dannthr

Yeah, man, do you have AIM or MSN? EDIT: I'll try to walk you through after installation. So you installed the setup.exe, now you need to reboot. After that, you should be able to select the Maple MIDI ports when you start up your program. I know that in SONAR, I have to go into MIDI properties and highlight the new ports for my input/output, but after that, SONAR displays them in my drop down selection list: The MIDI Device Selection area, FLStudio might have something like this going on. These have to be highlighted to be available for use in the DAW. But then I can select the Maple MIDI Ports (which is a standard 16 channel port) in my track drop down menu. Now it's just a matter of wiring everything in your mind. Your choir MIDI sequence will OUTPUT to Wordbuilder which will likewise INPUT on the same port--then Wordbuilder will OUTPUT to your choir VST, so the input on your Choir instance will be the same one as the output from Wordbuilder. Basically, the wordbuilder kompakt multis (and the Kontakt Only Multis) spread every phonem across 5 (10 for the Kontakt Only) keyboard ranges. Wordbuilder takes your normal music input with basic mod wheel use and then uses the phonem input you built (The words you built) as a trigger to where on the multi it will trigger the sample. So the music data goes into wordbuilder which then goes into the choir instance.

The Wordbuilder Application is best run alone, in my opinion. I use Maple MIDI tools, which is free, to add virtual MIDI ports to my computer. If you think that's crazy, I run SONAR and Wordbuilder standalone on one computer, and wordbuilder is actually controlling choirs on a completely different computer. Works GREAT. Basically, chill out, chief. No need to run to a new DAW.

Well, in the Kontakt version of the F 6FH Portato patch, there are two velocity layers. Still can't recreate it. Finally, check to make absolutely sure that you've updated the Kontakt instruments, there are actual instrument programming updates for the Kontakt version (not sure about the ewi files for PLAY). Mine is up-to-date and I can not recreate this.

Well, it's in the sample itself, not in the chord. Are you using the NKI or the PLAY version? I can't seem to recreate it in the Kontakt version.

EW samples are riddled with sounds like this, the most notable being the mandolin from RA whereby the mandolin player is playing tremolos so intensely he constantly swears after a take. Call it defect, call it realism, call it an easter egg. They're in there and they're in there to stay--most people don't care.

There doesn't have to be latency, as much, say, as there is between typing text and seeing it appear on your monitor. A lot depends on the chips managing your PCI load (or PCI-e) or the load on your USB or Firewire Hubs if that's the equipment you're using. In layman's terms DSP is good. It's like adding a GPU for your graphics processing as opposed to relying upon your CPU to process graphics. GPUs are built for matrix math whereas CPUs are not, they're geared toward more general processing. Matrix math is highly relevant when we're talking about 3D computer generated graphics. Similarly, DSP is like adding a processor to process highly specific audio instructions. But it's only going to do you so good as long as you're actually using its functionality.

Sometimes I wish I had Colossus or Goliath. There have been a handful of times when I looked to my samples and was disappointed that I couldn't get some generic band sound or something like that--lately I've been dipping into the Kontakt general library and I've collected some other libraries over the years that fill in some of the gaps, but say for example, I don't have a generic sax sample, I just generally don't USE them, but if someone wants one, I'm sort of stuck unless I go buy Mr. T-sax or something. But when I was starting out, man, it would've been nice to have a general library to dip into that had like... everything--even if it wasn't great. And that's really the question, man. Quality or quantity?

Yeah, man, post your recordings. One with Sax in your mix and one with the Sax alone, dry, as recorded.

I am using a master/slave configuration currently, as I built my studio set-up pre-64bit, and I've since transitioned to 64bit on my slave. The following is a tutorial I wrote some time early last year, maybe late 2008 for setting up a multi-computer configuration: http://www.dannthr.com/temp/multi_station_daw.htm It was originally posted at the GANG forums and on the Soundsonline-forums and you cna see where it's out of date since I didn't talk at all about bidule or bidule like programs. I sometimes wish I had one monster computer, and I've looked at arranging some kind of super-dream one computer setup that would satisfy all of my needs. It can be done now where it couldn't before, but you minimize expenses where you can when you're trying to run a business. For me, my chokeholds are still CPU and Drive Streaming--I never worry about RAM. I would have similar concerns with a one-computer arrangement, but even moreso since I wouldn't have multiple CPUs and the number of drives is mobo-limited.

