PXToolkit 1.0 Available Now

Re: PXToolkit 1.0 Available Now
« Reply #60 on: July 30, 2020, 09:36:31 PM »
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.

Sound Vision

Re: PXToolkit 1.0 Available Now
« Reply #61 on: July 31, 2020, 05:22:28 PM »
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.

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-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.

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-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.

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--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 to the folks who are busy making it a reality.

LoboLives

Re: PXToolkit 1.0 Available Now
« Reply #62 on: August 05, 2020, 10:24:13 PM »
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.

Re: PXToolkit 1.0 Available Now
« Reply #63 on: August 06, 2020, 12:28:57 PM »
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.

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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.

Re: PXToolkit 1.0 Available Now
« Reply #64 on: August 06, 2020, 04:04:56 PM »
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.
Jeff Kellem—Typeface designer, Composer, Pianist, Analog synths, Dancer
ASMAC (American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers) Board Member
https://1403.slantedhall.com/ | https://slantedhall.com/ | https://asmac.org/

LoboLives

Re: PXToolkit 1.0 Available Now
« Reply #65 on: August 06, 2020, 05:21:20 PM »
Wonderful thanks all! I don’t have much on there right now so it should be easy enough.

Re: PXToolkit 1.0 Available Now
« Reply #66 on: November 24, 2020, 11:23:26 PM »
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.

Re: PXToolkit 1.0 Available Now
« Reply #67 on: December 12, 2020, 11:26:52 AM »
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.
Sound Vision

Re: PXToolkit 1.0 Available Now
« Reply #68 on: December 13, 2020, 05:45:05 AM »
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.

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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.

Re: PXToolkit 1.0 Available Now
« Reply #69 on: December 15, 2020, 10:22:53 AM »
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.

Thanks again ! Perfect work
PT10/12HD, Logic X, Digital Performer, Vienna Ensemble Pro
cMP 5,1 Catalina; MacBook Pro

Re: PXToolkit 1.0 Available Now
« Reply #70 on: November 07, 2021, 10:03:47 AM »
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.

Re: PXToolkit 1.0 Available Now
« Reply #71 on: November 09, 2021, 02:59:14 AM »
As always... very appreciated ! Thanks
PT10/12HD, Logic X, Digital Performer, Vienna Ensemble Pro
cMP 5,1 Catalina; MacBook Pro

Re: PXToolkit 1.0 Available Now
« Reply #72 on: December 26, 2021, 07:09:35 AM »
                             
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, 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.

There's a dedicated page with download links here.  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.
[/quote]

Re: PXToolkit 1.0 Available Now
« Reply #73 on: December 26, 2021, 02:48:54 PM »
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.

Re: PXToolkit 1.0 Available Now
« Reply #74 on: February 24, 2023, 09:34:07 PM »
Hey Lady Gaia, thanks for PXToolkit.  It's a really nice bit of programing. Super impressive.

Re: PXToolkit 1.0 Available Now
« Reply #75 on: March 11, 2023, 10:12:58 AM »
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.

Re: PXToolkit 1.0 Available Now
« Reply #76 on: March 31, 2023, 04:17:26 PM »
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

Re: PXToolkit 1.0 Available Now
« Reply #77 on: April 01, 2023, 07:20:33 PM »
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?

Re: PXToolkit 1.0 Available Now
« Reply #78 on: April 03, 2023, 04:49:39 PM »
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 :)