# DoubleLoopCymbal

DoubleLoopCymbal is a synthesizer that produces a sound somewhere between hi-hat and triangle. Metallic texture comes from 2 all-pass loops.

- Download DoubleLoopCymbal 0.1.1 `full` - VST 3 (github.com)
- Download DoubleLoopCymbal 0.1.1 `macOS` - VST 3 (github.com)

Note: Presets produce the expected sound only if the sampling rate is 48000 Hz.

`full` package contains following builds.

- Windows (x86_64)
- Linux (x86_64)
- macOS (Universal 2)

Linux build is built on Ubuntu 24.04. If you are using distribution other than Ubuntu 24.04, plugin will not likely to run. In this case, please take a look at build instruction.

`macOS` package is recommended for macOS user. I can’t purchase Apple Developer Program, therefore installation requires a workaround to bypass Gatekeeper. Details of workaround are written in Installation -> macOS Specific section.

## Contact

Feel free to contact me on GitHub repository or `ryukau@gmail.com.`

You can fund the development through paypal.me/ryukau.

## Installation

### Plugin

Move `*.vst3` directory to:

- `/Program Files/Common Files/VST3/` for Windows.
- `$HOME/.vst3/` for Linux.
- `/Users/$USERNAME/Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST3/` for macOS.

DAW may provides additional VST3 directory. For more information, please refer to the manual of the DAW.

### Presets

Notice: Some plugins don’t have presets provided by Uhhyou Plugins.

Presets are included in the plugin package linked at the top of this page. To install presets, follow the steps below.

1. Download plugin from a link at the top of this page.
2. Extract downloaded zip file.
3. Open `presets` directory placed in extracted package.
4. Move `Uhhyou` directory into an OS specific preset directory (see below).

Below is a list of preset directories for each OS.

- Windows : `/Users/$USERNAME/Documents/VST3 Presets`
- Linux : `$HOME/.vst3/presets`
- macOS : `/Users/$USERNAME/Library/Audio/Presets`

Preset directory name must be the same as the plugin. If preset directory does not exist, create it.

- Preset Locations - VST 3 Developer Portal

### Windows Specific

If DAW doesn’t recognize the plugin, try installing C++ redistributable (`vc_redist.x64.exe`). Installer can be found in the link below.

- Latest supported Visual C++ Redistributable downloads | Microsoft Learn

### Linux Specific

On Ubuntu 24.04, those packages are required.

    sudo apt install libxcb-cursor0  libxkbcommon-x11-0

If DAW doesn’t recognize the plugin, take a look at `Package Requirements` section of the link below and make sure all the VST3 related package is installed.

- VSTGUI: Setup

REAPER on Linux may not recognize the plugin. A workaround is to delete a file `~/.config/REAPER/reaper-vstplugins64.ini` and restart REAPER.

### macOS Specific

Important: `full` package is not confirmed working. When using `full`, try removing following files.

- `Contents/Resources/Documentation`
- `Contents/x86_64-linux`
- `Contents/x86_64-win`

`macOS` package doesn’t contain above files. Also, all packages are in “ad-hoc signing” state set by `codesign` command.

#### Remove Quarantine

When trying to run plugin first time, following message may appear on macOS.

    <PluginName>.vst3 is damaged and can't be opened. You should move it to the Trash.

In this case, open terminal and try running one or both of following command to unzipped `.vst3` directory. Replace `/path/to/PluginName.vst3` according to your install location.

    xattr -rd com.apple.quarantine /path/to/PluginName.vst3
    xattr -rc /path/to/PluginName.vst3

#### Bypass Gatekeeper

Plugin may be considered as unsigned/un-notarized application. In this case, open System Preferences, go to Security & Privacy → General, then click the Open Anyway button. The offcial Apple help page linked below has screenshots for the procedure. See “If you want to open an app that hasn’t been notarized or is from an unidentified developer” section.

