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<meta name="author" content="Christian Schoenebeck"> |
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<title>Release Notes LinuxSampler 2.0.0</title> |
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<navpath>LinuxSampler 2.0.0</navpath> |
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<h1>LinuxSampler 2.0.0</h1> |
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<p> |
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Unbelievable six years have passed since the last release of LinuxSampler. |
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A load of things have changed in silence, which I want to summarize for |
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you in this article. |
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</p> |
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|
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<h3>New Sampler Engines</h3> |
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<p> |
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The sampler's code base has seen substantial changes during that long |
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period. The sampler engine code base has been unified to a set of common, |
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abstract base classes which cleared the way for two new sampler engines: |
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<ol> |
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<li>The <b>SFZ2</b> format engine (.sfz).</li> |
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<li>The <b>SoundFont 2</b> format engine (.sf2).</li> |
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</ol> |
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So LinuxSampler is not limited to just the GigaStudio/Gigasampler format |
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(.gig) anymore. |
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</p> |
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|
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<h3>Real-Time Instrument Scripts</h3> |
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<p> |
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Another major new feature is the brand new support for so called |
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<i>Real-Time Instrument Scripts</i>, which are small programs that may be |
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bundled with sound files to extend the sampler with custom behavior for |
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individual sounds. You may know such instrument scripts from commercial |
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software samplers. At the moment this scripting feature is yet limited to |
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the Giga format engine. <a href="instrument_scripts.html">Find out more ...</a> |
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</p> |
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<img src="../../gigedit/scripts/gigedit_script_editor.png" caption="NKSP Instrument Script Editor of Gigedit"> |
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|
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<h3>LSCP Shell</h3> |
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<p> |
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Also noteworthy is the new command line application <i>lscp</i>, which is |
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a text based shell for controlling the sampler from the command line, |
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providing colored output, type completion, help text while typing LSCP |
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commands and other convenient features for terminal enthusiasts who want |
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to use the sampler without GUI frontend applications. |
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<a href="lscp_shell.html">Find out more ...</a> |
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</p> |
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<img src="../../lscp_shell/lscp_shell.png" caption="LSCP Shell"> |
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|
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<h3>Internal Effects & Extensions to LSCP</h3> |
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<p> |
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You may now also load external effects directly into the sampler. The |
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<a href="http://www.linuxsampler.org/api/draft-linuxsampler-protocol.html">LSCP network protocol</a> |
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(<a href="http://www.linuxsampler.org/api/lscp-1.7.html">v1.7</a>) has |
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been extended to manage such effects respectively. Effect chains may be |
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built, and the individual sampler parts may be routed to an individual |
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position of effect chains. At this point only LADSPA plugins are supported |
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yet. However the sampler's effect subsystem uses an abstract interface, |
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which allows easy integration of other effect systems. Also new with |
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latest LSCP version is the ability to trigger MIDI CCs by LSCP command. |
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</p> |
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|
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<h3>New GigaStudio format features</h3> |
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<p> |
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<img src="gigedit_imidi_rules.png"> |
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You may have heard that the GigaStudio software has seen its last version |
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with GigaStudio 4. Tascam officially discontinued this product, its |
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intellectual property has been sold several times among companies and |
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there is currently no way to buy a new copy of GigaStudio anymore. However |
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the GigaStudio format is still under active development with LinuxSampler. |
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We not only added support for the latest features introduced with |
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GigaStudio 4: iMIDI rules for example which allow to trigger notes by |
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MIDI CC and allow i.e. defining a set of legato samples; for the first |
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time ever we also added our own extensions to the Giga format: one of it |
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is the previously mentioned new instrument scripting feature and a more |
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minor extension is support for various other MIDI CCs which were never |
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supported by GigaStudio before. So you can now use any MIDI CC for EG1 |
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controller, EG2 controller and attenuation controller. |
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</p> |
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|
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<h3>DAW Plugin Enhancements</h3> |
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<p> |
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The sampler's host plugins have also seen some enhancements: the LV2 |
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plugin now stores and restores the sampler's overall state with the song |
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of your DAW application, the LV2 and AudioUnit plugin's outputs |
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were increased from 2 audio channels to 16 upon request by some users and |
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the VST plugin now uses the sampler's |
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<a href="http://www.linuxsampler.org/api/draft-linuxsampler-protocol.html#MIDI%20Instrument%20Mapping">MIDI instrument mapping system</a> |
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to show a list of available sounds to allow the user to switch among them. |
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And last but not least the VST plugin may also be used on Mac now. |
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</p> |
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|
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<h2>Gigedit 1.0.0</h2> |
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<p> |
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<img src="gigedit_format_extension_warnings.png"> |
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Also <i>Gigedit</i>, our instrument editor for the GigaStudio/Gigasampler |
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format, had been enhanced quite a lot during the last six years. As |
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mentioned above, we introduced our own extensions to the Giga format. |
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Obviously all those extensions will not work with any GigaStudio version, |
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they only work with a recent version of Gigedit and LinuxSampler. Gigedit |
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will inform you whenever you are using such kind of custom Giga format |
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extension, so that you are always aware in case your changes to sounds are |
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not cross/backward compatible with the GigaStudio software. You may also |
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disable those warnings on the settings menu. |
