Laptop/Vanbasco (disaster) Help!

[souwalker]

Jul 31, 2008 9:54:33 GMT JazzCat said:

John,
Glad you are helping Pat with the files. I just don't have the time. Got a load of folks asking for edits right now.

Space Toad used to be completely free. The compatibility with Vista OS is new, and so is the 9 buck charge LOL.


Pat,
I'll be glad to help you learn and so will quite a number of people here. I like to see performers become able to do their own edits and even their own sequencing!

Although I have PowerTracks Pro, I don't have it installed. No room on my drive for it, or for Sonar. :-( I use a program that costs under 20 bucks for the downloadable version.
If you don't need lyrics in your files, and are willing to get it, I can teach you all you need to know, in live time communication through Yahoo Messenger.

If you are interested let me know via a private message, and I'll reply with what we need to do to 'git er dun'.

Here's the link to the prg I use. Make sure you do not look at ' Standard'.
www.turtlebeach.com/products/record-producer-midi/home.aspx

Thanks Jazzcat

Thanks God John is helping me otherwise I'd be in the doledrum :-)

Yes, I am willing to learn!! :-) I have PowerTracs but maybe it's more then what I need. I had a look at the link and this software might be easier then what I have.

I am soley looking for a very easy software where I can transpose keys, delete unwanted tracks and easily change the volume output and insert intro 4 count drums closed highhat beats and make save changes to those files so I can use Vanbasco soley as a player and have backups of those files already.

I know making adjustments to the volume output would be the hardest to do or understand but I'm will to give it a shot. So Record Producer Midi can do all of the above? Any restrictions to the demo and demo for how long?

The above software does not support VSTi or Dxi etc. What can I use in my PC to output midi sound? Currentlly Powertracks pro is usign Roland VSC VSTi version. What softsyn can I use? I also have the yamaha XG soft syn but the sounds produced are quite differnet from the Roland VSC or Edirol SD80.

Rgds
Pat

[JohnG]

Well, you could just use Record Producer MIDI to edit the files then play them in Powertracks. They're just MIDI files. Just a thought!
JohnG.

[souwalker]

I've already download Record Producer Midi last Friday but not installed yet.

Rgds

[JazzCat]

When you install it the first thing that needs to be done is assigning ports, then assigning patch maps to those ports. Gotta do that before anything.

[souwalker]

Aug 4, 2008 3:26:37 GMT JazzCat said:

When you install it the first thing that needs to be done is assigning ports, then assigning patch maps to those ports. Gotta do that before anything.

Ouch :-) How do I do that and what is the purpose? Do you mean assigning midi out/in ports?
pat

[JazzCat]

Yes. you do that within the software so you will hear what you want. For instance, if you want to hear the files through the sound module you use on stage you will need a MIDI interface. With one of those comes driver software. Once it is istalled the interface shows up in the port choices.

If you only want to hear the files through your sound card, you would choose that.

I have ports set up for each of the synths I use. That is 7 separate MIDI out ports.

[JazzCat]

I know making adjustments to the volume output would be the hardest to do or understand but I'm will to give it a shot. So Record Producer Midi can do all of the above? Any restrictions to the demo and demo for how long?

----------
The demo is full featured and is good for 30 days. [/color]



The above software does not support VSTi or Dxi etc. What can I use in my PC to output midi sound? Currentlly Powertracks pro is usign Roland VSC VSTi version. What softsyn can I use? I also have the yamaha XG soft syn but the sounds produced are quite differnet from the Roland VSC or Edirol SD80.

--------

You can assign the the softsynth version of VSC to a port. I have it on one of my MIDI out ports. [/color]

[charlie]

Hey Patrick,

I can certainly understand your concern about getting all the bugs worked out before your gig on the 17th. So, here's what I would do. After reading your replies to members commenting on your situation and your lack of experience with Powertracks, which is certainly understandable as I am just as inexperienced, I would do this. First get all the midis sounding the way you want...proper key..tempo...muted vocal and/or guitar parts, etc. Make a list of these changes on a piece of paper in the order in which you plan to play the midis. I would suggest laminating this sheet of paper to protect it from rain, spilled drinks, etc.
Next, get to the gig early and leave your laptop on. Check the midi files and make sure they are sounding correctly. Do not turn off the laptop...keep it plugged in. During the performance if something goes haywire, you have all the edit info in front of you to make changes. Granted, this will take a little time, but relax and do one song at a time if need be. Then, if you go on break, re-edit the remaining midis, save to playlist, do NOT turn the laptop off. My version of Vanbasco dosen't offer any kind of save function, at least I'm unaware of it.

