Ask Justin Frankel

justin = { main feed , music , code , askjf , pubkey };

Ask Justin Frankel
No reasonable question unanswered since 2009!

Suggested topics: programming, music, sleep, coffee, etc.

Note: please do not ask questions about REAPER features, bugs or scheduling, use the forums instead.

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[older questions]

Question: Any thoughts on using AI for audio processing? (Such as taking a mixed track and breaking it down into stems?)
Asked by Will (76.97.150.x) on August 16 2016, 8:05pm
Reply on August 17 2016, 8:17pm:

I don't know much about AI, I suppose you could train a neural network to pick apart things, but you might run into information theory limits there, I dunno. Comment...

Question: hi Justin.I've tried Reaper from /dev in landoleet on Ubuntu studio 16.04 and it works fine. Do you plan an official release in the future. Should i buy a license for this version (will it stop working after 60 days?)
Asked by fred (37.164.70.x) on August 16 2016, 12:43pm
Reply on August 17 2016, 8:18pm:

I won't stop working after 60 days, but if you find it adequate for your uses (most people would probably not), then I suppose purchasing a license would be appropriate. Comment...

Question: Ah that's a shame. I'd probably work for free just to say I contributed to Reaper. Although financial sustenance is also great. Reaper's got such a diverse feature set, I figure a few people could work on it without getting in each other's way. You really think it'd be a pain? What about Git access? Maybe a few well-done pull requests would change your mind?
Asked by fmap (142.162.42.x) on August 15 2016, 10:10pm
Reply on August 15 2016, 11:06pm:

If REAPER was open source, that could work... but alas, it isn't. ;) Comment...

Question: What languages, and it what order, would you recommend someone learn if they wanted to get into audio/music related programming? And has this answer changed significantly over the past couple decades?
Asked by Nick (107.77.76.x) on August 15 2016, 9:10pm
Reply on August 15 2016, 11:08pm:

I'd say C would be the biggest. Then assembly language (so you understand approximately what code your C compile generates). You can go C++ after that, if you want, but I'd say only use a small percentage of what C++ offers over C (templates, simple classes/single interfaces, etc). Comment...

Question: (Whoops, character limit) ...Safe, correct code vs "it works"? Beard vs longer beard? Expertise level between "hello world" and "my toaster has root access to the NSA's mainframe"?
Asked by fmap (142.162.42.x) on August 15 2016, 8:05pm
Reply on August 15 2016, 11:11pm:

To answer the other questions: raw programming ability is important. Being a daily REAPER user is important. Ins and outs of audio production less so. Efficiency in produced code is important, the right amount of design is important (not over, not under, though over is generally a bigger risk). We do minimalist C++, check out WDL (e.g. wdlstring.h, wdlcstring.h, ptrlist.h, lice/) if you want examples. No exceptions. Prefer code that gracefully handles failures. blah blah blah. Beards are overrated. Comment...

Question: Any chance you'd hire another dev? If so, what sort of qualities would you be looking for? How important is raw programming ability vs being conversant in the ins and outs of audio production? Flexible high-level interface/architecture design vs low-level efficiency? Strict C style or more OO or functional style? Creative vision vs productivity? Safe, correc
Asked by fmap (142.162.42.x) on August 15 2016, 6:56pm
Reply on August 15 2016, 7:55pm:

Nah, I'm no good at managing people. Comment...

Question: Any clue how to go about programming a DAW?
Asked by Yobi (144.118.241.x) on August 8 2016, 9:22pm
Reply on August 8 2016, 11:56pm:

Step 1: collect underpants. Seriously though, maybe start by making plug-ins, or audio processors, or something with a more limited scope? Comment...

Question: Your shiz is on hackernews. news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12246202
Asked by Will (50.84.190.x) on August 8 2016, 5:50pm
Reply on August 8 2016, 11:56pm:

Hah thanks though that hasn't been mine for many many years, posted in the comments though :) Comment...

Question: Hello :) Is it a good idea to turn off "Use audio driver reported latency" in the recording preferences if i am using Amp Sims like Guitar Rig and therefore the monitoring inside Reaper? Because I guess while playing through Guitar Rig I compensate for the latency myself and therefore the compensation would be done twice ?
Asked by Tobias (95.90.212.x) on August 5 2016, 10:16pm
Reply on August 6 2016, 7:14pm:

There's a per track option for "preserve pdc-delayed monitoring"... it also counts the driver latency along with any pdc Comment...

Question: Could you explain to a noob like me what Win32 is responsible for in a 64 bit environment and especially in the coding of REAPER?
Asked by Albi (78.159.29.x) on August 5 2016, 9:36am
Reply on August 5 2016, 1:46pm:

Comment...

Question: Fears that M$ will remove Win32 at some point? Tim Sweeney is very vocal about his dislike about UWP. goo.gl/eHX6FG
Asked by Gio (79.130.179.x) on August 3 2016, 6:32am
Reply on August 3 2016, 1:17pm:

I can't imagine them doing that, it would be really idiotic, to throw away decades of backwards compatibility. If they did, though, we'd make SWELL support a UWP backend, I suppose. Comment...

Question: Is Brennan like, for real, doing OK? just chillin in sf? miss that dude.
Asked by @mhashemi (107.3.131.x) on July 31 2016, 2:43am
Reply on July 31 2016, 6:04pm:

OK, yes, I think so. Comment...

Question: Can you name some of the heaviest bands you listen to?
Asked by Albi (91.109.30.x) on July 29 2016, 8:11pm
Reply on July 30 2016, 3:08am:

Hmm not sure what makes a band heavy... loudness? A few things come to mind, not sure if they qualify: Comets on Fire, Tool, Mogwai, Papier Tigre... Comment...

Question: Have you seen Plane9 vis? :) www.plane9.com/
Asked by Will (107.203.156.x) on July 25 2016, 12:15am
Reply on July 26 2016, 2:35am: