DspCtrl Chat

I get quite a bit of email from DspCtrl users (and prospective users) about the program - asking how to do things, suggestions (changes/additions) and just general comments. I thought that it might be useful to have the facility to post messages and replies on a notice board so that others can benefit, and to help reduce repetition. This is all a bit primitive at present (eg you can't separate individual discussions into threads), but it might be sufficient for our purposes. If necessary, I'll tart it up a bit over the next few months.

PostMessage (Please note that BT (who host this site) put a restriction on the amountof text you can enter - instructions are given on the Post Message page.)

From: Ian
Subject: Welcome
Posted on: Monday, June 23, 2003, 07:29 AM

Welcome everyone.

From: Matt
Subject: fader groups
Posted on: Monday, June 23, 2003, 06:54 PM

Hi Ian A while back there was talk of fader groups in dsp control. Is this stillon the way? It would be really useful. Great prog -keep up the good work.

From: Ian
Subject: Fader groups
Posted on: Tuesday, June 24, 2003, 07:04 AM

Matt,You're absolutely right, fader groups are a part of the DspCtrl2 feature set. As soon as I've got the Eq graphs and the FX presets sorted I'll turn my attention to the faders.Cheers, Ian.

From: Ola
Posted on: Tuesday, June 24, 2003, 01:36 PM

From: Ola
Subject: Meters
Posted on: Tuesday, June 24, 2003, 01:50 PM

Sorry, accidently hit the Enter key.. Hi, Ian The meters are still a bit hard to see; it's a good idea to keep the meters narrow so they don't occupy too much space. However, this demands more contrasting colors from my point of view.I would suggest either green or orange, with a different color for the peaks only. Maybe this is an issue for me because I use hiRes(1200x1000)?The rest is really great now. Is it difficult to add import of presets from e.g. C-console, lui?Cheers Ola

From: Ian
Subject: Meters
Posted on: Tuesday, June 24, 2003, 08:48 PM

Ola, I have recently changed the meter colours and tried in the process to improve the contrast. The colours that you now see are the result of a number of users' requests. I must say that, on my setup, I don't have a problem with the visibility of the meters. Anyone else got anything to say about this? Importing other programs' presets is a little tricky and requires some help from those programs' authors. But, to transfer presets, you could always run Lui or C-Console at the same time as DspCtrl and use DspCtrl's "Get all settings from card" facility to import settings (which you then save as DspCtrl presets). Cheers, Ian.

From: Ola
Subject: Meters again
Posted on: Tuesday, June 24, 2003, 11:33 PM

Hi IanYes, it's just a matter of taste..It would be interesting to hear some opinions from other users. Concerning contrast; wouldn't it be better with one basis color in the entire meter, but with different shades of this color in different db areas? It would be more consistant to look at.I use the program all the time and really love it. I guess you can't get it all...Good idea with the preset "import", I could definately do it that way.Cheers Ola

From: Dave
Subject: Meters
Posted on: Wednesday, June 25, 2003, 09:49 AM

I dont much like the new colors but otherwise I think the mters are fine. Much clearer than on c-console. Dave.

From: Ian
Subject: Save presets dialog
Posted on: Thursday, June 26, 2003, 07:07 AM

It's just been pointed out to me that it isn't obvious (or described in the help) how you cancel the "save settings as preset" dialog box (ie without saving a preset). It's a rather unconventional sort of dialog (!) - you just click anywhere outside of it to cancel the action and destroy the window. (Points about meters noted Ola and Dave.)

From: Matt
Subject: disappearing channels
Posted on: Thursday, June 26, 2003, 10:37 AM

sometimes when I change a channel to mono I cant see the right channel. It ends up off the screen and I have to scroll to find it -why is this happening?

From: Ian
Subject: Disappearing Channels
Posted on: Friday, June 27, 2003, 08:03 AM

Matt, When a stereo channel is switched (back) to mono, the right channel re-appears wherever it last was before it became part of a stereo channel (if that makes sense). I'll sort this in 2.23 so that, instead, it appears just to the right of the left channel. In fact, this is always what happened in the first version of DspCtrl (doh). Thanks. Cheers, Ian.

From: Paul S.
Subject: Meters
Posted on: Friday, June 27, 2003, 02:49 PM

The meters look fine on either of my monitors, but on any given monitor, they're going to look different. Maybe the best solution would be to have a properties page where you could select from a pool of colors for meters, channel backgrounds, etc. And perhaps a variable control for the meter intensity, like real LED meters. That sounds like a lot of work. Sorry Ian.

From: Ian
Subject: Meters
Posted on: Friday, June 27, 2003, 06:54 PM

Paul, Changing colours, intensity etc isn't easy. For example, the rotary controls in DspCtrl (which are specially designed for and unique to it) cannot easily be adapted to different background colours. And the meters are already effectively working at maximum intensity. However, providing an optional colour scheme or two for the meters would be easy enough (<1 hour's work) and, given Ola's heroic championing of the DS2416 on the Cubase forum (much appreciated Ola), I think that this is the least I should do. It will be in 2.23. Cheers, Ian.

From: Ola
Subject: Meters again
Posted on: Sunday, June 29, 2003, 10:57 AM

Thanks Ian! I'm very grateful. My contribution is nowhere as important as yours Ian; thanks to your development and XP drivers from Yamaha, the 2416 is still a great card.Cheers Ola

From: Bob Smith
Subject: Bus / Aux Screen
Posted on: Tuesday, July 01, 2003, 02:34 AM

HiWhen I open the bus / aux screen in a standalone window, it opens with part of the faders obscured - the window cannot be re-sized.Anybody else seeing this ?BobPS Awesome programming Ian, how about Mackie Control support ?!

From: Ian
Subject: Bus/Aux
Posted on: Tuesday, July 01, 2003, 06:41 AM

Bob, Sorry to hear that all is not well. This sounds like it may be an XP issue. Are you using XP with one of the new 'themes' or whatever they're called? If so, this may be the root of the problem. Could you give a few more details: Is it the window width rather than height that seems wrong? When you say "part of the faders obscured", does this mean that the stereo (Str) buttons are totally obscured? Does a similar problem occur with the other stand-alone windows? Do you have a one- or two-card setup? If you have the time, a screen-shot zipped up and sent to xpi@btinternet.com would be really helpful. Thanks for the kind words re DspCtrl. Lots of people have asked about support for various control surfaces. I'm afraid that it looks unlikely in the immediate future. I

From: Ian
Subject: Bus/Aux
Posted on: Tuesday, July 01, 2003, 06:45 AM

Wow... I got truncated! I didn't even realise I'd set a word limit. (continued from last post) ..... may be able to do something along these lines later in the year, but can't make any promises at this stage. Cheers, Ian.

From: WhyBe
Subject: Surround Panning
Posted on: Wednesday, July 02, 2003, 09:59 PM

It would be great to have 3D panning controls in one of the undefined Usr modules:LEFT-RIGHT (X-axis)FRONT-BACK (Y-axis)UP-DOWN (Z-Axis--some day we'll have speakers above and below us as well ;-) )The behavior of the controls would be according to the surround mode set in the Global Options window:2.25.17.1User-definedI think this would be a great way to make DSP Factory more surround friendly.

From: Ian
Subject: Surround Panning
Posted on: Thursday, July 03, 2003, 06:53 AM

WhyBe, I don't quite understand. How do you envisage a 3D control on a 2D screen looking? I've never used surround stuff and I don't know what the terms 2.2, 5.1 and 7.1 mean. Can you explain? Cheers, Ian

From: WhyBe
Subject: Re: Surround
Posted on: Thursday, July 03, 2003, 06:45 PM

[2.2 = Front LR, Rear LR] [5.1 = Front LR, Rear LR, Center, Subwoofer] [7.1 = Front LR, Rear LR, Center, Subwoofer, Side LR][My 3D format = imagine a speaker in each of 8 corners of a square] Since each channel of the DSPF has separate volume controls feeding each of the eight busses, surround can easily be implemented. An actual 3-D control probably wouldn't be the best solution. I imagined either three separate sliders (x, y, z) OR a 2-D x,y box and a z-slider. Actually, there is no current surround format that would require the z-axis control. I just thought it would be a great way to get a jump on the inevitable future "true 3-D" formats. I will send you an Excel spreadsheet with control value info.

From: Ian
Subject: Surround
Posted on: Friday, July 04, 2003, 09:10 AM

Hi WhyBe, Many thanks for the clarification. I'm with you now. In fact this wouldn't be all that difficult to implement. In effect, it's just a case of ganging bus send controls with the 'ganging configuration' adjustable by the user. I'll think-on about this. The Excel file would be useful - thanks. Bob, thanks for the info and screenshot - I see what you mean! I'll get on to this right away. Cheers, Ian.

From: WhyBe
Subject: Re: Surround Panning
Posted on: Friday, July 04, 2003, 12:56 PM

Great. I was working on the actual logic in which the bus faders would move in relation to the x,y controllers......this is one of those things that turns out to be way more difficult than you initially thought. I have a value table for doing 7.1 surround complete.....will send. I think the best implementation would be to have a function such as: BusCtrl7_1(x_fader, y_fader, z_fader). This function would be called upon movement of the x,y,z controllers. The function would then set the Bus faders (for that particular channel) according to a table of values. Each surround format (2.2, 5.1, 7.1, User-defined) would have it's own table of values. This table of values would be a tab delineated text file that is loaded when DspCtrl2 is launched. A switch in the Global Options would determ

From: WhyBe
Subject: Re: Sourround cont...
Posted on: Friday, July 04, 2003, 01:01 PM

Ooops! Got chopped off. A switch in the Global Options would determine which table is active

From: Ian
Subject: Surround
Posted on: Saturday, July 05, 2003, 04:29 AM

WhyBe, I think I'm with you there. Send me some details when you're ready. Cheers, Ian.

From: Blades
Subject: +10dB
Posted on: Sunday, July 06, 2003, 03:34 AM

I know it's probably "against the rules" to want the +10dB switch for the faders across the board, but for some reason, I've liked working with the ability to go to 11 if I need to (if you get the SpinalTap reference).Am I missing where the switch is for this in DSPCtrl?Blades

From: Ian
Subject: +10dB range
Posted on: Sunday, July 06, 2003, 06:58 AM

Blades, no you're not missing anything - I'm afraid it isn't there. The problem is that the +10dB range doesn't work properly - the levels reported by the card are wrong. You can test this for yourself (eg with LUI). But also, as you hint, it isn't really meaningful or necessary. Even +5VU (very high recording level in the analogue world) is only -9 or -11dBFS - have a look at where this is on DspCtrl's (ie the DS2416's) meters. Often people want to see the meters all but hitting the end-stops, like on an analogue desk, but it isn't really appropriate or necessary on a digital mixer, and can lead to horrible 'digital distortion'. I've added a couple of paragraphs about signal levels and the meters to the help for the upcoming v2.23 which go into this in more detail. Cheers, Artie Fufkin.

From: Ian
Subject: Bus/Aux
Posted on: Sunday, July 06, 2003, 07:17 AM

Bob, Thanks for sending your def.dsc file. Your problem seems to be that this file pre-dates the change to the Bus/Aux window's size when the faders and meters were added (v2.14). I've fixed this in the file and am sending it back to you. While looking at this, I did also discover that the stand-alone window sizing wasn't quite right in 'XP with themes' and have fixed this for v2.23. Cheers, Ian.

From: Matt
Subject: next release
Posted on: Tuesday, July 08, 2003, 09:26 AM

Hey Ian, hows the eq panels coming on? can't wait to try em out.

From: Ian
Subject: Next release
Posted on: Wednesday, July 09, 2003, 07:03 AM

Matt, It's getting there. But I'm a bit tied up with other things at present so it's not getting there quite as quickly as I would like. Cheers, Ian.

From: Jan
Subject: Range of Faders
Posted on: Monday, July 14, 2003, 04:09 PM

Hi Ian - when stereo faders are separated (ctrl+shift) and then moved using the keyboard they can over-range with one of them disappearing - not major problem but thought you should know. Regards, Jan.

From: Ian
Subject: Range of faders
Posted on: Tuesday, July 15, 2003, 07:00 AM

Jan, Ooops! You're absolutely right. I hadn't noticed that. I'll fix it right away (for v2.23). Thanks for pointing it out. Cheers, Ian.

From: Pete
Subject: Presets
Posted on: Tuesday, July 15, 2003, 10:53 PM

Ian,Finding the EQ presets very useful.ThanksLooking forward to the DynamicsPete

From: Ian
Subject: Presets
Posted on: Wednesday, July 16, 2003, 07:21 AM

Pete, Thanks and glad you're finding them useful. Yes, hoping to get some dynamics stuff from the 02r uploaded this week. And 2.23 will have an effects presets facility. Cheers, Ian.

From: Rob
Subject: AX44
Posted on: Wednesday, July 16, 2003, 08:20 PM

This is probably the wrong place to ask this but does anyone know where I can purchase an AX44?

From: Ian
Subject: AX44
Posted on: Thursday, July 17, 2003, 05:46 AM

Rob, Yes this probably isn't the best place to ask as it's always going to be a low-traffic board. You could try posting on the DSPF users' group (there's a link on the DspCtrl page of this site). There's often AX44s going on Ebay. If you're in the UK the Sound-on-Sound Readers' Ads is another possibility (http://www.sospubs.co.uk). But in both cases the AX44s tend to come with DS2416s attached! Need a second/backup card? There are often real bargains to be had. Cheers, Ian.

From: Carlo
Subject: Suggestions
Posted on: Sunday, July 20, 2003, 01:25 PM

Hi Ian,I can see that DspCtrl is going to turn into a 'monster' simply judging by your dedication and your willingness to rub shoulders with your clients. It is a breath of fresh air compared to the arrogance of C-Mexx and there total disregard for their customers. I know you are not going to like what I'm going to suggest but I think I speak for a lot of engineers out there. What made C-Console such hit? Simply the fact that when you opened it up, you could see your whole control surface in front of you. Not only is it very comforting and puts you within reach and control of any function through a simple 'Shift Click'. Make no mistake, if I adjust Eq, I don't do it from the Main Mixer page, I go 'Shift Eq'. Bottom line is, you have this workable, functional un-cluttered overall view of your mixer and w

From: Ian
Subject: Suggestions
Posted on: Sunday, July 20, 2003, 03:05 PM

Carlo, Sorry, this bloody irritating character limit thing (not my doing) has cut you off in your prime! Do get back with the rest of your point. In the meantime, did you catch the recent discussion about 'being able to see the whole mixer or not' on the DSPF newsgroup? I started the thread with this: http://www.ampfea.org/pipermail/dspfact-list/2003-June/007581.html. It sort of sets out how I'm thinking about this issue at present. Cheers, Ian.

From: Paul S
Subject: Suggestions
Posted on: Wednesday, July 23, 2003, 03:41 PM

A full view mixer with hundreds of tiny controls you can't accurately adjust isn't that useful, and then having to type in something to get to the detail screen just seems like extra work. I don't know how hard this would be to implement, but maybe an image map view of the whole mixer (a popup triggered by hitting the HOME key or whatever) would be handy. No actual controls on it, but clicking on the image would take you there on the mixer as the popup closes. For example, you click on the EQ area of channel 7, and the whole mixer changes to EQ view, centered around channel 7. That might save some time.

From: Ian
Subject: Suggestions
Posted on: Thursday, July 24, 2003, 07:11 AM

Paul, If you're suggesting an overall view of the DspCtrl window ie showing regions currently hidden by scrolling, then I take your point. But if you're suggesting a view of all 24 or 48 channels, in strict channel order, then I'm going to take some persuading. For example, if nothing is connected to certain channels of your mixer (a usual state of affairs), I think you're better off with these channels completely out of the equation, because they're doing precisely nothing. The argument that people are used to having all those unused channels there (because of course you can't get rid of them on a hardware mixer) and that therefore it's best to keep it this way on a software mixer seems terribly backward looking to me. And you can add and remove channels using DspCtrl's Channel/Input Select window easily enough. Cheers, Ian.

From: Matt Watkins
Subject: Great
Posted on: Sunday, July 27, 2003, 06:31 PM

Hi Ian spoke a couple of times before, just a positive message, everything is luuurrvely - green meters are nice! keep up the good work cheers, Matt Watkins

From: Ian
Subject: Great
Posted on: Monday, July 28, 2003, 05:35 AM

MattW, Many thanks, and glad it's going well. Cheers, Ian.

From: Noel
Subject: What a guy!
Posted on: Monday, July 28, 2003, 04:52 PM

My god i have just bought it and already there is an update!!Superb piece of software Ian.. Keep up the good work..P.S i now have a good understanding of the inputs/outputs of the card so many thanks!Will there ever be a way of typing in fx parameters via the keyboard.. ie delay times as opposed to using the knobs.. just an idea as i port many fx parameters over from my 01v desk (Ignore this if it is already there, just have'nt had a chance to try it yet! :-)).. Kind regards Noel

From: Ian
Subject: What a guy!
Posted on: Tuesday, July 29, 2003, 07:08 AM

Noel, Thanks for the kind words and glad that you're liking DspCtrl. Making the i/o patching clearer was one of the design goals. You're absolutely right that you can't enter FX parameters with the keyboard. This would in fact be rather difficult to implement because, for many paramters, the card only allows certain values (eg look at the delay control on FX type 1). Note however that you can use the keyboard arrow keys to make fine adjustments. Cheers, Ian.

