Hi
I need help with melody midi instruments. After I have a melody i like that is played by a midi instrument how do I change it to a better instrument to better blend with my real tracks backing parts? Can I used vst's to do this and if so which ones work with these two programs? I have tried several but they don't work with biab and RB.
Thanks
K

Kay,

What VST instruments have you tried?

Regards,
Noel

I was trying to work with someone at sweetwater but they don't know what works in biab. They sold me a piano one that wouldn't work.

Also why do I have static every few seconds when i use the vst's in biab?

The usual cause of this is a plugin that's installed that's not registered. Amplitube by Izotope wil do this if not registered with Izotope.

Regards,
Noel

What piano VSTi did you get? It will probably work ok once the midi channels are correctly assigned.

If you want a reasonable general midi sound set, have a look at Coyote Forte.

There are demos at the above link so you can hear how it sounds.

Regards,
Noel

This must be a typo Noel. Amplitube is made by IK MultiMedia, not Izotope. However you will get static every few seconds if it along with many others that are not registered.

Ok I purchased the forte. I think it might work but I still have the static every few seconds even with all the instruments muted.
k

Thanks Mario... definitely a typo!

What is the style you have loaded? If it used Amplitube, I suspect that's your problem... you'll need to register the VST.

I finally got rid of all the static. Thanks for all your help.
K

What does amplitube do? Can it be used to make the midi instruments sound more like real instruments?
K

Hi Kay,

Welcome to the forum.

Amplitude 2.5 is a program shipped with Band-in-a-Box. The program alters the sound of audio to simulate the way the audio sounds when played through a guitar or bass amplifier and speakers.

Band-in-a-Box is a 32 bit program so VSTs need to also be 32 bit or you will need a utility program that lets 64 bit VSTs work with 32 bit programs. PG Music sells the utility program jBridge. The Windows version is available +++ HERE +++. There is also a jBridge for Mac but you will need to contact PG Music Sales for that as I can't find the page link.

Also, you might want to investigate free VST instruments. There are many, many great sounding piano VSTs available. Start at +++ KVR Audio +++

Hey
Thanks, I have jbridge but can't find any good real guitar vst that will work with biab at a reasonable price.

What type of guitar sound are you looking for? Clean jazz guitar? Distorted guitar?

country acoustic and electric.

Although you will never convince a guitarist that MIDI guitar sounds realistic you can come close. Note guitar isn't the only hard instrument to emulate as all the saxes, woodwinds and horns are also very hard to emulate.

First the easiest way. Convert your MIDI guitar part to a wav, then run that wav through Amplitube. Keep trying different amps and effects to get what you want.

The hardest but best way is to learn about MIDI controls, especially pitch bend and modulation, ie the mod wheel, also called CC1. This can add a lot of realism to a MIDI guitar. Then repeat the first step using this modified MIDI track.

One of the best things about MIDI is that it is very modifiable. You can change pitches without artifacts, add effects like vibrato via the pitch bend, as well as a ton of other things. The bad thing about MIDI is that to get the most out of it takes two things, learning about controlling MIDI and to get better sounds cost more money. MIDI sound source prices go from zero to thousands of dollars.

If you are really interested about MIDI I would suggest one of two purchases, i.e. Kontakt or Sample Tank 3. I believe Sample Tank 3 is only 64 bit so jBridge will be necessary when using BiaB or RB. Of the two I chose Kontakt as it has a lot of third party sounds for it with many very reasonably priced. If you are thinking about either wait until there is a sale. Many times they go for half price.

I hope this helps and good luck.

Thanks

If I can help in any way just let me know.

I think the best way to get more realistic sounding midi is to think about velocity, volume and timing and the musicians trying to perform the part. When it comes to velocity a lot of people tend to leave the notes as entered which are often all the same velocity which is far from the truth. Most guitarists hit different notes harder or softer. A lot of folk use velocity for volume control which might not be what you are looking for. How velocity behaves has a lot to do with realism. Some synths use velocity to change the envelop of the sound once again to enhance realism. The other is timing, people use quantise to make the track spot on with timing once again very unrealistic. I don't know of any guitarist for example that plays exactly on time (nor do they want to) understanding how a guitarist might feel has a lot to do with getting a more realistic sound. For example in an exciting part the guitarist might be slightly ahead then back to a layback part be slightly behind and sometimes spot on.

There is a lot to getting it right but understanding the players part has a great deal to do with getting more realistic midi. With wind instruments understanding the player needs to breathe is vital. Most wind instrument players cannot go through a 3 minute tune without a breath yet I have heard midi parts that have a continuous stream of notes (not realistic). Once again velocity is vital when doing wind instruments. This could go on and on but the key is understanding what the player would do has a lot to do with creating good midi files.

My thoughts

Tony