[software] Tape Loops

uncloned · July 11, 2009, 12:30:31

IKn the shower I had a "duh" moment - in what direction are you planing to move with this program? At the moment one could do this in OpenMPT - though I found FT2 much easier to use with loops due to the scopes.

Louigi Verona · July 11, 2009, 12:30:45

ugh! I don't know if it's difficult or not too %) I will consider it, of course!

On the other hand, what use is it as a VSTi?

uncloned · July 11, 2009, 12:36:00

1. trigger control
2. chain through additional effects

Saga Musix · July 11, 2009, 13:02:22

I can't see how this would be useful as a VST for ModPlug at least. All that can be done with samples.

uncloned · July 11, 2009, 13:15:42

I agree that with mpt it is kinda redundant. But quite useful for DAWs like Sonar as a vsti.

PPH · July 11, 2009, 14:06:07

To program VSTis you must know C++ and digital processing concepts (very little of the latter in this case, since Tapeloop just records and plays sound), although I believe there are wrappers to make VSTis in Delphi. Anyway, turning Tapeloop into a VSTi would take Louigi a lot more work, I think. Even if he does know how sound is represented in a computer (I believe he does) and C++ (I suspect he doesn't).

Besides, I think JoJo is right. Tapeloop is actually a very simple sampler. It records (or will record in future versions) and plays sound. The very point of making it is not having to deal with a complex piece of software. In a DAW like Sonar you might use another sampler, even a simple one, like sfz (although you would first have to make a file that specifies that the sample loops, which you don't need to do with Tapeloop and is a great advantage of the latter).

uncloned · July 11, 2009, 14:39:53

It seems to me that tape loops is pointing to a free version ableton live - which would be a good thing. Assuming it doesn't exist already.

uncloned · July 11, 2009, 15:36:22

Actually their is a foss clone started but it is extremely basic now.

I'm on my blackberry and can't post the url.

Google live ableton clone.

Louigi Verona · July 11, 2009, 19:52:32

Yeah, my C++ is very basic, although with all these programming efforts I am getting better.

But the whole point of Tape Loops is a program for live performances and also an interesting method to create music too. As PPH said, these are just basic samplers. If I manage to make them sync then it will indeed be a very simple version of Ableton Live. Without sound effects.

uncloned · July 12, 2009, 00:27:38

LV - in days of old I program a set of applications that talked to each other using DDE

dynamic data exchange I believe - it was a Windows service 3.1 and was simple to use. I'm betting the facility, if it still exists in XP/Vista, is still built into a Windows library to support older applications. It was built into VB 3 and also Creative labs software - this way I got a VB program to trigger text to speech - and helped me control a pilot plant.

It may help you solve the synchronization problem.

One ability I'd suggest putting in your program is the ability to change the playback speed. People here should know a lot about doing something like that.

Sam_Zen · July 12, 2009, 00:48:18

Quote from: "Louigi"now you can switch between modes in real time. I also added panning control.

Very nice ! Panning control is anyway, but, as you mention the live playing, this switch will make it possible
to make a correct stop of the looping. Not abrupt, but just at the endpoint of the sample.

OT; Why, when a very simple app is made, with a straightforward task, seems it so often to be necessary to compare it with other, bigger apps ?
I don't see a point in that. Always this search for swiss knives..

uncloned · July 12, 2009, 01:31:06

Sam, if you are refering to my comments about Live - why reinvent the wheel?

Louigi Verona · July 12, 2009, 07:54:45

QuoteLV - in days of old I program a set of applications that talked to each other using DDE

Yeah, yeah - this is exactly what I am researching now! Things haven't changed much since the days of old =)

Quoteabout Live - why reinvent the wheel?

Ableton Live is a large complex program that takes a lot of space, has lots of functionality I do not need and does too much for me to be exciting as a performance tool.

Louigi Verona · July 18, 2009, 18:47:20

Okay, guys!
More than a week of work an learning a lot of C++ stuff that experienced programmers would find basic (like pointers) and I finally delivered a working version of Tape Loops.

Download

The added functionality is synchronization.
The principle is very simple - you mark one deck as master deck and then press "sync" on the other deck and it would start playing as soon as the master deck loop starts playing from the beginning.

There can be only one master deck, so if you want to mark another, first you have to reset the master one and then set a new master.

Also, do not switch between Loop/Once on decks that are in sync since the delay caused by this will cause decks to go async.

Anyway, would love to know if the sync works fine for you, since I've only tested it on my computer and the methods used to implement this functionality are on the border between lame and clever.

ps: yeah, of course if you are syncing loops, it is better if they are perfect, otherwise the loops will go async after a while. However, if you render loops from a sequencer and they are precisely on the grid, the loops will be in perfect sync for hours - I've tested!

pps: the app has one bug - some instances of the app will leave processes running in your session (called tapeloops.exe). they don't take CPU, seem to not cause any problems and can, if desired, be stopped manually. I am now working on this and will fix this issue soon.[/url]

Sam_Zen · July 18, 2009, 23:20:50

Not tested yet, but I suppose all samples should have byte-exactly the same length.
I still don't understand why a switch Loop/Once would cause some delay..