KVR Audio

to_the_sun · Post by **to_the_sun** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 7:27 pm

Ideally i am looking for a VST that analyzes audio and/or midi coming into a DAW in real time and then, once a certain condition is met (e.g. a steady BPM, or any number of other things), triggers the DAW to begin recording. Is this something a VST can do? If so, are there any you could recommend?

electro · Post by **electro** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 7:58 pm

Its a 2 part problem that depends if the DAW will allow you to assign MIDI to objects. Maybe a Mod wheel or note to activate the record button.

Then have that VSTI generate the appropriate MIDI message under certain conditions.

to_the_sun · Post by **to_the_sun** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 10:56 pm

electro wrote:Its a 2 part problem that depends if the DAW will allow you to assign MIDI to objects. Maybe a Mod wheel or note to activate the record button.

Then have that VSTI generate the appropriate MIDI message under certain conditions.

Excellent. I use Ableton which is certainly capable. I suppose there are a plethora of VSTs out there that can generate a note upon a given circumstance... Any suggestions on where to begin my search? A steady BPM would probably be the most basic and important condition I'd want to lead to a triggering. Thanks!

electro · Post by **electro** » Fri Jun 14, 2013 11:36 pm

This looks like a good place to start
http://freemusicsoftware.org/category/f ... io-to-midi

No_Use · Post by **No_Use** » Sat Jun 15, 2013 12:07 am

If your recording condition should be 'input passing a certain level threshold', have a look at Reagate,it can send MIDI note on gate opening.

to_the_sun · Post by **to_the_sun** » Fri Aug 02, 2013 10:21 pm

If your recording condition should be 'input passing a certain level threshold', have a look at Reagate,it can send MIDI note on gate opening.

Thanks for this suggestion. Just getting an automated REC going upon receiving any audio is probably the best place to start. I got ReaGate and messed around with it a little bit. It's straightforward enough and i could hear during playback that the gate was opening/closing, but i can't get it to send a midi note. Is there something that's not obvious that i might be missing here? ...like maybe something that needs to be enabled (in Ableton) to receive a midi signal from a VST rather than an external source?

to_the_sun · Post by **to_the_sun** » Fri Aug 02, 2013 11:46 pm

After looking around a bit for a solution, I noticed that my ReaGate GUI is missing the top panel that i see in images i've come across (here for example), the "Common Controls" portion described at that link, which deals with ins/outs. Probably something that'd address my problem. To be sure i downloaded it from the official site, so what gives?

to_the_sun · Post by **to_the_sun** » Sat Aug 17, 2013 4:06 am

If i put an instrument after the gate I found I was able to get it to use the midi note being generated, but it seems that the note is not usable for mapping. Ableton on the whole seems not to notice it (no flashing box in the upper right corner). I would be glad to have someone show me how I've got things wrong here, if I do. Failing that, what other DAWs can for sure use midi notes generated this way?

deastman · Post by **deastman** » Sat Aug 17, 2013 4:38 am

I'm sure you could put together something in Max4Live that would do exactly what you want.

rockstar_not · Post by **rockstar_not** » Sat Aug 17, 2013 4:46 am

What is the goal for this request? Is it to capture a performance without having to worry about clicking on record?

If so, then there are other solutions, like Benedict Roff-Marsh's Pre-Roll Recorder (though apparently it's no longer available) which continually records in the background to two different .wav files. If an inspired performance happens, then you always have it on one or both of the .wav files.

It's really too bad it's no longer available. Maybe there's an alternative.

to_the_sun · Post by **to_the_sun** » Sat Aug 17, 2013 5:03 am

What is the goal for this request?

Well, the best takes always happen when the mics are off. That's the short answer anyway. I record nonstop and I'm developing a methodology wherein I am able to spend the most time playing my instruments and the least time editing. As it goes currently, I queue up my omnibus of recordings-inchoate and just jam over it, playing whatever I feel like, and then go back and edit in the good parts. In this way I grow my songs up from nothing bit by bit. Needless to say this means a lot of re-listening to recordings and i am always looking for ways to automate the process. Let me go find an email i sent to a developer once that explains it all... Let this constitute the 'long answer':

"...What I have in mind is a whole recording process, which is fully automated. By that I mean that I can just pick up my guitar or whichever instrument I happen to be practicing with at the moment and jam, and the software will analyze the incoming audio (and/or midi) and decide when to begin recording. The first step would probably be to detect a steady beat. A midi note could be generated which would be mapped to the record button. A second step could be to detect a repeated phrase or riff. Once a certain pattern was recognized and maintained for say, 4 measures, other midi notes could be generated which could be used to loop the original captured bit of music and begin recording on a second track, a lot like a looper pedal but more sophisticated, and the structure of a song could build from there. Any number of other methods of analysis could be implemented to continue the song's construction.
The entire process is in no way solidified in my mind, but the idea is that the software could, through an algorithm of audio analysis and pattern detection, build and record a spontaneous but coherent structure for an entire song, simply as you jam. You practice your instrument for an hour or two and at the end of the session you have a complete song to show for your work, in addition to increased skill on the instrument. That's my dream anyway. I'm just looking for a starting point, more or less. Think you might be able to help?..."

to_the_sun · Post by **to_the_sun** » Sat Aug 17, 2013 5:15 am

I actually have already been using the home security software iSpy to auto-record whenever noise passes the right threshold, and it has yielded a few inspired recordings that otherwise would have been missed (.wav files appear in a specified folder with iSpy), but to take the process further i was hoping to involve an actual DAW.

Syncretia · Post by **Syncretia** » Sun Aug 18, 2013 7:47 am

Ideally i am looking for a VST that analyzes audio and/or midi coming into a DAW in real time and then, once a certain condition is met (e.g. a steady BPM, or any number of other things), triggers the DAW to begin recording.

MaxForLive is your answer.

AmyTree · Post by **AmyTree** » Sun Aug 18, 2013 10:11 am

For Midi, FL studio has a feature under tools, "Dump score log to selected pattern". This will dump all notes played in the last 3 minutes to a piano roll. Its not exactly what you asked for, but it is a very useful feature if you have been noodling around and want to record something interesting that you have already played.

to_the_sun · Post by **to_the_sun** » Fri Nov 08, 2013 8:55 pm

Syncretia wrote:MaxForLive is your answer.

I am in your debt for turning my attention to M4L (and here it was on my computer the whole time!) I have already accomplished most of what I outlined in this post, with no signs of slowing down.

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 56#5551856

Thank you again!

Can a VST trigger recording in a DAW?