User:Mousemambo/Document draft

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Please use this page's Discussion page for comments and suggestions. Or you can join the discussion in the #wiki channel of the Xenharmonic Alliance's Discord server. This developing page was initially just an outline, and I have been expanding it into a proper page. I am using square brackets to enclose editing notes to myself, which will eventually all be removed.
This page is a detailed thinking-out-loud sketch of what a guide might look like for teaching how to use Surge XT set to alternative (non-12-EDO) tunings in Reaper. It might become a (re-titled) main-area Xen wiki page. It might become part of a larger document also describing how other popular but less full-featured synths or samplers can be used for microtonal music in Reaper. It might become part of a larger document also describing how Surge XT can be used for microtonal music in other DAWs. ALERT: I am currently exploring the option of expanding it just a bit to incorporate another synth or two that has to be used differently than Surge XT, but some sections still include older text that presumes the article is just about Surge XT and Reaper. Also, I'm exploring what could/should be split out into a separate "Scala tuning system" article.

DRAFT ==== Proposed page title: Guide to tuning a software synth in a DAW ==== DRAFT

This guide describes some common methods for making music set in microtonal or other alternative tuning systems, by using a software synthesizer (soft synth) running inside a digital audio workstation (DAW). It describes scenarios in which each of those methods are effective, and instructions for configuring the software using that method.

The examples given use the Surge XT synth as a musical instrument plugin running inside the Reaper DAW, but similar procedures and reasoning will apply to other synths (or samplers) and DAWs. Therefore this guide will go into some detail to help you gain the understanding needed to use these tuning methods with other instrument-DAW combinations.

There are many other ways to create music with alternative tuning, like using other software, your voice, or a physical musical instrument. This guide only explores one: a synth in a DAW. Don't know what "alternative tuning" means? Please visit the Xenharmonic wiki's Main page.

Introduction

There are many possible methods for configuring a soft synth in a DAW to create music set in diverse tuning systems. Which you choose will depend on the larger context in which you're working and your specific needs, which will be explored here in a general way. You'll also find links to sections of the Xen wiki's "Tuning methods" article [currently still a draft], which offers a deeper understanding of the components used here and how they work.

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 "Create an instrument track in the Reaper DAW." The instructions also may assume you are using a standard MIDI piano keyboard (i.e. Halberstadt format) in virtual or physical form, although 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.

Although this article is written as if you are using a synth, some samplers or sampler systems also support retuning using the methods described here.

Methods for setting a tuning

Four common instrument-DAW configurations for alternative tunings, here called "methods," are presented below. There are advantages and disadvantages to each, given the scenarios described. There are also other less common methods that might be appropriate or necessary for other instruments and DAWs and for special cases. If none of the offered scenarios describe your own situation, then you're invited to review the extensive "Tuning methods" article to explore more possibilities.

There are several references below to scale designers or tuning editors, which are software tools that allow you to create custom scales and tuning systems, or modify existing ones. To learn more about them, and some distinctions between scales and tuning systems, see the Scale design software article.

Method 1: Set a tuning directly in the synth itself

Some synthesizers include support for setting a tuning directly, as opposed to loading a tuning file or being retuned by some other component. At its simplest, this built-in facility may be limited to setting a 12-note scale's pitch frequencies or its offsets in cents from 12edo. Other instruments offer support for more notes per octave, or even more sophisticated scale designers or tuning editors. Scala XT, used in these examples, offers an unusually advanced tuning editor for a synth. If your instrument doesn't directly support the scale and tuning you wish to use, you'll need to try another method offered below.

Scenarios

  • Live performance, when you don't want the complexity or CPU overhead of alternative methods.
  • Causal playing, when there isn't an existing tuning file you want to use.
  • Playing a synth in standalone mode (i.e. not inside a DAW).

Advantages

  • No additional components, so less complexity.
  • Can be quick and easy to set up for simple tunings that you're very familiar with.
  • May sometimes include a scale designer for exploring new scales or tunings.

Disadvantages

  • Very few synths include a scale designer.
  • Can be time consuming with an unfamiliar or complex tuning, compared to using a tuning file.
  • Needs to be redone for each new instrument instance.
  • Tuning doesn't automatically apply to an ensemble of instruments together.
  • Tuning usually can't be changed easily during a performance.

