Multiple effects VST with route select

[electrogear]

Hello guys,

I had a few hours to start learning SM last night, and I thought I'd try and make a VST FX unit, where the signal path through each one could be chosen. I went about doing it, but the purpose of this project was more for me to get to grips with a few more basics. Anyway, it turned into quite a bit of heavy work, routing signals through selectors and multiplexors. I ended up having a couple of main modules with 50 Inputs! I have now set up the first 2 select components, so you can choose from 5 effects for each one. I have not used any maths in this project - mainly Selectors and Multiplexors. I just wondered, is there any easier way I could have done this project? Using a different method? Also, what exactly is it that uses up CPU? Is it the length of signal paths, or is it the actual signal processing in each effects unit?

Thanks,

Mike

[AngularMomentum]

Maybe I misunderstand your post...I am on my first cup of coffee...but this is how I do it.

I just use a couple of slots. Effect slot 1 > Effect Slot 2 > Effect Slot 3. As all these slots have the same bunch of effects, you can choose like that what order without to much wiring. If you like I can send you a schematic of that.

[electrogear]

I'm not completely sure what you mean, but I'd never thought of it like that. I wanted to be able to have 5 drop-down selectors, with 5 FX in each one, and then if you select say "Effect 1" in box one, then that effect is eliminated in the next drop-down box (2), so there are only actually 5 effects in the whole VST, but you can choose the route it goes through them. (i.e. compressor first, then reverb, then delay, etc) This would be just the base of the project obviously - I would build on it from there.

[AngularMomentum]

The thing is I like the option to select 2 reverbs or 3 delays chained together. That is why I do not bother about elimination of options in the next slot. Only the selected effect is taking CPU anyway. (at least not in the addtable project, where I use 3 slots) Probably obvious, but I still can send you a 2 slot example with GUI controls switch tonight.

[electrogear]

That would be greatly appreciated. Thankyou so much! I only get time to use SM between 12pm and 2am, so I find it difficult to get a lot learnt.

Thankyou,

Mike

[AngularMomentum]

You are welcome, working on it now, have to tidy up the wiring a bit.

[AngularMomentum]

Here you go...



http://www.amvst.com/synthmaker/3slotFX.osm

[stefan]

In the synth I'm doing for the KVR developer challenge I have a FX section with flexible routing.
It consists of four effects (eq, delay1, delay2, crusher) but the effects themselves don't "know" about the flexible routing.

Outside of the effect modules I have a router module with the following connections:
inputs:
synth
eq
delay1
delay2
crusher

where I connect the outputs from respective section.
outputs:
main
eq
delay1
delay2
crusher

which I connect to the respective inputs.

Within this module it is now quite easy to set up any given chain. It could probably be easily done using busses as well.

[electrogear]

Here you go...



http://www.amvst.com/synthmaker/3slotFX.osm

Thanks so much for that! I will check it out when I get home.

Stefan, the FX section you have made sounds very similar to mine. Did you find you had an awful lot of routing for the different combinations?
What exactly do you mean by busses? (Sorry I'm a newbie) I mean, yes I know what busses are, but how/where do you use them in SM?

Cheers,

Mike

[stefan]

Stefan, the FX section you have made sounds very similar to mine. Did you find you had an awful lot of routing for the different combinations?
What exactly do you mean by busses? (Sorry I'm a newbie) I mean, yes I know what busses are, but how/where do you use them in SM?

Cheers,

Mike

Sure, but not _that_ bad since the routing module is separated from the actual effect modules, so those still only have their regular ins and outs. But it is based upon selectors and multiplexers, and each "router" has five ins and five outs, which all in all means that there are quite a lot of different connections.

I think one could be able to use the bus create / bus extract in a way that is similar to the "ordinary" selector/multiplexer solution, but more elegant. One could basically do it like the modulation matrix modules do it (look at those in the toolbox!), and use each effects inputs and outputs as modulation targets and modulation sources.

[electrogear]

Is there a quick way of naming all of the inputs/outputs from each module? Because I found myself spending the best part of 2 hours doing just that, as I had started getting confused about what was going where, and I had about 100 wireless ins/outs that needed to be linked.

Sorry about all the questions! There's thousands more I can think of, but one at a time eh?

Cheers,

Mike

[sonicfire]

Strange, in that OSM , you cant connect anything to the inputs?

And where´s the directsound INPUT module in the toolbox? I have only output?

[infuzion]

Strange, in that OSM , you cant connect anything to the inputs?

And where´s the directsound INPUT module in the toolbox? I have only output?

There isn't really a "directsound INPUT" in SM yet; you'll have to cut & past in a schematic for a synth (like example.osm in SM's home folder), & link it's outputs into the effect's inputs. (make sure it's mono-out, or use the Poly-to-mono primitive.