Treat it like a job. Clock-in, clock-out, don't just give yourself an hour block, give yourself 8 hours. When I write, even when I'm paid for it, I don't get into the groove of writing (especially after a break or some time off of work) until a few hours have passed--like a warm-up. Usually I start out just playing some piano, without direction, and then maybe some piano with direction. Sometimes, I have to turn off all my communication stuff because while I don't waste my time on video games and movies, I do waste my time on forums, IMs, and emails--to excess. Real pressure will bring out the worker in you, a deadline is a deadline, and believe me, when deadlines are looming, you'll wish you didn't have to sleep. Treat it like a job.

You know you're in the zone when you start responding to emails and IMs in votox.

The super stupid drums in my Iron Phoenix track are half TAIKO (which I think is like $50 bucks or so) and half EW. 6 layered drums in total.

Steal. http://www.musicianeer.com/temp/Dan_Reynolds_-_Operation_Iron_Phoenix.mp3

Sounds like you have a handle on breaking music up into parts. Do this, do this for everything you listen to, do this and break up your problem into smaller, bite-sized pieces. Instead of asking how you can be epic, ask how do you get thundering drums, give us your best shot, and we'll try to help you achieve what you can with what you've got.

I'd also like to add concerning future release dates that Gary's wife is having some serious health problems and he's decided to spend time with her right now, while other people handle the day-to-day of the company. I'd suggest giving him some space to develop--not personally interested in his Aria engine though, so maybe it's best to look to other companies to satisfy your desire for now.

Moseph, I've been contracted to sequence EW choirs for Highlander: The Game (Eidos) and Marvel Superhero Squad (THQ) because it is such a challenging and time-consuming process. I'm constantly reworking how I sequence and edit together the wordbuilder phonems and it has been a real challenge to create convincing legato. The ultimate truth is this: We are trained at such an early age to recognize, interpret from other sounds, and understand the human voice. It's a part of the hard wiring in our brains--almost more than any other sound recognition. It will always be the absolute most challenging instrument to emulate. There are things you can do with SC that are fantastic, and tricks you can pull, but you have to really throw everything you've got at it. I am hesitent to upgrade to the PLAY version of SC, even though they've supplimented it with the old VotA samples because I have put together custom scripts and templates in Kontakt with the old NI version that I feel are invaluable to my process.

Very nice, tweek. Here's my old EWQL choirs demo: http://www.musicianeer.com/glory_to_the_empire.mp3 Here's a newer piece with children/soprano choir mixed together: http://www.musicianeer.com/temp/dan_reynolds_-_coajs.mp3 But don't be fooled, Symphonic Choirs is easy to get into, but it takes real dedication to make it sound passable.

I don't have it, that's why I'm only even remotely suggesting it will be usefull for people just starting out, who maybe are curious about doing some orchestra stuff, but haven't been doing much of anything. I am impressed by the demos considering the $70 price tag, I am not so impressed by the demos considering a $330 pricetag. For sure there are more natural sounding orchestra sets out there. But since the system reqs on this bad boy seem so damn light and the demos are actually pretty decent compared to anything else that goes for $70, it seems like a great starter library. I can't speak to Peter Alexander's supposition that it blends well with QLSO or VSL. In my experience, while this may be true, blending a mid-range or quality library with a low-range or light library usually brings the quality of the higher-end libraries down a notch as some of the cheaper post processing, sampling techniques, and lack of articulation variety often show through. With that said, however, if you're a student and you don't have QLSO or VSL or any other "fancy" library, are interested in possibly exploring an orchestral sound, these demos are VERY good for the price.

http://www.truespec.com/modern-symphonic-orchestra-p-1238.html Emu's starter Modern Symphonic Orchestra is going for a NOSE BLEEDINGLY cheap price! Originally 329.99 USD NOW 69.95 USD Ah, see, now you need a kleenex, I told you it was nose bleedingly cheap! This isn't the fanciest orchestra in the world, for sure, but this is a great, READ GREAT, sale for kids just starting out doing orch stuff and want something better than the Creative Labs! MIDI samples they've been using.

