the next version of PSPSeq... workflow improvements?

[ethan]

Hey everyone - so I'm thinking a bit about a 3.10 release of PSPSeq.
It's not going to happen in the near future but I want to get some
ideas on ways to improve the workflow in the program. After having a
few chats with people it seems like this is still probably the weakest
part of PSPSeq.

So with that in mind, I'm looking for your thoughts on how to improve
workflow. These would be minor changes that wouldn't break 3.01 .seq
compatibility so no additional synths or FX and it won't be a real
overhaul of the GUI. Feel free to throw out whatever ideas you have
and I'll let you know if they're unreasonable or not. This is what
I'm thinking about right now:

1. Improved copy and paste from the step sequencer. My first thought
is to allow for multiple slots to save copy data. I would remove the
2nd synth parameter from the step sequencer (accessed via triangle
plus left/right on the analog/digital pad - I don't think anyone would
miss this) with a small bank (8 per track?) of "presets" you could
copy and paste from. This would be independent from the preset files
that already exist.

You'd step through the bank by pressing triangle and the D-pad left or
right. To save synth params to this bank you'd press circle + left
trigger and to paste you'd press cirlce and right trigger. So
basically it would work the same as copy and paste now except you'd
have multiple paste values available at any time. They would also
stay active when switching from loop to loop and you'd have separate
banks for each track. This would make it a lot easier to reuse a
single track for multiple purposes.

2. Interpolation from the step sequencer. The idea here is that you
would select the start and end steps of two triggered hits and PSPSeq
would fill in the middle steps with control-only steps and interpolate
all of the parameters in between. This would be particularly useful
with the enhanced copy and paste feature. Not sure what the button
combo would be, but I'll try and find something free.

3. Allow for the step sequencer to play while in SONG mode to make it
easier to build larger song segments. I might just enable this while
in EDIT SYNTH rather than in all the menu options. The other option
here would be to allow for switching loops while in EDIT SYNTH/LOOP
mode. That might be easier to implement. Both methods have good and
bad aspects to them. Any thoughts on which would be more useful? Not
sure what the button combo would be for this. Left trigger + Right
trigger + D-pad left/right?

4. For parameters that are a frequency offset (2nd oscillator in BAM/
BFM, EXPOFFSET, etc), absolute frequencies for all generators, and
RDSPEED in the WAV synth, using the D-pad to change values would
follow 12-tone tuning rules. Using the D-pad with the left trigger
would go up/down one semitone and right trigger would go up/down one
octave. So for example if you pressed up on the D-pad + left trigger
and RDSPEED was 1.0, it would then go to 1.05946, then 1.12246, etc
etc. If RDSPEED were between 1.0 and 1.05946 pressing up would set it
to 1.05946 and down would go to 1.0. If it was 1.0 and you pressed up
on the D-pad with right trigger it would go to 2.0, then 4.0, etc
etc. The analog stick would still allow for any arbitrary value. I
probably would make this functionality something you could turn off
and on via the CONFIG menu.

5. Faster save/load. I'm sure I can make this better than it is now.

Those are the changes that come to mind. Any thoughts on this? Are
there other changes you'd like to see that would make it faster to
make music? Bigger changes like a mixer stage or additional synths or
FX would go into a major release.

Ethan

[11hzrobot]

I would miss the triangle + R,L if it were gone. I use it all the
time. The one change i would like to see is the ability to change
loop length. or if that is to difficult to do the ability to chain
loops. Either one so that we can work with longer phrases. No need to
make it unlimited loop length, but maybe the equivalent of 16 current
loops. Once the loops are "chained" or "extended" then all the
current step, track, synth editing functions would apply to the now
bigger chunk...treating them the way loops are treated now. So for
example the fill function would fill all steps in the chain or
extended loop. or say you wanted to use the interpolation function
start and end steps could be set to points at the beginning and end of
the chain or extended loop.

Maybe make a menu option "pages per loop" and have a 1-16 option. so
everything stays the same in terms of within loop editing except that
the loop is now longer and takes up several pages or screens. when
the user is working in loop mode instead of the audio looping over the
current screen it would loop the Extended loop. But the screen would
not follow audio playback automatically...you wouldn't want the screen
to keep jumping to the next one while you are trying to input steps or
whatever.

if the chain loops option is easier then the user would define which
loops will be linked together in what order and once they are linked
all step and track editing options would apply to all loops. They
would be treated as one single loop. Basically the ability to change
loop length or chain loops are two ways of getting to the same
place.

So.....

Extended loops and screen does not automatically follow playback.
Please.......

[Ethan Bordeaux]

I'm surprised you use triangle that much to access the 2nd parameter.  The first parameter (usually for frequency) would remain.  Do you use it mostly for the MIX param for tracks that have FX?  The other option would be to piggyback the new copy/paste stuff on top of the PAN parameter.  You could still modify PAN with circle and the analog stick but circle and the digital pad would step through the copy/paste slots.  Is that a better solution?

