#366

OK - I got VNCserver working on fates again. If I hold button one and run sidekick, and select simplePD patch - I can edit it in VNCserver on my PC. Everything seems fine. But when I try to do this with launching ORAC it fails.
I get

launch : Orac
exec : cd “./patches/Orac”; ./run.sh &
exec : “./post-opatch.sh”
starting orac
Connection failed (Invalid argument)

#367

did you install the latest sidekick update?
(this fixes an issue with launching sidekick from from within vnc session)

(note: following all refers to Orac specifically … not other PD/SC patches launched from sidekick)

also Im not sure what you are trying to do, but you cannot start editing orac like this…

the reason is (look at run.sh and you can see) that orac is running from a systemd service.
if you want to edit it, then you would be better off launching orac manually from the command line.
(see orac.service for details of command line options)

also bare in mine on Norns, the UI is not via pure data at all… it is done using mec.

and more generally, all platforms, the Orac UI is not (generally) editable from Pd, its all done in C++

the main reason to want to launch the PD gui would be if you were developing Orac modules,
(see my youtube video that describes this) , then its quite handy.

#368

Yes - I installed the latest. I’m trying to follow your step by step videos to port my PD patches over to orac, following https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilHzy4mNu3w.

At 5:40 “some magic happens” and you’re suddenly editing the main orac patch via VNCserver. I thought it was the hold button 1 magic from your norns-sidekick video (which works), but it is some darker, more obscure magic. Similar magic is employed in this one at 4:04 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_a11cry1f8

OK - I kind of got it working - I’m writing my own answer for others who cannot intuit the linux magic:

Run these lines in the VNCserver terminal:

cd /usr/local/orac
/usr/bin/pd -rt -alsamidi -audiobuf 4 mother.pd main.pd

But… I cannot interact with the Fates/orac to select patches like in your two videos…

#369

Got 1.75 patches working in ORAC! (Would still like to be able to turn knobs on fates/orac while editing). My patches have some loadbangs that don’t seem to be updating right - I noticed a loadbang in the ORAC structure - is there something I need to know about how it handles/passes loadbangs around?

Also - the .json files are pretty easy to set up. Do you have a full list of data types? “pct” “freq”, what else? How about dimensionless?

#370

those are done on the organelle - where i do thing differently.

if you export the display you should be able to use sidekick to launch pd patches (iirc), with the exception of orac since its launched by the systemd process not sidekick.

there is a ‘special’ loadbang sent around orac - see other modules.

this is because PD does not send load bangs around when patches are dynamically loaded.

  • also its important that the loadbang is ‘per module’ rather than a global loadbang

sorry, no - there aren’t many - float, pct, freq,bool , int (things thats it iirc)
again, id check in other modules to see whats available.

types are fixed due to the way its passing parameters around.

#371

Hmm can you share a little insight on what you changed to get it working on that tft? i believe its spi. Thanks :smiley:

#372

I am not sure whether this question should rather go into the ‘questions’ category but I trust the mods to move it if yes.

I am trying my way into Orac (on Fates); I watched different videos and also read the Wiki pages but I don’t seem to get anything to work at all. Either my Orac installtion is brocken (which I do not believe, did an update a few minutes ago with no problems at all) or I need some gentle help to get me going. I know how to navigate the menu and can basically assign modules to slots.

I fail to set up e. g.

A1 seq2 -> A2 brds mono -> A3 reverb (see this wiki page)

  • Is all I have to set up A1-A3 for this example?
  • Do I have to set up S1 an S2 as well?
  • How do I operate the sequencer (start/stop)? I also tried to set up the example in the loopop video (https://youtu.be/fF9Ts7mKuBM?t=642) but I have no clue how to operate the sequencer and/or how to get midi information into Orac/Fates. The Organelle does have some controls Fates does not have.

Is there a step-by-step introduction for at least one patch which should work for a rookie like me?

