Composers Desktop Project Forum

A new set of documents called "CDP Guide" has been added to the online CDP Docs and is also available to download. This is a classified guide, which aims to help users find their way around the CDP suite. Although the Reference Documentation also groups functions together, it has become harder with each new release to keep track of related functions, especially as new versions or variations typically have different names.

CDP Guide classifies CDP processes and functions into five categories: Soundfile, Spectral, Pitch-Data, Edit-Mix (incl. Levels, Channels & Spatial) and Other  (Synth, Info, Data, SysUtils). Each function has hyperlinks to the available online Reference and a brief description. This is a personal classification and the descriptions are my own - they do not necessarily reflect the views of CDP. I'm sure there will be inaccuracies, and users are welcome to suggest corrections and amendments (mail[at]ensemble-software.net).

Within the online docs, the Guide is referenced on the Home Page (www.ensemble-software.net/CDPDocs/html/cdphome.htm) and the Tutorials page. The file cdpguide.zip is available from there or the downloads page (follow DOCS DOWNLOADS on the Home Page index panel). The zip also contains printable PDFs. If you already have the CDP documentation offline, the main folder \guide should be placed at the top level within that (the same level as \html, \demo etc.) for the hyperlinks to work.

I recently bought a new PC with Windows 10 and had some fun (?) with administrator problems. I already had a version of Soundshaper on a disk I'd transferred from the old computer, and also imported a new build from another PC to the C drive. Neither would run or even close down as they weren't allowed to over-write various textfiles: "access is denied"!

The solution seems to be to tick a box called "Run as administrator". You have to create a shortcut to the .exe, right-click on the shortcut icon for its "properties", then from the pre-selected Shortcut tab choose Advanced, then tick "Run as administrator". This works, but produces an annoying User Account Control window every time you run the program.

Somehow I've created two shortcuts for the new version: one has "Run as administrator" and opens with the User Account Control (and fails otherwise), but the other (on the desktop) starts perfectly without "Run as administrator" being selected.

If anyone can explain this conundrum, I'd be grateful.

The CDP documentation has been updated today (3rd Apr 2020). The online html docs were already the latest, as were the individual printable pdf versions, but the zip files of both were out-of-date (Aug 2018). Now corrected, with apologies for any inconvenience. The docs are housed at www.ensemble-software.net/CDPDocs

Two changes I would appreciate some help with: SFEDIT ISOLATE in cgroedit.htm has apparently been updated but to my eye it seems the same as in the unchanged sfedit.pdf. Similarly PAPLAY in cmcrefmn.htm / mctoolkit.pdf. Let me know if you can spot any difference(s) .

Soundshaper 5.0 (beta) has now been released. This version has important new features designed to improve workflow:
 - built-in streaming player/viewer, with extensive provision for editing and processing part of the sound
 - multi-layer patches: patches extended to multiple layers. Embed a patch within a patch; save and load this as a single object within a patch and so on
 - revised Process List: supports user-saved parameter settings (single presets) for rapid recall of favourite processes
 - improved file-saving
 - re-designed Main Page: clearer layout and menus. Support for many new skinned styles.

Soundshaper 5 (PC only, Vista-Win10) can be downloaded from www.ensemble-software.net .

A new version of the Soundshaper interface (4.5) is now available (www.ensemble-software.net). This introduces the new Cell-Patch feature, in which an existing patch can be run within one cell. A patch containing one or more of these sub-patches can be saved and re-run as normal.  (Full details are in the supplied Release Notes.)

Parameter Files (.prm) can now be dropped onto the Main-Page patchgrid. This opens a parameter page with the appropriate parameters and values, so it's a quick way of selecting and running a preset. Parameter files are simple text files which can be saved from a parameter page (as 'snapshots') and are also produced as temporary files in the normal course of running Soundshaper.

The CDP documention has been revised and a provisional version can be accessed online at:
www.ensemble-software.net/CDPDocs/html/cdphome.htm
or you can start here:
www.ensemble-software.net/CDPDocs/index.html

Most of the original text has been retained, but the structure and links have hopefully been improved.

You can download the docs as a zip (for PC - 66MB). First, rename your existing docs folder (\cdpr7\docs) to e.g. \docsold (to avoid a garbled mixture of old and new docs). Then extract the zip to your CDP base folder (\cdpr7). The link is:
www.ensemble-software.net/CDPDocs/CDPDocsNew.zip

The aim will be to keep the latest set of docs online and make it possible for users to update individual pages as required. A list of recent updates is available at www.ensemble-software.net/CDPDocs/!Updates.txt and future updated files will be accessible from www.ensemble-software.net/links.html .

The new docs have not yet been added to the CDP distribution, so now is a good time to email me your suggestions (rob[at]ensemble-software.net). As there is now one set of docs for both PC and Mac, Mac users in particular can help by pointing out anything that is not correct for that platform. 

Improving the documentation is a continuous process and the next steps will be to create printable .pdf versions of the reference sections, as well as make more playable examples available online.

Robert, Documentation Co-ordinator. 

I am pleased to announce the release of Soundshaper 4.4 as a free download!

Much of the Soundshaper code has been re-written, including the batchfile scripts used to run CDP processes. Almost 100% of these now accept multi-channel as well as mono/stereo input and incorporate the automatic conversion of CDP file types wherever possible. Many more processes now support different parameter sets per channel.

For those not familiar with the program, Soundshaper is built around a multi-process patch grid, supporting up to 16 different processing streams. Soundshaper uses temporary files, so that it is not necessary to save files at every stage, only those you want to keep.  New in version 4.4 is not having to save source files with a patch, so that the patch saves a complete history of a processing sequence in a compact form. Patches are fully editable and can be run with different sources. The text History function has also been updated to record parameter values more clearly.

Also new in 4.4 is bulk processing, implemented as a copy-row variant. A few mouse clicks load a list of sources to the patch grid and apply them to a process or row of processes. Another new feature is a composite process called Premix: a sound is given a prefixed delay, level and pan, ready for CDP mix processes that don't use a mix file. The dedicated Mix page has also been overhauled, again with aim of making mixing easier.

Soundshaper Pro and Lite have been withdrawn. The new Soundshaper is technically still a Beta-test version, and bug reports would be welcome. E-mail support is still available for registered Pro users (only) and the registration mechanism has been retained to enable possible installation on a new computer. New registrations are not possible, however; this situation might change if CDP is willing to adopt paid support. Existing registered users can also try out the forthcoming Patch To Cell facility, due for general release in the next version.

Full details and downloads are available at www.ensemble-software.net. A more detailed description of Soundshaper can be read here:
www.ensemble-software.net/downloads/About_Soundshaper.pdf