The Official Sequential/Oberheim Forum
SEQUENTIAL/DSI => Prophet => Sequential Prophet X => Topic started by: Lady Gaia on June 08, 2019, 02:09:04 PM
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PXToolkit, my sample preparation utility for the Prophet X, is finally graduating with the release of version 1.0 today. Thanks to everyone who took time to write feedback during the beta period (https://forum.sequential.com/index.php/topic,3539.0.html), it’s now even more feature rich than I had planned at the beginning of this journey.
Here's a quick overview of what’s in the app:
* macOS and Windows support
* Per-key sample mapping, fine tuned in cent increments
* Automatic sample key and loop detection from .wav metadata
* Automatic pattern matching to infer root key from filename when metadata isn’t present
* Support for samples recorded at rates other than the recommended 48kHz
* Sample playback previews for entire instruments with a connected MIDI controller, or individual samples with just a mouse and keyboard
* Up to 20 velocity layers per key
* Up to 20 round-robin samples per velocity layer
* Instruments can be saved as documents for future editing
* Undo/redo support
... and in video form on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTIB6rEVa6E&feature=youtu.be).
There's a dedicated page with download links here (http://www.thinkersnacks.com/px-toolkit.html). Enjoy, and don't hesitate to get in touch with any bug reports or questions. Before the obvious one gets asked: yes, the application is completely free for personal use.
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Just in Time! ;D
From an extremely appreciative community, Thank You!
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perfect ! Thanks...
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Sky is open !!!
:)
Thank You very much Lady!
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Yes yes, thanks. Great job.
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I have been using the beta for a few weeks and it has been great! Thanks!
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PXToolkit version 1.1 is live! The first revision since the official release brings a few frequently requested additions:
AIFF support works just like WAV support has from the start. Dragging and dropping a sample from the macOS Finder or Windows File Explorer into a PXToolkit document window is all it takes. Metadata describing the original pitch and looping are automatically extracted, and at export time conversion into the right format for the Prophet X is automatic.
24-bit support applies to both WAV and AIFF sample files. Samples load and preview just like their 16-bit counterparts, and when exported they're automatically dithered to high quality 16-bit counterparts as required by the Prophet X.
Integrated documentation isn't fancy, but it gives immediate access to everything in the original README file packaged with the app, now conveniently accessible from the Help menu.
As noted with seeming enthusiasm by @blewis_13, this enables using MainStage to provide auto-sampling for those of you who already have Logic Pro X (or those macOS users who are looking for a budget alternative to SampleRobot, as MainStage is a mere $30 on the Mac App Store.) It's not the most feature-rich sampling tool around but if it works, it works!
Recent versions of PXToolkit will automatically check to see if a new version is available when launched (limited to once a day), and the Check for Updates... menu item can be used to force an immediate check. If you're not already using the app or you have an older beta without the update mechanism you can download it (http://www.thinkersnacks.com/px-toolkit.html) directly from the ThinkerSnacks site.
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For those interested in SampleRobot, this week is a good time to consider taking the plunge, as they're having a summer sale (https://samplerobot.com/blogs/news/samplerobot-summer-sale) of 25% off from 14–23 June 2019.
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that is absolut fantastic ... Aiff / 24bit support
Thank you so much Lady Gaia
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For those interested in SampleRobot, this week is a good time to consider taking the plunge, as they're having a summer sale (https://samplerobot.com/blogs/news/samplerobot-summer-sale) of 25% off from 14–23 June 2019.
Thanks, bought it.
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So when you export a program as a Zip File can you import the Zip file directly into the PX or do you have to unzip it first?
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So when you export a program as a Zip File can you import the Zip file directly into the PX or do you have to unzip it first?
The files created by PXToolkit can be loaded directly into your PX. It even creates the folder structure for you.
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So when you export a program as a Zip File can you import the Zip file directly into the PX or do you have to unzip it first?
The files created by PXToolkit can be loaded directly into your PX. It even creates the folder structure for you.
Thank you :)
Installing Fairlight, Synclavier and D50 samples....now.
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Scratch that...it gives me "No Files Found" message on the PX. The Zip folders don't work. Hmm would the pxinstrument files work?
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Make sure they're installed below a top-level /px/ directory. So, then, e.g., u07 (or whatever group you put the samples in) would be the next level below that.
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Make sure they're installed below a top-level /px/ directory. So, then, e.g., u07 (or whatever group you put the samples in) would be the next level below that.
I mean they are all in order and numbered starting from 02. Is that what you mean?
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I mean they are all in order and numbered starting from 02. Is that what you mean?
