Soundplant Documentation

Where I can find sound files to download for use with Soundplant?
--Here are some keymap examples and links to sound archive sites. Google is your friend too, especially if you are looking for very specific sounds.

Can I use a MIDI device as input for Soundplant?
--Soundplant is optimized for use with the computer keyboard for lowest latency, but you can use 3rd party software such as Bome's Midi Translator to convert any MIDI device's input into computer keyboard hits. This has been found to work well with Soundplant by several users with MIDI keyboards and other controllers.

Will Soundplant work on a netbook?
--Yes, playback-wise it will work fine, but it may not display optimally if your netbook has a low resolution like 1024x600 (Soundplant's window in the default full size 'detailed' view mode is 928x667). On low resolution machines, when Soundplant first starts, it should automatically scale down its window size to fit on the screen. However, on some machines this does not work properly and its interface may be cut off at the edges of the screen. If this happens, click the Soundplant window's maximize button, which will actually force it to scale down to fit on the screen (if you can't see the maximize button because it is offscreen, click and drag anywhere in the Soundplant interface that is not an interactive button to move the window). It is recommended that on netbooks Soundplant be run in 'simple' view mode (which shrinks the window size to 772x386), to only show the essential interface elements which can fit on the screen without scaling and also because it is less cpu-intensive.

Do I have to remove/uninstall older versions of Soundplant before I install a new version? Will installing a new version interfere with older ones?
--No, different versions install as a separate program and each version stores its own separate preference settings. You can have multiple versions installed on the same machine. On Mac, you may need to remove an older version to make sure .keymap files are associated with the most recently installed version.

I have purchased a previous version of Soundplant, am I eligible for a discounted upgrade to the latest version?
--Yes; if you did not receive an upgrade offer email (check your spam folder for an email from circa May 15th), contact soundplant [at] soundplant.org for upgrade details.

Is there a Linux version of Soundplant?
--Soundplant was developed with a language/IDE that only compiles to Windows and Mac; there are no plans for a Linux version. Users have reported that Soundplant works under Wine but latency is worse, as is to be expected when running under an emulation layer.

Is there an affiliate program for referring sales of Soundplant?
--Yes, please email soundplant [at] soundplant.org for details.

I've moved around my sound files to a different location on my computer and now when I try to load my keymap(s), Soundplant can't find the files. Is there a way to fix this without having to rebuild the keymap(s) from scratch?
--Soundplant will always be able to find your keymap's sound files if they are in the same folder as the .keymap, and the handy 'save w/ sounds' function makes it easy to save a unique copy of any keymap's sounds. But if your files have been scattered, your keymap can be fixed relatively easily. .keymap files do not contain binary data and can therefore be edited in any text editor (Notepad, TextEdit, etc.). Sound files are stored as absolute paths in the .keymap file data. You can simply open your .keymap(s) in an editor and do a 'find and replace' to fix the paths, e.g. change all occurences of the old path to the new one.

Can I record or process Soundplant's output?
--Yes; though Soundplant does not have a built-in recording function, you can record its output fairly easily with the help of other software on both Windows and Mac:
On Windows, you can record the output of Soundplant internally with any audio recording software by setting your input source to your sound card's own output, which is usually called something like the 'wave', 'loopback', 'stereo mix', or 'wave out' device. The exact name for the input source that refers to recording your soundcard's own output varies from system to system, but it should have an obvious name. Sometimes it is even called 'what you hear'. You can also search for programs that make this process easier; there are several Windows programs available for the purpose of recording other program's sound output. Even better, for more advanced users, you can use a program like Virtual Audio Cable to reroute Soundplant's audio into another program's input, such as for realtime effects processing of Soundplant's output (in programs like Max, Audiomulch, etc.), or also for direct recording of Soundplant's output.
On Mac, you can record Soundplant's output using any recording software with the aid of one of several free third party software intermediaries, since Soundplant is a Core Audio application. One way is to install the free Jack OS X which allows you to route Soundplant's output as its own virtual sound device into other programs for realtime recording or processing. You can also try the free Soundflower which provides similar functionality. These utilities can be used to record or even process Soundplant's output (in programs like Max, Audiomulch, etc.). For less advanced users, there are several programs available that make the recording process easier which you can find by googling.

What can I do to optimize Soundplant performance in order to squeeze out the absolute fastest possible sound triggering?
--A decent, recent computer should have no problem triggering sounds instantaneously, but here are some things to keep in mind to facilitate the lowest possible sound triggering latency by reducing as much non-essential overhead as possible, especially helpful for slower computers and/or for those who want the best performance for the most demanding applications such as millisecond-accurate drum pad use or sfx foleying: make sure all samples are set to 'play from RAM'; run Soundplant in 'simple' view mode and do not manually resize the Soundplant window to a custom size; use 44.1 kHz samples; save pitch adjustments directly to your sound files with an editor instead of relying on Soundplant's non-destructive pitch shift; keep 'low power mode' off; keep 'show key config after key hit' off; keep 'background key detection' off; set 'mp3 handling' to 'decompress on loading' for fastest mp3 triggering; in very low RAM situations (like 500MB or less total system RAM), turn off 'asynchronous dialogs and file loading' to free up a bit of extra RAM for audio; of course, for best possible performance, use a newer/faster computer.

