Orinj Known issues

Orinj version 9.0.0

The following is a list of the known issues in the current version of Orinj.

MIDI

Orinj does not support all MIDI controllers. For example, you can add controllers for volume and pan, but you cannot add a legato.

Wave formats

8-bit recordings will contain noise. This is not because of Orinj. This is due to the limits of 8-bit PCM data. With 8 bits, a sound sample can take at most 256 values. The quantization error (the rounding) may be as low as 0 or as high as 0.5. The signal to noise ratio due to the quantization then, in decibels, is 20 log₁₀(0.5 / 128) = 48 dB. Noise due to rounding will be audible.

Sound file formats

• AIFF files will not be recognized by Orinj. Their extension should be changed to "AIF".
• NeXT .snd files are .au files.

Effects

• Certain effects may produce pops and clicks if the user changes effect controls during playback. This does not happen during mixing and does not happen if the user changes controls when playback is stopped or paused. This is most typical of the Orinj high pass filter, low pass filter, and wah wah. This is the result recomputing specific filters, restarting audio data computations, and therefore creating breaks in processed audio data.
• Compressor effects (compressor, simple compressor, and side chained compressor) with zero attack, especially if these do not have forward looking time or have zero forward looking time, may introduce distortion. This should be expected, as fast attacks and release will change the underlying sound wave form.
• The compression ratio in the Orinj Compressor is rounded to one decimal point (i.e., 2.1:1 compression instead of 2.12:1 compression). The compressor graph is adjusted accordingly.
• The Orinj phase oscilloscope and spectrum monitor are real time monitors of playback data. However, the Orinj effect framework does not allow effects to know the exact playback time and so the timing of these monitors is approximate.
• When effects do not start exactly at the beginning of a track or wave or end exactly at the end of a track or wave, the signals between the parts with and without effects are crossfaded. Crossfading happens over 5 milliseconds. This time interval cannot be changed. If the effect introduces significant gain in the signal or reduces the amplitude of the signal significantly, the crossfading may not be enough and there might be audible pops.

VST

Orinj does not yet support VST automations. (Orinj stock effect parameters, however, can be automated.)

On MacOS, VST windows may become hidden if you click in Orinj outside of the VST window. Click on the Mod button in the track control panel to the left of the track to show the VST window again.

Automations

You can add automations to the volume, pan, and effect controls of the master channel in the session. However, Orinj does not provide functionality to add points to these automations. Automations on the master channel will have no effect. (Automations added to tracks and auxiliary channels work as intended.)

SoundFont (SF2) files

Orinj ignores SoundFont (SF2) specifications related to chorus, reverb, and scale temperament. Some instruments in SF2 files choose to apply reverb or a chorus to notes. Some SF2 presets may choose to alter the default equal tempered tuning of contemporary chromatic scale. These three articulations of the sound are not implemented in Orinj. This is by design, allowing users to choose their own reverb, chorus, or tuning.

File management

You may see issues with file management and undo. For example, undoing the removal of a block may bring the block back before changes if the changes were never saved. You may not be able to save over blocks removed from Orinj. They are not closed to allow for undo.

Side chaining in the Orinj mix order

Tracks are not mixed in the order in which they are displayed, as described in Mix order. This impacts side chaining.

Suppose that you have two tracks. The first track contains the vocals, and the second track contains the wet portion of the reverb on those same vocals. You can use the Orinj side chained compressor on the second track and chain it to the first track. You can then compress the reverb while the vocals are loud and leave the reverb when the vocals stop. You would do so to make sure the reverb does not smear the vocals but is pronounced only when the vocals are gone.

In this example, the vocal track should be mixed first, as it is used to control the reverb track. However, Orinj does not guarantee that this will happen. The reverb track may be mixed before the vocal track, in which case the side chained compressor will be controlled by the previous portion of data that Orinj mixed. Orinj mixes the sound in sections that depend on the size of the Orinj buffers (see Preferences). If the Orinj playback buffers are 10 milliseconds long, then the side chained compressor will be controlled by the previous 10 milliseconds of data and not the current 10 milliseconds, if the reverb track is mixed before the vocal track.

This may become noticeable only if you use long playback buffers.