… what Brock said!
Tony, I’ve been giving that some deep thought (of course). Some upsides of SCALA for H90 end users:
- As little as a dozen or so short lines of .txt in any standard editor.
- Go as simple or as complex as you want. Easy to get started.
- Huge potential to create any kind of scale overlay, and even performance tools.
- Free, deep & often updated core application.
- Tiny files, with minimal space required to store many, many tuning templates.
- Historically accurate period tunings {yawn!}
- The aforementioned per-note (de)tuning.
Then I thought about the possible logistics & ROI on ET’s end:
- Would you first need to SIFT a pitch (or pitches), shift intelligently, extrapolate MIDI Notes, process all that with a select Scala file, then reverse the l translation process back to pitches again? I really don’t know, but I’m guessing there’s a potential latency generator.
- Using static Pitchbend messages would be at least as processor-intensive. And there’s not any demand for PB support in general for the H90 (unlike the H9), so it would seem to be not worth pursuing.
Back to per-note detuning. It’s an amazing effect on synths (and easier to implement, I suppose). You can approach this on the H90 with some kind of pseudo-random external control. Be that expression pedal, 8 Step, MIDI, maybe even 3 HotSwitches + 3 / 6 Aux switches. Even better if tied to an envelope follower for per-note triggers.
So, load up MicroPitch, H910 H949 or similar, and map your “random” controller to the Pitch parameters, in different ranges. Load up a 2nd algo, and do the same.
Same concept with other algos featuring Detune parameters. Or simplify all that and use ENV controls instead.) A little detuned depth goes a long way with stacked instances of it. Maintain a fairly even dry/wet Mix overall.
Not exactly a “per-note” template, but very similar results. The semi-random depth of detuning create the variable beating and perceived rate changes.
Come to think of it: just combine both of your requests into one algorithm. That LFO is essential. Maybe – just maybe – I will find my Holy Grail inside: the “perfect” doubler effect.
