VST/parameters

[CasMarrav]

Hi

I'm developing my first vst plugin in FlowStone, so far I like how everything works and the graphical programming works super awesome! I'm not getting into the complex looking (from the examples) GUI stuff yet, but I'd like to learn how to use VST preset banks/the FlowStone "preset manager" block. There are also different 'parameter' blocks but I'd like to just start with saveable presets for the 9 parameters (knobs) I got now.. how can I get started?

thx

[qqwy]

Hmm... You can indeed use those objects yourself but the creators of SynthMaker/Flowstone have saved you lots of work so most of the time you won't need to touch those objects yourself if you don't want to. The standard knobs and sliders already have a 'preset' module in them. In the properties of a knob/slider you can change the knob/slider's 'preset name'. This preset name is used in the preset file to save the value of the knob/slider. Consequently, when multiple synths use the same name for a certain knob, you'll be able to use the same presets for them.

I believe this is also the name that is shown in VST hosts when the GUI is turned off.

Basically to use presets you only need to edit the preset names of all your knobs and other interactive controls to whatever function they have. Then twiddle around with them until you have a sound you like, and save it as a preset. Repeat this until you think you have enough to release the synth to the world =).

[Jay]

yes Just give the items a unique preset name and add a preset manager and you are good to go!
like the attached demo, first 3 presets are populated.

presets.fsm

(135.47 KiB) Downloaded 1690 times

Hope that helps

[CasMarrav]

thanks qqwy and Jay
I've got one more question.. I'm making a simple Delay plugin, to be called "Standard Delay"
Now while test driving with a sine in Renoise I noticed that one octave gave much higher Echo/response than another, this is probably due to phasing.. Do other/professional delay plugins use routines to remedy this effect?
I guess I'll just draw a cool background for it making the inside routing a bit more clear and release it
O yeah, another q! I get tiny impulses, also in the echoes.. Is that always the case, and should I use like a 1ms De-zipper or sth?

[trogluddite]

Now while test driving with a sine in Renoise I noticed that one octave gave much higher Echo/response than another, this is probably due to phasing.

That's perfectly normal - as you say, much like the effect from a chorus pedal etc. with the modulation turned off.
You're probably just noticing the effect more than usual because of using a sine wave - with a more complex wave, a fixed time shift becomes a different phase shift for different harmonics, so in most cases the cancellation is less severe.

O yeah, another q! I get tiny impulses, also in the echoes.. Is that always the case, and should I use like a 1ms De-zipper or sth?

Does this happen all the time, or only when the delay time changes? If it is during changes, there are a couple of possible explanations.
1- Zipping from the parameter controls - a de-zipper MIGHT fix this depending on (2)
2 - On the simple delay, the delay time can only be in whole samples, so it is more prone to zipping noise as the delay time 'steps' up and down one whole sample at a time. Using the 'Interpolated Delay' will fix this, as it allows for fractional sample times.
If you're hearing the impulses when the delay time is fixed, then there may be some other problem, but the toolbox delays have been around a long time, and are usually pretty well behaved.

[CasMarrav]

thanks trogluddite!
Apart from some GUI edits I will soon release the Standard Delay over here and maybe on my website.
I have replaced the Delays with Interpolated Delays (and changed the knob-in-ms-to-samples block to output float accordingly) and the impulse things seem to have vanished, perfect.
I am just still slightly puzzled as to how to ideally put together a bank of presets.. can it only be done in FlowStone, or could I maybe just make some in an audio host and export/save/use those in the .fsm?
Anyway I have made my favourite simple delay stuff thanks to you guys, big thanks!

[CasMarrav]

And since I'm trying to make a useful "legend" background with schematic view of the routing, should I use the "Home" zoom for making a mockup, because I see that when I zoom out before clicking VST, I literally get a smaller VST window (awesome!)
this is a screendump of the VST right now

and this should be the background

[trogluddite]

should I use the "Home" zoom for making a mockup, because I see that when I zoom out before clicking VST, I literally get a smaller VST window (awesome!)

It's usually best to use the default zoom level for exports. Exporting with some zooming works OK, but it will force the app' to rescale bitmap images etc. - this uses a bit of extra CPU for the re-scaling, and also the anti-aliasing can make the stretched bitmaps look a bit 'fuzzy'.

Sharing presets and banks between the FS editor and the plugin in a host should work just fine - probably best to make sure to use the preset manager in the plugin to do the saving/loading, just in case the host saves the data in a slightly different format.
I nearly always make my default presets while inside a host - it is much easier to make them when you can have some MIDI notes looping around to demo the sound. Then I save the bank, open my project, load the bank, and make a new export, so that the new bank becomes the defaults.