Fading between tracks

FMOD Studio
#1

I am creating a music loop that plays between 3 separate songs, that play in sync but never together. I have everything working perfectly (transitions do not repeat position of loop) and I’m using mixer snapshots on a parameter sheet to transition. My issue is as follows:

On the AHDSR Intensity modulation for each snapshot in the parameter sheet, if the attack value is >0, then even when transitioning between song 1 & 2, track 3 will play for a moment. If the attack value of the same control is = 0, then the ASCENDING transitions (1>2>3) crossfade nicely, but DESCENDING transitions (3>2>1) happen instantly and sound very abrupt. This is reflected on the mixer, where I can see the value snapping when descending.

I’d rather not have to decide between which issue to keep, and would ideally resolve both. Thanks in advance!

#2

I’m not sure I understand the nature of your first issue. Could you describe in more depth the design of your snapshots, and how you’re updating the parameter that triggers and untriggers those snapshots? Also, what are the relative priorities of the snapshots involved? Are they blending or overriding snapshots? Are they subject to AHDSR, and if so, is it on the snapshot instrument’s intensity property or the snapshot’ intensity property?

Have you considered triggering the snapshots directly from code instead of using an event? Without knowing your setup, I can’t know if it would resolve the issue you’re facing - but in at least some cases it would allow you to more precisely control when your snapshots are triggered and untriggered.

#3

Sorry for being unclear, and thank you for the prompt reply. The snapshots are set up as per your recommendations in the other thread I had posted in (Fading In and Out Music Tracks), with one OVERRIDING snapshot for each track where I essentially have all other tracks muted. The parameter that triggers each of those snapshots is a continuous parameter, with seek speed set to instant. On the ‘Intensity’ knob of each snapshot, I added an AHDSR modulation, and this seems to be where both the issue and fix begins.

To perhaps explain more clearly, when I set my snapshot’s intensity attack, using AHDSR modulation, to anything over 0, I get a smooth transition between tracks, but it seems to cause all snapshots to become active for the duration of the attack value, so when moving from track 1>2, 3 is heard for that time. If I quickly scrub from tracks 1 & 2 back and forth non-stop, both their, and track 3’s volume will increase until all songs are playing at full volume. If it helps, when I press ‘play’ all three tracks play for the duration of their respective intensity’s attack value, no matter the parameter value.

On the other hand, if I set my snapshot’s intensity attack to 0, all tracks in ASCENDING order blend perfectly. So, moving from track 1>2, 2>3, 1>3, there is a perfect fade between tracks. But when DESCENDING, the tracks cut abruptly from one to the next, so from 3>2, 2>1, 3>1.

Thank you

#4

Ah! The behavior you describe - concurrent snapshots sharing each others’ modulated intensity values - is actually a bug in recent versions of FMOD Studio. A fix for this bug has been developed, and will be included in the release of FMOD version 2.01.08. If you update to that version when it becomes available, it should resolve your issue.

In the mean time, I’m afraid there is no easy workaround for this issue, short of avoiding AHDSR modulators in snapshots.

1 Like
#5

Well, I guess I can stop driving myself crazy trying to solve it haha. Thank you very much, and I’ll be waiting for that update!