vArranger Forums

Hi Dan,

I think what Olivier is trying to explain is what can be observed in this short video I made:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YgW7T51aD4

Here, I test chord changes with vArranger, comparing a Guitar part with vArranger Software Synthesizer vs VST (NI Kontakt).

This is what can be observed:

vArranger Software Synthesizer: The guitar sound responds to chord changes even after the midi notes were triggered, while the guitar part is holding the notes of a chord. It appears that the vArranger Software Synthesizer is able to change the sound during the Decay/Sustain stage of the sound envelope. So the sound is able to change to the new chord without te-triggering the notes when a chord changes. Even when a chord change occurs not on time, no notes are cut off. The sound simply changes to the new chord notes, but without sounding the attack stage of the guitar sound envelope. This makes quick chord changes sound more pleasing.

VST (NI Kontakt): The guitar sound does not respond to chord changes when the guitar part is holding notes. Instead, the notes are cut off. There is no change of the sound when the chord is changed when the guitar part is holding the notes. Varranger just cuts off the notes. vArranger apparently is not able to change the sound during Decay/Sustain stage of the sound envelope with VST. This makes it sound not as good as with the vArranger Software Synthesizer.

I can observe this behavior with all styles when using VST. With some styles, I do see that vArranger sometimes tries to re-trigger the notes when a Chord change occurs when notes are being held. But it is not very often and it does not sound as pleasant as with VASynth because the notes are re-triggered with the attack stage of the sound, and so it is obvious that a note is being played maybe a little out of time. But with VASynth, even when the chord changes a little out of time or a little late, the attack stage does not sound again and so it sounds more pleasant.

BTW, I hear the same chord change sound behavior as VASynth on my Yamaha PSR-S900. So apparently changing the sound in the middle of when a note is being held (without sounding the attack) is also a feature of Hardware arrangers. But unfortunately it appears not to be possible with VST in vArranger?

Can you please confirm that when using a VST, and a chord change occurs when a part is holding notes, the notes will not change in a pleasant way as with VASynth? Is there any fix for that?

Thanks

Hi Dan,

Can you please send me the latest version?

Thanks!

Hi Dan,

Could you please chime in on this? Is there a way to do this or is it not supported by vArranger? Or let me know if I wasn't clear on what the issue is. I need this to be able to control my VSTs in Forte.

Thank you!

Cristian

Hi,

I use vArranger in this way with virtual midi cables: vArranger -> TransMIDIfier -> Brainspawn Forte 4. Transmidifier responds to Program Changes from vArranger and selects a specific virtual midi output/channel that goes into Forte which is loaded with VSTs (Kontakt, Eastwest Play, NI Battery) for (almost) all 127 GM instruments.

I have a MIDI controller connected to vArranger which has knobs to control CC values. The issue I'm having is that apparently vArranger does not output all CCs it receives. I see that vArranger sends out only CC1, CC7 and CC11. But if I program a MIDI controller knob to send values for CC20, for example, vArranger does not output any CC20 values (I check this in TransMIDIfier Inspector, and nothing received in Forte either). If I program that knob for CC11, for example, vArranger does output CC11 and it is received by TransMIDIfier and Forte.

Is there a way to make vArranger send all received CC messages to its output?

Thanks

Dan, can you please send me the latest beta? Thank you!

Hi Dan,

Could you please send me the latest beta version?

Thanks!

Hi Dan,

Can you please send me the latest beta version?

Thanks!

Hi Dan,

Could you please send me the new version? 

Thanks!

I already tried loading the VST in vArranger and using the VST parameter control, but unfortunately the keyswitches do not appear in the list of parameters.

Could this feature be added in a future release? (Ability to select which Right 1/2/3/4 Left 1/2/3 you want a note on MIDI IN 2/3 played on)?

I like agaton's idea of using nanokey2 for keyswitches since some keyswitches are velocity sensitive. But this will only be possible if the feature I'm requesting is added

Dan, yes, the Keyswitch is a note in the lower octaves of the first midi keyboard. Let's say the Keyswitch is C0. What I want is that when I press a button on the nanokontrol (MIDI IN 2) that is mapped to C0, it gets interpreted as C0 for Right 1, not Right 3 (or have the ability to select for which Right 1/2/3/4 Left 1/2/3 you want a note on nankontrol (MIDI IN 2) played on). When using auto accompaniment, the lower half of the keyboard is for chord recognition, so I can not use the keys of the keyswitches. Also, depending on the keyboard that is available on the venue I play in, the keyboard may not even have the note for the low keyswitch. I could remap the keyswitches to a higher octave, but it is better for me to play the keyswitch note with the nanokontrol with my left hand.

The workaround solution I'm using right now is to route in Transmidifier all notes in LoopMidi1 Channel 3 (Left 1) to LoopMidi1 Channel 13 (Right 1). It works well for the keyswitches controlled by the nanokontrol, but now I can not use Left 1 with a different sound/notes than Right 1.

Is what I am trying do possible in vArranger?

Thanks!

Hi,

I recently purchased vArranger and this is my setup:

- vArranger: MIDI IN 1 from USB MIDI Controller, MIDI IN 2 from Korg nanokontrol2 with LED feedback, MIDI OUT 1 to LoopMidi1 (virtual MIDI cable)
- TransMIDIfier: MIDI IN from LoopMidi1, MIDI OUT to LoopMidi2 - LoopMidi7 depending on Program Change number (this for each MIDI channel individually).
- Sonar X3: MIDI IN LoopMidi2 - LoopMidi7, one track per General MIDI instrument (omitting several GM patches/program change numbers I don't use)

This setup allow me to use Sonar as a VST host with VST instruments from different companies (NI, Eastwest, Synthogy, etc.) and make Sonar be able to respond to Program Change from vArranger when selecting different patches or switching styles/songs. So when I change a patch or style/song in vArranger, TransMIDIfier sees the program changes in each MIDI channel and routes the MIDI data in LoopMidi1 to the corresponding channel in LoopMidi2 – LoopMidi7 and Sonar plays the corresponding track which is assigned to a specific VST instrument. I don't have to change anything in Sonar when changing patches/styles and all changes are immediate since all VST instruments (most GM instruments) are loaded in Sonar (I have 16GB RAM). This way, I can also add VST effects. This gives me more flexibility than using the built in VST host in Varranger.

Anyway, this is the issue I'm having. Some VST instruments have keyswitches and I want to control the keyswitches with buttons on the nanokontrol2. I set up the nanokontrol2 with the Korg Kontrol Editor so that one of the buttons plays the keyswitch note. I expected the keyswitch note to play on "Right 1" on vArranger. But I see that the note is played on "Left 1".

How can I make the keyswitch button on the nanokontrol2 play on "Right 1" so that the keyswitch is played for the instrument in Right 1? Ideally, it would be good to have the option for specifying which Right/Left 1/2/3/4 the key from the nanokontrol2 should play on.

Is what I want to do possible with vArranger?

Thanks