VEGAS AND MIDI KEYBOARD

V

Voytek_Stitko

Well-known member
Friend of mine told me that if I cant afford a composer I should make my own music ;D , anyway, he reccomended MIDI keyboard to do so.

This one (less than 100 dollars):

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=key/s=midi/search/detail/base_pid/703605/

He says that I can plug this baby and make music on my computer. Anyone actuall does it?

I can give a shot cos it is not expensive but CAN I TRANSPORT "MY MUSIC" FROM MIDI KEYBOARD TO VEGAS? OR MAYBE SHOUlD I USE ACID 4.0 which I got with my VEGAS 4.0?

thanks 4 your thoughts,
voytek
 
Re: VEGAS AND MIDI KEYBOARD

This is just a MIDI controller, yes? But it comes with software to let you play "patches" (musical instruments).

So. You can record the music as MIDI in a sequencer/editor, then play it back and record it as a .wav file, then drop it into Vegas.

That's basically my workflow, but there are probably other more elegant ways of doing it.

You can also just use the keyboard to make loops (pretty much following the above), then drop the loops into Acid to make more complex sequences.

Dan
 
Re: VEGAS AND MIDI KEYBOARD

..yeah youll need more than just a controller to make music. the midi keyes there ..if anything at all it will probably have the basic 127 midi instruments from general midi loaded in there. if you want to play cool sounds or use the keyboard to play good sounds,, the sounds need to come from somewhere. so you should either get a synthesizer keyboard or workstation. a regular synth will be loaded full of tons of sounds with the option of loading on more. then you can patch to and control those sounds with midi and play them with the keys. a synth workstation does the same but it also lets you do things like sample sounds into the synth, and mix and edit and control and shape and layer and whatever you want with the sounds so you can create new sounds from scratch or heavily modify the ones you have.. add LFOs and noise shaping or change triggers or events on the controllers and such . workstations generally have ALOT more sounds and tones and samples on them as well.. its normal for a synth to have only a couple hundred nice sounds.. its normal for a synth workstation to have a few thousand. your other option of course would be to just get a set of keys for controlling sounds like the keyboord you linked to there. and buy software instrument plugins to put together a library of sounds you can control.. like VST instruments or other virtual instruments that you can control through midi. software intruments are pretty expensive for anything decent.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/category/c706

and by the time youve actually assembled a decent amount of software instrument patches that has all the types of tones/instruments you want to play your likely going to wish you would have just bought a nice synth for a couple grand that comes with a few thousand tones to play to begin with. you can always add software instruments to your arsenal if you want. but a nice functional synth is a good platform to start from .. the keyes will be nicer than a little midi controller. it will have more control inputs for controlling the tones like wheels and sliders and faders and touch sensitive pads and such as well. also its alot easier IMHO to work with accessing sounds off a synth then having to load them up on your PC and have your PC have to process the instruments. ...anyway. thats my reccomendation .. get a good synth.. heres some to take a look at .

synths: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/category/c512


synth workstations: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/category/c510/pn2




and if your going to get one IMHO it is an absolute MUST that you get out to a dealer and have the chance to sit down and actually play the thing and check out the quality ofthe tones it has, and see how the controls are laid out and such. just like a camera.. theres more to it than the fact that it makes sound. you need to check into its connectivity, and usability and how nice the keyes are.. weighted.. semi-weighted..plasticy and clunky.. ect. i think once you get out and start checking them out youll begin to get a feel for what your looking for or what you might have in mind.
 
Re: VEGAS AND MIDI KEYBOARD

Check out something called Soundfonts. I've heard some of the sampled instruments and they sound absolutely fantastic. Sorry, I don't know specifics, but I think you might need a certain MIDI program to use them. Ever heard of Soundfonts, Neil?
 
Re: VEGAS AND MIDI KEYBOARD

sure,  "soundfont" is sometimes a generic word for any "sound" in any format when used as a sample or instrument.. could be a VST instrument or a kurzweil rom or a .wav file.     ..it is also a specific format of sound like .wav or .mp3  .. you could say buy a set of sounds that comes in  in .wav, kurzweil, korg, VST, and soundfont format.   basically to use soundfonts would be to use software sampled sounds or instruments as mentioned above ..they are expensive for good ones though.. and it costs alot to build a versatile array of sounds out of software based samples.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/category/c706

here is a basic description of soundfonts/sound files  and how go about using them with midi.    if you have a synth you just access sounds n the synth istead.. or both. my synth for example is connected via SCSI to the PC ..making a myriad of things possible.:

"What, exactly, are SoundFonts? Well, they're simply .wav file samples that have been transformed by a SoundFont editor, such as Vienna, into MIDI-controllable instruments which can be loaded onto your soundcard and triggered by your sequencer. They're also referred to as .sf2 files, patches or programs, and they're generally put together in groups known as SoundFont Banks, which can contain definitions of up to 128 instruments and one drum set.

Basically, the SoundFont-compatible soundcard is a low-cost sampler within your PC. A Sound Blaster Live! may not be as sexy as a rack-mounted Akai, but technology has significantly narrowed the gap between the two in terms of sampling functionality and quality. In fact, the sound quality of a well constructed .sf2 file can be just as good as any 16-bit sampler, and you don't have to squint at a tiny LCD display to get it working.

To get started in the world of SoundFonts, you will need a SoundFont-compatible soundcard. There are many cards that are able to use .sf2 files, but the way they handle them varies from card to card. The AWE-32 Value Edition, for example, has 512Kb RAM in which to store SoundFonts. This can't be expanded and isn't really enough to be suitable for the desktop musician. The AWE-32 also comes with 512Kb RAM as standard, but this can be expanded to 32Mb RAM using two 16Mb 30-pin SIMM RAM blocks. The basic 512Kb on the AWE-64 can also be expanded with a special Creative Labs memory card, bringing the capacity up to 24Mb.