- Safely open apps on your Mac - Apple Support

If the plugin is still not working, try changing install location to `/Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST3/` or `/Users/$USERNAME/Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST3/` whichever still haven’t tried.

If all the above methods do not work, try following the steps below.

1. Open terminal and run `sudo spctl --master-disable`.
2. Go to System Preferences → Security and Privacy → General → Allow apps downloaded from, then select “Anywhere”.

Beware that steps above degrades security of your system. To revert the settings, follow the steps below.

1. Go to System Preferences → Security and Privacy → General → Allow apps downloaded from, then select option to “App Store and identified developers”.
2. Open terminal and run `sudo spctl --master-enable`.

#### Applying `codesign`

Note This section may not relevant to `macOS` packages. However it’s not verified. (GitHub issue)

To use `full` package, following command might be used.

    sudo codesign --force --deep -s - /path/to/PluginName.vst3

`codesign` might not be available without installing Xcode.

#### Reference

- Safely open apps on your Mac - Apple Support
- java - “libprism_sw.dylib” cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified. on mac JAVAFX - Stack Overflow
- How to Fix App “is damaged and can’t be opened. You should move it to the Trash” Error on Mac
- Allowing unsigned/un-notarized applications/plugins in Mac OS | Venn Audio

## GUI Style Configuration

At first time, create color config file to:

- `/Users/USERNAME/AppData/Roaming/UhhyouPlugins/style/style.json` on Windows.
- `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/UhhyouPlugins/style/style.json` on Linux.
  - If `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME` is empty, make `$HOME/.config/UhhyouPlugins/style/style.json`.
- `/Users/$USERNAME/Library/Preferences/UhhyouPlugins/style/style.json` on macOS.

`style.json` will be loaded for each time a plugin window opens.

Several color themes are available on the link below. To use, copy the text to `style.json`.

- VSTPlugins/package/style/themes at master · ryukau/VSTPlugins

Below is an example of `style.json`.

    {
      "guiScale"          : 1          ,
      "fontFamily"        : "Tinos"    ,
      "fontBold"          : true       ,
      "fontItalic"        : true       ,
      "foreground"        : "#000000"  ,
      "foregroundButtonOn": "#000000"  ,
      "foregroundInactive": "#8a8a8a"  ,
      "background"        : "#ffffff"  ,
      "boxBackground"     : "#ffffff"  ,
      "border"            : "#000000"  ,
      "borderCheckbox"    : "#000000"  ,
      "borderLabel"       : "#000000"  ,
      "unfocused"         : "#dddddd"  ,
      "highlightMain"     : "#0ba4f1"  ,
      "highlightAccent"   : "#13c136"  ,
      "highlightButton"   : "#fcc04f"  ,
      "highlightWarning"  : "#fc8080"  ,
      "overlay"           : "#00000088",
      "overlayHighlight"  : "#00ff0033"
    }

### GUI Scale

- `guiScale`: GUI scaling. For example, `0.75` is 75%, and `2.0` is 200%.

The minimum of `guiScale` is `0.01`. The maximum is practically non-existent (the max value of 64-bit float).

Notice: If `guiScale` is too large, DAW may place the “close” button on the plugin window out of screen, making it unclickable.

### Font Options

Following is a list of font options.

- `fontFamily`: Font family name.
- `fontBold`: Enable bold style when `true`, disable when `false`.
- `fontItalic`: Enable italic style when `true`, disable when `false`.

System font can be used as `fontFamily`. To use different fonts for different plugins, place `*.ttf` file into custom font path: `*.vst3/Contents/Resources/Fonts`.

Notice: If the combination of `fontFamily`, `fontBold`, `fontItalic` does not exist in custom font path, default font of VSTGUI is used.

If `fontFamily` is set to empty string `""`, then `"Tinos"` is used as fallback. If the length is greater than 1 and the font family name doesn’t exist, default font of VSTGUI is used.

Styles other than bold, italic or bold-italic are not supported by VSTGUI. For example, “Thin”, “Light”, “Medium”, and “Black” weights cannot be used.

