Max note length 4/1 ?

I've just tried this and you can set the length to anything if you drag the note in the arrangement or phrase view. The 4/1 limitation only happens if you type the value in the figure parameter. Looks like a bug but at least there's a workaround.

Yes, it's the input box only. Just changed this to 16 bars, which should be enough for most purposes. The reason there is a limit in the first place is to prevent entry of insane values that might corrupt the arrangement.

When I drag the figure to a length greater than 16, audio output stops. I drag it back down, and audio returns. Is this a bug?

I would like to use insanely long values so that I can have a drone that lasts a very long time, the entire length of the piece, etc. I minimize tempo to 10, though that's not always desirable (and why not make even lower tempi available?). This limits total time to about 6 1/2 minutes, which is fine, I guess, but any suggestions for the optimal workflow here? I tried searching the forum for "drones," but that's not a viable search term for this situation.

Figure can't handle extremely long notes well. They slow down graphics display, complicate editing, and delay the start of playback. Long notes also don't work with snippets and sketches. This can be optimized only with significant development effort.

A constant drone is probably something you would add in the DAW at production time. While composing with Synfire, a 16 bar drone on repeat might work as a mock-up?

I see, thanks. It's helpful to understand Synfire's design philosophies. In reality, I'm more likely to change the notes of a drone chord to keep the color evolving so that there's no true need for one single note to literally last forever.

Is there some practical need to set the tempo floor at 10? That's actually lower than all the DAWs and hardware that I'm familiar with, but I still don't understand why they can't just let it go down to 1. I used to have a hardware module that allowed super low tempi, and it was useful.

Tempo is a musical parameter, not so much a technical one. A single beat in an entire minute is just not something that any musician could tap with their feet ;-) To achieve a very low tempo you just stretch the phrase by two (multiple times).

To achieve a very low tempo you just stretch the phrase by two (multiple times).

Yeah, but then I run into the 16-bar limitation.