ModPlug Central

Hi !
Thanks to the soon compo I've made my first track with OpenMTP after years of good ol' ModPlug... So let me thank all OMPT developers for this amazing achievement : great work, bravo,  OMPT truly is wonderful ! :D

Now I must say that it took me quite some time to read lots of topics in this forum (plus Harbinger's Help file) and gather enough info on what are OpenMPT features and how they work (and I'm not even using VSTs).
In a thread about the old chord editor Rakib said this :

QuoteIf people knew what it was, it would be more used. The lack of new documentation after 1.16(Oliviers help file) makes people stick to old habbits.

So true !

So I think OpenMPT would benefit from a tips window at startup like in Renoise, Gimp and other feature-heavy softwares. I personally like to read info that is condensed and to the point, to learn what I can do and how. Startup tips are great for this and not too hard to implement I guess. Also they can make you try things you would'nt normaly think about or search for in a Help file.

____________________________________________________________
|                   Welcome to OpenMPT !                    |
|                                                           |
|                          Tip#01                           |
|Pattern editor :                                           |
|Double-click on a field to open the effects menu.          |
|You'll find all available commands with their description. |
|                                                           |
| <- previous tip             close             next tip -> |
|___________________________________________________________|


I've written a list of tips, some are obvious, some not :

EDIT : I'll update and classify this list.
1 INPUT SETUP

2 PATTERN
  a. EFFECTS
  b. EDIT & RECORD

3 INSTRUMENT

4 SAMPLE

5 PLUGINS (VST, VSTi, DirectX)

6 GENERAL, MISC

1 INPUT SETUP :
Tip#XX - MIDI keyboard :
You can use a MIDI keyboard to enter notes or play live : open the setup window (Ctrl+F1), go to the MIDI tab and select your MIDI input device.
In the main toolbar, click on the "MIDI record" icon to activate your keyboard.

Tip#XX - keyboard setup (Ctrl+F1) :
To optimize your workflow you can modify almost all keyboard actions and shortcuts.
Open the setup window (Ctrl+F1) and go to the keyboard tab (you can load and save configs).
It's also a good reminder of all available options with their description.

Tip#XX - You can use your PC keyboard as a 3 octave piano.
If notes are not correclty assigned to your keys, go to the keyboard tab of the setup (Ctrl+F1) and select "Pattern editor - Note Col".
In the main toolbar, you can select an octave to transpose your keyboard (shortcuts available in keyboard setup : "Global keys").

Tip#XX - modplug live
When playing a module, Modplug allows you to create a live performance :
* improvise : select an instrument and play live (select 2 instruments with keyboard split)
* alter the sound : change instrument settings (like filters) in real time, edit or redraw samples.
* mute channels on transitions : Ctrl+left click on the channel label (or right click menu).
* Loop or unloop the current pattern (shortcut available in keyboard setup Ctrl+F1)
* Drag and drop the next pattern order in the tree view.

2 PATTERN :
  a. effects :
Tip#XX - pattern editor :
Double-click on a field to open the effects menu.
You'll find all available commands with their description.

Tip#XX - pattern editor :
To play a sample backward, use the S9F effect (or X9F for XM format) and S9E (or X9E) to play the sample forward again.

Tip#XX - sample offset :
To play a certain part of a sample (useful for drum loops), use the offset effect Oxx (or 9xx for the XM format).
In the sample editor the bottom info bar displays the value needed for the offset command when you hover the mouse over the sample.

Tip#XX - pattern editor (IT or MPTM format) :
The cutoff filter is assigned by default to Z00 - Z7F (\00 - \7F for smooth slides)
The resonance is assigned by default to z80 - ZFF (\80 - \FF for smooth slides)

Tip#XX - Pattern editor :
When you enter a note, you can specify 2 different effects.
A row is composed of : note / instrument / note effect / channel effect.
D#5 07 v30 H4A
Note D#(octave 5), instrument 7, effect v (volume) set to 30, effect H (vibrato) set to 4A.

