Organizing all Rapture and DPro Patches

I was thinking it would be nice if all 3 phases of patch groups for Rapture and DPro could be combined into one file system, so that the browser would reflect just one master set of patches in each category such as "pads", "leads", "keys", etc... The way I have it now, I have the orginal categories, plus an "Expansion Pack" file, which itself has the same categories as sub menus. So you wind up having to look in more than one place for a certain type of sound.

I guess the user could do this via re-filing all of the patches that way, but it would be nice if Cake might offer that as a download. In the meantime I'll experiment with the re-filing.

I disagree... if CW were to simply slip the new sounds into the existing patch categories, it would be very difficult (impossible) to audition all the new sounds that have been included with the new expansion packs.. I prefer the way it has been done where the new expansion pack(s) listed at the end of the patch list.

The patches can be rearranged manually if necessary and I think there is another thread discussing this, but it sounds like a bit of work.. and not worth it in my opinion.

By the way CW, I love the expansion packs... Dimension Pro is my primary "goto" VST these days.. well done!!
Craig

Moving the patches from the XP subfolders into the 'mainstream' ones could take 2 minutes maximum. I could do it and make 'complete' sets available for download, but what if the user has tweaks on the factory set? Now we'd need to compare patches for changes. And what if the user renamed a program?

I would think that it's easier done at home by drag-and-drop in Windows Explorer. 2 minutes max I promise.


-René

ORIGINAL: René

Moving the patches from the XP subfolders into the 'mainstream' ones could take 2 minutes maximum. I could do it and make 'complete' sets available for download, but what if the user has tweaks on the factory set? Now we'd need to compare patches for changes. And what if the user renamed a program?

I would think that it's easier done at home by drag-and-drop in Windows Explorer. 2 minutes max I promise.


-René

Thanks, Rene. Will do. Good idea!

Well, now that we're on the subject, and being one who loves to organize compusively, you could create your own favorites folder and throw your favorite patches in there. I already created a folder called "Nick's First Tries" which are my first attempts at programming.

What's cool about Rene's synths (and what he alluded to earlier) is that the browser is based on a typical Windows file hierarchy, so it's a snap to reorganize the programs to your own preferences. Then a quick F5 while the browser's open, and everythings in its place!

It doesn't. Programs are considered 'user data', so updates will keep them in place.


-René

I got my Komplete 4 update yesterday and had time to fool with Absynth 4. What they have done is database all the patches so that you can select from different categories (piano, accoustic, cinematic) and it will narrow down the choices to a list of patches with those attributes. It works very well. I love Dimension Pro and would really really REALLY like to see something like that implemented. You also can do things like rate the patches, etc. Dimension Pros system is better than most but the database in Absynth 4 is the cats meow and is the best way of doing this that I have seen implemented so far.

I know most people probably don't want someone like Rene spending time on something like that which isn't sound related. But you could put a database programmer on it who knows nothing about sound stuff and not waste Rene's time.

ORIGINAL: AT

Once again, you can organize your patches however you want.

Put in a slot for grunts, another for squeels and a third for pops and move whichever programs you want into it.

You absolutely can. Not disputing that. But what you can't do without a lot of work is find the combination of patches that have both squeels and pops let along more complicated combos. And if you should organize them all multiple ways then you have a ton of duplicate patches. And then if you change one you need to search everywhere else to find where it might be. Try what Absynth 4 is doing. I like it much better.

Have you tried what Absynth 4 or FM8 are offering?

I'm not here to diss Dim Pro and Rapture. I truly like Dim Pro and am very glad I bought it. And compared to some of the old bank based schemes (like in FM7 and Absynth 3) it is much better in terms of organization. But Absynth 4 has leap frogged it in this respect.

It is a work flow thing. Imagine you with a bunch of band mates working on a song. They decide they want something piano and guitar like that is somewhat ethereal. In Absynth 4 you select those things and it may or may not have a patch to suit. But you only have to look at a very few. In Dim Pro your going to end up spending a whole lot more time looking for that patch unless you happened to have guessed correctly and organized your stuff just right ahead of time.

And this database feature they have is very quick and easy to use.

I think Rhino was one of the pioneers of the "patch database" design.

Doug

ORIGINAL: René

That's correct. A few just-released instruments have an edge on patch management... somehow. These new features don't consist of 'just some database code' though: *loads* of metadata have to be manually written in every patch to allow those database facilities. And then, what is 'mellow' or 'evolving' for me... just give them a longer ride and you'll see.

For many users, enhancements of that kind are very welcome. For others (like myself, who admittely have no problems with going thru 2349238492 patches one by one), are certainly not. We the others wish the innovation and improvements would've been somewhere else, which would've ended in our music


FWIW we did have several incarnations of metatags when we did DP and RP browsers, but noone saw the light. Perhaps one day.


-René

Personally, coming from the old days of 3 digit displays such as on a Prophet V, the way you can organize and re-organize patches in Rapture and Dimension Pro and then have the browser refresh to reflect that is nothing short of amazing. Works great for me!

What about a simple name search - or is that what absyth and Kore do? I mean, if I name a patch "wet rez bass patch square wave 16 " (which might be an actual name I'd use) it would be nice to search the name like a data base. Find wet rez patches and puff - however many appear in the browser. I would hate to have someone else decide what is an "etheral pad" as opposed to devilish, but I can't see myself going through 500 patches inputting information. I usually start with some preset and screw it up to my liking and rename it.

Would that be too hard, René?

Certainly not. In the Mac side, we've been considering Spotlight integration for a while. In the PC side, we're watching the Vista equivalent closely. In either case, patch search is a very common FR.

Anyway, sounds like Rene doesn't want to add this sort of thing so it is mute. But personally I would love to see it.

Does it? I don't recall expressing anything about what I'd like for *our* instruments regarding patch management.
I only mentioned my way-less-than-gold experience with the instruments you brougth as example, including KORE in regards to "instant patch management gratification".

Users opinions are essential, and total-manpower budget for updates is always going to be limited. Therefore, say we have two hundred development hours to apply to Dimension Pro or Rapture, we'd like to be sure that a better patch-management scheme is what users want most.


If it is, I'm happy with it. If it isn't, I'm not



-René