Dear Blue Cat et al.
I've got the demo version of Patchwork - if it can solve this plobrem I'm buying it but I'm not the world's greatest at understanding software till someone explains it to me in words of 1 syllable or less.... And I've got Xpand2.
Now Xpand2 was touted as a multitimbral VST. But it's NOT, not really. Yes it's got 4 sockets you can put sounds in - but unless one of you guys knows it and can tell me otherwise, for Air aren't replying to this one, it's only got one out. Which means you can't put individual effects - like EQ or whatever - on any of the sounds, only on the whole plugin at once. Which means you still have to have one instance per sound, which kinda negates the point of it having 4 internal sound sockets (gaps to load individual sounds in, sorry if I've got the terminology wrong.) When I bought it, I ASSUMED it would have 4 outs, one for each sound, as it was being called multitimbral.
My DAW, the only one I've ever understood, has 8 sockets for VSTs. If the VST is multitimbral - say 16 sockets for argument's sake - you can have 16 sounds per socket, as each socket has 15 sub-sockets. If it's monotimbral you only get 1 sound per socket. As most things seem to be monotimbral these days, I'd bought Xpand thinking I could have - say - 4 instances and 16 sounds going. Then I hit the only-one-out plobrem.
Which is where I'm HOPING Patchwork can come in. So I load 1 instance of Xpand2 into 1 socket in Patchwork. I put 4 sounds into Xpand2, one into each of its sockets. Remembering it's got one out. how do I route each of the 4 sounds to a different 'out' in Patchwork, so I can put different effects on each sound and not have the effects affecting ALL the sounds at once?
Here's a pic., if I can upload it, to show you what I mean cos I've confused myself with the above!
I've got 2 instances of Xpand2 going, one in Patchwork, one by itself so you can see, in the little box listing all the plugins, it's only got 1 channel therefore only got 1 out. WHY they gave something with 4 sounds 1 out God knows, it negates the whole point but there you go! Is there a way of routing each sound to a different part of Patchwork so I can put different effects on each sound - there's no built-in effects in Xpand2 at all, but the sounds are lovely.
Yours hopefully
Chris, who'll buy Patchwork if it works for this.
Help with BC Patchwork - sorry for the second stoopid question....
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- KVRist
- 158 posts since 15 Sep, 2008 from Hastings
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 158 posts since 15 Sep, 2008 from Hastings
Because Xpand 2 ISN'T multitimbral, it just THINKS it is! Not too sure how they pulled this one off, but yes you can load up 4 sounds in Xpand 2 and output them to 4 staves in Quick Score Elite - BUT - Xpand 2's still only got one out. That's the bit I don't understand. Usually if you've got stuff going to 4 QSE staves it's got 4 outs so you can put individual effects - EQ and whatever - on each sound. Not Xpand 2. As it's only got one out, it's only got 1 strip so any effects you put on it hit ALL the sounds at once whether you want them to or not! Like - if you've got 4 sounds on 4 staves and you want to EQ just one of them - you can't do it. You can only EQ them all simultaneously because the thing's only got 1 main out.
That's been annoying the bejeezus outta me ever since I got it because its sounds are great - but sometimes you only want PART of a sound, so you want to gate/high-pass/EQ out the stuff you don't want. If you want 4 sounds in Xpand 2 and to gate each individually, you still need 4 instances of the thing. As you only get 8 top-level VSTs - I'll explain next para - in QSE, that's munched half your sockets!
To explain the above. QSE gives you 8 top-level sockets. Each top-level socket has up to 15 sub-sockets. Which means if you've got a multitimbral synth - PROPERLY multitimbral - you get up to 16 tracks per socket, depending on how many tracks it's got, it SHOULD be 4 tracks in Xpand 2. If it's monotimbral, you only get 1 track. So you get anywhere between 8 instruments and 127 instruments, depending on how many of them are multitimbral. Xpand 2 SAID it was multitimbral so I bought it. It wasn't until I GOT it that I realised it had pulled some weird trick - although the sounds appear on 4 different staves, the thing's only got 1 out so you can't put different effects on 4 sounds coming from the same instance, the effects will hit all of them at once. Which means you've got to THINK of the thing as monotimbral, which means it's nowhere near as useful as it should be. Why the hell they couldn't have just given it 4 proper outs instead of pulling some strange not-multitimbral trick I've no idea, but there you go. So when I came across something that said I could load 4 instances of multitimbral into it, it would only count as 1 VST but give me 4 outs, I jumped at it. Just having probs. getting started with it!
