Posted
After three years with Synfire, sound preparation is still one of my biggest workflow bottlenecks.
I’d love a simple Save Sound button on the sound panel that captures the current plug-in state together with its name, category, playing ranges, and tags (metadata). Then I could audition my plugin's presets quickly, save snapshots against my current phrase and apply one without repeatedly navigating setup dialogs.
This could build on existing Rack Module Presets, with a clear choice between replacing the selected module’s sound and adding another module.
For plug-ins that don’t expose usable MIDI program selection (most non orchestral modern plugins do not), I don’t want to build manual bank mappings or use another wrapper just to recall sounds.
Please make it clear whether applying a preset changes an existing module or creates another one. A warning when other instruments share the affected module would also help.
The Sound Wizard could remain for initial configuration, but ordinary sound auditioning should have a quicker path.
Result: It should work WITHOUT MIDI program mapping and WITHOUT using a menu. Could a minimal version be available this week, even as a beta? We are dying here.
Mon, 2026-10-12 - 20:27 Permalink
Rack module presets do almost what you describe. They keep the plug-in & state plus a device description (often merely a single sound and its properties). When you save a preset there's a check box "Save current instrument properties" – that was originally meant to cover this use case.
I'll check if that's a good basis for a more convenient UI, like "Save Sound" as you suggested.
Mon, 2026-10-12 - 21:11 Permalink
When you drop a preset on an existing rack module that replaces the module's contents without adding a new one (any instruments that lose a sound will go orange and look for a replacement) .
When you drop a preset on an instrument, that always adds a module. Maybe that's a point where something like holding ALT should decide whether to replace the current module or not?
Or if its a single-instrument module, it replaces, and if it's a multi-instrument module, it asks?
One thing that needs a bit more thought is, when you save hundreds of sounds as presets incl. plug-in states, the disk space is certainly not a concern. An overpopulated library browser is. Loading plug-in states also takes time. That's not really a fast auditioning of sounds.
Mon, 2026-10-12 - 21:34 Permalink
Thanks, Andre. That sounds like the right foundation. My ideal workflow would be to choose a preset inside the plug-in, audition it against my phrase, then press Save Sound on the sound panel to save its state, category, and playing ranges.
Currently, dragging a Rack Module Preset onto a track still opens the Sound Wizard and takes a while to load. Could a fully configured preset be recalled directly, with the wizard available only when needed? A simple option to replace the selected module’s sound or create a new module would make the behavior clear.
For quick auditioning, left and right arrows could cycle through saved sound presets for the same plug-in and category, applying each to the selected module. That would make both saving sounds and comparing them much smoother.
Mon, 2026-10-12 - 21:41 Permalink
Thanks, Andre. I missed your reply before posting mine. Replacing directly for a single-instrument module and asking when it’s shared makes sense.
I understand that loading plug-in states takes time. My main goal is fewer manual steps: save the current sound directly, then audition saved sounds on the selected instrument without dragging and dropping each one or reopening the wizard.
A filtered list by plug-in and category, with favorites and left/right buttons to audition the previous or next saved sound, would make this much smoother. Loading time is acceptable; repeatedly navigating the interface is the bottleneck for me.