How to make a Mid line Arranger sound better

than a TOTL Arranger by using a computer and an entry level VST







If you really want to go for it then spend a bit more money and go for the upper level VST







Enjoy

Bill

I can't say I heard any arrangements playing nor did I read any instructions on HOW to do this as alluded to in the thread title.

Tom

I agree Tom. Don't look like something I would be able to use on the jobs, but I guess for someone that likes to mess around in the studio with a computer linked to his or her keyboard it would be a neat tool.

Thanks,

Gary

How to set it up has been covered many times in other threads over the years, and if you want to use it live you can use a laptop. (The more powerful the better)

Best way to think of it, is to view the computer and VST as an external module/expander.

How it works:

The Midi from the keyboard sends the note and other information to the computer which then plays the VST; the audio from the computer can then either go into the audio input of the keyboard or an external mixer. (As with all audio the better the sound card the better the sound)

The start-up manual of the VST tells you how to set it up on your computer to work with your controller (Keyboard) and audio. (ASIO drivers are recommended)

The exceptions are Wersi OAS 7 instruments which can load the VST on-board, so that no external equipment is required. (NOTE: this does not apply to the Pegasus Wing which uses a totally different version of OAS)

Remember most entry level VST cost about the same as one sound pack for a keyboard. (And if you are reading this you have probably already got a computer.)

Hope this clarifies it for you.

Bill

so how do you set it up so that every element of each style substitutes the factory sound with one of the sounds on the VST ? When i change styles will it automatically remap every sound within the style to an appropriate VST or will i have to do that each and every time i change style or variation ? Will it use a similar vel;ocity curve as the factory based one so sounds dont jump out because the voulmes are wrong or woul i have to adjust all of that too ? What about one touch setting ? can they all be recorded and saved so that i can just press one button and all the remapped sounds are recalled instantly.What about my song book ? All the songs with all the settings that i have stored over the years would i have to remapp all of theose too and would they be saved ?

It might be worth the work but those demos dont convince me it would

In other words can i still use the mid range arranger as an arranger in a live play situation utilising the better sounds of the VST for each and every style ?

Styles

When you reprogram any style with new sounds on your PA1x you have to save it as a new user style, otherwise you would need to change the sounds every time you selected it. The only difference with the VST is that the mapping for the VST would be saved in the style instead of an internal sound.

The same applies to one touch settings etc.

Dynamics, volume, etc

You would set the global parameters of the VST to match your keyboard settings, and then save it as the default setting in the VST.

You would save the sounds of the VST in banks for instant recall, just as you do with your PA1x.

Yes there will be work, in exactly the same way as you have to work when creating something new on your PA1x.

Remember if you upgraded to a PA3x you would also have to change all your current settings to make use of the new features and sounds or it would still sound like PA1x

Hope this clarifies things.

Bill

ok Bill, talk me through how this would work as i might just go and buy something this weekend just as an experiment .

I have my PA1X a lap top and some midi cables. I know how to save internal sounds on my keyboard and one touch settings and of course entries in my song book all because they are internally referenced within the keyboard itself.

Talk me through the steps of how my keyboard would save all the addresses of all the sounds i have used in each and every style lets say just 30 styles all user based with sounds emanating from a VSt. How does my keyboard recognise the sounds are comimng from an external sound source (laptop ) from a VST source and reconxile that with my song book each time i switch it on ?

If you can explain it in a way that is simple english Bill i will buy into the idea and see how it would work for me.

I know that Dom tried to do this with the Mediastaion and it was a massive technological headache and when he provided an example it didnt rock anybody's world but i am willing to have a go.

Hi Spalding

Have a read of this article here http://www.wersiclub.co.uk/Midi%20with%20Wersi.pdf (It’s designed for Wersi Instruments but will give you an idea as the Korg has something similar) and also pop over to http://www.kvraudio.com/ which has a number of free VST that you can try, as well as explaining the basics of VST use.

I will put together a more dedicated instruction set when I get back from work tonight. (Remember start simple and work up)

Regards

Bill

Hi Spalding

Computer: (I’m assuming its Windows)

You will need an ASIO driver, (If it is a quality sound card in your computer it will already come with ASIO drivers) if you don’t have one then download ASIO4all here http://www.asio4all.com/

You will need an audio cable to connect the audio output of your computer to the audio input of your keyboard.

A USB cable to connect the keyboard to the computer (If your keyboard doesn’t allow USB Midi connections (It’s been common to use USB for Midi for a number of years) you will need to use a Midi cable and interface to transfer the Midi data from the keyboard to the computer)

Kontakt Player VST (The best free one to go for)

If you have Windows 7 you can download the Kontakt 5 Player and Factory Selection here http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/producer/kontakt-5-player/ if you have an older OS( XP/Vista) you can download Kontakt 4 from here http://download.cnet.com/windows/ (Type Kontakt 4 into the search box) and then download the Factory Selection from here http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/producer/kontakt-player/?page=781

NOTE: You will need to register an email address to get the Kontakt 5 & Factory Selection download links and also to activate them.