### Color Options

Hex color codes are used.

- 6 digit color is RGB.
- 8 digit color is RGBA.

First letter `#` is conventional. Plugins ignore the first letter of color code, thus `?102938`, `\n11335577` are valid.

Do not use characters outside of `0-9a-f` for color value.

Following is a list of color options. If an option is missing, default color will be used.

- `foreground`: Text color.
- `foregroundButtonOn`: Text color of active toggle button. Recommend to use the same value of `foreground` or `boxBackground`.
- `foregroundInactive`: Text color of inactive components. Currently, only used for TabView.
- `background`: Background color.
- `boxBackground`: Background color of inside of box shaped components (Barbox, Button, Checkbox, OptionMenu, TextKnob, VSlider).
- `border`: Border color of box shaped components.
- `borderCheckbox`: Border color of CheckBox.
- `borderLabel`: Line color of parameter section label.
- `unfocused`: Color to fill unfocused components. Currently, only used for knobs.
- `highlightMain`: Color to indicate focus is on a component. Highlight colors are also used for value of slider components (BarBox and VSlider).
- `highlightAccent`: Same as `highlightMain`. Used for cosmetics.
- `highlightButton`: Color to indicate focus is on a button.
- `highlightWarning`: Same as `highlightMain`, but only used for parameters which requires extra caution.
- `overlay`: Overlay color. Used to overlay texts and indicators.
- `overlayHighlight`: Overlay color to highlight current focus.

## Controls

`Right Click` on the controls pops up a context menu provided by DAW.

Knob and slider provides following controls:

- `Ctrl` + `Left Click`: Reset value.
- `Shift` + `Left Drag`: Fine adjustment.
- `Middle Click` : Rotate through minimum, default and maximum value.
- `Shift` + `Middle Click` : Take floor of current value.
  - Note: For decibel (`dB`) parameters, floor is applied after the value is converted to amplitude.

## Caution

Output can be loud. Always use with limiter.

## Block Diagram

If the image is small, use `Ctrl` + `Mouse Wheel` or “View Image” on right click menu to scale.

Diagram only shows overview. It’s not exact implementation.

## Parameters

Characters inside of square brackets [] represents unit. Following is a list of units used in DoubleLoopCymbal.

- [dB] : Decibel.
- [s] : Second.
- [Hz] : Frequency in Hertz.
- [sample] : Time in samples. 1 sample is `1 / (sampling rate)` seconds.
- [st.] : Ssemitone. 1 semitone is `1 / 12` octave.

### Mix & Options

Output [dB]

  Output gain.

2x Sampling

  Enables 2x oversampling when checked.

Release

  When checked,

  - The sound will not stop after note-off.
  - All settings in the `Closing Noise` section will be ignored.
Fixed Noise

  When checked, fluttering of sound will be reduced.

  Internally, the random number seed used to synthesize the noise signal will be reset at each note-on.

Spread

  Amount of stereo spreading. More spreading when the value is close to 1.

Split [Hz]

  Crossover frequency of stereo spreader. Spreading effect is reduced below this frequency.

External Input [dB]

  External input gain.

  DoubleLoopCymbal can be used as an FX to add metallic texture to the external input.

  Important: DoubleLoopCymbal requires note events even when using as an effector. External input is muted until a note is played.

  Note events are used for expressions similar to opening and closing of a hi-hat. An example setup is to play a MIDI keyboard with one hand and tap on a desk with the other hand to produce noise that is picked up by a microphone.

  When using a microphone as the source of external input, the external input is better to be equalized. For example, tapping on a desk with hands may contain too much low frequencies for DoubleLoopCymbal. If it is a collision of hard materials such as a drum stick and a plastic plate, it may be used without equalization.

  When replacing the excitation signal (noise) with the external input, set all the following parameters to minimum (-inf dB).

  - `Impact Noise` -> `Gain`
  - `Half Closed Noise` -> `Gain`
  - `Closing Noise` -> `Gain`

  To route external inputs and note events, please refer to your DAW’s manual.

