midi acoustic bass problem

[simmo123]

Hi folks,ole Simmo has a problem with the acoustic bass on some midis, if i go to change for example the finger bass or perhaps another type of bass to an acoustic bass it sometimes has a terrible sound almost like a distorted string section sound, its a little hard to describe but it is certainly not an instrument sound,it only seems to happen on the bass track so i have to live with another type of bass which wouldn't have the same feel as the acc bass which i would have prefered,unfortunately i cant think of a midi where it has happened recently,because it only happens randomly,any suggestions Simmo

[thingyy]

Could be due to any of the following
1 Velocity
2 Gate time
3 Note range
Suggest you compare the track with one that sounds okay,find the difference and let us know.

[simmo123]

Thanks for the info Thingyy,will check later ,Today!!! GONE FISHING!!!!,Simmo ;D ;D

[thingyy]

Oct 16, 2008 0:00:19 GMT simmo123 said:

Thanks for the info Thingyy,will check later ,Today!!! GONE FISHING!!!!,Simmo ;D ;D

Good luck with the fishing I lost a big Mangrove Jack on Monday.[the one that got away]

[gibbo]

Hi Simmo,
Another thing you may want to check out is this; the Acoustic Bass has a very different frequency range than the Finger Bass (or other bass samples). It has some very low frequencies in it and the distortion may just be from your gear not coping with an overload of these low frequencies.
The sure test is to play it at low volume and slowly increase the level.
Cheers, Dave

Good Gawd, look at that, post # 666 !!!!

[simmo123]

Hi Dave, thanks for the info i will check the volumes when the problem arises again & yep that 666 number makes me nervous too ;D,regards Simmo,PS have you been on your hols lately or just plain busy,

[gibbo]

Oct 16, 2008 7:11:33 GMT simmo123 said:

Hi Dave, thanks for the info i will check the volumes when the problem arises again & yep that 666 number makes me nervous too ;D,regards Simmo,PS have you been on your hols lately or just plain busy,

Hi Simmo, hope it pans out with the bass (midi joke!).
Yes, just been flat out lately with a new production show we're doing and running school-holiday entertainment over the last few weeks.
It's been very busy lately but very rewarding. ;D
It's all settling down now so I should be back on board a little more often.
Cheers, Dave.

[moonie]

Just a thought..."it happens randomly" is bad! And can often be the result of a remnant setting from a previous file. Do you use a system rest sysx at the intro of each song?

So try playing the same file after different midi's and see if the result is the same...best of luck.

[JohnG]

Yea, Moonie's right,
If it happens randomly it sounds like something is messing up the MIDI settings. Try playing the file after first boot up. And then again after each of the files that you regularly play. See if you detect some sort of pattern.
Best regards,
JohnG.

[simmo123]

Hi Moonie & John G thanks for your interest,i have found an offending midi which makes the acc bass sound pretty awful also i noticed that some of the other instrument sounds are different as well but the bass is the most prominent,just to give you an update on my progress so far, i have two computers one for internet etc this one has cakewalk sonar 3 installed & when i play the midi on this one ,no problems,my 2nd computer is where i attempt to do my editing on, this one has sonar le installed which is the programme that came with sonic cell,the very same midi played on this one is has the sound problems,i have played midis before & after the problem one with no hitches at all,i can forward the midi to anyone who may have a better understanding of this type of thing than ole Simmo,which must just about cover most of the mm membership,it may be as simple as a dud midi but it does come up occasionally on the odd midi,well thats me for now, best wishes to all,Simmo ;D ;D

[JohnG]

Hi Simmo,
Bung it over and I'll take a quick butchers at it. See if it's anything obvious. Don't have Sonar but Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 and Cubase LE and one or two other sequencing packages. I'll se what gives. My email addy is in my profile.
regards,
JohnG

[simmo123]

Hi John,thanks for that its on its way ,no rush just get yourself back on the road again healthwise first,Simmo

[simmo123]

Hi John,well whatever you did to the midi worked i couldn't believe it the acc bass is back to normal & the other instruments also sound better as well,but the weird thing is the other bodgy copy of the same midi on my computer that you did not edit also plays perfectly as well, very strange ,anyway John i am most grateful for you taking the time to have a look at it what with everything you have got going on in your life at the moment also trying to shake off virus as well,a very big thankyou,from Simmo ;D ;D

[JohnG]

Hee hee!

No sweat Simmo. So glad it worked.
Virus infection showing a marked improvement today, Thanks.

What did I do? I put a GM reset at the start of the file at 1:1:000. There was plenty of room as the song "proper" doesn't start until measure 2. Then I took a butcher's at the channel volume settings and, as I had suspected, bass was set at 127, maximum volume. "WEEOO, WEEOO, sound card overload"! So I adjusted the bass down to 110 and all the other channels by the same amount i.e. by -17. Result? Working SMF. Time taken, 10 to 15 minutes in XGworks.

Can you do it? Yes, of course you can.

Is JG a sm@rt@rse? He sure is!
Will he do the same for you?
JG is a sucker for people who ask nicely.
JohnG.