24
votes
Accepted
Why do some virtual instruments sound more realistic than others?
Compressing 30 years of research into a couple of short paragraphs…
Non-percussive instruments are what's known in the trade as "an absolute b**ch to sample" because they can change over ...
- 27.9k
9
votes
Why do some virtual instruments sound more realistic than others?
Any instrument that is percussive (you play the note and then there's almost nothing more you can do with it except stop it) is fairly easy to synthesize.
Any instrument where the player forms the ...
- 21.6k
5
votes
Accepted
Do uilleann pipes have a “louder” lower D?
The volume and tone of uilleann bottom D is certainly a function of being played "off the knee," but perhaps more significantly, it is a function of which bottom D technique the piper chooses to play:
...
- 166
5
votes
Hitting Snare, Kick and Ride at the same moments in a song
This is the basic element of any 'four on the floor' rhythm [though more usually with hi-hat rather than ride].
boom-tsh-thwack-tsh-boom-tsh-thwack-tsh-…
Kick on the one & three, snare and kick on ...
- 27.9k
4
votes
Why do some virtual instruments sound more realistic than others?
Others have mentioned more general answers, I'll try to provide a comparison of two real instruments.
You mentioned it was easier to find guitar samples, then it was to find stringed instruments (e.g....
- 656
4
votes
Do uilleann pipes have a “louder” lower D?
It's a stylistic thing, because many players favour having a really strong solid low D note for emphasising rhythm, and making their ornamentation really 'pop' with that strong low note.
In a ...
- 2,551
4
votes
Possible Harmonium/Reed Organ Synthesizing Techniques
I have also been working on an electronic harmonium and, after experiments with synthesis I agree with user44435 that it makes sense to reproduce sampled material. I am using Javascript AudioContext. ...
- 41
4
votes
Hitting Snare, Kick and Ride at the same moments in a song
James Brown's drummers are considered some of the best of all time, and they definitely hit the kick and snare and ride at the same time occasionally. The main drum riff for the verses of "...
- 57.7k
3
votes
Enable regular PC keyboard for direct recording Synth1 VST in REAPER?
There are a few things you should do:
Ensure the track is armed for recording In most DAWs, a track will not "play" unless armed, this is to help avoid MIDI inputs triggering every track all the time ...
- 967
3
votes
Do uilleann pipes have a “louder” lower D?
The bottom D is different from every other note, because the hole at the end of the pipe must be open (and it is the only open hole).
That means that the bottom D has a different tone colour from the ...
- 254
3
votes
Accepted
How to access the lower manual and pedalboard on setBfree Organ emulator
According to this reference (sorry in French), the other manuals can be accessed by changing the MIDI channel.
The link actually gives a technique, using qmidiroute (a very useful program), to map ...
- 5,177
2
votes
Is there any guitar modelling software for PC?
Making virtual instruments real and believable is a matter of having faithful sound banks but... while this is enough for "keys" (pianos, organs, synths, etc.), it's only a starting point for guitars ...
2
votes
Replacement on Reaper for garageband's virtual drummer?
I don't know what the virtual drummer does, but the new Band-in-a-Box 2019 has a DAW plugin (VST/AAX) that might do what you want.
Update 11/2019: there now seems to be a VST/AU/AAX plugin version ...
- 28.6k
2
votes
How to access the lower manual and pedalboard on setBfree Organ emulator
I found the answer, pretty simple:
Parameters for 'MIDI Parser':
midi.upper.channel I (1)
The MIDI channel to use for the upper manual. range: [1..16]
midi.lower....
- 1,969
1
vote
Accepted
Using a MIDI foot switch as MIDI input for my DAW?
If your pedal has a 1/4 inch jack socket then it's not a MIDI foot switch. It will very probably be a simple on/off switch. Unless your keyboard has a very unusual MIDI implementation, when you press ...
- 21.6k
1
vote
VMPK: Use common slider control instead of dial control?
In menu Edit you will find Shortcuts which you can define by yourself. The default shortcut for changing the controller value seem to be Alt++ and Alt+-. Note, for + you either need to also hold Shift ...
- 17.3k
1
vote
Accepted
Virtual synthesizer or piano roll with controllable number of keys per octave?
For sound sources you can find information here. In my opinion, u-he plugins are especially great.
As for visual feedback - you can change your pianoroll layout to different tunnings in Reaper.
1
vote
Accepted
Sample Library: Orchestra vs Band
Samples can be dangerous. First and foremost you need to remember that you’re writing for real people, and that should always be your end goal. If you have limited experience, samples can distort your ...
- 25.6k
1
vote
Is there any guitar modelling software for PC?
There are various pieces of software that let you do this. Your best bet is to look at specific VSTs for your favourite DAW, but you can also find this functionality in various applications badged as ...
- 36.9k
1
vote
Is it common to play several strings of a cello simultaneously?
Cellist Frances-Marie Uitti pioneered a style of playing with one bow over and one under the strings. So she can -- and regularly does -- get 4 notes simultaneously.
...
- 477
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible