KVR Audio

Hi John,

Hardware synths have slower brains so they often have more trouble handing LinnStrument's high volume of expressive MIDI data. You could try slowing down the USB MIDI output rate with the "USB MIDI Data Reduction" setting, described in the Panel Settings page, Global Settings tab, "USB and MIDI Jacks" section. Higher values won't affect latency but rather only spread out the MIDI messages. If you set the value too high and hold MPE chords, you'll see the MIDI data queuing up and still sending after you release your fingers. But if you're not playing many MPE chords, perhaps it's worth it to not overload a hardware synth.

Hi Roger,

Thanks for weighing in here. Does the data reduction setting also spread out the MIDI messages sent from the DIN port though? Unfortunately, I have to use the DIN connection in this particular scenario.

Cheers!

No, it only affects the USB output. The intent of the setting is that DIN MIDI is already slower so it wouldn't need it, but perhaps we misjudged the ability of some synths to respond to even DIN MIDI's slower speed.

Okay, well, further testing will tell, I guess. I'll be disappointed if the Argon, the brand-new tech that it is, can't shoulder the workload here. Anyway... Thanks, Roger.

Cheers!

Hey John,
by any chance have you tried another midi cable?
I have never had a single hung note on my Argon8m, but I'm always on USB.
Linnstrument USB > Computer > to Argon 8m.

Kontakt software can hang notes pretty consistently on USB in my setup though.

I haven't had a chance to play the Argon since I updated the firmware; but if the hung notes persist, I'll be doing the usual troubleshooting, including swapping cables. I've certainly no shortage of MIDI cables around here.

I'll keep y'all posted.

Cheers!

Lately, I have been experimenting with two interesting sample libraries:

1. Impact Soundworks Harpejji

This library is a sample of Marcodi Musical Instrument's Harpejji K24. The Harpejji is in the tapping instrument family but is arranged in whole steps with a layout more related to piano than guitar. I have the 16 string version and was interested in the library primarily because of the sound of the low bass strings. The Kontakt library has some mapping features - for now I have mapped pressure to vibrato but I plan to experiment with other mappings.

"Flyover" features a very rich sounding bass patch which serves as the lead instrument. Other instruments include synth pads from Spitfire Cinematic Pads and the Zendrum.

https://hearthis.at/jeremy-cubert/flyover/

2. Orange Tree Sample - Banjo

Orange Tree Samples had (not sure if it is still happening) a summer group buy, and I picked up their banjo library. As with their other libraries, the banjo works well with LinnStrument. I need to experiment with mapping keyswitches to aftertouch and work on banjo rolls. This piece features the LinnStrument banjo, an NS Chapman Stick, and Zendrum.

https://hearthis.at/jeremy-cubert/we-in ... broadcast/

Very nice, Jeremy! It's marvelous to hear banjo play non-banjo music. It reminds me about how John Mceuen, the highly skilled banjo player of the old Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, was a member of an organization that would perform bach on banjo.

Thank you, Roger! My gateway to banjo is Bela Fleck (and I used the "Bela Fleck" preset on the piece). He has an album of classical music on banjo and definitely takes a kitchen sink approach to mixing styles.

It's fun for me to see the creative mixing up of sounds and expressive gestures. For example, sax gestures with a guitar sound, guitar gestures on a trumpet sound, violin gestures on an analog synth sound. It opens up whole new avenues of creativity.

Dirk Diggler wrote: Thu Jul 08, 2021 3:52 pm Hey John,
by any chance have you tried another midi cable?
I have never had a single hung note on my Argon8m, but I'm always on USB.
Linnstrument USB > Computer > to Argon 8m.

Kontakt software can hang notes pretty consistently on USB in my setup though.

Just an update, as promised...

I have not had any stuck notes on the Argon, using the DIN connection, since updating the firmware.

To that end, however, it's also worth noting that I did manage to isolate the issue as a legitimate bug: i.e. stuck notes were repeatable by releasing a note at the exact moment the LFO reset its phase. I haven't bother to dig any deeper than that, since the update seems to have resolved the issue; but I suspect that it had to do with the LFO mod assignment specifically, as it was only happening on one of the factory patches, which was a mono/legato saw lead with the LFO mapped to the filter cut-off by way of an envelope parameter. Sufficed to say, that was an odd and somewhat roundabout way to map LFO to filter cut-off, so I'm calling that an edge-case at best.

Anyway, here's hoping it all goes well from here. Loving the synth so far.

Cheers!

Way cool, congrats on solving it. Sounds like you might need to contact Modal then, they were very helpful when I had MPE issues early on. I still think it's got to be a Midi/USB difference of some sort.

Since there are so many ways to modulate LFOs in the Argon8m, I can see where trouble might happen.

https://soundcloud.com/fedor_t/unsent-messages

Emotional short track that won't waste much of your time. Lead guitar patch was played on Linnstrument. Of course, it's not a guitar - just a Karplus-Strong patch made in the Surge vst with some free amp sim.

Very pretty. Serene. Nice composition.

Cheers!

John the Savage wrote: Sun Sep 12, 2021 3:44 am Very pretty. Serene. Nice composition.

Cheers!

Thank you, John!