Absynth wish list for future versions

my point number one is:

MIDI LEARN FUNCTION

 

I'm afraid their server will break down if I post my list ;-). But for starters:

A BUG-FREE VERSION

 

I'm never upgrading any NI product ever again until I've waited a couple of months for user reports about bugs. I've been burned too many times.

So my #1 wish for Absynth is something usable - not bug-free - just usable. The past two version have been pure farce.

But it won't happen. Absynth 4 will come out with a half-dozen so-so features, another preset bank, a big price tag and a whole new bag of bugs.

And of course you can then kiss goodbye to any hope that any bugs will ever be addressed in any older version.

 

hi dreamkeeper,
but you have posted your bug list to NI, right?

 

And you believe that will have any effect bluegreen ? Seriously ? Hundreds of people can report bugs to NI with absolutely no effect. We've all seen it.

 

ok.
NI:
do you listen to bug reports of your customers?

 

Yeah, and so did many others. The most annoying thing is that there are still bugs from Aby2, "ported" into Aby3.

I'm compiling a wish list anyway, it's not that I won't have any wishes ;-). But I'm with Spirit here, this time I'll wait too some time before upgrading - IF I upgrade at all. NI has to make some serious changes to their customer support policy.

werner

 

yes I also would like to have a bugfree version.
what kind of **** support is this anyway? there have been numerous posts about bugs. especially the hanging notes thing.
but NI are doing NOTHING about it. absynth is getting totally NOT usable. seriously guys. this is plain awfull. I won't support NI anymore if these bugs remain. it's as simple as that.

 

I agree with the MIDI Learn request, or at least give us an easy way of assigning CC's to ANY changeable Ab3 parameter via the MIDI page. Control Drive Envelopes are certainly powerful, but overkill sometimes for the really simple stuff you're trying to do in a hurry.

I love Ab3 (bugs and all), but these days I find myself going more and more to Z3ta+ for performance based patches. More or less sticking to Ab3 for the occasional sound design (sample warping) tasks.

More wishlist items:

- Bipolar envelopes. I know this goes against Ab3's long standing way of working where the current setting is always your max, but it's highly unintuitive IMO.

- REAL VALUES FOR THE DELAYS AND EFFECTS!!!! No more fractional/decimal values, just let me choose 1/8th, 1/16th note values, etc. If it's not synced to tempo, make the values relate to Hz. Ditto for tempo, just let me set the exact tempo on the main page. We're musicians, not computer programmers. Errr.... maybe not.

- F4 in standalone mode should record audio, and midi data.

- Resizeable GUI, too tiny on my laptop.

- The "option" to use Ab3 as an effects device, without requiring a midi trigger to open the envelopes. I know why this is needed currently (to let Ab know when to trigger the envelopes), but not all tasks require envelopes. How many posts have we seen where newbies can't fiigure this out? Highly unintuitive for a modern synth.

- Ability to snap pitch envelopes to semitone values. Makes using the envelopes as mini arps much easier.

- Complete modulation destinations. So many Ab3 parameters aren't available for control via envelopes or LFOs. If I can change a value with my mouse, make it a destination

 

OK... let's calm down here...

Werner, send me your list off the forum. You should have my e-mail address.

We moderators DO report bugs and the like. We're doing all we can do...

Tarekith, I like a lot of your suggestions. I doubt you'll see the fx implementation changing- every soft synth out there that can be used as an effect (besides the modulars, that is) depends on the same trick. You mentioned Z3ta; that's a prime example. Both Z3Ta and Pentagon need the gate to function as an effect. Same with the Arturia stuff.

ew

 

Surely there can be a way to route it to just the effects and filters though? Then just give us the option when you using it as an effect if we want the midi trigger or not.

The other synths you mention all (like AB) have extensive envelope options, so that makes sense.

