Christoph's Notepad

C++ - loading a binary file

2005-05-25T16:13:00.000-07:00

I didn't expect it wouldn't be that difficult to load a simple binary file in C++ (of course, I'm talking about a sysex file).

The problem is not to load it to the heap, the problem is to find documentation to do so. Most documents load text strings - but I cannot use strings for binary files.

First steps in C++

2005-05-16T07:03:00.000-07:00

A friend has politey written a wee small Qt application for me to get me started. I improved it so it now requests and loads a binary file from the hard drive when pressing a button. Pressing an other button writes the hex code of the data to stderr.

I already know that I will be interested in multithreading as soon as possible. When writing the data to stderr one can already see the GUI to freeze for a short time - and the data has only been 34KB :) .

I wonder that it was that difficult to load binary data. I guessed that for a computer it should be very simple to handle it. But no, various data types are represented by a different amount of bytes on different platforms/architectures. Furthermore, you need to know that if you load binary data into a string object the machine will convert bytes that look like row endings. Urgh.

C++ programming

2005-05-08T03:07:00.000-07:00

I finally decided to learn some C++ so I can help improving existing free software and to be able to create own helper applications.
In fact, C++ seems to be a language difficult to learn. Having some knowledge in Basic and shell scripting, C++ is more complex and abstract.
The problem is not to start writing some C++, the problem is to get enough knowledge to understand existing code.
I fear it will last a long time until I can read code written by others, and I'm curious if I will continue learning C++.

LAC 2005 Review

2005-05-01T14:34:00.000-07:00

Well, finally with a delay of one week, a short review of the LAC 2005.

The conference was visited well again, and the talks have been of high quality.

On wednesday evening, we had a first dinner at an italian restaurant with the participiants which have already arrived.

On thursday, Peter Brinkmann introduced »MidiKinesis - MIDI controllers for (almost) any purpose«, which lets you use MIDI controller events to trigger previously recorded mouse actions (pressing buttons and so on). The mouse events are recorded relative to the application window, so it can be moved around without breaking the recording. In the evening hours the »Opening Concert« took place in the ZKM Kubus.

On friday, I held a talk about »Linux Audio Usability Issues«.

On saturday I was impressed by the talk of Jürgen Reuter
who introduced »SoundPaint«, a tool to convert paintings into audio material. Furthermore there has been a talk about »System design for audio record and playback with a computer using FireWire«, a very important topic because firewire on linux is not available for audio cards yet. Nasca Octavian Paul demonstrated his cool synth »ZynAddSubFX« and Paul Davis demonstrated »Ardour«, the digital audio workstation software he has worked on for five years now. I really was impressed how matured it is - a really professional grade software. The evening hours have been filled with a second concert and the sound night with some further events happening on the ZKM balcony.

After that, we entered a restaurant in the city called »Stoevchen« at a quarter past two - seventeen people! We got something to eat and to drink and I arrived at home at 4AM - very tired ;-) .

On sunday the talk of Dave Phillips (»Where Are We Going And Why Aren't We There Yet?«) was the last one. After some reports about the sessions that took place the day before the conference officially ended. Fortunately, we returned to the italian restaurant in the evening hours to have a nice meal again.

Eric Ross playing the Theremin

2005-05-01T01:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday there was an event in the »Badischer Kunstverein« where Eric Ross played the Theremin. I was not convinced about the music, but the Theremin was really an interesting instrument. I already knew and heard it before, but never live.

Eric also played an Roland XP 80 and the guitar.The Theremin was connected to an guitar effects processor and he used a lot of reverb and delays. The Theremin was manufactured by Big Briar, the new company of Robert Moog who originally invented the analog synthesizers in the middle of the last century.

Linuxtag Papers

2005-05-01T01:09:00.000-07:00

Due to the fact that I needed to write the two papers for the Linuxtag, I still haven't had the time to write down my thoughts about the Linux Audio Conference last weekend. Friday in the evening hours I submitted the papers, so this task is finally finished.

LAC just over...

2005-04-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

...and the guys already have put the videos online.
I'm impressed. Thanks Jörn et al. for your hard work.

LAC ahead

2005-04-19T13:55:00.000-07:00

Finally I finished my slides for the talk on the Linux Audio Conference, while watching some streams about the new pope.

