[linux-audio-user] soundfonts and samplers

[Pete Bessman]

At Thu, 12 Aug 2004 19:55:28 -0700 (PDT),
R Parker wrote:
> 
> Will the design be for user definable ports? 

Yup.

> I'm not familiar with Specimen and don't know how you
> define a patch. Assuming that a patch is an instrument
> and a drum kit could be eight instruments (one patch)
> then the drum kit patch could be eight 1in/2out ports
> for a total of 16. It isn't difficult to begin
> exausting available ports.

This is actually difficult to answer, because I'm not familiar
with traditional sampling terminology (I find it to be generally
impenetrable when I do encounter it).  Specimen has no notion
of an "instrument" per se.  Its vocabulary is as follows:

* Patch: a sample and the parameters controlling how it should be
  played.  Later, patches will be given the ability to contain
  multiple samples.

* Channel: there are 16 channels corresponding to the 16 standard MIDI
  channels.  Each channel can have any number of patches assigned to
  it (so long as that number doesn't exceed the global limit on
  patches).

* Bank: a bank is the collection of all 16 channels and any global
  parameters that have been set.

So, an instrument might be just one tb303 patch.  Or it might be a set
of patches on Channel 3 that serve as a drumkit.  The choice is up to
the user.

By default, Jack outputs are provided at the Bank level (and they must
always be present).  The plan is to allow channels and patches to have
Jack output themselves, if the user so desires, on an individual
entity basis.

> In my mind a routing system similar to that in Ardour
> would be interesting because the user can manage
> physical and user defined ports in anyway that fits
> their audio hardware and personal preferences.

qjackctl.  I'm not interested in creating Yet Another Routing System.
Better to do it once and do it right.

> I don't think having one master bus output to hardware
> is ideal either because a user might want to process
> the snare drum in a rackmount reverb that's connected
> to a hardware mixer.

I don't think I follow you here, so understand if my response seems
asinine.

Specimen creates a pair of master outputs and connects them to the
first set of available hardware outputs that it finds, but you're free
to connect them to whatever you want.

> I don't really know what you're designing but thought
> I'd make a few assumptions and toss a couple half
> baked  thoughts in your direction.

Always appreciated.  I don't like operating in a vacuum.

-- 
Pete

www.gazuga.net

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