The Sound Blaster Live! handles SoundFonts in a different manner altogether. It doesn't use RAM on the card itself, but instead utilises up to 32Mb of the host computer's RAM. However, there are those who feel, albeit slightly unfairly, that the Live! series is primarily designed for gamers, so if you have a more flexible budget, you might consider the E-mu APS. This is a more professional card, with a range of DSP effects and up to 64Mb of SoundFonts using the host computer's RAM.

Another must for getting the most out of your SoundFonts in terms of expression, is a velocity-sensitive MIDI controller keyboard. Prices range from £50 to £2,000. As with everything, it's a question of what you actually feel you need.

When you're making a SoundFont, the quality of your original .wav file is very important. A poor quality .wav will make a poor quality SoundFont. Record it as cleanly as possible and ensure that it is normalised. Be careful to avoid clipping as obviously this will transfer to the SoundFont, so keep an eye on those levels. If, when editing the SoundFont, you find it contains popping or distortion, then it will more than likely be a problem with the original .wav. At this early stage it's worth going back and starting again. It's also essential to make sure that your .wav is correctly tuned. There's no way a sample recorded in G# can be placed at C and be expected to sound right. Always have a sample that you know is in the relevant key, or if you have a keyboard, use it to check everything's hunky-dory.

Most important of all is the SoundFont editor. By far the most functional is Vienna 2.3. Vienna may seem daunting at first, but once you understand the principles behind it, it's a doddle. Then there's Wien (which can be downloaded from www.mzone.dk which is more of a 'drag and drop' application and, therefore, more instantly appealing. It doesn't, however, support the Sound Blaster Live! cards.



SoundFonts are simply .wav file samples that have been transformed by a SoundFont editor, such as Vienna, into MIDI-controllable instruments which can be loaded onto your soundcard and triggered by your sequencer. They're also referred to as .sf2 files , patches or programs.  Using your new instruments
When your SoundFont is loaded into your soundcard (or RAM), it's ready to be accessed from your sequencer just as if it were the General MIDI soundset. However, the various different sequencers handle this process differently. Cubase, for example, has an internal SoundFont manager, but most still rely on the Bank Select and Program Change method. This approach selects a sound from your sequencer by sending two MIDI controller messages to your soundcard: Bank Select and Program Change. The first command defines which Bank the SoundFont you require resides in, and the second chooses the SoundFont itself from that bank.

From your sequencer, the first step is to determine the MIDI channel the SoundFont is to play on. It's no good sending the MIDI commands on channel 1 and expecting them to appear on channel 8 - computers are funny like that. Next, you need to access the List Edit (or your sequencer's equivalent) which will allow you to input your MIDI commands. The first command is MIDI controller 0 (Bank Select) which determines the bank you wish to access. With some sequencers, however, it isn't as straightforward as just entering the bank number; yours may require you to multiply the number of the bank you want by 128. So, for Bank 001 you would have to use Bank Select 128, for Bank 002 you would use Bank Select 256, for Bank 003 it would be Bank Select 384, and so on. However, before you all rush for your calculators, most sequencers will do the maths behind this 'under the hood', so you shouldn't have to worry about it.

It's also important to remember that on most soundcards, the GM soundset occupies Bank 0. On the Sound Blaster Live! this is referred to as 'Synth'. Next, you need to select which program within the Bank you want to use. If, for instance, you wanted to access 'Acid Bass', which is the sixth patch in your bank, you would send the MIDI command Program Change 6. There, that was easy, wasn't it?

Now that you've accessed the instrument you want from your sequencer, it can be played and edited in the same way that a General MIDI voice can. It will respond to Controller Changes such as Modulation, Velocity, Pitch Bend, Filter Cutoff and Filter Resonance. Besides editing and applying filters to the instrument in your sequencer, it's also possible to tweak your instrument's parameters within a SoundFont editor. The whole process of this, and constructing a .sf2 is covered in the walkthroughs over the next few pages.

Building a good quality SoundFont takes time and patience. Initially it may seem like a long and complicated process, but once the basic technique has been mastered, the only thing limiting the sounds you create is your own imagination. After a while you'll begin to wonder why you spent so much time searching the net looking for that sample, when all along you were able to create something much better yourself. "


the above quote is from the following site.. some good info for beginners and using midi.:

http://www.computermusic.co.uk/tutorial/soundfont/soundfont.asp



..in general you wont be loading sounds into your sound card though,, youll probably be accessing them through your sequencing software directly as a midi controlable sound/patch/tone/sample/voice/soundfont/VST instrument/blah blah blah. ;)
 
Re: VEGAS AND MIDI KEYBOARD

Wow, what an answer! Seems like ascending the learning curve wouldn't be too difficult for musicians. But for the untrained/inexperienced, I would probably say, "Yes, you can afford a composer." A major part of the expense is not having to spend your time learning all this stuff. Besides, having a keyboard and knowing how to use a program won't make you a good composer. You need skills, talent, chops, and years of practice.

Umm, I'm not trying to be discouraging. Everbody starts somewhere, and it's never too late to learn. What the heck, go for it! You can compose something simple that will communicate the mood you're looking for.
 
Re: VEGAS AND MIDI KEYBOARD

Well, then, let the composing begin! Best of luck in what is sure to be a rewarding--and challenging--venture. :)
 
Re: VEGAS AND MIDI KEYBOARD

All the stuff...um...music on my site use SoundFonts played with a SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 card (except for the first handfull, which are with the Audigy 2).  If you want to hear what they (can) sound like.  

http://www.newvague.com/tdis/tdis1.html

Oops. Except for the bass guitar. That's the built-in sound...I prefer it to any of the SoundFont patches I've got.

Dan
 
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