I have installed Forte ensemble demo version, loaded Live Synth Pro, and loaded SGM128 into LS Pro. What do I do now?
I am using OMB version 8 with Soundblaster card.
Starkeepr

Hi Starkeeper,
have you installed midi yoke ( or some other type of virtual midi cable) I think AJ's using a different one nowadays.

best wishes
Rikki

p.s. of late, if i'm only using soundfonts, I'd been using my audigy nx2 soundcard which actually loads the soundfonts.
My new laptop had the option of some sort of Audigy software . It's still only a sigmatel soundcard, but has some of the audigy functions including being able to load soundfonts.

No. I haven't installed MIDI Yoke yet. What would i connect MIDI yoke to?
I did get sound from the soundcard (not using OMB), but it was extremely distorted. It was as if there was too much gain. I turnee the volume down on Forte and LS Pro, but still the same.
Starkeeper

Midi yoke would take the output of OMB and send it to the input of Forte. I use Maple Virtual Midi Cable instead of Midi Yoke nowadays.

It works better in certain installations when sometime Midi Yoke will not, and I appreciate that it has 4 ins and outs as opposed to the 8 you get with Midi Yoke, eliminating some clutter in your apps midi settings menu.

My OMB app is becoming more useful to me as I setup different schemes using Live Synth Pro inside of Sonar. I used to run the OMB output into Sonar with a single instance of LSP, but my new laptop is a lot more powerful than my PC and my old laptop, so I can run individual instances of LSP now for each midi output channel of OMB.

This allows me to set up effects and EQ's individually for each channel, resulting in a much better sound overall. Plus I can use SGM180 in some channels and other soundfonts, such as Bennett's another XG, for example, in others.

Maple Midi is available for free download at:
http://www.marblesound.com/Maple_driver.html

AJ


[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 06-05-2006).]

Should I be testing SGM128 or SGM180?
Thanks Rikki and AJ for responding.
Starkeeper

Hi Starkeeper,
try both , they're both free. In Livesynth pro, I had enough memory to load either. Using my audigy nx2 soundcard, I didn't have enough memory to load sgm180.
best wishes
Rikki
Hi AJ, I've also just swapped over to the maple driver.

I installed Maple virutal MIDI cables, a few times, but don't find the executables. There is nothing on my desktop and nothing in program files. I found some dll files, but no executables. Should there be an executable? Help
Starkeeper

[This message has been edited by Starkeeper (edited 06-15-2006).]

Starkeeper, most soft midi programs run in the background..Try your host program, and see if the midi ports show when you load the vst instruments..

Hi Starkeeper,
in mine, they just show up in midi in /out driver setup, in whatever software program I'm using ie BIAB , OMB.

For Forte, you've got to do a midi set up in Forte itself.

I haven't tried installing forte in my new laptop as I've only been using soundfonts and they can be loaded in directly into my defacto onboard audigy, so I haven't bothered as yet.

If you get totally stuck , I'll try & load them into hubby's p.c. & see how I go.

best wishes
rikki


[QUOTE]Originally posted by Starkeeper:
[B]

Thanks Fran & Rikki. Will try this out this weekend and let you know.
Rikki, Can you load SGM180 onto your card?
Starkeeper

[This message has been edited by Starkeeper (edited 06-16-2006).]

H Starkeeper,
my 512mb laptop using usb Audigy nx2, I couldn't load sgm180 ( largest font I could load was about 140 mb's)
Using Fotre, livesynthpro etc I was able to load sgm180 without any problems.

best wishes
Rikki

1) Ok. finally had a chance to try it out, and it is working, but I am getting a lot of distortion. Almost sounds to me as if the gain is to high. I notice when I opened another application, the noise dropped a little. I tried lowering the volume on Forte and Live Synth Pro, but no difference. When I tried SGM128 a few weeks ago without OMB and Maple MIDI I was getting the same distortion
This is my setup:
Roland keyboard, Sound Blaster soundcard, computer, OMB, Forte, Live Synth Pro, Maple MIDI.
(You were right Fran, when I opened OMB it saw Maple MIDI cables).
2) How do I tell OMB what channel I am using for my right hand voices?
Starkeeper

[This message has been edited by Starkeeper (edited 06-26-2006).]

Hi Starkeeper,
I've been having a few hassles myself with the new laptop & forte..
The processor in the new laptop is nowhere near as fast as my original dell.
I am able to get the latency down to
1.45 ms on the old dell laptop, the new one I can't get below 10ms without distortion in Forte.

I could possibly get it down lower with a professional external soundcard,
but fortunately for me it can load soundfonts directly ( it runs some sort of software that makes it work like an Audigy ).
For me, no real hassle, as the more I play around with the soundfonts , the more I realize how suited they are for what I want.
Wasn't till I started editing the GM banks & replacing instruments, that I started to realize how good they could sound.
I've got at least 8 GM Banks, some commercial, some free, all of them have got certain instruments that are duds.
I've purchased banks of Korgm1, Triton Orchestral, Matrix6,
The idea is to replace the duds with better instruments. I'm building up a library, and I'm deleting the duds along the way.
I've still got a long way to go, but in the end I should be left with 4 or 5 of each type of instrument.
One thing I am discovering is larger is not neccesarily better, & commercial is not neccesarily better than free.
I'm auditioning the fonts with musical phrases from BIAB or OMB.
The software that came with my usb Audigy card, and with my new laptop has a librarian function that allows me to load & replace individual sounds in a bank, this makes the process of auditioning very simple. Don't know if your SB Live has a similar function??

Back to your problem , it could be the settings for your soundcard
goto
options
preferences
audio options
audio driver"Asio"
change "buffer size from "auto" to something higher.
You have to keep going higher till distortion stops.
Unfortunately the Latency gets higher also.

Do you have ASIO4All??

best wishes
Rikki

No I don't. So what exactly could cause the distorion problem? Buffer size is too small?
Starkeeper

I also use the Asio4all driver..I keep my Forte setting at 352..it yields under 16ms...For arranger use it is fast enough..It works fine for my B4 organ..If you are going to play naked piano[stay dressed..I am talking about just piano], you may want to drop the buffer..I usually go down to 306..yielding under 10ms..

Rikki if you are working at 10ms..you are doing good..I know Frank gets down to 3ms..but I think that is needless strain on the CPU...15ms keeps me happy..

Hi Fran,
my old dell laptop ( 3.06 ghz 512mb memory)
which is miraculously working again after I pulled it apart & put it back together a few times. I can actually get it down to
1.45 ms without distortion using ASIO4All & Forte & Soundfonts.

Unfortunately I ordered a new one after Dell offered me a $1,000AUD extended warranty to fix the old one.
With nothing to lose, I just kept pulling it apart & putting it back together in the manner the Dell Tech had gone thru with me over the phone. Must have done something right as all of a sudden , up popped the screen after having been dead for about 6 weeks.

The new dells a core duo , but only 1.66 ghz. They changed all the laptop processors.

Can't get it below 10ms without distortion.
Strangely, in forte, it works better with the onboard driver than with ASIO4ALL.

I'm wondering if the onboard Audigy soundfont software slows things down.

For midifiles I wouldn't notice the difference, but I'm a bit hesitant about buying an expensive sampled piano for realtime use.
I'm in a catch 22 , the old laptop with the low latency hasn't got enough memory, the new one with 2 gigs, may not be fast enough. haa haa
best wishes
Rikki

Hi Starkeeper,
I think your buffer size could be too low.
The old dell I had at 64. The new one , I've got at 512.
ASIO4All is a driver. May allow you to use a smaller buffer size.
Lost my link, but you should find it on the net. It's a freebie.

best wishes
Rikki


No I don't. So what exactly could cause the distorion problem? Buffer size is too small?
Starkeeper

[/B][/QUOTE]

Any setting of 441 or less should be good, i.e., 10ms or less. This is good for any instrument including a 'naked piano'. A setting of 441 should not be to hard on a CPU. I run mine at 128 (3ms) with no problems.

Rikki one would think a new laptop should easily beable to achieve good results with a setting of 441 samples per channel or less. When you say your laptop is a duo do you mean a dual processor. If so most software is not able to take advantage of this and may even react badly to it....especialy host and sampler software. You should beable to turn this feature off including hyper threading.

Hi Frank
wrong term, it is dual, I haven't been able to get it below 512 and strangely as I mentioned previously, in forte, I get a better result with the wdm driver than with ASIO4All.
In BIAB , I end up with a 23ms latency using asio4all, and far worse than that, with the windows driver.

Something doesn't quite seem right. Fortunately I don't have latency problems when I load the soundfonts into the defacto audigy software.and it plays them back really well.

Maybe I should do some checking up on dual processors ?? not quite sure where to start?

Maybe I could have the best of both worlds,
2 controllers, 2 laptops, one running melody
instruments, the other, soundfonts & omb. The mind boggles haa haa, hubby will have me committed shortly.

best wishes
Rikki

Rikki, it might be worth a try to operate your new laptop with just one processor. I don't know enough about Dell's laptop as to how to do this but a call to them should do it. Your onboard soundcard will be designed to work with dual processors whereas forte and ASIO4All are not. This will all change in the future as the software catches up to the hardware features. I don't think the slower speed of your CPU should be a factor. It will be a factor in decreasing the number of high quality instruments you can load and play.

Rikki you are just moving to fast.

Rikki, right click my computer and go to properties,,,advanced...performance settings...advanced.. and select the background services...See if this helps with the CPU issue..

Rikki,
the CPU may seem slower, but it is not a MHz thing.
Speed relies on many factors, and I bet the new laptop whizzes past the old one in every aspect.
Wish i could help with the other problems you have.

Lots of good information. Thanks all for responding. Will try this out this weekend and let you know how I do.
Would it be worth it to increase my RAM memory? I think I have 500MB.
Starkeper

[This message has been edited by Starkeeper (edited 06-28-2006).]

