danboid's vocoder script

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danboid
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danboid's vocoder script

Post by danboid »

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# JACK vocoder script by Dan MacDonald - Nov 9 2012
# 
# This script depends on you having the following installed:
#
# 1 - JACK
# 2 - Carla plugin host from falkTX's Cadence suite
# 3 - MDA vocoder plugin - LV2 or VST version
# 4 - Aspect, Noisemaker, ZynAddSubFX, Yoshimi or any other JACK synth
#
# All of the above except Aspect are included with AV Linux 6. AVL6 was the
# distro under which this script was written and its also what I'd recommend
# you run it under for the most hassle-free experience.
#
# This script is really just a template as it won't work unless you edit it as
# described in my comments and you will need to change most of the JACK port
# names if you're using a synth other than Aspect. This is easily done though,
# you just need to use the command 'jack_lsp' to view the port names of any
# active JACK apps then replace the port names as required.
#
# Creating the Carla Project File
#
# Before you can use this script, you need to create a Carla project file.
# Start Carla, click 'Add New' and add the MDA vocoder plugin. Next, click
# on the MDA vocoder plugin racks little 'Edit Parameters' spanner icon
# then in the window that appears click on the 'Parameters' tab at the bottom.
#
# If you are going to be using a mic on the capture_1 port attached to the 
# right input channel of the vocoder like I have done here then you will want 
# to check the 'Mod In' option is set to the left (or 0). You may also want to
# bump up the output slider and make other adjustments to what will be your
# default vocoder settings now before saving this project file as something
# like mdavoc.carxp - name it as you wish.
#
# This first line starts Carla under AV Linux 6. If you have installed Carla
# yourself under another distro and its in your path you can likely change
# '/opt/carla/carla' to just 'carla' then the path specified after that should
# point Carla to the project file we just created by giving its full path.

/opt/carla/carla /home/pfm/music-stuff/mdavoc.carxp &

# The sleep values I have defined here are about the minimum required to ensure
# this script is likely to succeed in creating the JACK connections when the
# script is run immediately after a cold boot on my 2GHz CoreDuo with a run-of-
# the-mill, mechanical (5400rpm I think) SATA HD. If you have a faster HD or a
# decent SSD then its likely you will be able to use much smaller sleep values
# such as just a 1s sleep here.

sleep 4

# Make initial vocoder connections

jack_connect system:capture_1 MDA\ Vocoder:Right\ In
jack_connect MDA\ Vocoder:Left\ Out system:playback_1
jack_connect MDA\ Vocoder:Right\ Out system:playback_2

# Run the Aspect standalone JACK client

/home/pfm/music-stuff/Aspect/Aspect &

# My crappy lappy HD needs a good 15/16 seconds at least to fully load Aspect
# If your synths loads faster of you have a faster drive, you can experiment
# with reducing this value but this should be safe enough for most I'd imagine.

sleep 16

# Disconnect Aspect's direct master output connections

jack_disconnect Aspect\ JACK:out_1 system:playback_1
jack_disconnect Aspect\ JACK:out_2 system:playback_2

# Route both channels of Aspect into the Modulation channel of the MDA vocoder
# for a more fuller sound

jack_connect Aspect\ JACK:out_1 MDA\ Vocoder:Left\ In
jack_connect Aspect\ JACK:out_2 MDA\ Vocoder:Left\ In

# After adjusting the script as required, all you will need to do in the future
# to start vocoding is start JACK then run this script. If I have my MIDI controller 
# attached to my machine before starting JACK or running this script, I usually find
# it gets auto-connected to Aspect. However, if you plug your keyboard in afterwards
# then you may find all you really need to do after running this script is go to
# Options -> Audio and MIDI config then select your controller from the list of
# active MIDI inputs.
Last edited by danboid on Fri Nov 09, 2012 7:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
danboid
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Posts: 1327
Joined: Sun Aug 26, 2012 11:28 am
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Re: danboid's vocoder script

Post by danboid »

Hi F!

Yes, I realise Carla and Cadence are not stable or finished just yet and certainly not in the older state as released with AVL6 but thats a risk I'm willing to take. I could add it into the script as a warning if you want but I've not had any Carla issues with the AV6 build yet although I admit I've not been using AVL6 long.

KXStudio users would likely be better off doing this with LADISH and Cadence I'm sure but I wanted to share my method of setting up a vocoder for those like me who have a phobia of session managers, no matter how nice and fully-featured they may be.

Thanks for your concern though F! :)
danboid
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Re: danboid's vocoder script

Post by danboid »

I've had a quick go with TAL's vocoder plugin but I failed to get anything out of it. The MDA plugin is nice as its got good defaults that 'just work' - its normally just a case of setting Mod In to the correct channel and you're off. I'll have to have a more serious attempt at getting the TAL one to work one day as it looks like it could offer more control than MDA and sirlab.
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