Since working with MPT, I'm still puzzled with the black frame at the bottom of the instrument tab, to set some volume envelope, or a panning movement of the sample. Maybe I miss something, but I can't find any relevant indication of the total length of the sample, so it is always a bit fishing in muddy water to me. Just trying things out until it fits on the complete sample more or less.
The resolution in the envelope editor is based on ticks, ie if you set speed to 6 then 6 ticks equal one row in the pattern editor. Samples length in time varies depending on the pitch.
I know, but I guess after the sample is loaded, the default pitch is present in the envelope editor.
I see some thin, regularly spaced, vertical lines in this field, sometime two, sometimes more. Is there any connection between them and a row or a tick ? Or the sample length ?
The thick and thin grid represents the row highlighting. So 4 thick lines are exactly one pattern of 64 rows.
Now, as you state, you'd like to see the length of the sample. It probably would've been there if it was possible, but it isn't.
The reason is the difference in speed between a sample and an instrument.
When you play a sample at a different key (C-4 or F-7) the duration of that sample changes aswell as the pitch. On the instrument tab however, that is not the case. Even when doing setting C-1, the envelope still travels at the same speed. As you see, its not possible to give the sample length in the instrument because it is not relative to eachother.
And even if it would be, when a sample is looped the case changes too. I can say lots about it, but it has so many advantages that the instrument speed is not the same as the sample's speed, so I'd suggest to try and learn to live with it :P
Many thanks, a very clear explanation.
I did already learned to live with it, I was just curious.:)
I just tested this out with a straight panning from R to L, and you're absolutely right. Speed of envelope is independent of the actual sample duration. So in the higher regions this sample only moved from R to Mid.
But at least there is a relation of the grid with the rows. Nice to know.
Suppose I only use only a single pitch of some instrument throughout the song, then this can help to finetune the envelope exactly over the whole sample-duration.
Another feature could be maybe, like in the frame in the sample-tab, to add a moving vertical indicator.