From: Noel
Subject: Thanks
Posted on: Tuesday, July 29, 2003, 10:34 AM

Thanks for clarification Ian.. Not a restricting issue anyway(I'm just a lazy sod :-p)..Look forward to 2.3Take care,Noel

From: WhyBe
Subject: Full Mixer View
Posted on: Wednesday, July 30, 2003, 08:28 PM

The main window can get a bit huge with 48 channels. It would be nice to have a 1280x1024 overview of all 48 channels simultaneously. Even the ones that aren't being used. Trim, Fader, EQ graph, Dynamics meter+mode, Bus assignments+8 tiny bus faders), Aux assignments+6 tiny aux faders. Also a 1280x1024 single channel "every parameter" view.

From: Ian
Subject: Full Mixer View
Posted on: Thursday, July 31, 2003, 06:38 AM

WhyBe, It seems to me that this is the sort of thing that C-Mexx set out to do with C-Console. It didn't work for me, but some people obviously like it. DspCtrl takes a completely different approach and I would like to think that it solves the ergonomics problems in a different way. I know that with 2 cards the main window can get large, but, at 1280x1024, you can see eg 12 mono and 6 stereo channels (ie one card's worth) at the same time. 2 cards would take a single scroll. But the point is that because you can get rid of unused channels, and group channels however you like (eg all playback, from whichever card, together), the need to scroll too much should be reduced/eliminated. Together with the ctrl+click 'switch all channels' (eg to EQ view) feature, I personally think that the ground is covered fairly well. Cheers, Ian.

From: Bob Radcliffe
Subject: Serial In
Posted on: Tuesday, August 12, 2003, 09:30 PM

SI 1-8 from the SW1000XG are routed to CH 9-16 and 17-24, wheras SI 1-8 (Bus 1-8) from Card 1 are routed to Bus 1-8 of Card 2. Is it possible to make these routings switchable? That is, I would prefer to route the SW1000XG 8 channels directly to the Card 1 bus, since it pretty much has all the functionality (if not convenience) of channel strips on-board. This would free up 8 input channels. On the other hand, I would prefer to use Card 1 for sub-mixes, routing them to input channels 9-16 on card 2. I actually do that now with a fiber optic patch from one AX16 to the other, but this wastes the fiber optic ports. The DS2416 Block Diagram seems to show this as a possibility. DspCtrl2 shows active SI inputs on Card 2, but there's no signal on them.

From: Ian
Subject: Serial In
Posted on: Wednesday, August 13, 2003, 06:58 AM

Bob, This is an interesting one. I think that something along the lines you describe was Yamaha's original intention (see p.12 of the DS2416 users manual). But unfortunately, and for some unknown reason, it was never implemented. A DS2416 detects whether an SW1000 or another DS2416 is connected to its serial input port and routes the signal accordingly. This is done at driver or hardware level and is therefore beyond 3rd party control. I have wondered whether it might be possible to break into the SO->SI link to see if the signal which is effecting this switching is obvious. If so, it might be possible to bring about the extra flexibility you (and I) would like. It's just a question of finding the time to do it. Cheers, Ian.

From: Paul S
Subject: Ctrl+Click
Posted on: Saturday, August 23, 2003, 09:28 PM

Ian, now that I have begun to use this feature to switch the entire board view, I really like it but I have a question. When you change the whole board to , say, EQ view, all the EQ indicators start blinking, and I find it very distracting. Do the blinking indicators indicate some functionality and is it necessary for them to blink?

From: Ian
Subject: Ctrl+click
Posted on: Sunday, August 24, 2003, 07:03 AM

Paul, The idea is that you have your 'normal' set of control selections, eg some channels set to display the faders, others the dynamics etc. These selections are made just by clicking on the relevant buttons (ie not ctrl+click). When you change everything using ctrl+click, this change is seen as temporary, and this is why the buttons flash. Ctrl+clicking on any of the flashing buttons reverts DspCtrl to your 'normal' settings (and the flashing stops). Personally, I find this the best way of doing things because I only want to change everything at once temporarily (eg to check overall routing) and I don't want to lose my 'normal' settings when I do this. Anyone else got any thoughts? Cheers, Ian.

From: Paul S
Subject: Ctr+Click
Posted on: Tuesday, August 26, 2003, 07:33 PM

Now that I know how to set it back in normal mode, I'll just reset it when the blinking starts to bother me. I must have missed that topic in the help file. Thanks.

From: Alan Poole
Subject: Congrats,
Posted on: Sunday, August 31, 2003, 08:23 AM

I've owned C-Mexx forever and already I like your approach better, furthermore C-console drops the FX settings and has to be reset every loaded mix page (CNS ?) It's been a tremendous nuisance.It would be a nice improvement if FX Knobs for 5&6 could show up somewhere on the Fader ViewThanksAlan

From: Ian
Subject: Congrats
Posted on: Monday, September 01, 2003, 07:44 AM

Alan, Many thanks and glad you like DspCtrl. It would be difficult to add Auxes 5&6 to the fader view simply because of lack of space. However, as soon as I've got the time, I will be adding a main channel 'fader' option to the user-configurable panel. The fader will have to be a rotary control, again because of space constraints. This will allow you to set up a user-config panel with Auxes 5&6 and the fader control (+ 2 other panels of your choice) visible at the same time. I fear that this is the nearest I'm going to be able to get to your request. Cheers, Ian.

From: Foz
Subject: FX Delay times
Posted on: Monday, September 01, 2003, 10:57 AM

Hi Ian,Just a reminder about the delay times on the FX section (not the overall delay on each channel). I would prefer to be able to get all the adjustment provided by the DSPF rather than the 128 discrete steps as it is now.It should be possible with a range "knob" or a choice of scales eg linear or log would mean that there is proportionally finer control at shorter delay times and less at longer delay times. If you are thinking about FX presets then this would affect them I guess.regardsFoz

From: Ian
Subject: FX Delay times
Posted on: Tuesday, September 02, 2003, 07:16 AM

Hi Foz, Yes, some of the parameters in some of the effects types potentially have finer adjustment than is currently available in DspCtrl. DspCtrl's rotary controls can only resolve a maximum of 128 values, as you point out. It has been my intention to remedy this (asap) by using 'spin' controls for these parameters. But I rather like your suggestion of a (pseudo-) logarithmic scale. I hadn't thought of that. In many ways it would be a much better solution. Thanks for the idea. I'll look into it as soon as I've got a moment. (I'm a bit busy at present and so DspCtrl things are moving rather slowly - should improve soon.) Cheers, Ian.

From: dead.end
Subject: Midi remote
Posted on: Tuesday, September 02, 2003, 02:16 PM

hi Ian,i'm not (yet! :) a DspCtrl user but your soft look really great (i've tryed the demo) and cheap. i didn't buy it yet, because i think that it miss midi control option, for controlling parameters via an external midi remote or via a sequencer soft.did i miss this feature? if not, do you plan to integrate it?

From: Ian
Subject: Midi remote
Posted on: Wednesday, September 03, 2003, 05:51 AM

dead.end, Glad you like DspCtrl. External MIDI control of DspCtrl is at present limited to syncing to MIDI clock or timecode information generated by a sequencer. DspCtrl records/saves/plays-back its own control movements providing full mixer automation. The facility to edit these automation data graphically (like in a sequencer) will be added later this year. At present there is no facility to run DspCtrl from an external MIDI control surface. However a lot of people have asked me about this and so I am going to look into it. I will add some such facility as long as it proves reasonably straightforward to do. But I'm afraid that I can't say exactly when this will happen. Hope that helps. Cheers, Ian

From: Janusz
Subject: c-console
Posted on: Friday, September 05, 2003, 11:41 AM

Das c-console orks under Windows xp?

From: Ian
Subject: C-Console
Posted on: Saturday, September 06, 2003, 07:33 AM

Janusz, I think so, but I'm not 100% sure. You'd be better off asking this on one of the DSPF groups, for example http://www.wiik.cc/dspfactory/. Cheers, Ian.

From: Paul S
Subject: New features
Posted on: Thursday, September 25, 2003, 07:35 PM

A couple things my friend Chet & I have been talking about:1. Programs like Wavelab and Sound Forge allow you have your meters in peak hold mode, but clear the last peak by clicking on the meters. This way, if you lower the level, you could see the new peak value without changing the meter display. Any chance that could be implemented?2. When in EQ view, for example, you can't see the meters, so you can't tell what effect EQ changes are having on level without switching views. Any chance you could add a tiny meter (or in the case of a stereo channel, two really skinny meters) that would remain on screen whenever you're not in Fader view? I realize that given the limited real estate, this could be difficult, but it would save time when setting EQ and dynamics. Maybe they could go in that graph area at

From: Paul S
Subject: Continue
Posted on: Friday, September 26, 2003, 02:03 PM

the top, or perhaps a couple of horizontal meters like you have for the dynamics, and they could be located at the top were that oscilloscope-like display is and have that switchable. Thanks Ian.

From: Ian
Subject: New features
Posted on: Saturday, September 27, 2003, 09:05 AM

Paul, I like the idea of being able to click the meters to reset a held peak level. That should be pretty straightforward to implement. If it doesn't appear in the next release, do remind me! Regarding the always-visible meters, that was partly the idea of the chart recorder type meters at the top of the channel strips. Because their display scrolls right->left, you can see peaks in the signal quite easily and they can display up to 4 different traces. I wouldn't rule out having the option of normal meters in that position, but personally I like the chart recorders. Do they not 'do it' for you? Cheers, Ian.

From: Paul S
Subject: Meters
Posted on: Monday, September 29, 2003, 03:17 PM

The chart recorder type meters are pretty cool for some things, but especially when you're EQing or compressing a stereo channel, it's harder to discern if the channels are really tracking together the way you want them to, that's where the dual horizontal meters (with a peak overload section, of course) would be much easier to see. Maybe I just need to work with the display more to get used to it, I'm used to looking at old-school meters for tracking music, and oscilloscopes for testing gear.

From: Ian
Subject: Meters
Posted on: Tuesday, September 30, 2003, 06:36 AM

Paul, OK that's interesting. I don't know of course if your difficulty is just familiarity with another type of meter, but I suppose it wouldn't be surprising. It's always seemed to me that traditional VU or more modern bar-graph meters are inherently poor at displaying transients due to their one-dimensional (strictly, one 'degree of freedom') nature. A scrolling display such as you might see on a storage 'scope or a chart-recorder has always been preferred in engineering (etc) for this reason. It was clearly never practical in audio hardware mixers, but it now is in software. I wouldn't be surprised to see it start to pop up in other audio apps. A number of other DspCtrl features have! Anyway, I'll keep your suggestion under review. Cheers, Ian.

From: Bob Radcliffe
Subject: SW1000 Cable In
Posted on: Tuesday, October 14, 2003, 12:39 AM

Hello All,I was having trouble with the signals on the SW1000 serial in cable clipping!! I mean, how could the digital out from the SW1000 be larger that 0dBFS?So I routed the SW1000 S/PDIF out to the DS2416 S/PDIF in and compared. I needed to attenuate the flat cable input with the fader by 9.67 dB before they matched. This is true whether using the Stereo out defaults or sending to the other "subs", and whether the signal is audio or synth generated.Is there a workaround for this?TIA,Bob R.

From: Ian
Subject: SW1000 Cable In
Posted on: Tuesday, October 14, 2003, 05:56 AM

Bob, That's an interesting one. I've often noticed that I've needed to back the SW1k inputs off a little to prevent overload but never really thought about it. I suppose that, using the internal link, the signal may be coming across in some 32-bit (or larger) internal format, and so could potentially have a very large dynamic range. I would have thought that setting the trim on the relevant DS2416 channels to -6dB should sort it. (In DspCtrl the trim controls are on the User-configurable panel.) The other way would be just to reduce the SW1k output using the MIDI faders. Either approach should do - it's not critical. In my experience the signal level coming from the SW1k is rather variable, depending on the sounds selected. Cheers, Ian.

From: Gordon
Subject: Loss of settings?
Posted on: Monday, November 10, 2003, 11:22 AM

Has anyone else experienced a loss of some settings from saved DspCtrl files when reinstalling the exe or updating to a new version? This has happened to me the last three times I have updated or reinstalled DspCtrl, but it only seems to affect the first file that I open. The symptoms are all channel strips switched off, and all aux, dynamics etc switched off, but fader and knob positions are where I left them. This may be a quirk of my computer (I think Ian hopes it is), but I thought it worth asking, in case anyone else had the problem but ignored it.

From: Ian
Subject: Loss of settings?
Posted on: Tuesday, November 11, 2003, 05:47 AM

Gordon, As I said to you the other day, I haven't had any other reports of this and find it very puzzling. Are you absolutely sure that this hasn't been the same file you've opened each time and that it hasn't just had these settings saved in it (without your realising it)? The reason I ask is that a fault as well-behaved as you are describing must be systematic (ie in the code) and therefore, you would have thought, reproducible. But I can't reproduce it. Anyone else? Cheers, Ian.

From: Noel
Subject: Upgrade
Posted on: Tuesday, November 11, 2003, 08:52 AM

The upgrade went fine for me.. no problems at all..still using my .def file from the previous version..I have been opening numerous saved dsp files since i upgraded with no problems..Hope this helpsIAN: sorry for not getting a look a t the 01v effects presets yet.. real busy at the mo.. will do so a.s.a.p

From: WhyBe
Subject: Vari Pitch control?
Posted on: Monday, December 29, 2003, 03:03 AM

Where, or is, there an adjustment for the pitch when in Vari Pitch mode?

From: Ian
Subject: Vari-pitch
Posted on: Tuesday, December 30, 2003, 10:05 PM

WhyBe, The sad truth is that there isn't one! Not many people have asked for it and I don't use it myself so I've never got round to adding it. But it's on my list now. Cheers, Ian.

From: WhyBe
Subject: Vari-Pitch
Posted on: Wednesday, December 31, 2003, 07:29 PM

Thanks Ian. I use it all the time (in LUI). It allows me to listen to my entire sequence at differnet speeds. Also, when I layer vocals, I can lay each track with the vari-pitch set at different pitches to create a formant shift in the voices.

From: lbj
Subject: gratitude
Posted on: Sunday, February 08, 2004, 02:43 AM

Ian, this is a truly wonderful interface for the dsp.look forward to further developments, keep up the good work.

From: Ian
Subject: Gratitude
Posted on: Sunday, February 08, 2004, 02:02 PM

LBJ, Glad you like DspCtrl and many thanks for saying so. Re 'developments', an unscheduled 2.41 release due in the next couple of days with a really useful new feature.... Cheers, Ian.

From: TonyB
Subject: Keeping In Touch..
Posted on: Monday, February 09, 2004, 10:56 PM

Ian.Just got the latest update.Lovely job, as usual.RE: the note about the next version - midi automation - I know you know that I want this - in Cubase SX2 it will make automating the DSPF so easy.So in case it sways you in any way, before you make your decision in March, here's my vote for the option of Midi automation.And if I can help in any way, just let me know.TonyB.

From: Ian
Subject: Keeping In Touch
Posted on: Tuesday, February 10, 2004, 09:48 AM

Hey Tony, good to hear from you again. Thanks for the kind words - glad you like it. I'd never written any sort of editor before and was really keen to see what was involved. I think that most people who want MIDI control want it so they can plug their control surface in and tweak real faders etc. But some, like you, want it for automation. I have to say that (using Sonar3) the automation side of things in DspCtrl is all working just fine for me as it is. Anyway, whatever people want MIDI control for, the problem is that DspCtrl is rather complicated to control - all the switching mono/stereo on the input channels and bus/aux sends is a nightmare to tweak externally. So I need to have a good look. Some help would be much appreciated. I'll be in touch. Cheers, Ian.

From: TonyB
Subject: Midi remote control
Posted on: Tuesday, February 10, 2004, 03:56 PM

Understood.For my own purposes (automation from within SX - due to it's inability to chase around the loop) - a simple "Midi Learn" facility (as used in many softsynths) would certainly suffice.You know - right click a control, select "Midi Learn" and then send a midi ctrllr message from SX (or wherever)that DSPCtrl would then assign to the selected control.Midi "forget" can be handy too !Obviously, saved within the dsc file - so templates can be set up....or maybe a separate file so people can share their knob assignments..Just thinking out loud really - but do give me a shout if you need anything.TonyB.

From: Ian
Subject: Midi remote
Posted on: Wednesday, February 11, 2004, 03:59 AM

Tony, I'll have a think about "Midi learn", but I've got this nasty feeling that it won't be straightforward in the way it can be with eg a softsynth (for the reasons I outlined before and the fact that you're dealing with up to 48 channels & oodles of controls per channel etc). I think you know my feelings about SX's "little problem" with MTC and loops. What a joke! - except that the joke's on the users. Cheers, Ian.

From: Tez
Subject: Midi Remote
Posted on: Thursday, February 12, 2004, 02:12 AM

Thank you for concidering midi implemetation Ian :DWould sysex be practical because it has far more variations than cc?Why dont you have a talk with this guy...http://www.ucapps.deHe knows a hell of a lot about midi and control surfaces.

