I use Ext since years, even since the beta version.
At the moment I dropped it, IMHO there is nothing in Ext that you can't do (or build) in Usine.
There are even quit some things that you can do nativly in Usine as where in Ext you need external plugins for.
Example : My partner in our duo plays a windcontroller WX5. When she plays it with a dedicated hardware module it works fine. Now when you want to use it with a Vsti, there is a problem because a lot of vsti's don't understand breathcontrol. Solution, a litle coded module by me that converts the breatcontrol CC in volume CC
15 min. of work and it works like a charme.
Just to show how easy this is usine, here is the code :
--------------
//////////////////////////
// For CC2 to CC7
/////////////////////////
// parameters declaration
var input : Tparameter;
var output : Tparameter;
// initialisation : create parameters
procedure init;
begin
Input := CreateParam('In',ptMidi);
Output := CreateParam('Out',ptMidi);
SetIsInput(Output,false);
SetIsOutPut(Input,false);
end;
// Global variables
var i : integer;
var nbOfMidi : integer;
var ReceivedMidi : TMidi;
//////////////////////////////
// main proc
//////////////////////////////
begin
nbOfMidi := GetLength(input); // get the number of incoming midi codes
if nbOfMidi > 0
then begin
SetLength(outPut,nbOfMidi); // set the number of output codes
for i := 0 to nbOfMidi-1 // loop for all input codes, for polyphonic data (chords)
do begin
GetMidiArrayValue(input,i,ReceivedMidi); // get each code
if ReceivedMidi.Msg = 176 then
begin
if ReceivedMidi.data1= 2 then ReceivedMidi.data1 := 7; // force CC2 to CC7 (volume)
end;
if ReceivedMidi.data1= 7 then ReceivedMidi.data2 := (ReceivedMidi.data2 * 2)+30;
if ReceivedMidi.data2 > 127 then ReceivedMidi.data2 := 127;
SetMidiArrayValue(output,i,ReceivedMidi); // set output value
end;
end
else SetLength(outPut,0); // nothing received, set out length to 0
end.
----------
It could be shorter, since the WX is monophonic, so I shouldn't take in account the loop for possible chords. I left it in the code, since I'm writing another module that will create chords from single notes.
As you can see, I allso change the amount of CC received to adapt the plug to here style of playing...
Very easy to do.
And I don't even talk about all features that Usine has dedicated to live use.
You shouldn't forget that the base filosofy of both softwares are different. Ext has from the beginning been developped as a modular sequencer environment, the main use was and is in a studio. Jorgen has added after that some kind of live-mode. IMHO is was clumsy and not realy well implemented.
Usine is a real live oriented environment and developped as such, you simple can see it.
The only thing I could ask Senso is, 'don't clutter it with feature we don't need !'
Usine should stay a live setup tool and not become a pseudo DAW.
I would like to see the interface builder a bit more developped, it is a bit weak at the moment, and it is very important to build live sets.
k