Hi,

I don't like the vibrato on my melody instruments. Is there any way to adjust it. I us BIAB and a Ketron SD2

BB doesn't add vibrato, except in unusual situations:

- if using the Melody Embellisher, you can turn vibrato on/off
- a few of the MIDI soloists ("Satch" style trumpet( have vibrato

So if you're using the Embellisher, turn it off, but its more likely that your synth itself is adding vibrato.

Perhaps it is possible to control that, others familiar with the Ketron SD2 would know.

The vibrato is in your Ketron and it's recorded in the samples themselves not added later as a mod wheel control so it cannot be removed. After listening to the demos of the SD2 and hearing that vibrato in many of the solo instruments I decided not to buy it for that reason even though a lot of the sounds are very good.

Bob

Yes, some of the wind instrument patches in the SD-2 GM bank do indeed have a bit more vibrato in their samples than modern music practices dictate.

The answer is to start using the Upper Banks of your SD-2 to replace those instrument patches with some of the other patches of the same instrument. Takes just a little bit of experimentation to find the ones you might like, after that it is a rather simple matter to open a song that has GM instruments only in it and change those few patches to one of the Upper Bank patches, then Save the song that way.

Install the SD-2 Patch Map into your BB folder first, then make sure to select it in the upper RH area of the MIDI/Audio selection window.

To change a GM patch to be one of the Upper Banks patches, first select that instrument via the Radio Button next to its Trackname in BiaB, then hit the {+} button to the right of the Instrument Name dropdown. The Upper Bank Selection Window opens and there you can pick thru the entire listing.

Changing them this way makes a BIG difference.


--Mac

Great info. Thanks for the help.

As any wind instrument player will tell you, adding vibrato to a note is a very personal thing and is indivudualo to every note and its settings. Its very much what makes a note human. Until you can craft vibrato its not going to sound right, its not just a matter of Yes/No vibrato, its a pallette.

Switching from Tenor sax to to Piano (which has always the same vibrato for a given velocity/attack). I must say I miss it

IMO

When I use vibrato on either my sax, flute, guitar or wind synth, the speed and intensity are variable, there is no "one size fits all" vibrato for all notes. Each note is treated in its context in the song I'm playing. In fact, the speed and intensity of vibrato are both often changed during the duration of the note, especially on notes that are held for a long time.

Perhaps because of this, I'm very dissatisfied with the vibrato built into most synth patches. On my Yamaha VL70m module, which I use for solo voices with my Yamaha WX5 (wind synth), I have the vibrato turned off of all the patches, and prefer to do it manually with my lip pressure on the 'reed'.

In fact, I've been known to record brass and string patches in a sequence with a keyboard synth, and then use my wind synth to record the vibrato on a different channel, and then after cleaning the track(s), mix them together so the brass and/or string vibrato was controlled by my lip and NOT the LFO.

I imagine someone with a keyboard synth could do the same with after-touch, but I'm better at the wind synth than I am at keyboard key wiggling.

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

The problem with the SD2 at least on some solo instruments, is that vibrato was recorded by the player. It's in the samples not created by the LFO. On the one hand it is the beautiful natural vibrato you're talking about Notes but it's like a Real Track, can't be changed or turned off. I heard that in the demos and knew that as good as the SD2 is with a lot of things, that would drive me crazy. Apparently there are enough higher bank instruments without it but I didn't hear those in the demos at least I don't think so, it's been a while. Shortly after that I picked up a used Sonic Cell and love it.

Bob

IMHO pre-programmed vibrato, whether it is on a RT or a MIDI Track is inappropriate for most circumstances. In fact, if possible, I turn the vibrato off of all my synth patches and prefer to add the vibrato myself. Most synths come with an editor that allow you do do that.

When I use vibrato, I use the vibrato on a note the way I feel that individual note needs it, in the context of not only the song, but exactly where that note falls in the song and also where in the particular musical phrase that particular note falls.

As a broad example, a whole note in the beginning of a 8 bar phrase would seldom get the same vibrato as a whole note at the end of the phrase.

For me the difference between empty notes and music is mostly found in the minute nuances (God is in the detail or the devil is in the details - whichever you prefer). Little subtle things like vibrato, minute timing differences, dynamics, ornamentation and all the other little things that you do to each note in the context of where in the musical passage that particular note falls make a huge difference in the emotional impact of the music on the listener.

These are the things I consciously work on when practicing, so that when I am performing in front of an audience or a recording machine they come from me naturally without my conscious thought.

They are also some of the things I can do to the music after exporting to MIDI and importing into a sequencer that can turn the good output of BiaB into something truly excellent.

Insights and incites by Notes ♫