### Tuning

Note -> Pitch

  Amount of pitch modulation applied from the pitch of a note-on event.

  Regardless of the value of `Note -> Pitch`, the amount of pitch modulation will be 0 when the pitch is A3 (57 in MIDI note number).

  When the value of `Note -> Pitch` is 0.0, the pitch of the note is ignored.

  When the value of `Note -> Pitch` is 1.0, the pitch of a note is directly applied to the pitch of the synthesizer. Some drum sounds do not have a clear pitch, so it may sound out of tune in some cases. Also, higher the pitch, more out of tune it becomes. This is because delays doesn’t use interpolations to be more efficient, and to avoid lowpass in feedback path.

  When the value of `Note -> Pitch` is -1.0, the pitch is reversed.

Transpose [st.]

  Transposes pitch of note in semitone steps.

  Note: No effect when `Note -> Pitch` is 0.0.

Pitch Bend Range [st.]

  Pitch bend range in semitones.

Slide Time [s]

  Pitch slide time.

  The pitch starts sliding when 2 or more notes are played at the same time.

### Velocity Map

Below is a list of abbreviations used in this section.

- `Imp.` -> Impulse Noise
- `HC` -> Half Closed Noise
- `Cl.` -> Closing Noise
- `AP` -> Allpass Loop

> Imp. Gain [dB]

  Amount of how much a note-on velocity changes the gain of impact noises.

  When playing on a MIDI keyboard, it may become easier to play by narrowing the range to around -30 dB.

> Imp. Highpass

  Amount of how much a note-on velocity changes `Highpass` in `Impact Noise`.

  - If the value is greater than 0, higher velocity leads to higher cutoff.
  - If the value is less than 0, higher velocity leads to lower cutoff.
> HC Density

  Amount of how much a note-on velocity changes `Density` in `Half Closed Noise`.

  `> Half Closed Highpass` and `> Modulation` are there to make the sound more like a crash cymbal at higher velocities. However, it does not sound like a real crash cymbal in most cases.

  `> Half Closed Density` has little effect when `Decay` in `Half Closed Noise` is short.

> HC Highpass

  Amount of how much a note-on velocity changes `Highpass` in `Half Closed Noise`.

Note-off Velocity

  Type of velocity used for hi-hat closing.

  When turned on, note-off velocity is used. When turned off, note-on velocity is used. Below is a list of parameters which is affected by `Note-off Velocity`.

  - `> Cl. Gain`
  - `> Cl. Duration`
  - `> Cl. Highpass`
> Cl. Gain [dB]

  Amount of how much a velocity changes `Gain` in `Closing Noise`.

> Cl. Release

  Amount of how much a velocity changes `Release Ratio` in `Closing Noise`.

> Cl. Highpass

  Amount of how much a note-on velocity changes `Highpass` in `Closing Noise`.

> AP Modulation

  Amount of how much a note-on velocity changes `Modulation` in `Allpass Loop`.

### Impact Noise

Impact noise imitates collision of a stick with a cymbal.

Seed

  `Seed` can dramatically change the overall texture.

Texture Mix

  Ratio of mixing of 2 noises. One random number sequance is fixed for each note. Another sequence changes for each note.

  When the value is close to 1.0, fluttering of sound will be reduced. It has a similar effect to `Fixed Noise`, except that it does not affect `Half Closed Noise` and `Closing Noise`.

Gain [dB]

  Gain of noise.

Decay [s]

  Decay time of noise.

Highpass [Hz]

  Cutoff frequency of high-pass that is applied to noise.

### Half Closed Noise

Half closed noise imitates texture of half-closed hi-hat.

Gain [dB]

  Gain of noise.

Decay [s]

  Decay time of noise.

Sustain [dB]

  Gain of noise after the time specified by `Decay` has elapsed.

Pulse Duration [s]

  Decay time of noise per collision.