A german traditionalist. Well, if I were christian, I'd be disappointed.

Twinview on a Nvidia card

2005-04-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

Well, finally I got twinview configured for my Nvidia Geforce 2 Go in my notebook. I've connected a 21'' CRT. For preparing the papers for the Linux Audio Conference and the Linuxtag it's a great thing. I can finally have one Document on one screen and another one on the other. Thanks to a resolution of 1400x1050 on my notebook, I'll surely save a lot of time this way. Many thanks to Alexandre Tessier from the Yahoo group "linux-dell-laptops" who has politely posted an example configuration and some explaining words. Thanks a lot!

Successful weekend

2005-04-10T16:06:00.000-07:00

Well, thanks to the great work of Pedro Lopez-Cabanillas we've now finally ALSA support in Sysexxer. And I have almost finished my paper for the Linuxtag 2005.

I still need to update the documentation for Sysexxer and to clean up its homepage, but I fear it will still last some days until I have some time to do so.

Stockholm syndrome

2005-04-07T10:27:00.000-07:00

I was told that I should care about the Stockholm syndrome ;-) .

Access not on Musikmesse?

2005-04-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

Seems that Access will have no booth on the Musikmesse this year, so I'll cancel the planned visit on thursday.

Requiescas in pace.

2005-04-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

ALSA support for Sysexxer

2005-04-01T14:56:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the help of Pedro Lopez-Cabanillas we'll finally add ALSA support to Sysexxer. Until today, Sysexxer can only handle OSS devices, even if ALSA gets used it simply uses the OSS emulation of ALSA. Unfortunately, this way it is not possible to use multiport MIDI cards like the m-audio Midisport 8x8.

So, finally we'll get true ALSA sequencer support - that's really great!

Gentoo Linux 2005.0

2005-03-28T16:40:00.000-08:00

Well, not important to me, because I already have it on my hard drive. Gentoo is one of the less systems (besides Debian-based systems) which can easily be kept up-to-date via aome simply commands. None of the commercial distros is capable of keeping a system once installed up-to-date. Furthermore, the online repository of Gentoo packages is simply amazing. After having used SuSE, Debian and Mandrake, I have to admit that Gentoo is the perfect system for my desktop:

Easiest online updates

All packages in the repository are really up-to-date

The system is very well documented

Many things have to be configured manually, but OTOH, no GUI configuration frontend will mess your manually modified configuration files

Gentoo always tries to include important system changes like the new init scripting process (I do not know any other distro which has it included)

Disadvantage:

Time consuming, caused due to the fact that you have to compile all packages by yourself. Mozilla, OpenOffice.org and KDE will need many many hours to compile

See the release announcement for further information.

Linux audio tutorial videos

2005-03-28T02:51:00.000-08:00

Though the audio quality is poor and my spoken english is a very »krautish« one, I get very positive feedback concerning the Linux audio video tutorials I did some time before.

Linux audio is still complex, mainly due to the fact that there are many competing audio servers (esound, aRts, JACK) while other applications still need direct access to the hardware device provided by the driver (and of course there are two different driver systems, the older open sound system and the newer ALSA).

Anyone who is interested in the videos can get them on the homepage of Sysexxer.

Gnome wave cleaner

2005-03-27T15:09:00.000-08:00

Cool app to simply do the most important steps for cleaning audio files (many formats supported, based on the libsndfile):

http://gwc.sourceforge.net

Open instrument file format

2005-03-25T13:18:00.000-08:00

Just joined a newly created mailing list to discuss a new open file format for audio applications like software samplers and synthesizers. I'm not that optimistic that it will spred even if it was well designed. I'm curious.

Access Virus TI line still not available

2005-03-25T11:53:00.000-08:00

Still, Access isn't able to deliver the new TI-line which has been announced in november of 2004. Some guys of the inofficial Access Virus mailing list had immediately sold their Virus Cs after the announcement and are now waiting for the TI for almost half a year (don't laugh, it's a fact ;-).

The main new feature is the integration into the computer desktop/sequencing software. Not important for me due to the fact I'm working on a Linux box and I guess there will (with reason) never be an ALSA-driver for it.

