PG Music Home Forums User-to-User Post your own Tips and Tricks here Sforzando Creating Custom Solos for RealTracks Mac/Win

Video Demo Key Switch C1 Normal A1 RealTrack Notes
https://www.dropbox.com/s/u0iowgaop7apk5s/Sforzando-RealTracks.mp4?dl=0
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Gig Extract to wav (from Free LinuxSampler Mac/Win): Pic 3 below
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6p79lsjwpm4ugj7/GIG2WAV-WIN-MAC.zip?dl=0

NotePad++ https://notepad-plus-plus.org/
SFZ Opcode highlighting https://musescore.org/en/node/99411


Bulk File Rename Utility
http://www.bulkrenameutility.co.uk/Main_Intro.php

Flame Studios free Giga samples
http://www.flamestudios.org/free/GigaSamples

Karoryfer Some Free SFZ Instruments
http://www.karoryfer.com/karoryfer-samples

Jim Fogle's great find ! Folder to SFZ, thanks to Sam !
http://vis.versilstudios.net/sfzconverter.html

We are using Sforzando as it comes with Biab Mac/Win

You can easily add these RealTrack sfz's to the PG Music Library in Sforzando GUI by adding them in the C:\Program Files\PG Music Inc\Band-in-a-Box Sounds\Band-in-a-Box Sounds.bank.xml OR just drag them in Sforzando.

First create an sfz instrument for the RealTrack.
There are many free sfz instrument you can download and use like bearsax weresax shinyguitar emilyguitar.
Flame Studios have a lot of Direct Input Guitars, these are great to use with Direct Input RealTracks.

You can match the EQ pretty close to the original Direct Input Instrument with a bit of EQ work or use something like Voxengo Curve EQ: Pic 1 below
1. Click Edit - Set to AVG
2. Put a sample of the di guitar on the track with CurveEQ, play it, when the curves level out click "Take" in the Static window.
3. Put a some samples of your instrument you want to match to the RealTrack on the same track, play it and hit the next "Take" down.
4. Set the first take as the Reference.
5. Set the next take as Apply To.
6. Click "Match Spectrums".
7. Select All the wav samples of the sfz or the extracted wavs from the gig instrument and drag into the same track in Reaper or your DAW.
8. Select All the wavs in the track > Render "Selected Items, backup the original wavs and replace them with the new EQ Matched wavs, this will give your instrument a very close sound to the Direct Input RealTracks that will have the FX added later.

You can also use the same RealTrack Hold (bb\RealTracks\Direct\Input\Library\Holds) or similar to create an SFZ instrument, look in the RealTrack picker to see what hold it uses, then copy the note to a new track, in Reaper notes can be transpose with Shift 0 +1 semitone Shift 9 -1 semitone. To take any vibrato out of the held notes use AutoTune, GSnap, ReaTune etc..: Pic 2 below

For Actual RealTracks playing we use a keyswitch in Sforzando (see video Normal C2 RealTrack A2) to switch from the clean instrument note to the Actual RealTrack notes that we sample by generating up long progressions in different keys of the Direct Input Instrument, in the Song Settings set Don't Transpose RealTracks, you can use normal RealTracks if you prefer.

Lots of RealTracks use the same instrument so the SFZ Instrument will go a long way (you can add an EQ in the Sforzando track to get the sound the same if it's a bit different).

We then save the track/s to wav and midi (Realchart), drag them into Reaper or a DAW. Pic 4 below
Check the midi notation is represented in the same octave on the midi keyboard as the note being played by the RealTrack else octave the midi up or down. You can load ReaTune into the Master track, View > Master track, this will show what octave note is played.
We start at the bottom note of the instrument in the midi piano roll.
We scan through the midi notes looking for any note on that key being played alone by it's self, we want to add a lot of the same note to give variation Random Robins, so each render varies.
Go up to the wav, zoom right in, highlight the note accurately from start to end of fade and copy that section.
Paste the note to a new track at the same position, name the by the note, eg: E2 or E2-40
Go through all the notes copying all the sample notes to their respective track.