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</p> |
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|
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<h3>Multi-Selection of Dimension Zones</h3> |
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<p> |
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Until now you were only able to edit either exactly |
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one dimension region or all dimension regions simultaneously with gigedit. With this |
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release you may now hold the Ctrl button and select a specific set of |
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dimension region zones in the dimension region selector area (on the very |
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bottom of the Gigedit window) with your mouse. All synthesis parameters you |
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then change, will all be applied to that precise set of dimension region |
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zones. |
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</p> |
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<img src="gigedit_multi_zone_selection.png" caption="Multi-zone selection with Ctrl key"> |
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<h3>Improvements to Dimension Management</h3> |
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<p> |
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<img src="gigedit_change_dim_type.png"> |
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Also managing dimensions has been improved: previously to change the |
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type of a dimension you had to delete and recreate the |
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dimension. Which was not just inconvenient, but you also had to redefine |
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your synthesis parameters from scratch. Now you can just open the |
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dimension manager dialog, double click on the displayed dimension type |
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and select another type for the respective dimension. |
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</p> |
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<p> |
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<img src="gigedit_manage_dims_all_regions.png"> |
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Another great enhancement of the dimension manager is the ability to alter |
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the dimensions of all regions of an instrument at once. Previously you had |
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to do that for each region on the keyboard separately. For example to |
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delete a velocity split dimension, you had to double click on a region, |
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delete the velocity dimension with the dimension manager dialog, then |
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double click on the next region, delete the velocity dimension there as |
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well, and so on. Now you can just click on the "All Regions" check box of |
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the dimension manager, select the velocity dimension, click on "Remove" |
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and that's it. Also notice the different display style in this |
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"All Regions" mode, like shown on the screen shot left: Since you are |
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viewing the dimension properties of not just one region, but of all |
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regions of your instrument, we thought we also need to show you in case |
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individual regions differ regarding their precise dimension properties. |
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For example on the screen shot on the left you see that some regions have |
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a velocity dimension with 2 zones, whereas other regions have a velocity |
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dimension with 4 zones instead. Also there seem to be some regions which |
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have a modulation wheel dimension and other regions which do not have a |
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modulation wheel dimension at all. Same applies to the Layer dimension: |
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in this particular example not all regions do have a Layer dimension. |
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However all regions seem to have a Sample Channel (Stereo) dimension, |
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and all regions even have the same amount of zones for that particular dimension. |
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</p> |
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|
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<h3>Monitoring Sample References</h3> |
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<p> |
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<img src="gigedit_sample_references.png"> |
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When working on complex Giga sounds you certainly noticed that one could |
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easily get lost about which samples are exactly used by which |
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instrument or even whether a sample is actually used at all by any |
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instrument or just left orphaned and wasting disk space. This was also due |
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to the fact that the Giga format does not require unique names for |
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samples. We have worked on resolving this usability issue. In the samples |
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list view you can now read the amount of times a sample is referenced by |
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instruments of your .gig file. If a sample is not used at all, then it |
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will be shown in striking red color in the sample list view. You may also |
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right click on a sample and select "Show references...", a new |
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window appears on your screen which will show you where exactly that |
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particular sample is used by, that is by which instruments and by which |
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regions of those instruments. Also the other way around has been |
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addressed: when you now edit the synthesis parameters of a particular |
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dimension region, you may now click on the new "<- Select Sample" |
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button and Gigedit automatically selects and displays the respective sample |
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in the samples list view, which you then might rename to some more |
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appropriate sample name, or you might check by which other instrument(s) |
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that sample is used by, etc. You want to get rid of all unused samples? |
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Simply right click on the samples list view and select |
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"Remove unused samples", then select "Save" from the menu and all orphaned |
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samples are gone. |
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</p> |
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<img src="gigedit_go_to_sample.png" caption="Find and select used sample"> |
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|
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<h3>Silent Cases</h3> |
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<p> |
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<img src="gigedit_null_sample.png"> |
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You may now also remove the current sample reference from individual |
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dimension regions (assigning a so called "NULL" sample instead) by clicking on |
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the new "X" button next to the sample reference field on the "Sample" tab |
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of a dimension region; this allows you to define "silent cases", that |
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is a case where no sample should be played at all, for example this is |
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often used for very low velocity ranges of i.e. between 0 and 6. |
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</p> |
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|
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<h3>Reordering Instruments</h3> |
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<p> |
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<img src="gigedit_reorder_instruments.png"> |
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If you are working on .gig files with a large amount of Instruments, then |
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you might also be glad to know that you can finally also re-order the |
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instruments of a file by simply dragging the instruments around in the |
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instruments list view. |
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</p> |
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|