There are multiple levels to consider. /px is the top-level. Then, a subdirectory for each sample group/bank, e.g., u07 (for what the user sees as sample group U8), then the category subdirectory, e.g., 10 Keyboard, then each of the zip files with the appropriate number prefix of the instrument number within that category. Here's an example from part of the Deckard's Dream pack. Hope this helps.
px
└── u07
├── 10 Keyboard
│ ├── 02. DeckardsDream|Voigt-Kampff w.zip
│ ├── 23. DeckardsDream|Luv on Fire.zip
│ └── 27. DeckardsDream|SDRC w.zip
└── 15 Synth
├── 13. DeckardsDream|Tyrell Corporation.zip
└── 35. DeckardsDream|Electric Sheep.zip
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I mean they are all in order and numbered starting from 02. Is that what you mean?
There are multiple levels to consider. /px is the top-level. Then, a subdirectory for each sample group/bank, e.g., u07 (for what the user sees as sample group U8), then the category subdirectory, e.g., 10 Keyboard, then each of the zip files with the appropriate number prefix of the instrument number within that category. Here's an example from part of the Deckard's Dream pack. Hope this helps.
px
└── u07
├── 10 Keyboard
│ ├── 02. DeckardsDream|Voigt-Kampff w.zip
│ ├── 23. DeckardsDream|Luv on Fire.zip
│ └── 27. DeckardsDream|SDRC w.zip
└── 15 Synth
├── 13. DeckardsDream|Tyrell Corporation.zip
└── 35. DeckardsDream|Electric Sheep.zip
So I would just create folders and subsidiary folders and put the zip files in those and then bring it all over to the USB stick?
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Make sure they're installed below a top-level /px/ directory. So, then, e.g., u07 (or whatever group you put the samples in) would be the next level below that.
I mean they are all in order and numbered starting from 02. Is that what you mean?
Lobo, are you on a Mac or PC?
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I mean they are all in order and numbered starting from 02. Is that what you mean?
There are multiple levels to consider. /px is the top-level. Then, a subdirectory for each sample group/bank, e.g., u07 (for what the user sees as sample group U8), then the category subdirectory, e.g., 10 Keyboard, then each of the zip files with the appropriate number prefix of the instrument number within that category. Here's an example from part of the Deckard's Dream pack. Hope this helps.
px
└── u07
├── 10 Keyboard
│ ├── 02. DeckardsDream|Voigt-Kampff w.zip
│ ├── 23. DeckardsDream|Luv on Fire.zip
│ └── 27. DeckardsDream|SDRC w.zip
└── 15 Synth
├── 13. DeckardsDream|Tyrell Corporation.zip
└── 35. DeckardsDream|Electric Sheep.zip
So I would just create folders and subsidiary folders and put the zip files in those and then bring it all over to the USB stick?
PXToolkit creates those folders for you (on a Mac, not sure on a PC)
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So I would just create folders and subsidiary folders and put the zip files in those and then bring it all over to the USB stick?
Yes. The “px” directory must be at the root level of the USB device you’re loading from, with categories a level below that, and the instrument zips inside the categories. PXToolkit creates the whole structure for you, so just drag it all over and you won’t risk getting one of the names wrong (which will result in content silently being ignored.)
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I mean they are all in order and numbered starting from 02. Is that what you mean?
There are multiple levels to consider. /px is the top-level. Then, a subdirectory for each sample group/bank, e.g., u07 (for what the user sees as sample group U8), then the category subdirectory, e.g., 10 Keyboard, then each of the zip files with the appropriate number prefix of the instrument number within that category. Here's an example from part of the Deckard's Dream pack. Hope this helps.
px
└── u07
├── 10 Keyboard
│ ├── 02. DeckardsDream|Voigt-Kampff w.zip
│ ├── 23. DeckardsDream|Luv on Fire.zip
│ └── 27. DeckardsDream|SDRC w.zip
└── 15 Synth
├── 13. DeckardsDream|Tyrell Corporation.zip
└── 35. DeckardsDream|Electric Sheep.zip
So I would just create folders and subsidiary folders and put the zip files in those and then bring it all over to the USB stick?
PXToolkit creates those folders for you (on a Mac, not sure on a PC)
It didn't for me. It just created zip folders for each sample and their respective number.
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Let me try this again.
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I exported them again and it actually created a folder this time....same thing...won't recognize the files.
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I exported them again and it actually created a folder this time....same thing...won't recognize the files.
what does you folder structure look like?
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So I would just create folders and subsidiary folders and put the zip files in those and then bring it all over to the USB stick?
PXToolkit creates the u07/10 Keyboard/… folders and zip files. So, if you create the px folder at the top-level of the USB stick and copy the folder tree that PXToolkit created, for example, starting at the u07 in the earlier example directory tree, then it should hopefully work.
In the end the directory paths will look like this on the USB stick:
/px/u07/10 Keyboard/…
Hope that makes sense.