Oh well. Rant over! Thanks very, very much for answering, especially if you read this!
Yours respectfully
Chris.
That's been annoying the bejeezus outta me ever since I got it because its sounds are great - but sometimes you only want PART of a sound, so you want to gate/high-pass/EQ out the stuff you don't want. If you want 4 sounds in Xpand 2 and to gate each individually, you still need 4 instances of the thing. As you only get 8 top-level VSTs - I'll explain next para - in QSE, that's munched half your sockets!
To explain the above. QSE gives you 8 top-level sockets. Each top-level socket has up to 15 sub-sockets. Which means if you've got a multitimbral synth - PROPERLY multitimbral - you get up to 16 tracks per socket, depending on how many tracks it's got, it SHOULD be 4 tracks in Xpand 2. If it's monotimbral, you only get 1 track. So you get anywhere between 8 instruments and 127 instruments, depending on how many of them are multitimbral. Xpand 2 SAID it was multitimbral so I bought it. It wasn't until I GOT it that I realised it had pulled some weird trick - although the sounds appear on 4 different staves, the thing's only got 1 out so you can't put different effects on 4 sounds coming from the same instance, the effects will hit all of them at once. Which means you've got to THINK of the thing as monotimbral, which means it's nowhere near as useful as it should be. Why the hell they couldn't have just given it 4 proper outs instead of pulling some strange not-multitimbral trick I've no idea, but there you go. So when I came across something that said I could load 4 instances of multitimbral into it, it would only count as 1 VST but give me 4 outs, I jumped at it. Just having probs. getting started with it!
Oh well. Rant over! Thanks very, very much for answering, especially if you read this!
Yours respectfully
Chris.
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- KVRist
- 60 posts since 14 Mar, 2010
To use Xpand2 in the closest way I think you want you can:
1) Load up multiple instances of Xpand2 in the PARALLEL CHAINS section of PatchWork.
2) In the Audio I/O for each Xpand2 set the Audio Outputs to 2 Outputs instead of Automatic and select the output channels you want each Xpand2 instance to go to.
3) In the MIDI Input for each Xpand2 select Host and the MIDI channel you want to use for that instance.
This way you can expand PatchWork to have 8 rows with each row containing one instance of Xpand2 routed to a separate output. Save this setup as a preset in PatchWork for easy recall later.
You can now load up 8 instances of PatchWork which can each host 8 instruments for a total of 64 instruments for you. (If your host can handle that.)
See page 18 in the PatchWork manual for the section on mixing multiple synths and pages 20-21 for the Output Routing of the instruments.
1) Load up multiple instances of Xpand2 in the PARALLEL CHAINS section of PatchWork.
2) In the Audio I/O for each Xpand2 set the Audio Outputs to 2 Outputs instead of Automatic and select the output channels you want each Xpand2 instance to go to.
3) In the MIDI Input for each Xpand2 select Host and the MIDI channel you want to use for that instance.
This way you can expand PatchWork to have 8 rows with each row containing one instance of Xpand2 routed to a separate output. Save this setup as a preset in PatchWork for easy recall later.
You can now load up 8 instances of PatchWork which can each host 8 instruments for a total of 64 instruments for you. (If your host can handle that.)
See page 18 in the PatchWork manual for the section on mixing multiple synths and pages 20-21 for the Output Routing of the instruments.
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 158 posts since 15 Sep, 2008 from Hastings
Pure flippin' genius! It's 1am right now but when I can make noise without the neighbours calling the cops on me - like about 7 hours time - I'll try that little Idee you've had, it sounds great!!
Thanks - and for sure QSE can handle 64 sounds, never written anything NEEDING that many but that's me, not the DAW!!
Yours respectfully,
Chris.
Thanks - and for sure QSE can handle 64 sounds, never written anything NEEDING that many but that's me, not the DAW!!
Yours respectfully,
Chris.