Volume dynamics....too realistic?

edited May 2008 in General Questions
Just a question, I find that with the expression pedal, the less "expressioned" notes are very quiet, while the higher expressioned notes are very loud. It's to the point that you can't really use the two different sounds together. I know real trumpet dynamics are huge, so this isn't a "bug" per se. Is the idea that we should just use compression, or is there another control that reduces this dynamic range?



Or am I doing something wrong?

Comments

  • edited 10:57AM
    Metrobot,



    Yes, the dynamic range of the trumpet is huge, but there may be alternative explanations for the "excessive dynamics" you're reporting.



    I learned from your previous post that you are using a volume pedal, mapped to CC11 through your sequencer.



    The first thing that needs to be checked, is whether this pedal has a linear, rather than logarithmic, response. Please perform a smooth crescendo with this pedal, and have a look at the resulting CC7 -> CC11 curve in your sequencer.



    Another possible approach could be to map your modulation wheel, which does have a linear response, to CC11, checking if the dynamics still sound "too realistic".



    BTW, mapping CC7 to CC11 within the instrument should work, provided that one checks the box "Accept standard controllers for Volume and Pan", under: Instrument Options -> Controller.

    As described in the Trumpet Manual :roll:



    Best,



    Giorgio
  • edited 10:57AM
    Giorgio, thanks for the reply. When I look at the midi data, the volume pedal does seem to go up smoothly two thirds the way, then spikes up at the end. So I'll play with that. Probably a good compressor setting will help as well to get both lower and higher expression values to sit well together in 1 track.



    As to your advice to check the box "Accept standard controllers..." I did that based on your previous posts, but it still didn't pick up the CC7 data. In Logic, my volume pedal was moving the channel fader, which I thought was kind of odd. It's probably something to do with my 20 year old keyboard (Korg M1) and old volume pedal. Oh well, it works with my work around so I am very happy with it. I really wanna explore the overblown effects, so may have to upgrade my controller before too long anyway! ;)



    Thanks for making such a great plugin. Can't wait to see what's next!
  • edited 10:57AM
    When I look at the midi data, the volume pedal does seem to go up smoothly two thirds the way, then spikes up at the end.

    It seems that you have a logarythmic volume pedal. They are made for using them in the audio chain to control the volume (mostly for guitars). They are not suitable as a MIDI controller - for the reasons you describe.

    Could you please send me this curve as a midi file?

    Using linear pedal leads to a smooth, gradual transition from the deepest pp to the highest ff. A compresor is not the right solution...

    As to the CC7 behaviour: please note that CC7 is originally reserved for volume control, so as default, it will control the output volume. But I´m also using my pedal via CC7 and it works perfectly, so I suppose there is something wrong with your setup... Please contact the Native Instrument Support - for example using the Help menu on the player - they will certainly help.



    Best



    Peter
  • edited 10:57AM
    Hi Peter, attached is the midi file. By the way, I think this is a keyboard volume pedal, cuz there's a sticker and a switch that says, in effect, switch this way for Roland, Kurzweil, Ensoniq, the other way for Korg and Yamaha. It calls itself a "Universal Volume Controller."



    But the curve is pretty clearly non-linear, as you suspected, so I'll pick up another one.



    Edit: I can't seem to get the file to upload. Here's a link where you can download it:



    http://seanmalroy.com/mp3/TheTrumpet.mid
  • edited 10:57AM
    Thank you metrobot,

    yes, the curve looks like logarythmic... I´ve attached a midi file with my pedal recorded (CC7!), which I moved simply in both directions. You will see a nearly straight line - that´s the only correct behavior. If you are skillful in handicraft work, you can simply replace the built-in potentiometer using a linear one (I guess it is 10 kohm). A matter of maybe 1 $... :-)

    By the way - you couldn´t upload an attachment probably because you´ve tried to ulpoad a .mid file, which our server doesn´t accept (you can read a message on the top after attempting that). Only ZIP files are possible.



    Best



    Peter

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