From: Tez
Subject: Midi Remote
Posted on: Thursday, February 12, 2004, 02:33 AM

Comr to think of it he was looking for someone who could program in Java because he'd like to make an interface to configure the hardware controllers he designs. If you know how to program in Java perhaps he could help you with the midi.

From: Ian
Subject: Midi Remote
Posted on: Friday, February 13, 2004, 07:41 AM

Hi Tez, Thanks for the suggestion. I've had a quick look at the link you gave and will get in touch with the guy in due course. I don't 'do' Java I'm afraid - I stick to C++ because of performance issues. Cheers, Ian.

From: Tez
Posted on: Friday, February 13, 2004, 02:54 PM

No worries :)Ive just bought Vbasic.net because I want to learn how to program. A project Id like to do one day is to a front end for my s6000. Aksys (the PC editor) can upload OS control and the sampler, is compatible with fat32, has 2 way comumnication via usb and is jam packed with DSP chips. A modular interface like Reactor would be cool.Any help to researce this would be really helpfull.Thanks.

From: Ceejay
Subject: MIDI remote
Posted on: Tuesday, February 17, 2004, 01:17 PM

Ian, as another who has been following the development of DspCtrl, I would like to add my request to the call for DspCtrl 3 with MIDI remote. In the meantime, I have just downloaded the update to 2.4 and am looking forward to the graphical automation editing.

From: Peter Downs
Subject: Notepad
Posted on: Friday, February 20, 2004, 01:09 AM

Ian,Would it be possible to include on the menu a dialogue box(in Cubase 32 its called Notepad) as a means of making notes of certain procedures,reminders,facts about the recording,mixing etc,etc ?Once again,thanks for all your hard work.Best 22 quid I've spent ever.Pete.

From: Ian
Subject: Midi remote & notepad
Posted on: Friday, February 20, 2004, 06:55 AM

Ceejay & Peter, Points noted. Cheers, Ian.

From: Peter Downs
Subject: File Menu
Posted on: Sunday, February 22, 2004, 12:14 PM

Ian,Nothing serious:Its just that I have six identical set-ups.How can I get rid of five of them.(meant to post this with the previous message)Peter

From: Ian
Subject: File menu
Posted on: Monday, February 23, 2004, 05:08 AM

Peter, I take it that you're referring to the 'recently used file' list. At present, the way this works is that if you open a .dsc file (other than your def.dsc) the full path to the file is added to the top of this list. I think that the maximum no. of files in the list is 5 or 6. Once you've opened more files than this, the least recent start to 'drop' off the bottom of the list. I think that some programs are a bit cleverer than this in that they avoid consecutive duplicates in the list. This is easy to implement and I'll put it on my 'todo' list. In the meantime, there is no easy way to change the contents of the list (other than opening other files of course!). It would require editing the registry. Cheers, Ian.

From: Peter Downs
Subject: Two Digital Inputs ?
Posted on: Wednesday, February 25, 2004, 04:29 PM

Ian,Is it possible to have two digital inputs going at the same time.At the moment I have my Proteus spdif in,and my next purchase is a Mic Input strip(focusrite or something similar)with a digital out to plug into the other spdif input.RegardsPete.

From: Ian
Subject: Two Digital Inputs?
Posted on: Wednesday, February 25, 2004, 08:11 PM

Pete, The problem is that everything has to clock from one source. So, for example, if your second device has an s/p diff input from which it can read a clock signal, it may be possible to use it in the way you want. You could connect an s/p diff output from a DS2416 to this input. However, a simpler alternative may be to connect up your Proteus via an analogue link. Depending on the A/D converters you're using into the DSPF, I doubt you would notice any signal depreciation. There are things called 'sample rate converters' around which allow multiple digital inputs without needing to clock everything together. But these are effectively converting to analogue and back to digital again anyway, so you may as well just use the Proteus's analogue outs. Cheers, Ian.

From: lbj
Subject: audio distort
Posted on: Thursday, February 26, 2004, 10:22 PM

hi Ian i wonder if you can help? i can access dsp through ax44 with your brilliant software.problem is when i record in cubase sx using sw1oooxg inputs+outputs playback is distorted only on playback, otherwise signal and all settings before record are ok.

From: Ian
Subject: Audio Distort
Posted on: Friday, February 27, 2004, 08:52 AM

Hi lbj, I don't quite understand. Why would you want to record/playback via the SW1000? You're much better off with the converters in the AX44 for record and playback. This said, DspCtrl has no effect on the SW1000. If you access the Wave in/out on the SW1000 from within Cubase you aren't 'going through' DspCtrl in any way. Has this distortion problem only started since installing a DS2416? If so, it may be a driver issue and you could sensibly try a full uninstall followed by re-install (drivers and instructions are on this site). HTH. Cheers, Ian.

From: lbj
Subject: routing
Posted on: Monday, March 15, 2004, 09:55 PM

hi ian,can you help me out once again?when i record in cubase sx no problem until i record a second track, first track gets recorded again did not have this problem when using swg100.

From: Ian
Subject: routing
Posted on: Tuesday, March 16, 2004, 11:03 AM

lbj, Your problem is probably centered around the settings in the Output Patch-Bay. You need to understand that if you leave the Record settings in this window at their defaults, the whole of the stereo mix is sent down each pair of record channels (to Cubase in your case). In order to record from selected mixer channels, you need to change one or more of these settings (from Str L/R to for example Bus or Aux 1/2) and then switch on and turn up the relevant Bus/Aux controls on the mixer channels you're recording from. If this isn't entirely clear, have a good look at the routing diagrams in the help. Cheers, Ian.

From: LBJ
Subject: routing
Posted on: Wednesday, March 17, 2004, 09:07 AM

Hi Ian, thanks for your reply, I think i,ve sorted my problem.After reading your responce and checking routing diagram i realised post fade is routed to stereo bus when i chaged this setting to pre fade dont have any problem.doe,s this make sence? ps.Hope you enjoy ST.Patrick,s Day

From: Drew Agnew
Subject: SQ01
Posted on: Tuesday, March 30, 2004, 10:02 AM

sorry its not about the outstanding dspctrl but SQ01:for some reason in audio set up i cant get the dialog box to disapear:in other words audio is contantly disabled! i have the asio drivers which i downloaded from your site and im choosing them in the asio section but when i click ok ! nothing happens ! not even when trying to use mme etc.i dont seem to have an audio mixer in the programme to choose from and im sure this is part of the problem: can you please help or suggest someone who can! Dusty at yamaha technical is also stumped by this problem:my xgworks v3.0 is working perfect.thank you in advance: drew

From: Ian
Subject: SQ01
Posted on: Wednesday, March 31, 2004, 07:42 AM

Hi Drew, I'm sorry but I'm not really familiar with the SQ01 product. The only version I've used was a 'lite' version that came bundled with the OPT SDK. It seemed to be a very basic sequencer with a poor user interface. What does it do that XGWorks doesn't? Anyway, the only thing I can think of is that the dialog box isn't closing because the app can't communicate with the drivers. One thing to try would be to uninstall the DSPF completely and then re-install the drivers from scratch according to the instructions in my download. I know that things are working with XGWorks, but it may still be worth a try. If this doesn't work then I think that Yamaha are the only people who could help. Cheers, Ian.

From: Tez
Subject: DSPCTRL 3
Posted on: Thursday, April 01, 2004, 12:00 PM

Hi Ian :)You said you would look into adding midi into dspctrl 3. If it helps you I could make a blank instrument implemention for Sonar. Let me know how (or if) you want it and I'll do it.

From: Ian
Subject: DspCtrl3
Posted on: Sunday, April 04, 2004, 08:30 AM

Hi Tez, Thanks for the offer, but I'm not quite with you. Are you talking about an instrument definition? If so, I don't really understand how that would help. Could you explain what you've got in mind. Thanks. Cheers, Ian.

From: Tez
Subject: DSPCTRL 3
Posted on: Monday, April 05, 2004, 11:06 AM

Hi IanIf there is an instrument definition for dspctrl3 then Sonar would be able to use banks for each channel strip. Each channel strip would be able to have all the functions named for automation. If NRPN was used then each strip could have up to 16384 paramiters for automation. Far more than even dspctrl would ever need. In addition to that each strip would have up to 128 presets to choose from containing every paramiter. Sonar would also be able to use the paramiter names for automation. It could also even change settings mid song using program automation. All the tools are there in Sonar for this. The only thing is it would be very time consuming to make. Im willing to do this though because I know it would be benifitial to other Sonar users and products like yours deserve to do well. :)

From: Ian
Subject: DspCtrl3
Posted on: Friday, April 09, 2004, 09:22 AM

Tez, Many thanks for this clarification and sorry for the delay in replying (lots of other stuff going on). I think I see what you mean but presumably you wouldn't have any controls as such in Sonar? You'd just have to draw it in (piano roll) or enter the data in the event list? (Or do you envisage DspCtrl sending MIDI to Sonar whenever its controls are operated?) What I'm still not getting is what benefit all of this would be over the automation facilities already present in DspCtrl2. As it stands, DspCtrl will (entirely reliably) sync to Sonar and all control movements can be recorded, edited and played-back using the inbuilt automation facilities. My main reason for considering MIDI control is to support control surfaces. Am I still missing something here? Cheers, Ian.

From: Tez
Subject: DSPCTRL 3
Posted on: Sunday, April 11, 2004, 01:35 PM

Dont worry about it :)You implement DSPCTL3 however you see fit. I'll still be able to make an instrument definition for it. I'll send it to you for your approval and you can put it in your download section if you find it useful.I'll comeback later and answer all your questions on why it might be useful.

From: Tez
Subject: DSPCTRL 3
Posted on: Friday, April 16, 2004, 12:45 PM

Sorry I couldnt ansewr fully before. Ive been on holiday :)You would have controls in Sonar. Here is an example...If you go to Options>Instruments you'll have a list of all the midi channels and a list of all the instrument definations. Highlight a midi channel and then double click on one of the Instruments. Pick a midi channel and change the "o" to the midi channel you picked.Change the "ch" to the instrument you picked.Make sure the track is in focus and right click.Select Envelope>Create Track Envelope>Midi.In the value drop down list you'll have all the parimiters set up in the instrument defination. Pick one.The track will now show the automation line you picked. You'll be able to edit it like any other automation.If you want to actully draw them in

From: Tez
Subject: DSPCTRL 3
Posted on: Friday, April 16, 2004, 12:47 PM

then open the piano roll view, select the contoller from the pane and draw.Close the Piano View.Highlight the automaton block you have just drawn.Select Edit>Convert Midi to Shapes.If you have the Producer version its even better...In th inspector view there are 4 fully assignable paramiters. They can be remote controlled and grouped with any other assignable control including other tracks and plug ins.An instrument defination is a software control surface. So anything you implement in the development of adding a hardware control surface to DSPCTL3 can be put into a an instrument defination (as long as the comunication is midi derived like cc or NRPN)So you wont have to do any additional work. If you provide the way its implemented I can make the instrument defination for y

From: Martin
Subject: Effects automation ??
Posted on: Saturday, April 17, 2004, 02:31 PM

After using dspctrl for a few days I think it's a brilliant piece of software and Ian has done a fantastic job... Just one question is there automation for the effects ? and if so how is it done ? it's probably glaringly obvious but I just can't work it out -- thanks Martin.

From: Ian
Subject: DspCtrl3
Posted on: Tuesday, April 20, 2004, 04:14 PM

Tez, Sorry once again for the delay in replying and thanks very much for the additional info. I think I'm with you now. I wasn't aware of this facility in Sonar and am interested to look into it. I'm particularly intrigued by what you say about the extra facilities in the Producer edition. At present I only have the Studio version. I'll maybe try and have a look at a PE demo at some point. I haven't really started implementing the remote facilities for DspCtrl3 yet but will soon. If you can let me have an email for you (send it to xpi@btinternet.com) I'll get in touch when I start working on it so that you can have some input on the control schemes I use. Cheers, Ian.

From: Ian
Subject: Effects automation
Posted on: Tuesday, April 20, 2004, 04:20 PM

Hi Martin, Thanks for the kind words and glad you like DspCtrl. No, the automation for the effects controls is not glaringly obvious - there isn't any. I hadn't thought that it was necessary. In fact, adding it could be quite complicated because of the way the effects controls change from one effect type to another. Cheers, Ian.

From: Martin
Subject: Fx control
Posted on: Tuesday, April 20, 2004, 11:09 PM

Thanks for the reply Ian no problem about the effects. I'm just a bit of a stickler for knowing all about stuff and didn't like to think that I had missed something, probably a hangover from Christmas as a child :^). Thanks for the hard work on the software and I'm looking forward to the next release. Cheers Martin.

From: Ceejay
Subject: DspCtrl 3
Posted on: Wednesday, April 21, 2004, 12:23 PM

IanThanks for the announcement about DspCtrl 3 and MIDI remote. To celebrate, and in anticpation of another great implementation, I've stretched open the rusty old wallet and finally plonked down my 22 quid for v2.Thanks and keep it up.

From: Ian
Subject: DspCtrl3
Posted on: Wednesday, April 21, 2004, 05:14 PM

Ceejay, Many thanks - the more the merrier! Cheers, Ian.

From: TonyB
Subject: DSPCtrl 3
Posted on: Friday, April 23, 2004, 02:19 AM

This new version will have a MIDI remote facility to allow the use of control surfaces etc and some facilities for controlling the SW1000 card. I'll post up more information soon.Nice one Ian !!!The Midi remote control, you know I have been hoping for.. and the SW1000 control !!!! Nice surprise.. Thanks.Looking forward to the new version.I hope you're charging for the upgrade... you deserve it !!! :)

From: Ian
Subject: DspCtrl3
Posted on: Friday, April 23, 2004, 12:13 PM

Hi Tony, I'm not sure exactly what form the SW1000 control will take yet and, to begin with at least, it won't exactly be comprehensive. What I hope it will be though is well thought-out and therefore useful. Version 3 is unlikely to be a free upgrade. But, like version 2, I hope that it will be seen to be really good value for money. Cheers, Ian.

From: Noel
Subject: Stretch/Shrink to fit
Posted on: Monday, April 26, 2004, 10:08 AM

Hi there IanWould it be possible to implement a feature were all channels strips can be diplayed in one Window/monitor..I currently have 2/3 channels that don't fit on my screen..I realise that if somone has lots of strips it may not be very practical, but it would sure make my life easier..Cheers mate, and keep up the good work. Noel

From: Ian
Subject: Stretch/shrink to fit
Posted on: Tuesday, April 27, 2004, 07:32 AM

Hi Noel, Unfortunately this really isn't possible. DspCtrl's GUI objects, the rotary controls for example, were carefully designed to provide high resolution and clarity, but changing size is not part of their repertoire. Using stereo channels and the 'stand-alone' window feature can save space but some scrolling may be unavoidable (although in general a single scroll action should be sufficient). The only real solution is a bigger monitor (!), or to stretch DspCtrl across two monitors. I do this sometimes when the track count is high. Sorry not to be able to help further. Cheers, Ian.

From: BSO
Subject: all outputs avaliable?
Posted on: Saturday, May 22, 2004, 09:03 PM

Hello Ian,I have a dual card set-up and I'm using Sonar 2.2XL. I have a situation where in the drivers for both cards appear to be present in sonar under the audio panel. But in the track views outputs section PCI outputs for channels 17,18 /-19,20 for card #2 are connected the same as pci outputs for channels 1,2 / 3,4 for card #1. In other words...if I assign a track to either pci bus 1 or 2 on card #2 my audio outputs show up on tracks 1,2 / 3,4 on card #1. Does this have to do with the way in which the the cards are summed together ? I am using ASIO drivers.....but the effect is the same whether i use standard WDM drivers as well..... although the labeling for the outputs differ in the track view. This shows up in the DSP Audio X console in sonar as well. I have re-installed the asio drivers but that

From: BSO
Subject: all outputs avaliable?
Posted on: Saturday, May 22, 2004, 09:21 PM

Hello Ian,I have a dual card set-up and I'm using Sonar 2.2XL. I have a situation where in the drivers for both cards appear to be present in sonar under the audio panel. But in the track views outputs section PCI outputs for channels 17,18 /-19,20 for card #2 are connected the same as pci outputs for channels 1,2 / 3,4 for card #1. In other words...if I assign a track to either pci bus 1 or 2 on card #2 my audio outputs show up on tracks 1,2 / 3,4 on card #1. Does this have to do with the way in which the the cards are summed together ? I am using ASIO drivers.....but the effect is the same whether i use standard WDM drivers as well..... although the labeling for the outputs differ in the track view. This shows up in the DSP Audio X console in sonar as well. I have re-installed the asio drivers but that

From: Ian
Subject: All outputs available?
Posted on: Sunday, May 23, 2004, 12:14 PM

Hi BSO, You should be able to send 32 separate outputs from Sonar to your DSPF cards. I am able to do this using Sonar3 and DspCtrl. Are you using AudioX or DspCtrl to control your DSPF cards? If the former, this could be the source of your problem (not sure AudioX was ever able to handle 2 cards). If the latter, the fact that you have not fully uninstalled AudioX could be the problem (conflicts have been reported in the past). I would suggest that you uninstall all traces of AudioX and use DspCtrl (or LUI or something) to control your cards. If problems remain, get back here and we'll look into it further. HTH. Cheers, Ian.

