Parameter Locks For Preset Browser

Omnisphere does something similar where you select what parameter region you want to keep while browsing through presets (Eg Osc settings), and as you scroll through the preset browser everything will change EXCEPT the selected parameter region. This can be done with filters, modulation sources, and the matrix itself.

Would love to see this implemented in Vital too!!! I wish most other synths did it.

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I’ve never understood why parameter lock beyond FX Off lock would be very useful.

If I load a patch and only part of that patch loads since sections are locked then it’s not the same patch.

For example if you lock the filter section and the patch you then try to load makes heavy use of the filter section then it’s pointless to load it since it will not sound as intended and at that point you’re just rolling the dice as to whether a useful sound will result or not.

Sure once in awhile you may come across a happy accident but at that point it becomes more of an unintelligent randomize function.

I would think that intelligent randomize which some synths do have or something like the Genetics function found in DUNE 3’s browser would be a more useful feature or at least provide more predictable results.

But hey, good luck with your request. Perhaps Matt will add it at some point. :+1:

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It works great in Omnisphere filters are rarely an issue. If you’re worried about your filter modulation amounts just lock the matrix.

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I think you’re missing my point. Loading a preset then locking any parameters then loading any other preset is going to produce unpredictable results.

On the subject of Filters, say the first preset you load uses a BP 24 filter and you lock the filter section then you load a preset that uses an LP 12. The second patch will not sound as it was intended and neither will the first. It’s a crap shoot whether a useful sound will result.

Another scenario, you lock the Osc 1 section to a single square wave but the next preset you want to load uses 7 voice Saw Unison with spread and other settings.

The resulting patch will not sound like either preset and you have no way of knowing if locking the parameters is going to help make a useful sound or simply destroy both sounds.

Like I said it’s little more than rolling the dice. Seems like it would be better to add intelligent randomize for those who don’t know sound design yet.

Omnisphere and Vital are two different instruments so what works for one may not work for the other.

Some other synths like The Legend also have individual parameter lock but again it’s a feature that makes no sense to me whatsoever and no one has ever been able to provide a cogent argument as to why the feature is worth the development time to implement it.

I can possibly see locking the FX off to audition every preset dry but even then FX are part of a patch and it won’t sound as the designer intended if you turn them all off.

Like I said good luck with your request, maybe Matt will add it but in my opinion parameter lock will remain something aimed at newbies or those who don’t want to put the time in to learn their synths.

Seems like it would be better to spend one’s time learning how to program a particular synth than wasting time trying to blindly mesh two presets together and hoping it results in something useful.

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With all due respect sir I think you missed my point. I want different sounds that’s the whole point. The pallet is there, as might as well use it in it’s entirety. I’m not sure by what you mean by “intelligent randomization”.

Give me any 2 presets and I will smoke you with them… If you’re not afraid of a friendly competition out here in a public setting…

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If you “want different sounds” then learn how to program Vital. Don’t rely on blind luck to do your work for you.

If you can “smoke” anyone by blindly mashing two presets together then you should be able to do so by starting from the INIT patch or your skills are not what you think they are.

As for Intelligent Randomize try the Warlock Demo and hit the Random button. It almost always yields a useful result because Tone 2 has intelligently programmed the randomizer to do so.

I don’t use it because I can program Warlock myself but it’s there for people who need the work done for them or have not yet learned any sound design skills.

Again your request makes no sense if you have even a modicum of sound design skills. Blindly mashing two preset together is just rolling the dice.

Here’s an example of a training wheel feature that does make sense although I’m not suggesting Vital steal it…

Genetics

You select two or three patches and the Genetics intelligently makes a preset that uses elements from each and you have some control over which patch is dominant in the equation.

But to me even the Genetics feature has all the artistic satisfaction of using someone else’s loops in a song.

Learn your synths and then you won’t need training wheels. That’s all I’m saying.

I just love how you talk to me like I’m some kind of noob and it’s as if I don’t know how to, or I’m too lazy to “program synths”. If you wanna act like Little Stewart because you can turn some knobs more power to you.

Last time I checked you have no part in my creative process and have no idea what that would entail Init preset or not

I didn’t say I can smoke anyone, JUST YOU. You sound like some kid living at his moms house getting off on telling other people what to do online, what skills they have, and what skills they don’t have. Get real bro

You’re using Boomer mentality in the midst of the Tech age to make an argument against me and I’m the one who doesn’t make any sense? L M A O

Good luck with that “Bro”. I’ve been patching synths since the early 1980’s and I’ve released commercial sound banks and done factory presets for many VSTi’s. That’s probably why I don’t see any use for training wheel features like parameter lock.

Like I’ve said several times already good luck with your feature request but there are better solutions out there which is what I’m trying to point out.

But if you feel like you need training wheels for a simple synth like Vital then I feel nothing but sympathy for you.

In my opinion parameter lock is a silly feature in any synth and a total waste of precious development time in Vital. That’s my opinion. You expressed your opinion I expressed mine.

I can’t help it if you got triggered like a Gen Z snowflake. :crazy_face:

There are many important reasons to have parameter locks on a synth.

I use a seaboard rise and having to turn on MPE and adjust the pitchbend range as well as assign certain very predictable dimensions and controllers to targets has great utility for someone who leans more on the side of composition and performance rather than sound design.

And clearly, one should not be afraid of the novel, random and unpredictable when using paramter locks in a similar way as the randomize buttons on so many synths.

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Yes that feature would be nice, very handy in Omnisphere.

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Alright, I guess it’s time to share my opinion.

Personally, I think this would be a very interesting feature! I don’t imagine that every Vital user would appreciate having this feature but it does seem like a few people would, and personally I wouldn’t mind either way if this got implemented or not. (Though if it did I would definitely try it out)

Say what you want about this feature just serving as an extra set of training wheels for noob sound designers that don’t really know what they’re doing (and I will admit to being one of them), but I think this feature is more intelligent than just a “mash things up and hope for the best” feature. At the end of the day, you’re still going to decide which parameters get locked and which ones don’t, so you are in control over what parts of a patch change based on what parameters you’ve locked. Of course some parameter locks are going to affect the patches you’re browsing more than others, but I don’t think it’s fair to call this a completely blind process given that people who know what they’re doing are going to lock parameters and change presets in a way that they know probably won’t lead to overly unpredictable results. Not to mention, nobody said this feature will only be used to milk off other people’s presets more easily than before. I’m sure a lot of sound designers would have a blast experimenting with preset locking and changing their own presets as a starting point of possibly making new ones.

I get it. This feature is pretty niche and does seem biased towards making it easier for people to avoid doing their own sound design, but I don’t think it’s inherently bad or utterly useless. Besides which I’m sick and tired of seeing synth heads yelling at each other for trivial stuff like this.