Midi Modifiers - Cubase

[vignesh.vijay]

Hi ,

I want to humanize midi piano notes in cubase .
Can I do it with the help of midi modifiers ?

When I use the position in midi modifiers , say for example if I choose -10 to +10 in position . How much is each note gonna be shifted by ?

Also , what are the other ways to humanize piano,guitar midi notes ?

Thanks
Vignesh

[Googly Smythe]

Apart from actually playing the notes...
I usually use the Logical Editor to randomise notes. I have a few presets for various amounts of randoming. It's easy to set them up.
The notes are shifted in MIDI ticks (varies according to how set the option).
Another popular trick for snare drums is to shift all the note back (laid back beat) or forward (more excited beat).
A good reason to randomise mouse-entered notes is to spread out all those layered pads so that the MIDI stream doesn't choke.

[vignesh.vijay]

up

[bustedfist]

You do this via the Quantize Window.

[Googly Smythe]

up

?

[Googly Smythe]

You do this via the Quantize Window.

Doesn't this just robotize the notes? Humanizing usually means playing/placing notes off the grid, not on it.

[bustedfist]

You do this via the Quantize Window.

Doesn't this just robotize the notes? Humanizing usually means playing/placing notes off the grid, not on it.

No, it has swing settings, etc. I use MIDI, but record live so the Quantize panel is a little rusty, but it is good.

[SJ_Digriz]

You can also apply iterative quantize which will apply a % of movement to note placement against the grid, including the swung grid. You can also apply randomization or compression to velocity.

[vignesh.vijay]

You can also apply iterative quantize which will apply a % of movement to note placement against the grid, including the swung grid. You can also apply randomization or compression to velocity.

Does the iterative quantize always move a note from its position .

Say for example , I would need certain notes to be aligned with the grid which might happen when a real player plays as well ..
is it like placing notes anywhere between two values ( eg. -10 to 10 .. a note can take a value 0 as well which essentially means Iterative quantize doesn't do anything to that note )

Thanks

[SJ_Digriz]

I think we are mixing topics, or at least we are mixing features that apply to the topic.

INPUT-
MIDI Modifiers tab is applied to incoming MIDI information. Random will provide some randomization of the information parameter type it is set to. It works in conjunction with Auto Quantize which tries to snap values to the grid. Range tries to keep the parameter values between a high/low range ... this works in some scenarios but has a tendency to stack high and low values(which may be exactly what you want to do).

You can also add the MIDI modifier as a plugin so you can use it on multiple parameters.

POST-
Quantize, iQ and modifiers can applied post record. iQ in this scenario applies to all selected notes. However it will move a note that is closer to the target less than it moves a note that is further away from the target.

[SJ_Digriz]

It's usually better just to make yourself a project with 2 midi tracks. Leave 1 track unaffected. Then mess with the modifiers on the other using extreme values so that it is obvious during the comparison. Record with both tracks armed. Once you get used to what happens, you can apply the various options to your needs instead of us trying to guess what you are trying to accomplish.

[vignesh.vijay]

Quantize, iQ and modifiers can applied post record. iQ in this scenario applies to all selected notes. However it will move a note that is closer to the target less than it moves a note that is further away from the target.

What does this mean ? I don't quite understand this concept of moving closer to the target and moving farther away from the target .

[SJ_Digriz]

let's say you play a chord. In computerized music, all notes will end up on the beat. In real life, they will be slightly off. Maybe one note will be slightly before, one note pretty much dead on, one note late. But, we perceive as a played chord until the offset becomes too long, at which point we interpret as an arpeggio.

So if quantize is 1/4 ... a note that occurs closer to beat 1 but after beat 1 will still get pulled back to beat 1. However, if it is closer to beat 2, it will get pushed down the timeline to beat 2. The goal being getting the slightly early and the slightly late note to land perfectly on the correct 1/4 note beat. In the 3 note scenario above, we want the early note and the late note to end up on the same quarter note.

iQ moves things in relation to the target beat. Not to a fixed increment.

If iQ is used, it will only move the notes a percentage distance towards the quantize. 10% of 100ms is more time than 10% of 5ms. But, the note will move in the direction of the closest beat. So, the quantize will not put the slightly early or the slightly late note on the fixed 1/4 note beat. Each time you apply iQ it will move it closer. This is better than fixed quantize because notes don't occur perfectly on the beat in real life. But, they all need to be close enough to give the idea of "on the beat".

EDIT: I edited this a bunch of times to see if I could make it easy to read.

[vignesh.vijay]

let's say you play a chord. In computerized music, all notes will end up on the beat. In real life, they will be slightly off. Maybe one note will be slightly before, one note pretty much dead on, one note late. But, we perceive as a played chord until the offset becomes too long, at which point we interpret as an arpeggio.

So if quantize is 1/4 ... then a note that occurs closer to the next beat moves down the timeline a note closer to the current beat moves ahead on the timeline. The goal being getting the slightly early and the slightly late note to land perfectly on the correct 1/4 note beat.

iQ moves things in relation to the target beat. Not to a fixed increment.

If iQ is used, it will only move the notes a percentage distance towards the quantize. 10% of 100ms is more time than 10% of 5ms. But, the note will move in the direction of the closest beat.

Alright ! I get it .. So all the notes are surely moved closer to the grid line but the notes farther away from the grid line will be moved more closer to the grid than the notes which are near to the grid line .
Is my understanding correct ?

[SJ_Digriz]

So all the notes are surely moved closer to the grid line but the notes farther away from the grid line will be moved more closer to the grid than the notes which are near to the grid line .
Is my understanding correct ?

Yes all move, but further away moves more. But none get put ON the fixed quantize beat unless it is so close that it gets inside the MIDI PPQ subtick range.

However, this is just a single scenario. There are tons of combinations to play with. So even within what I've explained you can set preferences to how the iQ is applied and how "sticky" the actual quantize is. You really need to read the Quantize part of the manual. It goes over a ton of options.