From: BSO
Subject: all outputs
Posted on: Sunday, May 23, 2004, 07:40 PM

Thanks For the quick reply Ian...And please excuse the double post above. I recently re-installed all my audio apps drivers and hardware to a newer computer...everything functions well except that I now notice the pci buss bug...I didn't notice this on my older set-up and had just recently installed the cascaded set-up on the older comp.thouhgt it maybe slipped my mind to check all patches and routings. Thanks for the confirmation...looking forward to your upcoming endevours regarding the ds2416. I will gladly pay for an upgrade. Great WorkBob Hanlon

From: Dave
Subject: Drivers for next ver of Windows?
Posted on: Wednesday, May 26, 2004, 06:46 PM

Just curious about the future of the DSPF w/regard to upcoming versions of Windows. How much longer is Yamaha gonna support this device? And when they quit, who'll be able write drivers?

From: Janusz
Subject: Midi problem
Posted on: Wednesday, May 26, 2004, 10:02 PM

Hi, I had got new computer and now a have a problem with hanging notes when I play on midi keyboard. Does somebody can help me, please?My setup is SW1000xg+Ds2416, AMD2500+, MB Soltek KT600RL, video card ATI Radeon 9200, Os WinXP

From: Ian
Subject: Drivers
Posted on: Thursday, May 27, 2004, 05:39 AM

Dave, The DS2416 was discontinued by Yamaha some time ago. However, up to this point, it has shared drivers with the SW1000 which, as far as I know, is still a current product. I take it you're referring to the new 64-bit versions of Windows. Personally I'd be surprised to see Yamaha develop a new 64-bit SW1000 (and therefore DS2416?) driver, but who knows? And, speaking as someone whose music computer is a 1GHz PIII (which is performing beautifully), I'm not really terribly bothered. I'll probably buy a s/h 3GHz PIV machine one day, when they're under Ģ100! In reply to your last question, only Yamaha can write DS2416 drivers. The information needed to do this is not in the public domain and I don't think it ever will be. Cheers, Ian.

From: Ian
Subject: Janusz
Posted on: Thursday, May 27, 2004, 05:46 AM

Janusz, It's difficult to know what the problem might be - I'm not familiar with your CPU/MoBo. Try posting on the Ampfea group (http://www.ampfea.org/mailman/listinfo/dspfact-list). You may find someone who can help there. Have you 'tweaked' WinXP for music? If not, have a look at http://www.musicxp.net/. Cheers, Ian.

From: Jesse
Subject: Disappearo
Posted on: Sunday, May 30, 2004, 12:48 AM

Using 2.4 on windows 2000, sp3.Occasionally, I will minimize DSPcntrl, Sonar,... and not use the comp for a few days. When I return and maximize DSPcntrl the window is blank. And I cannot display any of the panes because they are already displayed. I have a couple of files that also display nothing. (I figger this is the result of parallel universes intersecting in my 2nd floor music room.)Any thoughts?Jesse

From: Ian
Subject: Disappearo
Posted on: Sunday, May 30, 2004, 07:00 AM

Jesse, Yikes! Don't like the sound of that (the parallel universe I mean). Can you send me one of the .dsc files so that I can have a look at what's happening. Ta. Any other strange parallel universe phenomena going on there? Like bottles of beer that suddenly empty - I get that one all the time. Cheers, Ian.

From: BSO
Subject: Thanks For 2.5 Ian !
Posted on: Sunday, June 06, 2004, 07:18 AM

Great to see the 2.5 update Ian...many thanks. I was also wondering if the control inputs for the compressors are limited to the present offerings.....In other words any way in which any intra-inter card buss assignment could be used as a control input in a future release ? just curious. and speaking of which...i'm not able to get the intra-card function to work.Any further clues as to serial I/O assignments?thanksBSO

From: Ian
Subject: Thanks for 2.5
Posted on: Sunday, June 06, 2004, 04:13 PM

BSO, You're most welcome (for 2.5). Re [control] inputs to the compressors, I'm afraid that everything that is possible on the DS2416 is already available in DspCtrl. However, you could use a sub-mix group ('intra-card routing') as an input simply by routing it out to an aux line. Regarding your intra-card connection problems, have you looked at the relevant section in the DspCtrl help (I/O and routing - modifying inter- and intra-card connections)? If you have and are still having no luck, get back to me here with your specific problems. Cheers, Ian.

From: BSO
Subject: key forwarding
Posted on: Sunday, June 06, 2004, 09:03 PM

Yes i have read the help on inter card connection..but I was not able to get the patching correct for some reason.. I'll give it another try. I'm wondering if the key forwarding set-up for sonar 3 studio will also work for sonar 2.2 Was the coding regarding keyboard commands changed from version to version. If not is there something i can do with-in Dspcntl to change to accomodate sonar 2.2

From: Ian
Subject: Key forwarding
Posted on: Monday, June 07, 2004, 07:00 AM

BSO, I'm fairly certain that the SONAR 3 Studio setting will not work with SONAR 2.2 because DspCtrl will be looking on the system for a SONAR 3 Studio window. It should be easy to adapt the SONAR 3 setting but you will need something like Spy++ or Winspector (see the DspCtrl help on this topic) to find the internal system name of the main SONAR 2.2 window. I suspect that the actual key commands will be the same (or very similar) as SONAR 3 so, once you've given me the window name, I should be able to add a SONAR 2.2 entry to the forward key-stroke menu. Get back if you need further help. Cheers, Ian.

From: BSO
Subject: Key forwarding
Posted on: Saturday, June 12, 2004, 08:23 PM

Hello Ian,I downloaded winspector and gave a shot at finding the main window system name for Sonar 2.2 it is recognized as Sonar 2.0 in the report...hope I found what is neccesary. The system window is 0x0022011E. Hope this is correct. Installing version 2.5 sent my my system into major crash mode...but I haven't isolated if it was a dspcntl2 issue or a coincidence..I went back to version 2.4 and the problems weren't as severe but I'm still quite buggy.... I'll post back if i find anything useful to share with you. I'm still haveing a hard time getting the inter card connections to work. But I have to say that it's possible that I need a basic course in routing I/O connections as i've never had an ax-44 or ax-16.

From: Ian
Subject: Key forwarding
Posted on: Sunday, June 13, 2004, 01:04 PM

Hi BSO, The crucial bit of information is the window name (the hex number 0x.... is just the current 'handle' on the system - this will typically change at each instantiation). So, I'll make a little modification to get DspCtrl to look for a "Sonar 2.0" window. Email me (xpi@btinternet.com) and I'll send you the modified exe by return. Let me know how you get on. I'm concerned to hear that you've been having problems with the upgrade. It seems to have gone smoothly for people in general. Get back with any specific problems. Likewise, re inter-card connections, get back with details about what you want to do and we'll take it from there. Cheers, Ian.

From: TonyB
Subject: Still Watching
Posted on: Tuesday, August 10, 2004, 01:26 AM

Hi Ian.Just to let you know that some of us are checking in here now and again - eagerly awaiting Version 3 !! Hope you're well. TonyB.

From: Ian
Subject: Still watching
Posted on: Wednesday, August 11, 2004, 05:12 AM

Hi Tony, Good to hear from you. How's things? It's been a little quiet here of late but this is not least because the board hasn't been working properly (due to something or other BT have done). Anyway, I'm going to be moving to a completely new site soon partly so that I can take 'good old' BT out of the equation. There continues to be a lot of interest in DspCtrl3 which is good. And it would have been ready for initial release by now were it not for my having been very busy converting our loft! Still hoping to be able to release it this month and may be in touch for a spot of 'beta-testing' if you're interested in the next week or two. Cheers, Ian.

From: TonyB
Subject: Anything
Posted on: Thursday, August 12, 2004, 03:39 AM

Of course Ian - anything needs testing I'll test it.My old email address should still be ok - though BT are being a bit fierce removing useful emails as "spam" lately !! Just downloading the 2.51 maintenance release now - many thanks for keeping it all going, despite your more Lofty persuits ! Look forward to hearing from you with v3 beta... I'm still using both DSPF and SW1000XG regularly, and am especially interested in seeing how you've implemented the midi automation.

From: Robert Radcliffe
Subject: Beta Test
Posted on: Thursday, August 12, 2004, 04:34 AM

I'd like to volunteer to help also,as long as there is a way to return to 2.5.1in case of problems.I'm really looking forrward to the SW1000XGintegration.Bob R.

From: Ian
Subject: Beta test
Posted on: Friday, August 13, 2004, 08:57 AM

Bob, Thanks. I'll be in touch in due course. It will be possible to run both version 2 and 3 on the same machine so no problem with reverting to 2. Cheers, Ian.

From: Nigella
Subject: You know how to charge!
Posted on: Friday, August 13, 2004, 04:03 PM

I am outraged. Your software is too cheap ond too well supported. You give other software developers a bad name. How dare you provide an ethical service, when the industry standard is to make a quick buck then abandon their users before the software even works properly.

From: Ian
Subject: Outrage
Posted on: Friday, August 13, 2004, 05:55 PM

Nigella, I'm sorry. What was I thinking of? I pledge to do better in future. Cheers, Ian.

From: Graham
Subject: An idea
Posted on: Wednesday, August 18, 2004, 10:12 PM

I've just setup a Finalizer 96k sending SPDIF to it via a bus and returning via the 2416 SPDIF inputs. Completely digital using an outboard processor! I could never have done this without DSPCTRL so thanks!! One mod that would be really useful is to have an "expand" button on a channel which popped a window up containing all controls for a single mono or stereo channel. It could be limited to a single channel at a time and would allow tweaking all controls without changing views. Don't know how easy this is, but it would be very useful!! Keep up the good work!

From: Ian
Subject: An Idea
Posted on: Thursday, August 19, 2004, 08:29 AM

Graham, A number of people have asked for something like this. The problem is that it wouldn't be terribly easy to implement (due to the way DspCtrl is structured). For this reason I'm afraid that you're unlikely to see it in the near future. However I wouldn't rule it out at some point. All suggestions go in 'the book' and wait there until their rainy day arrives! Thanks. Cheers, Ian.

From: Vesa
Subject: MIDI Loopback
Posted on: Thursday, August 19, 2004, 02:49 PM

After few days in frustration after noticing the SX lacks DSPF automation support I found DspCtrl. Looks good so just downloaded the demo. Q1: What is the most inexpensive MIDI loopback driver that works reliably on WinXP and Cubase SX1 ?Q2: Is the SX loopback timecode problem still existing?Vesa

From: Ian
Subject: Midi loopback
Posted on: Thursday, August 19, 2004, 06:05 PM

Hi Vesa, By 'loopback driver' I take it you mean a bit of software that provides a MIDI in and out port and 'pipes' MIDI data from the out to the in port. I believe that MIDIYoke works on XP and that it is donation-ware. I use MusicLab's MidiOverLan which I think is really excellent. It is also inexpensive. By 'SX loopback timecode problem' I take it you mean the fact that SX outputs garbage timecode when moving around a loop. As far as I know this is still not fixed. However, note that, when DspCtrl3 is available, you will be able to automate using the MIDI remote facility (rather than syncing to timecode), which will get round the SX bug. Cheers, Ian.

From: Mike (SJI Solutions)
Subject: Testing
Posted on: Sunday, August 22, 2004, 01:42 AM

Hi Ian,If you need any help in testing DspCtrl III, please drop me an e-mail. CheersMike Jorgensen

From: Ian
Subject: Testing
Posted on: Sunday, August 22, 2004, 08:35 PM

Mike, Thanks. Will be in touch in due course. Cheers, Ian.

From: Simon Green
Subject: Testing
Posted on: Thursday, September 02, 2004, 01:05 PM

If you need any additional beta testers I am willing to lend a handRegards,Simon

From: TonyB
Subject: SX3
Posted on: Friday, September 03, 2004, 02:59 AM

Just for your info Ian.. SX3 is being released soon - from the new features pdf it seems there is now a preference to enable MTC to follow loops etc. Also Yamaha's studio manager software is in there.. but with no support shown for the DSPF. Maybe you could "nip in there" and convert DSPCtrl3 to work WITHIH SX2 ??? Just a thought !!!

From: Janitorman
Subject: Latency Problems
Posted on: Friday, September 03, 2004, 10:37 AM

I am running Cubase SX(1), in re-wire with reason (so cubase controls the transport and syncing for reason 2.5). When I am running this through my other cards it all works fine, but when I use the DSP card there is a latency of about 4-5 secs!!!!! The other cards are a yamaha uw500 and a delta 1010. Does anyone know how to adust the latency for the DSP card, as with the other cards dialogue boxes come up in the programs to alow you to change this. I'm in love with the program by the way - cheers.

From: Ian
Subject: Testing
Posted on: Saturday, September 04, 2004, 08:27 AM

Simon, Many thanks for the offer but if I take on any more help with this I probably won't have time to address all of the stuff that gets brought up. Cheers, Ian.

From: Ian
Subject: SX3
Posted on: Saturday, September 04, 2004, 08:36 AM

Tony, I think I may have told you that about a year ago I had a go at writing an OPT plug (using SONAR as the host) and had to give up due to poor implementation of OPT in SONAR. In fact the whole experience put me off writing GUI plugs because the architecture of these plug-in protocols is not conducive to proper object-oriented principles. This seems to be because the protocols are not written with GUI-type applications in mind. The nascent all-singling, all-dancing GMPI protocol is no different. If Cake upgrade the OPT in SONAR to level 3 then, given the Berg's adoption of OPT, I would look at using it in the future. But 'porting' DspCtrl (which is highly object-oriented) to OPT would involve tearing it to pieces, something which I don't have the time or the heart to do. Cheers, Ian.

From: Ian
Subject: Latency problems
Posted on: Saturday, September 04, 2004, 08:41 AM

Hi Janitorman, 4-5 seconds is truly astonishing. It may even be a record! Unfortunately I don't use Cubase or Reason and so am not the best person to help. Are you sure you're using the DSPF's ASIO drivers and that these are configured properly in Cubase? My suggestion would be to post this problem up on the Cubase forum if you haven't already. There's much more chance that someone who can help will see it there. Glad you like DspCtrl. Cheers, Ian.

From: Janitorman
Subject: Errm ...latency problems...
Posted on: Thursday, September 16, 2004, 08:16 PM

Went through your instructions without the aide of a fine cognac and it all seems to work fine!!! As for someone wanting to group faders.... why don't you just use the internal buss from your HD recorder program onto individual faders on the DSP2? I do.When's version 3 coming out?...do you want your money now or when you release it!!!????

From: Ian
Subject: Latency problems
Posted on: Friday, September 17, 2004, 06:08 AM

Hi Janitorman, Glad to hear that you've got things sorted. I don't get the cognac joke. Did I suggest somewhere that strong liquor was the only way to get the drivers to work properly? What a great idea. Re fader grouping, yes of course you can do what you suggest, but I much prefer to give every track a separate DS2416 mixer channel if possible. I use the modification described in the DspCtrl help to create sub-mix groups. DspCtrl3 is a little delayed sorry – see notice on main DspCtrl2 page. But it’s almost there and I think that it’s fair to say that it makes using the SW1000 a different experience (and there’s also the MIDI control i/o). You can give me money any time you like – please feel free. But only part with any for DspCtrl3 if/when you’re sure it’s going to do the business for you. Cheers, Ian.

From: Fredrik Haglund
Subject: DspCtrl3
Posted on: Tuesday, October 05, 2004, 06:36 PM

Ah, great to see that the waiting is almost over! Looking forward to trying out the DspCtrl3 demo :-)

From: Seb
Subject: DSPCtrl2
Posted on: Wednesday, October 06, 2004, 10:54 AM

Want to first introduce myself as having been playing with the DSPCtrl2 demo for a while now after getting hacked off with the cubase consoles. I'm now all paid up and loving every minute... you'll be pleased to know more of our little 'community' of DSP users down here in the S.W. will be doing the same! I've found some bugs in DspCtrl2 which I'll email across separately, but in the meantime I'd like to know if anyone here has gone to the trouble of putting together a keystroke passthrough profile for Cubase VST and particularly SX 2 (Sonar and Wavelab profiles are included), before I embark on it. Cheers and keep up the great work Ian! Seb :)

From: Ian
Subject: DspCtrl3
Posted on: Wednesday, October 06, 2004, 11:32 AM

Fredrik, Any day now! Cheers, Ian.

From: Ian
Subject: DspCtrl2
Posted on: Wednesday, October 06, 2004, 11:38 AM

Hi Seb, Welcome. Whereabouts are you exactly? Does S.W. mean South West (of the UK)? Lots of people have asked for more of the keystroke forwarding things, particularly for the various flavours of Cubase. I've just not had time because of trying to get version 3 done. I'll get onto it later this month but some help would be useful. And do pass on those bug reports - thanks. Cheers, Ian.

From: Jonathan
Subject: DynPresets, anyone?
Posted on: Monday, October 11, 2004, 07:16 PM

I've been dreaming about some compressor, compander and expander dynamic presets for DSP Control 2 that would take my vocal recording problem away - or at least make it smaller.As we all know, when an amateur singer all the time drifts away from the mic and comes back to it, plus all the time changes the volume of his/her singing, the resulting recording needs lots of dynamic processing afterwords.If I only could have some settings for some killer DynPresets (or actual dpm-dps preset files) from some of you, dear DSP Control users, I would be very very grateful. I know I am asking quite a lot, but still. And yes, I have downloaded the Yamaha 02r mixer DynPresets Ian has available at his site (http://www.xpi-software.net/Presets/DynPresets.zip), but did not find those killer presets among them.Than

From: Jonathan
Subject: DynPresets, anyone?
Posted on: Monday, October 11, 2004, 07:17 PM

I know I am asking quite a lot, but still. And yes, I have downloaded the Yamaha 02r mixer DynPresets Ian has available at his site (http://www.xpi-software.net/Presets/DynPresets.zip), but did not find those killer presets among them.Thank you, everyone! :-)Jonathanjonathan@abrego.cjb.net

From: Bob Radcliffe
Subject: DspCtrl3 Help Print Error
Posted on: Tuesday, October 12, 2004, 05:05 AM

Hi Ian,I like to print out and read the new (DspCtrl3 only) help pages.If I try to print "The SW1000 channel strip window", it crashes the help window and locks up the printer.The other chapters printed OK.Can hardly wait to try DspCtrl3!Bob R.

From: Bob Radcliffe
Subject: Presets and .dsc files
Posted on: Tuesday, October 12, 2004, 05:13 AM

Can I just copy the .dsc files and Preset subdirectories from the DspCtrl2 to the DspCtrl3 directory?Thanks, Bob R.

From: Ian
Subject: Dyn Presets
Posted on: Tuesday, October 12, 2004, 05:55 AM

Johnathan, I'm not an expert with this but I'd have thought that the amount of compression you'd need to eradicate the sort of droupouts you get when a singer 'drifts away from the mic' would create a number of undesirable artifacts. I suspect that you need a combination of better mic technique, compression (possibly a compander) and some manual tweaking of the track (using automation). You could also try treating a vocal track in a mastering type of program (eg Wavelab) using a combination of manual tweaking of the Wav and dynamics plugins. Or you could try some specialised outboard hardware. As ever, it'll probably be a combination of the right tools and knowing how to use them that will sort it. Try posting on one of the big music boards - you'll be able to tap into a lot of experience there. HTH. Cheers,

From: Ian
Subject: Print error
Posted on: Tuesday, October 12, 2004, 05:58 AM

Hi Bob, Sorry to hear about this problem. I've no idea why you're getting the crash and printer lockup. I haven't tried printing any of the help. I'll look into it and get back. Cheers, Ian.

From: Ian
Subject: Presets and .dsc files
Posted on: Tuesday, October 12, 2004, 06:03 AM

Bob, DspCtrl3 should read DspCtrl2 presets and .dsc files without problem (so yes you can just copy between installation folders). It should also be possible for DspCtrl2 to read DspCtrl3 .dsc files (!) but I would be a bit cautious about this during takeoff. Until we reach cruising height it might be wise to back-up any v2 files before saving them from v3, just to make sure that you don't lose the ability to open them with v2. Cheers, Ian.

From: Noel
Subject: Looking good
Posted on: Wednesday, October 13, 2004, 10:56 AM

Congratulations Ian on the new DSPCTRL.. It looks superb and i will be purchasing my upgrade on Friday..! Keep up the great work

From: Tez
Subject: DSPCTRL 3
Posted on: Wednesday, October 13, 2004, 12:20 PM

I cant thank you enougth for keeping this card alive. As soon as I have some money its coming your way :DIn the mean time Im going to see if I can break it. If I do I'll let you know what went wrong.Thanks for your hard work on this :D

From: Ian
Subject: Looking DspCtrl3
Posted on: Wednesday, October 13, 2004, 01:12 PM

Noel, Tez, Thanks. Cheers, Ian.

From: Jonathan
Subject: Dyn Presets
Posted on: Thursday, October 14, 2004, 02:27 AM

Ian, thank you so much. What you are suggesting is exactly what I've been - as an educated composer, music teacher and computer specialist etc. - doing for years and years, and exactly that I am (more than a bit) tired of! Always same stupid "extra work". Perhaps I was hoping simply too much when dreaming about finding a "killer" Dyn Preset that could do miracles. Probably impossible. Thanx again, Ian. Needless to say, but DSP Control is superb!

From: Ian
Subject: Dyn Presets
Posted on: Thursday, October 14, 2004, 09:50 PM

Jonathan, There may be something cleverer than either of us know about to be had. I would stress again that I'm no dynamics expert. Try the Sonar or Cubase or whatever boards - I'd be interested to see how such a thread would develop. Thanks for the kind words re DspCtrl. Glad you like it. Cheers, Ian.

From: Noel
Subject: He's done it again
Posted on: Friday, October 15, 2004, 01:56 PM

DSPCTRL 3 is excellent (i expected nothing less)..It is exactly what i needed.. i feel like i can truley start using my SW1000 now, rather than just using it as a midi input card..Many thanks for the help with the zip file..Onwards and upwards!!

From: Simon
Subject: MSI
Posted on: Friday, October 15, 2004, 05:17 PM

Looks like my machine is showing its age - it doesn't seem to know what an MSI file is :) I pressume you can download an update for Win98?Just bought version 3 and can't wait. I would appreciate if you can give any advice on tested control surfaces so that I can avoid any unneccesary pain Regards,Simon

From: Ian
Subject: MSI
Posted on: Friday, October 15, 2004, 05:37 PM

Simon, Yes, the Windows Installer (aka Microsoft Installer hence .msi) is compatible with Win98 (even Win95 and NT4!) but you will need an up-to-date Win98. If you're willing to update your system and try it I'd be interested to know how it goes since I haven't tested the installation on Win98 here. In fact, I have to admit that I haven't tested DspCtrl3 on Win98 at all. It should work OK but I think that you'd find performance would be better on 2K/XP. These are the OS that I use and test on. I will try to help out with any problems arising on 98, but the vast majority of DspCtrl users now use the newer OS.Noel, Many thanks - glad you like it. There's still much to add but you can see where it's going. Cheers, Ian.

From: Drive_at_11
Subject: DspCtrl3 Q?
Posted on: Friday, October 15, 2004, 06:15 PM

Hi, Ian, Again excellent work on the DspCtrl 2. I toggle between cubase 1.06 (with support of DSP2416 and SW1000XG) and Cool edit Pro (Adobe Audition). I'd rather use CEP with the DspCTrl 2 (or 3) but I cannot send a audio track to the sw1000xg, although it appears as an output in CEP. Is this what the v3 will allow? I can send midi to the SW1000 with CEP and it will come in on my digital in (as I have the cards jumpered with the S/PDIF connection). In Cubase I can have all outputs active.Since I am getting close to mixing it is becoming to be a rather usefull feature. Bob

From: Ian
Subject: Control surfaces
Posted on: Friday, October 15, 2004, 08:53 PM

Simon, I realised that I forgot to answer the control surfaces part of your question. I have a CMLabs MotorMix, nothing else. You can certainly configure DspCtrl3 to work with this but I haven't been into it very far as yet (just haven't had time). As for other surfaces I cannot say. I expect that we'll start to get some information as people begin to try things out. I can't help further than that at present I'm afraid except to say that I will be putting quite a bit of technical info into the 'MIDI remote' section of the help so that people can work out what is and isn't possible. Cheers, Ian.

From: Ian
Subject: DspCtrl3 Q
Posted on: Friday, October 15, 2004, 09:00 PM

Bob, DspCtrl does not involve itself with the audio i/o drivers at all. So it will not affect what audio you can/can't send from Audition. The SW1000 support in DspCtrl3 is as yet for the synthesizers only, and it may remain that way. What you say seems a little strange. I presume you're using the ASIO drivers with Cubase. But what drivers do you use with Audition? I'm intrigued as to why it won't work. Also, why do you want to send audio to the SW1000? Its audio mixer is fairly primitive compared to the DS2416. Why not use a second DS2416 (if you aren't already) or simply do sub-mixes in the software? Cheers, Ian.

From: Drive_at_11
Subject: DspCtrl3
Posted on: Saturday, October 16, 2004, 03:49 PM

Ian, thanks for responding, and I think the key here is to use ASIO drivers or not makes all the difference. Unfortunately Audition does not use ASIO. I don't have a second DSP2416 but I would send to the SW1000,comes in on my DSP2416 as channels 9-15 with all the same features, via the internal ribbon.Bob

From: Ian
Subject: DspCtrl3
Posted on: Sunday, October 17, 2004, 06:06 AM

Bob, Sorry, I still don't get it. Forgive me if I'm being thick. Surely if you use mixer Chs 9-15 for 8 audio channels from your SW1000, you can't use them as 8 audio channels direct into the DS2416 (if you see what I mean)? So you still only have a max of 16 Chs of playback audio. Do you have any idea why the SW1000 channels don't work when using WDM? Does Audition claim to support multiple soundcards with WDM? Cheers, Ian.

From: Bob
Subject: Audition DSP and SW
Posted on: Monday, October 18, 2004, 07:21 AM

Ian,I've done some tests that might shed some light on the subject. In Audition I see all the output busses 4 stereo for DSP2416 and 6 for the SW1000xg. When I send a track to the sw1000xg busses, nothing happens, wether I do choose serial in or the playback 9-15 from the DSPctrl. But when I tie the digital out of the SW1000 to the digital in of the DSP2416 using the external RCA connectors. Then using the windows mixer I can adjust the volume and pan of each of the 6 stereo SW1000 outputs, and it comes in on my digital ins of the DSPCtrl (inputs 19-20). This also means that Audition supports multiple sound cards as it is able to send to both. Make any sense? Thanks, Bob.

From: Ian
Subject: Audition DSP & SW
Posted on: Monday, October 18, 2004, 12:51 PM

Bob, I don't understand why you're only seeing 4 stereo output busses for the DS. There should be 8, giving 16 channels of playback (see the Channel/Input Select window in DspCtrl). Cheers, Ian.

From: Simon
Subject: Windows 98
Posted on: Sunday, October 24, 2004, 07:43 PM

Unfortunately the installer doesn't like Windows 98 even with the MSI patch. Looks like I've finally found the reason to move OS :)Simon

From: Ian
Subject: Win98
Posted on: Sunday, October 24, 2004, 10:06 PM

Simon, Strange! I know of a number of people using DspCtrl3 in Win98 without problem. I've just tried installing in Win98 myself and have had no problem. Are you using Win98 Second Edition? Have you fully updated it via Windows Update? Having said this I think the newer OS are better. And WinXP Home (no need for Pro unless you've got >1 processor or need the networking security stuff) is quite reasonable (Ģ65) if you get an OEM version. Cheers, Ian.

From: Simon
Subject: MSI
Posted on: Monday, October 25, 2004, 07:56 PM

Thanks for the message Ian. I didn't run Windows Update as the machine isn't networled or have dial-up capability. To be honest this has given me the push I needed to upgrade and I have a new copy of XP home in my hand now so of we go... Thanks, Simon

From: James
Subject: Emagic Logic
Posted on: Wednesday, November 03, 2004, 01:10 PM

Hi Ian,apologies if this has been answered elsewhere, but i couldn't find any infodoes dspctrl work alongside emagic logic to enable 2 dsp cards to be used simultaneously?i'm reluctant to download the demo version to test in case there is any interference to my setup - i'm not partcularly technically minded and only just have the one-card setup running after a lot of trouble..

From: Ian
Subject: Logic
Posted on: Wednesday, November 03, 2004, 08:10 PM

James, There should be no problem with DspCtrl and Logic working together. But, for best results, you should switch off DS2416 mixer support in Logic. Installing DspCtrl will not interfere with your setup in any way. You can install the demo without having to worry about this. Just one thing though, if, as you say you're not particularly technically minded, you may find a 2-card setup quite challenging. It's quite a complex setup. So you may need to be prepared to spend some time getting your head round it all. If you need any help email me or post here. Best of luck with it. Cheers, Ian.

From: James
Posted on: Friday, November 05, 2004, 03:23 PM

Thanks for the quick response and adviceI'll have a go at a one card setup with the demo initially and take it from there.

From: bso
Subject: mute automation
Posted on: Sunday, November 07, 2004, 08:15 PM

Hello Ian, Thanks for the dspctnl-3 offering. Fantastic work once again. I'm curious if there is a way to switch the channel strips on and off via automation in the future. As it is now I have to run mute automation in sonar 2.2 and all other automation is done through dspcntl. Am i missing a simple way to automate mutse in dspcntl 2.5 ?ThanksBSO

From: Ian
Subject: Mute Automation
Posted on: Monday, November 08, 2004, 07:24 AM

Hi BSO, Glad you like DspCtrl3. You're not missing anything - there is currently no way to automate the DS2416 channel strips' on/off (mute) control. I have added the suggestion to my list. In the meantime you could set a fader marker at zero (infinity attenuation) and send the fader down to it (eg via the fader context menu) when you want to mute. I know that this isn't quite the same because it doesn't affect pre-fader aux sends, but it may be a usable workaround for now. Cheers, Ian.

From: Jonathan
Subject: Reason to upgrade?
Posted on: Thursday, November 11, 2004, 02:46 PM

Is there a reason to upgrade from DspCtrl 2 to DspCtrl 3 if one has not got a SW1000 card or remote MIDI control surfaces? I am very happy with my copy of DspCtrl 2, so I am just wondering... Thank you.

From: Ian
Subject: Reason to upgrade?
Posted on: Thursday, November 11, 2004, 09:12 PM

Jonathan, If you don't need the extra facilities there is no point upgrading. DspCtrl2 does what it does just as well as DspCtrl3 does it! Quite a lot of people are using the MIDI remote in ver. 3 as an alternative way of automating things from their DAW software. There are also a few other features, like the notes page and layout switching, which are starting to come through. But if none of this is much use to you my advice would be to stick with what you have. DspCtrl2 will continue to be supported alongside version 3. Cheers, Ian.

From: Alvaro
Subject: dsp2416 & flstudio
Posted on: Thursday, November 18, 2004, 05:03 PM

hi, anyone out theire use dspctrl with flstudio under windows xp?fl studio doesnt support the full features of the card like cubase does, thank you,

From: Ian
Subject: ds2416 & flStudio
Posted on: Friday, November 19, 2004, 01:28 PM

Hi Alvaro, I have heard of people using DspCtrl with FL but have no experience of it myself. There shouldn't be any problem if you leave controlling the DS2416 mixer block to DspCtrl - the i/o (WAV in/out) is independent of the mixer block control. You may be better off asking your question on an FL forum as this will always be a very low-traffic board. Cheers, Ian.

From: Bob K
Posted on: Monday, November 22, 2004, 02:02 AM

Ian, I am using DPS2 for a couple of months now and it just keeps me hating the other mixers in the other software packages even more. So much is missing once used to the DSPctrl2. If I have a SW1000XG connected with the internal ribbon card do my SW1000XG channels appear as separate channels in the dpsctrl2? Right now they are only showing up at serial in 1 and 2 only. Is that normal or should they show up as serial in 1 through 8?Thanks

From: Ian
Subject: SW1000 routing
Posted on: Monday, November 22, 2004, 06:59 AM

Bob, Thanks for the kind words and glad you like DspCtrl2. By default, all of the output of the SW1000 comes over the internal ribbon into serial in 1/2. In order to use the available other 6 channels you need to change the output routing on the SW1000. How you do this depends on the software you're using to control the SW1000 - you'll have to refer to that software's help. DspCtrl3 makes changing this routing pretty clear and explicit, so, if you're in any doubt, have a look at the DspCtrl3 demo and/or the relevant sections of the DspCtrl help. Cheers, Ian.

From: Bob K
Posted on: Monday, November 22, 2004, 03:11 PM

Thanks Ian,I am not using any software to control the SW1000XG. If I need DSPCtrl3 to be able to route the audio outs into the serial in channels of the DSP2416 then I shall download the demo and purchase the upgrade.

From: Mike
Subject: Sonar 4.0
Posted on: Sunday, December 12, 2004, 06:34 PM

Hi: I've just upgraded to Sonar 4 from Pro Audio 9.03.Will DspCtrl function properly with Sonar 4.0?Thanks.Mike

From: Ian
Subject: Sonar4
Posted on: Monday, December 13, 2004, 06:06 AM

Hi Mike, I know of several people using DspCtrl with Sonar4 without problem. But, if you don't already have DspCtrl, try the demo first to make sure everything's happy on your system. Cheers, Ian.

From: drd
Subject: Sonar & ASIO
Posted on: Saturday, December 18, 2004, 07:00 AM

I am using sonar 3.1, but I can seem to use the DS2416ASIO driver inside Sonar 3.1 I am doing something wrong?Do I need to go to Sonar 4, or get another sound card?Thanks,drd

From: Ian
Subject: Sonar & ASIO
Posted on: Saturday, December 18, 2004, 02:06 PM

Hi drd, If you're using just one DS2416 I'd recommend that you use the WDM drivers because they work well and you will get lower latency. There is a problem however with these drivers and 2-card setups and so if this is what you have you're better off with the ASIO drivers. These should be available in Sonar3 under Options-Audio-Advanced-Driver Mode (select ASIO). If you don't have the ASIO option available it's probably because of some sort of installation problem. Download the drivers from my site and have a look at the instructions that come with them. You may need to uninstall everything related to the DS2416 and start again. Best of luck. Cheers, Ian.

