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Acxel II
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elektro80
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 2:03 pm    Post subject: Acxel II
Subject description: yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah....bzzzzzzz.. shake it
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http://www.idarca-audio.com

salut salut salut salut salut salut salut

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elektro80
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 2:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Related!
http://electro-music.com/forum/topic-15235.html

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elektro80
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 2:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

The old one looked like this:


Posted Image, might have been reduced in size. Click Image to view fullscreen.

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seraph
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:57 pm    Post subject: Re: Acxel II
Subject description: yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah....bzzzzzzz.. shake it
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elektro80 wrote:
http://www.idarca-audio.com

that web site looks "oldish" and, consequently, not very promising
Rolling Eyes

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elektro80
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:59 pm    Post subject: Re: Acxel II
Subject description: yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah....bzzzzzzz.. shake it
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seraph wrote:
elektro80 wrote:
http://www.idarca-audio.com

that web site looks "oldish" and, consequently, not very promising
Rolling Eyes


Shocked

Quote:
Last update March 2008


Seems cool.


Anyways... oldish? Shocked
I am oldish... hopefully my wife thinks I´m still promising.. Shocked

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blue hell
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 4:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I remember liking the old one, so I probably heard some samples Laughing but I agre with Carlos on how that website looks ... so, no images of the new thing yet I guess ...
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also .. could someone please turn down the thermostat a bit.
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seraph
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:10 am    Post subject: Re: Acxel II
Subject description: yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah....bzzzzzzz.. shake it
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elektro80 wrote:

Anyways... oldish? Shocked
I am oldish... hopefully my wife thinks I´m still promising.. Shocked

visually speaking yes, it looks outdated. I won't comment on the rest Wink

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elektro80
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I got some more product info from the company just now. Pretty interesting stuff.
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mono-poly



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PostPosted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 5:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

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elektro80
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 3:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I´m very pleased to announce that we will set up a forum for the most excellent Acxel II crew. Jan is setting it up right now.

Very Happy

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blue hell
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 3:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

elektro80 wrote:
Jan is setting it up right now.


Done, moved this into it.

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also .. could someone please turn down the thermostat a bit.
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pguilmette



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PostPosted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 9:27 pm    Post subject: WebSite
Subject description: WebSite
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BTW about the idaqrca-audio website it is better read from Firefox browser, the Web tool seems to have an issue within Explorer representation, waiting from the supplier about it.

Yes agree it is oldish, we put more emphasis to have as complete as possible information on it, and improving it on a continuous basis (so as for the brochure - that is REALLY technical).

Some of you have problem to get the audio files on website ???
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GovernorSilver



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PostPosted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 1:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Welcome!

Will Axcel II be able to load Scala (.scl and .kbm format) files?

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pguilmette



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PostPosted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 9:26 pm    Post subject: Scala
Subject description: Scala
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GovernorSilver wrote:
Welcome!

Will Axcel II be able to load Scala (.scl and .kbm format) files?


Hi

The answer on short term is no.

In mid-long term there are 2 answers:

1 - About future integration of abstraction language -Scala or others, the native Acxel II processor (the RPP) understands programming languages (in a massive parallel data flows), then it can work at different abstraction levels.

2 - Into Mac or PC environment Scripts - Plugins - Languages can be integrated at low or high levels within application software or mixed with the RPP processor.

Hope this answer to your question.
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seraph
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 11:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

GovernorSilver wrote:

Will Axcel II be able to load Scala (.scl and .kbm format) files?


Paolo
get LMSO and you''ll be OK Exclamation Wink

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elektro80
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 6:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

seraph wrote:
GovernorSilver wrote:

Will Axcel II be able to load Scala (.scl and .kbm format) files?


Paolo
get LMSO and you''ll be OK Exclamation Wink


Still, one might imagine that in-the-box direct support for alternate tuning systems would be of great interest.

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 6:43 am    Post subject: LMSO & microtonality
Subject description: LMSO & microtonality
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seraph wrote:
GovernorSilver wrote:

Will Axcel II be able to load Scala (.scl and .kbm format) files?


Paolo
get LMSO and you''ll be OK Exclamation Wink


Hi

This put me to the point of the microtonality, I recently had discussions about it... the resolution. Acxel II is currently 0.019 cent resolution (16 bits / octave).

Following the discussions we figured that for most users that is sufficient. On the other side we know that some may need to have 16 bits resolution per half tone.