  When the value of `Pulse Duration` and `Density` ​​are both small, a rattling texture is produced.

Density [Hz]

  Collision frequency.

  Freqeuency here is how many collisions are likely to happen within a duration (probabilistic frequency), rather than a frequency of a musical tone (oscillation frequency).

  When `Density` is high, the texture becomes more like a rattling with a longer collision interval. When the value is small, the texture becomes more like a hiss.

Highpass [Hz]

  Cutoff frequency of high-pass that is applied to noise.

### Closing Noise

Closing noise imitates closing of a hi-hat. Closing is performed only when `Release` is unchecked, which in the `Mix & Options` section.

Gain [dB]

  Gain of noise.

Attack [s]

  Time to reach maximum amplitude of noise.

  Increasing `Attack` also increases the release time and reduces the maximum amplitude.

Release Ratio

  Release time of noise.

  Caution: When `Attack` is short, increasing `Release Ratio` can produce loud signal.

Highpass [Hz]

  Cutoff frequency of high-pass that is applied to noise.

### Allpass Loop

Metallic texture can be adjusted in this section. An allpass loop is more like a loop of wire rather than a plate. So it sounds more like a triangle rather than a cymbal.

Character

  Adjusts texture by changing internal delay time.

  When the value is 0, the pitch becomes clear. Fixed preset delay times are used in this case.

  When the value is 1, the pitch becomes unclear. Delay times are randomly set from `Seed` in `Impact Noise`.

Pitch Ratio [st.]

  Offset of pitch between 2 allpass loops.

  Only the delay times in second allpass loop will be changed.

Modulation [sample]

  Modulation of delay time from feedback signal.

  Caution: Feedback may cause loud noises when `Modulation` is non-zero.

Delay Count 1

  Number of delays in first allpass loop.

Delay Count 2

  Number of delays in second allpass loop.

Feed 1

  Allpass filter coefficients for first allpass loop.

  `Feed*` parameters works similar to the feedback of a delay effect.

  When the value is close to 1 or -1, the sound decays slower. When the value is exactly 1 or exactly -1, the sound sustains and do not decay.

Feed 2

  Allpass filter coefficients for second allpass loop.

Mix Spike

  Mixing ratio of noise.

  `Mix Spike` works similar to dry-wet ratio of a reverb.

  When the value is 0, the raw noise signal almost disappears. When the value is 1, the raw noise signal is summed together with the output from allpass loops.

Mix Alt. Sign

  Adjusts the texture of output from allpass loop.

  When the value is 0, the allpass outputs in a loop will be simply summed together.

      loopOutput = ap1 + ap2 + ap3 + ap4 + ap5 + ...

  When the value is 1, the signs are flipped for each allpass.

      loopOutput = ap1 - ap2 + ap3 - ap4 + ap5 - ...

### Filter

Settings related to the filters in the all-pass loop.

High Shelf Cutoff [Hz]

  Cutoff frequency of high shelf filter.

  To produce cymbal sounds, set `High Shelf Cutoff` to around 10000 Hz, and `High Shelf Gain` to between -1 and 0 dB.

High Shelf Gain [dB]

  Gain of high shelf filter.

Low Shelf Cutoff [Hz]

  Cutoff frequency of low shelf filter.

Low Shelf Gain [dB]

  Gain of low shelf filter.

  Caution: When the value is set to 0 dB, direct current may appear.

## Change Log

- 0.1.1
  - Added `allpass loop gain` parameters
  - Added GUI scaling.
  - Updated the Linux patch for VSTGUI4.
- 0.1.0
  - Initial release.

## Old Versions

- DoubleLoopCymbal 0.1.0 - VST 3 (github.com)

## License

DoubleLoopCymbal is licensed under GPLv3. Complete licenses are linked below.

- https://github.com/ryukau/VSTPlugins/tree/master/License

If the link above doesn’t work, please send email to `ryukau@gmail.com`.

### About VST

VST is a trademark of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, registered in Europe and other countries.