#373

Finally I managed to set up a very simple chain which outputs some sound:

a1 : analog -> s1 : Serial -> s2 : MidiOut

This works with an attached Sensel Morph as controller. I realized that I have to set

s1 : Serial > Chain 1 Midi > In Midi Ch.

either to 0 (which I assume means: all channel) or 2 (which does not make sense because - as aseqdump tells me - the Sensel is sending on channel 1)

I am left with a lot of questions and I would highly appreciate any pointers to e. g.

  • what the options on the s1 pages mean
  • how to use modules which seem to use the clock such as sequencers (I assume that somehow I can start/stop sequencers modules)

Thanks a lot.

#374

you should have got sound out the first time you started Orac, as the demo 1 preset, plays a euclidean sequence.

demo 1 (and 2) preset I thought have midi channel 1 default to midi ch1,2,3 - no?

the idea of the demo presets, was to
a) make sure it did something out of the box, so you know its working
b) have a starting point for new users to ‘branch off’ from.

there are various videos online about Orac, either the ones Ive done on youtube on Orac and how to use, and also the videos by Loopop and Critter and Guitari about Orac contain a lot of information that is pertinent to Norns even if they are shown on the Organelle.

Sequencers have their own start/stop which is controlled by the ‘AUX’ key on the organelle.
on the Norns, you can map this to a midi note value, in the router module.
(after the router module pages of parameters on chains, there are some for midi parameters like this)

a1 : analog -> s1 : Serial -> s2 : MidiOut

not quite sure I understand what you mean here…

I would leave S1 as a parallel router, an S2 as clock (which is how the demo and default template are)

then all you need to do is.
A1 : analog (or whatever synth)
then go to the router module S1 , chain 1 set midi in =enabled, midi in ch 1.

thats pretty much what demo 2 preset is.

id you want to send midi out, you do not need to use the midi out module… you can simply use the router module and set the midi out channel for the chain you desire.

note: if you have a ‘synth’ in the chain e.g. a1:analog, then this will by default ‘eat’ the notes messages, and not pass them down the chain… to avoid this in the router module (S1) , you can select module A1, and turn note thru = ON …
(this option is also used if you want to have synths play in unison on a single chain)

#375

Hi Mark,

Yes, I had sound did start with the demo presets and tried to dissect these but somehow I managed to overwrite/delete the examples probably because I messed with the save menu entry (this and the new preset option is mentioned in the video but to be honest, I did not fully understand yet).

I did watch probably not all but quite a few which helped a lot. But this e. g. is an information which is new:

Thanks for that.

a1 : analog -> s1 : Serial -> s2 : MidiOut

Well, not quite sure how to put it, maybe so: I used 3 slots, so I assigend the following modules to a1, s1 and s2 (not sure if my wording is correct)

a1 : analog
s1 : Serial
s2 : MidiOut

Anyway, I will check again tomorrow with the background you provided. Thanks for taking the time and patience to answer.

#376

Any hints on where to find details on the new nui-API calls from PD? I have a couple apps that NEED graphics - so I figured I’d try to port them over to fates/PD. Got the granular synth working (without graphics), so… where do I find info on nui-graphics? This thing is going to rock… turn your fates into a GR-1!

2 Likes
#377

Is this the place? https://github.com/TheTechnobear/NuiLite ( demos folder?)

Or here?

1 Like
#378

the osc api is detailed on the wiki here:

the PD object has messages of the same name and arguments. (just take of the prefix)
however, i would use the OSC interface , as its possible I’m going to deprecate the PD object… as i don’t feel the PD objects add too much, im not sure performance is going to be that much better.

