Why is zita1 the only Master Effect available?

• Oct 19, 2015 - 02:51

Been working at this for weeks, but can't find anything on the MuseScore site or Google that says how to add effects to the Master Effects tab of the Sythesizer window. Presently, both Effect A and Effect B offer only zita1-rev (or no effect). I would like more, especially a chorus effect now that Chorus in the mixer no longer does anything. Are the Master Effects hardwired into the core binary, or is there something really obvious I'm missing when it comes to adding them? It seems to me that since zita1-rev is now a LADSPA plugin, I ought to be able to add others.


Comments

In reply to by [DELETED] 5

I use MuseScore's JACK I/O exclusively. The new, improved Synthesizer (multiple .sf2s, Zerberus for .sfz) has removed two of the main reasons I use JACK. I asked about Master Effects because I wondered if 2.0.x would permit doing without it altogether (except maybe for mastering).

Has anyone considered implementing LADSPA plugins in MuseScore?

In reply to by Peter Schaffter

I missed your nickname and now I remember. Yes, we talked several times about adding LADSPA or other plugins in MuseScore but most of the time, the discussion ends with the same conclusion: It's not our job. Our job is to make a free and easy to use scorewriter to create beautiful sheet music.

Adding LADSPA plugins would just make the code more complex, slowing down development and make MuseScore more complex to use. In fact, sometimes I wonder if MuseScore wouldn't be a better software if the whole Master Effects dialog would be replaced by solid defaults for the reverb and compressor settings and eventually a way to just shut them down.

That being said... The reverb and compressor effects in MuseScore don't use the LADPSA interface as far as I know and so yes, they are indeed hardwired.

What type of effects are you specifically interested in?

In reply to by [DELETED] 5

What type of effects are you specifically interested in?

Equalization, compression, reverb, chorus. Chorus is less important as a Master Effect because I need it on a per channel basis. And every once in a while I need something a bit more exotic from the LADSPA kit, like notch filters or canyon delay, which is what got me wondering whether it would be possible implement LADSPA plugins rather than hardwired effects.

...reverb and compressor effects in MuseScore don't use the LADPSA interface as far as I know

Where is the compressor of which you speak hiding? Or is it in the nightlies? I'm running 2.0.3, stock from kxstudio.

Concerning chorus effects, it really is a PITA that the Chorus knob in the Mixer doesn't do anything. I compose mostly orchestral music. For audio rendering, the difference between a due and solo isn't trivial. Very few orchestral section soundfonts (e.g. "flute section" rather than "flute [solo]") are any good unless you pay through the nose for them. Chorusing a good solo soundfont does, however, produce an acceptable simulation of a due. Ideally, therefore, I feel a user should be able to set up an additional channel on staves where Chorus is needed, and switch to that channel (which has Chorus added from the Mixer) with the Staff Text Properties dialogue whenever the score changes back and forth from I. to I.II. As things stand now, adding chorus to a channel requires sending the channel's midi output to a JACK host loaded with the required soundfont and a chorus plugin, which kind of defeats the purpose of having made the internal Synthesizer accept multiple soundfonts. It's either that or add detuned, hidden staves for when you need a due—not really an acceptable solution.

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