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I exported them again and it actually created a folder this time....same thing...won't recognize the files.
what does you folder structure look like?
U00->
15 Synth->
(List of samples in individual zip folders. example. 02.Synclavier_BellGong)
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I exported them again and it actually created a folder this time....same thing...won't recognize the files.
what does you folder structure look like?
U00->
15 Synth->
(List of samples in individual zip folders. example. 02.Synclavier_BellGong)
You just need to put all of that inside a folder called “px” and you’re ready to rock.
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U00->
15 Synth->
(List of samples in individual zip folders. example. 02.Synclavier_BellGong)
If u00 is at the top-level of the USB stick, then that's the problem. The top-level directory should be px.
If u00 is already at the proper spot, i.e., /px/u00/…, then either try renaming the u00 to use a lowercase u, just in case. (I'm not in the studio the check on my synth.)
Another thing to consider: the .wav files need to be 16-bit linear, 48 kHz WAV files.
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Alright I'll try this one more time. Thanks for the help all.
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They seem to have loaded but when I hold the GROUP button down and turn the Type encoder nothing change. It does not give me the option to select user.
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They seem to have loaded but when I hold the GROUP button down and turn the Type encoder nothing change. It does not give me the option to select user.
Have you successfully downloaded / installed any other Add-On or User sample pack?
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Second time is the charm. It works! Thanks all
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This is absolutely incredible. Thank you so much for this. question about velocity though. I set the velocity to always be at it's loudest on my samples when I press a key but while inside the PX if I play softly the sample's volume responds to the velocity I play. Even when I turn of velocity sensitivity in the sample edit section. How can I get it to just play at it's loudest volumes regardless of how soft I press the keys?
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It sounds like you may have the velocity switch enabled in the VCA section. When the button is lit, key velocity is used to scale the volume of the corresponding voice.
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It sounds like you may have the velocity switch enabled in the VCA section. When the button is lit, key velocity is used to scale the volume of the corresponding voice.
Nope. It’s like this even when I initialize a patch and play a raw sample and I imported. Just on Uswr samples not Factory ones.
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That’s quite surprising. I’m not aware of any way in which user samples and factory or add-on samples behave differently. When I’m home this evening I’ll see if I can come up with any other explanation for the behavior you’ve described.
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It sounds like you may have the velocity switch enabled in the VCA section. When the button is lit, key velocity is used to scale the volume of the corresponding voice.
Nope. It’s like this even when I initialize a patch and play a raw sample and I imported. Just on Uswr samples not Factory ones.
Did you normalize your samples?
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I set the velocity to always be at it's loudest on my samples when I press a key but while inside the PX if I play softly the sample's volume responds to the velocity I play. Even when I turn of velocity sensitivity in the sample edit section. How can I get it to just play at it's loudest volumes regardless of how soft I press the keys?
Some things to consider:
- VCA envelope Velocity Off (as Lady Gaia already mentioned)
- VCA envelope sustain level (127 whatever you want)
- VCA envelope amount (127 or whatever you want)
- any modulation paths that might be affecting the VCA envelope sustain level
I'm assuming that this set of samples is one layer for the entire velocity range. There might be other things to check.
Sequential also recommends to "normalize the samples to full scale regardless of the velocity level." (as Shaw asked about). The volume level is determined by the VCA, not by the sample level.
Another option is to set InstMisc > InstBoost to +9dB (or some other value).
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I noticed a few things:
When the sample Velocity is set to "ON" the velocity response for the sample is actually off meaning it'll play at the same volume regardless of how hard I hit the keys. When it's set to "Layer 1" it does the opposite. Hmm odd.
As far as normalizing the samples no I did not. How do I go about that? It's only on the Synclavier samples that are oddly quiet. The D50 samples are perfectly fine. Fairlight samples are generally good but the ORCH5 Hit is oddly quiet. Wondering if that's just the source material. Boosting up the DB on the samples does help on some but on the Synclavier stuff it generally just introduces unwanted distortion.
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PXToolkit has been updated to version 1.1.3 to take advantage of the new Prophet X firmware version 2.1.1 currently in beta. I don't think I've posted release notes for the last few revisions, so here they are:
1.1.3
- Added support for Prophet X firmware 2.1.1 with up to 32 user groups for samples
- Holding the alt/option key while dropping samples now prevents PXToolkit from reading metadata or detecting filename patterns to assign sample root keys
- Export now uses an underscore separator (_) instead of a pipe character (|) on macOS to improve the portability of exported files for Windows users
1.1.2
- Treat H as equivalent to B in note names for compatibility with SampleRobot's export naming conventions.
1.1.1
- Recognize upper-case file extension variations (eg: .WAV)
As always, the latest release can be downloaded here (http://www.thinkersnacks.com/px-toolkit.html).
