233 lines
9.8 KiB
Markdown
233 lines
9.8 KiB
Markdown
# Cardinal Modules
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This file contains documentation for the DISTRHO Cardinal modules.
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## Main modules
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### Audio File
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This is a simple audio file player plugin.
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You can load files by using right-click menu options.
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Transport is rolling as long as the plugin is enabled and a file has been loaded.
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You can also sync to host transport, which will play in frame-perfect sync, useful if you need a few loops playing together.
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Files are streamed from disk if longer than 30 seconds in length, otherwise loaded entirely on RAM.
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Even though this player plugin can loop files, it is not an audio looper.
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Audio can loop back to the beginning if enabled, but it does not resample or pitch-shift to fit the host BPM.
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The audio files are played back as-is, with resampling only done when needed to match the host sample rate.
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### Audio To CV Pitch
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The Audio To CV Pitch module is a tool that turns your audio signal into CV pitch and CV gate signals.
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This allows audio from instruments (such as guitars) to play and control synth sounds and effects.
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It detects the pitch in your incoming audio signal and outputs a 1V/Oct CV pitch signal on the "Pitch Out" CV port.
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The "Gate" CV port sends out 10V while a pitch is detected, and resets to 0V when the pitch can no longer be detected.
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There is an Octave right-click option that allows you to shift the detected pitch up or down by a maximum of 4 octaves.
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When set to 0, it will output the same pitch as is detected on the input.
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Then the "Hold Output Pitch" right-click option sets whether the plugin resets its outputs to 0, or holds the last detected pitch.
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The Sensitivity parameter can be increased to detect quieter signals, or decreased to reduce artifacts.
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The Confidence Threshold can be increased to make sure the correct pitch is being output, or decrease it to get a faster response time.
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And finally, the Tolerance parameter influences how quickly you can change pitch, turn it down for a more accurate pitch output, or turn it up to make it easier to jump from one pitch to the next.
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### Carla
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[Carla](https://kx.studio/Applications:Carla) is a fully-featured modular audio plugin host.
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This is a Cardinal/Rack module of Carla with 2 audio and 8 CV IO.
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Double-click on the panel to show the Carla's own window.
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Note it is required for Carla to be installed on your system in order to show its GUI.
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This is currently not supported under Windows.
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MIDI input and output are possible with the use of expander modules.
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By default Carla will have an offset on its CV inputs and outputs so that 0 to 10v from Carla generates -5 to 5v in Cardinal, and vice-versa.
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This allows to easily route between bipolar and unipolar+ signals.
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You can change this with right-click menu options, in case you want no offset to be applied.
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### Ildaeil
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[Ildaeil](https://github.com/DISTRHO/Ildaeil) is a mini-plugin host based on [Carla](https://kx.studio/Applications:Carla).
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This is a Cardinal/Rack module of Ildaeil with 2 audio IO.
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Currently Ildaeil supports (Carla) internal and LV2 plugins.
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More plugin support will be added in future releases.
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There is no way to automate hosted plugin parameters yet.
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MIDI input and output are possible with the use of expander modules.
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### Host Audio
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A module for getting audio to and from your Host/DAW.
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Works just like the Rack equivalent, including a DC filter that is enabled by default on the stereo version, disabled on the 8 IO variant.
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On the stereo version, connecting to the Left/Mono input jack will automatically mirror that signal on the Right, unconnected jack.
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This is the same behaviour as present in Rack, but without signal delay.
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Note that, unlike Rack, Cardinal does not provide a 16 IO audio module.
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### Host CV
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For getting CV to and from your Host/DAW.
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Just as with the Carla module, you can enable right-click menu options to automatically apply an offset to the CV signal.
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For convenience this mode is split on the 1-5 and 6-10 ports, in case you need some to be bipolar and some unipolar.
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Note that this module does nothing on Cardinal's FX and Synth variants, as they do not have host-exposed CV IO.
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### Host MIDI
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For getting regular MIDI to and from your Host/DAW.
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It has pretty much the same options and functionality as the Rack MIDI2CV and CV2MIDI modules, but combines them into one.
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Clock pulses are not available on this module in Cardinal, prefer to use Host Time module for that.
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### Host MIDI CC
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For getting regular MIDI CCs to and from your Host/DAW.