Tip#XX - Channel effects have hexadecimal values :
0, 1, ..., 9, A(10), B(11), C(12), D(13), E(14) and F(15).
Examples :
22 (hexa) is 2*16 + 2 = 32 (in decimal)
4B (hexa) is 4*16 + 11 = 75
FF (hexa) is 15*16 + 15 = 255 (the maximum value)

Tip#XX - Create a phaser effect :
* Duplicate the channel of your lead melody : right click on the channel label -> duplicate.
* Add a fine portamento (FEx) on the duplicated notes to detune them.
Example : |C-5 01 .. ...|C-5 01 .. FE3|

Tip#XX - Create a phase shifting effect :
* Duplicate the channel of a drum loop : right click on the channel label -> duplicate.
* Add a small offset (Oxx) to the duplicated notes.
Example : |C-5 01 .. ...|C-5 01 .. O02|

Tip#XX - Tempo and ticks-per-row : Txx and Axx

Tip#XX - Zxx and \xx : smooth variations

Tip#XX - #xx extended value parameter

Tip#XX - SCx SDx tick based note cut and note delay.

Tip#XX - Glissando control :
S10 : smooth
S11 : semitones (more realistic for guitars)

Tip#XX - param editor

  b. edit & record :
Tip#XX - multi channel record :
To enter chords in a pattern (with a MIDI keyboard), you can select several channels for live record with shift + left click on their label.

Tip#XX - pattern editor :
Activate the "overflow" icon (top right) to be able to paste notes and data continuously to the next pattern.

Tip#XX - cursor navigation in the pattern editor :
In the setup window (Ctrl+F1 : general) you can select the behaviour of the cursor.
Cursor wrap : past the last row of the pattern, the cursor wraps back to the first row.
Continuous scroll : past the last row, the cursor jumps to the next pattern.

Tip#XX - pattern editor :
You have 3 different ways to end a playing note.
* note off (==) will act like releasing a pressed key.
* note fade (~~) will fade the sample's volume, all instrument envelopes are ignored.
* note cut (^ ^) will stop the sound immediately.
You can assign a key for each command in the keyboard tab of the setup window (Ctrl+F1).

Tip#XX - pattern editor
Press Ctrl+L to select a channel, press it again to select the whole pattern.
Ctrl+C to copy
Ctrl+V to paste.

Tip#XX - Follow song on/off (for easy editing)

Tip#XX - transpose notes (+/- semitone or octave)

Tip#XX - row spacing

Tip#XX - pattern edition : insert/delete event/row

Tip#XX - pattern edition : mouse or arrow keys ?
mouse select : drag&drop (Ctrl to copy)
arrow keys + shift select :  (need keyboard setup)

Tip#XX - pattern selection : change instrument in selection

Tip#XX - pattern selection : amplify

Tip#XX - grow/shrink pattern or pattern selection : double/half the number of rows.

Tip#XX - pattern order : Create/insert/copy new pattern

Tip#XX - pattern order : (select multiple patterns)

Tip#XX - pattern order --- and +++

Tip#XX - organize your tracks for better workflow :
To organize your music you can give a name to each channel (In the general tab) and each Pattern (Pattern editor).

Tip#XX - channel manager

Tip#XX - change colors of the pattern editor

3 INSTRUMENT :
Tip#XX - instrument editor :
Shift + left click on instrument envelopes to insert new points.
Shift + middle click to delete the nearest point.

Tip#XX - instrument editor (IT or MPTM format) :
Set the New Note Action (NNA) to "note off" or "note fade", to obtain smooth transitions between notes of the same channel (otherwise the sound is cut by default).
The S75 and S76 effects allow you to temporarily apply this setting in a pattern.

Tip#XX - pattern editor (IT or MPTM format) :
You can temporarily enable or disable the envelopes of an instrument with S77 to S7C :
double-click on the note to open the effect command list and select "S7x : Instrument control".

Tip#XX - Instrument random variations

Tip#XX - Envelopes : release node

Tip#XX - Envelope carry

Tip#XX - Pitch/Pan Separation (like a piano)

Tip#XX - High pass / low pass filter. (also change in pattern ?)

Tip#XX - instruments : sample map (create drum kits)

Tip#XX - MIDI bank usage

4 SAMPLE :
Tip#XX - sample editor :
Shift + left click on the "save" icon to save all the samples of your song at once.

Tip#XX - sample editor (normalize button) :
You can normalize sample selections instead of the whole sample by highlighting a part of it.
You can normalize all samples at once with shift + left click on the normalize button.

