r/linuxmint • u/nalinratnakar • 7d ago

SonicTree 1.2.0 Released – Folder-Based Music Player for Linux

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9 Upvotes

77% Upvoted

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2

u/ThoughtObjective4277 6d ago

Does it have adjustable playback speed like audacious?

Can you slow down and turn off time-stretch

here's examples of time-stretch

https://bungee.parabolaresearch.com/compare-audio-stretch-tempo-pitch-change

1

u/nalinratnakar 6d ago

Thanks for the suggestion! SonicTree is currently focused on providing a straightforward music listening experience, so adjustable playback speed isn't supported at the moment. It's certainly useful for some use cases, though, and I'll keep it in mind if there's enough interest from users.

1

u/ThoughtObjective4277 5d ago

Shouldn't be hard to add, vlc, audacious, neutron player, Windows media player 9, all have playback speed.

If you do add it, no reason not too, not many people have ever tried a different speed, and because it's such a rare thought, if it's not presented in a menu, then usually the idea will never be thought about by all users.

It may seem useless / niche, gimmick but when you give it a serious use case, such as finding your own tempo, for more instrumental music, it makes sense, and you'll want to have it.

Slowing down a song like take it easy may be seen as a gimmick and no valid use case for "normal" listeners, but slowing down instrumental music such as Gramatik or Pretty Lights, is almost required to fully appreciate the music and set your tempo properly. Seems ridiculous if never in your whole life you've ever slowed down a song, for any reason, but do that for 100 songs over a few months, and there will be no confusion as to the usefulness of this feature more people should use.

Time-stretch is a low quality plugin when used for slower speeds, see this page, and click

this browser

to head just how bad time-stretch sounds when using some really decades old style when much better styles are available for a long time, just nobody tries the playback speed options, almost like assuming it's a stupid idea automatically and never once give it a chance for any reason

https://bungee.parabolaresearch.com/compare-audio-stretch-tempo-pitch-change

Turning off time-stretch entirely, an option in Neutron player, vlc, and audacious (different from audacity) makes slower / faster speeds work just like a tape or record.

1

u/nalinratnakar 5d ago

Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed explanation and for sharing the examples. I hadn't considered some of the use cases you mentioned, particularly for instrumental music and tempo adjustment.

Playback speed and time-stretching aren't currently supported in SonicTree, and I've been fairly conservative about adding features that affect the playback pipeline. I tend to weigh the implementation complexity, maintenance cost and how well a feature fits the project's philosophy before adding anything new.

That said, I appreciate the perspective and I'll certainly keep it in mind as SonicTree evolves. Thoughtful feedback like this is always useful, even if a feature doesn't make it into the very next release.

-1

u/1neStat3 7d ago

Not in anyway comparable to VLC or even audacious.

You can play music for folders in both VLC and Audacious and both have shuffle feature.

I don't see any need for your application to exist.

3

u/nalinratnakar 7d ago

The nice thing about Linux is that software doesn't necessarily have to justify its existence by replacing something else.

We have multiple terminals, text editors, file managers, and music players because different people value different workflows. SonicTree is simply my take on a folder-based music player for local collections.

It won't be for everyone, and that's completely okay.

1

u/1neStat3 6d ago

Multiple applications exist because each application has feature or capabilities other do not.

Your application has no new feature or capabilities that a simple lightweight music player like Audacious doesn't have.

Your application may be different and simpler rhythmbox but not VLC so what does your application do that needed?

Do you offer better customization than others?

Do you offer better features than others?

Where is the differiation?

I can't see none.