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Thank you Lady Gaia for your work, which really makes the PX what it should be.
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PXToolkit has been updated to version 1.1.3 to take advantage of the new Prophet X firmware version 2.1.1 currently in beta. I don't think I've posted release notes for the last few revisions, so here they are:
1.1.3
- Added support for Prophet X firmware 2.1.1 with up to 32 user groups for samples
- Holding the alt/option key while dropping samples now prevents PXToolkit from reading metadata or detecting filename patterns to assign sample root keys
- Export now uses an underscore separator (_) instead of a pipe character (|) on macOS to improve the portability of exported files for Windows users
1.1.2
- Treat H as equivalent to B in note names for compatibility with SampleRobot's export naming conventions.
1.1.1
- Recognize upper-case file extension variations (eg: .WAV)
As always, the latest release can be downloaded here (http://www.thinkersnacks.com/px-toolkit.html).
Many thanks! Great tool for the PX community!
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Thanks. Looks a very useful application.
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New PXToolkit users should be aware that Apple has a change in their application policy that is due to take effect on February 4th which may result in the following warning: "PXToolkit can't be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software." This isn't a problem with the app but just a new requirement by Apple that I haven't yet satisfied.
This should only take place on Mojave and Catalina, and only for newly downloaded copies of the app, but there's no easy way I've seen to verify the exact behavior before the policy goes into effect. I haven't had time to jump through the required hoops to eliminate this warning, but I'll endeavor to find time this month, certainly before the next new version. If you do encounter this, you can still run the application by control-clicking on the app and selecting Open, at which point you may see the warning once more but can confirm that you do want to run it. Thereafter you shouldn't see the warning again.
Of course this is true for any app that hasn't been updated so if you see other unexpected warnings on macOS you download after the 4th, you'll know that it's a policy change and not necessarily something malicious. Smaller developers are likely going to be in reaction mode rather than getting ahead of the issue.
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I'm looking for some help with creating round robin instruments with PX toolkit. I don't follow what I need to do, is it a naming convention for the audio file or something else? Also, technically what happens in the PX when playing it back?
Many thanks in advance for this terrific forum helping me get more from the PX!
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I'm looking for some help with creating round robin instruments with PX toolkit. I don't follow what I need to do, is it a naming convention for the audio file or something else? Also, technically what happens in the PX when playing it back?
Many thanks in advance for this terrific forum helping me get more from the PX!
The short answer is Shift + drag for creating Round Robins. But you should watch the video demo Lady Gaia put together:
http://www.thinkersnacks.com/px-toolkit.html (http://www.thinkersnacks.com/px-toolkit.html)
I don’t know whether Round Robins are played back randomly or in order.
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As Shaw notes, they're defined in PXToolkit by dragging multiple samples with the same root into the same velocity range. To make this happen, you inform the software that it shouldn't create a different velocity range for each new sample by holding the shift key while dropping the samples. On the Prophet X round robins alternates are selected among randomly with equal odds for each variant (you can further game the system by dropping the same sample more than once to increase the odds of it playing, and PXToolkit won't duplicate the sample data.)
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Terrific, thanks. I was not aware of that video and missed it somehow.
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I keep getting this error
" The value of the offset is out of range. It must be >0 and <105129312392312 etc"
Tried uploading screenshot, but having issues with even that lol. Thanks for all you do LadyGaia. I can assure you the exact same settings on other samples have worked, but these which have been sampled with mpc autosampler are giving me this error. Any ideas?
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I keep getting this error
" The value of the offset is out of range. It must be >0 and <105129312392312 etc"
That's a curious one and doesn't ring any bells. If you can PM me a link to an sample I can use to reproduce this I'll happily look into it. I haven't heard from anyone else using the MPC multi-sampler so it's also possible there's something unusual about the way it saves .wav or .aiff files (there are already lots of ways these format specifications are violated by other samples I've found - so I keep building in workarounds to make sure as many samples are usable as possible!)
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Its probably the MPC created sample.. Let me look into that. Thank you again
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Hi, new Prophet X user here. I have been testing the user sample import for the last 2 months since I got it.
Thanks for the Pxtool program, great work!
I’ve been adding my own samples and it worked flawlessly (after some trial and error).
But now I’m getting the same error message with a batch of newly sampled files, like the user above mentioned:
The value of “offset” is out of range. It must be >0 and 2627612
I’m using the MPC’s autosampler to record the files, like I did before. I don’t know what happened. Only thing I can think of, is that the latest files were recorded somewhat louder, closer to 0 db.
Anyone got any ideas? I can share some samples if someone wants to test.
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But now I’m getting the same error message with a batch of newly sampled files, like the user above mentioned:
The value of “offset” is out of range. It must be >0 and 2627612
I haven't received any samples that produce this message, so I'd be very interested in looking at an example. If you can upload any representative sample and PM me a link, I'd appreciate it and will see what I can do to correct the underlying issue.
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Thanks for looking in to this!
I've send you a pm with a link.
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Thanks for looking in to this!
Not a problem. Thank you for providing a representative sample! I've sent details about how to get an experimental build in PM, and if it all checks out on your end I'll put it up for everyone.
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The latest build Lady Gaia provide for me fixed the Mpc autosampler issue with pxtools.
All Mpc autosampler files are converted correctly now.
Thanks Lady Gaia!
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The latest build Lady Gaia provide for me fixed the Mpc autosampler issue with pxtools.
All Mpc autosampler files are converted correctly now.
Delighted to hear it. I've published the update as v1.15 for everyone now, and will get around to updating the Thinkersnacks site to reflect the new version later today.
Thanks Lady Gaia!
My pleasure, thank you for providing an example of the ill-behaved files to diagnose the root issue! It's amazing to see the wide range of misinterpretations of the WAV format that are actively used in the wild.
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Hey friends. Just picked up a Prophet X recently after much hesitation (because of soooo many poor demos), but finally executed based on specs and intuition. Anywho I really have been appreciating this toolkit! Thanks so much Lady Gaia.
Couple noob questions:
1: How can you apply samples to just one key easily? It automatically spreads them across the keys. It generally will only let me drag them (closed) one way or another and not both, and when I try to type in the key value, it often doesn't take and is underlined in red.
2: Can you layer samples in this editor? I see you can round robin (which I love!) but sometimes you want to layer them. If not, do you guys know of an editor that can easily layer sounds and spit them into a wav?
3: I spend a ton of time trying to get the volumes of samples even and often they still are not. Any tips for evening the volume across the board? Doesn't seem like you can edit the volume individually on PX.
4: Can anyone point to some groovy threads? What have you all been coming up with in the PX lab? I'd love to see what kind of cool experimental soundscapes people have come up with. This machine seems deceptively expansive. I'm still honing in my prowess and then I'd love to share some stuff too.
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Hey friends. Just picked up a Prophet X recently after much hesitation (because of soooo many poor demos), but finally executed based on specs and intuition. Anywho I really have been appreciating this toolkit! Thanks so much Lady Gaia.
I'm always happy to hear from someone who has discovered the instrument - and found PXToolkit intriguing. I was excited by the potential of the instrument from the day it was announced, and got mine (serial #40!) just as soon as I could arrange it. The six-month wait for the official user sample import tool wasn't a surprise, but the state it showed up in was disappointing to say the least. It didn't take long for me to start thinking about how to put together something more complete for my own use, and sharing it with others seemed like a natural next step.
Couple noob questions:
1: How can you apply samples to just one key easily? It automatically spreads them across the keys. It generally will only let me drag them (closed) one way or another and not both, and when I try to type in the key value, it often doesn't take and is underlined in red.
The red underlining or inability to drag the top or bottom of a range beyond a certain point usually indicates that you're trying to move the bottom of the key range higher than the "root" note of the sample, or the top of the range below it. If you want a sample to be on a particular key you need to make sure this root note is on the key in question. There are a few ways to accomplish this:
- Create the .wav or .aiff tool using software that correctly sets the original root note, which is hidden inside the file itself.
- For files that don't have the root note set internally, name the file with the desired note as part of the filename (eg: "Drum Hit A#3.wav"
- For files where you want to override the internal note, you can name them appropriately and then hold the Alt or Option key down while dropping them to force PXToolkit to respect the note in the name.
- If you don't do any of the above, you can still change the root note after importing the sample. Select the sample in PXToolkit and you'll see descriptive information on the left which will show the top and bottom of the range as well as the sample length and root note (eg: 1.7s @ A#3.) Edit this root note to be the key where you want the sample to play back at its original pitch, and PXToolkit will move the sample and reset the top and bottom of the range to cover adjacent keys where possible.
Generally speaking, you shouldn't need to tweak the sample's range. As you add other samples to adjacent keys the range will automatically adjust to divide up space evenly across the keyboard. If you want you can change the range, but the original root note must always be inside the range you select. That's probably the "rule" you're violating that results in the red underlining to suggest that you're trying to do something you can't do.
2: Can you layer samples in this editor? I see you can round robin (which I love!) but sometimes you want to layer them. If not, do you guys know of an editor that can easily layer sounds and spit them into a wav?
The Prophet X doesn't support single instruments that trigger two samples at the same time, so you'll have to combine them before importing, as you suspected. I focused on tasks that are Prophet X specific rather than general waveform editing tools, so you'll have to use something else for this task. It should be pretty easy to drop two files into a DAW on different tracks and export the combination, however.
