setBfree plugin vs standalone: MIDI mapping

[RecordingSchwob]

Hi there,

I read on https://x42-plugins.com/x42/contact that this is the place to discuss issues with the X42 plugins, so here I go.

I recently discovered setBfree and I instantly fell in love with this organ. I use it standalone on kxStudio/Kubuntu 16.04, and as plugin in Ardour.

I adjusted the midi controller mapping to my needs, especially I set the three-step-switch for the rotary to the modulation wheel of my MIDI keyboard.

Now the following behavior strikes me: In the setBfree plugin, the lowest position of the wheel is slow, the middle ground is off, highest position is fast rotary. Pretty much like the imitated halfmoon switch in the GUI. I did the same thing in the standalone version and there, the highest position is off, with then three positions (slow, off, on) below that.

I find the latter rather inconvenient. Furthermore, I'm about to build my own midi controller for setBfree and I'd like to have one setup in that controller that works with both the plugin version and the standalone version. (I will use the standalone version for live playing, and the plugin version for recording projects, most likely.)

Is there something I can do about this?

Anyways, apart from all that: such a great clonewheel organ it is! It beats all inexpensive clonewheel hardware I've encountered in the last years, and yeah well the expensive ones... they are really expensive. And not a plugin.

[x42]

Hi. Thank you for the nice words! I'm glad you like the organ.

Could you tell which version you're using?

Code:

setBfreeUI -V

The default bindings changed in v0.8.6. Since then, the mod-wheel is by default mapped to "Slow, Off, Fast" (both plugin and standalone).

If you already have the latest version (0.8.9), then perhaps the issue is a config-file on your system:
The standalone version reads config files $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/setBfree/default.cfg and /usr/share/setBfree/cfg/default.cfg if the exist, you could change the setting in there:

Code:

midi.controller.upper.1=rotary.speed-preset

Also double check that there are no other assignments in the config file.

The plugin is always self-contained in the DAW and no config files are read when it is instantiated (but previous state is restored and plugin presets can be used).

[RecordingSchwob]

Hello there, x42,

thanks for your reply. First of all it turns out that my kxstudio comes with setBfree 8.5.0. Perhaps falkTX could do something about this if we asked kindly? :-)

(Side rant: I know that (K)ubuntu 16.04 is a bit outdated. However, the general advice to update your Ubuntu constantly doesn't suit me well. This is a production setup, so I work on things constantly, currently I'm doing a little film intro music in Ardour that needs to be delivered this week. There are only few times in the year when there's like a week of nothing to do where I could afford the machine not being fully operational. In those times I prefer driving the long ride to the sea and escape from computers and the Internet.)

Anyways. I found out that in Ardour I had the setBfree version that is shipped with Mixbus. I got Mixbus installed and I use the Harrison plugins with joy in Ardour, so they are in my $LV2_PATH.

I solved the issue by downloading setBfree 8.6 from your web page. I removed the package from Kubuntu, and I also removed the directory from the Mixbus plugins and then manually sorted things out so that I really got 8.6 everywhere. Now the MIDI mapping is as I want it to be. Great!

Btw, for people less nerdy than me, does the setBfreeUI state the version number somewhere? (In the GUI, I mean... because for the plugin you can't simply check from the cmd line.)

And: would it be possible to engage the -C parameter for the GUI version, too? It would be nice to start up with different configurations directly just by clicking some desktop icon, e.g.

To promote setBfree, I did this video https://youtu.be/9Sqz3CpxSe8 (English subtitles are available). Will now continue soldering my custom MIDI controller.

I really like the rotary. The reverb not so, I think a spring reverb would suit better. I will try to replace the IR file with spring reverb responses. I appreciate the possibility! (In Ardour, I simply use IR.LV2 instead and do whatever I want, but standalone, I mean.)

All the best
Schwob

[x42]

Perhaps falkTX could do something about this if we asked kindly? :-)

He he recently returned from a long hiatus and is updating kx.studio repos, again. However "For Debian, version 10 (Buster) is required; on Ubuntu, 18.04 (Bionic)." -- so better have to cancel your next trip to the ocean :-p

I solved the issue by downloading setBfree 8.6 from your web page. I removed the package from Kubuntu, and I also removed the directory from the Mixbus plugins and then manually sorted things out so that I really got 8.6 everywhere. Now the MIDI mapping is as I want it to be. Great!

Nice that this worked for you. You could have kept the bundled LV2 plugin. In case Ardour/Mixbus finds duplicates, the host automatically picks the latest version.

Btw, for people less nerdy than me, does the setBfreeUI state the version number somewhere? (In the GUI, I mean... because for the plugin you can't simply check from the cmd line.)

Good Idea. I've added this just now to the help text. Press "?" or the button top-right. It'll become available with the next release.

