Composers Desktop Project Forum

I've now followed up Logan's lengthy list of documentation errors posted on the General Board (see "Inconsistencies..."), and have updated a number of the online docs:
cgropsow.htm  cgrohous.htm  cgromody.htm cgroenvl.htm cgroedit.htm  cdistort.htm   ccombine.htm  alphindex.htm
I've also updated the zip file.

For those who might have already downloaded the new docs, you need only download the above .htm files: replace just the .htms and discard any associated "_Files" folders.

Robert

Hi Logan,
Thanks for your many observations - very helpful!
You're quite right about multi-output processes; the inconsistencies in output-naming can be a pain. I've found it helps to precede the command line with COPYSFX: you can set the copy name so that the multi-output process will give a more consistent naming. See for instance the HOUSEKEEP EXTRACT example below.

First of all, thanks for your points about the documentation for:
Housekeep Extract 1, Modify Radical 3, Modify Radical 7, Topantail2, Sfedit Join, Shrink, Combine Cross, Distort Pulsed.
You're quite correct and I'll get these changed.

HOUSEKEEP COPY / COPYSFX
CDP output is normally to the current directory, if an alternative directory is not specified in the path.
For example:
  copysfx E:\SNDS\TMP\AE\count.wav copycnt.wav
puts the copy in the current directory, but
  copysfx E:\SNDS\TMP\AE\count.wav E:\SNDS\TMP\AE\copycnt.wav
puts the copy in the source directory.

Housekeep Copy 2 is no different:
  housekeep copy 2 E:\SNDS\TMP\AE\count.wav 3
outputs count_001.wav, count_002.wav, and count_003.wav to the current directory.

HOUSEKEEP EXTRACT 1 (Gate Extract)
The documentation is wrong/out of date. The last character of the infile is replaced by a series of output numbers, e.g. count.wav outputs coun0.wav, coun1.wav etc.  A workaround is to include a COPYSFX, e.g.:
 copysfx count.wav count_X.wav
 housekeep extract 1  count_X.wav -t0.2    [outputs count_0.wav, count_1.wav etc.]
 erase count_X.wav

HOUSEKEEP EXTRACT 6 (Gated onsets)
>I cannot get this process to open the output file.
It just writes a text file, e.g.:
  housekeep extract 6  mysound.wav onsets.txt 0.035 0 0 0 1 0.05 0
Documentation seems correct.

HOUSEKEEP RESPEC 3
>The documentation lists a flag "-t" which the process does not recognize.
Tried -t and it crashed the program. Will need to consult with Richard D. about this.

DSHIFT
>This process is listed in the documentation
It's listed correctly as just dshift. Dshift.exe should be in your _cdprogs folder.

MODIFY SHUDDER
I'm getting inconsistent results too. Will investigate further and alter docs as necessary.

REVERB (Multi-Channel Toolkit)
>Flags coming before parameters
In Richard D's programs, the flags come before the parameters. Just the way it is, but there are only about twenty programs.

SFEDIT RANDCHUNKS
As in my solution for HOUSEKEEP EXTRACT 1:
  copysfx copycnt.wav copycnt_X.wav
  sfedit randchunks  copycnt_X.wav 2 1 -m3
This will output copycnt_0.wav and copycnt_1.wav.

SHRINK
>This is listed in Extend and in Sfedit, seems like it should only be in one of them?
Agreed. It shouldn't be in sfedit and the name is wrong there, too.

ISOLATE Mode 3
I think this mode may need further investigation. In a test, it produced two files, one the same as the original, the other silent!

SNDINFO DIFF
>This is listed twice in the documentation.
?? You may be right, but I can only find it under SNDINFO DIFF.

SUBMIX INBETWEEN2
I have the following in my notes:
inbetween: mono or stereo inputs but both files must be same
inbetween2: mono only
The documentation currently has nothing about the channel requirements. Will look into this.

SYNTH SPECTRA
I can't get this to work these days: always get MEMORY ERROR. Will investigate further.

SPECGRIDS
Definitely .ana output. It's a standalone (specgrids specgrids), not part of specnu, though documented there alongside Specnu Slice.

CERACU
>I always get "Cannot open output file"
Infile must be mono. Despite the weird name, it produces polyrhythms: the "cyclecnts" data file gives x against y against z etc. Try, for example, 3 against 4:
  ceracu ceracu any.wav anyacu.wav cyc.txt 0.5 2 10 0 0
where cyc.txt is:
3 
4

ITERLINE
>The documentation and the exe help are missing 6 parameters
I don't think so. The params are:
  infile outfile transposition-data out_duration delay rand_delay pitch_shift amp_cut gain [-sseed]
However, the exe help (and hence the documentation) gives flags for optional parameters, which I think are wrong. Will investigate further and correct docs. If you treat all params as compulsory (with no flags), except for seed, it works.

MADRID, SHIFTER, TEXTURE DECORATED, PTOBRK
Can't reproduce the problems, sorry.
PTOBRK. This works OK:
  ptobrk withzeros asnd.frq asnd.pch 20

Can't comment for now on:
gate gate 2, abfpan, extend scramble 2, modify (modify what?), madrid, shifter, texture decorated, ptobrk

Robert F.

The CDP documention has been revised and a provisional version can be accessed online at:
www.ensemble-software.net/CDPDocs/html/cdphome.htm
or you can start here:
www.ensemble-software.net/CDPDocs/index.html

Most of the original text has been retained, but the structure and links have hopefully been improved.

