the new "ma" command in the console

Chester01 · Sep 22, 2006, 01:15 PM

I have been trying to figure out how to properly map this to the "Master Mixer" control in the windows volume control but have not been able to. I would like to map it to a gainHQ plugin. I tried using the command:
ma 2 gainHQ gainl_f gainr_f 0x16c310e3
but have not seen any results. Any suggestions? I have read the post by Russ to get to the point i am at now

"Thanks E., I have been hoping for the above for a while (particulairly with the Master Volume)...
Just a couple of things regarding this:
The usage instructions are not complete (I had to look at the kxctrl source code to figure out how it works).
The usage is (for anyone trying to use it):
ma <id> <pgm_name> <reg_name_left> <reg_name_right> <max_volume>
i.e. (to assign Master Volume to epilog)
ma 0 epilog MasterL MasterR 0x7fffffff
Unloading the assigned plugin, or reintializing the DSP does not map it back to epilog/default mapping.
Unmapping it (setting <pgm_name> to 'undefined') does not map it back to epilog/default mapping.
Once you change the mapping, you have to manually map it back to epilog to get the default functionality. I guess this is intentional, but can lead to confusion if you are not aware of it (so hopefully people will be aware of it now).
-Russ"

Max M. · Sep 22, 2006, 01:43 PM

not about ma option itself: you can't assign 'ma controls' to gainHQ since it uses two registers for one level (gain_f and gain_i). same goes for GainX. (well, the level will be changed but not in a way you expect).
with 'ma' you're sticked only to plain stuff (prolog, epilog, vol etc.)

Russ · Sep 22, 2006, 10:11 PM

Also, it should be understood that the 'ma' command only relates to what happens when something is changed in the Windows Mixer. It does not change anything in kxmixer, except that the sliders/registers used by kxmixer are no longer updated when a change is made in Windows Mixer, if the mapping is changed.

i.e.
If you change the default mapping of the Master Volume:
The Master Volume sliders in kxmixer are still connected to epilog, and still control the Master Volume within epilog, however, they are no longer updated when the Master Volume is changed using the Windows Mixer (this includes changes made using multimedia keyboard volume buttons, and any sliders (or other controls) used in other programs that use Windows Mixer). Instead, the newly assigned registers are updated.

The notifications seem to be only one way, i.e. making changes in Windows Mixer updates the plugin's registers, but, adjusting the sliders in the plugin does not update Windows Mixer.

The plugin's sliders will not reflect the Windows Mixer settings (since there is no plugin notification to tell the plugin to read the registers and sync the gui).

The plugin is not updated immediatley when you make the register assignments, it is only first updated, the first time a change is made in Windows Mixer, after making the register assignments.

We will have to check with Eugene to see if there is a way to keep them in sync (i.e. inform Windows Mixer of changes, and be informed of changes in order to update the gui (and of course such things would only apply to plugins designed specifically to handle these messages, etc.)).

BTW: The plugin_name and register_name parameters appear to be case sensitive, but it does not give an error if you use the wrong case, it just wont work (even though the command looks as though it was successful).

-Russ

Chester01 · Sep 23, 2006, 05:06 AM

Thank you for your help. I now have a St Vol plugin in my output chain (since I use k2lt I needed a volume control besides the one in epilog

anyways, I have found that it is necessary to use a name without spaces in the <plugin_name> area; therefore I had to rename St Vol to StVol (without the space...) The code I entered into the DSP was as follows:
ma 0 StVol vol vol 0x7fffffff
This will map the master mixer (the one the keybaord usually controls) to a St Vol plugin

Thanks for all your help Max and Russ!

Chester01 · Sep 23, 2006, 05:12 AM

By the way... a gainHQ plugin will map properly, only the gainx_f registers control the volume... I had to rename my gainHQ plugin to gainHQ! to make it different from all of the other gainHQ plugins I use however after doign this, I resulted with:
ma 0 gainHQ! gainl_f gainr_f 0x40c3713
(this makes -30db the max volume)
it would be nice if there was a means of changing the size of the incriments that windows uses to step down the volume (if I were to use -15 db, there may be a large 'jump' in volume for every keypress) other than that it works flawlessly!

Russ · Sep 23, 2006, 05:21 AM

That (StVol) might give you problems because it only uses a single register, and the 'ma' command expects 2 different registers.
Since it is a .da plugin, why not make a new one using 2 sliders/registers?

As for gainHQ, that is only true if you leave the sliders set to 0dB, and used that way it is working as a basic stereo volume plugin (so why use gainHQ?).