And: would it be possible to engage the -C parameter for the GUI version, too?

I'll look into it. It's not a trivial change

To promote setBfree, I did this video https://youtu.be/9Sqz3CpxSe8 (English subtitles are available). Will now continue soldering my custom MIDI controller.

I really like the rotary. The reverb not so, I think a spring reverb would suit better. I will try to replace the IR file with spring reverb responses. I appreciate the possibility! (In Ardour, I simply use IR.LV2 instead and do whatever I want, but standalone, I mean.)

Thanks that's a nice promo video!
And yes, sadly the reverb is far from ideal. Spring reverbs are very challenging and an IR won't help. -- Keep in mind that in the original version the reverb is usually before the Leslie.
The overdrive could also use some love. Perhaps for the 100 year B3 anniversary setBfree will finally properly emulate the whole thing.

Good luck with the project of building a drawbar controller. Are you going to blog about that? Do you know about http://www.gmlab.it/ ? -- If you put a RPi in there, you might just move the whole organ incl Leslie onto it, as well.

I do recall seeing some commercial automatable/motorized drawbar controllers, but it's been a few years. Now only NI's b4d shows up in a quick web-serach. That's a pity.

Cheers!
robin

[RecordingSchwob]

Hi Robin,

there was a mistake in my post. I got version 8.9 64bit. (When 64bit was still available ;-) ).

I installed this to my recording machine, which is an old Lenovo Thinkstation with some Xeon power and kxStudio/Kubtunu 16.04. I also installed it to my laptop, an old Lenovo Thinkpad with the same OS. Now on my recording machine, CC #7 (channel volume) does just right in setBfree, but on my laptop, the volume knob of setBfree jumps around and does weird things. I checked with amidi -p virtual -d, the CC messages are just fine in both cases. So there is something weird going on in setBfree that I don't get. Any hints on this? (The M key says 0|7 1|7 2|7 on both machines for the volume knob. I'm sending CC #7 on channel 1 (so 0 in that notation))

Concerning MIDI controllers: I didn't find any recent ones. There are entire MIDI organ keyboards, I found two of them: the GSi DMC-122 and the JamKey Controllerkeyboard/organ. These feature drawbar sets. Doepfer does not make their controllers anymore.

I'm planning to do something on this controller on YouTube. I got a working prototype for one drawbar unit (out of two: upper/lower) and obviously I'm working on the volume pedal and rotary foot switches right now. :-)

Best
Schwo

---

Got it fixed with the CC #7. For some weird reason I cannot remember/understand, setBfree had connected its control input and output to the MIDI Through port, which in kxStudio is a virtual port that does... well put out what it gets put in. So to say I had a MIDI CC feedback loop, which eventually cause setBfree to go mad and output plenty of "B3Lv2: Malformed ctrl message has no key."

Now works like a charm with my boss volume pedal.

Adding to the sound discussion: I think the overdrive is quite nice. With the reverb, it depends on what you want. The audio engineer in me wants no reverb at all and control it all in the overall mix. The organ player in me wants some old skool reverb that was available to Hammond players, which most likely is a spring reverb before the rotary (since the rotary was the last stage back then).

Best
Schwob

[RecordingSchwob]

Some nerding towards a setBfree MIDI controller: https://youtu.be/ss7H-st3WQU (You can switch on English subtitles.)

I think for hosting the actual setBfree organ, I will use a Zynthian-based something: http://zynthian.org - I got the parts already sitting here on my desk. So far I'm using my old Thinkpad with nice old kxStudio 16.04. The stuff you can see in the video already was successfully used in a jam session.

[PeteTheGreek]

Some nerding towards a setBfree MIDI controller: https://youtu.be/ss7H-st3WQU (You can switch on English subtitles.)

I think for hosting the actual setBfree organ, I will use a Zynthian-based something: http://zynthian.org - I got the parts already sitting here on my desk. So far I'm using my old Thinkpad with nice old kxStudio 16.04. The stuff you can see in the video already was successfully used in a jam session.

I am using the setBfree as a plug-in with Zynthian on a Raspberry Pi 4 with a Roland A-800Pro controller. Working great:
9 sliders for the 9 drawbars
3 buttons for percussion (on/off, slow/fast, 2nd/3rd)
1 button and 1 knob for vibrato (button for on/off, knob to choose among the 6 variations)
1 button for Leslie speed (can also use the sustain pedal; momentary cc 64 = 127 toggles the speed - nice)
1 knob for reverb depth
This still leaves many unused controls for other purposes.

But I am flummoxed by overdrive (sending midi cc 65 = 127 causes all sound to cease). Since you mentioned that you are using the overdrive, can you please explain how you enable and configure it? Many thanks.