User:Mousemambo/Document draft: Difference between revisions

[I need to think further about how I want to name these use cases. I might prefer something that says more about why rather than what or how. But there can be several different "why" use cases for each the configurations named. So I might leave them as they are, call this section "Methods" and have the first section after the title and before "Advantages" be "Scenarios" for describing typical use cases for that method. I might remove the "Method N" prefix, but its useful in this doc to quickly refer people to a method by number rather than writing out the whole name.] [I don't like the "Method 1 Scenarios" style of sub-section heading, nor "Scenarios (Method 1)" or anything other than "Scenarios" — but then I can't make them link targets because there would be multiple occurrences of a "Scenarios" sub-section heading. Need to ponder more.]

[Briefly: What is a tuning editor?]

[Use Surge's tuning editor to recreate a custom tuning, perhaps using the example of Ptolemy's Intense Diatonic or something more unusual.]

[This section could be renamed "Set a tuning in the synth using tuning files" perhaps.]

## Use the resulting file selection popup to choose one of the [ideally 12-tone for keyboard mapping simplicity] Scala scale files that come with Surge XT, e.g. [something beginners might have read about and would recognize,] like just intonation's Ptolemy_intense_diatonic.scl or meantone's WerckmeisterIII_equal_beating.scl, or instead choose [something named in condensed code like] ED3-12.scl. [I realize Scala XT at this moment only comes with two tuning files beginners are likely to recognize by name, and one is 12-EDO. Also, the more commonly known JI and meantone scale files are 7-note not 12-note so they won't map properly by themselves. Ptolex is a 12-tone Ptolemeic JI tuning, but not widely known. Also, many people will be unable to distinguish Ptolex by ear from 12-EDO. So what example to use?]

[This whole section needs extensive review with regard to what should be moved out to the [[User:Mousemambo/Document draft#Appendix|Appendix on this page]], or the [[User:Mousemambo/Tuning methods#Tuning files|Tuning methods]] article, what belongs in the [[User:Mousemambo/Scala tuning system|Scala tuning system]] article, or perhaps is best rendered in duplicate for reading simplicity. Also, I need to settle on a consistent terminology and apply it to all three articles.I am removing as much as possible from the Instructions section, but to where? For example, the complexity of the relationship between the Scala scale file's base note, the tuning's tuning center, and the music's tonic (if it has one) makes this a very difficult topic for beginners but it's critical for JI so something needs to be said in this article. But this doesn't seem to be the right place to explain it in great detail — the [[User:Mousemambo/Scala tuning system|Scala tuning system]] article is probably a good choice.]

*[This section needs extensive reconsideration and revision given the creation of a separate [[User:Mousemambo/Scala tuning system|Scala tuning system]] article. Keep only what needs to be here. -> This work is in progress.]

*[Say something brief about tuning files and what they do. Mostly refer to the info located in the "[[User:Mousemambo/Scala tuning system|Scala tuning system]]" article.]

*Note that without a Scala keyboard mapping file (.kbm) also loaded, the resulting tuning may not be what you expect. Surge XT like most synths will assume a default tuning center frequency and keyboard mapping that sets the first (implied) note of the tuning file -- the tuning base -- as MIDI Note C.60 and the tuning center (diapason, reference pitch) as international ISO standard pitch (MIDI A.69=440.000Hz). [Or will it? Seems undocumented. In fact, it '''does not'''. Default in Surge XT 1.2.3 is a tuning base note of C.60 and the reference pitch is C.60=261.626Hz, which is very close to but not exactly international standard because it uses three-digit precision. I've read that this (at 2-4 digit precision) is the most common default for retunable synths when you don't load a keyboard mapping file.] However, if for example we are using a just intonation scale and music with a tonic of F (F4, MIDI note 65, 349.23 Hz), it becomes critical that that tuning base note is set to the tonic F. Ideally we use a keyboard mapping file to do that, but if keyboard mapping files are not supported see the section "Alternative for setting the tuning base note and tuning reference."

*[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 retuning to the filters, and [https://forum.vital.audio/t/veena-sarod-sarangi/9436 in Vital one currently must use its Mod Remap system] for that instead of the tuning file import system. Vital is not the only popular synth with full keyboard microtuning, but it's powerful, extremely popular and free-to-modestly priced, so a good direction to steer beginners.]

* Surge XT doesn't directly support Anamark tuning files (.tun), which are a one-file alternative to using the two-file Scala tuning system. Conversely, other synths may support the Anamark format but not the Scala one. [[User:Mousemambo/Document draft#Using Anamark tuning files|Anamark tuning files]] are briefly described in the Appendix.

[What is a tuning plugin, also called a retuning plugin?] [What different mechanisms do tuning plugins use to control a musical instrument?]

[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]).]

[Briefly: Add an MTS-ESP tuning source plugin on one track, and Surge XT on another. Load a tuning file into the MTS-ESP source plugin. Set Surge XT to listen to MTS-ESP. Confirm that the MTS-ESP source has connected. Note that, unlike Surge XT, most available electronic instruments at this time (August 2023) don't support MTS-ESP tuning although some do. Note that if I choose to expand by mentioning other synths, I need to say that some of those can be re-tuned by adding a tuning plugin that **does** support MTS-ESP... Method 4a: ...using MTS-ESP, Method 4b: using an MTS-ESP tuning plugin. Other ways to structure this are possible and will be considered.]

A brief intro to MTS-ESP here...

[Briefly: If you're familiar enough with the tuning to recognize its correctness by ear, play the scale. Otherwise, test the frequency of played notes using the tuner that comes with your DAW, or an external (e.g. phone-based) tuner. This may require using a prepared data sheet or making one using an appropriate utility like Scala or the simpler [https://sevish.com/scaleworkshop/ Scale Workshop]. In Reaper do this....]

[How to create an instrument track in Reaper. And how to use it by loading Surge XT as a plugin virtual instrument.]

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....] Conversely, a Scale scale and mapping file pair can be converted into an Anamark v2 tuning file.

[Briefly, describe why you might or might not prefer to use an Anamark tuning file instead of the Scala two-file retuning system, i.e. advantages & disadvantages.]

**[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QNnVndGLmw How to export microtonal tuning files using Scala], by Sevish, posted Sep 17, 2016.