Audio through and effects processing

#9

How dare you suggest Axoloti is not perfect as it is and that the analog audio side of it is not up to professional standard.

This seems to be the reaction I have got when I have suggest the same thing anyway.

#10

Yeah, that is one feeling you get sometimes in here........ I have adressed the same cuplrints several times with same results as you feel that you got. I just gave up and started learning Pure Data instead. Also because I need more DSP than Axoloti offers. So it was kind of natural next step for me anyway.

#11

Well it's an open project so we can take it and make it into what we want it to be.

Having a community that welcomes criticism and ideas for future developments of the project would seem to me to be essential, if the current leaders aren't doing it, let's just ignore them and do it ourselves.

Much of the difficult and time consuming work has already been done, with a few motivated people working effectively together many of the issues could be sorted out reasonably quickly and the project could be amazing.

Before I discovered Axoloti i had imagined something very similar myself and though there are things I would have done differently myself, the core of what could be very close to what I imagined is there and so I think it is worthwhile putting the time in to make it into what I want it to be rather than starting my own hardware project from scratch.

I've spent a fair bit of time with Axo over the last week or two and am enjoying it now I have a handle on how the software works and the object libraries enough to do things. I will try and get more active on the forum as well and see if I can't get help to sort some of the issues I've found out.

I feel I've got a bit of a handle on the code of subpatchs and objects and don't think it's beyond my coding skills to be able to make objects. Getting into the code of the Axoloti app itself however will present more of a challenge as will trying to understand the stm32 architecture and toolchain enough to work on the firmware, but I am in this for the long haul, I have a clear idea of how I can use Axo in my rig with the hardware as it is and it will form a central part of my modular system eventually.

The board should last years if treated well, and they are not so expensive it couldn't be replaced easily if damaged or broken, I'm actually thinking of getting another one anyway to play around with getting them to talk to each other and spread the processing load of the patches I have in mind to build eventually.

I do know a bit about electronics design and again have a very clear idea about a revision of the board that would use basically the same firmware, with whatever modifications were needed to make it run on a different hardware platform, but have a better analog side and better adc/dacs, and then build it into a 19" rack mounted enclosure with balanced lines and also a eurorack format module

A general purpose audio DSP is something I need that would be hellishly expensive to buy but that given the existing code base of axoloti i code conceivably build such board and run axo on it.

The software is where the work is, digital hardware is relatively simple these days because so much is integrated into monolithic chips, developing new firmware and an app to build patches from scratch myself is beyond me I'm afraid but I do think I am capable of being an active useful developer of this project to try and make it into what I need it to be myself.

I'd warmly welcome your comments, ideas and support if you want to work together.

Synergy, it's what music is all about, 2 people working well together can do the work of 4 working alone.
with 3 or even more, the possibilities are astounding.

#12

Oh and btw I don't know much about pure data, can you do axo like things with it?

#13

Yes everything I would say and a whole bunch more. Like FFT processing & phase vocoding, that is more heavy on the DSP.

#14

10 posts were merged into an existing topic: Critter and Guitari - Organelle

#19

I really enjoy the Axoloti,

I can focus on porting my synth and DSP algorithms knowing that @johannes et al. take care of the not that easy implementation of a reliable real time system with very low latency.

I won't underestimate the intricate issues faced when dealing with synchronizing inter board audio signals, implementing support for multiple USB controllers and other cool features while maintaining reliability and low latency.
So, even if I'm waiting like a 8 year old on xmas eve for these features (and spy regularly the ongoing work on github), i understand it will take time.

For me, reliability was the big issue of Clavia's mighty G2. The little Axoloti is much less buggy for a fraction of the price.

About the inputs/outputs, I think it would be useful to test the improvements of some pre amps, amps and direct input boxes with the Axoloti. Shielding and clean analog power supply should also be tested.

Surely, a nice super analog digital / digital analog board/shield including valve pre/post amps would be great.

Inter Axoloti communication (and/or higher CPU) would make polyphonic x2 or x4 oversampling possible, combined with differentiated anti aliasing, it would provide top notch oscillators, filters and distortions :smiley:

#20

Valve preamps might be going too far but high signal level balanced ins and outs with high quality dac/adc's along with more processing grunt and ram would make it close to perfect for me.

Could be built onto a shield I guess, maybe that is a project worth working on.

Do you know anything about circuit design?

#21

Hello strum, I am axoman. You don't know me but I'm generally regarded as one of the more advanced members around here, so if there's anything specific you would like a hand with, please let me know and I'll see what I can do to help :grin:

#22

Yes and that's precisely why I switched to software :sunglasses:

#23

Today you have nice little tube preamps kits for less than 50€.

#24

I'll add a comment for others who might be reading the start of this thread and then leaving with the view that Axoloti can't be used as an effect processor. I've had great success using Axo for FX by using it in line with my synth before going into the mixer. This avoids the level issues when using it as an FX send. Of course, I can only get one synth through it but it works great. Reverb, delays, bitcrush, sidechain compression. All these things are available and work well.

#25

Personally I would rather have valve pres as a separate unit

#26

That is one way of using Axo that the low levels might not be such a problem, keyboards don't put out very hot levels themselves often.

I would like to be able to use it on a aux send and return from a mixing desk and to do that it need to have balanced +4 db lines in and out, preferably with XLR connectors,

#27

Cheers Axoman, that's a very generous offer and I will take you up on it and some time in the future.

One of the issues I'm working on now is beat swing and would be interested in your ideas about the subject.

#28

MOD NOTE: Ive moved a bunch of posts about Organelle, to the existing topic on the subject, just to keep things 'tidy'

generally, can we keep discussion of other technologies in the Lounge, the main area of the forum is reserved for Axoloti discussions.

Ive also moved this to Hardware, as doesnt seems to have anything to do with Patching :wink:

( and before any conspiracy theories, you are free to discuss things you see as Axoloti imperfections, areas for improvements in the appropriate main Axoloti section... just keep it to discussing Axoloti)

#29

Regarding audio through / effects processing via Axoloti.

I use mine with Mackie CR1604VLZ via Send/Return and can't say it is any worse than ensoniq dp/2 or jomox t-resonator, just another flavour/color in effects palette.

I use it also in live pa context with Octatrack via CUE OUTS -> CD INPUTS in SEND/RETURN style too and did not notice anything bad with it.

And regarding abilities. I have also nord micromodular. You know - it has no memory even for decent delay line. Though it is still can be used for vast varieties of useful things. And i don't have any plans to part with mine.

Critter and Guitari - Organelle
#30

Ok, well lets look at this logically - "Beat" Swing.

I see two aspects to beat swing; the beat, and the swing. To create beat swing we therefore need an elegant way to extract the swing from a constant beat. I would do this by taking a sinewave LFO, and putting it through a rectifier, therefore creating a function that can be used as swing (it would have the correct shape for swing). This means our "swing" would be in full-force, and due to the simple yet elegant nature of this design, one only needs to lessen the amplitude of the sinewave to create less swing, as lessening amplitude creates a less pronounced function, and it is the function that is driving the tempo - therefore - the swing.

Axoman Industries - Elegant Simplicity!

#31

Could you make me an example patch to demonstrate to idea?, I don't really understand how it would work from your description.

#32

Note: The Nord Micromodular and the first generation of modulars from Clavia were quite reliable. I also still have a mircro modular. On the other hand, I bought a Modular G2 engine, even if more powerful, it had a lot of issues.