KVR Audio

adeeb · Post by **adeeb** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 11:02 am

hey ppl..this is my 1st post here, after reading through the many threads and learning a shitload of new stuff, i felt its time to ask a question of my own..

i will keep it short and simple...i need a host which will be able to write midi notes using a Piano Roll, play the data back using a VSTi, and finally export the sound as a Wave file for use in a audio muli-tracker.

now, i know u can do this will all the major sequencers like Sonar,Cubase,FLoops,Orion, and probably many others. But the thing is, all these prolific sequencers do a lot more than >>I<< need them for. that is, i will probably never use any of the internal effects, mutitracking/arranging/composition capabilities, or any of the audio editing features either. what I will need though, is an extremely versatile Piano Roll with good note-manipulation ability, impeccable VSTi support, and the ability to export VERY high-quality WAVs. but hopefully there won't be too many things in the app that will distract from these functions.

I recently came across a new app/plugin called VSTSeq by PQNAudio (or summin like that,dunno), which basically combines a piano-roll editor with VSTi support, and the abilty to export to WAV: pretty much the exact things i am looking for !!!! Only problem is, its still in beta development, there are no reviews, piano-roll looks rather simple, VSTi support is buggy, and i don't know if the quality of rendered WAVs is comparable to that of other commercial sequencers. so this one is out for now.

anybody think they know what program i m looking for, pls don't hesitate to let me know! and yeah, if this quite a common question and the answer is a trivial one that i am too stupid to find, sorry for wasting your time !!

C00kie · Post by **C00kie** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 11:40 am

i will keep it short and simple...i need a host which will be able to write midi notes using a Piano Roll, play the data back using a VSTi, and finally export the sound as a Wave file for use in a audio muli-tracker.

I'll keep it short & simple also. Get Tracktion, either the simple demo or full version. Now version 2 is coming they're giving V1 away for free. It features your requirements: stable VSTi support, basic midi notes editing & export to wav file. See what it can do for you. It also can do the multitrack audio recording and much more.

I can promise you the following: you will never ever find a host with only your basic needs. They all can do much more. Don't let that withhold you from using them anyway. Look at it as options for the future to look into, it may come in handy eventually. Its just tools, and its you that decides how to use them.

kode_poet · Post by **kode_poet** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 1:45 pm

I agree. I love me some fruityloops, and now version 5 kicks ass. But I've been using it since it was in version 2.7, so I'm used to it now. Most people find the pattern/playlist confusing. Tracktion does seem pretty straight forward.

Tacktion approved, plus...is damn free. You cant beat that.

stefancrs · Post by **stefancrs** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 1:59 pm

check out Podium and Tracktion.

adeeb · Post by **adeeb** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 7:39 pm

tracktion,huh ?? i read up a little bit on it before i posted this topic, and I got the idea that it was an excellent overall sequencer, comparable to the most popular ones out there, but the MIDI editor was still a little underdeveloped. correct me if I have the wrong impression. this is important bcoz one of the features I am looking for IS A powerful MIDI editor. i will definitely check it out though.

kode_poet: i love floops too. in fact, i am using FL Studio 4 as my sequencer right now, and its the one that i am trying to switch from. not bcoz it doesn't do what i want, but bcoz i only seem to use a very tiny fraction of what it has to offer. its a complete prod. studio and I am using it to generate raw unprocessed wave samples. seems like kind of a waste.

ok, so given that i won't find a proggy more streamlined to my needs, is there a more powerful MIDI editor out there than the one in Floops? And is there any variation from host to host in the quality of the rendered WAV file, given that i am using the same VSTi and MIDI data?

btw, this forum is awesome! ppl are so helpful, and i have learnt so much in just 2 days from reading around the threads. think i will be hanging out here more often! appreciate all the advice!

stefancrs · Post by **stefancrs** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 7:52 pm

Did you check out Podium?

deastman · Post by **deastman** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 8:32 pm

What powerful features are you looking for in a piano roll editor, exactly?

adeeb · Post by **adeeb** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 9:24 am

i cant really say EXACTLY what i mean by powerful,since the only Piano Roll i have used so far is Floops' and Cubase',but i suppose it should at least have the features that those have.. of the top of my head, some features i would want are:
-flexible grid resolution, divisions upto 32nd or 64th notes
-easy editing of velocity,pitch, duration,etc, for single notes and multiple notes at once..
-ability to mute notes and draw in realistic note slides.
-some form of groove quantize feature (although most sequencers offer this nowadays)

does that make sense??

meister eder · Post by **meister eder** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 11:29 am

Try to get hold of a copy of Emagic's Logic Fun, and you get superb MIDI ("piano roll") editing and can export to audio in professional quality.

It's free and it's for Mac and PC. Just can't tell you where to find it nowadays.

haydxn · Post by **haydxn** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 11:34 am

tracktion lets you do most of these things;

the grid snap is dependant on your current zoom level. this i believe is great, because you can't precisely draw in the smaller notes at large zoom levels anyway. if you want more precision, rightclicking and dragging on the background will zoom you in a bit, and you can freely draw the more precise notes.

it doesn't allow you to mute notes, however. and you click each note individually - there isn't a 'paint notes' tool that lets you draw a stream of notes.

that said, i do believe that Tracktion's midi editing is still great, despite what some people say, and you owe it to yourself to try it out. it is free, and worth a heck of a lot more.

adeeb · Post by **adeeb** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 2:32 pm

couldn't find Logic Fun, searched everywhere..is it still in production??

in the process of acquiring Podium and Tracktion. plan to build a couple of drum loop samples using NI Battery. i already like what i hear using Battery and FLoops, so lets how the same thing turns out in Podium and Tracktion.

is there any variation from host to host in the quality of the rendered WAV file, given that i am using the same VSTi and MIDI data?

can somebody answer this pls??

again, thx for the help.
peace.

stefancrs · Post by **stefancrs** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 2:49 pm

There will be no difference except (highly unlikely) if the host has timing errors.

jens · Post by **jens** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 3:03 pm

Get energyXT - it can be everything you want it to be and you can configure it that it looks like a midi-editor right away when you open it

the right MIDI editing VSTi-capable host ??