PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Off-Topic Unhappy with MIDI sounds

I use Master Tracks Pro as my MIDI sequencer of choice, but I cannot recommend it because when GVox bought it from the originators (Passport) they introduced bugs that they have not fixed in over 7 years. We're still waiting. I still use it because for me it's the easiest MIDI sequencer to use and I've learned how to get around most of the bugs. Like most modern synths, MTPro allows up to 960ppq and up to 16 different synthesizers without having to buy a MIDI Patch Bay.

I have a half dozen external synths and a couple of hardware samplers. One synth might have the best bass patch for a particular song, another might have the best Rear Pickup Tele sound for the clean guitar, another might have the best organ sound, and another the best sax sound. I can mix and match to my hearts content.

Some of the voices on my synths sound so real that it would take golden ears to tell them from a recording of the real thing. Others sound different, but that can be good as well. I have a brass patch that sounds much reedier than a real brass section, but in the right song it works better than a more traditional sounding brass section. I have a patch on my VL synth that is supposed to sound like an alto sax that was made out of glass -- I love that sound. I have a patch on my pre-GM Roland MT32 that is called "Doctor Solo" that sounds much like an analog synth lead patch, and I find that works for sequencing the background singers' parts in a song (I don't want real human voices because it will shout KARAOKE to the audience).

The ability to choose from thousands of virtual instruments gives me a huge sonic palette. This adds a lot of variety to my music so all the songs don't start sounding the same. I just worked up Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" for a Friday 13 party I'm doing this week. I used a patch called "Attack Clav" for the famous clav figure and then added another not so aggressive clav to run guitar-like lines to complement the "attack clav" and I'm really happy with the results. We tried it out at a party last Saturday and as soon as the introduction with that famous figure started, a half dozen ladies enthusiastically hit the dance floor.

When I'm all done sequencing my MIDI parts I'll put the output of the mixer into the input of PG Music's Power Tracks Pro Audio. For the money this is the best audio recording value I've ever seen. I'll record everything on PTRro and then make a WAV File, turn the WAV file into a high bit-rate, high quality mp3 file and take that to work.

I used to drag around all my synth modules to the gig, but I started thinking about what would happen if one failed on the gig. It's impractical to bring a duplicate road 10 space road rack filled with duplicate modules just in case one of them dies, but a spare computer with the mp3 files duplicated on it is no problem at all. That way if one computer dies, I switch to the spare (always up and running) by moving the USB->Audio interface to the backup computer and the audience doesn't know there was a problem. I've had to do this twice since I went computer in 2002.

If you are interested, I have a web page that explains how I make my backing tracks and how I use them on stage http://www.nortonmusic.com/backing_tracks.html - it's the sum total of the experience I've had doing a duo track gig since 1985 and the easiest method I've found to date.

I started using MIDI back in the 1980s, and it's amazing how the tools have grown. The 128 continuous controllers allow for a huge amount of expressiveness http://www.nortonmusic.com/midi_cc.html -- and they aren't even all used yet. Plus there are controllers dedicated so that individual synth manufacturers can use them for custom controls.

When audio loops came around, I bought some loop software but it was frustrating. It was like a person who is skilled at creating oil paintings being forced to go back to 'paint by number' sets. The honeymoon of those great loops was over very quickly when I realized just how many things I couldn't do with the loops. Things that I've been doing for years that help me make my music both personal and more expressive.

The depth of what you can do with MIDI is incredible. But like any musical instrument, it isn't instant gratification. It takes time and practice to get good at it. But since the controls can be done in computer time rather than real time it's a lot easier than learning saxophone, piano or guitar. And it's fun to get over another hurdle, listen to the playback, and think to yourself, "I did that!"

Plus playing with MIDI has taught me a lot about musical arranging. I took music courses in school, but without an orchestra at my disposal, arranging was just theory - facts in my head. I couldn't afford to hire an orchestra to see how an idea of mine worked out. Now with MIDI I can try things out and listen to them in the privacy of my own home. I can even get daring and break the rules just to see what it sounds like, and if it sounds terrible, I'm the only one who knows.

MIDI gives me the creativity that I crave. I love listening to other people's music, but I love creating music even more.

The tools have grown phenomenally since I started using MIDI on my Atari/ST computer way back in the 80s. When I started using Band-in-a-Box it was on the Atari, when I started writing styles Peter Gannon generously offered to help me my convert the styles to the PC format so I could sell them to a broader market (thanks Peter). Then I got my first PC, running BiaB as a DOS program, before it went Windows and I bought a Mac Classic ][ running OS6 on Motorola chips. Back then BiaB was limited to 3 instruments, drums, bass and piano, and had virtually no features other than auto-accompaniment (it didn't even have any endings). In fact, the entire program fit on a floppy disk.

Now look at it. The good folks at PG Music have expanded the program so it is virtually the "Swiss army knife" of musical apps. There are plenty of features that I have absolutely no use for -- these are for other people to enjoy. And there are plenty of features that make my life easier and my music creations more expressive while it makes the process of making music easier.

As Zone1958 indicated, I'm passionate about my music. It's my life, it's my love and it's just not what I do for a living, being a musician is what I am.

I hope PG never abandons the core MIDI aspect of this great app, and I also hope they continue to develop the core MIDI functions so that people like myself who like to have ultimate control over the music we create can continue to have improved tools to do just that.

And as for those features that I don't use -- I'm glad they are there for others to enjoy.

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