[linux-audio-dev] Catching up with XAP

[David Olofson]

On Wednesday 15 January 2003 15.28, David Olofson wrote:
> On Wednesday 15 January 2003 14.46, Steve Harris wrote:
> > > I don't follow you at all - a new note is a new note.  If your
> > > instrument has a glissando control, use it.  It does the right
> > > thing.  Each new note gets a new VVID.
> >
> > I agree with Tim about this.

Another observation:

There are two ways you could start notes on a monophonic synth:
	1. Use the same VVID for all notes
	2. Use a new VVID for each note.

If the synth actually looks at VVIDs, it could interpret these 
differently. For example:

	Same VVID:	Retrig envelope, slide pitch etc.
	New VVID:	Full reset; restart oscillators etc.


Now, looking at the default behavior of mono synths ignoring VVIDs, 
what does that imply? Well, since a mono synth generally has only one 
voice, it seems more or less obvious that the "same VVID" case is 
what's implied when VVIDs are ignored. This is also obvious when you 
look at the sender side; you need only one VVID to drive a mono 
synth, so why should you keep reassigning it to the same voice all 
the time?


Anyway, it would make more sense to me if mono synths were basically 
just poly synths that support at most one voice, than if they were 
completely special-cased WRT voice control.

If you can control the voice of a mono synth with a single VVID (or 
an implicit, fixed VVID, if the synth doesn't even check the VVID 
field), why not control each voice of a poly synth in the same manner?


//David Olofson - Programmer, Composer, Open Source Advocate

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