Suggestions for bundled GVerb plugin

[mrevilkiwi]

#1. and this goes for any plugin that might replace it: Nameofplugin (Reverb) instead of Nameofplugin. in this case GVerb. That way n00bs will know what it is.
#2. Add a drop down box list entitled "Presets:" that changes the settings listed to the ones here:
http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/GVerb ... b_settings make one of those presets default when opening Gverb.
#3. if the problem is this is developed by someone else and they don't want to make usability changes, drop the reverb plugin from those that Audacity carries. It's just not worth having as it is. There has to be something better if this isn't fixed for usability.

Kind Regards
T Helms

[steve]

2...Add a drop down box list entitled "Presets:

+1
I think this has been suggested before, and I'm strongly in favour of presets for GVerb.

3. if the problem is this is developed by someone else and they don't want to make usability changes, drop the reverb plugin from those that Audacity carries.

-1
Despite the horrible defaults, I use GVerb frequently and find it very useful for certain types of reverb effect.
As it is open source there's no reason why another developer can not add preset support (or at least better default values). Unfortunately I'm not a programmer or I would have done so long ago.

[Edgar]

Unfortunately I'm not a programmer or I would have done so long ago.

We do not compile GVerb for the Audacity source distro. I could not find the source code nor could I find any non-Audacity based support site. Do you have the source or know someone who does?

[steve]

Do you have the source or know someone who does?

I'm not sure if this is the correct version, but it looks like it's in here:
http://plugin.org.uk/releases/0.4.9/

[Edgar]

Do you have the source or know someone who does?

I'm not sure if this is the correct version, but it looks like it's in here:
http://plugin.org.uk/releases/0.4.9/

"Last modified 2004"--talk about stale! Let me look, but it will be tomorrow...

[mrevilkiwi]

i believe the most up to date version of the plugins is http://plugin.org.uk/releases/0.4.15/

in the download there seems to be code to change the default values at
swh-plugins-0.4.15swh-plugins-0.4.15gverb_1216.c

this appears to describe the window information:

Code: Select all

if (gverbDescriptor) {
		gverbDescriptor->UniqueID = 1216;
		gverbDescriptor->Label = "gverb";
		gverbDescriptor->Properties =
		 LADSPA_PROPERTY_HARD_RT_CAPABLE;
		gverbDescriptor->Name =
		 D_("GVerb");
		gverbDescriptor->Maker =
		 "Juhana Sadeharju <kouhia at nic.funet.fi>, LADSPAification by Steve Harris <[email protected]>";
		gverbDescriptor->Copyright =
		 "GPL";
		gverbDescriptor->PortCount = 10;

		port_descriptors = (LADSPA_PortDescriptor *)calloc(10,
		 sizeof(LADSPA_PortDescriptor));
		gverbDescriptor->PortDescriptors =
		 (const LADSPA_PortDescriptor *)port_descriptors;

		port_range_hints = (LADSPA_PortRangeHint *)calloc(10,
		 sizeof(LADSPA_PortRangeHint));
		gverbDescriptor->PortRangeHints =
		 (const LADSPA_PortRangeHint *)port_range_hints;

		port_names = (char **)calloc(10, sizeof(char*));
		gverbDescriptor->PortNames =
		 (const char **)port_names;

I give no apologies for my blatant level of non-knowledgeability, i hope that helps.

[Edgar]

This is way out of my comfort zone. I do not have any C compiler installed except Microsoft's. The Readme is terse at best and I'm not going to devote the time and effort needed to find out if it will even compile, sorry!

[mrevilkiwi]

can someone tell me who compiled the various plugins for the latest audacity binary packages?

Are they compiled versions that have existed for yonks and are just repackaged each time or are they ones that are compiled freshly for each release?

Does anyone know? I have no idea who packages Audacity for general windows release.

[steve]

There's some limitations to what the default values can be.
Each slider can take one of the following values:

0,
100,
minimum,
1/4 scale,
1/2 scale,
3/4 scale,
maximum.

I've no idea how to implement presets, but I've managed to change the default values and the slider ranges.
I've compiled GVerb on Linux, and I think that in Audacity these settings are a lot more useful than the original defaults.

These are the new ranges and defaults that I've set (Min, Max, Default):
Room Size (s): 1.0 , 200.0 , 50.75
Reverb Time (s): 0.1 , 10.0 , 2.575
Damping: 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.5
Input Bandwidth: 0.0 , 1.0 , 0.75
Dry Signal Level (dB): -60 , 0.0, 0.0
Early reflection level (dB): -60 , 0.0 , -30
Tail level (dB): -60 , 0.0 , -30

I've attempted to make a patch (attached). If I've not done it right, please be gentle with me, I'm not a programmer.

I've also attached the gverb_1216.so file so that Linux users can (hopefully) test it. To use this file, un-zip it and place it either in the Audacity plug-ins folder, or create a ~/.audacity_files folder an put it in there (Linux only)

I've also created a deb file if anyone wants it, but note that I'm not a developer so I may not have done is quite right (though it works on my Ubuntu 10.10 machine.

A couple of points that may cause some disagreement (or not):

The default dry level is 0 dB.
Although I personally like to use the 2 track method (original "dry" track + new copy "wet" track), I think that most users will prefer to just apply the effect to the original track and get something that sounds reasonable.

The maximum reverb time has been cut down from 30 seconds to 10 seconds.
The Audacity wiki recommends 20 seconds for a "Nice hall effect" http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/GVerb
Personally I think that greater than 10 seconds reverb time is rarely useful, and a 10 second reverb can still produce a big hall effect, or "down a sewer" effect.
Because the default cannot be set to "very low", a 30 second reverb time would only allow the default settings to be 0.1 seconds (far too short for a default) or 15 seconds (far too long for a default). Having a maximum reverb time of 10 seconds allows the default to be set to a far more reasonable 2.575 seconds.

Both of these changes, if adopted, will require a minor update to the wiki page.

[mrevilkiwi]

That's brilliant Steve!

Great progress.

Is the problem you described here:

There's some limitations to what the default values can be.
Each slider can take one of the following values:

0,
100,
minimum,
1/4 scale,
1/2 scale,
3/4 scale,
maximum.

fixable by switching to another type of slider or setting the number entry box etc? that sounds like a weird problem, a bug in the LADSPA implementation or a lack of functionality?

Who can I talk to about that?

PS when i set one of those sliders whilst using audacity it remembers the exact setting until i exit?