KVR Audio

Skorpius · Post by **Skorpius** » Wed Jun 15, 2016 7:30 pm

Could anyone let me know whether the Midi editor of the current Sonar version has

- a humanize function and/or a randomize function for groups of Midi notes (ideally not only for the note positions, but also for the note lengths)?

I'm not using Sonar yet and can't find this specific question answered anywhere.

Thanks in advance.

xphen0m · Post by **xphen0m** » Wed Jun 15, 2016 7:38 pm

No. MIDI editing is where Sonar seriously needs an upgrade.

However, this is achievable through what they call CAL scripts, but those don't function that well.

Resonant- Serpent · Post by **Resonant- Serpent** » Wed Jun 15, 2016 9:04 pm

You can do all the humanize functions you mention with CAL. While long in the tooth, and a bit cumbersome, it does what it's supposed to. You can also use the randomization on the MFX plugs for humanizing velocity.

Ideally, Frank's MIDI Plugins are far superior for humanization and other tasks. This is what I used while working in Sonar.

http://www.midi-plugins.de/#Plugins

I still think that Cubase has the best humanization implementation, and I hope that Sonar catches up in the near future.

Skorpius · Post by **Skorpius** » Wed Jun 15, 2016 9:25 pm

Well, I think scripts are a relic of the 90s and the DOS days. I'm a musician, not a programmer. Even the early Atari versions of Cubase didn't have anything like scripts - there were buttons to have the program perform all required actions. This CAL thing is really outdated and should be replaced by suitable modern functions, don't you agree?

Cakewalk make such a huge hype of Sonar being superior compared to other DAWs. This all seems a little bloated if Midi functions are still missing that should be "naturally integrated" into Sonar.

cryophonik · Post by **cryophonik** » Wed Jun 15, 2016 9:50 pm

As I recall, the MIDI Input Quantize dialog box has a randomization parameter for the quantize strength, but only works for quantizing notes that are played and recorded in real-time. I personally don't often apply randomness simply for the sake of randomness, so I've rarely used it, but you might find it useful if you're recording notes into the editor. AFAIK, the closest thing you'll find for editing existing notes (aside from the Humanize CAL script) is to use the quantize/groove quantize features, but that's obviously not the same as randomizing/humanizing.

SJ_Digriz · Post by **SJ_Digriz** » Wed Jun 15, 2016 11:01 pm

If you're a musicianew can't you just play it? It will auto humanize that way.

Constructed Identity · Thu Jun 16, 2016 12:39 am

In Sonar 8 there is a midi tool that will randomize within the range you set.
I don't know if Cake have retained this or not in the current Platinum edition.

Skorpius · Post by **Skorpius** » Thu Jun 16, 2016 8:15 pm

What about the MFX Quantize plug-in? It looks like you can randomize and humanize (via swing/offset) both the positions and the lengths. This is a lot more than you can do with, for example, Studio One.

https://www.cakewalk.com/Documentation? ... DI.52.html

Although the documentation on the site is from Sonar X3, I don't suppose they dropped this feature for Platinum, did they?

If this Midi plug-in does what the screenshot suggests, it could be all I need in terms of humanizing/randomizing...

jsp1979 · Post by **jsp1979** » Thu Jun 16, 2016 8:31 pm

SJ_Digriz wrote:If you're a musicianew can't you just play it? It will auto humanize that way.

Too obvious. We need a machine to make it sound like it came from a human.

Zentropy · Post by **Zentropy** » Fri Jun 17, 2016 12:05 am

jsp1979 wrote:
SJ_Digriz wrote:If you're a musicianew can't you just play it? It will auto humanize that way.
Too obvious. We need a machine to make it sound like it came from a human.

If you're not that good with a keyboard, this auto humanize way tends to make it...uh...TOO "human"

Midi editing in Cakewalk Sonar Platinum