As for chains & multiple loops, I'll have to give that some thought.  I know this is important for you.  I'm curious to see if the lgpt people that use PSPSeq all have the same problem.  I can't say right now how hard it would be to implement any of your ideas, but I don't think it'll be easy.  When I get around to the actual implementation work I'll give it some deeper thoughts and try a few experiments to see what can be done.  I think even adding the ability to change loops while editing synths would be a pretty big improvement in the workflow as it would make it easier to preview and work on multi-loop segments of a song.

[11hzrobot]

I misunderstood the parameter you where talking about I thought you
where talking about triangle + L, R (the shortcut to the edit synth
menu) that is the one I use all the time. not the 2nd synth
parameter. You're right I don't use that and wouldn't miss it.

So if you allow the step sequencer to play while in Song mode only in
edit synth menu does that mean that that would be the only menu
accessible? Basically we would be able to edit synths in song mode?
editing steps and accessing the edit track menu would be useful to.

I can't visualize what you mean by switching loops in edit synth/loop
mode. can you explain that a little bit?

On Feb 4, 8:03 pm, Ethan Bordeaux <ethan.borde...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I'm surprised you use triangle that much to access the 2nd parameter. The
> first parameter (usually for frequency) would remain. Do you use it mostly
> for the MIX param for tracks that have FX? The other option would be to
> piggyback the new copy/paste stuff on top of the PAN parameter. You could
> still modify PAN with circle and the analog stick but circle and the digital
> pad would step through the copy/paste slots. Is that a better solution?
>
> As for chains & multiple loops, I'll have to give that some thought. I know
> this is important for you. I'm curious to see if the lgpt people that use
> PSPSeq all have the same problem. I can't say right now how hard it would
> be to implement any of your ideas, but I don't think it'll be easy. When I
> get around to the actual implementation work I'll give it some deeper
> thoughts and try a few experiments to see what can be done. I think even
> adding the ability to change loops while editing synths would be a pretty
> big improvement in the workflow as it would make it easier to preview and
> work on multi-loop segments of a song.
>

[Ethan Bordeaux]

I misunderstood the parameter you where talking about I thought you
where talking about triangle + L, R (the shortcut to the edit synth
menu) that is the one I use all the time. not the 2nd synth
parameter.  You're right I don't use that and wouldn't miss it.

OK good.  Unless anyone speaks up, this is the way I'll do it.
 

So if you allow the step sequencer to play while in Song mode only in
edit synth menu does that mean that that would be the only menu
accessible?  Basically we would be able to edit synths in song mode?
editing steps and accessing the edit track menu would be useful to.

I can't visualize what you mean by switching loops in edit synth/loop
mode.  can you explain that a little bit?

Basically what I want is the ability to edit a series of loops without exiting the menu system.  Thinking about it a bit more, this is what I would like to do:

1.  Allow for changing the current loop while in the menus.  No Idea what the button combo will be for that.  probably L trig + R trig + something else (left/right on D-pad?).  This would ideally work in all menus and both in loop and song mode.  I forget why I turned off the menus in song mode.  I think there is an audible click sometimes when changing from loop to loop but if you just use it for compositional purposes it's not a big deal.
2.  If you are in loop mode changing loops would just increment up/down one loop at a time.  If you are in song mode, it would go to the next measure.  However, if you're in song mode and in the menu system it wouldn't automatically go from one measure to the next; you would need to specifically use the previous/next measure button combo to get to the next measure.  It would be annoying to have the sequencer changing measures on you when you're in song mode and trying to edit a synth.

Make sense?

The idea of being able to tie together and edit multi-loop sequences like you suggest is trickier to implement (it's a more fundamental change to how a lot of the sequencer control works), but I will give it some thought.
 

[11hzrobot]

yes having menus enabled in song mode would be just for compositional
purposes so if there is a click while in the menu system as the song
player advances a loop that would be no big deal. as long as there is
and "enable/disable menus in song mode" option so that when we are
done with the song and want to listen to it without the clicks we
could do that.

Is changing loop length as fundamental a change as being able to tie
and edit multi-loop sequences? If so how about just tying loops with
no change in how the individual loops are edited?

A four bar loop is as basic as the kick drum on the 1. I just want to
be able to work on a four bar loop...while it loops. turning off
instant loop switching and using the R L buttons to manually make it
loop and trying to edit that four bar loop at the same time is to
much, either you edit or you loop.

all my suggestion come down to trying to do that. Menu enabled song
mode, extended loop length, loop chaining...all suggestions to try and
find the easiest way to get to work on a four bar loop. Once the way
is found to do that an 8 or 16 bar loop is just a matter of degree.

The ability to edit a series of loops without exiting the menu system
would be sweet. The ability to edit a series of loops while they are
looping in series would be double sweet.

[Ethan Bordeaux]

The ability to edit a series of loops without exiting the menu system

would be sweet.  The ability to edit a series of loops while they are
looping in series would be double sweet.

The ability to edit a series of loops while staying in the menu system is what I'm going after.   Automatically incrementing to go to the next measure is possible but I also think that it would be annoying.  You wouldn't want to be tweaking a parameter in step 0 loop 00 and then all the sudden have it switch to step 0 loop 01 when the sequencer gets to the end of loop 00, eh?  That's why I wanted to keep the sequencer locked to a particular loop/measure until you explicitly tell it to move on.  and LOOP/SONG mode determines whether you just increment loops or if they follow the song structure.  I think that this would go a long way to making it easier to edit bunches of loops at a time.