Chester01 · Sep 23, 2006, 05:32 AM

with the StVol plugin, I did not have any issues, I believe it would just write the register twice (set the volume twice) for every change in volume. As for why I am using the gainHQ, I have been since I built my system, I also am very 'into' sound on an engineering/technical level and prefer to use gains (where every 3 db is twice or half the energy) rather than a volume control that has no true 'scale' (50% could be -3db (50% the energy), -10 db (50% the percieved sound) etc. Granted a volume control would do just fine however it is one of my personal issues I need to get around

Are you aware of any way of changing the 'incriment size' of the "Master Mixer" in windows? I believe the KX drivers have it set at around 50 steps from 0 to 100%, I would like to make it more like 100-150 (I hold the volume key down I dont press it individually each time

) Thanks again for your help!

Russ · Sep 23, 2006, 05:55 AM

I understand why the gainHQ plugin is good, what I meant was, that it does not function correctly when mapped to Master Volume (under this scenario, it is the same as stereo volume), so there would be no reason to use it this way.

<edit>
I am not sure about the slider increments, there must be a way to do it, since it uses to 2 different increment sizes on my system. If I let kX control it, there seems to be 51 steps, but if I let my multimedia keyboard driver control it, there are 32.
</edit>

Sep 22, 2006, 01:15 PM	#1
Chester01 HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: St. Cloud, MN Posts: 492 Rep Power: 0	the new "ma" command in the console I have been trying to figure out how to properly map this to the "Master Mixer" control in the windows volume control but have not been able to. I would like to map it to a gainHQ plugin. I tried using the command: ma 2 gainHQ gainl_f gainr_f 0x16c310e3 but have not seen any results. Any suggestions? I have read the post by Russ to get to the point i am at now "Thanks E., I have been hoping for the above for a while (particulairly with the Master Volume)... Just a couple of things regarding this: The usage instructions are not complete (I had to look at the kxctrl source code to figure out how it works). The usage is (for anyone trying to use it): ma <id> <pgm_name> <reg_name_left> <reg_name_right> <max_volume> i.e. (to assign Master Volume to epilog) ma 0 epilog MasterL MasterR 0x7fffffff Unloading the assigned plugin, or reintializing the DSP does not map it back to epilog/default mapping. Unmapping it (setting <pgm_name> to 'undefined') does not map it back to epilog/default mapping. Once you change the mapping, you have to manually map it back to epilog to get the default functionality. I guess this is intentional, but can lead to confusion if you are not aware of it (so hopefully people will be aware of it now). -Russ" __________________ COMP: Dual Intel PIII 733 Mhz; GeForce 4 Ti 4600; 1.128 Gb RAM; SB0350 (Audigy 2 ZS Platnium) STEREO(I UPGRADED):Crown Audio K1 and K2 amplifiers (4000 watts at .1% THD ), JL 13w7 Subwoofer (6.5 CF) (2) 18" PR's, Klipsch SB-1's, some cement blocks for speaker stands...

Sep 22, 2006, 10:11 PM	#3
Russ HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 5,563 Rep Power: 62	Also, it should be understood that the 'ma' command only relates to what happens when something is changed in the Windows Mixer. It does not change anything in kxmixer, except that the sliders/registers used by kxmixer are no longer updated when a change is made in Windows Mixer, if the mapping is changed. i.e. If you change the default mapping of the Master Volume: The Master Volume sliders in kxmixer are still connected to epilog, and still control the Master Volume within epilog, however, they are no longer updated when the Master Volume is changed using the Windows Mixer (this includes changes made using multimedia keyboard volume buttons, and any sliders (or other controls) used in other programs that use Windows Mixer). Instead, the newly assigned registers are updated. The notifications seem to be only one way, i.e. making changes in Windows Mixer updates the plugin's registers, but, adjusting the sliders in the plugin does not update Windows Mixer. The plugin's sliders will not reflect the Windows Mixer settings (since there is no plugin notification to tell the plugin to read the registers and sync the gui). The plugin is not updated immediatley when you make the register assignments, it is only first updated, the first time a change is made in Windows Mixer, after making the register assignments. We will have to check with Eugene to see if there is a way to keep them in sync (i.e. inform Windows Mixer of changes, and be informed of changes in order to update the gui (and of course such things would only apply to plugins designed specifically to handle these messages, etc.)). BTW: The plugin_name and register_name parameters appear to be case sensitive, but it does not give an error if you use the wrong case, it just wont work (even though the command looks as though it was successful). -Russ Last edited by Russ; Sep 22, 2006 at 11:07 PM.