3: I spend a ton of time trying to get the volumes of samples even and often they still are not. Any tips for evening the volume across the board? Doesn't seem like you can edit the volume individually on PX.
It can be tricky. You should generally normalize sample volumes before importing them into the Prophet X as it doesn't offer any tools to help. I've used SampleRobot to do most of my sample editing, and it includes normalization tools. Note, however, that in human hearing "volume" is a complicated subject and just having the same peaks doesn't mean your samples will be the same perceived volume. Having a good set of analysis tools and an understanding of how to use compressors and expanders may be more ambitious than you had in mind, but if you want to go down that rabbit hole I can't recommend FabFilter's plug-ins enough. The videos on their YouTube channel are also a gold mine for understanding a variety of subjects and a great way to spend a few hours.
4: Can anyone point to some groovy threads? What have you all been coming up with in the PX lab? I'd love to see what kind of cool experimental soundscapes people have come up with. This machine seems deceptively expansive. I'm still honing in my prowess and then I'd love to share some stuff too.
I'll leave this to others who have posted a lot more demos here than I have.
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Wowzers thanks so much. I sincerely appreciate the contribution of tech and tech support that seems to permeate these threads as I look through. A sign of good character. Is there anywhere you accept donations, Gaia?
-Oh I should have explained the issue is when I'm developing drum racks for which the key is not really necessary... and rather I just want a wide selection of kicks n hits across the entire keyboard. I think based on what you told me though I can navigate it now.
-Yes I normalize the samples using Fission (which honestly I expected more from)... but still sometimes too quiet for some reason. Then I don't know how to raise the volume without it "clipping". I'd like a better editing program that could detail edit hissing and unwanted audio ranges as well. Something like audacity but much more fine tuned... anyone know of Anything?
-As for threads, I meant any good threads... especially technical modulation threads. I was just trying to avoid delving into all the posts when someone might already know of the golden threads!
--P.S. Id love to hear your work Lady Gaia. I bet you've got some interesting stuff. Cheers.
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Wowzers thanks so much. I sincerely appreciate the contribution of tech and tech support that seems to permeate these threads as I look through. A sign of good character. Is there anywhere you accept donations, Gaia?
I really like the community that has built up around this synth, it's true, and am happy to have played my part. The work I've done on PXToolkit really is just a gift to other owners, so no worries there. While I may set up a fund to pay for Thinkersnacks hosting some day, I'm currently very well employed and don't want to muddy things by creating any perception that I'm working a side gig.
-Oh I should have explained the issue is when I'm developing drum racks for which the key is not really necessary... and rather I just want a wide selection of kicks n hits across the entire keyboard. I think based on what you told me though I can navigate it now.
I suspected it might be percussion focused, but you're quite right that the premise is much the same - you just want to set the root note to the key you plan to trigger the sample with, and can limit the range to just that key. It should be trivial if you name your samples using a consistent convention and drag them all in at once. PXToolkit will only create a range when there are gaps between adjacent samples, and even if you drag in one sample at a time it will happily make room by reducing existing ranges.
-Yes I normalize the samples using Fission (which honestly I expected more from)... but still sometimes too quiet for some reason. Then I don't know how to raise the volume without it "clipping". I'd like a better editing program that could detail edit hissing and unwanted audio ranges as well. Something like audacity but much more fine tuned... anyone know of Anything?
Audacity was certainly the first thing to leap to mind in the way of free tools, and it does have a compressor which is invaluable for trying to match volume or squash excessive peaks the keep a sample from normalizing to the level you'd expect.
--P.S. Id love to hear your work Lady Gaia. I bet you've got some interesting stuff. Cheers.
Hah! I wish I had the time to take my rough ideas and pursue them. Music is very much a passion that has always taken a back seat to my career. I had expected to retire (today, actually!) to focus on music but with the present uncertainty in the world and travel being utterly impractical it just seems insane to put aside a lucrative career. So I'll keep it it for a little longer before music can take center stage in my life.
At the moment I don't have a single keyboard instrument where I'm living while waiting for the United States to collectively wake up and take COVID-19 seriously enough to get things under control. That's kind of a bummer, but I have had plenty of time to plan my secondary studio space here, and I've handed off my CAD drawings for a custom desk (https://prophet-x.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/staging/3DViewer/3dviewer.html#Maui%20Desk.obj) to the folks who are busy making it a reality.
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Would there be any issues with also loading content from SampleRobot into the PX as well as keeping some of the content loaded by the PX Toolkit? I haven’t loaded into the PX from SampleRobot yet so I’m not sure if you can specify the category, number etc and more importantly advises you if there’s already content on the instrument number you are trying to save to.
