Hi,
I have started using Tracktion5 today and after recording some guitar bits I would like to program drums.
I have found a few VST plugins that I want to try out. I assume I need to create a MIDI track to use these. Since I don't have an external MIDI device, I created a virtual MIDI input and use this as input for the track. I add the drum plugin to the track. Then I try to record something by tapping on the virtual keyboard. I see some notes entered, but hear no sound.
In the virtual MIDI I have selected a program and entered a channel ("1" , but no idea what that should be).
See the attachment for where I'm at.
Anyone know how to use this correctly?
Programming drums in T5
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- KVRAF
- 2464 posts since 9 Oct, 2008 from UK
I can't immediately see why you're not hearing anything.
A couple of things I did see, though they may be making no difference; the drum plug-in should be before the Volume & Pan plug-in, since the drum plug-in acts on the MIDI, producing audio, which can then be adjusted by the V&P plug-in, whereas with the V&P plug-in first, its input is MIDI, and it can't affect it. The Channel and Program settings on your virtual MIDI keyboard are not doing anything (nor are they causing your problem).
You might find it easier, if your drum plans are not too huge, to insert a Step-Sequence Clip and add a few bars of hits by hand.
I can see the notes recorded in your image, and they seem to be covering quite a range. I've looked at SuperdrumFX and I see it only has 10 different sounds. If these 10 sounds are triggered by consecutive notes, and are not repeated over other octaves, it's possible that they only occupy around 2/3 of an octave. Is it possible that your notes (I can't tell from the image which notes you've recorded) have completely missed all of them?
If it might be, try this. Click on the track input, and then, on the keyboard displayed in the Properties Panel, click a selection of notes and see if any make the drum sounds you're after. If they do, did you record any of those notes on your previous attempt? You might also try swapping the drum plug-in for a synth/other type and see if you can play notes on that one. It might be the set-up of the virtual MIDI keyboard that hasn't gone to plan.
A couple of things I did see, though they may be making no difference; the drum plug-in should be before the Volume & Pan plug-in, since the drum plug-in acts on the MIDI, producing audio, which can then be adjusted by the V&P plug-in, whereas with the V&P plug-in first, its input is MIDI, and it can't affect it. The Channel and Program settings on your virtual MIDI keyboard are not doing anything (nor are they causing your problem).
You might find it easier, if your drum plans are not too huge, to insert a Step-Sequence Clip and add a few bars of hits by hand.
I can see the notes recorded in your image, and they seem to be covering quite a range. I've looked at SuperdrumFX and I see it only has 10 different sounds. If these 10 sounds are triggered by consecutive notes, and are not repeated over other octaves, it's possible that they only occupy around 2/3 of an octave. Is it possible that your notes (I can't tell from the image which notes you've recorded) have completely missed all of them?
If it might be, try this. Click on the track input, and then, on the keyboard displayed in the Properties Panel, click a selection of notes and see if any make the drum sounds you're after. If they do, did you record any of those notes on your previous attempt? You might also try swapping the drum plug-in for a synth/other type and see if you can play notes on that one. It might be the set-up of the virtual MIDI keyboard that hasn't gone to plan.
Last edited by jabe on Sun Mar 05, 2017 10:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
[W10-64, T5/6/7/W8/9/10/11/12/13, 32(to W8)&64 all, Spike],[W7-32, T5/6/7/W8, Gina16] everything underused.
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- KVRist
- 473 posts since 1 Feb, 2006
a few things to look for:
- check under options if "audioengine active all the time"(or similar) is checked. it needs to be, to hear anything when playback is stopped. this is useful for checking if everything is configured correctly for your vsti and where the notes on the keyboard are, that will play your drumsounds.
- try midichannel "omni" or "all" or channel "10". many drum vsti default to midichannel 10.
omni or all will send midi on all channels.
- as stated by jabe, try to find where the drumsounds are on the keyboard. you may need to switch octaves to find them (probably down).