Tip#XX - Sample optimization :
Samples should start at a zero level (half height of the signal) to avoid click sounds and have a maximum amplitude for best quality.
* Either try the "Remove DC Offset" or the "Normalize" button to maximize the volume.
* Highlight the first few sampling points to apply a quick fade in (click on "amplify" and select 100% + fade in).
You can also apply a quick fade out at the end.

Tip#XX - sample editor (sustain loop) :
For a guitar sample you can set a sustain loop after the attack : when notes are released with a note-off event (==) the sustain loop is ignored and you can hear the end of the sample (idealy a string release sound).

Tip#XX - sample loops :
Forward loops should start and end at the same height to avoid click sounds.
Bidirectional loops should be set at horizontal points or on symmetric axis of the waveform.

Tip#XX - sample frequency tunning tips

5 PLUGINS (VST, VSTi, DirectX) :
Tip#XX - Install plugins :
VST plugins are easy to install : drag & drop all your .dll files from your file explorer directly into modplug's window.
In the general tab of your song, go to the plugin area, click "select" (next to "FX1:undefined") and double-click on the plugin of your choice.
Then you can assign this plugin "FX1:VST_name" to any instrument (in the instrument tab), or any channel or the master output (general tab).

Tip#XX - Assign a plugin :
to the master
to a channel
to an instrument

Tip#XX - VST chain :
If you want to apply more than one plugin in an instrument, you can chain plugins together (FX2->FX5->FX6 for example).
In the general tab : choose the first plugin (FX2) and click on "Output to" (Mix settings area) to choose the next plugin of the chain (FX5). Same thing with FX5 to FX6.

Tip#XX - Turning VST knobs can be recorded live :
In the VST window, select Info->Macros->SF1:unused (or any empty slot), then turn the knob you want to automate.
Select Options->Record Params, then turn the knob while playing your track, the parameter is recorded in the pattern.
You may have to add manually the instrument number in the channel.
Don't forget to uncheck Options->Record Params once you're done.

6 GENERAL, MISC.
Tip#XX - Volume handling :
General : global volume (master) - sample volume - VST volume
Sample : global volume, default volume
Instrument : global volume, volume envelope, random variation
Pattern : global volume V - Channel volume M - sample volume v

Tip#XX - Cleanup features

Tip#XX - Render to wav (to create new samples)

Tip#XX - Tree view
Double click on a module unfolds all instruments and samples.
Drag and drop in the sample editor or the instrument editor.
A song can be used as an instrument bank.

Tip#XX - Song format :
MOD, XM, S3M, IT, ITP, MPTM


bvanoudtshoorn's tips :

1. If you find a bug, or you're after a missing piece of functionality, head over to the ModPlug Central forums and let us know !
Click on the red exclamation mark button of the main toolbar or go to lpchip.com/modplug

2. OpenMPT is developed and maintained by a few dedicated volunteers who are always looking for bug reports, good ideas, and patches. The developers hang around at ModPlug Central (lpchip.com/modplug) and in #modplug on irc.esper.net, so why not drop around ?

3. Although OpenMPT can work with just about any sound device that Windows supports, you'll find that using an ASIO device will make tracking easier, as you can lower the latency right down. There are many relatively inexpensive sound cards available that support ASIO -- head over to the ModPlug Central forums (lpchip.com/modplug) to find out more.

4. OpenMPT runs on every version of Windows since 98, including 7. It can make effective use of everything from a Pentium 100 to the $20,000 beast that guy in your office keeps bragging about.
OpenMPT also runs on Linux via the use of Wine (minus a few functionalities).

5. Although OpenMPT has good support for VST and VSTI plugins, it can't handle them all. If you find that you have a plugin that doesn't work, try using Xlutop Chainer (xlutop.com) -- it's not free, but it enables OpenMPT to handle every plugin you can imagine. As an added bonus, it greatly enhances OpenMPT's plugin i/o routing capabilities.

6. If you open the "About" screen, then press and hold [Ctrl], [Shift], [4], [PgDown], [Right Arrow] and [P] whilst frantically hitting the [\] key at a rate of no less than 2Hz for at least thirty seconds, pretty much nothing will happen. Except maybe injury.


I think this would ease the learning curve of OpenMPT, complementarily to the future Help file by Harbinger. I think it's also good to have info embedded offline in OMPT, as internet connexions are not always working... (personally I don't have windows connected, I use linux to go online).
I'm willing to write more of them, so what do you think ?