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<h3>Combine Tool</h3> |
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<p> |
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<img src="gigedit_combine_tool.png"> |
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Another handy new feature for sound designers is the new "Combine" tool, |
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which you can reach from the main menu. It allows you to select two ore |
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more instruments (by holding down the Ctrl key while selecting with mouse |
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left click) from your currently open Giga file and combine those selected |
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instruments to a new instrument. This way you may for example create |
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stunning layered sounds, or you may create velocity splits, crossfade |
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sounds by MIDI controller and much more, all with just a few clicks. This |
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may sound like a trivial task, but if you have worked on this before, you |
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certainly noticed that this was often a very time consuming and error |
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prone task before, especially with complex individual sounds which had |
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custom region ranges, custom velocity splits and much more exotic stuff |
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to take care of. The combine tool handles all such cases for you |
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automatically. |
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</p> |
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|
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<h3>Improved Interaction with LinuxSampler</h3> |
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<p> |
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Last but not least, the interaction of Gigedit with LinuxSampler (in so |
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called "live mode") had been improved: When you click on the "Edit" |
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button of a channel strip in QSampler or Fantasia, Gigedit will be |
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launched with the respective instrument automatically being selected. |
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Vice versa you may now also just select another instrument with Gigedit's |
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instrument list view and LinuxSampler will automatically load and play |
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that instrument on the respective sampler part for you. So no more need |
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to switch between the Gigedit window and QSampler/Fantasia window all the |
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time while working on your sounds with Gigedit. |
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</p> |
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|
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<h2>QSampler 0.3.0</h2> |
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<p> |
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<img src="qsampler_sf2_selection.png"> |
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As new sampler formats made it into LinuxSampler, this was also addressed |
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with QSampler. The sound selection dialog now also enumerates the sounds |
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of a selected SoundFont file. And to ease switching between sounds, you |
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may now click on the name of the current instrument of a channel strip, |
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a list will popup that alows you to quickly switch to another sound, |
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without having to open the channel strip's detailed part dialog. |
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</p> |
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<img src="qsampler_quick_switch.png" caption="Drop down list for fast switching between instruments"> |
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|
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<h3>Suppressing Error Popups</h3> |
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<p> |
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In the past, error message dialogs frequently popped up on the screen. |
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Most of them were just telling unuseful messages, even if the overall |
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operation with the sampler was working correctly. There is now an "ignore" |
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check box attached to those error message dialogs, which allow you to |
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suppress most of the annoying error messages. |
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</p> |
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|
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<h3>Improved Mac Support</h3> |
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<p> |
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Recently we created a convenient installer for Mac OS X, which |
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conveniently installs all our software components on your Mac. So that |
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includes the stand-alone version of the LinuxSampler backend, VST and |
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AudioUnit plugin version of the sampler, "Fantasia" and "QSampler" frontends, |
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our instrument editor "Gigedit", the LSCP shell and various other command |
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line tools. You may also choose only some of them to be installed. |
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</p> |
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<img src="http://download.linuxsampler.org/pix/screenshots/mac_installer_1.jpg"> |
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<p> |
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Using the sampler has also been improved on Mac. Before you first had to |
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launch the LinuxSampler backend separately and then launch QSampler. |
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Sometimes the sampler backend even had to be killed explicitly. Now |
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you can just click on the QSampler icon and it will automatically spawn |
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the sampler backend for you and shows its output on QSampler's integrated |
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terminal section. When you quit QSampler, it will also stop the sampler backend |
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for you automatically (you may tell QSampler to keep the sampler running in the background). |
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</p> |
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|
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<h2>libgig 4.0.0</h2> |
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<p> |
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Our fundamental file access C++ library |
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<a href="http://download.linuxsampler.org/doc/libgig/api/">libgig</a> |
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is now more than just a supporter of the GigaStudio/Gigasampler file |
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format. New file formats have been added and are now bundled with libgig: |
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<ol> |
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<li> |
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<a href="http://download.linuxsampler.org/doc/libgig/api/namespaceKorg.html"> |
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Classes for KORG's sample based instrument files |
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</a> (.KSF, .KMP). |
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</li> |
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<li> |
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<a href="http://download.linuxsampler.org/doc/libgig/api/namespacesf2.html"> |
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Classes for SoundFont v2 files |
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</a> (.sf2). |
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</li> |
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<li> |
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<a href="http://download.linuxsampler.org/doc/libgig/api/classResource.html"> |
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Classes for AKAI sampler data. |
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</a> |
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</li> |
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</ol> |
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Various command line tools have been added to libgig, which allow to |
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dump, correct, extract and convert sounds between those various file formats. |
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Refer to the individual <i>man pages</i> for details about how to use |
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those new command line tools. As you can see, the ground had been prepared |
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for further new sampler engines with LinuxSampler to come. |
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</p> |
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</body> |
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