When done select all items (samples) > File > Render
in the render dialog choose "Selected media items"
In the File name type the RealTrack name then _rr(Wildcards)_(Wildcards): RT2688_rr$itemnumber_$track
this will name the files ready for Folder to SFZ, rr is the round/random robins, make sure there are no spaces in the name only underscores. Use the Bulk Rename to remove the 001 002 so it's 01 02 etc.. The Random Robins will give you a different track/section to choose from with every render, like MultiRiffis. Pic 5 below

So in the RealTrack Sforzando instrument you will have a key switch to choose the clean note instrument a key switch for each articulation you add like Muted (included in FS Guitars), Slide UP/Down, HO PO, Bend Up 1/2 / full, Pre Bend, Vibrato etc.. and a key switch for the Actual RealTrack note samples.

So you watch the Folder to SFZ video and the others if you like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-DcGa264H0
We create a new instrument from the clean instrument, one for each articulation and one for the RealTrack instrument.

For the articulation with can apply vibrato and bends to the clean wav sample with Sforzand or you can create up the samples by playing them or creating emulations in Reaper.

A Slide you can join 3 wav notes together as one sample for a 2 semitone slide, have a small part of the start note then crossfade it into the second note (start the second note in a bit to miss the pick sound, then crossfade the second into the third, then similar for a down slide.

A Hammer on and Pull off just use the two notes together.

Bend & Vibrato, you can add these samples to the clean sample and make a new sample or easier still is let Sforzando do it.


SFZ files are easy to open, edit and create in Notepad, just drag the file into Notepad.

So copy all the text out of the normal instrument Say Telecaster DI Bridge into a new Notepad.

At the top under control add



after group put


We will set the key switches by adding them under the Group


off_by=**, the "**" is the last "Group" number (Articulations group that comes after all the Random Robins Groups , this will allow the articulation in that group to play with midi key switches without the other groups playing the same note)

For our RealTrack sample notes we will use Random Robin in Folder to SFZ.

We then copy everything down from group in our RealTrack sfz under the existing text in the new notepad


Add group=1 off_by=** to it (the "**" is the last Articulations group number, this will allow the articulation in that group to play with midi key switches without the other groups playing the same note)



Use Ctrl+F to Search for "<group>" and add group=(the group number) off_by=**


In all these groups from 1-on (RealTracks Notes) add the key switch info for it:



Whatever is the last Group number of the RealTrack Random Robins,
name the next Group number for Articulations after that, so if the last Random Robin Group was 16 the the Articulations Group will be 17 and the off_by=** will be off_by=17.

With Articulation you create an instrument for each on with Folder to SFZ.

Before we copy from <region> down in the first Articulation sfz
add your key switch for that articulation, so sw_down plays the articulation and sw_label is just the name that shows "C#1 Slide Up"
we use Ctrl+H to find n replace
Find: <region>
Replace: <region> sw_down=C#1 sw_label=C#1 Slide Up
Replace All

Copy all text from <region> down and paste in the new notepad under a new <group> for Articulations.
Put the Articulation name at the start of the regions
// Slide, Bend etc..



Now at the end of that text add the next articulation



Now just add the rest of your articulations.
To use Sforzando to bend or vibrate-vibrato we use the normal sample, you can tweak the settings to get the right sound, see the links at the bottom for more info:





so go to the Normal clean.sfz text as in Group 0 (don't save over it as you will use it again for Vibrato)
use Ctrl+F and Find: <region>

now paste


Find and replace again until all done.

Now copy all the text from <region> down to the new notepad text

adding the Articulation name divider

// Full Bend

Now you can do the same again for Pre Bend and Vibrato

Find: <region>
Paste:


OR



Save the new notepad to Instrument.sfz
Copy all the samples use in the text to a folder called Samples in the same directory Instrument.sfz is in.
Drag Instrument.sfz into Sforzando.