ANy opinions about this ???
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elektro80
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 7:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Actually, we do have more than a few microtonal gurus here. We even have a forum for all things microtonal. Very Happy .
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xjscott



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PostPosted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 8:54 am    Post subject: MIDI Tuning Standard Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

16 bits per octave is fine for most purposes. It is better than the resolution of most hardware instruments that support tuning, where 1 cent resolution was unfortunately common.

There are a few scenarios where it's not good enough, for example high register harmonic drone clusters tuned to JI and held down, where the beating of partials due to the slight mistuning will be heard. This specific case is often the issue that concerns JI and harmonic scale users who are advocating greater tuning resolution.

Even better than 16 bits per octave is 14 bits per semitone or 0.006 cents, which is the official MIDI Tuning Standard resolution.

In my opinion, the best format to support overall is the MIDI Tuning Standard sysex format since it has fine resolution, and works to make real time tuning changes if you implement the single note tuning message. It's not necessary to support the entire range of messages, the first two messages are fine, the 128 note bank message, and the single note message.

In other words, the 08 01 message and the 08 02 messages defined here:

http://www.midi.org/about-midi/tuning.shtml

The format is extremely simple and reading a 08 01 full keyboard message can be accomplished with a couple lines of code for a very basic implementation (which ignores the 'no change' message that no one I know of has used, though it could be useful in the future so you can implement it if you like). I recommend you ignore the checksum when recognizing the message. Implementing one or both of these two messages will put any synth maker way ahead of the pack in tuning implementation.

There is a suite of additional tuning messages that were added that allow for both tuning programs and banks, but there's never been an instrument with more than 128 tuning programs so the bank message was a bit too aggressive in practicality. There's also scale tuning messages that are 12 note octave repeating scales only with no pitch reference and I personally don't mind if no one ever implements them as they are not useful for general use.

Scala is not a good format because it has no pitch reference and so to load a tuning you have to load two separate files, a .kbm and .scl file, OR you have to add a pitch reference selector to the interface that exists separately from your tuning files. This means many steps to load a tuning, and makes it impossible to have real time tuning changes, which allows extended just intonation and tunings with more than 128 notes, both which are of great interest to many composers.

.TUN is better than .SCL since it is has the absolute pitch specified with the scale, but MTS is better yet since it has all that AND can be used in real time and embedded live in sequences allowing for tuning sequences rather than annoying users with having to navigate to a .TUN or .SCL text file on their disk every time they want to change tunings.

The reason people want .SCL support is there is a free library with nearly 4000 scales than is in .SCL format. This library is also available in other formats as well, including MTS and .TUN, but the .SCL version is the easiest to find, hence the advocacy. The inventor of the .SCL format once said that it was not designed to be used as a synth tuning format, but it seems after a few synths added it he changed his mind. It is still inconvenient for serious tuning work due to the lack of pitch reference issue though, and I find synths that only accept .SCL formats to be unusable in practice. However, there are others, especially people who mainly work with a single tuning or a small set, and don't change their pitch reference, or are OK with A440 for everything, who find it adequate and useful. .TUN supporting synths I find more useful since it is only a single step to load a tuning, but they are deficient in that live tuning changes, extended JI, and matrix modulation are not possible.

-----

There are four general architectures for the interior tuning mappings of a retunable synth and you get to choose which one you want.

1. There is a bank of tunings and each patch, or element of a patch, has a setting to select a tuning slot in the bank. This is used by Yamaha and is very versatile.
2. Each channel has its own tuning. This method is used in the consumer/semi-pro Yamaha XG and Roland GS scale tuning systems. This method is nearly as versatile as #1, but the 12 note octave only scale tunings of GS & XG are not sufficiently versatile to be useful on these instruments. I use this method in my Cupcake synth, but I accept full keyboard 128 note tunings instead of 12 note ones.
3. Each patch has its own tuning. Absynth does this. This sounds at first like it might be the most versatile method - it does after all use the most memory, but it proves to be a pain in practice since if you want to hear a tuning on several different patches, you have to change it manually for each patch. Fortunately, Absynth puts the tuning selector in the front panel, which at least reduces the number of clicks to do this substantially, and recently selected tunings are cached in a menu there though the interface is slightly wonky.
4. There is a single tuning and all patches use it. Used in many monotimbral synths that use .TUN or .SCL files. Advantages are that you can set up a tuning, then try it out in other patches with a patch change. This is convenient, but can be emulated in method #1 since all patches can there be set to use tuning #1 which is then the global tuning. Doesn't allow you to have layered patches with different tunings, for say a honky tonk piano, or a gamelan orchestra in which each instrument has a different tuning, or even use JI for violins and stretched ET for pianos in an orchestral arrangement.