Great idea! :)

I'll move this to the OpenMPT Request section, as this is some kind of request.

If a bigger tip list could be compiled (feel free to add more tips to this topic) - hell yes, why not!

Oh NICE! Its been a while since I visited the forums - This is an AWESOME suggestion, Paul man YOU are teh love!

Much love to you machinesmith :oops:

Ok then, I'll be posting some more tips here, I'll try to keep them short and clear.
Jojo, what would you consider a good total number of tips ? I'd say around 40.

The more the better :D

Excellent idea.
And so far you succeeded in being short and clear, so please continue this, PL !

If this is implemented, I would say: very good!
But this feature must also be able to be turned off.

Well, I at least know no program that has a "tip of the day" feature that's not "turn-offable".

I've updated the list in the first post to throw and organize tips that still need to be written  / rewritten.

Some new ones :

Tip#XX - You can use your PC keyboard as a 3 octave piano.
If notes are not correclty assigned to your keys, go to the keyboard tab of the setup (Ctrl+F1) and select "Pattern editor - Note Col".
In the main toolbar, you can select an octave to transpose your keyboard (shortcuts available in keyboard setup : "Global keys")

Tip#XX - cursor navigation in the pattern editor :
In the setup window (Ctrl+F1 : general) you can select the behaviour of the cursor.
Cursor wrap : past the last row of the pattern, the cursor wraps back to the first row.
Continuous scroll : past the last row, the cursor jumps to the next pattern.

Tip#XX - sample editor (sustain loop) :
For a guitar sample you can set a sustain loop after the attack : when notes are released with a note-off event (==) the sustain loop is ignored and you can hear the end of the sample (idealy a string release sound).

Tip#XX - sample loops :
Forward loops should start and end at the same height to avoid click sounds.
Bidirectional loops should be set at horizontal points or on symmetric axis of the waveform.

Tip#XX - modplug live
When playing a module, Modplug allows you to create a live performance :
* improvise : select an instrument and play live (select 2 instruments with keyboard split)
* alter the sound : change instrument settings (like filters) in real time, edit or redraw samples.
* mute channels on transitions : Ctrl+left click on the channel label (or right click menu).
* Loop or unloop the current pattern (shortcut available in keyboard setup Ctrl+F1)
* Drag and drop the next pattern order in the tree view.

Tip#XX - Pattern editor :
When you enter a note, you can specify 2 different effects.
A row is composed of : note / instrument / note effect / channel effect
|... .. ... ...|
|D#5 07 v30 H4A|
|... .. ... ...|
Note D#(octave 5), instrument 7, effect v (volume) set to 30, effect H (vibrato) set to 4A.

Tip#XX - Channel effects have hexadecimal values :
0, 1, ..., 9, A(10), B(11), C(12), D(13), E(14) and F(15).
Examples :
22 (hexa) is 2*16 + 2 = 32 (in decimal)
4B (hexa) is 4*16 + 11 = 75
FF (hexa) is 15*16 + 15 = 255 (the maximum value)
Please comment if one of these is unclear or not accurate.
Grammar naz... specialists are also welcome to help. :D

To be continued...

QuoteForward loops should start and end at the same height to avoid click sounds.

It's a nice advice, but technically not enough. It should say :
"Forward loops should start and end at a zero level (half height) to avoid click sounds."
Otherwise any DC offset will cause a click at the start. And at the end if looping is disabled.

Sam_Zen: First of all, DC Offset can be removed in the sample editor, so that's of no concern. Also, this has not much to do with loops, because they don't care about DC Offset. You can even set the loop points at the maximum height, they only have to be at the same height.

I accept that.

I would try to not use shortcut keys as much as possible because they're customizable. I bet it will be hard to implement proper support for finding out which shortcut key is set in someone's config.

Not really. How do you imagine are f.e. the context menus built? They also contain the shortcut keys. That's absolutely no problem.

Interesting discussion about sample loops :D
Maybe I will add a tip like "Samples should start at a zero level (half height of the signal) to avoid click sounds. You can highlight the start of the sample, click the amplify button and select 100% + fade in."
But isn't it what the ramping slider of the instrument does too ?