To replace multiple lines use NotePad++ Pic 6 below

To add


to



we use Find: sample
Replace with:


using \n for a new line



Good Luck !

Helpful info for sfz programming:
http://drealm.info/sfz/plj-sfz.xhtml
http://www.sfzformat.com/legacy/

Wow. Great stuff Pipeline.

Bob

To add the Instruments to C:\Program Files\PG Music Inc\Band-in-a-Box Sounds\Band-in-a-Box Sounds.bank.xml

Import Notepad++SFZformat.xml > Language > User Define > Import > User language.

RealTrack ShinyGuitar Demo
Watch https://www.dropbox.com/s/6krkobu3yb65wsr/RealTrack-ShinyGuitar.mp4?dl=0
Download https://www.dropbox.com/s/6krkobu3yb65wsr/RealTrack-ShinyGuitar.mp4?dl=1
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Free Archtop Guitar for RealTrack Jazz Electric Guitar (27)

Here's some free tools to sampleize RealTracks to Sforzando SFZ

Sampling Workshop Tools for Win but will run on Mac with WineBottler.

Session2Wav works best with RealTracks that are playing one note at a time.



Some free Tuners to give Note & Octave or you can use ReaTune in Reaper.
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Audio/Other-AUDIO-Tools/Pitch-Tuner.shtml
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Audio/Other-AUDIO-Tools/Free-Music-Instrument-Tuner.shtml
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Audio/Other-AUDIO-Tools/PitchPerfect-Guitar-Tuner.shtml (don't install any extras)

Sampling Workshop app for Mac (use http://www.unrarx.com/ )
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4l3otxbwr72f6no/SamplingWorkshop.rar?dl=1
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To Edit the menu or add other Win Apps, open CompactAutoRunner.ini

Right click SamplingWorkshop.app > show package contents.

To use Folder to SFZ on Mac install Java
http://vis.versilstudios.net/sfzconverter.html
https://www.java.com/en/download/mac_download.jsp

Here's a video of EndlessWav, you just type the midi note number in F#4=66, using Ctrl+Shft set the 2 loop points and EndlessWav will adjust it automatically to loop the end to create a held note. This will save these settings for the BJ Sample Mapper to create the SFZ instrument.
You can also record and fade it to give a natural decayed note for stringed instruments.

Watch https://www.dropbox.com/s/l7kk9ykwi62jh9p/EndlesWav.mp4?dl=0
Download https://www.dropbox.com/s/l7kk9ykwi62jh9p/EndlesWav.mp4?dl=1
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EndlessWav writes to the wav file header for BJ Sample Mapper to read:



First steps:

Open a wave file (CTRL+O). Hold the shift key and draw the start and end markers in the waveform view. If you want a short file, set the end marker near the start marker. If you want to keep the liveness of your instrument and get a big filesize, set the end marker far away from the start marker. Press "S" to auto adjust start and end. Manually adjust the crossfade if needed, remember to check the different crossfade types. SPACE toggles Play/Stop of the looped region. Press CTRL+S to save your file and CTRL+N to load the next file...

You are working with lots of files? Hold Shift+Ctrl and draw the start and end markers in the waveform view. The software will search the best settings in seconds!

You can't get perfect loops? Try out the Loop Mix! Set the crossfade length as big as possible. Then start the loop mix...

If you are working with analog synth sounds and it's difficult to find loop points, try the DC filter (in the tools menu)! It will cut any frequencies below 12 Hz.



Stereo Handling:
If you disable the left waveform view, all search routines work at the right channel first. If you enable the left waveform view, all search routines work at the left channel first.
If you are searching for zero positions or adjusting markers with activated level match, only the currently displayed channels will be used.



