Is HISE suitable for developing a VST pluging involving midi output and pitch detection?

[PabloCaparros]

Hello everyone,

I've been searching some options to develop a VST plugin for my bachelor's thesis. The plugin must have a decent UX/UI, so it seems HISE is a good option. The idea is to take some monophonic audio (like a voice or a simple guitar melody) pitch detect it and translate it to midi. I have not decided if the process could run in real time yet, it will depend on workload and deadlines. I would appreciate it if someone could tell me if using HISE is a good idea for this project. I have some programming knowledge, I expect to get my hands dirty with scripting. ¿Any examples I should take into account?

Thanks!!

[ustk]

@PabloCaparros To be honest, I think Hise is now suitable for any task, especially for a bachelor thesis where you need to do things quite fast, like UI mockup implementation and audio processing that might not be 100% efficient but working anyway.
As for the pitch detection goes, Hise does not really have one (except a very basic pitch detection of a pre-recorded buffer) so what you'll need is either to make yourself or use an existing library (if the license is compatible with your project). Hise allows you to implement/create/import algorithms like FAUST, RNBO, C++, all implemented around the DSP network (create a network -> implement anything inside)
The MIDI conversion capability will reside in your algorithm, so in the end, Hise is not the limit.
As I see it for your project, Hise can just be the container where you connect everything, audio/midi processing and UI. But the pitch detect -> MIDI will be your job using any external language and/or library

[griffinboy]

@PabloCaparros

To do your project in HISE, you'll have to basically create your own pitch detection in c++ (or maybe faust or rnbo) since HISE doesn't have any libraries for real time detection, and then you'll have to send that pitch detected data back over to HISE and use HISE's functions to create a Midi file from that.
And then you can do the plotting / gui stuff.
Hise does make regular GUI stuff pretty easy, that's something Hise is really good for (complex graphics and plotting is a different matter).

Hise is great for getting to an end result super fast, because it's got lots of tools built in, and has a forum full of great people willing to help out and answer questions.
But if your project is dsp / research heavy, working in a slightly leaner framework (like Juce) can be more freeing, there's less chance of suddenly hitting walls: HISE has limitations in unexpected places and sometimes you only realise the limitations when you hit them.

I do a lot of research based projects similar to what you're describing here.
And personally, I choose to work in different frameworks depending on the project. For something research heavy, my process usually goes like this:

1. Prototype the dsp in Python, Matlab or Juce. Work out all the algorithms inside a lean software. I don't need the ability to export a vst at this stage. I just need to design my algorithms and be able to easily produce plots and graphs, and render audio for the results. Graphics are simple and functional. CPU usage doesn't really matter at this stage either.
2. Now that I have the algorithm, I can choose where to develop the VST, gui, etc. I move now to a c++ framework. If its something that needs to end up super efficient and needs flexible graphics rendering, I'll use my modded fork of Juce. Juce has less risk of hitting limitations.
   If it's a project that doesn't need those things, I may use HISE since you'll get to an end result much faster.

Of course I can't really advise without knowing the full extent of what you are planning to make! Hise might be the perfect thing for what you are wanting to do. But there is also a chance that it is not!
It all depends on your exact project requirements.

[PabloCaparros]

@griffinboy Thanks a lot! I will start to iterate on Hise then, since it is faster. If I start hitting walls, that's okay at this point I will have learned along the way. My project requirements are a bit vague at the moment, I may get more specific once I'm into it a bit more.

[griffinboy]

@PabloCaparros

Sounds like a plan!
If time is on your side then start with Hise.
Especially if you're new to making audio software, it'll be more satisfying to start with Hise (which has a gui and built in tools) and because of the great forum - use it if you get stuck!

Good luck 🫡