Z4 GUI Wishlist, Now Taking Requests

[DrumWagon]

Yep.

[Pyrate]

Avast Thar Matey,

      Given that some pad layouts are rather different, such as Mr. Wizard's (John Emrich) layout on his Z4, you may want to consider making all pads movable.  Just a thought.

Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Pyrate

[DrumWagon]

Sorry, I guess I didn't make that part clear -- yes, you can move around any trigger.  There is nothing special about the 6 extra triggers.  Any of the triggers can be moved, edited, resized, etc.

HTH

[paradidl]

I'm excited to have this level of control over the configuration, and will gladly pay for it.  I'm sure it's basic functionality, but will we be able to copy between setups so that we can get one setup highly customized then copy to other setups for minor tweaks?

[DrumWagon]

Yep!  You can also "name" each setup too which definitely helps keep track of them.

[zendrumdude]

DrumWagon,

Since we are all *drooling* over this GUI... is there an ETA?  Just wondering!

Thanks!

Jer

[DrumWagon]

Second or third quarter, 2010.  Although I'll probably be looking for beta testers sometime before that.

[DrumWagon]

An update on the Z4 GUI project.  (Now officially called ZenEdit)

Things are progressing quite smoothly and we're right on target for a summertime release for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X!

All of the major milestones have been met and what's left is really just polishing, plus work on the installer and documentation.

I'm continuing to dig around in the Z4's sysex image and am still finding gems.  For instance, in addition to the previously mentioned ability to manage crossfade notes, another new "you can't do that on a Zen" trick is the ability to set response curves for each individual trigger, rather than being stuck with one global setting.  This totally awesome feature allows you to really fine tune the response of your instrument, visually.

These little finds are quite enjoyable.  There's a real "eureka moment" whenever I stumble on some weird memory address and figure out what cool feature it impacts.  I hope to cram as many of them into the final app as possible.

ZenEdit also now has MIDI support.  As you bang on triggers and CCs, the app highlights them on screen and gives feedback on note numbers and velocity.  It's totally mesmerizing to watch the triggers light up as you tap away 
Time permitting, I may also add a MIDI status window which could keep track of how many times each pad is triggered, detect crosstalk issues and display histograms of velocities.  I can see these kinds of stats being very helpful when you are dialing in and calibrating your axe.

Anyhow, I'll continue to post here with any news about the editor. A preliminary website is also now up at:

http://www.nebiru.com/zenedit/

That site is still a work in progress but it does begin to detail some of the features that will be present in the initial release, plus some of the initial screenshots.  Your feedback as always is much appreciated!

cheers!
-darin

[Pocket Master]

This looks great!  I still have the 3.1 Chipset but after I upgrade I will definately want to utilize what you have worked so hard on.  Is this going to be free or is there a cost to it by the user?

Rob

[THUMPER]

WOW! This looks great Drumwagon.  I am looking forward to this GUI and you are doing a fantastic job. The web site is looking good. I will gladly contribute $ to your efforts as this will be exciting for all Zendrummers. Question? Does the GUI have a go back to factory settings? Per setup and/or global Just in case. Just an idea I had thought about. Thank you for your hard work. Thumper

[THUMPER]

I just thought of another question. Will we be able to share setups with other Zendrummers thru  either Emailing a file or maybe have a place on the Forum where we could post our different setups? That would be a cool way for newbies to see what others are doing with their Zen.  Thanks again for what you are doing Drumwagon Thumper

[zendrumdude]

D Wag,

You kick @$$ man.  THANKS!

Do you happen to know if Noise Floor will be able to be set per trigger?  I have been begging for this feature forever... this is the best answer for false-triggering, and would allow is to really get the noise floor VERY low on many triggers while eliminating problems on the very touchy ones.

Thanks man!

Jer

[DrumWagon]

Jer, just checked on noise floor and YES, it absolutely can be set for each trigger.  Throwing that one onto the top of the TODO list right now.

tnx!
-darin

[DrumWagon]

Sticks, no it won't be free, although there will be a free trial version available.

tnx
-darin

[DrumWagon]

Thumper, yes it will be possible to revert any user setup back to the factory default.  You don't have to reset the whole setup as you can also just revert selected triggers instead.

Along those same lines, you can copy user setups (or selected triggers) from other setups, or from setups in other files.  If you're familiar with how the TD-20 handles copying kits and kit pieces around between backups, it's a very similar song and dance.

Thanks for the interest you guys!

-darin