Tech Talk - colinsnape.com

Three Tips For Better Programmed Strings

I was asked recently ‘why do my programmed strings sound bad?’.

I have to program string arrangements a lot for various projects, both to layer and enhance tracked actual strings, and at times to play first chair because of budget restrictions. Orchestral sample libraries can cost you thousands, but you can get pretty good results even with free or very inexpensive string libraries, and the skills you develop getting the most out of those libraries will still be valuable if and when you upgrade.

Here’s my top 3 tips for making the most of whatever sounds you have at your disposal when working on string quartet parts:

1/ Mirror What You Hear In The Real World

Try to limit your arrangement to one note per instrument, only split when you have to (sometimes open 5ths on any instrument but especially on cello is a device often used in arrangements. Analyse recordings you like to understand what’s going on with regard to arrangemen.

2/ Voicing

Don’t go for standard keyboard player voicings, spread the voicing out over more than an octave i.e. C2 – G2 – E3 – C4, when moving between chords don’t move all voices in same direction- if the viola is moving up to the next note have the cello go down etc. Also keep in mind the pitch range of the instruments, especially if using ‘ensemble’ patches. – Although you could get 5 string voices playing 2 octaves below middle C in the real world, is not going to sound realistic, certainly not like a quartet you’re used to hearing.

3/ Sound

Spend time on the sound- a) Usual string quartet panning high to low, left to right- violin1 further left, violin2 a bit left, viola bit right, cello further right. b) Dynamics- give the strings life by constantly swelling in and out of chord changes, or crescendo/ decrescendo over longer passages- can be subtle- but always be doing something. Real strings a never perfectly static, that’s part of the charm.

Listen to string playing and analyse the arrangement, maybe look at a score if you can read, so you start making intuitive choices in your own writing.

These are just tips for beginners (aren’t we always beginning?) and don’t forget: IF IT SOUNDS GOOD, IT IS GOOD!

Best of luck.

Quick _bip Removal (& Bulk File Renaming)

_bip

Users of Logic Pro X that frequently use the ‘Bounce and Replace All Tracks’ function will have noticed that the resulting audio file have _bip (short for ‘bounce in place’) added to the resulting file’s name. This can be convenient to help differentiate them from other files.

It would be great if Logic had preferences to opt out of this renaming. It doesn’t, to my knowledge, and often you’ll be bouncing all tracks to archive or to pass on to somebody else to whom this ‘_bip’ is unnecessary, confusing, annoying or all three.

Here’s one way of doing it quickly and easily without getting your hands dirty with Automator, Terminal or MacScripter:

NameChanger, a free file renaming app by MRR Software (download here). It can do a few handy things but I just need a batch renaming app that removes _bip from bulk files quickly and easily, and this it does in a few ways steps:

3 Easy Steps

1/ Open NameChanger then drag and drop _bip files into the Original Filename pane on the left.

2/ Type _bip into the ‘Original Text’ box. Leave pop-up menu on default ‘Replace First Occurrence With’, and leave ‘New Text’ alone (or type in any text you wish- i.e. track title).

3/ Hit the Rename button and your files should be rename as they were only without the _bip suffix (plus any ‘New Text’ you specified).

Of course NameChanger can be put other uses as well, but that’s all I need it for today.

Installing LPX 10.5 and Mojave on a non-T2 Chip Mac in a Catalina world (and links for T2 Macs).

Logic Pro X 10.5 and Mojave on a non-T2 Chip Mac

With all the excitement amongst users of Apple’s release of Logic Pro X 10.5 there’s a lot to take in, not just about all of the great new features in this latest version of Logic, but also negotiating which versions of OSX it will work on, and which machines are capable of running those.

First up, unfortunately for 32bit app users that have bought a new post Catalina machine, if your Mac shipped with Catalina it’s not capable of running any earlier version of OSX.

Why wouldn’t you want Catalina?