Anyway, here's an attempt at writing plugin tips.
Tip#XX - Install plugins :
VST plugins are easy to install : drag & drop all your .dll files from your file explorer directly into modplug's window.
In the general tab of your song, go to the plugin area, click "select" (next to "FX1:undefined") and double-click on the plugin of your choice.
Then you can assign this plugin "FX1:VST_name" to any instrument (in the instrument tab), or any channel or the master output (general tab).
Tip#XX - VST chain :
If you want to apply more than one plugin in an instrument, you can chain plugins together (FX2->FX5->FX6 for example).
In the general tab : choose the first plugin (FX2) and click on "Output to" (Mix settings area) to choose the next plugin of the chain (FX5). Same thing with FX5 to FX6.

Tip#XX - Turning VST knobs can be recorded live :
In the VST window, select Info->Macros->SF1:unused (or any empty slot), then turn the knob you want to automate.
Select Options->Record Params, then turn the knob while playing your track, the parameter is recorded in the pattern :
|.. 02 ... SF1|
|.. .. ... /23|
|.. .. ... /2A|
|.. .. ... /30|
You may have to add manually the instrument number before SF1.
Don't forget to uncheck Options->Record Params once you're done.
I'm omitting the Zxx Macros window which I think would be a bit hard to sumurize.
It can't be perfect in just a few lines, but it's an encouragement to look more into it. 8)
And remember I'm not a VST user myself, so please correct me if I'm wrong here, and please add some more tips that you know of.

QuoteMaybe I will add a tip like "Samples should start at a zero level (half height of the signal) to avoid click sounds. You can highlight the start of the sample, click the amplify button and select 100% + fade in."
But isn't it what the ramping slider of the instrument does too ?

That's what click-avoidance in gernal does. The best thing is to remove DC Offset first and then fade in the first few (let's say 10) and last few sampling points of sample. That way, it also sounds alright in players with click avoidance disabled.

Quote from: "Jojo"That's what click-avoidance in gernal does. The best thing is to remove DC Offset first ...

Is it not vertically shifting the signal for perfect +/- balance to obtain the maximum overall volume ? I'm often working with very short (one wave) sample loops and DC Offset removal can be very harmful to these. Also my guess is the +/- balance is calculated over the total time of the sample, and lengthy samples can have positive local DC Offset at the beginning and negative one at the end, and still be in perfect overall balance. Maybe I'm missing something here, but it's not the panacea for me, I use the normalize button preferably.

Quote from: "Jojo"...and then fade in the first few (let's say 10) and last few sampling points of sample.

Yes, so what about this :
Tip#XX - Sample optimization :
Samples should start at a zero level (half height of the signal) to avoid click sounds and have a maximum amplitude for best quality.
* Either try the "Remove DC Offset" or the "Normalize" button to maximize the volume.
* Highlight the first few sampling points to apply a quick fade in (click on "amplify" and select 100% + fade in).
You can also apply a quick fade out at the end.

That reminds me how sorry I am every time I want to zoom in the sample more than the 1:1 ratio (as it is already possible for very short samples with display set on Auto).  :(
That would make my life a lot easier to create perfect loop points with the draw function. Should I open a request for 2:1, 4:1, 8:1, 16:1... display ratio ?

A better zooming would be nice.

I never used this ramping slide, but I suppose it's a kind of fade in.
I think that's a hearable fade, while the fade in the sample correction is very short, so unhearable.

And DC offset is a rare phenomenon with digital signals nowadays.
Only microphone recordings tend to have it.
If a sample is sloppy cut, then there can be a 'jump' at the start, but that doesn't indicate a DC offset of the whole sample.

excellent initiative!

Good suggestion Paul!

My tips, and trivia (because it's always interesting to know about the program you're using). Clickable links as appropriate, of course.

1. If you find a bug, or you're after a missing piece of functionality, head over to the ModPlug Central forums and let us know!

2. OpenMPT is developed and maintained by a few dedicated volunteers who are always looking for bug reports, good ideas, and patches. The developers hang around at ModPlug Central and in #modplug on irc.esper.net, so why not drop around?

3. Although OpenMPT can work with just about any sound device that Windows supports, you'll find that using an ASIO device will make tracking easier, as you can lower the latency right down. There are many relatively inexpensive sound cards available that support ASIO -- head over to the ModPlug Central forums to find out more.

