Author Topic: preenfm3 first impressions...  (Read 3939 times)

lokki

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preenfm3 first impressions...
« on: November 22, 2020, 11:37:20 PM »
xavier,

great work on the preenfm3!! really. the 0.97 firmware feels already very good! sound quality is also much improved over "old" preenfm2 model.

i only had a chance to play with it for a couple of minutes, but the menus look straightforward to understand. i really like the scope and the lfo overlay for example is a very nice touch, feels very intuitive....

a couple of remarks:

in the midi menu the term "Midi" in the top title could be left out, instead of "Midi Note Shift" it could simply say "Note Shift" etc. since we are in the midi menu it is obvious...the same goes for the scala and the global menu i guess.

-if i am in the midi note shift menu and adjust the value while a note is playing i get hanging notes. (i know from a programmers perspective why that would happen) but i think as a user it would be nice to be able to quickly adjust the value while a note is playing (simply because i trust my ears and it is quick to do so...)

-i am not sure about the placement of the mono/poly switch in the menu. i think it would also fit into the midi menu of each instrument.
in mono mode there would ideally be more then one mode. (i think we had this discussion before for the preenfm2)
at least an option to retrigger on legato would be nice. also different handlings of portamento would be nice (always glide, vs only glide when notes overlap)
bonus for proper handling of multiple pressed keys in mono mode... last note priority, highest note priority, lowest note priority.

cheers, and congrats again!

ericd

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Re: preenfm3 first impressions...
« Reply #1 on: November 23, 2020, 12:36:37 AM »
Good idea lokki to start this thread.

As I posted elsewhere, I really like the implementation of midi note range per instrument. I might have simply overlooked this in Preen FM2 (?) but in any case,  it's really handy.

The  display screen is really helpful and well thought out I think. lokki makes a few minor suggestions, but overall the interface is super easy to navigate once you see how it's structured.

I have had a few issues with hanging notes: I need to play around a bit more to see if I can work out if there's a consistent reason.

I am really excited by the 6 audio outputs and the flexibility with how these are assigned. I know 0.97 has changed how the output stage works so I am looking forward to messing around and will report back.

solipsvs

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Re: preenfm3 first impressions...
« Reply #2 on: November 23, 2020, 12:41:13 AM »
great work on the preenfm3!! really. the 0.97 firmware feels already very good! sound quality is also much improved over "old" preenfm2 model.

how do you mean?

vurt

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Re: preenfm3 first impressions...
« Reply #3 on: November 23, 2020, 03:56:48 AM »
would be cool to hear some comparison patches between fm2 and 3.

Xavier

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Re: preenfm3 first impressions...
« Reply #4 on: November 23, 2020, 07:31:37 AM »

Thanks, that's a usefull thread.

I agree the poly/mono stuff is not greatl.
But i think it's part of the preset. When designing a sound, you have in mind whether it's mono or poly, which is why it's in the preset and not in the mixer part.

at least an option to retrigger on legato would be nice. also different handlings of portamento would be nice (always glide, vs only glide when notes overlap)
bonus for proper handling of multiple pressed keys in mono mode... last note priority, highest note priority, lowest note priority.

Portamento options is a good idea.
What do you mean by " an option to retrigger" ?
And by "bonus for proper handling of multiple pressed keys in mono mode" ? Isnt' it already how it works.

Xavier

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Re: preenfm3 first impressions...
« Reply #5 on: November 23, 2020, 07:34:08 AM »
great work on the preenfm3!! really. the 0.97 firmware feels already very good! sound quality is also much improved over "old" preenfm2 model.

how do you mean?

"old" preenfm2 refers i think to  PCB R5 and before.
pfm2 R6 has the same DAC as pfm3, and the sound is the same. The increased sample rate frequency push a little the amount of modulation you can make before hearing digital noise.
« Last Edit: November 23, 2020, 07:47:05 AM by Xavier »

Xavier

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Re: preenfm3 first impressions...
« Reply #6 on: November 23, 2020, 07:40:26 AM »
would be cool to hear some comparison patches between fm2 and 3.

I posted a DAC comparaison here (pfm3 and pfm2 24 bits have almost the same sound).
http://ixox.fr/forum/index.php?topic=69695.msg74371#msg74371

lokki

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Re: preenfm3 first impressions...
« Reply #7 on: November 23, 2020, 08:11:40 AM »
I agree the poly/mono stuff is not greatl.
But i think it's part of the preset. When designing a sound, you have in mind whether it's mono or poly, which is why it's in the preset and not in the mixer part.

ah sorry my bad, i thought the midi channel mapping and instrument range where part of the preset as well... it just felt natural to have the poly/mono option also in that midi menu.

about the mono legato stuff let me try to explain:

in many mono synths (moog/waldorf etc.) there are options/modes to handle multiple key presses and options to define the portamento.

portamento:

-either portamento is always on, regardless of what has happened before. this means every note glides from the old note, even if that old note is already off and not sounding anymore this i think was the standard portamento in old times :)
-portamento is only on when notes overlap, so an old note has to still sound for a new note to be played. this is called fingered portamento in many synths (waldorf etc.)

i think there are even more modes on other synths, but i will have to dig that up.

mono multi key handling:

-some mono synths will always play the lowest pressed note, even if it is an "older" one, i think most old analog mono synths had no concept of old or new note, just a direction in which they scanned their keyboard, which is why it was either lowest or highest note pressed that would sound.
-some monos (as noted above) always play the highest held note, regardless of other newer notes that are lower in pitch
-some monos implement "modern" note handling, meaning that the newest note will get priority, and if you release it, the still held notes are still in order and the one that is then the newest will sound.

it would be great to have these options in the preenfm3, since it is a common feature to use these modes for mono lead/bass sounds.
and these modes are challenging to understand because some of the mono modes actually only work with some of the portamento modes. i.e. fingered portamento only really works well with a mono mode that uses the "modern" note handling.

retrigger in mono mode:

either every new note that comes in triggers the "new note process" envelopes etc. or only notes that are not overlapping trigger the "new note process". this is called retrigger on legato on many synths.
« Last Edit: November 23, 2020, 09:06:29 AM by lokki »

lokki

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Re: preenfm3 first impressions...
« Reply #8 on: November 23, 2020, 08:13:44 AM »
great work on the preenfm3!! really. the 0.97 firmware feels already very good! sound quality is also much improved over "old" preenfm2 model.

how do you mean?

as xavier noted, the new DAC helps tremendously on decaying notes there is no more digital noise coming in at low volumes. it overall sounds deeper, but that may just be my wishful thinking :)