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Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,129
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Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,129 |
Hi all,
Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy belated Hanukkah (I hoped you enjoyed your gin-and-tonica : ) Happy Kwanza, etc. !!!!
I've been out of the forums for a while - music kind of took a back seat for me for a while - but it's always great to return to PG Forums and find lots of the same familiar names, faces and intelligent music discussions.
My question for today:
What are some things you know about using Native Instruments with either BB or RB....that others probably don't know, that were learned 'the hard way', or that might save a newbie to using these 2 together a lot of time.
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My experience with NI is that it is a great tool, super sounds available, good as it currently gets. However with all that power comes great responsibility. Using it in a DAW requires advance skills. But the limits are only what you need to learn next. In Reaper it can be awesome once you learn your way around.
Now, using it is BIAB [for me] has not happened. Maybe because I don't need it or want it in BIAB since BIAB is my sketch pad and I want quick results and good sound. Which I get without NI plugs. Having said that I can say I have tried adding VSTs and VSTi to BIAB but without much success. BIAB simply doesn't seem to be optimized for these tools. I do have my ear to the forums regarding how these may work in BIAB64 and hoping for some good news. But so far I have not heard much in that regard.
BIAB – 2026, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, Motu Audio Express 6x6 - My SoundCloud.
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I recently completed a Christmas song using NI synths Massive and Absynth. https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=509155#Post509155I don't use NI synths in BB. I use them in a DAW where I have better, and complete control over them. They are advanced synths and have parameters that one can easily change and as a result, tend to work best in a DAW where you can easily get to the controls. In BB I just use the default TTS. (in my case)
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd 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.
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I use Kontakt in most of my songs but I use it in my DAW. I use BiaB as a scratch board for my songs.
But I tried Kontakt in the 32 bit BiaB and gave up. Way to much hassle to get it running correctly. However I did have 4 instances of Kontakt running in the 64 bit version of BiaB with no problem. That was just one test to see how the 64 bit would work and I still use Kontakt only in my DAW.
I haven't lost all of my marbles but there is a small hole in the bag someplace!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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However I did have 4 instances of Kontakt running in the 64 bit version of BiaB with no problem. That was just one test to see how the 64 bit would work... Well that sounds very promising. Otherwise, I would say we are all on the same page in regards to this question at this point in time.
BIAB – 2026, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, Motu Audio Express 6x6 - My SoundCloud.
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The issue is the difference between General Midi (GM) and full Midi.
Biab runs on GM because it doesn't require any understanding of the very cryptic details of midi. GM only provides limited control over midi instruments. Volume, expression, velocity, a few more. You can use Kontakt just fine in biab, you will hear the instruments but all the realistic articulations you hear in their demos require the use of non GM controls. This is why Biab won't sound as good as the demos you hear of the excellent Kontakt instruments. It has to be used in a DAW that uses all the midi controls and the user needs to be proficient with midi.
Bob
Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.
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Bob, That is a clear, concise description of General Midi versus regular midi. About the only fact you left out is GM is multi-timbrel while regular midi instruments are not.
Multi-timbrel instruments are capable of producing more than one type of sound or timbre at a time. For example both the Synthfont 64 and Cakewalk TTS-1 midi players can playback the sounds of more than one instrument (patch) at a time while midi players like Kontakt Free or SampleTank require one instance per instrument.
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