving quickly. It can be a problem with LFO shapes with sharp edges (not a problem with sine waveforms for example). This would need to be changed to allow the fast speeds. Maybe if it only works for sine waves that would be ok. It would need to be tested.
8) When the tempo is increased from fast to very fast there is a volume drop. What is the reason of this volume drop? Loss of high frequencies? You can also observe a volume drop at 999 bpm x 16 when you change the LFO wave shape to Saw Down from Saw Up. Is this the same reason?
It is probably the speed limit on the LFO. If "optical mode" is on, the effect will be more obvious too. Eventually the LFO can't move much in the available time so the level will then be somewhere between the low and hi values, and you'll get a level drop. (You always get a level change with an LFO because it is modulating the level, but above a certain speed it should remain constant unless speed-limiting like this is done.)
9) Although the inharmonic output of a very fast fixed modulator is interesting, I would like to see the result of a non-fixed modulator correlated to the carrier. For instance, the pitch of the input signal could be tracked, then the frequency of the modulator could be related to the frequency of the input signal. So, the sum, carrier and difference signals could be harmonically related. As you know, if the carrier and the modulator are both X Hz, the result should be an octave up effect. If the carrier is X and the modulator is X/2, the result should be an octave down + 3rd harmonic. I don't know how it would sound in practice, but in theory this should be like an analog Whammy :D. This would be a great addition to the Voluum, although it is already a fantastic pedal.
Actually, I experimented with this early during the development of the Voluum. You can get some nice sounds, especially nice sub-bass octaver effects. However, it was deemed to be getting too complex for most users, so it was not included in the firmware. Also, as the effects got more CPU-intensive, the available CPU time for the pitch-processing got less, so it wasn't possible to do both at the same time (all effects and pitch-tracking) without compromises. The tuner works, but no other effects are running at the same time to do this. So it might be possible to get it back in, but it's not trivial.
10) If I first define parameters, next I select a control either pedal or envelope, I lose the settings that I've defined and that can be controlled. This may be useful for some cases, but usually annoying for me :). Is this done by purpose?
It's partly of on purpose, partly due to how the parameters work. Each parameter has a "not-controller" and a "hi" and "lo" value. So when you enable control, you get the "hi" and "lo" versions, when you disable control, you get the "not-controlled" version. It can be useful because you don't loose any values when you toggle control on and off. What else could it do? If it modified the parameters when you toggle in and out of control it might be worse! Your suggestions are welcome.
11) It would be useful to start the LFO pattern at a different position rather than its absolute beginning. Is it possible to make the LFO phase adjustment available when the retriggering is not on? When it is being edited it should function like this : If we adjust the phase when the effect is engaged, it does nothing. However, if the effect is bypassed and engaged again, the LFO starts from the selected point.
This makes sense. We did add a change so the LFO would start at the same position each time the effect was enabled. Making it take account of phase might not be a big change. I need to look at it.
12) It would be useful to see the tempo clock (value before div multiplication), either parameter or tap tempo, blinking somewhere. This would function like a visual metronome to help the player for confusing tempos that I asked for above (6th suggestion, e.g. x 4/3 division). If the division is set to x 1, it would be useful as well to mark the start point of the LFO if you could evaluate the above 11th suggestion :). So, LED tempo should restart each time the effect is engaged.
Could this be done as an option to change how the 5 LEDs that show the tremolo operate? Instead of showing the actual volume position, it could show the position at the non-divided BPM, regardless of other tremolo settings and volume setting?
13) With fast attack and fast release settings on the compressor, there is some buzzing/clicking, and also some tremolo effect. This is more obvious when chords or low notes are played. You can try 0 ms attack, 0.1 s release and high compression/low threshold in order to reproduce this issue. Is this caused by the automatic make up gain fighting back and forth between note beatings? Can this be improved by software or is this the physical limit?
I haven't seen this. I will try to reproduce it.
14) LFO LEDs seem a little bit out of sync when they blink fast (for instance F08 preset toe down position). Can this be improved somehow or is this caused by a limitation?
The LEDs are updated in real-time, and pretty quickly, but there is a limit to how fast this can be done, particularly when you take the various LED intensities into account. I'm sure at very fast LFO speeds there can be some interaction between the LED updates and the LFO position so although the LEDs are being updated correctly, you can get some optical effects that make it hard to see that's going on.
15) In tuner mode, note to midi out would be really great.
This can be done, but it wouldn't be the same as our pitch-to-MIDI products (a little slower). Is pitch-bend required?
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