You can download the docs as a zip (for PC - 66MB). First, rename your existing docs folder (\cdpr7\docs) to e.g. \docsold (to avoid a garbled mixture of old and new docs). Then extract the zip to your CDP base folder (\cdpr7). The link is:
www.ensemble-software.net/CDPDocs/CDPDocsNew.zip

The aim will be to keep the latest set of docs online and make it possible for users to update individual pages as required. A list of recent updates is available at www.ensemble-software.net/CDPDocs/!Updates.txt and future updated files will be accessible from www.ensemble-software.net/links.html .

The new docs have not yet been added to the CDP distribution, so now is a good time to email me your suggestions (rob[at]ensemble-software.net). As there is now one set of docs for both PC and Mac, Mac users in particular can help by pointing out anything that is not correct for that platform. 

Improving the documentation is a continuous process and the next steps will be to create printable .pdf versions of the reference sections, as well as make more playable examples available online.

Robert, Documentation Co-ordinator. 

A revised Soundshaper (4.4.1) can be downloaded from:
  www.ensemble-software.net/downloads/Soundshaper4.4.1UD.zip
Simply unpack and replace your existing Soundshaper.exe (4.4).

The new version (hopefully) fixes two scripting bugs. The first affected the following CDP functions -
  SPEC BARE, PITCH ALTHARMS, PITCH OCTMOVE,  REPITCH TRANSPOSE 4, ONEFORM PUT, FORMANTS PUT
 - if the second Infile had already been converted to its native type (.for / .frq / .trn), instead of being auto-converted from a .wav or .ana file by Soundshaper.

The second bug was a typo (an extra '+') that got written into the scripts. This affected:
  FORMANTS SEE/GETSEE, SPECINFO LEVEL, HOUSEKEEP EXTRACT 2, PITCHINFO SEE (.frq and .trn), PITCHINFO HEAR.
These functions mostly generate pseudo-soundfiles for viewing.

I am pleased to announce the release of Soundshaper 4.4 as a free download!

Much of the Soundshaper code has been re-written, including the batchfile scripts used to run CDP processes. Almost 100% of these now accept multi-channel as well as mono/stereo input and incorporate the automatic conversion of CDP file types wherever possible. Many more processes now support different parameter sets per channel.

For those not familiar with the program, Soundshaper is built around a multi-process patch grid, supporting up to 16 different processing streams. Soundshaper uses temporary files, so that it is not necessary to save files at every stage, only those you want to keep.  New in version 4.4 is not having to save source files with a patch, so that the patch saves a complete history of a processing sequence in a compact form. Patches are fully editable and can be run with different sources. The text History function has also been updated to record parameter values more clearly.

Also new in 4.4 is bulk processing, implemented as a copy-row variant. A few mouse clicks load a list of sources to the patch grid and apply them to a process or row of processes. Another new feature is a composite process called Premix: a sound is given a prefixed delay, level and pan, ready for CDP mix processes that don't use a mix file. The dedicated Mix page has also been overhauled, again with aim of making mixing easier.

Soundshaper Pro and Lite have been withdrawn. The new Soundshaper is technically still a Beta-test version, and bug reports would be welcome. E-mail support is still available for registered Pro users (only) and the registration mechanism has been retained to enable possible installation on a new computer. New registrations are not possible, however; this situation might change if CDP is willing to adopt paid support. Existing registered users can also try out the forthcoming Patch To Cell facility, due for general release in the next version.

Full details and downloads are available at www.ensemble-software.net. A more detailed description of Soundshaper can be read here:
www.ensemble-software.net/downloads/About_Soundshaper.pdf

A new Beta-test version of Soundshaper (4.4) is now available from my website: www.ensemble-software.net. The program has been extensively revised to write and run entirely new scripts, which incorporate automatic conversion of CDP file-types and are almost completely channel-independent (running with mono, stereo or multi-channel input). One of the goals behind the revisions is to be able to run a whole multi-process patch within one cell. (For non-Soundshaper users, a cell normally runs one process.) Though this feature is not fully coded yet, enough of it is working for users to try it out.

Registered users of Soundshaper (Pro) are encouraged to download and test-run the new version, and feed back bug reports (by e-mail please). The release is not a full distribution, but assumes you have version 4.3 (preferably 4.3.13) installed on the same machine. This allows for sharing of text files and presets and also for comparison between 4.4 and the last release, if something appears to have become broken.

Following testing, Soundshaper 4.4 will be released as unregistered freeware and Soundshaper Lite will be withdrawn. The new cell-patch feature is intended for version 4.5, but currently registered users will still be able to access it (as 4.5 Alpha or Beta) before 4.5 is released.

Sorry for the delay in replying.  I've now been able to set up Soundshaper Lite on a Windows 64-bit machine, and have had no problems with drag+drop.

I suspect the error message may be a default one which is really saying: "I don't know where your TEMP folder is".
Please check Options | Settings and check that you have designated a folder as the TEMP and that this folder actually exists. I would recommend having TEMP as a subfolder of CDPR7, not of SoundshaperLite, though I can't see that it would make any difference where it is, as long as there are no gaps in the Path.

I've also installed Lite on my 64-bit Win8.1 laptop, and again, there have been no problems with drag+drop.