Most likely for starters I'll try and make the loop switching in the menu system work (since that's an obvious win for everyone) and then look into you suggestions on how to make life easier in editing multiple loops at the same time.

[11hzrobot]

I'd like to be able to do this:

edit loop 01 while loops 01 and 02 playback over and over looped. And
the screen stays on loop 01 while it is being edited until you press R
to move to loop 02 and edit that. ALL the While loop 01 and 02
playback continuously ...01-02-01-02...etc. If this happens then
I'll ask for the same thing but with 4 loops then 8 and I'd be happy
there. editing would still one loop at a time. the screen would show
one loop at a time but playback would be more than one loop...looped.

loop switching in the menu system will be cool too.

[H- Seiken]

That would be accomplished then by letting menus work in song mode and you'd just make your own 'song' of the loops you are editing.  ;)

[laze...@googlemail.com]

Hey all, this is my first time using googlegroups so I hope I dont
screw this up. I have a couple of feature requests (which I hope arent
included anywhere already and I have missed them) These are more ease
of use than workflow suggestions.

Would it be possible to make the menus a little more verbose for synth
edit? For example the synth edit menu for BFMSVF has 18 parameters and
only 9 characters to display each one. For somone with a little less
technical knowlege (ie me) CWTTYPE2 or COSCSYNC are a little
intimidating. Seeing as you arent hurting for screen real estate,
could you expand on those a little?

How about a little glossary accessable via the help section detailing
the types of synths and effect under "add synth? eg now you have

"KSVCF"

but "KS - Karplus-Strong (plucked string synth, with STATE VARIABLE
FILTER FX"

might be a little easier to understand?

Perhaps separate synth types from FX types on the left so

BAMDEC0 becomes BAM-DEC0 (I think you have an extra character in
there?

Also I would really like assignable parameters for the TRI button so I
could assign FX values or something

How about a "live mode" (never really considered PSPSEQ as a live tool
until I watch tutorial 18.) where you could affect the Tri/O/X buttons
per track as default rather than per step rather than having to go
through the synth menu?

Lastly how about a nice big hitchhikers style "dont panic" logo as a
splash screen?

[laze...@googlemail.com]

A couple of other ideas.

1 - Would it be possible to show the current total CPU load/load of
the selected track as a percentage or something near the waveform
window window? EG

"3%/70%"

Meaning the current track takes up 3% of the load and the total load
is 70%

This would make adding synths a lot easier.

2 - When on the step sequencer with the cursor on an "empty" step, how
about TRIANGLE plus DPAD/ANALOG stick to automatically jump to the
next filled step? It might make navigating alot quicker.

3 - How about the option to rename the synths as '909kick" or
"lowbass" or "highlead" for example rather than "bam0" or "BFM2"?

Thanks again for this!

On Mar 24, 12:57 pm, "lazerb...@googlemail.com"

[H- Seiken]

Request 2 is already filled, really. There's an option to switch between moving to the next group of 8 steps or moving to the next used step.

[Ethan Bordeaux]

Hey lots of great ideas are piling up in this thread.  Happy to see them all.  When I start digging into a future release I'll definitely be looking carefully at this list.

As for point #1, I could definitely do this.  Also wanted to point out that you can get total processing load in the SYSTEM->ABOUT screen.  It's not exactly what you're looking for (and you may already know about it but I thought I'd point it out).  One feature I was thinking of was a low battery indicator; once you get below say 10% a battery icon show's up on the screen.  That's the sort of thing that I think would be nice to not have buried in a menu.  :)

[laze...@googlemail.com]

I use that feature alot. I think its awesome. I think the idea I
mentioned would also be useful though. Skipping from Step 2 to step 36
for example, could be one key press instead of 5 or 6 in some cases.

On Mar 26, 5:11 pm, H- Seiken <haky...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Request 2 is already filled, really. There's an option to switch between
> moving to the next group of 8 steps or moving to the next used step.
>

> On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 1:37 AM, lazerb...@googlemail.com <

[laze...@googlemail.com]

I could be wrong, but doesnt the PSPs power light start flashing when
the battery reaches around 10%?

[laze...@googlemail.com]

Another possible workflow improvement which I think would be
especially useful when working from a present file and running out of
CPU load would be a "delete unused synths" option. Could be applied
either to a loop or a song?

On Feb 4, 5:38 pm, ethan <ethan.borde...@gmail.com> wrote:

[H- Seiken]

Would have to affect whole song as it is...

[laze...@googlemail.com]

Quick idea for a workflow improvement, how about doubletap X to remove
trigger or control steps as wel as/instead of X plus L trigger. For me
I often find myself going back one look by mistake when I want to
remove a step. This might free up a button combo for you also.

Im not sure is this is getting into new feature rather than workflow
but I had a conversation on 8bc with 11hzrobot he suggested the idea
of loading your custom color scheme at start up? I would really like
this as the Black and Green hurts my eyes a little.