Composers Desktop Project Forum

Soundshaper 6.3 has now been released. There are no functional changes since the 6.3 BETA release last month, so if you have downloaded this, you could possibly just change the exe name to Soundshaper.exe.

The CDP PC download now contains the new Soundshaper (along with SoundLoom and CDP Release 8 software, as before). Full and Upgrade versions of Soundshaper and CDP programs only are also available at the Soundshaper website:
https://www.soundshaper.net/dloads.html

A Soundshaper upgrade (6.3) for existing users has been released as a Beta-test version. The zip can be downloaded here: https://www.soundshaper.net/dloads.html and a brief description is given here: https://www.soundshaper.net/news.html

This is not a full release - just a revised exe to put alongside your existing Soundshaper.exe - plus a few supporting documents.

The main change is an improved method for processing part of a file: the CUT-PROCESS-PASTE mechanism is now built in to Soundshaper's scripts, where applicable, so that all you do is to select the portion to be processed, click PROCESS SELECTION, then the process itself, and the whole file is returned with just the processed segment altered.  There is also a new built-in BALANCE function, which can be applied to the whole file or the selected segment. A full description is included in the zip.

Comments and bug reports would be very welcome - either to the Forum or by email.

We've found a fault with the PC version of the program REPITCH, affecting the important GETPITCH function. The version originally distributed with CDP Release 8 (dated 15th March '23) is not working. This also affects further functions which depend on pitch extraction.

An earlier compilation, dated 2 Jan. 2023, appears to work as intended, however. You can download it here: https://www.soundshaper.net/downloads/repitch.zip
In your CDP programs folder, simply replace the 15th March '23 version of repitch.exe (if that is what you have) with the January one.

For new users, the PC program set for Release 8 will be updated tomorrow with the working version.

This post is in response to a query about datafiles in Soundshaper (see "Missing Folder - InvertPch?" , Oct 1 2023).

Not being a realtime system, CDP works with (and is dominated by) files: source sound files (or other types), processed files to save, automation via breakpoint text files, and more specialised data files most of which are described in the documentation (see the link to File Formats from any reference Program Group, e.g. BLUR).

When a data file option is selected in Soundshaper's parameter page, a text box appears for the filename (instead of a control for a fixed value). This is filled in with a default value of the Process Name and a Filename; the Process Name is given as a subfolder of the user's Text Data folder. If an actual file exists, it is displayed as text in the Data Edit Panel (to the right of the page). Many parameters have such files - usually very basic templates - especially breakpoints, mainly so that these can be edited in the Graph Editor.

For more specialist data, a file might not always be supplied, so the Data Edit box is empty (for the user to fill in) and the Process Name subfolder may not exist either. This may seem like an anomaly, but it allows you to fill in suitable data and click SAVE to save this to the default location from where it will be recalled automatically next time. Having a standard folder for each process also allows you to save your own datafiles there for easy recall, although an alternative is to save these to a project folder of your choice.

When datafiles are amended, the SAVE CHANGES button is activated to save the data to a temporary file. These temp files are an important aspect of Sounshaper's process chains (shown on the patch grid); to re-edit or re-run the process it must have a specific datafile for that particular operation. (You might have used the same process with different values elsewhere in the patch.) So don't be surprised if your default file changes from e.g. \MagicProcess\scrunch.brk to something like ~A_1\scrunch.brk, or ~X_1\scrunch.brk for a preview.

When patches or presets are saved, the temp files actually used are saved with the patch or preset, for future recall.

The TEXTURE program currently supplied for PC systems is a pre-Release 8 version, which includes a new compulsory parameter ('omit') for the Texture Simple function.
Unfortunately this makes it incompatible with existing scripts in Textpack and Tutorial Workshop 2, as well as Soundshaper's Texture-Simple parameter page and presets.

It is expected that these settings will be updated for Release 8, but for now anyone wanting to explore Texture Simple on the PC needs a Release 7.1 version. You can download it at: https://www.soundshaper.net/downloads/texture71.zip .  Unzip and copy texture.exe into your existing CDP programs folder (...\_cdp\_cdprogs). If you want to retain the Rel.8 version, rename it (e.g. to textureR8.exe) before copying the replacement file.

SoundLoom (PC): to see if your version of SoundLoom supports the Release 8 version, go to the parameter page for TEXTURE SIMPLE; if that has provision for the OMIT parameter, then you don't need the older Rel7.1 version, otherwise you do. 

CDP MAC software and SoundLoom (MAC): not having a Mac, I don't know what the current situation is. However, you can check the Usage for Texture Simple to see if this includes the OMIT parameter and you can also look for it on the parameter page in SoundLoom (Mac).

Following my web host's decision to charge for email, I am going to delete this email address:
   rob@ensemble-software.net  (or mail@ensemble-software.net / *@ensemble-software.net)
I'll make this change as soon as I've archived existing emails and changed links on the website, etc.

