reViSiT v1.3.1 Pro for free

[chrisnash]

Hi everyone,

Over the years, there's been some mention of reViSiT on these forums, but I thought I'd fill you in on the more recent developments, which have transformed the program into a far more mature, flexible and capable tracker, compared to what people might have originally experience with earlier (pre-1.0) alpha and beta versions.

EDIT: reViSiT is a tracker that runs as a VSTi plugin inside your existing software, giving you the best of both worlds - sequencing and tracking - in a single piece. Audio is delivered to the host directly, like any other VSTi, but optionally also via additional reBUS plugins (included) that allow you to spread samples, instruments and channels over separate audio busses for independent mixing.

Moreover, now is your chance to get a fully-licensed copy of reViSiT Pro for free, as part of research into trackers that's taking place here in Cambridge (see here - apologies for the apparently shameless plug; but the more users I get in the experiment, the more reliable the data is for my research, which could well scientifically-prove the crucial role of trackers, in the future of music technology).

Many of the issues people here commented on have been addressed - customisation, performance, stability, closer integration with the host - and reViSiT Pro now offers several unique features, not found in other trackers.

As most of its users will testify, reViSiT has developed enormously over the last 1-2 years and continues to do so, based largely on user feedback. So, if there's something you'd have reViSiT do differently, just bring it up on the reViSiT forum.

Anyway, 'hope you find this info useful. It'd also be great to hear people's thoughts about how they view the tracker interface, especially compared to mainstream music software (e.g. sequencers).

Best,
Chris
(reViSiT Dev)

http://revisit.nashnet.co.uk
http://experiment.nashnet.co.uk (reViSiT Pro for free)

[Saga Musix]

Some off topic question: You claim to be the first tracker having surround sound; can you prove that you had this before modplug? I would doubt it, since mpt appears to be a lot older than reViSiT.
EDIT: Based on the screenshots, I guess you don't count quad surround as "surround" or something. Oh well...

[chrisnash]

Hi Jojo,

No, I count Quad (4.0) as surround sound, but (do correct me if I've missed something) the support in ModPlug is largely about giving people either the Dolby Surround 'virtual' channel or stereo access to the rear channels, rather than having support for more than 2 channels at once.

In reViSiT Pro, the tracker notation has actually been changed to add a column for depth, in addition to [stereo] panning, allowing composers to spatialise their music in two dimensions (as xxyy coordinates):

Code Select Expand

Volume:    ··· ·· ·· .00
Pan/Depth: ··· ······.00

In addition, there are extra tracker effects especially designed for 4.0/5.1 setups, such as rotation (theta, Txx), theta & depth slides (Wxx & Vxx) and panning/depth column values to address discrete (single) channels (FL,FR,RL,RR,CT,LF).

I love surround sound, but there wasn't really a program out there that's not somehow limited by the convention towards stereo audio, so it was something I was determined to address with reViSiT. So, when I say "first", I'm more referring to the level at which support has been built into the design. I think that was what I was going for with the word "dedicated" [... surround sound features], but perhaps its not the right word ("integrated"?).

'Hope this answers your question!

[psishock]

This could be interesting, so basically we could get a tracker ReWired to sequencers, just like Renoise is able to do right now?
From the features, that subrow zooming editing surely looks interesting, i would definitely try what we can do with new version, compared to ReWire-ing atm with Renoise, how "mature" it has become over time.
I'll fire up my Ableton.

edit: but unfortunately i cannot agree with this:

terms and conditions
....I understand that data collected during my use of this program will be stored on a computer and may contribute to scientific publications and presentations. I agree that the data can be made available anonymously for other researchers, inside and outside the Computer Laboratory. This data will not be linked to me as an individual...

i am very concerned about privacy, that why always super careful what am i storing on my comp, and using many protections (noscript, firewalls, etc), together with cautious browsing/clicking over the internet.

So guess im out.

[Saga Musix]

chrisnash, well, I don't have a surround speaker setup so I have never played much with MPT's quad surround, but I guess that by mixing front and rear channels on two mod channels, one can do more than just stereo panning in front and rear. But I have to admit that your approach is a lot more sophisticated, although I wonder how many people actually make use of such powerful features (given that proper stereo mixing is already a pain in the butt and surround mixing requires a whole lot more expertise).

[chrisnash]

psishock:

Sorry to hear you won't be joining the party. The data collection is necessary for my PhD research - and the reason I'm giving the Pro Edition away for free. Please note that the experiment has been ethically approved by Cambridge University, and is purely for scientific/academic use - it will not find its way to some greasy, underhand commercial company. To this end, the consent form is a standard document that must be signed by all volunteers to all university experiments, and effectively just makes sure that I'm allowed to include the findings in my thesis. It is not spyware.