4. OpenMPT runs on every version of Windows since 98, including 7. It can make effective use of everything from a Pentium 100 to the $20,000 beast that guy in your office keeps bragging about.

5. Although OpenMPT has good support for VST and VSTI plugins, it can't handle them all. If you find that you have a plugin that doesn't work, try using Xlutop Chainer -- it's not free, but it enables OpenMPT to handle every plugin you can imagine. As an added bonus, it greatly enhances OpenMPT's plugin i/o routing capabilities.

6. If you open the "About" screen, then press and hold [Ctrl], [Shift], [4], [PgDown], [Right Arrow] and [P] whilst frantically hitting the [\] key at a rate of no less than 2Hz for at least thirty seconds, pretty much nothing will happen. Except maybe injury.

Quote from: "Paul Legovitch"Is it not vertically shifting the signal for perfect +/- balance to obtain the maximum overall volume ?

Yes and no. DC Offset as it's done in MPT calculates the mean of all samples and then shifts the sample up and down. That way, maybe 99% of all DC Offsets can be removed.

QuoteI'm often working with very short (one wave) sample loops and DC Offset removal can be very harmful to these.

It may look very strange in the sample editor, but even a 25% pulse wave can generate a DC Offset if you look at the complete tune. That won't happen if you remove the offset.

QuoteAlso my guess is the +/- balance is calculated over the total time of the sample, and lengthy samples can have positive local DC Offset at the beginning and negative one at the end, and still be in perfect overall balance.

That is a highly theoretical assumption and never happens with "real" samples. Sure, you could introduce such an DC Offset synthetically by yourself, but who would be that stupid?! There are two types of common DC Offsets:
- Static (0 Hz) DC offset, that won't change over the sample. MPT can remove those. They're mostly introduced by cheap A/D converters.
- Varying DC Offset that represents a periodic waveform. MPT can not remove that, you need a steep Highpass Filter at around 20 Hz in this case. This can for example be introduced when recording LPs.

QuoteMaybe I'm missing something here, but it's not the panacea for me, I use the normalize button preferably.

If a sample has a DC offset (i.e. it's visibly shifted up/down), there's no damn reason to not remove it! It will just steal you headroom in the final mix!

Quote
And DC offset is a rare phenomenon with digital signals nowadays.
Only microphone recordings tend to have it.

Not really. Especially with cheap consumer soundcards, every recording you make has a recognizable DC Offset.

Quote from: "bvanoudtshoorn"My tips, and trivia (because it's always interesting to know about the program you're using). Clickable links as appropriate, of course.

Thanks, I've added them in the first post. I'm not sure about the last one though, it's a quite complex feature that would be more suited in a fully fletched section of the Help manual I think. :D I continued the 4th one with :

QuoteOpenMPT also runs on Linux via the use of Wine (minus a few functionalities).

Is it ok ?
Also, Is it possible to create links in a tip-of-the-day window ? For now I added Click on the red exclamation mark button of the main toolbar or go to lpchip.com/modplug.
Maybe the tip-window could have a "modplug forums" clickable button (see mockup).

Two little requests :
1) I think it would be good if the user could highlight-copy-to-clipboard the tips (like in MadTracker but unlike in Renoise).
2) Is it possible to display the tips in a fixed width font (like courrier) to be able to display track examples correctly ? (see mockup)

Mockup :
(http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/3843/tips.png)

Edit : OpenMPT  :?

Quote
Also, Is it possible to create links in a tip-of-the-day window ?

At the time of writing, no. See also my next statement.

QuoteIs it possible to display the tips in a fixed width font (like courrier) to be able to display track examples correctly ? (see mockup)

Since I don't consider "tips of day" as a tutorial or something similar, I wouldn't put complete pattern examples in there. And for the sake of readability, I would just use the default font.

QuoteI think it would be good if the user could highlight-copy-to-clipboard the tips (like in MadTracker but unlike in Renoise).

I don't think that's a problem.

All that into consideration will I take. 8)

Quote from: "Jojo"Since I don't consider "tips of day" as a tutorial or something similar, I wouldn't put complete pattern examples in there.