They are quite large files to download and install so allow time to do it.

NOTE: Accept all the default settings when loading the software in.

Install and connect up the above, and you are ready to start and set up the default settings on the computer.

Let me know when you have all software installed and I will post how to set up the audio and Midi.

NOTE: You will need your Korg Manual

Bill

thanks so much for your help with this Bill. I will download all the software latter tonight when i get home. Cheers

hey Bill you will probably ahve to email me as i cant find a free version of Kontakt4

Hi Spalding

This should take you straight to the download link here click run when it asks you what to do.

Hope this helps

Bill

hi Bill i am working away for the next 10 days and wont have access to my keyboard other than a couple of hours at church this week but i will definately pursue this and keen to explore the use of Kontakt over the next few weeks .

Thanks for your willingness to help/coach me.

thats whats so good about this forum !!

Cheers buddy

Hi Bill,

must admit I haven't considered trying to use my vst's for style parts, (on my keyboard) but setting up for melody, should be simple enough to do.


Me personally, I'm more interested in using them in a backing track ie set up good quality sounds for a midifile or my BIAB songs and save them as an mp3 to play along to.

This will work just great ..


Except the fact that the EWQL stuff isn't exactly entry level VST's.

Any coaching available yet?

In Advance Thanks!!!

Jack

Hi Jack

Have you read and installed the programs and files in the links above on your computer yet, if so, what keyboard are you using.

Bill

Have been doing some testing with the latest Kontakt 5, and although the website only mentions its use with Windows 7 I have not yet found any problems using it with various versions of XP. (After all it is an update of Kontakt 4 where XP was supported)

Due the comprehensive capabilities of Kontakt 5 I have not been able to try everything; however it should be fine for arranger users as most are not into really in depth programming of sounds.

NOTE: As far as I am aware NI will not provide support for Kontakt 5 on XP or Vista, however there should be plenty of support on the NI forums.

Bill

HI Spalding

As you will be back soon, here is some info to get you started

Kontakt Setup

Make sure you have everything connected, then when you first open Kontakt a setup box will appear. (If you have run the program previously you can access the box by going to File and selecting Options)

Audio:

Set the driver to ASIO
Select the correct ASIO Device (If one came with your sound card use this rather than ASIO4all)
ASIO Configuration: If the driver came with your sound card this will probably be already setup to give the correct performance with your sound card. (You will need to consult the sound card manual if you need to change the settings)
If you are using ASIO4all make sure the correct computer output is selected, and adjust the buffer size to 256 samples. (This will be a trial an error adjustment to optimise latency and CPU use, however 256 is usually a good starting point)

MIDI:

Make sure the INPUT button is selected and select you Midi interface from the list and choose to assign it to port A.

Click close and you are ready to go. (NOTE: all the settings are remembered on exit so you will not need to go through the options every time the program starts, unless you wish to change the settings)

Keyboard:

Set the Midi up to control external equipment. (You will need to consult the manual for this) You can adjust the main sound balance using the computer volume and Keyboard/Mixer input volume.

Below are a couple of tutorials to get you started







When you feel comfortable with using the combination, post again and we can then move onto to Multis. (Sound Banks)

Bill

Hi Bill thanks for that. I have just come back but i have hit a snag already. I dont have a good enough sound card on my computer .

I asked my brother to help me set this stuff up but he said the following
'Hi Worth,

The Soundblaster isn't good enough because of:

1) The latency when using softsynths because it doesn't have good enough ASIO drivers for it. (I had one when I first had a PC, then I upgraded to the card in the following link - This is a very good starter-pro sound card for what you want to do.)'

He posted this link http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Audiophile2496.html

It already sounds a little daunting but it will have to wait until i have dealt with the expense of Christmas. Thanks again for your willingness to help. I will be back soon no doubt with further questions :-)

Hi Spalding

Your SoundBlaster card will be fine to get you started (Remember you are only trialling at the moment to see if it suits you) if it doesn’t have its own ASIO drivers then ASIO4all will work fine with it.

When you find you cannot live without VSTs then you can move onto a better sound card (The one mentioned is an excellent entry level model) which will then really show what VSTs can do.

Bill

Bill
For what it's worth, I am lurking with great interest. I finally got an Asus i7/7200 laptop that can handle Kontakt4, which I am following along with.

I am not horning into your tutorial, but wanted you to know that I too am very interested.

Bernie

Bernie,

Keep on like this and you will have more kit than Nedim.


Tony

Tony
LOL
The only difference is Nedim knows how to use all his toys.

Bernie

Hi Bernie

If you have any problems, let me know and I will see what I can do.

BTW: If anybody wants to talk about the use of VSTs with Arrangers, you can call me on Skype (Type “abacusks1” in the Skype contact search box) for a chat. (I am normally on early and late evenings (UK Time) plus various times over the weekend.

Bill

Bill

That is very nice of you. I sent a request from Skype. Maybe we can get a video call going.
Bernie