Soundplant seems to use a high percentage of cpu, how can I prevent this?
--Turn on 'low power mode' in the Soundplant Preferences to limit cpu usage, with the cost of slightly worse performance. Especially on the Mac version, if no other programs are running, Soundplant's engine tends to reserve a large percentage of the cpu to ensure fastest possible random access sound triggering. It releases this cpu automatically if other programs need it, so this is generally not a problem. But you can force lower cpu usage with 'low power mode', useful for conserving battery life on notebooks and keeping cpu fans off. The latency hit that results may not be noticeable depending on how you are using Soundplant; only users requiring as-instant-as-possible sound triggering for millisecond-accurate activities such as drum pad use will likely notice the difference.

Can I control the rate at which key presses repeat as I hold down keys?
--Yes, in the Windows Keyboard Control Panel or under the Mac System Preferences->Keyboard.

[Mac version] How do I use the function keys (F1-12) with Soundplant? On my Mac they seem to all be mapped to system functions.
--By default in OS X the function keys are reserved for operating system functions and you would have to hit fn+the function key in order for Soundplant to receive the key input. But this can be easily remedied under System Preferences->Keyboard by checking the box for "Use all F1, F2 etc. keys as standard function keys", which reverses this behavior so that just hitting the key by itself sends its input directly to programs including Soundplant, and fn+the function key accesses the associated system function. Note that even with this option enabled, for F9-F12, which are specially reserved, you have to hit command+the key or option+the key to trigger it.

I have multiple soundcards, how can I make Soundplant play out of a specific one?
--Soundplant outputs to whatever is set as the primary system default sound device. If you want Soundplant to output to a certain soundcard, set it to be the default output device in your system settings. On Windows, Soundplant outputs to whichever soundcard is set as the system default at the time of the program's startup; so, if you do not want that particular soundcard to be permanently set as the default device, you can just reset the system sound settings back to the way you want it after Soundplant starts. Soundplant will continue to output to the device that was set as default at the time of startup for the remainder of the Soundplant session, even if you change the default setting after Soundplant starts (on Windows only).

[Windows version] Soundplant seems to have odd playback glitches and/or is very slow on my machine.
--In rare cases, some software/hardware combinations can cause Soundplant to not be able to properly use the default sound mixing option DirectSound (for example some soundcard drivers have poor DirectSound implementations). You may need to change the 'sound mixing' setting in the Preferences. QuickTime is the second best option for performance; it requires the free download of QuickTime from Apple. Unless you know for sure that you can't use DirectSound on your system, you should try and update your sound card drivers before resorting to using QuickTime. If neither QuickTime or DirectSound work for you, you can use the much slower MacroMix option. It would be helpful if you could send an email (soundplant [at] soundplant.org) with the specs of your computer, OS, and soundcard if you find that you have problems that require altering the 'sound mixing' setting.

Do mp3s trigger more efficiently than wavs because they are smaller in size?
--This depends on your needs and your settings. Using mp3s is always more disk space efficient. With the default 'mp3 handling' setting in the Preference ('decompress while playing'), mp3s are also more RAM efficient, but can be less cpu efficient especially on older computers, because Soundplant does the work of decompressing mp3s in realtime as they play. This makes them load quickly, especially from saved keymaps, and also take up much less RAM than their uncompressed counterpart. But for the fastest and least-cpu-intensive triggering of mp3s, change the 'mp3 handling' setting to 'decompress on loading' which will force the full uncompressed data to be loaded, doing the decompression work in advance before the sound starts playing, at the expense of increased initial loading time.

Why do MP3s not loop well or have extra silence added?
--This is a limitation in the mp3 format (known as encoder delay/zero padding) and not a bug in Soundplant. Mp3 was not designed to be a gapless format, and mp3 encoders add a few ms of silence to the audio as part of the encoding process. Normally it's not noticeable but if you try to loop a short sound as an mp3 there will be an audible gap in the loop. To work around this, either use Soundplant's offset controls to trim out the silence, or use a different format for sounds that require millisecond-perfect looping.

On one computer I can press several keys at once in Soundplant to create a 'chord', but on another computer I can't always do this.
--This is entirely dependent on the keyboard hardware. Unfortunately, there are some computer keyboards out there that simply don't support holding down many multiple keys at once (aside from 'modifier' keys - shift, ctrl, alt). Other keyboards support this only partially and will allow some keys to be pressed down simultaneously and not allow others. If your keyboard is particularly bad in this regard, consider buying a new one (easily found on eBay for example for under $10), or get to know the bahavior of your keyboard and configure keymaps accordingly.

Can I use a non-U.S. keyboard with Soundplant?
--Yes. Soundplant is optimized for use with a standard U.S.A. QWERTY keyboard, but has been found to work well on other common keyboards (like AZERTY, U.K. QWERTY, etc.) with some minor quirks. For example, some keys on certain non-U.S. keyboard may not exactly match their onscreen equivalent, and 'shift+mode' may respond differently than expected on a couple of keys. You will have to do some testing with your non-U.S. keyboard to learn how it works with Soundplant. If you find that the operation of your non-U.S. keyboard hinders your use of Soundplant, consider buying a cheap U.S. keyboard for optimal Soundplant use (easily found on eBay for example for under $10).