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Software Instruments => Pigments => Pigments - General Discussions => Topic started by: EmotionBlur on December 11, 2020, 11:45:20 am

Title: Pigments modulation function and odd time signatures
Post by: EmotionBlur on December 11, 2020, 11:45:20 am
Hello fellow musicians, is it possible to determine the function modulation length in beats, in order to sync it with an odd time signature? I have a project set to 7/8. and Pigments sequencer set to 14/16 notes length. When I play a note longer than one 7/8 bar, I can't find a way to make the mod function restart after 7/8.
Any help would be appreciated!
Cheers
Luciano
Title: Re: Pigments modulation function and odd time signatures
Post by: LBH on December 11, 2020, 03:50:44 pm
Hi and welcome to Arturia forums.

I have made this feature request:
FR TO SET THE NUMBER OF STEPS FOR FUNCTIONS AND MORE. ALSO GOOD FOR THE SEQ/ ARP: https://forum.arturia.com/index.php?topic=95463.0

It would be great to be able to do synced odd signatures.
Title: Re: Pigments modulation function and odd time signatures
Post by: EmotionBlur on December 11, 2020, 05:14:14 pm
Hi and welcome to Arturia forums.

I have made this feature request:
FR TO SET THE NUMBER OF STEPS FOR FUNCTIONS AND MORE. ALSO GOOD FOR THE SEQ/ ARP: https://forum.arturia.com/index.php?topic=95463.0

It would be great to be able to do synced odd signatures.

Hi LBH, thank you for your reply. So it seems it's actually a missing feature there. I could actually set the number of steps in the sequencer, and also use "Seq Start" as a trigger for the function so the latter seems to be there now.

Cheers
Luciano
Title: Re: Pigments modulation function and odd time signatures
Post by: LBH on December 11, 2020, 09:07:23 pm
Hi EmotionBlur,

I could actually set the number of steps in the sequencer, and also use "Seq Start" as a trigger for the function so the latter seems to be there now.
That could work the times you wan't the excact same length, if it actually worked/ work that way.

Are you saying, that your Function is resetting each time a Pigments sequence or arp reach step 1 without you retrigger a key? That's not happening here. Also i would think that should be a Step 1 trigger.
Here the Seq Start trigger/ reset a functions to step one, when i play a note that also reset the sequencer/ arp, and then it does'nt trigger the function again until you play another note - no matter how many  rounds the sequencer/ arp play  while a note is held.  I got to play a note again to trigger/ reset the Function to sync. Even this can sometimes work, but it's not very flexible. Perhaps this is what you are doing?

If you actually got this working so the sequencer/ arp trigger on each step 1 even on notes held down, then can you tell how excactly? Does it work in standalone mode - and in which OS and plugin does it work?

Cheers
Title: Re: Pigments modulation function and odd time signatures
Post by: Chromat1c on January 23, 2021, 12:22:12 pm
The implementation of irrational time divisions is sadly lacking in most software and hardware. I think they don't have the musical knowledge to implement it and so stay safe and just do binary and triplets, dotted. Not even logic audio deals with irrational time  properly making you put the time sig back to even to do some quantise operations or you end up with strange results. There needs to be a standardisation that covers all the possible combinations of time sig. Hacks me off because I write a lot of stuff in all sorts of time sigs. All you need is a number and divisor like 4/4 or 15/8 etc

Developers everywhere we need better tools. Not everybody makes music in 4/4.
Title: Re: Pigments modulation function and odd time signatures
Post by: Drakendor on July 27, 2021, 06:48:32 pm
Honestly, I love pigments and I've been using it a lot in the last months, but this is a small thing that matters more than it looks like. I don't really mind doing a quick conversion of the bpm to hertz and syncing it manually (and I can see why it would be hard to implement, since some conversions give too many decimal places for it to be entirely accurate, so it would need to sync to the DAW's signature, and that is difficult too), but just the fact that you can't even change the number of bars - purely visual implementation, no complex logic required - is a turn off for me, because drawing odd stuff (5 or 7 for example) on an even grid is the complicated part in my opinion. I come from Serum and it has that option of switching the grid size, even if you can't sync the reset trigger correctly, the pattern is drawn exactly the way you want it to be.

As I said, I love the product but I would like at least to be able to change the amount of bars in the drawing section.

Cheers!  :)
Title: Re: Pigments modulation function and odd time signatures
Post by: Chromat1c on July 28, 2021, 10:00:45 am
Yes we are missing out on musicality that has existed forever. It is difficult but needs working on. A 7 tuplet for example in 4/4 has no quantise value below the highest resolution in any DAW or other because of the nature of the math involved. If you zoom in the placement of the divisions will never fit even at the finest quantise values.

5 and 7 tuplets are played all the time by musicians and is also something singers do unconsciously especially at the end of phrases to fit the words in. Git solos too.

That is even before we get to irrational time signatures that may even need to change values bar to bar. Even Logic audio gets confused in 7/8 when trying to use things like reversing notes etc I have come across other unexpected behaviours like that too.

All the timing stuff in music tech needs to step up a level in evolution so we are not missing out of musicality possibility.