PSPSeq 1.00 is now available!

[badplankton]

hey thanks for the pics and description.

i'm going to have to agree with horace here, that sort of interface is really just eye candy. and honestly, it's not that much different from PSPSeq; it just looks like a step sequencer where you can graphically see how long samples are played. pretty similar to sonic foundry's ACID, or whatever it's called these days.

i tried to make PSPSeq only as complicated as it had to be, but i wasn't going to sacrifice features for ease of use. i just did my best to make it obvious how to trigger a few notes and have fun but still provide complex synthesis and sequencing capabilities under the hood (along with keypad shortcuts for accessing them efficiently) for people who really care. this is the first time i've built a GUI, so it's really fascinating to see what people think of what i've made. i think there's a stronger perception of complexity/difficulty because of the color scheme (looks retro), font, and usage of numbers everywhere.

[badplankton]

i have given this a very very quick go now, and it does look nice, although i really need to nnot be working so i can read the documentation!

cool, definitely find the time to read the documentation (or at least the quick reference sheet). there's a lot of features and shortcuts that aren't readily visible but really make the composition process much less painful. in particular the ability to modify the rate of change when modifying parameters by using L-trigger and R-trigger (along with using the D-pad with the triggers to modify params) is key.

i think it's gonna be very hard to make it really simple to use, because of what looks to potentially be an excellent synthsound generator.

i tried to at least make the sequencer easy to use, but yeah, the controls for the synthesizer are going to be confusing unless you know how synths work. if you don't, the best thing to do is trigger some notes and then modify its GEN and FX parameters (pressing the triangle button to force all parameters across a loop to stay locked in step). after a while i think it becomes pretty intuitive in terms of what parameter to modify to create a particular type of sound.

curious to know what you think!

ethan
dspmusic.org/psp

[Briggzy11]

Well Horace I am a big user of the Digimax Studio, I have used it multipul times and made a few songs for a few psp homebrew games...

...& i heard of you quite a lot horace, winner of the PSPRhythm contest

I understand you dont want to use the Music interface and I respect that decision make it unique to your program

[Hungry Horace]

tried to find out about digimax, but all i can find is a studio in the US!!

amusing that my reputation preceeds me... although i have plastered it on my sig.! (along with anything else i am invovled with!)


i am kinda lucky in that i've studied a Masters in Audio technology, i hope Briggzy you dont think i am being rude in disagreeing with your want for a music2000 type thing, it's just my preference given my background! Having used ProTools, Logic and Cubase primarily, and now having really got into the creativity of PSP-Rhythm, i like to think i have developed something of an understanding about suitable GUIs for such a program.
Creativity i believe is the key to a portable sequencer, rather than hig-end functionality (although the later is a *big* bonus!) - you only have to look at the success of Garageband to see this in action, apparently even Trent Reznor starts his songs on there, before multi-tracking it up with ProTools.


i will definately be giving this a proper go over the next few weeks, and will do my utmost to break it (as with all the homebrew i use.... lol ) and to give some feedback that might actually be of use (unlike certain patrons - no names!)


i gotta admit, i kinda like the retro / simple look... if only the colours "glowed" slightly, i would look very techno / Tron! hahah - what a waste of psp power that'd be!

(god damn i go on.. lol)

[Briggzy11]

haha horace its totally kewl and from your rep you are brilliant with music...I have taken no offense from anything you have sed horice I mean afterall everybody has their own opinions

[badplankton]

Creativity i believe is the key to a portable sequencer, rather than hig-end functionality

what do you mean by that? that a portable sequencer should focus more on providing unique features rather than try and emulate what's possible with the more complicated and full featured programs on a PC?

i will definately be giving this a proper go over the next few weeks, and will do my utmost to break it (as with all the homebrew i use.... lol ) and to give some feedback that might actually be of use (unlike certain patrons - no names!)

yeah definitely try and break it. it needs the stress test + some of the most interesting sounds are found at the borders of what tools are designed to do.

i've found feedback from people of all skill levels to be useful; beginners give me ideas on how to make PSPSeq easier to use, and experts flesh out the features and find bugs. it's all good, though i'd really like to have more expert opinions.

i gotta admit, i kinda like the retro / simple look... if only the colours "glowed" slightly, i would look very techno / Tron! hahah - what a waste of psp power that'd be!

hey that's actually a good idea; especially if it's synced to the beat and helps indicate where the current step is. shouldn't be -too- processor hungry either. hmm!

