Virtual eurorack modular synthesizer vcv

#10

I think your idea about an open standard for audio modules like a virtual eurorack is a great idea.

Although I object to the need to register with VCV the code seems clean and well organised.

#11

I still don't like the having to register but after playing with it for a while I have to admit I really like it.

I've been looking at the code at it's very clean and simple, very well written C++.
Even I can understand it and can find where to start to build my own modules and the whole project is under a hundred files, nice work.

It uses openGL and other standard cross platform libraries which I also really like.

From the look of it building new modules seems as simple as taking an existing fundamental one and editing it and adding it to the list of fundamental objects. Nice.

#12

I'm with you on this, though I don't see it as big of a problem.

I'm sure you can edit that out of the software and implement your own way of adding the extension modules (they are open as well, so really only the installation mechanism is what you need that password for). So, just go ahead and make your own fork of the software. I'm sure you can use a git repo or some other free cloud storage thing as a software repository to add a simple "package manager" in the spirit of linux. Or, just make debain packages for the vcv rack and each of its extensions. Its all open, there is nothing stopping anyone, which I think is great!

#13

On looking at the code it doesn't seem to be to difficult to edit out the login function.

I had expected an impenetrable mess of thousands of files and endless pages of obscure undocumented code but have am very pleasantly surprised at how simple, small and clean the code is.

I'm busy for the next few days but hope to get round to loading it up in an ide and seeing if i can't get it to compile from source and run and then try making some add on modules late next week if i can find time.

#14

A post was split to a new topic: OT meta discussion : vcv

#15

2 posts were merged into an existing topic: OT meta discussion : vcv

#17

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#19

So if there's no need to register to use it, does anyone know if it will work on a Raspberry Pi3 running the ubuntu MATE distro (or any distro really as long as it's on the Pi3)?

I think I already know the answer, but I'm asking just in case!

#20

I didn't see any ARM binaries on the site, but if you compile it from source, then I don't think you'll have any trouble getting it to run.

#21

Id be interested to hear how it performs....
some on PCs/Macs are claiming its got high cpu usage, so that does not bode well for a rPI3.
on the other hand the MI code is optimised for ARM, but not SSE
(though the non MI modules are not optimised for ARM)

its using OpenGL for the UI, so be interesting to hear how that performs on the rPI3.

#22

Thankyou both, but they're the dreaded words I was hoping I wouldn't hear 'to build it from source' :grimacing:

I only tried it twice with other stuff, but it never worked either time. If there's a step-by-step on what to type, or something guaranteed to make me understand the process, I'll definitely give compiling it for ARM a go, but I'd need to see something solid that looks simple enough to understand and follow first.

As with Mark, I'm interested in the performance too, cause while the Pi3 isn't exactly a powerhouse, it still might make a nice little standalone gadget even if it could only handle a small amount of modules.

#23

Pi is going to have trouble running anything in Java

#24

VCV is not written in java, its C++

#25

Sorry got my threads crossed there, thought it was in the patcher thread.

#26

(I know this is an older thread)

Been playing around with VCV for the last days. Its pretty damn nice, great quality and everything.

Yep, that is my experience too. My fan on my 2012 Macbook, is almost blowing full speed form the second I start adding modules to the rack and my computer get really hot.

And there is also pretty good guides on ho to build your own modules. Going to try in a few days, I think.

@SmashedTransistors Have you played with VCV rack?

#27

I used to use the good old KarmaFX Synth modular before switching to G2 and to the Axoloti

I did not tried a modular VSTi for quite a long time...

#28

Yeah tried Karma too, but only shortly. Was pretty cool :slight_smile: We used to have one of those German Creamware Pulsar cards, the modular DSP system. Was also pretty nice.

The VCV Rack is actually not a VSTI, it's a stand alone application, with some build in modules. Though I got it set up using IAC/Soundflower driver so I can trigger it with midinotes form Logic, without to much latency.

But, like Axoloti it's completely open source and I am finding lots of new stuff every day on Github.

#29

I fell into the VCV rack hole this autumn, and still in it (a bit too much) as a simple user. I really love it ! No optimizations for the moment ; CPU and GPU are always high. But you can add a load of modules and get amazing things happening.
I don't use it at all the same way as Axoloti, but I do use them together quite a bit.
Because of the real-time patching in VCV Rack, I seem to use it much more as a DAW, / composing mixing environment, than as an instrument. It's really managed to stop some of my GAS concerning a modular setup.
I do admit having wet dreams of a 'translator / compiler" from axoloti sub-patches to VCVRack modules, or some way of creating your own modules without any coding knowledge.
But for the moment I'm a very happy man, with so much amazing stuff at my finger tips, and still enough money to sip on wine in the evening :wine_glass:

#30

Yes, true. I heard an interview with Andrew Belt, the VCV Rack creator and he mentioned that they hadnt looked into optimization yet. So hopefully the side of it will become better in the near future :slight_smile:

If anyone wants to hear the interview and get a bit of background story of VCV Rack:

Someone tipped me, that I shoud try lowering the screen resolution of my Macbook. And this actually seems to do a difference, it take a little bit longer before the computer gets hot and fan goes crazy.

Yeah, I have promised my self never to buy any Eurorack all though I have been tempted many times. But VCV definately helps a bit on that side :slight_smile: Money saved :slight_smile:

I have installed developer version and have all ready made a few objects for its. Its a bit more complicated than Axo , but in general not too hard, once you got the development environment set up. Especially not when working with logic stuff like sequencers etc. But high quality osc's and stuff like that I am still learning about. That gets a bit complicated.

Yeah thats nice :slight_smile: Open source is really saving my creative life these days :slight_smile:

#31

Some random thoughts on VCV: I built it from source the other night on Linux and have been impressed so far. JACK support isn't compiled in by default but works great if you follow the instructions on the wiki. The plugin ecosystem is still in its earliest stages. There is this confusing sort of 'login' mechanism (both on the website and in the app) which seems to be laying the foundation for commercial plugin sales; you're not required to use any of it right now. In fact, if you build the bleeding edge sources in their default state, it is disabled.

I found that many of the available plugins are broken against the bleeding edge development version (annoyingly). Each plugin maintains its own version number which I think is supposed to track the overall release version number (Rack is currently at 0.5.1 and plugins seem to be at 0.5.x). The claim is made that all 0.x plugins are compatible which 0.x releases but it seems like backwards compatibility breaking changes are being made. Hopefully there will be a better strategy for dealing with plugin API level in the future.

The UI is the most impressive part of VCV to me. It is extremely responsive and smooth on my development machine, but might be too expensive for lower-end machines. It seems like considerable effort has gone into making the modules look pretty. I'm not totally sure how I feel about the "realistic" studio rack UI metaphor. There is nothing that feels like a real programming language here, no abstraction mechanism. You are purely using modules with their pre-fab UIs. It all looks super pretty though and feels very approachable, simple. Like you are just sitting down at a physical device that "just works", not having to deal with much software complexity. I think this last aspect is something we could improve on in Axoloti, making the experience for streamlined for new users, particularly less technically inclined ones. What's interesting about the UI implementation is that it is not using JUCE or QT or Java or any other very heavy UI library; it's using GLFW which is pretty close to raw OpenGL but helps out with normal UI stuff like input and events, etc. It's definitely inspiring me to think about directions for future Axoloti UIs. It might interesting to have a system that had the ability to work with both more abstract object representations (like Axoloti currently) and pre-fab skeuomorphic modules (like VCV) at the same time. I guess this is kind of like Reaktor maybe?

Unfortunately, the actual sound hasn't impressed me that much so far, but I haven't had a chance to go through all the modules.