 

OK, here are a few ideas. ;-)

Firstly I'd like to see some real workflow enhancements:

• An option to use a multiple windows GUI like in Aby2.
• An option for alternative dial controls, with a knob that is.
• Drop-down menu on each MIDI slider to select the controler no. Also more sliders.
• Global routing matrix for modulations and MIDI assignments.
• Decent patch and bank management, with patch infos and comments.
• Subfolders for the library files (for oscil and channel presets etc.)
• Visual feedback for parameter modulations would be nice (see MOTU MX4) - at least a better visible envelope timeline!
• Envelopes graphics should reflect the control driven breakpoint shiftings - Yeah, I know that's tough, esp. with velocity, but please find a way. This and the item above should have an option to deactivate them because of CPU consumption.
• Save and restore for LFO settings
• I second the "REAL VALUES FOR THE DELAYS AND EFFECTS!!!!"
• Ah yes: make the effect of FX settings independant from sample rate! If I create an FX setting at 96kHz, it will in many (all?) cases sound different when played/recorded at say 44.1kHz. This one bit me several times.

As for additional or enhanced features:

• Pulse width modulation for all waveforms
• Real noise generators, also available as LFO "waveform"
• Provide the transformation parameters in waveform editor for envelope modulation. Modulating the harmonics would be nice, though I can see that'd be tough - there should be a way to modulate them in groups then.
• More destinations for LFO
• More LFOs or better yet: Add beat synch and MIDI controls to the envelope LFOs.
• Adjustable smoothing for Sample+Hold LFO, with S+H there are often nasty clicks. This parameter should have a wide range to allow for glide between the sample values, you would then have a smooth curve that changes its shape every cycle forever and ever.
• Crossfading and snap-to-zero-crossing for sample-jump envelopes - again to avoid cklicks and pops and to achieve smooth transitions.
• Edit the symmetry of an envelope segment. Certain shapes are almost impossible to achieve now, at least at the expense of a lot of additional breakpoints. Sometimes hard to get a perfectly smooth curve through a series of breakpoints because it seems to bend always the wrong way.
• Multiple selection of non-adjacent breakpoints. If you want to assign say every evennumbered breakpoint to one controller and every odd to another, you have to do so one at a time now.
• Apply transformations to the selected envelope portion
• Parametric editing of notescale maps, for instance dial in start and end value and a curve parameter and let Aby calculate the individual values - or do it graphically. Presets for various keyboard follow functions, for instance linear, progressive or adapt to frequency (if you want to "play" a filter).
• Different response curves to choose from for velocity and control-driven breakpoints - linear, logarithmic, progressive
• Option to reverse the shifting of a control-driven breakpoint. Shifting one up/forth and the other down/back at the same time with one MIDI controler. Would be useful for MIDI controlled rhythm changes.
• Key position as controller source in conjunction with a set of additional notescale maps. The latter could appear as notescale1, notescale2 etc. in the list of controllers and could be assigned to any breakpoint(s).

That should be enough for now, before I get carried away. ;-)

Eric - I'll send the bug list soon.

werner

 

I like your ideas, Werner.
By the way, the library's already in subfolders (or were you talking subfolders of subfolders?). My library folder has subfolders for channels, oscils and the like.

I'll be looking for it. Oh, and you've got mail...

ew

 

Yes, that's what I meant. I'd like to have subcatogories, these menus get messed up pretty fast. Actually I think that this module library is a powerful feature and could use a bit more attention regarding the way how it's implemented. There are so many great ideas in Aby, but some are just not thought out.

Glad you like my suggestions

werner

 

I definitely like the idea to be able to see the effect modulation has on parameters. Also, I wish the envelope "handles" (white squares) were bigger.

 

my wish - they stop putting out any new products for 3-4 years and fix all of the **** they have out now and then when they really have it fixed, say maybe 2-2 1/2 years - they spend the 1 1/2 years left and even another extra year to develop their first giltch free apps. That would be ..... a hallucination.....or surreal ....or....
Neeeehhhhhhhh - never gonna happen!

 

You too, huh? My eyes are bad enough already...

ew

 

Norman
Good to see you here again.

Yeah, in a perfect world, everything would run fine on all machines. The problem is that there's so many variables- hardware, other software, competence or ineptness of the person setting up the machine, etc.

ew

 

Defenders of buggy apps like to bring up the "perfect world defense". But clearly some apps have more bugs than others.

Absynth has degraded with each release. IMHO version 1 was the most stable.

 

And my experience has been exactly the opposite. With v1 and early v2 versions and my host of choice (Sonar), I used to have to save the project and then remove all my Absynth instances before exiting, otherwise Sonar (and often Windows) would crash. With v3, all I do is save and exit.

ew