Instructions

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

Notes

Direct tuning in Kontakt

  • If you are using a Kontakt sampler system instrument that is not locked, in a paid Kontakt version (not Kontakt Player), and whose operation will not be disrupted by the needed script changes (e.g. like some legato patches will be), there are two easy methods that may work to create certain tunings in Kontakt. Note that as of August 2023 the Kontakt 7 Factory library instruments are all locked, although the Kontakt 6 Factory library was and is not. If the instrument shows a wrench/spanner button in its upper left corner it is unlocked, but if there is instead a two-gears button it is locked (clicking it opens Options).
    1. Kontakt offers a simple microtuning script for creating 12-notes per octave tunings. [Find an online illustration.] In brief: Wrench > Script editor > Preset > Factory > Tuning > Microtuning > Adjust each slider to an offset in cents from 12-EDO tuning.
    2. You can quickly set an EDO of any size, as illustrated on this page by Chris Vaisvil. In brief: Wrench > Script editor > Preset > Factory > Tuning > Notes per Octave > Notes > Set the number of notes. Unfortunately, Kontakt does not offer easy custom keyboard mapping for your custom EDO — linear keyboard mapping will apply.
  • Some Kontakt instrument include their own re-tuning system. More complex tunings or keyboard mapping in Kontakt require a custom script, as described in the [to be written] Guide to tuning the Kontakt sampler system. Or watch the video "How to microtune in Kontakt" by benyamind on YouTube (posted Jun 17, 2020).

Method 2: Set a tuning in the synth using tuning files

Probably the most common method people choose to retune a synth in a DAW is by loading prepared tuning files. Tuning files provide all or most of the specification for a scale or tuning, and might be loaded using a drop-down selector or a file loading dialog.

For this method, we will use the example of a Scala scale file and Scala keyboard mapping file, since the Surge XT synth supports the Scala tuning file system. Very briefly, the scale file sets the intervals of the scale and the keyboard mapping file places the tuning base of the scale file on a specific MIDI note, sets the tuning reference note and pitch, and maps the notes to a keyboard or other controller. See the section "Scala scale and keyboard mapping files" below for more about these tuning files.

Other tuning file systems besides the Scala's are used by other instruments. The most popular at the time of this writing is the Scala tuning file system (.scl), followed by the Anamark tuning file system (.tun), much less frequently the MIDI tuning file system (.mts), and there are others. These tuning file systems are sometimes referred to by the file extension they use (e.g. scl, tun, mts). It's mostly easy to convert between them using available tools, although they don't all support exactly the same set of features.

Scenarios

  • Using a synth that supports loading tuning files.
  • Casual playing where you want to begin quickly.
  • Playing a synth in standalone mode (i.e. not inside a DAW)
  • Playing in a scale or tuning for which tuning files are already conveniently available.
  • When you only have one or a small number of instruments to retune together.
  • When you are using an unusual MIDI controller.

Advantages

  • Quickly apply a prepared tuning to your musical instrument.
  • Many popular and rare tunings have tuning files already prepared and available online to download.
  • Less likelihood of typo errors compared to manually entering detailed tuning info.
  • May, like the Scala tuning file system, support many custom keyboard formats and unusual MIDI controller devices (e.g. Linnstrument, Harpejji, or Lumatone controllers).

Disadvantages

  • Not supported by most software synths.
  • Requires finding a Scala scale file and keyboard mapping file for your desired tuning, else...
  • Requires developing a Scala scale file and keyboard mapping file(s), and learning how to prepare them.
  • Generally doesn't include scale design software.

Instructions

  1. Launch the Reaper application, create a new instrument track in Reaper, and add Surge XT as a plugin on that instrument track. Note: If you are not using a DAW, but using Surge XT in standalone mode instead, replace this step with: Launch the Surge XT standalone application.
  2. Load a Scala scale file (.scl) into Surge XT as follows, to establish the tuning system with relative intervals:
    1. In Surge XT's Menu (found in the bottom right corner) select the Tuning option, then choose "Load .scl tuning..."
    2. 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? Some suggestions from #wiki at the Xen Discord server:
      1. Ptolex (Xen wiki)
      2. Otonal duodene or centered one or Duodene marvel (Scale Workshop) (Duodene)
      3. Bicycle (Xen Wiki | Scale Workshop)
      4. 12-note starling (Scale Workshop)]
  3. Load a Scala keyboard mapping file (.kbm), to anchor the scale file data to a tuning base and set the tuning reference note and pitch. A good choice for example is the "Halberstadt 60-440-69.kbm" file, which on a standard piano-style keyboard will set the scale to the ISO tuning standard (ISO 16:1975) of A4 = 440 Hz. See "Scala scale and keyboard mapping files" below to learn a little more about these tuning files.
  4. Optionally, if you understand Scala scale and keyboard mapping data, you may wish to open Surge XT's built-in scale designer at this time (Menu > Tuning > Open tuning editor...) to confirm the correct data was loaded from the files.
  5. Optionally, test the tuning to ensure it's correct.

