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Bentō could be such a brilliant machine for soundscape design inspiration. Sadly, it is a standalone application. In some ways it’s more versatile and suitabl
by strogonoff 5y ago
Bentō could be such a brilliant machine for soundscape design inspiration. Sadly, it is a standalone application.
In some ways it’s more versatile and suitable for workflows that don’t involve a DAW. However, having it available as a VST/AU would’ve opened up countless new possibilities—for example, after seeing the demo video I immediately had a vision of a soundscape that uses a few of those simultaneously, but 1) the app does not let you launch multiple instances of itself; 2) even if that was allowed, orchestrating launching all of them and saving/loading corresponding presets every time would be an obstacle; 3) that aside, playing (let alone automating) all instances when performing or recording your scape would be quite a royal challenge.
And as a minor grumble, unlike VST plugins and audio units commonly distributed as single files that can be manually copied where appropriate, this application needs to be installed (and with root privileges to boot, not sure why that’s necessary).
- dmje 5y agoAw man, that's sad. I was just reaching for my wallet when I saw the standalone thing and I wondered if that was really the case. It looks radical, but if I can't hook it into my DAW then it's no good to me :-(
- strogonoff 5y agoYeah, I got the trial and it did not install any plug-ins. I am close to buying it regardless. I plan to record various pieces which could be extensively used in the DAW for layering in post, triggering at a live gig, etc. Basically same as digitized audio from a live instrument, voice or hardware synth—slice and dice it, layer, transpose, reverse. Not as many possibilities as from a playable DAW plug-in, but still quite a few.
- bambax 5y agoThere are several virtual modular synths available, with VST implementation, including Voltage Modular by Cherry Audio, Modular by Softube, and many others. VCV Rack is totally free and open source and works on most platforms. The VST module is not free, but there is another implementation (Cardinal) that's free (although it's not quite ready for prime time yet). Without the VST module, VCV can be controlled from the DAW via virtual midi and virtual audio cables. It's a world of limitless possibilities. I would strongly encourage anyone interested to try it. (At the end of the Bentō video the author shows how to record audio using virtual audio cables; but they don't say if and how it's possible to control it from a DAW.)
- strogonoff 5y agoThere is no DAW control, as this is a standalone app at this point. I’m aware of VCV and software modular, but I’m yet to really dig into it.
- bambax 5y agoA standalone app that accepts MIDI IN can be controlled by a DAW.
- strogonoff 5y agoGood catch! Bentō allows to map MIDI to knobs. The app can still run in one instance only, limiting concurrent performance/recording possibilities the DAW offers, but MIDI control should make it easier to automate recording pieces, which is nice.
- Cthulhu_ 5y ago> and with root privileges to boot, not sure why that’s necessary Maybe it needs low level access to audio outputs to reduce latency, or that's the only way to achieve low-latency / lossless interprocess communication? I'm just making guesses here.
- strogonoff 5y agoMaybe. I guess if VST/AU rely on the host, they may not require installation.