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It has pretty much the same options and functionality as the Rack MIDI-CC2CV and CV2MIDI-CC modules, but combines them into one.
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Direct channel pressure and pitchbend ports are available for convenience.
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### Host MIDI Gate
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For getting regular MIDI Notes as Gates to and from your Host/DAW.
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It has pretty much the same options and functionality as the Rack MIDI-Gate2CV and CV2MIDI-Gate modules, but combines them into one.
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### Host MIDI CC Map
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For mapping MIDI CCs from your Host/DAW into module parameters.
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It has pretty much the same options and functionality as the Rack MIDI-Map.
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### Host Parameters
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For automating CV sources from the host side, this module directly converts the 24 Cardinal host-exposed parameters into CV signals inside Cardinal.
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The parameters have an internal slew limiter in order to smooth out the changes over time.
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The fall time of the smoothing filter is based on the current host block size and sample rate.
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You can disable this smoothing filter using right-click menu options.
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Clicking on an input jack from this module will send a "touch"/"edit" event to the plugin host / DAW,
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required for allowing to create parameter automation lines in some hosts.
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### Host Parameters Map
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For automating modules loaded inside Cardinal from within host side, using the 24 Cardinal host-exposed parameters.
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This is similar to Host MIDI CC Map, but instead of having MIDI CC from the host as source of events, it uses host-exposed parameters.
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Simply click on the last item on the list of mappings (which will say "click here to map" or "unmapped" depending if you have already any mappings or not),
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and then move a Cardinal-side module knob or controllable widget.
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Anytime you click to either do a new mapping or edit an existing one, a few options appear for setting host parameter, smooth on/off and invert on/off.
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It is not possible to reassign an existing mapping to a different knob.
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Right-clicking an item on the mapping list will remove it.
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Changing module knobs from Cardinal side will not send a parameter change event to the host.
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This module works more in a "one to many" control scheme, where 1 single host parameter can control many cardinal modules, but never the other way around.
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If you need to send a "parameter change" signal from Cardinal, use the "Host Parameters" module.
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### Host Time
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For getting time information from your DAW as precise clock triggers.
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Unlike Rack, Cardinal does not use PPQN (pulses per quarter note) values, but BBT (bar-beat-tick) instead.
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The top of the panel has a timer display to help understand how and what the host is doing.
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The first line is the song time in seconds, and second line is the BBT.
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## Extra modules
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### Blank
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Every collection needs a blank panel.
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Cardinal features Hatsune Miku on its blank panel, because yes. :)
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Actually, it is just that CC-NC artwork and resources are very common-place within the Rack plugins ecosystem.
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Typically we would want to avoid those, but when you got pretty much every author using CC-NC, let's go all in then...
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So yes, the design used on this panel is [CC-NC licensed](https://piapro.net/intl/en_for_creators.html).
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If you ask why Miku, well, why not. And why not even something else.
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If you find other content we can use, under clear license terms, maybe it could be added as blank panel too.
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Sometimes we just need to have fun. :)
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### Sassy Scope
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The virtual oscilloscope from the [Sassy Spreadsheet](https://github.com/jarikomppa/sassy) project.
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Features time and frequency analysis, input-based trigger sync and allows to pause the analysis for careful inspection.
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Line colors follow the color of the cable connected to its respective input.
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### Expanders MIDI
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These are expanders for Carla and Ildaeil, allowing MIDI input and output.
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When connected (that is, standing next to them) the graphics on Carla/Ildaeil side will change a bit to indicate it is being used.
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### MPV
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This is a super experimental embed video player inside Cardinal.
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It is mostly just a test for embedding external windows inside Cardinal, `mpv` simply provides a nice way to do it.
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This is not intended to be a serious module in any way, purely experimental and made for development purposes.
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### glBars
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An OpenGL bars visualization, as seen in XMMS and XBMC/Kodi.
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It is purely cosmetic.
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This module was done early in Cardinal's development as a way to test drawing a module using OpenGL.
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It remains as a test case and example for others to base new modules on.
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### Text Editor
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A text editor inside Cardinal, with support for syntax highlighting.
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It supports the typical things you expect from an editor, such as copy&paste and undo&redo.
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The panel is resizable using the left and right borders.
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Moving the panel around can be done by grabbing the top status bar of the editor.
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