- seeing you are not accustomed to midi and daws, i would not try stepclips in t5, as you will have to define manually for every line of the stepclip, which midinote from the keyboard it will trigger. it is not really obvious where to set this all up. in newer versions of tracktion, there is some sort of default preset when you instatiate a stepclip, that makes things a little easier.
- check under options if "audioengine active all the time"(or similar) is checked. it needs to be, to hear anything when playback is stopped. this is useful for checking if everything is configured correctly for your vsti and where the notes on the keyboard are, that will play your drumsounds.
- try midichannel "omni" or "all" or channel "10". many drum vsti default to midichannel 10.
omni or all will send midi on all channels.
- as stated by jabe, try to find where the drumsounds are on the keyboard. you may need to switch octaves to find them (probably down).
- seeing you are not accustomed to midi and daws, i would not try stepclips in t5, as you will have to define manually for every line of the stepclip, which midinote from the keyboard it will trigger. it is not really obvious where to set this all up. in newer versions of tracktion, there is some sort of default preset when you instatiate a stepclip, that makes things a little easier.
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- KVRer
- Topic Starter
- 2 posts since 5 Mar, 2017
Thanks a lot, both of you!
After changing a few things it seems the VST plugin was the issue. I have tried a few other VST's and those do work, and I managed to get started with programming the drums.
After changing a few things it seems the VST plugin was the issue. I have tried a few other VST's and those do work, and I managed to get started with programming the drums.
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- KVRist
- 473 posts since 1 Feb, 2006
good to hear! have fun 
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Peter Widdicombe Peter Widdicombe https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=336849
- KVRian
- 1215 posts since 29 Aug, 2014
Be aware that, using the virtual keyboard, all drums will be hit at the same "velocity", so you won't have any drum "dynamics". An inexpensive controller keyboard (even starting at $50 US or so) will be much easier to use.
(Or, if you're really technically inclined, could experiment with using your cellphone as a midi set of pads; but remember that relies on getting real-time information from Phone to PC via either USB cable, bluetooth, or wireless. rtpMIDI; but it isn't trivial to set up)
(Or, if you're really technically inclined, could experiment with using your cellphone as a midi set of pads; but remember that relies on getting real-time information from Phone to PC via either USB cable, bluetooth, or wireless. rtpMIDI; but it isn't trivial to set up)
Waveform 13; Win10 desktop/8 Gig; Win11 Laptop; MPK261; VFX+disfunctional ESQ-1
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- KVRist
- 109 posts since 10 Oct, 2005 from St. Louis, MO USA
I'm wondering if your plugin's location in the chain might be an issue. In the picture, it's after the pan/fader. It should be the first thing in the chain.
MacBook Pro M3, 16GB RAM | UAD Apollo Solo| Tracktion Waveform 14 Pro/Cockos Reaper 7/Ableton Live 12 Standard/Presonus Studio One 7 Pro | A multitude of paid-for and free VST plugs/samples
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- KVRAF
- 2417 posts since 17 Jun, 2003
This. This is right. Drag SuperDrums to the left of the volume plugin.cjayconrod wrote:I'm wondering if your plugin's location in the chain might be an issue. In the picture, it's after the pan/fader. It should be the first thing in the chain.
"my gosh it's a friggin hardware"
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- KVRAF
- 2464 posts since 9 Oct, 2008 from UK
As I mentioned in my post on Sunday, having a VSTi after the volume/pan control doesn't stop the MIDI from reaching the VSTi.
[W10-64, T5/6/7/W8/9/10/11/12/13, 32(to W8)&64 all, Spike],[W7-32, T5/6/7/W8, Gina16] everything underused.
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- KVRAF
- 2417 posts since 17 Jun, 2003
I knew that. That was a test. You PASSED the test, good jobjabe wrote:As I mentioned in my post on Sunday, having a VSTi after the volume/pan control doesn't stop the MIDI from reaching the VSTi.
"my gosh it's a friggin hardware"