From: Bso
Subject: Solo exclude in 2.5.1
Posted on: Friday, December 31, 2004, 08:59 PM

Hello Ian,I'm having trouble getting the solo exclude facility to work in version 2.5.1. Right clicking seems to have no effect on the solo button. I know I have used it in previous versions. Can you test this on your system?. I have tested my mouse and don't belive the problem is with it. Thanks muchBso

From: Bso
Subject: Solo Exclude in 3 demo
Posted on: Friday, December 31, 2004, 09:24 PM

Hi Ian i tried the exclude feature in the DspCtrl3 demo as well. No luck. Any help would be appreciated.

From: Ian
Subject: Solo exclude
Posted on: Saturday, January 01, 2005, 06:10 AM

Hi Bso, Yeah you're right - sorry for any inconvenience. It was working fine but it got broken as a result of some modification or other. A number of people have already pointed this out and it is fixed in the upcoming 3.2 and 2.5.3 releases (within a week I hope). Cheers, Ian.

From: Bso
Subject: thanks
Posted on: Saturday, January 01, 2005, 06:00 PM

Thanks much Ian. Looking forward to purchasing version 3... I tried out the midi control from the version 3 demo and it worked great. I have a Yamaha o1V and they play well together.Whilst your updating to the next maintenance release...would it be possible to add key forwarding for jumping a measure up and back in sonar...I'm using 2.2. It's so often that I just need to hear a smallish sections repeated sort of on the fly, especially when writing automation....key forwarding is a great feature.

From: Ian
Subject: Key-forwarding
Posted on: Thursday, January 06, 2005, 10:45 AM

Bso, Key-forwarding for jumping one measure forward and back in Sonar is included in the next release (3.2.0) which will be available in the next few days. Cheers, Ian.

From: colin
Subject: sound card compatability
Posted on: Thursday, January 06, 2005, 06:23 PM

Hi i just upgraded my system to a abit kv8 pro motherboard. i have a 2 ds2416 and sw1000xg setup which was working 100% before the upgrade. now the cards are being recognised in xp when they are installed, but once the drivers are installed and the sound cards activated i get a blue screen of death stating a machine check excpetion. the cards are clearly the problem as i write this to you with the cards installed but disabled in windows system manager.If this is a compatability with the motherboard fair enough but if there is a workaround or anybody know of anything similar im all ears before i spend more doshcheers

From: Ian
Subject: Sound-card compatibility
Posted on: Friday, January 07, 2005, 03:20 AM

Hi Colin, Sorry to hear that you're having problems. The best place to go to find out about motherboard compatibility with the DS/SW cards is the Ampfea list (http://www.ampfea.org/mailman/listinfo/dspfact-list). There's been lots of talk there about this issue recently but I don't take much notice because I'm still using a CUSL2/PIII setup (and have no reason to change). The only other thing I can suggest is that, if you haven't already, you have a look at the driver installation instructions that come with the driver downloads on my site, just to make sure that you've got everything in the right order. It's easy to slip up. Best of luck with it. Cheers, Ian.

From: Martin
Subject: New release
Posted on: Saturday, January 08, 2005, 08:12 PM

Cheers for the new release !!.Great work again Ian :^)

From: Ian
Subject: New release
Posted on: Sunday, January 09, 2005, 05:36 AM

Thanks Martin. Cheers, Ian.

From: P Downs
Subject: update
Posted on: Sunday, January 16, 2005, 07:58 PM

When I upgrade to the latest version 2.5.3 should this be evident in the "about dspctrl" info.If it doesn't show the latest version no., does this mean that the upgrade has failed to install

From: Ian
Subject: Update
Posted on: Monday, January 17, 2005, 07:43 AM

Hi, Yes it does. The 'about' dialog always reports the actual version that you have open. It should read v2.5.3. There is a note about updating in the ReadMe.txt file that comes with the download. If you've read this and it doesn't apply, then I'm not exactly sure what the problem might be. Is this the first time you've used the new installer, ie are you updating from pre 2.5.2? Cheers, Ian.

From: Peter Downs
Subject: update
Posted on: Monday, January 17, 2005, 12:33 PM

Ian,My latest ver is 2.51Peter.

From: Ian
Subject: Update
Posted on: Tuesday, January 18, 2005, 10:02 AM

Hi Peter, If the note in the ReadMe (about installing using the new installer over an existing installation) does not apply to you then I'm afraid that I don't know what the problem might be. I would advise you to save all personal files (def.dsc, presets etc), uninstall DspCtrl completely, and then install the new version from scratch, replacing personal files afterwards. I know this is a bit of a hassle, but there are so many possible variables that might be causing your problem that it's almost certainly the quickest way to sort everything out. Cheers, Ian.

From: Peter Downs
Subject: Upgrade
Posted on: Tuesday, January 18, 2005, 10:54 AM

Ian,Re-installedEverything is fine now.Thanks very much for your help and your efforts at keepimg the 2416 going, and helping users in realizing the potential of this great card.Peter

From: Ian
Subject: Upgrade
Posted on: Tuesday, January 18, 2005, 06:33 PM

Peter, Glad to hear that you've got it all sorted. Cheers, Ian.

From: Dani
Subject: Sonar Plugin
Posted on: Saturday, January 22, 2005, 04:32 AM

Your tool is remarquable.Seems like a lot of people are using Sonar, and probably will end up using Sonar 4 (which does not support the DS2416 anymore).What about a plugin version via OPT (Open Plugin Technology), so we can use a single file (Sonar's) per project?Also a command line version for initialization purposes will be good too.Cheers.

From: Ian
Subject: Sonar plugin
Posted on: Saturday, January 22, 2005, 07:29 AM

Hi Dani, I wrote a long post on the ampfea list last month about my views on plugin technology, and specifically about problems with OPT and Sonar. You can see it here http://www.ampfea.org/pipermail/dspfact-list/2004-December/008946.html. I also tried putting together some SW1000 control software as an MFX plug-in but had to abandon that because a number of the MFX interfaces were broken (in Sonar). So I put the SW1000 support into DspCtrl and called it version 3! If you read my post you'll see that I'm not convinced of the case for plugins (for this type of software), not as the technology currently stands anyway. A command-line version is an interesting idea - not heard that before. But I can't really see how you could do it because there are many thousands of parameters to initialise. How would the user e

From: Paul Babiak
Subject: Install problems
Posted on: Tuesday, January 25, 2005, 06:30 PM

I'm having a problem installing DspCtrl on a friend's Windows98SE machine. I'm getting the message about the Windows Installer being the wrong verion. I installed the InstMsia.exe installer patch from Microsoft, and the system has been updated with the "unofficial" 98SE service pack. Curiously, it installs fine on my 98SE machine, but that doesn't really help my friend. Any suggestions appreciated.Paul

From: Paul Babiak
Subject: Install problem - solved
Posted on: Wednesday, January 26, 2005, 03:36 AM

Well, I re-installed the install patch, and DspCtrl installed. Go figure.I am having trouble opening the Getting Started file - I have nothing that recognizes a .dsc file. What should I use to open this with? Thanks.

From: Ian
Subject: Install problems etc
Posted on: Wednesday, January 26, 2005, 04:50 AM

Hi Paul, I'm glad that you sorted the install problem. Quite a lot of people have reported this sort of thing and the only advice I can give is to get the OS fully up-to-date. The new installer doesn't associate the file extension ".dsc" with the DspCtrl executable. So, you can either start DspCtrl and then open the getting started file (using File - Open...), or you can associate the extension yourself. I can't remember how easy this is on Win98. As you probably know, on later OS you can do this by right-clicking on the file and selecting 'open with', then electing to 'always open this type of file with this program', or whatever. Finally, DspCtrl runs better on Win2k and later. This is especially true of DspCtrl3. Cheers, Ian.

From: Tez
Subject: A7n8x - Install problem solved. :D
Posted on: Friday, January 28, 2005, 01:36 PM

Hi Peeps :)Its a bit OT but I had some problems when I upgraded my mother board to a a7n8x. It would not stay on for more than 30 mins without freezing completely. I had to lend my brothers USB card which didnt have anything near the clarity (well in my opinion.) Out of fustration I placed just my DSP2416 (I have the adat add on but nothing you utilise it). If you put it in the 5th slot It seems to working very well :DI was really worried Id have to get another card too! Could someone try this to double check? Id love to get another DSP so if you have 2 please see what you get. My specks are:CPU: AMD XP 3000+Motherboard: Asus A7n8xOn another OT note check out Tracktion. It works very well with DspCtrl because its designed without trying to copy an analogue desk. So they both work ve

From: Terry Foster
Subject: A7n8x - Install problem solved. :D
Posted on: Friday, January 28, 2005, 01:37 PM

ry well :)

From: Ian
Subject: A7n8x - Install problem solved
Posted on: Saturday, January 29, 2005, 08:30 PM

Hi Tez, Glad to hear that you got it sorted and thanks for the info. You might like to post this sort of result on the Ampfea DSPF board since this is a low-traffic area and not many people will see it. Also interested to hear about Tracktion. I've been meaning to give this a try but have never found the time. Cheers, Ian.

From: Peter Downs
Subject: Panning Law
Posted on: Sunday, February 13, 2005, 01:27 AM

I can't seem to select Centre 0db(hard left/right=+3db)anymore.Version DspCtrl2 2.5.3I'm following the instructions (right click etc)

From: Ian
Subject: Panning Law
Posted on: Sunday, February 13, 2005, 07:19 AM

Peter, Whoops, neither can I!. Hadn't spotted that one. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I'm away from home at present and so can't easily fix this but I'll sort it and post up a fixed version on my return (late Feb). Cheers, Ian.

From: Wai Hoe
Subject: Midi Timecode sync
Posted on: Sunday, February 20, 2005, 04:25 AM

Hi Ian,I really like the DspCtrl 3. Keep up to good work.I have been trying out Midi Timecode sync from SX3 toDspCtrl 3 via my Audiophile 2496 midi ports (ext cablein-out), it works but the timecode doesn't seem to sync accurately to SX3.The best it can do is a 2 micro second offset. It's not consistent sometimes it could be more.I haven't try Midi Yoke or similiar apps but is it moreaccurate or there are settings that I could tweak.I am running P4, XP sp1, Abit IC7-G, SX3.01.Thanks.

From: Wai Hoe
Subject: Midi Timecode Sync
Posted on: Sunday, February 20, 2005, 05:45 PM

Sorry. My mistake about the offset in micro second.It is actually the offset frames that I am talking about.Anyway to match back the offset timecode in DspCtrl3 to follow SX timecode?Thanks.

From: Wai Hoe
Subject: Midi Timecode Sync
Posted on: Sunday, February 20, 2005, 05:46 PM

Sorry. My mistake about the offset in micro second.It is actually the offset in frames that I am referring to.Anyway to match back the offset timecode in DspCtrl3 to follow SX timecode?Thanks.

From: Ian
Subject: MIDI Timecode sync
Posted on: Monday, February 21, 2005, 12:51 AM

Hi Wai Hoe, DspCtrl receives timecode as so-called 'quarter-frame' messages. This means that 8 messages have to be received before a timecode event (frame) is recognised. This is standard practice but it probably contributes to what looks like a 'lag' (or 'offset') when you switch the transmitter (ie Cubase) off. This does not mean to say that this offset is occurring during steady-state operation. Try testing sync during steady-state operation by eg recording a quick DspCtrl fader movement made in time to a metronome beat (and then seeing how it looks on playback). I would certainly recommend that you try a software MIDI 'pipe'. It may well be quicker than going via your MIDI interface. I recommend the MarbleSound one (see my website for link). Cheers, Ian.

From: bso
Subject: channel labeling
Posted on: Wednesday, March 02, 2005, 05:45 AM

Hello Ian. I'm wondering if in a future maintanance release it would be possible to add a function in the playback ( yellow ) labeling. Instead of of just a master label we could also have the ability to change the labeling from 1- 16 playback ( 1 card system ) to a 2 charactor user defined label... (example ) instead of the number 1 defaulted to channel 1 we could label it ( A L for channel 1)...(A R for channel 2) ...(B L for channel 3)... ( B R for channel 4 ) etc...then when switching to stereo for 2 channels maybe the L and R designations get dropped and just use the alphabetic charactors. Hope I'm clear on this...obviously I'm trying to visually locate channels set up for sonar buss labels more quickly.

From: Ian
Subject: Channel labelling
Posted on: Wednesday, March 02, 2005, 04:03 PM

Hi BSO, I think I see what you mean. The edit boxes below the input routing labels were included so that the user could add his own labelling to channels. I could add something along the lines that you describe but I'm not sure that many people would find it useful (or they may want it set up a little differently), so it might be best to do it as a customisation for you. Email me if you'd like to discuss that. Cheers, Ian.

From: bso
Subject: channel > input select labeling
Posted on: Thursday, March 03, 2005, 07:16 AM

after re-reading my previous post..I'm not sure if I was stating my thoughts correctly. In the channel/input select window, in the yellow color coded playback section, you have a user defined label to which I have entered the name Sonar. On the channel strips it designates " sonar 1 sonar 2 etc just below the eq graphic for all playback channels. I am requesting that in the input select window in the yellow playback sections that the user could label the playback channels 1-8 and 9 - 16 as a 2 charactor input box per playback channel. The channel strips could then read ( in the yellow input box ) and in my case : Sonar A L for channel 1 - Sonar A r for channel 2 etc...this would correspond with the labeling in sonar for the virtual mains outputs. For me remembering that sonar output m panned left fo

From: Ian
Subject: Channel labelling
Posted on: Saturday, March 05, 2005, 07:26 AM

Hi BSO, OK I'm with you now. There would only be room for 2 characters (at most) and so the labels (on the input channels) would look something like 'Sonar: AL', 'Sonar: AR', etc. In other words there would be no room for a space between 'A' and 'L', as you have typed it. It's a good idea and I'll put it on the list but I can't say when it might appear. It just depends when I get time. If you want such a facility more urgently then, as I say, I suggest you request it as a personal customisation. Cheers, Ian.

From: steve
Subject: update Drivers
Posted on: Sunday, March 13, 2005, 11:14 PM

hi there had my 2416 about five years but never updated the drivers and cant get the lat below 30 in sx2 what drivers do i need and how do i get them please.

From: Ian
Subject: Update drivers
Posted on: Monday, March 14, 2005, 02:19 PM

Hi Steve, I think that the lowest achievable latency with Cubase is about 28ms using the ASIO drivers. The latest drivers are available from this site. With Sonar, you can get much lower latency, certainly below 10ms, but this is because it uses a technique called Kernel Streaming (which, as far as I'm aware, Cubase does not). If you don't already know about it, have a look on the Ampfea DSPF list (http://www.ampfea.org/mailman/listinfo/dspfact-list) for extra info. Cheers, Ian.

From: Tez
Subject: E Strip
Posted on: Wednesday, March 30, 2005, 12:24 PM

Hi Ian :)Im thinking of buying a bcf2000 to work with dspctrl3. Would you look into the possiblity of having some sort of "e strip" function in the future please. Here is an article on it if you dont know what I mean...http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec98/articles/spirit328.691.htmIts in the "E's of use" part of the review.Keep up the good work Ian :D

From: Janitorman
Subject: Saving Defaults
Posted on: Saturday, May 14, 2005, 07:49 PM

Hi Ian, Love version3. One quick question, I've setup the mixer environment and saved it as the default set, but when I load up the def set the screen seems to scroll all the way to the right (and doesn't show the mixer) and I have to scroll left to get the mixer into view. Purely cosmetic, but any ideas?

From: Ian
Subject: E Strip
Posted on: Monday, May 16, 2005, 04:59 AM

Hi Tez, Sorry not to have replied - didn't get notified. I've had a look at the link you provide - thanks for that. It may be possible at some point to provide more support for control surface configuration, and in particular some sort of quick switching between controlled parameters. But I've not had many requests for this sort of thing and, to be honest, I don't think it likely that I'll be able to do much along these lines. Cheers, Ian.

From: Ian
Subject: Saving defaults
Posted on: Monday, May 16, 2005, 05:04 AM

Hi Janitorman, Glad you're liking v3. There is still a bug lurking in the scrolling which pops up now and again in various guises. This sounds like it. Try opening your default, moving (dragging) a mixer channel a bit (then move it back). If this sorts the scrolling, re-save as default and then re-start to see if the problem has gone. Something along these lines should sort it. I now have a couple of .dsc files with the scrolling problem 'embedded' and as soon as I have a moment I'm going to have a good look at them to try to get to the bottom of it. Cheers, Ian.

From: Da Janita
Subject: Saving defaults
Posted on: Monday, May 16, 2005, 04:28 PM

Had a go at moving and resaving, but no joy. Let me know when you fix the bug. Happy button bashing!!

From: Ian
Subject: Saving defaults
Posted on: Monday, May 16, 2005, 06:19 PM

Hi Snr Janita, Could you zip up the offending .dsc file and email it to me. I'll have a look at what's going on and it may help me track down the bug once and for all. Cheers, Ian.

From: BSO
Subject: diagrams
Posted on: Sunday, May 22, 2005, 08:47 AM

Hello Ian,I noticed a little something with version 3.0 release...just a note for a future maintenance release. When in certian mixer areas you're allowed to right click (I believe) to pull up the routing diagram, I notice that the diagram comes up partially hidden behind the mixer screen..and disappears altogether when trying to click on it.