You're right. What about these, inspired by your track Phase One (http://sagamusix.de/en/comment/read/phase_one/) :
Tip#XX - Create a phaser effect :
* Duplicate the channel of your lead melody : right click on the channel label -> duplicate.
* Add a fine portamento (FEx) on the duplicated notes to detune them.
Example : |C-5 01 .. ...|C-5 01 .. FE3|
Tip#XX - Create a phase shifting effect :
* Duplicate the channel of a drum loop : right click on the channel label -> duplicate.
* Add a small offset (Oxx) to the duplicated notes.
Example : |C-5 01 .. ...|C-5 01 .. O02|

The tips and tricks should display functionality that you might miss if you don't read everything about OpenMPT.

Indeed. Phase shifting and phaser are not MPT functionality, but very basic accoust effects. They do really not belong in a "tip of the day". As I said, it's not an audio tutorial, and especially not one about audio tricks.

Quote from: "Jojo"Indeed. Phase shifting and phaser are not MPT functionality, but very basic accoust effects. They do really not belong in a "tip of the day". As I said, it's not an audio tutorial, and especially not one about audio tricks.

I can understand that, but...
[rant]
There's a great chance that nowadays most tracker newbies will learn how to track with modplug, as it is admitedly one of the best and most renowned free tracker available.
And newbies won't make the difference between tracking usage, effects and tricks and modplug's usage, features and tricks. It comes in the same music-software package : Modplug.

Now, if you want I can remove tips about audio/tracking effects from the list, but take in consideration that :

1) Other trackers like Renoise give out such audio/tracking tricks amongst tips of the day, and I (and many users I'm sure) easily learned some of them this way.
2) This kind of knowledge is not obvious at all, and nowhere to be easily found for the non-specialist.
3) I would certainly not qualify phase shifting and phaser as "basic" for the average user but it's true that once you know about it, it's really simple and obvious, so don't keep it all for yourself and spit it already ! :P
4) I'm almost certain that no user will think "but tips and tricks should only display the software's specific functionality".

Look at it again :

Quote* Duplicate the channel of your lead melody : right click on the channel label -> duplicate.
* Add a fine portamento (FEx) on the duplicated notes to detune them.

2 lines and there, you know the trick, and nobody's been hurt.
By the way, you did learn a modplug feature : duplicate a channel.

Most of us will simply uncheck these tips on startup : we already know almost all about modplug and tracking. But you can't consider the average modplug user as a veteran that knows all about tracks and is only eager for new functionalities to ease his work. So tips are aimed at trackers new to modplug but also at users new to tracking in general (the majority I would guess). Remember, they don't know how to track let alone using effects. I think tracking tips would quickly help them.
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Ok, for now I will focus on the modplug-only workflow features to avoid writing for nothing, but I'll try again to convince you to pass on the knowledge.  8)

No need to convince me.
Tips could be about the basic functionality, but tricks are workarounds to achieve non-obvious things.

Paul, I'd rather put effects like that in a tutorial song than in a tip, since they heavily depend on the sample you choose. Someone might want to try them out and just has a bass drum sample handy, so what's this going to sound like? Right, nothing.

Very good idea. If i had my wish, i would put start up tips for new users at application open (or perhaps file open). But what would really make tips work is if the tips showed up when using certain functions. For example, the first time you use MIDI in/out, VSTs, macros/PCEs, etc., in much the same way MS WORD would offer to help when it thinks you're trying to create a letter.
Then as each tip was read, it would not show again, unless the user checked a box to remind him later.

Overall it's a good idea! :D

The first tip should definitely be: OpenMPT can help you by giving you tips. Are you interested in getting tips? [yes] [no]

That would be totally redundant and annoying. Afterall, a default TotD dialog has a nice "Show tips at startup" checkbox.

Jojo got a point here about the effects, dependent of the sample.
A tutorial song would be a good solution to show the codes and hear the result.
This is indeed about startup tips. Let's not confuse it with tips if mouseover.

Quote from: "Sam_Zen"Jojo got a point here about the effects, dependent of the sample.
A tutorial song would be a good solution to show the codes and hear the result.
This is indeed about startup tips. Let's not confuse it with tips if mouseover.

True, a tutorial song would be a really good solution to document all sorts of tracking tricks. No need to create a coherent song : several independent sequences (with the same instrument set) could be made by several trackers to illustrate many effects.

Although I like Harbinger's idea of contextual tips I fear that it would be hard to achieve a really helpful while non-obtrusive way to do it. As Sam mentions, tips on mouseover (in the infobar) are good for this (and could use some more details maybe here and there).