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Would there be any issues with also loading content from SampleRobot into the PX as well as keeping some of the content loaded by the PX Toolkit?
So long as you don't use the same bank / category / instrument number you won't have any problems. PXToolkit and SampleRobot both follow the same specification from Sequential regarding the import format requirements, and the Prophet X treats them identically.
I haven’t loaded into the PX from SampleRobot yet so I’m not sure if you can specify the category, number etc and more importantly advises you if there’s already content on the instrument number you are trying to save to.
When you do an export in Prophet X format SampleRobot asks for the bank / category / number information. You need to keep track of what you've used before AFAIK. There's really no way to know what you've already installed on the instrument, but PXToolkit tries to at least suggest unused numbers if you consistently export everything to the same folder on your Mac or PC. I don't believe SampleRobot provides any assistance with this, but something might have changed in more recent versions.
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I haven’t loaded into the PX from SampleRobot yet so I’m not sure if you can specify the category, number etc and more importantly advises you if there’s already content on the instrument number you are trying to save to.
When you do an export in Prophet X format SampleRobot asks for the bank / category / number information. You need to keep track of what you've used before AFAIK. There's really no way to know what you've already installed on the instrument, but PXToolkit tries to at least suggest unused numbers if you consistently export everything to the same folder on your Mac or PC. I don't believe SampleRobot provides any assistance with this, but something might have changed in more recent versions.
In SampleRobot, if you export to the sample directory/folder, it will warn you if you've already exported something in that category / bank / number and make you select another location. If won't, however, suggest other locations. You'd need to look at the folder to see what's there. And, as Lady Gaia mentioned, you'll need to track what's on your Prophet X/XL.
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Wonderful thanks all! I don’t have much on there right now so it should be easy enough.
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It has been a while since I've noted an update for PXToolkit here! I've just made an experimental build available with native support for the new M1-based Apple Silicon Mac Mini, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air. It's currently a distinct "Apple Silicon" download rather than being packaged with the regular macOS build. Definitely not my preference, but it's how the open-source project I use as a foundation decided to do things at this point.
Users may also have noticed a 1.1.5 release back around the start of August. This addressed incompatibility with some non-standard WAV files produced by the MPC auto-sampler.
As always, the download is available from the ThinkerSnacks site (http://www.thinkersnacks.com/px-toolkit.html).
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Very cool Thanks for the update... I was just thinking of upgrading to this technology. It's not possible to stack samples in PXtoolkit now is there? I've been doing this in audacity but it takes me eons. How joyous it would be to be able to just drag and layer multiple samples. Anywho thanks for this LaGa.
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Very cool Thanks for the update... I was just thinking of upgrading to this technology.
Apple has done some amazing foundational work on their own silicon, and I expect it’ll see widespread adoption among Mac users pretty quickly. In the audio world it’s primarily a holding pattern while waiting for native drivers for most audio interfaces, but I expect that’s just a matter of months.
It's not possible to stack samples in PXtoolkit now is there? I've been doing this in audacity but it takes me eons. How joyous it would be to be able to just drag and layer multiple samples.
PXToolkit is focused on packaging samples for the Prophet X, not on the basics of sample editing. There is no support in Sequential’s instrument to trigger multiple samples on a single key within an individual instrument, so you have to blend any samples you’d want to stack into a single sample, as you’ve doubtless been doing.
It would be reasonably straightforward for unlooped samples, but for looped content it quickly becomes problematic (take one sample with a loop 999 samples long, and another with a loop 1000 samples long, played together you have a cycle that repeats only every 999,000 samples!) If I ever do a full sample editor it’d likely be a commercial product, but I don’t have any near-term plans to do so.
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It has been a while since I've noted an update for PXToolkit here! I've just made an experimental build available with native support for the new M1-based Apple Silicon Mac Mini, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air. It's currently a distinct "Apple Silicon" download rather than being packaged with the regular macOS build. Definitely not my preference, but it's how the open-source project I use as a foundation decided to do things at this point.
Users may also have noticed a 1.1.5 release back around the start of August. This addressed incompatibility with some non-standard WAV files produced by the MPC auto-sampler.
As always, the download is available from the ThinkerSnacks site (http://www.thinkersnacks.com/px-toolkit.html).
Thanks again ! Perfect work
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It has been a while since I last posted an official update here, but there have been two significant releases since the experimental M1 work:
Version 1.2 added Arm CPU support not just for macOS but also for Windows. This release was also the first to be notarized by Apple to simplify installation and add reassurance that the code has been scanned and certified free of malware.
Version 1.3 came out today, making it easier to override the default root note for a sample by respecting any note name found in the filename regardless of whether there's embedded metadata. This release also automatically adds a silent sample for any keys that aren't otherwise mapped, and includes a lot of changes to improve accessibility for the product as a whole.