From: BSO
Subject: possible feature ?
Posted on: Sunday, May 22, 2005, 08:56 AM

Hello Ian, Would it be possible to add a few mute groups with a master invoke/cancel attached to them ? Maybe 4 available group combinations would be very helpful. Also would it possible to have the chart meters still able to read signal on a channel when solo mode is involked?

From: Ian
Subject: Various
Posted on: Monday, May 23, 2005, 07:14 AM

Hi BSO, Thanks for the bug report - I'll look into that. Your two requests are noted. As ever, I can't guarantee that or when they'll appear, but they are 'in the book'. Cheers, Ian.

From: Da Janita
Subject: def files
Posted on: Sunday, July 10, 2005, 12:53 AM

Hiya Ian, I sent you the def file for the little problem of the screen scrolling all the way to the right on load up. I was just wondering if you had a chance to look at it yet?Cheers

From: Drumity
Subject: DSPCtrl-Update
Posted on: Sunday, July 10, 2005, 07:15 PM

Hi Ian !Are you still working on DSPCtrl ?? I just wonder because the last update was in January and since then we didnīt hear of any anouncements. I hope your great software is still in developement, because my DSPF is still in use and I will not let her retire ! ;-))Groovy greetings from GermanyDrumityP.S.: The german translation is still in work, just email me the last changes ! I havenīt had enough time to finish it yet, īcause my band is on fire in the moment ;-))

From: Ian
Subject: Updates
Posted on: Saturday, July 23, 2005, 09:00 AM

Hi guys, Sorry for the delay in replying - very busy with other stuff just now (got to earn a crust). Hope to post up updates today (which will deal with the scrolling problem and a few other bugs). Cheers, Ian.

From: Bill
Subject: Busy
Posted on: Monday, July 25, 2005, 01:02 PM

IanVery glad to hear you are well but just busy.Best regardsBill

From: TonyB
Subject: New Update
Posted on: Thursday, July 28, 2005, 01:00 AM

Hi Ian. Long time no chat.Thanks for the update - I had been having increasing problems with the horizontal scrolling, and this update seems to have sorted it all out.No other problems to report - solid as a rock.Thanks again.

From: Ian
Subject: Busy Update
Posted on: Friday, July 29, 2005, 08:28 AM

Bill & Tony, Thanks. Glad that the scrolling seems to be OK now and always good to hear that no other problems are coming up! Cheers, Ian.

From: BSO
Subject: Thanks Ian
Posted on: Saturday, July 30, 2005, 04:39 AM

Just a note of thanks for the continued support.

From: Drumity
Subject: Update
Posted on: Saturday, July 30, 2005, 06:23 PM

Hey Ian ! Good to hear of you again ... great update ... could you email me the last changes of the helpfile ?? I have a bit time in august to finish the translation ;-)bye MFGrooves

From: Ian
Subject: Update
Posted on: Tuesday, August 02, 2005, 05:14 AM

Hi Drumity, Great to hear that you're still working on the translation. I haven't made any changes to the help files recently because I've not had time, and I don't see myself having any until later this year. So do continue with what you have. Thanks. Cheers, Ian.

From: Noel
Subject: Window size
Posted on: Thursday, August 04, 2005, 11:07 AM

Hi there Ian..The new website looks great! and thanks for the update :-) Just a quick question to you or any other DSPCTRL 3 users..Is it possible to have DSPCTRL filling the entire screen at 1280*1024.. I recently purchased 2 19" TFT monitors and run Sonar full screen on the left monitor and DSPCTRL 3 on the right..However i cannot maximise DSPCTRL 3 to full screen on the left monitor. It runs in windowed mode taking up approx 7/10's of the screen. The reason i bought the monitors was to have everything as big as possible for ergonomic reasons..As always thanks in advance for your help.. Noel

From: Ian
Subject: Window size
Posted on: Thursday, August 04, 2005, 06:30 PM

Hi Noel, DspCtrl doesn't maximise. The main window has a maximum height beyond which you cannot go. This is because the majority of DspCtrl child windows (eg the channel strips) are of a fixed height and only move left-right. This is an aspect of the design. People often assume that the more you can vary something (ie the greater the no. of degrees of freedom) the better. Not so! The more freedom you have the more interesting but harder a thing is to control. So there's usually a optimum to be found - true of both mixer software and fighter aircraft! I use the space above/below DspCtrl (on a 1024 px height resolution) for ancillary windows of one sort or another. You can also utilise the 'stand-alone' mode of many of DspCtrl's windows. Hope that helps. Cheers, Ian.

From: Phil
Subject: DSP/XG/Logic
Posted on: Thursday, August 18, 2005, 11:05 AM

Trying to use SW100XG, DSP2416, AX44 with Logic Platinum 4.8: Get midi sound out of SW but although mixer device shows audio input it does not want to play back through SW1000XG (as indeed it used to before OS reinstall (Win 98SE). Am getting desperate - would happily spend 44 quid if dspctrl will fix my problem. Would like to use Audio Mixer in Logic ... does your tool provide me with the capability to get the DS to output through the XG?(PS Before the reinstall I was running Logic 4.5, as i remember it, the available effects to insert were those of the XG, now they are those of the DS)

From: Ian
Subject: DSP/XG/Logic
Posted on: Thursday, August 18, 2005, 08:36 PM

Hi Phil, I'm not entirely clear what the problem is, but here are a few initial points. The DS2416 and SW1000 aren't really set up to output the DS through the SW. The idea was always that it was the other way round (since the DS's audio and mixing is far superior). Using the internal cable you can get 8 separate tracks of audio from the SW to the DS, and this is what I'd recommend you do. Because of all this, DspCtrl does NOT control the SW's audio mixer. I'm not clear how you want to fit Logic's software mixer into all of this (if that is what you mean). Can you explain? One final thing - DspCtrl3 is not tested on Win98. As far as I'm aware it works fine but I can't guarantee it. In my view the newer operating systems (2K/XP) are better for a music PC. Cheers, Ian.

From: Phil
Subject: Logic/SW100XG/DS2416
Posted on: Friday, August 19, 2005, 05:21 PM

Hi - Ian, Many thanks for replying - I have to say that I read your answer and then promptly moved the analog out cables from the SW100XG to the DS2416 and in Control Panel/Multimedia/Audio changed the preferred playback device to any available. Everything now works. (In the interim I also located the V4 Asio Drivers and moved the SW1000XG down a pci slot) Hard to believe that I managed to produce an entire CD some years back! Thanks again, Phil.

From: Rothchild
Subject: Sw1000 and Ds Link
Posted on: Wednesday, August 24, 2005, 07:44 PM

Hi Ian, I am having a bit of trouble getting my head round the Sw1k Ds link! I was hoping that I could continue to use the SW mixer as before; chn1 dry, chn2 verb, chn3 chorus, chn4 var, chn5 ins1, chn6 ins2, all with their own bus in sonar so I can access them as auxs, and then bring all those channels over in to the DS for final mixing and possible bouncing back in to my Sonar projects. But there doesn't seem to be enough channels to do it in DSP ctrl? (and anyway regardless of what I send it to from Sonar it only comes over to the DSP on SW 1&2?!)I hope someof this makees sense and that you can offer me an insight on what I am doing wrong?Rothchild

From: Ian
Subject: SW-DS link
Posted on: Friday, August 26, 2005, 09:47 AM

Hi Rothchild, Have to admit that I'm not quite with you. I take it that you're talking about the internal (ribbon-cable) link between the two cards. SW1K MIDI (synthesizer) channels come across this link on the stereo mix lines (SW 1/2) by default. You can change this by adjusting the relevant setting. DspCtrl3 can do this (see the help) or you can do it with other software, or just sending the relevant sysex from Sonar (for which you'll need the MIDI spec of the SW). I think that the same applies to SW audio channels, but I'm not entirely sure since I don't use them. Can you clarify what you mean regarding the sW effects? Cheers, Ian.

From: Conker
Subject: Eq graphs + a tiny little request
Posted on: Saturday, August 27, 2005, 02:59 AM

Hi Ian,I have encountered a little bug. It's not to difficult to work around, therefore probably doesn't require urgent attention. When getting settings from DSPfs the eq curves do not update (unless the EQ panels for each channel is active, hence workaround). Like I say, not a big deal!My request (not actually little at all!) is a more substantial Bus/Aux mixer, with bigger meters and faders as these can in certain situations be really useful, esp when recording and checking for overloaded signals. Perhaps it could be implemented as fader strips in the main window?Many thanks for all you have done for DS2416 users everywhere. Thanx Conker :)

From: Ian
Subject: EQ graphs & request
Posted on: Saturday, August 27, 2005, 04:14 PM

Hi Conker, Thanks for the bug report - I'll sort that asap. The 'get all settings from card' feature is potentially troublesome and I don't recommend using it (see the help for more details). Can I ask why you need to use it? You're not the first person to ask for a larger Bus/Aux 'mixer' but I'm not sure I'll be able to find the time to do it. Doing it as channel strips would be complicated. Might a peak hold/overload indicator on the meters help? Cheers, Ian.

From: conker
Subject: bus/aux
Posted on: Saturday, August 27, 2005, 10:18 PM

A peak hold/OL indicator would certainly be a good first step, good idea! The get settings feature is not one that i use often, but is handy for importing mixer settings from my cubase (pre dsp control) projects, of which there are many! Thanks for your help on this :)Another small issue, when using midi controllers (within cubase) to autoimate the console, on stereo channels this seems to only affect the control on the left channel, any ideas?

From: Ian
Subject: bus/aux
Posted on: Sunday, August 28, 2005, 10:51 AM

Conker, I'll do what I can to the bus/aux meters for the next release. You're right about the MIDI remote automation not working properly on all controls in stereo channels. This is something I've been meaning to fix for a while but very few people (it seems) use this sort of automation to control anything other than the faders (which do respond properly to incoming MIDI). I'll sort this for the next release. In the meantime there is the option of using DspCtrl's in-built automation, which can be used at the same time as MIDI remote, and which should work properly in all cases. Cheers, Ian.

From: Ian
Subject: Bus/Aux
Posted on: Sunday, August 28, 2005, 04:56 PM

Hi Conker, As chance would have it I had a spare hour or two today and have tarted-up the bus and aux meters a bit. You can download an updated DspCtrl3 executable using the link www.xpi-software.net/DspCtrl3_tarted.zip. Just unzip the executable and replace the current one with it. You should find that you've now got a 'peak hold' facility which indicates an 'overload' (0dBFS) by turning red. You can get the program to hold the peak indefinitely by switching on 'Hold Output' in the Global Options window. The meters are also now larger, and can be switched to read pre- or post-fader. Hope that helps. Note that this download is a beta. Let me know if you have any problems. Cheers, Ian.

From: Dis
Subject: audio bleeding
Posted on: Monday, September 12, 2005, 06:27 PM

When I put a anolog source into the AX44 and record, it records everything including the S/P Dif, soft synths ect. I have just one AX44 and use DSPCTRL2. I record with Sonar2. This is probably a routing issue, but I can't seem to figure it out.

From: Ian
Subject: Audio Bleeding
Posted on: Tuesday, September 13, 2005, 10:14 AM

Hi Dis, I'm pretty sure your problem is with the default output routing in DspCtrl. Open the Output Patch-bay and you'll see a rectangle called 'record' at the top. This will likely have the stereo mix (Str L/R) routed to all record outputs (ie outputs from the DS2416 to the recording software). You need to change this. You can use either Bus or Aux lines (configured as either mono or stereo) to route from individual mixer channels to the record software. I use Aux for tracking because the signal can be sent from the mixer channel pre-fader allowing adjustment of monitoring levels on the faders without affecting the record signal level. Get back if you're still not clear and I'll go into more detail. Cheers, Ian.

From: Dis
Subject: Effects
Posted on: Tuesday, September 13, 2005, 08:13 PM

The card supposedly has delay, chorus, echo, distortion ect, but all I see are reverb effects. What do I do to gain access to all of the effects. Are their more presets than what you provide? Reguardless of some of my problems I really like your software! You are clearly a genius when it comes to the DSPF.

From: Ian
Subject: Effects
Posted on: Wednesday, September 14, 2005, 06:18 AM

Dis, RTFM mate! Failing that, use the help available in the tooltips. In this case, hold the mouse cursor over the effect title (eg "1 - Hall simulation reverb with gate") for a second or so and the tooltip will tell you to "Right-click to change effect type". When you do this a large context menu appears giving you access to all of the DS effects. Glad you like DspCtrl. Cheers, Ian.

From: Christian
Subject: Congratulations
Posted on: Tuesday, September 27, 2005, 11:06 PM

A little thank you note from a faithful DSPCTRL3 user. GREAT integration with the SW1000XG, unique and innovative GUI, superb support. I hope this site and its creator continues around for many years to come.Congratulations, CHRISTIAN. Miami, FL USA

From: Ian
Subject: Congrats
Posted on: Wednesday, September 28, 2005, 09:29 PM

Hi Christian, Many thanks and very glad you like it. Certainly planning to be around here for the long haul. Just finishing off the SW reverb and chorus controls (allowing selection of all the reverb and chorus types + adjustment of parameters). Will be uploading this asap. Cheers, Ian.

From: Guido Gandjeh-Sani
Subject: Register
Posted on: Tuesday, October 11, 2005, 08:14 PM

Hi Ian,when I want to reinstall the DSP-Control, after a new installation of windows xp, I could not register the program and there was the message :If the problem goes on, contact Ian for a new version of register-program ;-)Is it right ?best regards Guido

From: Ian
Subject: Register
Posted on: Tuesday, October 11, 2005, 09:48 PM

Hi Guido, Yes that's right. Sorry for the inconvenience. It's to do with the switch from the old installer to the new Microsoft Software Installer one (last year). Just mail me and I'll send you the new key by return. The problem will not recur. Cheers, Ian.

From: Guido Gandjeh-Sani
Posted on: Saturday, October 15, 2005, 09:57 PM

Ian, thank you for your fast help. Now it works fine. Guido

From: Martin
Subject: PLG100-VH
Posted on: Wednesday, November 30, 2005, 01:25 PM

I rund Cubase SX ond Windows XP Sp2 and DSP & SW1000 & PLG100-VH & AX 44 all perfectly cabeled and WMdrivered (means I do see DSP Window in SX which was a fight after switching from Windows ME and Cubase 5.1 hear effects of dsp and Midi sound of SW1000). Does your DspCtrl3 make my life (with the bus/channel/aktive stuff) easier while - recording audio and/or adding DSP effekts in mastering- recording the sounds of the MIDIdriven soundchip of SW1000 without leaving the digital world (using outside cables SW out to DSP in now - cracy?!)- recording or adding afterwards the vokoder effects of my PLG100-VH- Mastering in general in Cubase using DSP MixerGot so confudsed/angry with above Q's that I bought a easy to handle BOSS 1600 CD recorder to produce my songs with lower quality but simple - but i

From: Ian
Subject: PLG100-VH
Posted on: Thursday, December 01, 2005, 06:00 AM

Hi Martin, Sorry that your post got truncated - I'll try to answer anyway. A large proportion of DspCtrl3 users are also Cubase SX users. Many of them have followed my instructions for removing the Cubase DSPF support and find that using DspCtrl alone to control the DS & SW cards is much easier. If you post on www.cubase.net you should get some replies from these people. You could also try the Ampfea DSPF list at http://www.ampfea.org/mailman/listinfo/dspfact-list. One of the main aims of DspCtrl3 was to make the internal digital interface between the SW and DS much easier to handle, and I think that it succeeds at that. But please note that there is no support for the PLG100-VH. You will need to use additional software to control this card. DspCtrl3 provides MIDI routing facilities to make this more straightforward. Cheers, Ian.

From: Howard Bragen
Subject: DSP Control &XG Edit
Posted on: Thursday, December 01, 2005, 12:15 PM

Hi Ian,Just noticed you're putting full reverb and chorus controls into the package soon.Great stuff.The frustration for me however is that I can control DSP Control from XG Edit but not the other way around.Is there any way they could be interactive as I still need to use XG Edit for some parameters.I'm just niggling you know.It's a great piece of software.All the best Howard

From: Ian
Subject: DspCtrl & XGEdit
Posted on: Friday, December 02, 2005, 04:21 AM

Hi Howard, Good to hear you and thanks for the kind words. Unfortunately I don't really know XGEdit at all (I always used the XG editor in XG Works to control the SW). If XG Edit accepts MIDI input there might be some way of hooking it to the MIDI output of DspCtrl so that it can follow changes made there. But this is likely to get a bit complicated given that XGEdit is in turn sending output via DspCtrl. Progress with DspCtrl has been terribly slow this last 6 months due to my being very busy with other stuff. We should see rather more activity in the coming months. Are you playing in the Hereford area in the near future? Cheers, Ian.

From: Howard Bragen
Subject: DSP Control and XG Edit
Posted on: Monday, December 05, 2005, 09:55 PM

Hello again Ian,Yes XG Edit does accept midi input.Yes if there is a way that would be helpful.I think I used to have it set up so that it would do it but I don't know how I achieved it! I'm playing in Hereford at Cuban Blue on the 15th and 16th of this month but it's "Xmas Party Time"!~do you want to go there?I'm down there again on Jan 5th which I would imagine will be a bit more laid back.Anyway all the best.Have a good Christmas. Howard

From: Ian
Subject: DspCtrl and XGEdit
Posted on: Friday, December 09, 2005, 06:46 AM

Hi Howard, I'll catch you in the new year, if not on the 5th, then soon after. Thanks, Ian.

