User:Mousemambo/Document draft: Difference between revisions
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Surge XT is a free and powerful software synthesizer that has extensive support for alternative tunings. Reaper is a popular and free-to-inexpensive DAW that fully supports all of Surge XT's possibilities for using alternative tuning systems. This tutorial was last verified using Surge XT version 1.2.3 and Reaper version 6.80 in August 2023. | Surge XT is a free and powerful software synthesizer that has extensive support for alternative tunings. Reaper is a popular and free-to-inexpensive DAW that fully supports all of Surge XT's possibilities for using alternative tuning systems. This tutorial was last verified using Surge XT version 1.2.3 and Reaper version 6.80 in August 2023. | ||
Although this article is written with the assumption that you are using a synth, some samplers or sampler systems also support re-tuning using the methods described here. | |||
==Methods for setting a tuning== | ==Methods for setting a tuning== | ||
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* Quickly apply a prepared tuning to your musical instrument. | * Quickly apply a prepared tuning to your musical instrument. | ||
* | * Many popular and rare tunings have tuning files already prepared and available online to download. | ||
* Scala keyboard mapping files can support many custom keyboard formats and unusual controller devices (e.g. [https://www.rogerlinndesign.com/linnstrument Linnstrument], [[Harpejji]], or [[Lumatone]] controllers). | * Scala keyboard mapping files can support many custom keyboard formats and unusual controller devices (e.g. [https://www.rogerlinndesign.com/linnstrument Linnstrument], [[Harpejji]], or [[Lumatone]] controllers). | ||
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'''''Vital synth''''' | '''''Vital synth''''' | ||
[Vital allows Scala keyboard mapping file (.kbm) import as well as Scala scale file (.scl) import. The specific instructions for Vital are different than for Surge XT but might be worth briefly including. AFAIK, there is still no way in Vital (as opposed to Surge | [Vital allows Scala keyboard mapping file (.kbm) import as well as Scala scale file (.scl) import. The specific instructions for Vital are different than for Surge XT but might be worth briefly including. AFAIK, there is still no way in Vital (as opposed to Surge XT) to apply re-tuning to the filters, and in Vital one must use its Mod Remap system for that instead of the tuning file import system.] | ||
'''''Scala scale file''''' | '''''Scala scale file''''' | ||
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'''''Alternatives for setting the tuning's base note and tuning center''''' | '''''Alternatives for setting the tuning's base note and tuning center''''' | ||
* Some software, like Garritan's Aria Player sampler system [others | * Some software, like Garritan's Aria Player sampler system [list others], can use Scala scale files but do not support loading Scala keyboard mapping files. However, they may allow you to set the base note of the Scala scale file and its pitch. This fulfills two of the functions of the keyboard mapping file and you should use this method if it's all your instrument supports. If you are using a just intonation, for example, then setting the Scala scale file's base note to the music's tonic is essential. | ||
* Instead of using a keyboard mapping file in Surge XT, you can also set the base for your scale using Surge XT's tuning editor as described in [[User:Mousemambo/Document draft#Method 1: Set a tuning directly in the synth itself|Method 1]]. This can be convenient for tunings with a 12-note scale that | * Instead of using a keyboard mapping file in Surge XT, you can also set the base for your scale using Surge XT's tuning editor as described in [[User:Mousemambo/Document draft#Method 1: Set a tuning directly in the synth itself|Method 1]]. This can be convenient for tunings with a 12-note scale that maps to a standard piano keyboard but may lead to problematic results otherwise. See [[User:Mousemambo/Document draft#Tuning base note, tuning center, and tonic|Tuning base note, tuning center, and tonic]] in the Appendix for more about setting a tuning's base note, tuning center, and addressing keyboard mapping issues, including the tuning system meanings of the terms ''base note'', ''reference pitch'', ''tuning center'', ''diapason'', and ''tonic''. | ||
'''''Anamark tuning files''''' | '''''Anamark tuning files''''' | ||
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[What is a tuning plugin, also called a re-tuning plugin?] [What different mechanisms do tuning plugins use to control a musical instrument?] | [What is a tuning plugin, also called a re-tuning plugin?] [What different mechanisms do tuning plugins use to control a musical instrument?] | ||
