The most difficult part of making midi instruments sound realistic is actually 2 parts.

1. You really have to think the part like a player of that instrument would play it.

2.Going along closely with #1 is you have to insert all the articulations into the midi track that a real player would do.


I picked up a steel guitar synth demo version once upon a time many years back. I listened to the audio demo's and was highly impressed. So I downloaded the synth software demo. It ran as a fully operational synth for 10 days after which it shut down to a demo mode. Nothing produced with it in it's first 10 days was saveable but you could hear what it could do.

So I loaded it up and started to play with it. I might as well have just sat down at a real steel guitar for all the good that synth did me. I had to learn everything..... what keys on my midi keyboard caused a bend on the 5th, or the 3rd, which ones bent up and which ones bent down, and how to bend an entire chord up or down, how to vary just one note in a chord..... attack and release, muting of the notes.... all the things that a real steel player does while playing..... of course, they learned what they know over years and years of study, practice and gigging..... as a guitarist and even with my modest keyboard skills, I knew that to reach the level where I could fool most of the people into thinking I could handle a steel guitar to some level of skill, was in fact, going to take many, many months, if not years of practice to get the articulations that a steel player has.

All that to say, that's why most synth instruments don't sound real. Not because they weren't sampled correctly or accurately, but that the player of the midi track either doesn't take the time or know how to insert the proper articulations native to that given instrument.

That is one reason, and probably the biggest reason I bought BB all those years ago. After hearing the steel in their demo, I decided to risk it and haven't regretted it. When I have steel players who have been playing all their lives, who I have known from my gigging days, ask me who is playing steel on my tunes, you know it's done right.

I was looking for a song I did using guitar samples... it's not online.... while they sounded really good, the articulations were missing and difficult to add properly. Every guitarist I know nailed it immediately. Non-pickers probably didn't pick up that aspect. I spent a few dollars to buy the sample library back when I was getting started to compensate for a dynamic mic and funky guitar. It was a fun experiment but a waste of money.

Good samples with proper articulation and thinking like a player can get it done.

Actually playing the instrument.....even better.

Last edited by Guitarhacker; 01/08/14 05:53 AM.
You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.