The replacement email address (which already exists) is:
   ensemble-software@hotmail.com

I also have an email address at soundshaper.net which will be deleted today.

Please note that the domains themselves are unaffected: ensemble-software.net and soundshaper.net

Robert




   

Soundshaper 6.1 has been released. It installs the latest CDP PC exes, including beta-test versions of over 60 new CDP8 processes. These include Spectral, Multi-channel, Segmentation, Waveset and Synth functions, among others.

As well as being incorporated into the normal process menus, the new processes are also listed separately in a separate menu "Rel8", so that they can be easily identified for testing. The Quick Help on the Parameter Page describes each process, its modes and parameters. A very brief description is also available on the Main Page (also called Quick Help). A provisional version of the official CDP documentation is also well underway and will be available within the online docs soon.

Although the new CDP8 programs have been carefully tested, these are pre-release versions, subject to change, and correct operation cannot be guaranteed. Please do try them out and report anomalies! This is the quickest way to "settle" the software ahead of a full CDP Release 8.

A revised set of CDP programs for PC, re-compiled in 2022, is now available. The set comprises CDP Release 7, 7,1 and 7.11.
The programs are available on the CDP downloads page (https://www.unstablesound.net/cdp.html - 'Software PC' link) and are mirrored on the Soundshaper downloads page (https:www.soundshaper.net/dloads.html). The set has all the programs required for both SoundLoom and Soundshaper, including the LoomDatapak extensions.

Both SoundLoom and Soundshaper have this latest version built into their new-user installation files, as do Soundshaper updates/upgrades. The separate download is therefore aimed at existing SoundLoom users who wish to update their CDP software.

Soundshaper 6.03 has now been released. As further updates are unlikely for a while, users are recommended to download this new version. There are several new features and some bugfixes, described here: https://www.soundshaper.net/news.html. A new Quick-Help for the main page gives a brief description as you scroll through the process menus. Envelope editing has been revised, and processes using fixed parameter values can now be re-edited on the parameter page.

Soundshaper now includes the CDP programs in a single self-extracting .exe. The full, update and upgrade (from vn 5) versions all include this program set. (Existing users please install to your existing CDP base folder, e.g. \CDPR7). The links on the CDP downloads page (at https://www.unstablesound.net/cdp.html) are to the new version: full and upgrade only - to update an existing copy of Soundshaper6, visit www.soundshaper.net/dloads.html. If you wish to retain your present version, please rename it before downloading. Please note that while the installer will over-write older files of the same name, it does NOT erase other files.

If you are an existing SoundLoom user and are installing Soundshaper and SoundLoom within the same CDP base folder, you should also download and install the revised CDP program set, so that the CDP exes are up to date. This can be done from either the CDP or Soundshaper downloads page. (New users will get the new CDP set, so don't need this step.)

Soundshaper 6 has now been released.  This is a major upgrade, designed to improve workflow.

The main changes are to the parameter page, which now has a preview facility, allowing the user to quickly experiment with and compare many different parameter settings before choosing one. It also has a soundfile display, mirroring that on the Main Page, with loop and marker times that can be transferred to and from breakpoint data files. There is a tighter integration with the Graph-Edit page, which also has a soundfile display. Full details of the new features are supplied with the program, and the manual has also been revised.

To download the program, please visit www.soundshaper.net

The CDP Downloads page (hosted at https://www.unstablesound.net/cdp.html) is currently undergoing revision.

The CDP Documentation download, in particular, is faulty and should NOT be downloaded yet. It will be fully revised very soon and I'll post a notice when it's ready.

If you do not have the current documentation, it can be downloaded at:
http://www.ensemble-software.net/CDPDocs/html/updates.htm 
- the full version is called CDPDocs.zip and is dated 30 Oct 2021. An update to this (to match the version on the downloads page) will be available in due course.

A new set of documents called "CDP Guide" has been added to the online CDP Docs and is also available to download. This is a classified guide, which aims to help users find their way around the CDP suite. Although the Reference Documentation also groups functions together, it has become harder with each new release to keep track of related functions, especially as new versions or variations typically have different names.

CDP Guide classifies CDP processes and functions into five categories: Soundfile, Spectral, Pitch-Data, Edit-Mix (incl. Levels, Channels & Spatial) and Other  (Synth, Info, Data, SysUtils). Each function has hyperlinks to the available online Reference and a brief description. This is a personal classification and the descriptions are my own - they do not necessarily reflect the views of CDP. I'm sure there will be inaccuracies, and users are welcome to suggest corrections and amendments (mail[at]ensemble-software.net).

