supertwang

User/Display Mode:
This is Midi Controller mode that would enable the development of 3rd party apps leveraging the Deluge's great 16x8 control surface. Such an API would invites the extended music developer community into the design conversation surrounding the hardware, generating new tools and momentum for the entire community (hopefully taking some of the developer load off Rohan, at no additional cost to Synthstrom) in realizing the full potential of the Deluge). Don't get me wrong, it's damn near perfect, but there are so many other things that grid would be useful for too!

In a nutshell, the mode/API would need to provide the ability to assign (at minimum) a midi-channel, a note number, a velocity and an RGB color, to each of the grid buttons, via MIDI. I see it as a natural extension of the Clips Mode/Session view being requested in another thread (see PS below). In fact, if this Mode/API existed, a third party developer could actually provide a Clips Mode not to mention any number of other ideas that could be drempt up.

A generic "User Mode" is an idea that the Novation Launchpad Pro implements brilliantly. Not only can you use that grid for whatever you want, there is an open MIDI-based API that allows your software to control the pad colors in real time. An ability to use the grid in a generic way, via MIDI, would allow all of the Deluge fans out there to really get creative with this brilliant control surface. The community could benefit from the wealth of 3rd party tools that the Deluge would enable - making this instrument even MORE useful!.

Possible ideas:
- Imagine the shape of your LFO visually drawn and moving on the Deluge Grid like a display!
- Imagine seeing the (short) title of your song on the 16x8 grid as you scroll through your songs!
- Imagine a spectral level meters view, reacting live to your music!

Can you think of any alternate uses for the Deluge's big grid?

All of these things and so many more would be possible with an API that enables control of color and midi per grid cell.

PS: I originally posted this idea as an adjunct to the "Session View/Clips Mode" feature request, because in my view, from a development standpoint, it'd represent a small incremental development effort over implementing a Clips Mode/Session View, that'd yield huge benefits. IE if you're already implementing a view of per-button functionality (Clips Mode/Session View), adding a little bit of additional customizability would yield huge benefits. In fact, with the exception of RGB control of the grid over MIDI, you could probably mimic the outward-bound MIDI effect of a User Mode just by populating the "Clips Mode" grid with single note clips of your choice for each clip. That small additional developer effort to add an API to feed back the color over MIDI, cracks open a world of potential. To some extent, an open User Mode, might even be the best first step, as it'd enable a third party developer to effectively provide Clips Mode if they so desired (I would!).

But, in terms of discussion, it really is a different discussion/feature request, hence this thread. The original mention is here:

http://forums.synthstrom.com/discussion/comment/11346#Comment_11346

+1 for single color tracks. Slightly off topic, but in the same "How do I keep this all straight in my mind" category... The ability to create blank "spacer" rows (including the right two columns) would help me a lot. That way I could create standard track stacks (ie kick is always the first in the stack, bass is always second, etc) and easily find the first track as I'm scrolling vertically. I do this already with the section colors, but a full blank row would be easier to see as things are scrolling quickly past.

I agree with MPrinsen. It is probably eaiser/less-contentious to assume there are people out there who like the existing song mode, and leave it in its current form. Nicely, though, in the UI it creates the opening for the double-tap on Tracks to invoke "Clip Mode," which would perfectly balance the double-tap on Songs to invoke "Song Mode".

The (fairly confusing when you have a lot of tracks) Deluge "Tracks Stack" is a barrier to me to understanding and playing larger arrangements live because differentiating the tracks is difficult -- made worse by the fact that you can't explicitly color your synth tracks, or insert any kind of visual markers to indicate what is what. Putting each instrument on an individual grid button (switchable between columns (ala Ableton-style) and rows (kind of like a condensed timeline)) would leverage that amazing, compact 8x16 real estate giving you a powerful overview of your song's available material - instantly navigable (single tap to mute/unmute, shift-tap (or other key combo) to edit (switch to track edit view with that clip).

Other ideas:
Assign instrument by location:
I'd love it if there was a simple copy/paste in the "Clip View" that would allow you to quickly put the clip (notes) onto a different instrument just by copying/pasting into that instruments "Clip Column (or Row, depending on your orientation preference).

Color:
Color is an absolutely KEY visual cue for an instrument this deep. For me to be able to develop my own performance/organizational scheme for my material, I need to be able to control the color of (ALL of) my tracks. While I really appreciate the potential to visualize the range of notes that the current synth track coloring scheme allows (which should be retained as a coloring option!), that paradigm breaks down for single-button clips. Thus full RGB/HSV control over the color of each clip really becomes a necessity for any kind of Clip Mode. It makes complete sense that the track be able to be the same color in the "Tracks Stack."