[Hungry Horace]

haha horace its totally kewl and from your rep you are brilliant with music...I have taken no offense from anything you have sed horice I mean afterall everybody has their own opinions

cheers man, it's just awkward on these forums, as sometimes its easy to come across as a tool, even though you really dont have anything against the person you are disagreeing with!

i have seen much of your posting though, and just didnt want you to think i was just trying to have a go! at least your one of the ones with constructive comments

what do you mean by that? that a portable sequencer should focus more on providing unique features rather than try and emulate what's possible with the more complicated and full featured programs on a PC?

yeah, that pretty much the jist of it. psp-kick's one major pro-point, is how quick and easy it is to start laying stuff down. it takes literally seconds to start putting notes in, and as a result, you get this kinda "flow" going with writing on it. Rhythm has the same, but i confess, does take a little longer on the first few goes, but it is much more powerful once you break that early-step.


the trick i think is that once you know how to go about writing on it, it should be very easy to repeat the process quickly. A program which gets bogged-down in forcing details from you upon every entry (as a bad example, if say, velocity needed adjusting on every note entry) is not intuitive or creative to the user, and doesnt create good productivity imho. the key i think is to find a balance, where you learn how to use a program, can then repeat the functions quickly there after, and then take yourself to new depths later on (at your own pace)

i think i should maybe add, (since i'm straying from your point!) is to always bare in mind what the user is using, i.e. a d-pad, analogue and few buttons. whilst it would be feasible to have full musical notation for your compositions, is it really practical on a psp? of course not, you simply want to hit a few buttons and adjust things until it sounds right! the same goes for many other possible functions. whilst full-reverb FX may just-about be possible, you will eat up processor power limiting yourself from using the program further!

these are just my own thoughts on the matter. they arent law or anything! i hope my after-pub ramblings on the matter are legible!

yeah definitely try and break it. it needs the stress test + some of the most interesting sounds are found at the borders of what tools are designed to do.

hehe... definately the case. limitations can be the key to good creativity from the user. just look at the old Amiga .mod scene! have no fears, i am good at breaking homebrew... heh (just ask pSpectrum author hexDump!)

i've found feedback from people of all skill levels to be useful; beginners give me ideas on how to make PSPSeq easier to use, and experts flesh out the features and find bugs. it's all good, though i'd really like to have more expert opinions.

oh of course, i didnt meant to insult anyone who as actually given you feedback, (anyone of any skill level) but rather the "one line commenters" who frankly contribute nothing to the scene. you've gone to the trouble to make a good bit of homebrew, so the least you deserve is some constructive feedback.... even if if it's as little as "it crashes, i did this...." - surely that's much more favourable than "ooh this looks great, thanks i'll try it out!!" or "sequencing is for n00bs, there's already psp-kick"... excuse me there. little bit of a rant.

hey that's actually a good idea; especially if it's synced to the beat and helps indicate where the current step is. shouldn't be -too- processor hungry either. hmm!

lol... glad you like it. it was only the colours made me think of that!

keep at it man, i'll try to give you some proper feedback once i've really hammered into it.

[badplankton]

the trick i think is that once you know how to go about writing on it, it should be very easy to repeat the process quickly. A program which gets bogged-down in forcing details from you upon every entry (as a bad example, if say, velocity needed adjusting on every note entry) is not intuitive or creative to the user, and doesnt create good productivity imho. the key i think is to find a balance, where you learn how to use a program, can then repeat the functions quickly there after, and then take yourself to new depths later on (at your own pace)

definitely agree here - i tried to add in as many time saving measures as i could. for the most part they are computationally cheap so it's just a matter of thinking of what would make process X faster to accomplish.

a good example is the ability to modify a parameter across an entire loop in two ways; either locking every step to the same value or forcing the absolute distance between the values in each step to remain constant. that way you can quickly make chords by creating a synth line, copying all the parameters to another synth, and then shifting the frequency of one synth as needed (for example up/down a 5th).

i think i should maybe add, (since i'm straying from your point!) is to always bare in mind what the user is using, i.e. a d-pad, analogue and few buttons. whilst it would be feasible to have full musical notation for your compositions, is it really practical on a psp? of course not, you simply want to hit a few buttons and adjust things until it sounds right! the same goes for many other possible functions. whilst full-reverb FX may just-about be possible, you will eat up processor power limiting yourself from using the program further!

funny you bring up the musical notation thing; the first version of PSPSeq only allowed absolute frequencies and -everyone- wanted 12-tone. so i put it in there along with absolute freqs and i'm so glad i did.

but yes, the interface & display do often dictate what you should/shouldn't try to do. sadly the analog pad is crap on the PSP, so it's really only good for registering a few states/values.