Flexi Sampler features (useful in my specific use case)

There are a few features in Flex Sampler, available on Octatrack, that would be awesome to see in Drambo.

Speaking of my use case — I currently use Drambo as a DJ mixer with looper, where one "deck" is a live signal and another one is a loop. I sample the loop of the live signal, then quickly move the crossfader to replace the live signal with the recorded loop. After that I change the track being played live on my hardware and blend in the new track by moving the crossfader back. I have similar workflow set up on Octatrack and here are a few features that would be really helpful in Drambo:

  1. Time Stretch: new track sometimes has a different bpm. This instantly results in hickups in the end of the recorded loop, as it becomes either short or long. So now I have to keep the same BPM throughout the set of change it only when live track is playing.
  2. Disable overdub: I have to press Clear, then Record every time now. Overdub doesn't make sense in this specific case. Would be great to disable overdub completely when needed.
  3. Proper fades with crossfade: if I understand correctly, in current implementation start and end of the sample are faded in and out during playback (not recording) when corresponding values are set. This may be an ok solution to reduce clicks on waveform loop, but it still generates a tiny gap in resulting waveform. Each channel on Octatrack in mono, so it's the only possible implementation there. But Drambo is polyphonic, so it can do better. There is a proper implementation of loop fades on Synthstrom Deluge — the looper actually records a sample that is a few milliseconds longer, applies fades to it but due to polyphony, when the end of the loop is fading out a new instance of the loop already fades in. Start and end fades overlap in this case, creating a seamless loop. Setting longer fades would even allow looping samples that have reverbs or modulations applied, as crossfade of start and end would cover up the transition.
  4. Predefined record length: different tracks need different loop lengths. I usually record either 1, 2 or 4 bars. My current workaround is to have three different Flexi Samplers, that have pre-recorded loops of specific lengths, so pressing REC gets me a sample of needed size on a specific recorder. But I end up with picking which output to use and this is confusing in live performance. Would be great to have an option to select predefined loop length when recording.
  5. Bar sync: There is a pattern sync option now, but in case of a 4-bar pattern playing on the machines, I usually want to start recording the loop at the beginning of a new bar, not wait until all 4 bars loop, as it doesn't matter where the loop "glue point" will be. It would be great to have bar sync as an option.

I hope you'll find some of my ideas useful. Thank you for the great product.

Comments

  • Weird.. I sent @giku almost this same list yesterday!

    A lot of it’s stuff JJ already has on the map but I was mentioning again as some of it feels like it’d be useful for the looper module thats in the works too..

  • @laikrodiz DJ mixer: How do you sync recording start and stop with your live signal now?

    I mean, you need a perfectly cut loop, don't you?

  • @rs2000 My hardware sends midi clock and transport.

    I write patterns in 1 or 4-bar loops mostly, so if I pattern-sync the Flexi Sampler, it records exactly the needed number of bars.

    I'll record a video to show.

  • edited August 2020

    @rs2000 check this out.

    I go through 3 patterns on my Digitakt. every time I record 1 bar, then throw the crossfader to the right, to switch to the loop. Then change the pattern on Digitakt and slowly crossfade into the next one.

    As simple linear volume crossfade would sound ugly, I demonstrate how I use custom crossfade curve on each "deck" in the end of the video.


  • I’m a complete knoob, just got started with Drambo. I love this!.

    would you mind explaining how you do it?. How do you record the patterns to fade between them?. Wow

  • Disable overdub

    +1000. Being able to toggle between overwrite / overdub would be huge. I took some time this morning trying to build a [GlitchCore](https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/glitchcore/id1499237784) module into Drambo using the flexi sampler. Adding an overwrite toggle would let flexi sampler act as a fixed audio buffer, which is super useful with live input. And far more flexible than the Buffer module.

    Also tacking one on: P-lockable Record/Clear/Remove buttons would be helpful. If more settings under Record were P-lockable, I think a lot of the feature requests in the initial post would be solved (at least, "predefined record length" and "bar sync").

  • edited November 2020

    For reference, here's what I was talking about this morning. Live overwriting of a fixed sample would be super useful.

    …and the patch: https://patchstorage.com/glitch-more/

  • I was going in this direction when I worked on this module: https://patchstorage.com/gate-loop-stutter/ . I used 16 delays to do looping.

    Doesn't have reverse or pitch adjustment currently. I think pitch adjust could be added but the little bit I tried at it I couldn't get it to work right.

    I haven't worked on this since the 1-N & N-1 modules came out, I may update for those to make it more efficient. Though really once sampling overdub comes out I think this module becomes pointless :P

  • This is so cool!! There's so much going on on Patch Storage, it's hard to keep track of it all. Thanks for the link!

  • edited November 2020

    @orchid & @quartzite You can have more control (if you want it now) by working around using MIDI control of Flexi.

    Rec/Clear/Remove cannot be p-locked but you can trigger these functions via MIDI notes or CC easily.

    Since Drambo can generate these as well and it just lacks the audio and MIDI matrix that will have to wait for some time, so what I do is this:

    • Get the free FreEWI app and run it in the background
    • I'm using notes instead of CC for remote control because they're easy to place on the step sequencer and you'll usually want each knob to be pushed with correct timing
    • Place a MIDI OUT module on the control sequencer track and have it send to the FreEWI virtual port
    • Use one sequencer track for controlling Flexi knobs and one track for Flexi (the limited MIDI routing in D does not allow for proper in-track MIDI routing without producing MIDI feedback and neither MIDI Rack nor MIDI2CV nor AU MIDI processor nor the track itself can choose from which MIDI port to receive)
  • I’m curious about something you might have some experience with (as a beta tester). I heard that when AU hosting is complete, the plan is that modules would have their typical outputs: midi, audio..

    Now what I’m wondering: would a hosted instance of Drambo be able to send midi controller info to the host? Somehow I suspect not, that it would be treated like any other incoming midi as it is currently - talking to midi modules, and conversion through midi to cv.

  • That's the one :)

    I'm really looking forward to it, so that I can bring in projects that are too big for a single rack, or track - and put those onto a single track.

  • Huh I somehow hadn't realized all the buttons for that were cc mappable! I already do loopback to have Drambo pattern sequence itself, I'm going to explore this more!

  • Here are some things I’d find really useful for everyday use.

    I like to use loops as a sound source to build my own kits, so extract the kicks, then snares and so on...

    • “Record append” feature: say I want to make a slice flexi that takes input from different files, inputs, effects, whatever... It’d be nice to be able to “pause” the recording, change the source and continue recording. I believe this can’t be done. Would let you fiddle around the source material, look for new slices and overall simplify the sampling procedure.
    • Disable slices: self explanatory, say you only want 4 slices out of the 16, you just disable the other ones and Drambo just ignores them. An alternative would be to be able to cut segments out of a file, so not only trimming form start/end but unwanted sections of a source file.
    • Choke groups: not really a flexi feature, but a way to easily tie together flexis and make them single voice/exclusive. You know, hi hats...
  • If we’re discussing features, I’d also love:

    -Trigger slices in consecutive order, aka round robin. (I know there are current workarounds like velocity and note, but neither of those is quite ideal)

    -slice loop mode. So each slice can playback as a loop

  • Sorry to bump this thread, but I've been playing with @laikrodiz 's transition looper patch (thank you!) and I came across pretty much the same conclusions... optional overdub and bar sync being the most critical to my workflow, which is pretty much exactly the same as his.

    As long as the REC/PLAY is quantized to the beat, we could choose the amount of bars on the spot, while recording, depending on the content of the track (1 bar, 2, 3, 4 etc.)

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