User/Display Mode:
I mention this here instead of in a new thread, because "Clip Mode" would get us MOSTLY there, but not quite. A "Little" more work to it would really crack open the potential of a grid of controllable color-squares (aka Clips) that send MIDI.
A generic "User Mode" is an idea that the Launchpad Pro implements brilliantly, and thus invites its extended developer community into the design conversation. Not only can you use that grid for whatever you want, there is an open MIDI-based API that allows your software to control the pad colors in real time. An ability to use the grid in a generic way, via MIDI, would allow all of the Deluge fans out there to really get creative with this brilliant control surface. The community could benefit from the wealth of 3rd party tools that the Deluge would enable - making this instrument even MORE useful!. Imagine the shape of your LFO visually drawn and moving on the Deluge Grid like a display! Imagine seeing the (short) title of your song on the 16x8 grid as you scroll through your songs! Imagine a spectral level meters view, reacting live to your music! All of these things and so many more would be possible with an API that enables control of color and midi per grid cell.

Anyhow, I'll stop here. Rohan et al have been absolutely amazing in what they've managed to pack into this amazing instrument. Unlocking the power of the 16x8 grid as an overview and instant controller of Tracks (aka Clip Mode), and more generically as an API-accessible MIDI tool (aka "User Mode") would really send the Deluge into new territory of usability, power and flexibility, and invite the broader, passionate music developer community into the design conversation in a way that'd benefit everyone.

Thanks again Synthstrom for all your hard work! I hope you'll consider these improvements.

I like the idea of scaling the color variation in a track, or dialing to zero for all the same color. Instead of scaling the existing rainbow (ie multi-hue) scheme, it might be the best of both worlds to be able to assign each track a HUE (ie green, blue, red, yellow), and show the pitch of the notes ( what is currently shown in rainbow-colors ) in the VALUE component of that fully saturated HSV color. At full scaling, on a green track, that'd give you full green for the lowest notes, proceeding through lighter and lighter (ie whiter and whiter, brighter/brighter) greens until full white at the highest notes. You could still dial the max change in color VALUE back to zero, and have single colored tracks, but in this mode you'd always at least have single-hued tracks. IE your green track would be shown as "Green-scale" (varying between green and white), your blue-hued track would be in "Blue-scale" (varying between blue and white. This way you could dial in the amount of pitch you'd like to see in your track preview, but always remember what is what based on the hue of the track. I'm sure there are some people who like the existing rainbow-shows-pitch track previews, so, just leave that as an option, but include the value-shows-pitch and the ability to set a hue for those of us with massive track counts who need that visual cue to keep our track stacks straight in our minds.

@MPrinsen said:
You know there is a copy/paste function right? Once you know it, it is fairly quick to copy all notes from one clip to another clip.

Yes. I was hoping to express that something similarly easy to how tracks are copied (or notes), would exist for "Clip Mode".

I think the "user mode" is a whole new level, that should not be part of this discussion.

I agree, and will find a new thread in which it can be discussed on its own. I only introduce it here because of its large overlap with how a "Clips Mode" would need to be -developed-. The intro is here so that it is hopefully read by the Synthstrom team as they consider developing "Clips Mode." In fact, with the exception of RGB control of the grid over MIDI, you could probably mimic the outward-bound MIDI effect of a User Mode just by populating the "Clips Mode" grid with single note clips of your choice for each clip. That small additional developer effort to add an API to feed back the color over MIDI, cracks open a world of potential. So, yes, moving this to its own thread, but also hoping Rohan, et al, read this as they consider some kind of "Clip Mode/Session View".

But IMHO it is "nice to have" but not really important.

Sure, we all have our own priorities. Clips mode, to me, also more important than User Mode, BUT with such a small amount of additional development to have both, why not add both while your head is deep in that code already? An open User Mode, might even be the best first step, as it'd enable a third party developer to effectively provide Clips Mode if they so desired (I would!).

I do hope the session view will ever be implemented

Oh man. I totally agree with you here! This is the single biggest issue preventing the Deluge from being my central show controller. I can't be puzzling over what is what in the Track Stack while I'm live on stage facing an audience... that's a complete no go to me.

Other than that, I'd add micro-nudging of notes and tracks, and then I'd call it just plain PERFECT. Even as is, it is easily my favorite piece of gear already - a brilliant little work of pure mustic-technology art. Total props to the Synthstrom guys.