I'm not necessarily in need the other new features which make the TI different to the Virus C.

Hypersaw? I'm no house or techno musician

More voices? The 32 voices of the C are really enough most of the time, except when playing too much with the unison mode (I simply avoid unison mode)

4 RAM banks of singles instead of 2? As long as there are still ROM banks, it's not important. A really cool feature was if all banks would be RAM

Three destinations for all of the six modulation matrix slots? That's a bugfix or consistency fix which I'd like to see in an OS upgrade for the C (Access is known for their fair upgrade policy, BTW)

Individual effects for each of the 16 Multiparts? Cool, but that's not something spectacular, it's a tribute to faster processors. And all information I saw only told that reverb and delay are individual for each multipart - are all the other effects excluded?

Embedded singles in multimode? That's really cool, but too less to upgrade my C :)

What still a lot of people will miss in the TI:

A freely assignable eight stage envelope with loop start and end point as known from the Waldorf Microwave

Three equally featured LFOs with an envelope each which can be used as a source in the modulation matrix

Three equally featured oscillators like found in the Novation Supernova. It's cool to switch the third oscillator off if it's not needed, but there's no reason why it is limited in features, e.g. the selection of waveforms differs from oscillator 1 and 2

Individual and bipolar Detune for each oscillator is a must have. That there's no detune for oscillator 1 is really sad

Adjustable and modulatable bandwidth for the bandpass and notch filters

Individual Envelopes for both filters

Individual volumes for each oscillator in the mixer, finally dropping the old two oscillator design and make the saturation simply depend on the sum of all oscillator volumes. Drop the oscillator volume knob and make the oscillator balance knob dependent on the oscillator select button

Endless rotaries instead of the knobs, which can act as switches when pressing on them. This would save a lot of buttons

All parameters should be accessible via the menus, even if there's a hardware control for it. There are simply values which are very difficult to adjust via the knobs due to the fact that a parameter has too many values

Make sending a ROM bank to be forced to the bank specified in the global settings. Currently the Virus simply ignores incoming ROM banks complaining about illegal bank number, ignoring the global setting to force it to bank A or B

According to ROM writing copying ROM banks to a RAM bank would be very useful

Improving parameter names. »Patch volume«? A patch is called a single in the Virus.Filter parameters? »Cutoff« and »Cutoff2« instead of »Flt1Cutoff« and »Flt2Cutoff«. »Filt1Reso« and »Filt2Reso« are prefixed different than all the rest of the filter parameters, which are prefixed by »Flt«. Sorry, it's a mess.

Remove the velocity settings from the global menu and move them to the filter and oscillator menus

Hierarchical menus. The flat menus require lots of clicks to find the desired parameter, especially in multi mode

The audio quality of the Virus is outstanding, but the parameter set strongly limits the capabilities of the machine and makes audio design more complicated as necessary.

But anyway, the Virus is a really great machine which allows unique and present sounds. And to be honest, the Polar simply looks very very cool.

Keep up the good work, and make the next synth again a Virus, but with real impressive new features. I guess that lots of C users will skip the TI and wait for the next generation.

Aaron J. Seigo on ISVs

2005-03-25T11:33:00.000-08:00

Aaaron J. Seigo, one of the KDE usability guys, has some interesting thoughts about ISV software.
And he's right in his observations. It's a pity that commercial software simply sucks. Another good example is Realplayer for Linux. In version 10, it still uses OSS as audio output. As long as someone uses KDE or Gnome, a soundserver will keep the audio device busy, which causes Realplayer to freeze during startup instead of checking for the current system and connecting to the correct soundserver. This is surely not causes by the quality of the programmers but simply by their ignorance.

Linux Audio Usability

2005-03-23T15:26:00.000-08:00

Usability is a very difficult thing on Linux desktops. After I have finally finished my paper about Linux Audio Usability Issues for the Linux Audio Conference, I again played with some applications today. Lots of cool stuff, but simply unaccessible for average computer users and even musicians. It's a pity.

But when asking authors of different applications to include certain features to address usability ideas, I usually get very positive feedback.

Initial Post

2005-03-23T15:10:00.000-08:00

I'm curious if I'll use the blog on a regular basis or not ;-) .