head	1.4;
access;
symbols
	rel-0-2-1:1.2
	before_adj_struct:1.2
	jack:1.2.0.2
	rel-0-1-0:1.2
	rel-0-0-0:1.1;
locks; strict;
comment	@# @;


1.4
date	2007.03.22.20.55.43;	author robertatwood;	state Exp;
branches;
next	1.3;

1.3
date	2006.04.23.22.03.14;	author robertatwood;	state Exp;
branches;
next	1.2;

1.2
date	2005.04.03.20.05.36;	author robertatwood;	state Exp;
branches;
next	1.1;

1.1
date	2004.04.16.11.36.56;	author robertatwood;	state Exp;
branches;
next	;


desc
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1.4
log
@Updated GPL text to reflect new address of Free Software foundation
Prepare to move repository to savannah.nongnu.org
@
text
@This file contains instructions for running the Variseq program. 
Version 0.2.2
by Robert Atwood

The author Robert Atwood hereby places the text of the instructions
in this file in the public domain . The source code for the program is
released under the Gnu public license, see the individual program files
and the file COPYING for details.


Run the program with two integer arguments:
1. The nubmer of control sliders (steps in the pattern) 
2. The number of positions on each slider (tonal divisions in an octave)

eg

variseq 10 10

A familiar case would be to run the program with 16 12 , this will give
16 beats in a bar (4 beats with 4 divisions in each beat if you like)
and a normal 12-semitone scale for the notes.

Load some samples. The popup window for the control is just empty until
some samples are loaded. Use sample | load ...


Apply some samples to some of the controls. The button on top of each
slider pops up a window with one color-coded button for each sample
loaded. Pressing the button in the popup will apply that sample to the
selected controller, and it will display that colour if it is active.


The loop will play when the JACK transport is Rolling. 

(If using the portaudio back end, then start the loop using Do | Play)


Play with the controls. The little blue slider is the 'clip' level ,
lowering this will add some distortion to that note. The little green or
red slider is the volume fo that note, if it is > 1.0 it turns red.
(Possible improvement: turn red only if the actual output will be distorted.)

The little dial is the pan, its use is reasonably obvious. Finer
adjustment is made by grabbing the dial then moving the pointer outside
the dial; it still tracks the mouse so you can move the pan just a
little bit.

The big slider is the pitch level. It does not apply the new pitch until
you release it.

The little (initially green) vertical slider sets the octave. The
default (compile time) is a total of 5 octaves, the original and 2 above
and 2 below. More would require recompiling with some changes, and would
require creative rewriting since the libsamplerate library  only
stretches by 12 (I think). The slider changes colour to indicate which octave is active.

THe little horizontal slider changes the number of ticks in the beat.
This allows irregular rhythms without requiring lots of extra sliders as
placeholders. Currently it ranges from 1-16 ticks where the normal is 8.
You can adjust with the keyboard instead of the mouse, to get it to the
right amount. I have not tried making this an infinitely variable
slider, it may need to be a different kind of UI item to work properly.
This slider also changes colour to indicate the step length selected.

You can save the pattern, but currently you need to load the samples
FIRST before you can load the pattern or else it crashes. Also it helps if you create the
player with the same number of sliders and tones. This is an area for future improvement.

You can save the whole workspace as a single file , this acutally saves the base 
samples and the pattern. When you reload the workspace, the samples get stretched to 
all the target pitches. (on a slow machine this can take a minute or so) 

Master Controls: The top number box is the speed in 'beats' per minute,
one beat is initially four sliders long (32 ticks). You can type a new
value in hear (but it may crash if it is 0 even for a moment) or click
in the box and scroll the mouse. On Windows it is very slow to update.
The next is the smooth amount, in percent , the last bit of the note
will be faded out over this amount of time in proportion to the note
length. This can get rid of some clickyness between notes, but adds some
choppyness.

Master Volume: big green vertical - goes red if it is > 1.0


Sample alteration window: A second window with one row for each sample appears. The sample
name shoudl be in the central text box (but currently does not work) The buttons under the 
'F' replace the sample from a file, 'I' replace the sample from the input, and 'B' replace the sample 
from the buffer (output of the sequencer) The 'B' currently uses a randomly selected start point
and samples one second of the buffer. 

The horizontal slider near  the right end of each row selects the input for the automatic
sample replacement (autoscramblizer) It is colour-coded; the colours correspond to the colours of the
outer part of the buttons at the left of the row. The actual colours may depend
on your system settings, but red is for 'F'ile (currently not implemented), green 
is for 'I'nput, and yellow is for 'B'uffer. The push button at the extreme right of the row
toggles the autoscramblizer on or off for that sample. The number box determines 
how many bars (loop repetitions) between automatic replacement of that sample. 

The replacement is done in the background, and if the replacement is not finished
by the time the requested number of bars has elapsed, a new replacement is not started.

NOTE: the behaviour when using the PORTAUDIO version seems to be very system dependant,
I am not sure how much is my lousy programming or inherent differences in sound cards. 
Sometimes after using 'Do | Stop' the sound cannot be restarted. Sometimes multiple instances 
can be used and sometimes not. I am mainly using JACK now, it allows multiple instances without 
any fancy programming on my part, as well as routing of the input from whatever other
application I want -- cd player, another program, another variseq ...
I recommend using JACK if at all possible.

@


1.3
log
@Fixed popup window location and sample name label
@
text
@d1 10
a109 4




@


1.2
log
@Changed the buffer writing so that samples extend into unused notes.
Altered file choose usage to correctly use the FLTK chooser
@
text
@d22 4
a25 1
Start the loop using Do | Play
d59 4
d75 28
@


1.1
log
@Initial version uploaded to Sourceforge
@
text
@d7 1
a7 1
player 10 10
d9 1
a9 1
A familiar case woudl be to run the program with 16 12 , this will give
d14 1
a14 1
some samples are loaded.
d22 1
a22 1
Start the loop using Do| Play
d27 2
a28 1
red slider is the volume fo that note, if it is > 1.0 it turns red. Possible improvement: turn red only if the actual output will be distorted.
d49 2
a50 1
slider, it may need to be a different kind of UI item to work properly. This slider also changes colour to indicate the step length selected.
@