Keyboard Shortcuts:

L = Loop On/Off
X = Realtime crossfade On/Off
Z = Snap to zerocross position
D = Snap to level (dB)
Space = Toggle Play/Stop (loop only)
Space+Shift = Toggle Play from Start/Stop
0 (zero) = Stop
E = Auto adjust end
S = Auto adjust start and end
N = Normalize file
O = DC filter / remove dc offset using HP@12Hz
ALT and - or + = Gain change +/- 3dB
CTRL+N = Next file
CTRL+P = Previous file
CTRL+O = Open File
CTRL+S = Save File
CTRL+R = Reload original file (Revert)
CTRL+W = Close File
Shift+C = Enter crossfade value by keyboard
Shift+G = Gain change (Enter value in dB by keyboard)
Enter (Numblock) = Play from start with loop
A/B/C = Select buffer
CTRL and + = Zoom In
CTRL and - = Zoom Out
CTRL+1 to CTRL+7 = Jump to different zoom views
CTRL+M = Loop Mix
CTRL+Z = Undo Loop Mix
T or TAB = Toggle Tools On/Off



Secret functions:

Shift+Click in file list opens a detailed header listing
Shift+Drag in waveform view sets start and end with one move
Shift+Ctrl+Drag in waveform view sets start and end and calls the adjust start and end function
Shift+Alt+Drag in waveform view sets start and end and calls the adjust end function
Alt+Mouse Up will call the adjust end function
Ctrl+Mouse Up will call the adjust start and end function
Del/Entf in file list moves a file to trash
Space in file list will play the selected file, '0' stops playback
Enter in file list will open the selected file
Shift+Enter in file list will show the detailed header listing
F5 in file list will refresh the listing




Auto adjust end [Key command: E]:

Please move the start and end markers to your needs before clicking "Adjust End". The currently selected start will be used to analyze the best end near the currently selected end. Moving the start marker leads to different endpoints. Alt+Mouse Up calls this function.



Auto adjust start+end [Key command: S]:

The same as above, but checks also the start position. You can bypass the function at any time by pressing ESC. It will then show you the best markers found before you pressed ESC. Ctrl+Mouse Up calls this function. This is a really powerful tool - be sure to check out the different search options (dynamic, large, short...)!



Loop Mix [Key command: CTRL+M]:

This functions reduces the loop size by mixing loop sections together and crossfading them in a very special way. It works best with ensemble sounds, layered strings or pads or something like this. Please always use this function together with a large crossfade, because a fade in is needed before (!) the loop start marker. Otherwise you will get clicks at loop start. Try the loop mix, if you can't find good loop-points with the other helpers or if you want to shorten the loop without finding new loop points.



Tools Menu [Key command: T or TAB]:

This menu contains various functions, that you might find useful during your work. All of them work at the currently loaded waveform in memory. To undo tools, you have to reload your file again from disk.



Revert to original [Key command: CTRL+R]:

This function restores your file from disk. But it is also a great tool to check your file after export! Save your file to disk (CTRL+S) and press CTRL+R. Click yes in the following dialog. All fades and crossfades have been destructivly stored in your file and you can continue to work with the resulting file. If you need to apply two or more different crossfades, store and reload a file and apply a new crossfade.



Clipping indicator:

If you see the red clipping indicator, the last operation produced a level higher than -0dB. This introduces distortion and you should undo your last edit. Click the indicator to reset. There is a small soft-clipping algorithm for levels higher than -0dB in most functions to prevent extreme distortions. But it's always a better solution to undo the last operation and to reduce gain before applying the operation again.



Watermark:

This is a function to hide some information in the dither noise of a soundfile. If you change gain or apply filters, etc. the information is often - not always! - lost in the new noisefloor. But it works very well, if this is the final step before exporting the soundfile to your sampler or sample cd.

Support, comments and suggestions:

http://www.bjoernbojahr.de/
mail(at)bjoernbojahr.de


I hope you like the software. Use it at your own risk!

TS Strobe Tuner http://www.tomasboril.cz/tbstrobetuner/
to get the correct note numbers C4=60
save the text below in the presets folder as Note Numbers C4=60.txt
It will work fine as long as you don't get over D7.
Choose Note Numbers C4=60 in the Tuning Presets.
Uncheck Noise Filter to get the bass notes.