Vst synth dificulties

[MAproductions]

Hi i'm very new to flowstone and the forums. Started using flowstone about 1 day and a half and i'm having a hard time figuring things out since i can't find the type of information i can understand. The manual doesn't really help on alot of subjects related to what i'm trying to do. Some problems i'm having is trying to understand how to set up midi cc so i can automate knobs in FL 11 and also learning technical terms so i know what alot of the modules do/are (terms like array). I already built two vst's synths half way done and functional in vst form, the first one is a mess under the hood and the other almost like it,but is cleaner with Filter FM, FM compression(compressing a modulating signal before it modulates the carrier while adding harmonic distortion, something i came up with), two additive oscs, filters and a tube style limiter at the end of the chain. I built them fast only because i used filters, vintage compressors, knobs and such that were already made and just hooked up everything from a blank page. I want to build my own compressors, filters, effects from scratch instead of editing modules already made so i have full control. If anyone can point me to good sources it would help alot and i'll be very grateful. Anything likes threads, links, vidoes that will help me set up middi and learn from the ground up on making modules for synths. I spent many hours on the forums looking and just feeling lost.

[KG_is_back]

Hello MAproductions and welcome to Flowstone forums!

It is true the Flowstone manual is not very clear in some subjects.
To the midi/automation problem: Flowstone creates automation inputs via the preset manager. Knobs in your schematics receive and transmit "preset" data and the Preset manager module creates the automation inputs for your DAW. Without preset manager your plugin will be unable to receive automation data form your daw, along with saving presets and remembering the state when DAW is closed. Once you add the Preset manager into your schematics the inputs for all your knobs will appear in the Parameters list (the one that opens in FL when you click Browse Parameters and you can link automation and stuff).
To link midiCC directly to a knob, the knobs also have midiCC input in their properties. Just Click the "properties" (the little "p" in the right bottom corner of module) and you can set midiCC number to receive data from. Midi Learn is not present in the stock modules, however I remember someone made it here on the forum. Use Google to search the forum ( type in "Flowstone [the term you are searching]" in the Google and it should list the forum posts too). Also the Flowstone was previously called Synthmaker and opens synthmaker schematics (.osm) without problems. Check the synthmaker forum too. There is also a wiki page there that is a little buggy (can't open it from the main site for some reason). Also check out Flowstone Guru blog. The site is relatively new, so not much content there yet, but it has the download area with many useful modules (and the list is growing).
In regards to DSP (creating our own filters,compressors, effects etc.) that is an science field of its own. Many books and sites are dedicated to it. To implement codes, have a look at the DSP code component - it lets you write short algorithms in C-like language and RUBY component which lets you write in Ruby language. Hopefully other users will give you feedback too...

[MAproductions]

Hello MAproductions and welcome to Flowstone forums!

It is true the Flowstone manual is not very clear in some subjects.
To the midi/automation problem: Flowstone creates automation inputs via the preset manager. Knobs in your schematics receive and transmit "preset" data and the Preset manager module creates the automation inputs for your DAW. Without preset manager your plugin will be unable to receive automation data form your daw, along with saving presets and remembering the state when DAW is closed. Once you add the Preset manager into your schematics the inputs for all your knobs will appear in the Parameters list (the one that opens in FL when you click Browse Parameters and you can link automation and stuff).
To link midiCC directly to a knob, the knobs also have midiCC input in their properties. Just Click the "properties" (the little "p" in the right bottom corner of module) and you can set midiCC number to receive data from. Midi Learn is not present in the stock modules, however I remember someone made it here on the forum. Use Google to search the forum ( type in "Flowstone [the term you are searching]" in the Google and it should list the forum posts too). Also the Flowstone was previously called Synthmaker and opens synthmaker schematics (.osm) without problems. Check the synthmaker forum too. There is also a wiki page there that is a little buggy (can't open it from the main site for some reason). Also check out Flowstone Guru blog. The site is relatively new, so not much content there yet, but it has the download area with many useful modules (and the list is growing).
In regards to DSP (creating our own filters,compressors, effects etc.) that is an science field of its own. Many books and sites are dedicated to it. To implement codes, have a look at the DSP code component - it lets you write short algorithms in C-like language and RUBY component which lets you write in Ruby language. Hopefully other users will give you feedback too...

Thank you so much I was wondering why when clicking the properties menu then setting the midi cc did nothing which i read about on the forum. I even got the midi learn and it wouldn't learn in my projects and i didn't read any where about the preset manager being that important to midi. I thought it was just to save patches which i didn't really care about at the time since i could do it later. Thats one that bugs is that it's easy to find pieces of information on flow stone, but you won't know what your doing till you get a all the basics down which most people aren't really talking about.

[Exo]

Thank you so much I was wondering why when clicking the properties menu then setting the midi cc did nothing which i read about on the forum. I even got the midi learn and it wouldn't learn in my projects and i didn't read any where about the preset manager being that important to midi. I thought it was just to save patches which i didn't really care about at the time since i could do it later. Thats one that bugs is that it's easy to find pieces of information on flow stone, but you won't know what your doing till you get a all the basics down which most people aren't really talking about.

Hi Welcome to Flowstone,

Just to improve on what KG_is_back said, the preset manager is important for automation and presets within the host. Midi is another matter completely the preset manager doesn't deal with that. What you actually need is just a "Wireless output" (search that term in toolbox), place this at the top level of your schematic and connect it to your midi input. Now this will beam the midi down to all your controls. Now the midi learn and setting midi cc should work too.


I'm wondering whether a midi wireless output link should be in the midi to poly by default? seems like an oversight to me. Adding a link manually seems like an unnecessary extra step? but I guess us guys that are used to it do it without question.

[MAproductions]

Thank you so much I was wondering why when clicking the properties menu then setting the midi cc did nothing which i read about on the forum. I even got the midi learn and it wouldn't learn in my projects and i didn't read any where about the preset manager being that important to midi. I thought it was just to save patches which i didn't really care about at the time since i could do it later. Thats one that bugs is that it's easy to find pieces of information on flow stone, but you won't know what your doing till you get a all the basics down which most people aren't really talking about.

Hi Welcome to Flowstone,

Just to improve on what KG_is_back said, the preset manager is important for automation and presets within the host. Midi is another matter completely the preset manager doesn't deal with that. What you actually need is just a "Wireless output" (search that term in toolbox), place this at the top level of your schematic and connect it to your midi input. Now this will beam the midi down to all your controls. Now the midi learn and setting midi cc should work too.


I'm wondering whether a midi wireless output link should be in the midi to poly by default? seems like an oversight to me. Adding a link manually seems like an unnecessary extra step? but I guess us guys that are used to it do it without question.

Man I spent hours trying to figure out midi before i posted this thread and it's really that easy the way you said as well as adding the preset, i did it in a few secounds and i can go to last tweaked in fl and automate any knob. Btw i happened to download your free running osc V1.osm earlier and i couldn't get any sound to work in fl with it to test out the unison but worked in the .exe version then didn't work when i exported to vst with flowstone.exe and opened in FL. I found out using voices or multi voices works and not multi or midi to voice. That took me a few hours to understand what was going on too. Thank you for the short cut to midi and KG for letting me know about the preset, that would have took me so long to figure out.