User:Mousemambo/Document draft: Difference between revisions

The tutorials below assume you already have the Surge XT synth and Reaper DAW software installed on your computer. They also assume that you know how to create an instrument track in Reaper and load a plugin instrument like Surge XT onto it, but if you don't then instructions can be found below in the Appendix section "[[User:Mousemambo/Document draft#Create an instrument track in the Reaper DAW|Create an instrument track in the Reaper DAW]]." The instructions also may assume you are using a standard MIDI [[Keyboard|piano keyboard]] (i.e. Halberstadt format) in virtual or physical form, although [[Isomorphic keyboard|non-standard keyboards]] are supported by some tuning methods.

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.

* No additional components, so less complexity.

* Can be quick and easy to set up for simple tunings that you're very familiar with.

* Tuning doesn't automatically apply to an ensemble of instruments together.

[Briefly: SOME OF THE FOLLOWING GOES IN AN INTRO IN THIS SPACE, SOME IN THE NOTES, SOME ELSEWHERE UNDER METHOD 2, SOME IN THE APPENDIX. A Scala scale file is used to establish a tuning's [[period]] (octave or [[equave]]), its interval relationships, and other properties. A Scala keyboard mapping file is used to set the tuning's base note or tonic, tuning center, and keyboard map. The Scala format scale files and keyboard mapping files together work to .... If you omit using a keyboard mapping file the consequences may be.... For more about Scala scale and keyboard mapping files, see the [[User:Mousemambo/Tuning methods#Tuning files|Tuning methods]] article. Ultimately, there should be articles that are companions to the existing "[[Anamark tuning file format]]" page (which almost certainly should be renamed "Anamark tuning file"; the existing page title should redirect to a section of the new page), named "[[User:Mousemambo/Scala tuning system#Scala scale file|Scala scale file]]" and "[[User:Mousemambo/Scala tuning system#Scala keyboard mapping file|Scala keyboard mapping file]]" or a single "[[User:Mousemambo/Scala tuning system|Scala tuning system]]" article might incorporate both those as sections at least initially.]

* Numerous 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).

[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. 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/Tuning methods#Tuning files|Tuning methods]] article is a better choice.]

[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 CT) 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.]

* 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 map 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 keyboard mapping issues, including the tuning system meanings of the terms ''base note'', ''reference pitch'', ''tuning center'', ''diapason'', and ''tonic''.

Surge XT doesn't directly support Anamark tuning files (.tun), which are an alternative to using the Scala two-file tuning system. [[User:Mousemambo/Document draft#Converting Anamark tuning files|Anamark tuning files]] are briefly described in the Appendix.

[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: What is a tuning explorer or tuning development environment? A suite of tools for exploring the properties of tunings, for creating entirely new tunings, and for semi-guided development of tunings based on principles discovered by others. E.g. Like ones provided in Scala, Entonal Studio, MTS-ESP Suite.]

=== Converting Anamark tuning files ===

Surge XT does not support [[Anamark tuning file format|Anamark format (.tun) tuning files]], which some other synths do support. 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.]