October has been a busy month for Spektro Audio so, in this news roundup post, we’ll take a look into what we have released in the past couple of weeks, including the NGEN 1.4.7 update, NGEN Web Manager v0.2, Recorte 1.01 and more!
NGEN 1.4.7 Update
The 1.4.7 update for NGEN is now available, and it includes new features for the Scale Editor and NSL Engine, improvements to the Looper generator, tracks, and USB transfers, as well as important bug-fixes to prevent possible freezes and crashes when saving projects.
The download link for the firmware, update instructions, and complete change log are available on the NGEN User Manual at https://ngen.spektroaudio.com/firmwareupdate/
NGEN Web Manager v0.2 + NSL EDITOR
The NGEN Web Manager has also been updated to version 0.2 which includes, amongst many different bug-fixes and improvements, a new editor for NSL scripts!
The 0.2 update includes improvements to the serial connection with NGEN, file extension handling according to file type (Projects / MIDI / NSL), and notifications. These improvements should significantly improve file transfers between NGEN and your computer via the Web Manager.
Also new is the NSL Editor which offer a GUI-based interface for creating, editing, and transferring NSL scripts. NSL (NGEN Scripting Language) lets you create and share custom generator algorithms for NGEN that can used with the NSL Engine.
The new editor available in the Web Manager lets you visually program and create scripts using the different command blocks available, making it easier to experiment and try different ideas. The idea was to create a visual programming environment similar to other languages like Scratch.
Commands can be re-organized via drag & drop and previews for the generation steps and code output are also available on the sidebar.
We've also included different examples that can be loaded directly in the editor and used as reference or starting points when creating your own scripts.
It’s also possible to send or load scripts directly to or from an NGEN unit and import or export scripts as .nsl files.
In the background, the NSL Editor uses the ngen_nsl Rust library, compiled to WebAssembly, to verify and compile the scripts to the format used by NGEN.
The ngen_nsl library was also updated to improve support for script validation, parameter ranges, and return types.
Recorte Tutorial #01 - Regions
The first video tutorial for Recorte is now available on the Spektro Audio YouTube channel, and it focuses on Regions.
In this tutorial, you can learn how regions work in Recorte, what we can use them for, and the different ways available to create them (manually, Detect Regions, Detect Transient, Slice, etc.).
We also go over the different features available to edit and manage regions, as well as some more advanced tips for power users using custom Shortcuts and the Action Palette.
Recorte 1.01 Update
The 1.01 update for Recorte has also been released, and it includes support for 32-bit audio (importing / exporting / recording), new UI settings, and improvements to the waveform display and scrolling / zooming.
The full change log for Recorte 1.01 is available at https://recorte.spektroaudio.com/changelog/
Developing Recorte - Blog Post
For those curious about Recorte's development, I've also published the first blog post to my personal blog where I talk about my experience working on this project, its origin story, and some of the tech used in Recorte (Rust and some of the libraries).
The blog post, Recorte Dev Notes #1: Building a Sample Editor with Rust, is available at https://icaroferre.com/blog/recorte-dev-notes-1/
NEW NGEN Demo
To wrap up this news roundup, we've also uploaded a new video to YouTube with a 5-minute live performance using NGEN, the Elektron Model Cycles, and the Waldorf Blofeld synthesizer.