From: David
Subject: recording problem
Posted on: Saturday, December 10, 2005, 02:51 PM

I finally got a meter to read on dspctrl on audio channel 17 but should have the meter on 18 reading as well. the master sometimes gets a meter reading. But sonar 4 does not get anything. How can I solve this. Thanks and Merry Christmas.

From: Ian
Subject: Recording Problem
Posted on: Sunday, December 11, 2005, 07:51 AM

Hi Richard, In order to get the signal from the input (mixer) channel to the master channel you need to click the 'str mix' button (at the bottom of the input channel). By default this will also route the signal out to all of the (Sonar) record inputs. (Open the DspCtrl Output Patch-bay to see this default routing.) It should be sufficient for you to get a record signal in Sonar. I'm not sure why you're not getting a signal on channel 18. If you can give some more detail I might be able to help further. Best of luck with it. Cheers, Ian.

From: David
Subject: Recording Problems
Posted on: Sunday, December 11, 2005, 01:56 PM

I can get a meter reading on 17 but not on 18. I changed the rca inputs around and then got a reading on channel 18 but not 17. I tried a new cord and it does the same thing. I also plugged in two seperate cords and still only got a reading on one channel. thanks

From: Ian
Subject: Recording problems
Posted on: Sunday, December 11, 2005, 04:17 PM

David, Unless I've got the wrong end of the stick, it sounds as if your source is only producing output on one channel. What source are you using and can you test its output independently of your DSPF setup? Cheers, Ian.

From: D.E.KA.
Subject: Congratulations!!! PART A
Posted on: Wednesday, February 22, 2006, 12:50 AM

Dear IAN I’m very glad when exist programmers like as you that they continue supporting, generally hardware or software, for musical systems which unfortunately has stopped their production, but they continue constituting source of inspiration and creation for their users. Of course daily produced new systems, but this doesn’t mean that old remain useless and that we have paid some respectable money. Thanks to you the ambitious programmers they continue existing and functioning. I remained astonished with the work that you have made above in the particular cards.

From: D.E.KA.
Subject: Congratulations!!! PART B
Posted on: Wednesday, February 22, 2006, 12:52 AM

That interface of it’s if no non-existent at least looks like children's, and be reported in that continues existing for the DSP in the SX and be leniently unacceptable, for a company as the YAMAHA which didn’t even attend it to upgrade. I don’t want you to tire more with my gabble. I say that you have made an astonishing work and that you deserve congratulations!!!

From: D.E.KA.
Subject: Congratulations!!! PART C
Posted on: Wednesday, February 22, 2006, 12:53 AM

A good interface elects always even a medium card. You have put me in temptation to buy also a second DSP 2416, and shortly I’ll enter in the family of DSPCTRL users. I will close with one question. If you think of supporting in next version the PLG cards, no in editing level, but routing via the SW. As also and KENTONs Plugstation. Friendly D.E.KA.

From: Ian
Subject: Congrats
Posted on: Wednesday, February 22, 2006, 01:52 PM

Hi D.E.K.A, Thanks very much for the kind words about DspCtrl. At present I'm working on user-configurable 'MIDI' controls. These are controls that output MIDI according to the user's specification. They should allow you to set up DspCtrl to do things it can't do at present, like control PLG cards, and also control external devices which accept MIDI control input, like sound modules and effects units. If I have time I will include a facility whereby a group of settings can be saved so that, if one user sets things up for a particular bit of hardware, they can share this with others. Cheers, Ian.

From: Geir Henningsen
Subject: DSP Factory future?
Posted on: Tuesday, April 25, 2006, 03:42 PM

Cheers! DspCtrl is one great piece of software, which certainly has prolonged the lifespan of my favourite soundcards. Many thanks to Ian for this achievement! On a slightly worried side note: What will happen to my aces-of-cards in the future, as Yamaha stopped their support a fair while ago? (The keywords here being "x86-64" and "drivers") Any thoughts?

From: Ian
Subject: DSP Factory future
Posted on: Thursday, April 27, 2006, 07:24 AM

Hi Geir, Thanks for the kind words re DspCtrl - glad you like it. There certainly aren't going to be any further driver updates from Yamaha but this is only going to be an immediate problem if you're someone who needs to stay at the 'cutting edge'. I've just upgraded my trusty old P3 1GHz to a P4 3.2GHz system which seems to be as stable with the DS/SW cards as the old one was. You have to be a little careful which motherboard you choose, but a fairly up-to-date system incorporating these cards is certainly still possible. I can imagine that in 4-5 years or something there'll be temptation to upgrade to a system which won't support these cards, but, even then, there's nothing stopping us using more than one PC in our music rig. Cheers, Ian.

From: Seb T
Subject: Feature request ;)
Posted on: Tuesday, May 02, 2006, 04:00 AM

Hi Ian, It's been a short while since you heard from me but rest assured I'm still doing plenty of work with DSPCtrl and have a growing bug list for your perusal (I'll e- that over separately). I also have a growing feature req-list, but one that I'd *really* (pretty please!) like involves growing the main window verically to accommodate the fader/vu and one of eq/dyn/aux/bus/usr, since I'm running a much higher res screen. Thoughts? Seb :)

From: Ian
Subject: Feature Request
Posted on: Tuesday, May 02, 2006, 01:21 PM

Hi Seb, This is something that has been asked for time and time again over the last few years and, because of that, if I could have done it, I would. The problem is that because of the way the program is written, increasing the vertical height would be extremely difficult. Unfortunately I really don't have the time it would take. I too use higher resolution monitors but I find that the space under (or over) DspCtrl is useful for any other smaller windows I may have open. In addition I often put DspCtrl windows in 'stand-alone' mode in this space. Sorry not to be able to be more helpful. I'm always happy to receive feature requests so don't let this put you off. Also, do pass on any bug reports and I'll deal with them asap. Cheers, Ian.

From: Matt
Subject: which motherboard?
Posted on: Saturday, May 20, 2006, 01:48 AM

Ian, Great job with DspCtrl I'd be lost without it... I can't wait for the update with better midi control (sonar and bcf2000 user, should complete the puzzle). I was curious which motherboard / cpu combo you went with. I'd like to update my rig, yet still be able to use my dspf. I know there's a list at http://www.hinterlandmusic.net/mobo.htm but it sounds like you found one that works well. Thanks, Matt

From: Ian
Subject: Motherboard
Posted on: Saturday, May 20, 2006, 06:48 PM

Hi Matt, Glad you're finding DspCtrl useful. The new version is due out any time now - just finishing testing. I opted for an Asus P4C800E (because I like Asus and it was on Tim's list), with a gig of CAS2 RAM and a 3.2 gig Northwoood P4. The machine has gone like a train from the start - not had the slightest problem (yet!). In fact I'm just putting together a second one with almost identical spec, except that this time I'm trying out a WD Raptor HDD. I anticipate that this drive might be a bit noisy for a music machine, in which case it will be put to use elsewhere. But I'm intrigued to know how much difference it makes when the audio track count starts to climb. Cheers, Ian.

From: Drumity
Subject: New Version
Posted on: Saturday, May 27, 2006, 07:33 PM

Hey Ian ! I hope you are fine ;-)) Will the new version be an update or an upgrade e.g. to version 4 ?? I read something about a minor upgrade, wich will not be free. What are the new functions in this upgrade ?? MFGrooves from germany Drumity

From: Ian
Subject: New Version
Posted on: Sunday, May 28, 2006, 06:52 AM

Drumity, The next update to DspCtrl3 contains a whole new set of windows, similar to the SW1000 windows, but designed for controlling external MIDI gear, like synths and effects units (with MIDI control facilities). It's all fairly basic at present but I will be adding to it over the course of the year. Each external device has a config file which is used to set up the controls for that device. These are text files and therefore readily modifiable by users. I've already done a few (for the gear I use) which I'll post up on the site. If people do others I hope they'll send them to me so I can post them up too. These facilities will be available to all DspCtrl3 users, but with 'save' disabled. To enable 'save' there is a charge of Ģ22. Out any day now. Cheers, Ian.

From: Michael Schwartz
Subject: DSPCtrl & Samplitude
Posted on: Saturday, June 03, 2006, 11:42 PM

Ian, I am running Samplitude Professional 7.22, and am wondering if it will work with DSPCtrl? I really like the interface, and will be buying it from download. Any news on the new version I saw mentioned. If I buy now, how much will upgrades be? Thanks. Michael

From: Michael Schwartz
Subject: DSPCtrl & Samplitude
Posted on: Saturday, June 03, 2006, 11:44 PM

Ian, I am running Samplitude Professional 7.22, and am wondering if it will work with DSPCtrl? I really like the interface, and will be buying it from download. Any news on the new version I saw mentioned. If I buy now, how much will upgrades be? Thanks. Michael

From: Ian
Subject: DspCtrl and Samplitude
Posted on: Sunday, June 04, 2006, 07:54 AM

Hi Michael, Glad you like the look of DspCtrl. I know of a number of people using DspCtrl with Sam7 without problem. However I strongly recommend you test it on your setup using the DspCtrl demo before spending any money. The new version will be uploaded as soon as I find the time to finish testing - should be this week. The upgrade will cost Ģ22 and be available only to registered DspCtrl3 users. So you would pay Ģ66 for the full new version whether you bought the upgrade at the same time as DspCtrl3, or at a later date (I try to keep the money stuff simple). Cheers, Ian.

From: Drumity
Subject: SW1000XG with DS2416
Posted on: Saturday, June 17, 2006, 07:19 PM

Salut Ian ! I finally recieved my SW1000XG and connected it to my DS2416 .. so far so good ... in Cubase SX3 it worked (or seems to .. could not tested all), but on Logic Platinum it doesnīt ! It boots but the first screen freezed and everythings veryyyy slow .. so are there any known issues with LAP and the connected DS2416 + SW1000XG ?? Both cards have its dedicated IRQ .. so this could not be the problem ! When I deactivate the SW1000XG LAP will work as smoothly as before ! I bought the SW on ebay and it cames without any cables and stuff ... are the cables a.o. special ones or can I buy it in a local musicstore ? Last queation: Can I combine my 2 DS2416 with the SW1000XG the two AX44s and the AT16 ?? I only have two cables to crossconnect the two DS and both to the AT16 .. so there missing at leat on

From: Drumity
Subject: SW1000XG with DS2416 Part 2
Posted on: Saturday, June 17, 2006, 07:21 PM

at least one ... am I right ?? MFGrooves from germany Drumity

From: Ian
Subject: SW1K with DS2416
Posted on: Sunday, June 18, 2006, 06:43 AM

Hi Drumity, I'm not aware of problems (other than yours) with LA and the SW. Are there still any LA (for PC) boards you could post on? You can't connect the SW internally to a two DS card setup without breaking the DS card cross connection. I connect my SW to one DS, and that DS onto the other. The SW has to be the clock master. The connecting cable for SW to DS is the same as that for DS to DS. So it sounds like you already have enough cables. You can get spares from Yamaha or from someone on the Ampfea list (is it Tim?). If I remember correctly, the SW originally came with a second short cable for connecting one of the PLG daughterboards. Hope you get it sorted. Cheers, Ian.

From: Drumity
Subject: DS+SW+DspCtrl and Win Vista
Posted on: Monday, June 19, 2006, 09:57 AM

Salut ! I just installed the Vista Beta2 on my PC and have to say that the XP-driver works with Vista !! This are wonderful news I think and even your DspCtrl worked on Vista ... so far so good .. but the SW1000XG doesnīt work ! You canīt install the driver ... an error appears ... I donīt quite understand because you can install the DS-driver and the DS works fine in Vista. I added the SW and the CPU is permanent at 100% ... so you canīt even work with the whole system then .. I had to format the partition and wait now for the final release ;-)) But I donīt will upgrade so far īcause Vista is just WinXP with many features nobody needs like fading-effects and other very ressource hungry stuff ... so for me I can say ASTA LA VISTA ;-)) MFGrooves from germany Drumity

From: Ian
Subject: Win Vista
Posted on: Tuesday, June 20, 2006, 03:01 PM

Hi Drumity, Interesting to hear that the DS cards are happy in Vista, but I wonder what the problem with the SW is? Possibly something to do with MIDI perhaps? I haven't looked at Vista as yet, and, like you, am not in any hurry. I'll only upgrade when something forces me to! Cheers, Ian.

From: Drumity
Subject: SW+Effects+Software ad lib
Posted on: Thursday, June 29, 2006, 05:34 PM

Salut Ian ! Can I control in software like FINALE the inbuild effects of the SW with DspCtrl ?? I just playback a midifile in Finale 2006 (Notation software) and hear the file with a reverb (I think the standart reverb turned on in SW) and thats not what I want ! How can I turn off the effects of the SW ?? I have XGWorks 3.5 and it have a special mixer for the SW, but I donīt have access of the midi out in 2 applications at the same time .. so I canīt playback this file in XGWorks because its a special fileformat in Finale ! Is there a workaround to solve this problem ? MFGrooves Drumity

From: Ian
Subject: SW effects
Posted on: Thursday, June 29, 2006, 06:25 PM

Drumity, DspCtrl3 has a lot of support for the SW1000, including for the effects units. One thing you can do is install a MIDI pipe (there is a free one for download on my site) and send the output of Finale to DspCtrl via the pipe. DspCtrl then merges this signal with its own SW1000 controls. Have a look at the DspCtrl help regarding SW1000 support. Cheers, Ian.

From: D.E.KA.
Subject: HELP PART 1
Posted on: Thursday, July 06, 2006, 02:05 AM

Dear IAN. I am very glad that you fine, and continue upgrading the program. Soon I’ll buy the new upgrade. However I have a problem and I hope you help me, if you can. As long as I use it with the DSPF, it works marvellously and I am absolutely satisfied with the result. However yesterday, that I went to use it with the MIDI of SW (for the first time), I had enough crashes with restarts my PC, and a blue screen with the same stop error code which says "a wait operation, attach process, or yield was attempted from a DPC routine" then it explains about restarting my computer if this is the first time this has happened. and if this has happened before it could be due to newly installed hardware or software.

From: D.E.KA.
Subject: HELP PART 2
Posted on: Thursday, July 06, 2006, 02:14 AM

Also says I should go and disable bios memory caching and shading. The details are [0x000000b8 (0x00000000, 0x00000000,0x00000000,0x00000000)]. Sometimes freeze the Cubase, that unblocked when I closed the DspCtrl. I use the virtual Midi cable of MidiOX, and I’m sure that I make something wrong. I make all the similar relative regulations with those that I used when I worked with the XGEdit, but my problem it is not untied. What can I make fault? Can you say me which configuration you use? Does it collaborate rightly with the Midi Yoke? Can you help me? Friendly D.E.KA.

From: D.E.K.A.
Subject: MY SET UP IS
Posted on: Thursday, July 06, 2006, 02:31 AM

It's very new and includes, Asrock 775i65PE, PIV 3.20GHZ, 2X 1024MB KINGSTON PC3200 400MHZ, MATROX G550 DH AGB, 2X 80GB SATA WDIGITAL, LG DVDRW. I HOPE YOU HELP ME ThankX D.E.KA.

From: Ian
Subject: SW Problems
Posted on: Thursday, July 06, 2006, 12:48 PM

Hi DEKA, Sorry to hear you're having trouble. Can you tell me what version of Windows you're using. Does the problem occur when trying to use one of the MIDI thru channels? I have been working on these recently as some problems have cropped up with newer systems in which hyperthreading is enabled. I can send you an updated executable to try. Email me and I'll send it in the reply. Cheers, Ian.

From: Hans Klerks
Subject: Little Cable
Posted on: Tuesday, July 18, 2006, 10:22 PM

Hi Ian, Don't know if you can help me but I'm in desperate need for that little cable between SW1000XG and DS4216. I tried to contact Tim Dailey (Hinterlandmusic.net)but he appears to be "greylisted" and mail can't get thru. The Ampfea.org is mail blacklisted. I cannot find the Yamaha site to purchase the cable. Does any of your Users perhaps have the schematics for this cable so I can make it up myself (perhaps)? I can contacted on hansklerks@optusnet.com,au. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Best Regards Hans

From: Hans Klerks
Subject: Little Cable
Posted on: Wednesday, July 19, 2006, 06:59 AM

Hi Ian, Just to let you know that Yamaha Australia emailed me today, little cable has been ordered and I should be blazing away soon with my SW1000XG, DS2416 and DspCtrl 3.30. Thanks to Steven from Yamaha Aust. and your chat-site (and excellent software of course). Best Regard, Hans Klerks

From: Ian
Subject: Little cable
Posted on: Wednesday, July 19, 2006, 01:33 PM

Hi Hans, Good news that you got a source for the cable. Let me know how you get on. Cheers, Ian.

From: Andy
Subject: DSP2416 SDK
Posted on: Thursday, July 20, 2006, 02:52 PM

Does anybody know where I can get a copy of the sdk for the dsp2416 soundcard please?

From: Ian
Subject: SDK
Posted on: Thursday, July 20, 2006, 07:26 PM

Hi Andy, Email me direct (address on my site). Cheers, Ian.