Stereo Master Volume Indicator

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Posts: 96
Joined: October 14, 2016 - 03:20
Stereo Master Volume Indicator

I just though of this idea to have the Mixer's volume indicator separated in left and right output level so it shows the stereo output instead of just mono

Here some visual Prototypes:

Mk.0: No change from current, no separator, no anything, just the current one with 2 outputs put right next to each other, personally I don't like this one

Mk.1: Like current mono but with a 2 pixel vertical line separating left from right

Mk.2: Volume indicator was made a pixel thicker so I could put a 1 pixel vertical separator without losing symmetry

Mk.3: Made the master Gray box a pixel thicker to the left and moved the volume indicator to the left so the 1 pixel thicker mixer would fit just right

Well these are just drawings, if you like this idea and you want to implement it is up to you

Cheers

Posts: 1972
Joined: March 25, 2012 - 01:19
Re: Stereo Master Volume Indicator

The stereo mode undoubtedly gives a much more professional look to MIDI Mixer.
Not being a musician, I still wonder how necessary it is to see the two different levels (L+R) instead of a single mono one.
I'm afraid about its "doubled" CPU usage.

PS: my preferred one is Mk.2 because it does not require changes to the channel background (which is shared between all channels...).

Posts: 96
Joined: October 14, 2016 - 03:20
Re: Stereo Master Volume Indicator
coolsoft wrote:

The stereo mode undoubtedly gives a much more professional look to MIDI Mixer.
Not being a musician, I still wonder how necessary it is to see the two different levels (L+R) instead of a single mono one.
I'm afraid about its "doubled" CPU usage.

PS: my preferred one is Mk.2 because it does not require changes to the channel background (which is shared between all channels...).

I'm no musician but, because it's stereo mixed in a single volume indicator it's less accurate than a stereo one that says exactly how much volume each channel has, it's like the diference between seeing a 2 channel recording and a mono mix of both

Is the CPU usage really a issue? VMS barely uses any CPU (normally less than 1% unless it's playing a lot of voices) if it is really an Issue you could make it optional like how you can disable the Volume indicator on options

And a Mk.4: 2 indicators with the same size the current one has, but probably the hardest to implement because it requieres changes to the background and text

Posts: 1972
Joined: March 25, 2012 - 01:19
Re: Stereo Master Volume Indicator
Anonimo_LLopi wrote:
Is the CPU usage really a issue? VMS barely uses any CPU (normally less than 1% unless it's playing a lot of voices) if it is really an Issue you could make it optional like how you can disable the Volume indicator on options

Well, honestly speaking, ... maybe not.
My first thought when I wrote each line of my code is: does it really worth? and, also, does it require as less CPU/RAM as possible?
This was my "mantra" when I started writing software a long time ago (when CPU/RAM/HDD were precious and costly resources) and already is now ;)

That said, I still wonder if there's so much difference between L/R channels in a MIDI file, more than a live audio file.
Will try to convert some MIDIs to MP3 and listen them with a player that has a stereo VUMeter...

Anyway, I've added the suggestion to TODO list...

Posts: 96
Joined: October 14, 2016 - 03:20
Re: Stereo Master Volume Indicator
coolsoft wrote:
That said, I still wonder if there's so much difference between L/R channels in a MIDI file, more than a live audio file.
Will try to convert some MIDIs to MP3 and listen them with a player that has a stereo VUMeter...

Well, that depends on the midi and on the soundfont, if cc10 (pan) is used on the midi then the channel whose it's using will have more volume to the left or to the right

Some soundfonts have panning settings on some instruments/drums

Then there's some soundfonts that have some instruments/drums that are made so if even the cc10 it's at default (64) they will still sound more to the right/left:

For example a snare that has 2 samples that make it stereo, both are the same sample but the sample playing at the left has more volume than the one playing at the right

There's also cc8 (balance) but I've never used it or seen it used myself, like cc10 but apparently for stereo patches while the other it's for mono ones

Then when all channel are mixed Left and Right will have different levels even if it just a slight difference

I have a midi that on every new note it changes cc10 from/to between 0 (hard right) and 127 (hard left), I wonder how much different would the left channel would be compared with the right in that one

Anyway, thanks for adding my suggestion to the todo list o7