Jojo:

I hear you on the number of takers, and how cumbersome surround sound mixing is, but reViSiT's features will hopefully make the process a little more intuitive... and fun, perhaps...? The big problem, though, is the audience for surround work - how many people have properly set-up surround setups? If only we could force people to listen to Jarre's Aero DVD...

[g]

Any plans for a standalone version of reViSiT?

[LPChip]

If I would join this, and get a pro license. Can I then also get newer versions or is it for this build only?

I am thinking of helping you out, but I am currently fearing that I might like the tracker to add to my music tools collection and at a point want the newer builds but cannot have them unless I pay for them.

[chrisnash]

g:

Yes, there are plans for a standalone version or, more accurately, a dedicated VST host designed to run the reViSiT plugin, called reMASTER. I've had a basic prototype working for a while, but it still needs a little work, plus some more advanced features (support for other plugins, audio file export). As such, it's something that will have to wait until after my research is complete.

LPChip:

So far, all the 1.x.x builds have been available through the experiment for free. When the experiment is complete, the data collection will end and participants can continue to use the software. I have yet to think about what happens after that, but support for these users will continue. This support will certainly include all fixes and minor updates (e.g. 1.3.x). The license will not cover any 2.x.x version, but I may well extend the licenses to include subsequent 1.x.x releases.

An increment of the first 'x' implies that a major feature has been added (key customisation, hi-def/subrow editing, mouse editing/novice features), and I have a loose roadmap of new features to tackle, but have yet to finalise which are going in 1.x.x and which will be pushed back to 2.x.x. I also have to decide what to ultimately include in the free Standard Edition, when I have a chance to update that.

Rest assured, when I get around to putting a price tag on any edition, it will not be a big one.

[Sam_Zen]

Hm, first the multichannel features looked very promising.
For me, it would certainly be nice to assign more output devices.

But the good news came first. Then, it appears that one is part of an experiment or investigation. Could be acceptable, but..
Then, it appears to be a VST plugin.. An odd order of information.

So I'll wait for a real standalone version.

[Snu]

fascinating... i would definitely like to participate in this experiment.
will the data you collect or the conclusions you draw be available to the public after the experiment? id be very interested in reading that.

samzen: you probably can use it in mpt, if not there are plenty of vst hosts that are available for free.

has this really been going on since december 2008? the faq just says it will continue for 'several months', how long do we still have to participate?

[chrisnash]

Sam_Zen:

Heh, good point - I did somewhat forget to mention that it was a VSTi plugin! I guess I got so caught up on reporting what's new, as to forget that some people were new to the reViSiT concept itself. Doh.

If you're still interested, there are a number of free hosts out there - people have reported that VSTHost is quite good, and is a host solely designed for running VST plugins, making reViSiT effectively standalone.

Snu:

The data I collect will not be available to the public, but the thesis I write will be - and I'll include a copy on my site. I'm hoping I'll be able to demonstrate that trackers do some things better (than, for example, sequencers). If successful, I'll summarise the findings as a report for software companies in the music industry. Steinberg and Cakewalk have already said they'd be interested in what I discover, so this is a real opportunity to make a difference.

The experiment started in Dec 2008, but didn't really take off until Spring'09. It's gone on longer than expected because people were initially slow in signing up - and the learning curve (and, hence, drop-out rate) for trackers is always quite high. I should get enough data - but to be sure, with 1.3, I introduced a number of features to make the program easier to get into (e.g. mouse editing, dynamic help) and have tried a final push to get the word out, in the hope of getting just a little more. I'm hoping to get a few more months of good data, while I analyse what I already have, before writing it all up - which itself will take a couple of months.

So, registration will close come Spring'10, with me hoping to have submitted before the Summer's over, at which point I will rip the data collection stuff out and go... well, "pro", I guess. :wink:

[Saga Musix]

Well, the problems of using MPT as a host for reViSiT would be that f.e. although MPT supports quad surround, it would not work with reViSiT, as MPT always downmixes VST plugins to two outputs (i.e. front left/right).

[Sam_Zen]

I'm having Vsthost and Minihost myself, but that was not the point.
And Jojo just added another reason.

[LPChip]

I have several VST hosts, among Xlutop Chainer, and EnergyXT.

I've just signed up, but as I'm now at my work, I've forwarded the dl link to my home so I can install it tonight.