Notes

[This whole section needs extensive review with regard to what should be moved out to the Appendix on this page, or the Tuning methods article, what belongs in the Scala tuning file 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 Scala tuning file system article is probably a good choice, although for now some of that is reasonably found in the Scale design software article.]

More about Surge XT

  • Surge XT also provides a button "Tune" under the label "Status" along the top of its window. If a custom tuning has not yet been added during the current session, clicking the button will reveal the same list of options as Menu > Tuning. If a custom tuning has been loaded, the Tune button will be lit (bright not dark), and clicking it will turn that tuning off (back to the software's default 12-EDO tuning) or back on.

Scala scale and keyboard mapping files

  • [This section needs extensive reconsideration and revision given the creation of a separate Scala tuning file 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 "Scala tuning file system" article.]
  • [Say something about available tuning file conversion tools.]
  • [Maybe this Note topic and the next one "Anamark tuning files" need to be combined into a "Tuning files" section of the Appendix.]
  • 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."
  • For more detailed information about Scala scale and keyboard mapping files, see the article "Scala tuning file system."

Anamark tuning files

  • Surge XT doesn't directly support Anamark tuning files (.tun), which are a one-file alternative to using the two-file Scala tuning file system. Conversely, other synths may support the Anamark format but not Scala format, for example Omnisphere 2 from Spectrasonics, and Serum from Xfer Records. It's not difficult to convert between Anamark and Scala tuning files, to provide whichever your instrument requires. Anamark tuning files and conversion are briefly described in the Appendix.

Alternatives for setting the tuning's base note and tuning center

  • Some popular music software, like Arturia's Pigments 3 synth, Garritan's Aria Player sampler system, and Applied Acoustic System's Chromaphone 3 synth support importing Scala scale files but not Scala keyboard mapping files. However, they will typically instead allow you to set the tuning base note of the Scala scale file and a reference tuning pitch. This fulfills some of the functions of the keyboard mapping file and you should use this method if it's all your instrument allows. If you are using a just intonation, for example, then anchoring the Scala scale file's tuning base to the music's tonic is essential. In the same way, instead of using a keyboard mapping file in Surge XT, you could instead set the tuning base note and the reference note and pitch for your scale using Surge XT's tuning editor as described in Method 1.

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 XT) to apply retuning to the filters as required for some synthesis techniques, and in Vital one currently must use its Mod Remap system for that instead of the tuning file import system. This limit won't affect you if precisely tuned filters aren't needed for the sounds you use. 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.]

Method 3: Set a tuning using a tuning plugin

[What is a tuning plugin, also called a retuning 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, 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 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 "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 MTS-ESP Suite, Entonal Studio, Wilsonic MTS-ESP, InfinitoneDMT, or Fluid Pitch).]

  • Scenarios
    • ...
  • Advantages
    • Support for many synths that can't be re-tuned any other way.
    • When new technologies become available, new plugins can provide a supporting bridge to older instruments.
    • May include scale design software to assist with developing new scales and tunings.
  • Disadvantages
    • Added complexity.
    • Some experimentation may be necessary to find appropriate settings.

Instructions

...

Notes

...

Method 4: Set a tuning using MTS-ESP

[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...]

Scenarios

  • When you have an ensemble of instruments that need shared retuning.
  • When you want to change the scale or tuning in mid-performance using presets.
  • When you need to bypass a glitch, bug, or incompatibility sometimes seen with pitch bend retuning methods.

Advantages

  • MPE-ESP source plugins often include scale design software 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

  • Supported by relatively few software synths.
  • 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

...

Notes

...

How to test the tuning

[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 Scale Workshop. In Reaper do this....]

Appendix

Scale designers and tuning editors

[Moved to Scale design software]

Set up an instrument track in the Reaper DAW

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

Tuning Surge XT without a DAW in standalone mode

Surge XT can also run in standalone mode, without any DAW. A significant drawback to that configuration is you won't be able to record your playing as MIDI notes, unless you have some additional component doing the recording. The common use cases for running Surge XT in standalone mode are for live performance where you don't want the extra complexity of running a DAW, or when you're just playing casually and don't need to record MIDI. In standalone mode, only Method 1 or Method 2 given above can be used to re-tune Surge XT.

Using Anamark tuning files

Surge XT does not support 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.]

See also

External links

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