There is no convincing case for using this tuning method with Surge XT, | There is no convincing case for using this tuning method with Surge XT, as far as I know. If you want to set a custom tuning, or load a tuning file, or respond to an MTS-ESP tuning source, you can do all those in Surge XT without any need for an additional plugin. For more about tuning plugins, see the [[User:Mousemambo/Tuning methods#Tuning plugins and retuners|Tuning methods]] article. | ||
[Rather than provide instructions for using a tuning plugin here, I could instead do that in a different Guide for using a synth that requires one. If I expand this doc to include another synth, I probably will need to split this Method into 3a ... using a tuning plugin with MPE, and 3b ... using a tuning plugin with multichannel pitch bend (and there are more possibilities). That seems like a lot! I think that a separate article "[[User:Mousemambo/Guide to using tuning plugins|Guide to using tuning plugins]]" is almost certainly the way to go, with sections for MPE, monophonic pitch bend, polyphonic pitch bend (through multichannel), etc. using a few different tuning plugins (e.g. select among [https://oddsound.com/mtsespsuite.php MTS-ESP Suite], [https://entonal.studio/ Entonal Studio], [https://wilsonic.co/ Wilsonic MTS-ESP], [https://infinitone.com/ InfinitoneDMT], or [https://www.pitchinnovations.com/products/fluid-pitch/ Fluid Pitch]).] | [Rather than provide instructions for using a tuning plugin here, I could instead do that in a different Guide for using a synth that requires one. If I expand this doc to include another synth, I probably will need to split this Method into 3a ... using a tuning plugin with MPE, and 3b ... using a tuning plugin with multichannel pitch bend (and there are more possibilities). That seems like a lot! I think that a separate article "[[User:Mousemambo/Guide to using tuning plugins|Guide to using tuning plugins]]" is almost certainly the way to go, with sections for MPE, monophonic pitch bend, polyphonic pitch bend (through multichannel), etc. using a few different tuning plugins (e.g. select among [https://oddsound.com/mtsespsuite.php MTS-ESP Suite], [https://entonal.studio/ Entonal Studio], [https://wilsonic.co/ Wilsonic MTS-ESP], [https://infinitone.com/ InfinitoneDMT], or [https://www.pitchinnovations.com/products/fluid-pitch/ Fluid Pitch]).] | ||
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'''Advantages''' | '''Advantages''' | ||
* MPE-ESP source | * MPE-ESP source plugins often include a [[User:Mousemambo/Document draft#Tuning development environment|tuning development environment]] to assist with creating new tunings. | ||
* . | * Convenient quick switching between different tunings through the source plugin. | ||
* Can tune an entire ensemble of instruments with one controller, the source plugin. | |||
'''Disadvantages''' | '''Disadvantages''' | ||
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* Supported by relatively few software synths. | * Supported by relatively few software synths. | ||
* Requires an extra component, the MTS-ESP source. | * Requires an extra component, the MTS-ESP source. | ||
* | * The technology may only really be needed for certain cases, e.g. tuning an ensemble of instruments, or for special effects. | ||
'''Instructions''' | '''Instructions''' | ||
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=== Tuning base note, tuning center, and tonic === | === Tuning base note, tuning center, and tonic === | ||
[Explain these key concepts and describe how they interact using the example of a traditional just intonation system.] | [Explain these key concepts and describe how they interact using the example of a traditional just intonation system. Tuning center = reference pitch = diapason.] | ||
===Set up an instrument track in the Reaper DAW=== | ===Set up an instrument track in the Reaper DAW=== | ||
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=== Converting Anamark tuning files === | === Converting Anamark tuning files === | ||
Surge XT does not support [[Anamark tuning file format|Anamark format (.tun) tuning files]], | Surge XT does not support [[Anamark tuning file format|Anamark format (.tun) tuning files]], unlike some other synths. However, if you have only an Anamark format tuning file for your tuning, there are several converter tools that can seamlessly use that file to generate a tuning file in Scala format along with a keyboard mapping file if the .tun file includes the needed mapping data. [Do .tun files always include keyboard mapping data?] [Name some good converters and provide links here and below in External links, e.g. Scale Workshop, Scala....] | ||
[Briefly, describe why you might or might not prefer to use an Anamark tuning file instead of the Scala two-file re-tuning system.] | [Briefly, describe why you might or might not prefer to use an Anamark tuning file instead of the Scala two-file re-tuning system.] | ||