#379

yeah, it could just be wording, but id recommend thinking of the routing in the way that the videos illustrate it… (both C&G and loopop do this excellently for Orac 2.0 ) as otherwise when you start creating more patches its going to get confusion.

the basic idea behind Orac is we have ‘module slots’ that can be filled with modules (like a synth,fx), this can be connected together in various configurations by a ‘router’.
the ‘default’ configuration, use by most is to configure have these modules organised in chains ( a bit like ‘tracks’ in a daw)

the reason this is done is because I wanted the flexibility of a ‘modular’ which allows swapping in/out of modules of functionality, but didn’t want the user to have to start ‘patching’ individual things together because this would be very tedious on these platforms which have very limited UI space.
(unlike a desktop/laptop where we have a nice big screen and mouse etc)

so by default what we have is:
S1 and S2 are ‘system module slots’, and usually left as they are. (router, clock)

S1 is usually the ‘parallel’ router module, is responsible for how messages are passed between modules - do NOT think of them flowing thru it, think of it as a controller.
(initially stick with parallel, as its usually more useful than serial)

S2 is usually the clock module

whilst starting out do not change this.

A1-A3, B1-B4,C1-3 are 10 module slots arranged into 3 chains, A,B and C
this is where you will normally place modules
chains are ‘configured’ in the router (S1) and this functionality includes audio in/out, mixing as well as midi in/out.

‘advanced’ module slots,
P1, pre- module … used for processing thing before they go to chains
P2, post-module… used for processing things after the chains
M1-M3 - modulation module slots, that are not connected to the audio, but are used for modulation module which can modulate parameters on other modules.

this may seem a little confusing at first, but as i said, all detailed in the various Orac 2.0 videos… and once you’ve seen it visualised it’s very straight forward.

the truth is… the above is all really use a ‘basic configuration’, under the covers Orac is much more flexible that the above might show…

really the heart of a Orac is an ‘engine’ that dynamically writes pure data patches - connect submodules together…advanced users could quite easily create their own ‘router’ module that have the module-slots configured in any number of different ways… and Orac could happily take this in its stride :slight_smile:
but… as of now, most find the ‘out of the box’ setup, flexible (intimidating ?! :wink: ) enough.

2 Likes
#380

Thanks, that got me going.

Still have to find out how exactly I can midi control the sequencer modules…

Does the AUX behave like a toggle, when it set to a certain midi note?

I could not find any information about those midi parameters. I have only a rough idea about the parameters of s1 grouped in:

  • Active (?)
  • A. Ctrl 1 (the mentioned AUX, food switch and expression pedal)
  • A. Ctrl 2
  • A. Presets (I assume: switch presets back/forward and save (where to?))

That’s partly because I do not have much experience with using midi in general so please pardon my ignorance. In any case, I appreciate your help a lot!

#381

Can you give me an example of how to do this? I can’t get any of the OSC commands like gline to work with PDNui external? I am using the Simple.pd example.

#382

sorry, i got it wrong its a midi CC number

it actually defaults to midi CC 69 (you can can this in A Ctrl1 Aux) ,
anything value > 64 is the equivalent of pressing aux down, below <=64 means aux up/released.

( I use CC rather than note numbers, so that note numbers can be used for playing notes :slight_smile: )

note: you have to ensure that midi is getting thru to pure data , but I assume you are already doing that given above discussion.

you do not need to use the PD Nui external at all to use the OSC interface, you just need to send and receive the osc messages that I pointed to you on the wiki.

I don’t have an example yet (Ive been testing with the command line and supercollider) but @Oxbown has switched NornsMother over to use the OSC interface, so you can see how its done in his patch

( I think this is the released version, but not 100% sure on that)

note: he is using some pd externals like unpackOSC and routeOSC.

2 Likes
#383

Getting there. Needs a waveform display still.

7 Likes
#384

ORAC installed… demo 1 starts with the rhythm part but there is no MIDI control. Using a korg Minilogue.
The same works well and is recognized in NORNS but I can’t configure it in ORAC. Any solution?

Thanks

#385

see above posts re: midi (e.g. my post here)

you need to look at using aconnect, or install amidiauto

also try demo 2, which has midi input on midi ch1, ch2 and ch3 enabled.

1 Like