Within the online docs, the Guide is referenced on the Home Page (www.ensemble-software.net/CDPDocs/html/cdphome.htm) and the Tutorials page. The file cdpguide.zip is available from there or the downloads page (follow DOCS DOWNLOADS on the Home Page index panel). The zip also contains printable PDFs. If you already have the CDP documentation offline, the main folder \guide should be placed at the top level within that (the same level as \html, \demo etc.) for the hyperlinks to work.

It has been found that source files will not load in Soundshaper if "special characters" are used in folder names. The problem arose when a user installed CDP and Soundshaper in a folder called "Aplicações", which is Portuguese for "Applications".

Users should stick to Roman-alphabet characters (as used in English) when naming folders and files, i.e.: a-z (lower or upper case) and numbers 0-9.

I recently bought a new PC with Windows 10 and had some fun (?) with administrator problems. I already had a version of Soundshaper on a disk I'd transferred from the old computer, and also imported a new build from another PC to the C drive. Neither would run or even close down as they weren't allowed to over-write various textfiles: "access is denied"!

The solution seems to be to tick a box called "Run as administrator". You have to create a shortcut to the .exe, right-click on the shortcut icon for its "properties", then from the pre-selected Shortcut tab choose Advanced, then tick "Run as administrator". This works, but produces an annoying User Account Control window every time you run the program.

Somehow I've created two shortcuts for the new version: one has "Run as administrator" and opens with the User Account Control (and fails otherwise), but the other (on the desktop) starts perfectly without "Run as administrator" being selected.

If anyone can explain this conundrum, I'd be grateful.

A new version of Soundshaper (5.07, 9 May 2020) is now available for download. This version fixes an Access Violation affecting TEXTURE processes and revises the Initial Setup and reading of the Settings file, which will be renamed automatically.

Version 5.06 (3 May) fixed a significant bug affecting processes with more than 10 parameters, including TEXTURE and GRAIN.

The CDP documentation has been updated today (3rd Apr 2020). The online html docs were already the latest, as were the individual printable pdf versions, but the zip files of both were out-of-date (Aug 2018). Now corrected, with apologies for any inconvenience. The docs are housed at www.ensemble-software.net/CDPDocs

Two changes I would appreciate some help with: SFEDIT ISOLATE in cgroedit.htm has apparently been updated but to my eye it seems the same as in the unchanged sfedit.pdf. Similarly PAPLAY in cmcrefmn.htm / mctoolkit.pdf. Let me know if you can spot any difference(s) .

The latest Soundshaper update (5.03) adds support for running Csound scripts, as well as users' own Batch scripts. The Csound scripts can either be for synthesis, writing to an output file, or for sound processing, with one or more input files. (Real-time output is not supported at present.)

The inputs and outputs are integrated within Soundshaper patches (process chains), i.e. a Csound process can precede or follow a CDP process, and the overall patch can be saved and recalled. Taken together, CDP and Csound cover a vast range of audio processes and a huge number of Csound examples are readily available, particularly for synthesis, which by comparison is a bit thin within CDP.

The update also includes Csound's implementation of Paulstretch (extreme time-stretching), hard-coded as a "normal" process with parameter control. I will be looking for other opcodes and scripts that would be worth integrating in this way and would welcome any suggestions and feedback.

Soundshaper 5.0 (beta) has now been released. This version has important new features designed to improve workflow:
- built-in streaming player/viewer, with extensive provision for editing and processing part of the sound
- multi-layer patches: patches extended to multiple layers. Embed a patch within a patch; save and load this as a single object within a patch and so on
- revised Process List: supports user-saved parameter settings (single presets) for rapid recall of favourite processes
- improved file-saving
- re-designed Main Page: clearer layout and menus. Support for many new skinned styles.

Soundshaper 5 (PC only, Vista-Win10) can be downloaded from www.ensemble-software.net .

A new version for Soundshaper (4.5.05) has now been released for Windows. All users are recommended to download this version, which is available as an update to an existing 4.5, an upgrade to a previous installation of 4.4, or as a full version.

The Mix Page has been extensively revised and repaired in this version. CDP mixes are very versatile, especially for relatively short sounds and the revised page aims to make them as easy to manipulate as possible. A revised Soundshaper HTML reference for the Mix Page is also available for download and is included as a .PDF in the upgrade.

Quick-help documentation for all CDP processes has now been completed and is accessible from within Soundshaper. Other bugfixes repair a number of CDP functions that were not working.   

A new version of the Soundshaper interface (4.5) is now available (www.ensemble-software.net). This introduces the new Cell-Patch feature, in which an existing patch can be run within one cell. A patch containing one or more of these sub-patches can be saved and re-run as normal.  (Full details are in the supplied Release Notes.)

Parameter Files (.prm) can now be dropped onto the Main-Page patchgrid. This opens a parameter page with the appropriate parameters and values, so it's a quick way of selecting and running a preset. Parameter files are simple text files which can be saved from a parameter page (as 'snapshots') and are also produced as temporary files in the normal course of running Soundshaper.