PATTERN HOLD toggle button on the Pattern Set Screen
Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2018 1:34 am
Firstly, unlike midi import, I don't think anyone else has, or will ever request this! :-O
But I do believe once they have played with it, lots of people would use it, and possibly even love it.
Especially people with midi controllers, or users wanting to alter the whole sound of a song live and direct, or people wanting to create a new remix of a song, or people used to using a classic DAW, rather than a funky groovebox.
I *think* it would be a *relatively* small change for the increased possibilities, and new options of how to work and play with your wonderful app.
Anyway, here goes…!
THE PROBLEM
If you change any Sampler, Beast and Mixer (SBM) settings, they only stay live until the pattern ends.
When a new pattern begins, all your live SBM settings via screen or midi controller or are saved in the previous pattern, but lost in the continuing song.
Also, if you wish to change a sound across different patterns, you have to manually edit or copy all the relevant data across to the relevant patterns, which isn't so musical.
If you have a 12 or 16 bar loop in a song or chain, all changed settings made within the current pattern jump back twice every loop, every time you start a new pattern.
SOLUTION
A PATTERN HOLD (HOLD for short) toggle button on the pattern set screen.
If HOLD is toggled on, no initial settings for SBM are applied at pattern end/start.
All SBM settings remain from the pattern currently selected when PATTERN HOLD was toggled on.
Also, all new changes to SBM are applied to the HOLD PATTERN, not to the current pattern.
It would probably require some kind of visual marker on an active HOLD PATTERN.
Obviously, the current pattern has sequence data and can have automation, which all works as normal.
Ideally, recording automation would still work, and would put new automation data in the currently playing pattern.
Also *ideally*, presses of PATTERN HOLD could be recorded in automation too.
This would allow you to make ongoing radical changes to the mix, which would carry on through different patterns, rather than the mix being reset with each new pattern, even as the song, chain, or manual pattern select moves through different patterns.
This behaviour would continue until the HOLD button is toggled off.
Nothing would initially change, until a new pattern begins, setting SBM as usual.
This would also allow you to preset one of several different soundscapes and remixes for the same song, before pressing PATTERN HOLD and playing the song.
Every song requires an initial sound bootup, so PATTERN HOLD should be automatically toggled off as a new song is loaded, to set up SBM with the fresh song data.
PATTERN HOLD sort of works as a name, but I am not totally sure what to call this!
Alternative names for this could be HOLD PATTERN, HOLD SETTINGS, BASE PATTERN, INHERIT, or SETTINGS PERSIST.
From my limited understanding, I think this idea conforms to how GSS internals work, but there will definitely be complications I am unaware of!
Eg. There are definitely things in the Timing & Measure screen which relate to sequence data, and other things like BPM which would *probably* be HOLD PATTERN settings.
As always, I am sure there are a lot of things on your to-do list!
Keep up the good stuff, and is there any chance I could join your beta programme, if you have one?
But I do believe once they have played with it, lots of people would use it, and possibly even love it.
Especially people with midi controllers, or users wanting to alter the whole sound of a song live and direct, or people wanting to create a new remix of a song, or people used to using a classic DAW, rather than a funky groovebox.
I *think* it would be a *relatively* small change for the increased possibilities, and new options of how to work and play with your wonderful app.
Anyway, here goes…!
THE PROBLEM
If you change any Sampler, Beast and Mixer (SBM) settings, they only stay live until the pattern ends.
When a new pattern begins, all your live SBM settings via screen or midi controller or are saved in the previous pattern, but lost in the continuing song.
Also, if you wish to change a sound across different patterns, you have to manually edit or copy all the relevant data across to the relevant patterns, which isn't so musical.
If you have a 12 or 16 bar loop in a song or chain, all changed settings made within the current pattern jump back twice every loop, every time you start a new pattern.
SOLUTION
A PATTERN HOLD (HOLD for short) toggle button on the pattern set screen.
If HOLD is toggled on, no initial settings for SBM are applied at pattern end/start.
All SBM settings remain from the pattern currently selected when PATTERN HOLD was toggled on.
Also, all new changes to SBM are applied to the HOLD PATTERN, not to the current pattern.
It would probably require some kind of visual marker on an active HOLD PATTERN.
Obviously, the current pattern has sequence data and can have automation, which all works as normal.
Ideally, recording automation would still work, and would put new automation data in the currently playing pattern.
Also *ideally*, presses of PATTERN HOLD could be recorded in automation too.
This would allow you to make ongoing radical changes to the mix, which would carry on through different patterns, rather than the mix being reset with each new pattern, even as the song, chain, or manual pattern select moves through different patterns.
This behaviour would continue until the HOLD button is toggled off.
Nothing would initially change, until a new pattern begins, setting SBM as usual.
This would also allow you to preset one of several different soundscapes and remixes for the same song, before pressing PATTERN HOLD and playing the song.
Every song requires an initial sound bootup, so PATTERN HOLD should be automatically toggled off as a new song is loaded, to set up SBM with the fresh song data.
PATTERN HOLD sort of works as a name, but I am not totally sure what to call this!
Alternative names for this could be HOLD PATTERN, HOLD SETTINGS, BASE PATTERN, INHERIT, or SETTINGS PERSIST.
From my limited understanding, I think this idea conforms to how GSS internals work, but there will definitely be complications I am unaware of!
Eg. There are definitely things in the Timing & Measure screen which relate to sequence data, and other things like BPM which would *probably* be HOLD PATTERN settings.
As always, I am sure there are a lot of things on your to-do list!
Keep up the good stuff, and is there any chance I could join your beta programme, if you have one?