OK....as far as Showplay is concerned. I am a believer. I have been using Showplay3 for about five years and have never had any problems. Runs on Win98SE. Using a Compaq Armada 1750 and it runs perfectly. Saves all edits. Never crashes. Yes, it's a little pricey, but the peace of mind that comes with having a software that you can depend on from gig to gig is priceless. Showplay is a GM software sequencer designed specifically for live use. It's very easy to use and understand. If you want to know more about it, let me know. Otherwise, here's their website....www.pride-corp.com.

Charlie

[souwalker]

Aug 4, 2008 13:50:13 GMT charlie said:

Hey Patrick,

I can certainly understand your concern about getting all the bugs worked out before your gig on the 17th. So, here's what I would do. After reading your replies to members commenting on your situation and your lack of experience with Powertracks, which is certainly understandable as I am just as inexperienced, I would do this. First get all the midis sounding the way you want...proper key..tempo...muted vocal and/or guitar parts, etc. Make a list of these changes on a piece of paper in the order in which you plan to play the midis. I would suggest laminating this sheet of paper to protect it from rain, spilled drinks, etc.
Next, get to the gig early and leave your laptop on. Check the midi files and make sure they are sounding correctly. Do not turn off the laptop...keep it plugged in. During the performance if something goes haywire, you have all the edit info in front of you to make changes. Granted, this will take a little time, but relax and do one song at a time if need be. Then, if you go on break, re-edit the remaining midis, save to playlist, do NOT turn the laptop off. My version of Vanbasco dosen't offer any kind of save function, at least I'm unaware of it.

OK....as far as Showplay is concerned. I am a believer. I have been using Showplay3 for about five years and have never had any problems. Runs on Win98SE. Using a Compaq Armada 1750 and it runs perfectly. Saves all edits. Never crashes. Yes, it's a little pricey, but the peace of mind that comes with having a software that you can depend on from gig to gig is priceless. Showplay is a GM software sequencer designed specifically for live use. It's very easy to use and understand. If you want to know more about it, let me know. Otherwise, here's their website....www.pride-corp.com.

Charlie

Thanks Charlie for your advise. With the help of John (editing output volume), I'ved deleted all unwanted tracks on all of our midis, leaving just the bass, drums and maybe keyboards if essential to the song. Actually with those bare minimum tracks, the files actually sounds fantastic. We add all guitars live, either electric (2) or accoustic/electric (1/2 or 2/2). I'm going to put backup copies of thosse files into a usb flash drive so if I loose the files again, I ahve them all edited the way we like, somewhere else and just reload them.

In Vanbasco, we can only save changes to the file if the files are in the Playlist window, which is riduclous. I suppose it's a free software and have not been improved for a long time. I'll use VB strictly as a player now :-)

I am very interested in Showplay , but man, I just can't beleive the $! It can save changes but there are alot of other software that can saved the changes but cost a fraction :-(

Rgds
Pat

[JohnG]

The great thing about learning to use the editing features in a sequencer is that you can tweak the file for volume, change the voicing a bit, add hi-hat count ins and so on. the list is huge. If you're editing for a halfway decent sound module, like Pat's SD80, and you can get to grips with GS, then you can play around with all sorts of reverb and other effects settings too.

Then you don't need a fancy (expensive) player, good ol' van Bascoe's will do just fine. Of course I'm not saying that spending good money on a professional player is wasted, far from it. But if the budget is tight it may leave room for some extra hardware which will make more overall impact on the sound. An extra cabinet, better amp, you know!

Just some random thoughts.
JohnG.

[JazzCat]

Agreed on Showplay and it's cost. I 'bout fibrulated when I first checked it out.
I know one guy that swears by it and says it's worth every penny. Just don't know if I trust his opinion as he isn't all too techy minded.