Lots of changes to the open source foundations PXToolkit is built on came along for the ride, so please don't hesitate to report any issues you run into that escaped my notice.
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As always... very appreciated ! Thanks
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Hi - So I downloaded the PX Toolkit but I have a ? about downloading samples to it. I'm pretty new to synths and I don't have a DAW. How do I load samples from my Virus TI to my MacBook? Do I need a device to transport my sounds/samples from the Virus to the MacBook? Thanks for your help -
uote author=Lady Gaia link=topic=3632.msg38550#msg38550 date=1560028144]
PXToolkit, my sample preparation utility for the Prophet X, is finally graduating with the release of version 1.0 today. Thanks to everyone who took time to write feedback during the beta period (https://forum.sequential.com/index.php/topic,3539.0.html), it’s now even more feature rich thπan I had planned at the beginning of this journey.
Here's a quick overview of what’s in the app:
* macOS and Windows support
* Per-key sample mapping, fine tuned in cent increments
* Automatic sample key and loop detection from .wav metadata
* Automatic pattern matching to infer root key from filename when metadata isn’t present
* Support for samples recorded at rates other than the recommended 48kHz
* Sample playback previews for entire instruments with a connected MIDI controller, or individual samples with just a mouse and keyboard
* Up to 20 velocity layers per key
* Up to 20 round-robin samples per velocity layer
* Instruments can be saved as documents for future editing
* Undo/redo support
... and in video form on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTIB6rEVa6E&feature=youtu.be).
There's a dedicated page with download links here (http://www.thinkersnacks.com/px-toolkit.html). Enjoy, and don't hesitate to get in touch with any bug reports or questions. Before the obvious one gets asked: yes, the application is completely free for personal use.
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Hi - So I downloaded the PX Toolkit but I have a ? about downloading samples to it. I'm pretty new to synths and I don't have a DAW. How do I load samples from my Virus TI to my MacBook? Do I need a device to transport my sounds/samples from the Virus to the MacBook? Thanks for your help
PXToolkit is designed to package up samples you've already recorded into a format that the Prophet X can understand. So you'll have to have recordings in WAV or AIFF files already sitting on your computer before you can take the next step.
I've heard from people who take a wide range of approaches to the first step of recording those audio samples in the first place, but most involve some form of commercial software. If you're actively looking for a DAW, Apple's Logic Pro X is a bargain that includes an Auto Sampler but it's also a big complicated product. The same automatic sampling is also included in Apple's $30 MainStage offering. I've personally used SampleRobot, which is more expensive but offers some nice options and supports the Prophet X directly to simplify the whole end-to-end process - if with a few less options than PXToolkit for subtleties like round-robin samples. I've also heard from people who have been happy with Akai's MPC Live's auto sampler with PXToolkit.
So, in short: you'll need to find something to automatically record and loop the samples with, and can look for another person here who uses the same software to help out with the full process of getting those samples onto the Prophet X.
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Hey Lady Gaia, thanks for PXToolkit. It's a really nice bit of programing. Super impressive.
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Hey Lady Gaia, thanks for PXToolkit. It's a really nice bit of programing. Super impressive.
I'm a little later to reply than usual, but thank you! It was an interesting project that I hope to have a reason to return to at some point. I actually do have some minor revisions to help improve usability for sight-impaired users that I should wrap up and release when time permits. Should Sequential ever decide to iterate further on the firmware, though, I'd be happy to take on whatever is required to take advantage of any changes.
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I need some help - probably doing something really basic wrong here...
First time importing user samples into my PX. Used the PX Toolkit and exported according to the instructions, so that the new folder structure got created on my USB stick.
How do we get the samples onto the PX? I couldn't see any instructions for this, apart from in teh PX manual which says to go to Globals, and then 'Update Library.' I select this, but then get the message "No files found on USB stick to replace with"
Anyone know what I am doing wrong? Incidentally I am running OS 2.2.2
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Anyone know what I am doing wrong? Incidentally I am running OS 2.2.2
It looks like you got the answer you needed in another thread: you need to tell the Prophet X what type of samples to search for. You can select User, Add-On, or Factory sample updates. The instrument will only scan your USB device for the type selected, and forgetting to switch to User is a common mistake the first time around. Hopefully everything is working for you now?
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Anyone know what I am doing wrong? Incidentally I am running OS 2.2.2
It looks like you got the answer you needed in another thread: you need to tell the Prophet X what type of samples to search for. You can select User, Add-On, or Factory sample updates. The instrument will only scan your USB device for the type selected, and forgetting to switch to User is a common mistake the first time around. Hopefully everything is working for you now?
Yes it is, thank you! And thanks too for the Toolkit, it seems to work really well and is a nice program to use - and I am rubbish with software :)