Sep 23, 2006, 05:06 AM	Thread Starter #4
Chester01 HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: St. Cloud, MN Posts: 492 Rep Power: 0	Thank you for your help. I now have a St Vol plugin in my output chain (since I use k2lt I needed a volume control besides the one in epilog anyways, I have found that it is necessary to use a name without spaces in the <plugin_name> area; therefore I had to rename St Vol to StVol (without the space...) The code I entered into the DSP was as follows: ma 0 StVol vol vol 0x7fffffff This will map the master mixer (the one the keybaord usually controls) to a St Vol plugin Thanks for all your help Max and Russ! __________________ COMP: Dual Intel PIII 733 Mhz; GeForce 4 Ti 4600; 1.128 Gb RAM; SB0350 (Audigy 2 ZS Platnium) STEREO(I UPGRADED):Crown Audio K1 and K2 amplifiers (4000 watts at .1% THD ), JL 13w7 Subwoofer (6.5 CF) (2) 18" PR's, Klipsch SB-1's, some cement blocks for speaker stands...

Sep 23, 2006, 05:12 AM	Thread Starter #5
Chester01 HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: St. Cloud, MN Posts: 492 Rep Power: 0	By the way... a gainHQ plugin will map properly, only the gainx_f registers control the volume... I had to rename my gainHQ plugin to gainHQ! to make it different from all of the other gainHQ plugins I use however after doign this, I resulted with: ma 0 gainHQ! gainl_f gainr_f 0x40c3713 (this makes -30db the max volume) it would be nice if there was a means of changing the size of the incriments that windows uses to step down the volume (if I were to use -15 db, there may be a large 'jump' in volume for every keypress) other than that it works flawlessly! __________________ COMP: Dual Intel PIII 733 Mhz; GeForce 4 Ti 4600; 1.128 Gb RAM; SB0350 (Audigy 2 ZS Platnium) STEREO(I UPGRADED):Crown Audio K1 and K2 amplifiers (4000 watts at .1% THD ), JL 13w7 Subwoofer (6.5 CF) (2) 18" PR's, Klipsch SB-1's, some cement blocks for speaker stands...

Sep 23, 2006, 05:32 AM	Thread Starter #7
Chester01 HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: St. Cloud, MN Posts: 492 Rep Power: 0	with the StVol plugin, I did not have any issues, I believe it would just write the register twice (set the volume twice) for every change in volume. As for why I am using the gainHQ, I have been since I built my system, I also am very 'into' sound on an engineering/technical level and prefer to use gains (where every 3 db is twice or half the energy) rather than a volume control that has no true 'scale' (50% could be -3db (50% the energy), -10 db (50% the percieved sound) etc. Granted a volume control would do just fine however it is one of my personal issues I need to get around Are you aware of any way of changing the 'incriment size' of the "Master Mixer" in windows? I believe the KX drivers have it set at around 50 steps from 0 to 100%, I would like to make it more like 100-150 (I hold the volume key down I dont press it individually each time ) Thanks again for your help! __________________ COMP: Dual Intel PIII 733 Mhz; GeForce 4 Ti 4600; 1.128 Gb RAM; SB0350 (Audigy 2 ZS Platnium) STEREO(I UPGRADED):Crown Audio K1 and K2 amplifiers (4000 watts at .1% THD ), JL 13w7 Subwoofer (6.5 CF) (2) 18" PR's, Klipsch SB-1's, some cement blocks for speaker stands...

Sep 22, 2006, 01:43 PM	#2
Max M. h/h member-shmember Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Evil Empire Posts: 2,639 Rep Power: 69	not about ma option itself: you can't assign 'ma controls' to gainHQ since it uses two registers for one level (gain_f and gain_i). same goes for GainX. (well, the level will be changed but not in a way you expect). with 'ma' you're sticked only to plain stuff (prolog, epilog, vol etc.)

Sep 23, 2006, 05:21 AM	#6
Russ HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 5,563 Rep Power: 62	That (StVol) might give you problems because it only uses a single register, and the 'ma' command expects 2 different registers. Since it is a .da plugin, why not make a new one using 2 sliders/registers? As for gainHQ, that is only true if you leave the sliders set to 0dB, and used that way it is working as a basic stereo volume plugin (so why use gainHQ?).

Sep 23, 2006, 05:55 AM	#8
Russ HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 5,563 Rep Power: 62	I understand why the gainHQ plugin is good, what I meant was, that it does not function correctly when mapped to Master Volume (under this scenario, it is the same as stereo volume), so there would be no reason to use it this way. <edit> I am not sure about the slider increments, there must be a way to do it, since it uses to 2 different increment sizes on my system. If I let kX control it, there seems to be 51 steps, but if I let my multimedia keyboard driver control it, there are 32. </edit> Last edited by Russ; Sep 23, 2006 at 06:25 AM.