[charlie]

Well, I'm not too techy either...but I can say this much about Showplay. 1. It has never crashed on me...ever. 2. Their tech support is awseome...very quick and upgrades are free.
3. Many, many features designed specifically for "live" use. 4. Paid $200 for mine way back when and it has paid for itself 50 times over. Yeah, 50 times over. 5. Always boots up and runs perfectly....how much is that worth? IMHO priceless.

[charlie]

Oh...did I forget to mention...I gig every weekend and have done so for the past 6 1/2 years using Showplay.

[souwalker]

Just a quick update on first wedding gig last night. It went very well and all had a great time :-) Had the Bride and Groom come over to me telling us they had the best time :-) Liked our type of music etc. It was noisy though and mixing will come with experience under these sorts of conditions. We usualy perform in quieter venues as the audience come to hear us play. It was different and was a great experience. The small crowd was shouting the lyrics and singing along and made it hard to hear ourselves :-)

I'd like to thank John for his help and patience with me helping me tweaking 25 files :-) Words cannot express how appreciative I am of his help. John, I've emailed you separately :-)

Now comes Midi file Editing lessons 101. I'll install Record Producer Midi this week and will learn how to tweak the files..

John, Jazzcat, I am in your capable hands :-)

Best Rgds
Pat

[Steptoe]

Glad to hear it all went well for you...

Cheers
John

[souwalker]

Aug 18, 2008 6:59:46 GMT Steptoe said:

Glad to hear it all went well for you...

Cheers
John

Thanks John.
Rgds
Pat

[wolftain]

I was wondering if anyone can help - URGENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have a laptop with vista operating system and has my vanbasco running on it - I was wondering whta type of program can I use to give the instruments more of a real sound. I used to use wingroove on my xp but it doesn't work with vista................I do all my midi file fixing on cakewalk pro audio 9

[souwalker]

Hi Wolfltain

For more realistic sound, you can used a softsynth e.g. roland's VSC or Yamaha XGsynth, but these softsyn do have a time lag. I use the VSC at home to edit files and playback.

We use the Edirol SD80 hardware sound module for live performances but I may now start using the SD80 even for editing purposes.

My comments on the softsyn and sound module is only out of our experience but I am sure more replies will come in from more experrrienced members shortly.

Best Rgds
Patrick

[JazzCat]

Pat, the best way for me to 'teach you' RP is in live time, using Yahoo
Instant Messenger. It's the way I learned, and was a lot faster than emailing back & forth and waiting for return e-mails.
If you are interested, I'm no1jazzcat on Yahoo.

BTW, the Roland (Edirol) Virtual Sound Canvas comes in two 'flavors'. One is the VSTI and the other is a stand alone softsynth that can be used as one of your port assignments. If you have the VSTI version I am sure you have the other as well. The negative of using it in RP is that there is considerable latancy involved, and ASIO drivers do not help in this.

Another negative of RP is that it does not recognize lyric data and it deletes any lyric data that may have been in the file.

[souwalker]

Aug 19, 2008 3:15:02 GMT JazzCat said:

Pat, the best way for me to 'teach you' RP is in live time, using Yahoo
Instant Messenger. It's the way I learned, and was a lot faster than emailing back & forth and waiting for return e-mails.
If you are interested, I'm no1jazzcat on Yahoo.

BTW, the Roland (Edirol) Virtual Sound Canvas comes in two 'flavors'. One is the VSTI and the other is a stand alone softsynth that can be used as one of your port assignments. If you have the VSTI version I am sure you have the other as well. The negative of using it in RP is that there is considerable latancy involved, and ASIO drivers do not help in this.

Another negative of RP is that it does not recognize lyric data and it deletes any lyric data that may have been in the file.

Thanks Jazzcat.

I am in Sydney Australia and the time differences might make it hard via IM?

I have both VSTi and stand alone versions of VSC. I use the VSTi version with PowerTracks now and there is a small latency but I can live with this if it's just for editing and editing/playback. I don't use lyrics data. I use a separate display folder with lyrics/chords and put it on a music stand.

Rgds
Patrick