I personally recommend architecture #1. #2 with full-keyboard tunings works as well and is slightly simpler to implement. I am not a big fan of the others, #3 in particular is quite clumsy in practice for someone that works with many different tunings. Whatever method is used, retuning via standard sysex messages is essential. Some DAWs like Ableton Live don't accept sysex though, so for work with these an ability to also read the sysex file from disk is useful - the FM7 supports reading MTS either from live MIDI or from a file. The implementation is currently broken in the FM8 though and NI takes its time fixing things so the FM8's not a good reference implementation here as it stands. (Also, the FM7 did not save the full keyboard tunings with banks which is essentially a bug and meant a bit of extra work in practice.)

Whatever you do, do not limit scales to octaves, but allow all 128 notes of the MIDI range to be independently tuned to any frequency desired.

-----

One last thing: it is extremely convenient for a synth to support MIDI Guitar Mode aka Mode 4 aka Omni Off/Mono On. Very few support this anymore, but it should be considered a standard feature since it enables guitarists to play expressively, but also allows arbitrary dynamic retuning with all the versatility of real time single note retuning messages, but with a shorter message and thus less latency, and also without requiring sysex support. Some synths that support Guitar Mode also allow channel panning, and this is a useful extension to guitar mode.

Last edited by xjscott on Thu Apr 10, 2008 9:18 am; edited 1 time in total
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pguilmette



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PostPosted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 9:17 am    Post subject: microtonality
Subject description: microtonality
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Thanks XJ for the information, I have some papers about it.

In fact we have some drivers updates to complete before the Acxel II launching. This include MIDI stuff that we will upgrade, if not implemented in the launching it will follow very soon later.

I also understand your points about scala vs .TUN formats.

I didn't see any restriction about the 4 architectures as you refered, on the Acxel II point of view these are interfaces with dynamic translations tables that can be absolute or relative to control pitch independently on each channel.

These are useful informations.

Thanks again.
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GovernorSilver



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PostPosted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 11:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

seraph wrote:
GovernorSilver wrote:

Will Axcel II be able to load Scala (.scl and .kbm format) files?


Paolo
get LMSO and you''ll be OK Exclamation Wink


Hi Carlo... the response of LMSO's author to this thread was more articulate than any I could have written. Smile

I'll be following the development of this instrument with much interest, Pierre. I just found this nice article (sorry electro80 if you already posted it) - and it has a nice little comparison with the Kyma:

http://matrixsynth.blogspot.com/2008/03/axcel-ii.html

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 11:37 am    Post subject: LMSOetc
Subject description: LMSOetc
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GovernorSilver wrote:
seraph wrote:
GovernorSilver wrote:

Will Axcel II be able to load Scala (.scl and .kbm format) files?


Paolo
get LMSO and you''ll be OK Exclamation Wink


Hi Carlo... the response of LMSO's author to this thread was more articulate than any I could have written. Smile

I'll be following the development of this instrument with much interest, Pierre. I just found this nice article (sorry electro80 if you already posted it) - and it has a nice little comparison with the Kyma:

http://matrixsynth.blogspot.com/2008/03/axcel-ii.html

Hi Governor
Thanks for interest, they also asked some questions about the 4X, you find my answer there (was by email not very convenient). i definitely prefer the forum like electro-music to point out global out specific elements of interest.
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pguilmette



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PostPosted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:40 am    Post subject: Re-synthesis
Subject description: Sound reproduction quality improvements
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We just made an update on the re-synthesis algorithms that improve the reproduction quality (eliminating or reducing some high frequency and sub fundamental artifacts).

You can go back on idarca-audio website and get the demo audio files (in particular - Violin, Bell and Paganini sequence).

More to come.

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Electronicant



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PostPosted: Sat May 03, 2008 2:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Hi. I wonder how big the touch screen will be. Any measures?
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PostPosted: Sat May 03, 2008 8:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Henrik wrote:
Hi. I wonder how big the touch screen will be. Any measures?


Hi Henrik

We actually plan 2 models.
LCD - 17", and possibly other larger models later on, we will purchase OEM these screen and have our own enclosure, then we may consider more than only one size.

PANEL: About the same size as was the Acxel-1 grapher - 25", less resolution but more direct tactile feeling ans more robust for Real time control

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