You can zoom in to the CC pane with the mouse wheel, if you have one. I prefer nodes, if I want to smooth a curve, I simply redraw it. It's very convenient for me to redraw a curve. For orchestra, I have two computers. One computer is the general use computer as well as sequencing and recording. The second computer only runs Kontakt 2.2.4. At the moment, I'm using an additive template (whereas in the past I used to use a premade orchestra setup). In standalone Kontakt I load a template with 64 blank instrument banks and 13 blank stereo outputs labeled by instrument group. When I add a dry articulation, I assign it an output. When I add a wet articulation, I do not. When I add an unpanned articulation, I add a stereo modeling effect inside the instrument fx. When I add a prepanned articulation, I do nothing (unless the panning isn't to my taste). On the outputs, I have several impulse responses--both commercial and custom-made--that emulate positions on the stage (Front, Middle, Back--Left, Right, Center). I have a few different stages recorded but whose dimensions are similar and each one works better on different kinds of instruments than others. Always tweaked contextually, as I add. Doing this allows me to mix as I write, for better or worse. But having a set process on how to add makes having an additive template quick and easy to use. In SONAR, I load a new default file, (2 Audio, 2 MIDI) going into the piece, I already know (generally, perhaps not specifically) what I'm going to need, and so I start setting up track folders to eventually arrange instruments. I typically use the first Audio as my master record channel, where I will apply some mastering templates, just a really simple limiter, some really soft multiband compressor, not too much, just slight tweaks. At the very end I'll add a polishing reverb (an impulse response from ANOTHER hall, but very subtly added) and normalize to peak or an average RMS if the client needs some loudness--but I prefer peak. The other Audio channels are pre render audio channels, if I have a live player, or if I have some weird sound FX that I made, etc. If I have those, I might have a staging channel where I'll record and then everything will get bounced to the mastering channel.

Heheheh, I call those sketches. They're great for demo reel montages.

All the time, sometimes the only real motivation to crank something out is the pending deadline. I just made a milestone on the game I'm working on now, and it was like "Ooooooooooohhh shits" right up until the last minute. The last piece of the milestone set was supposed to feature a solo violinist, and while I had spoken to my violinist about doing the piece some time last week, I was writing it up until the last minute, and I had to pay him a rush fee just to make sure it got recorded ASAP! A quick and dirty mix/master session later, the dev was like "thumbs up." Nothin' like the thrill of delivering assets by the skin of your [insert body part]. Puts hair on your chest.

Uh... what? Short articulations for Celli in Gold XP (NI) or Gold (PLAY): Bartók Pizzicato Round-Robin x3 Bartók Pizzicato Col Legno Round-Robin x3 Col Legno Marcato Mod Col Round-Robin x6 Marcato Round-Robin x6 Marcato Round-Robin † Martelé Up-Down Pizzicato New Pizzicato Round-Robin x3 Pizzicato vs Bartók Round-Robin x3 Pizzicato Quick Up-Down x6 Quick Up-Down † Short Script Spiccato Round-Robin x6 Spiccato Round-Robin † The Quick Up-Down x6 is great for stacs...

This is an unusual request, but can anyone point me to Shoegazer/Emo/Alt Rock Songs about or set in well known video games? Something like Sam Hart's Mario Kart Love Song which is a pure gem: I'd like to put together a nice mix CD. Thanks for entertaining such an unusual request. Cheers,

Yeah, Brandon, you can lock the scripting code out from the user--there's a password protect feature on the scripting if you like. Some scripts are very powerful, so it's important to protect your implementation to prevent others from duplicating your work--if you want.