Hello 👋

I am a beginner with pure data, so far I have watched a few videos on YouTube where msp taught pd back in the day and I am getting comfortable enough with my pd knowledge to start a project! And then the dunning kruger effect started taking place hehe

So I play the piano, so naturally I decided to make a synth of sorts. Basically I want to play my midi keyboard and get some crazy sounds. Got a basic synth working and got polyphony working and I hoped the sustain pedal would work out of the box. I made a post on Reddit asking how to get the sustain pedal working but the sub looks somewhat silent so I came here to ask as well.

Here's a picture of my patch:

https://imgur.com/a/w7UUXpe

Thanks in advance! and hopefully I can get into pd and the community because it looks like a cool place with cool people

@alexesc A patch could be built for that I am sure.
But in the "cyclone" library of externals for Pd there is an object for that purpose called [sustain]
There might be other libraries with a similar tool.
If you go to the menu at the top of your Pd window and select.....
Help
Find Externals
...... and then type sustain (or cyclone) into the box and click "search" it will be found.
You always have to install the whole library.
Select the one you want..... probably the most recent..... and follow the instructions.
It is best not to change anything..... let it be installed where it suggests.

Then restart Pd and put [sustain] in your patch.
Right click the object and select "help" to find out how to use it.
And welcome to the forum....!
David,

@whale-av Thanks! Did not know cyclone had such useful objects! looking at the object list right now.

Anyways, is this in "good style"? meaning Is it ok if I relay on externals or should I look into implanting sustain in vanilla? I'm asking because as a new user I don't know how problematic it can be to heavily use external libraries. For example I am very interested in using mobmuplat and Camomile in the future to make my own instruments and vst's, but I'm not sure if they support external libraries.

@alexesc For [mobmuplat] external libraries will be a problem if you want all the workings on the device.
I don't know for Camomile..... sorry..... but someone else will tell you probably......
David.

@alexesc For a pure Vanilla patch what you need to do is to store all the "note off" pairs while sustain is held down........ a value of 1 from the pedal?
Then let them all through when the pedal is released..... a value of 0?

Here it is for vanilla........ keep the objects together in a folder...... sustained-vanilla.zip
[list-drip] is also vanilla "abstractions"..... it contains no externals.
I have used [list] and messaging because some vanilla objects could well be missing from Mobmuplat.

I am sure it can be simplified...... and someone will probably post a better version......
David.

@alexesc a workaround for using externals in camomile through the pd~ object was recently mentioned.. not sure on the specifics but here is the info https://github.com/pierreguillot/Camomile/discussions/233
another option is to compile Camomile or mobmuplat and include the source files/setup() functions from the externals you want to include.

anyways, I would say one should rely on externals where possible since they are usually faster than the vanilla implementation.
edit: the exception to this might be when making a library and you want to cut down on too many dependencies.

if you do want to use pure vanilla, you should take a look at the [bag] object. Whenever you receive a noteoff when the pedal is held then add the note number to the bag. Then when the pedal is released send the note numbers back out w/ 0 velocity.
suspedal.zip

edit: suspedal might need to be modified some to handle repeated notes while the pedal is held (in order to send "0 velocity" for notes that are already held down if the same note is received, if that behavior is desired.)

@whale-av huhh I installed cyclone and it works fine except for the help files. When I right click on a cyclone object and select "help" I get an error msg like this:

Tcl) INVALID COMMAND NAME: invalid command name ".x7084a0.c"
    while executing
".x7084a0.c delete bg3233770"
    ("uplevel" body line 180)
    invoked from within
"uplevel #0 $docmds"

I installed by using the find externals function, then added cyclone to load on startup. Am I missing some step to fully install it?

@alexesc No, it should work. You should post more info..... operating system..... pd version.
It looks like an error between Pd itself and the windowing system of the OS.
Someone with more knowledge than me will I hope reply.
In the meantime here is the help patch for [sustain]......... sustain help.zip ....... which you should be able to open.
David.

@alexesc Should be path not startup

@alexesc said:

https://imgur.com/a/w7UUXpe

There's a way using ELSE library, which have a Live Electronic Tutorial included.
In: Vol.1/ --> Part.03-Control/ --> 16-MIDI/ --> 5.Sustain.pd

There's no easy way at this moment to use ELSE with Mobmuplat, but with Camomile, you can use it with pd~ like seb talk or using Camomile-ELSE which is Camomile recompiled with ELSE library included.

@alexesc The patch I posted above contains only the most basic vanilla objects and will work for mobmuplat......... https://forum.pdpatchrepo.info/topic/13294/how-can-i-implement-a-sustain-pedal-to-a-synth/5

Just add an inlet for the sustain pedal control and remove the [print] objects and it will do the same as [sustain] from cyclone.

If mobmuplat can work with [bag]...... check the list of objects it can work with....... then that could be more efficient as @emviveros suggests. Mobmuplat didn't implement all vanilla objects in the past, but maybe that has changed.
David.

@whale-av huh, I did get kinda confused when installing the plugin. When I searched for cyclone A loading bar came up but it never goes away even though it was filed completely. I just restarted pd after the loading bar completed and IDK if I somehow interrupted the installation, I tried leaving cyclone installing overnight and the loading bar never went away. Strange. IMO pd is clunky enough to scare new users away like myself. I have tried to get into pd years ago but the documentation and the interface didn't click for me.

Anyways I'm on windows 10, pure data 0.51.3 64 bit. I'll try on a 32 bit windows install and see what happens in a moment...

note that the else object [suspedal] is more powerful, versatile and has more features than [cyclone/sustain], I'm particularly proud of having design the functionality of the tonal pedal of a piano, something I've never seen in controllers/computer music devices