Hi Frank,
I may just use the 2 laptops seperately.
The old one has been working now for a number of weeks ( fingers crossed).
I may just add 1 gigabyte of memory, ( I feel a bit more confident now installing the memory, having pulled it apart several times now). I'll midi it to the piano, buy Garritons Big Band?? & just leave it there permanently for use with OMB /forte/soundfonts.
Maybe less likelihood of something going wrong again if I don't move it round too much.

I'll use the new one for portability, soundfonts & BIAB. I like the way it loads soundfonts directly & the soundcard, actually sounds quite good.

Maybe the software will catch up with the hardware one day.

Not knowing all that much about computers, I just assumed that the 1.66ghz was the cause of my 10ms latency compared to the 1.45ms I get with the old 3.06ghz laptop.

Eitherway, my softsynth arranger system is getting sorted out again. haahaa

best wishes
Rikki

Thanks Fran,
I'll give it a try.

best wishes
Rikki

Hi Trident,
I just assumed that because I couldn't get the same low latency with my internal soundcard, it must be slower.
I've got a lot to learn haahaa.

best wishes
Rikki

Hi Starkeeper,
using Forte etc I used to be able to load about 250mb soundfont in 512mb memory.
I'm thinking of upgrading, mainly to be able to load Garriton's or a program along those lines.
I don't know if it would be neccesary if you're just using soundfonts?? unless having extra ram helps in some other way?

best wishes
Rikki

I installed Asio4All and tried various setting and still getting the distortion. Sounds like their is too much gain. It is louder then playing SynergiGS loaded on the Sounblaster card.
Playing OMB with SynergiGS soundfonts loaded on the Soundblaster card is normal.
Playing MIDI files using SyhnergiGS also normal.
I have tried lowering the volume on Forte and LS Pro and still hear the distortion.
Any other ideas would be appreciated.
Starkeeper

Hi Starkeeper,
I think your buffer size may still be too low. This is how I got mine to the correct setting. Don't know whether what I'm doing is correct, but it worked for me.

In Forte, I added Live Synth Pro & loaded my soundfont.
Then
Options
Preferences
Audio Options
Audio Driver ( ASIO4All)
Then I tried various Buffer Sizes ( Custom Buffer Settings) instead of Auto. It also tells you the latency underneath for the various settings.
128
256
512
1024
An easy way I could tell whether it was going to distort or not was to check a particular LED.

When you have Live Synth Pro showing, just above on the left hand side there's 3 led's
2 are showing green, the middle one should be blank ( unless you've got a sequence playing.) If it's showing green, yellow & red in stop mode. You're going to have distortion. It should only be flashing up & down when playing a sequence or whatever.
Go thru the various settings I mentioned, starting with 128 and check that led.
You can also set the ASIO control panel within Forte, it's just under the asio icon.

My new laptop & hubby's desktop both have High definition audio cards ( whatever that means) & I seem to get better latency results ( 10ms) with the WDM drivers on board. This wasn't the case with the old laptop.

best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Starkeeper:
[B]

Thanks Rikki,
Will give that a try and let you know on Monday. I assume Options, preferences, audio options are in Forte.
Starkeeper

Hi Starkeeper,
yes it's in Forte.

best wishes
Rikki

Hi Frank,
haven't worked out how to run it on one processor, but I'm down to 2.9 ms by adding my old usb audiophile sound card.

I bought it a couple of years back for my original Dell laptop, problem was, I was I couldn't get below 5.8ms with it, wheras with ASIO4All & the internal card, I could get down to 1.4 ms. So I just put it away.

Thanks to Fran & his post on MAudio controllers, I discovered that they brought out a new driver last month for the Audiophile soundcard, so I got it back out & tried it with my new Dell.
2.9 ms ( asio)without a glitch using forte/livesynth pro/ soundfonts
5.8 ms using wdm drivers.

I'll have to dump asio4all on the new dell laptop, as the best I could get was 11 ms.

I have a feeling that high definition audio soundcard & the Creative Soundfont software installed in my new Dell, could be the culprit for the latency problems using asio4all?
As soon as I plugin the Audiophile usb soundcard, the Creative Soundfont player gets switched off, & I can't load a soundfont, as soon as I unplug, it goes back to normal & the onboard soundfonts get loaded.

It's great, I can use either setup, when I need to be totally portable, I just use the creative soundfont player, when I connect to the piano, I'll use the audiophile soundcard.

Trident, sounds like you were correct that my new dell shouldn't be slower than my old dell.

best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Frank L. Rosenthal:
[B]Rikki, it might be worth a try to operate your new laptop with just one processor.

Rikki, it seems to me that some of the old software is not suited for dual CPUs and hence the latency problem with ASIO4All on your new laptop. I am even surprised forte did not complain about your dual CPU....that's good news.

Hi Frank,
I haven't struck any problems yet, but it's still early days. So far just using it with LiveSynthPro & soundfonts & omb, it appears to be ok. Maybe a more complex setup , could have problems.
OMB did crash a couple of times. I then disabled all the midi ins except for maple1 in Forte,& then it appeared to work ok.

Be just my luck, I get the latency issue solved, & I'll end up with software issues. haa haa

best wishes
Rikki