MelaMMela
Nov 28

Mela 6: Universal Lane

**Warning:** Back up your presets / projects as you won't be able to revert them once migrated to Mela 6. Mela 6 plans turned out to be way too ambitious. I had to cut features to ship it in a timely manner. The 6.0 flagship feature will be Universal Lanes. The other planned features will be added with point updates. Note: I haven't updated the Getting Started document yet. **Build 349** Universal Lanes - Mela lanes are now universal, merging the capabilities of the Audio, MIDI, and Instrument types into one. - The preset migrator automatically migrates existing presets to use universal lanes. - The lane audio and MIDI I/O settings are replaced with the Signal Router modules. - There no longer are different lane types and all the related functionality is removed. - This change makes Mela even more flexible. Signal Router Modules - The Signal Router is a new category of modules for routing and transforming signals. - Audio In: Receives audio from the host or an audio bus. - Audio Out: Sends audio to the host or an audio bus. - MIDI In: Receives MIDI messages from the host or a MIDI bus. - MIDI In: The "Panic!" button sends the "All Notes Off" MIDI messages on all channels downstream the lane. - MIDI Out: Sends MIDI messages to the host or a MIDI bus. - MIDI Out: The "Panic!" button sends the "All Notes Off" MIDI messages on all channels to the MIDI output. - MIDI-to-Poly: Converts MIDI messages into a Poly signal. - MIDI-to-Poly: Replaces existing Audio or Poly signal with a new Poly signal. - MIDI-to-Poly: The module lets you set the polyphony settings for the preset. - Poly-to-Audio: Collapses polyphonic signal into an audio signal by summing voices. Retains the last note-on pitch signal. - Poly-to-Audio: Modules that don't support polyphonic signal processing will automatically perform the signal collapse. - Poly-to-Audio: The signal will remain collapsed even if the module doing collapsing is bypassed. - These router modules are part of Collection 0. Module Updates - Amp Envelope: This module now mirrors the behaviour of the Envelope Generator. When a Poly signal is not passing through, it uses the MIDI signal to determine when to trigger the attack and release states, and it shapes the level of the audio signal accordingly. - Panic: Removed the module as it was no longer required since the MIDI In and MIDI Out modules now have the functionality built-in. - Voice Activity: When a Poly signal is not passing through, the module displays the Audio signal level and MIDI signal's last note event note and velocity. - Voice Activity: The module now resizes based on the preset polyphony. - Modulators: The "Targets" view no longer scrolls to the bottom on appearance.
CompletedCompleted
Dec 19, 2024

Released

Dec 6, 2024

Here's the main excerpt from Getting Started for Mela 6, I tried to make it as short as possible for anyone to get started quickly. Let me know if you have feedback. # Modules & Lanes Modules are the core building blocks of a Mela preset. They process signals and are arranged on lanes, with signals flowing left-to-right within a lane and top-to-bottom between lanes. Modules and lanes can be reordered as needed. Each module includes a built-in help view detailing its parameters and usage. # Signals A module can process three primary signal types: **Audio**, **MIDI**, and **Pitch**, along with a composite signal type, **Poly**. - **Audio**: Stereo audio signal. - **MIDI**: Carries MIDI messages. - **Pitch**: Represents frequency and allows receiving oscillator modules to lock their pitch to it. - **Poly**: Comprises independent voices, each containing note-on/off data, as well as Pitch and Audio signals. Typically, a module modifies one signal type and passes the others through unchanged. # Polyphony Audio, MIDI, and Pitch signals flow in parallel within a lane. To create a polyphonic synthesiser, use the **MIDI-to-Poly** module to convert MIDI note events into a Poly signal, which replaces the Audio and Pitch signals while leaving MIDI unaffected. To collapse a Poly signal back into an Audio signal, use the **Poly-to-Audio** module, which sums the voices. Modules like oscillators and filters process Poly signals directly, while others, like Stereo Delay, automatically collapse a Poly signal into an Audio signal. # Routers & Buses Lanes can send and receive Audio and MIDI signals to and from the host, as well as route them to other lanes, using router modules like **Audio In**, **Audio Out**, **MIDI In**, and **MIDI Out**. Note that host support for I/O may vary. Signals between lanes are routed using internal Audio and MIDI buses and always flow in a top-to-bottom direction. # Modulation Modulator modules can modulate any module parameter on any lane, regardless of placement. If a modulator is processing a Poly signal, it generates polyphonic modulation signals. Otherwise, the source will be monophonic. There are three configurations based on the target module's placement: 1. **Poly-to-Poly**: A 1-to-⁠1 mapping between source and target voices. 2. **Mono-to-Poly**: The same modulation signal is applied to all target voices. 3. **Poly-to-Mono**: The modulation signal from the last triggered voice is used.

Dec 3, 2024

I just updated, and haven’t fully tested but so far my presets appear to have migrated cleanly. I love the universal lane approach; it puts Mela much closer to the modular mindset of “everything is a voltage”.

Dec 4, 2024

Jon Diercks, that's good to hear. The long-term plan with Mela is always to simplify things as much as possible while making them more flexible. And if I can achieve progressive disclosure of complexity with Mela, that would be — so that beginners aren't intimidated and can get started quickly, and advanced users can make super complex stuff.

Nov 28, 2024

Available once the build 349 is approved.