Hi...it's good to read a post when by the last few posts things are working for the person
I have some beers to buy for people too, for the help I have received over the years.
About Rakarrack Vocoder or any Rakarrack effect:
As mentioned earlier, you can add any effect to the "rack" by using the "Put order in your rack" button.
Presets (especially default presets) are more of a convenience than a primary function. The program is designed to put all parameters at a single mouse click, and be able to load & reorganize the rack to quickly come up with sounds that suit your music best. Then you can save it as a preset, or even save it into the bank for quick recall. The presets are a good starting point, but only scratch the surface of what the program is able to do.
If you compile 0.6.0 from the git repository,things are even easier since there are some sorting buttons to help put things into different categories...I can't remember but I think 0.5.8 might have had this...and maybe at least 0.5.8 had alphabetical order before release (I am one of the devs, so my version is always git and I cannot remember the state at time of release
). And yes, git and CVS both compile fine. You need to have dependencies met as well as some autotools.... here is a series of YouTube videos I have made showing the process of compiling from source (git):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfdqjReVD_s , which is part 1 of 3. You can find parts 2 and 3 on my channel.
Version 0.6.0 has also added options in the Preferences to increase vocoder bands up to 256. I find 128 bands has nearly perfect diction...then the downsampling on that effect can be set to 22050 so it doesn't eat up your CPU. I think I need to make a video of this. Opensuacemusic made a video using Rakarrack vocoder, and I think it's this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMWmqo1c72g , but it might be one of the others on his channel.
As for your issue with "sound simply added"... either you have inadvertently connected the mic also to another output in jackd, or maybe you have the 'ring' parameter set to something other than 0. The ring parameter multiplies (sort of like a ring modulator) the aux channel with left and right channels. This might have this effect, but generally it is more bizarre.
Second, there is a Wet/Dry mix on the Vocoder. Set it to all wet if you don't want to hear any of the 'dry' instrument coming through.
Read the Help for more information about how the vocoder works, as it is really well documented. In Rakarrack, you can press F1 for help or get it from the help menu....or if you want most current help for what is in git repository, you can also read it online:
http://rakarrack.sourceforge.net/effects.html#Vocoder
Finally you mentioned some issues with having to change a preset before starting the program. Most likely you have a preset using Convolotron, Reverbtron, or Harmonizer. If you just installed and are launching what comes up first, that is probably the "Rodent Airlines" preset, which uses Reverbtron. These effect modules have really high CPU requirements and probably your machine can't handle it and it is crashing due to excessive processor usage...usually Rakarrack gets zombified in this case. In Preferences I recommend setting all downsample values for the FX to 22050 or less, then processing load is safe for most computers.
From there you can increase or decrease downsampling to balance FX quality with CPU load you are willing to sacrifice. If you really want Rakarrack to be light-weight, then make a preset bank that never uses those effects and it will be peachy. In v0.6.0 (current git development) you can drag and drop presets in a bank to organize all your favorites into one area, then save the bank.
For all versions you can save whatever presets you make or modify simply by right-click on the slot in the bank where you want to save it, then click ok when you get the "Are you sure?" nag message. That way you can modify any presets using High-CPU effects to use different things, or simply disable them (for a different sound), save the bank, then map that as your default user bank in settings...done