The latest version of OSX (Catalina ) only runs 64bit applications, 32bit applications will not work even via intermediate tools such as 32Lives, and quite a few music plugin developers may not have released 64bit version of there plugins yet (or in some cases never will). So at the time of writing this article upgrading the OS to Catalina to run the latest version of Logic Pro X whilst potentially rendering your favourite plugins unusable might not be a worthwhile trade-off.

Caveat

Secondly, I take no responsibility should you use any of this information and anything goes wrong, or things don’t turn out as expected. You make your own judgements and proceed at your own risk. That said, let’s get into it.

System Requirements

So, let’s start with the minimum system requirements. Logic Pro X requires a Mac with macOS (Mojave) 10.14.6 or later and 6GB of available storage space for minimum installation or 72GB of storage space for full Sound Library installation.

If, like me, you have a Mac that can run Mojave 10.14.6 but you didn’t get around to installing it before Apple released OSX Catalina 10.15.x all is not lost. It takes a little doing but you can still install 10.14.6. See how below. (This works as of May 18, 2020 on non T2 chip machines. If you have a machine with the T2 chip the T2 is in more recent machines- see if your machine has it here, then find tips on moving to Mojave from Catalina here.)

Upgrading to Mojave 10.14.6 instead of Catalina on a non T2 chip Mac:

Firstly, BACKUP BACKUP BACKUP! I’ve heard it said that, in the digital realm, if there aren’t three copies of something it doesn’t exist. The original, a backup, and an off-site backup. I recommend making a bootable clone. I use Carbon Copy Cloner, I believe Time Machine is capable of that also but I’ll leave that to you.

Go here to check your machine’s compatibility, then under item #4 click ‘get macOS Mojave’. This takes you to the App Store Mojave download page. Don’t click ‘get’ yet, if you do it will tell you that that version of Mojave is damaged and can’t be installed. First, go to the upper right corner of your desktop and change the date on your computer to Oct 1 2019, then click the ‘get’ button.

The Mojave 10.14.6 installation process should now begin. (NOTE: don’t change your date until you get to Mojave download page or you’ll get a ‘page not found’ message.)

Success! (hopefully)

You should now have the latest version of Mojave installed. (If not, it’s a good thing you made those backups right?) If you are already a Logic user I suggest you make a backup before updating by right clicking on the Logic app and ‘Duplicate’ to make the copy then rename it with it’s version number in the title, just in case you need to revert back for any reason.

Now go ahead and install the great new version of Logic Pro X 10.5!

1010Music Blackbox Sampler Sequencer- First Impressions

1010Music Blackbox Sampler Sequencer

Great box for the price (US$599), well, just a great little device period. Solid build, great support from the manufacturer thus far, does what it says on the packet very well, and regular firmware updates continue to add functionality and improve workflow.

Blackbox streams 24bit/48k direct from SD card (able to convert virtually any .wav format on the fly) and the sound quality is great (admittedly I have only transferred wavs from my computer, I’m yet to use the jack in for sampling directly into the unit).

For a hi quality playback device that runs off a USB recharging brick (or USB- AC plug) for hours and hours it’s fantastic. Your USB controller can plug directly into it’s USB port and USB powered devices can power off it (so long as it’s power requirements aren’t exorbitant.) I was using my QuNeo as a pad controller for hours with a low quality $15 USB power pack and still had plenty of juice left in the tank.

Usabilty

Blackbox can run up to 16 midi or 16 audio tracks or any combination. Each of the 16 sequencers are capable of running at odd time signatures independently, meaning one could be running at 4/4 while another at 7/8 by adjusting the ‘step count’, although in song mode your sections are limited to the 4/4 grid as of (firmware 1.2 beta.)
It has 3 stereo outs (which can be treated as 6 mono outs) plus headphones out (hardwired to be a sum of all the other outs). Recording then looping it back while running a sequence is a piece of cake.

The sequencer has a song mode that is quite usable, although editing notes in the sequencer is a little clunky for me, but it’s possible that’s due to my shortfalls, not the fault of the device . Has baby ableton vibe about it almost like a clip view. Sequences can be odd lengths and there are some random elements that can be dialled in to add some chaos to your sequencing. The analysis of a loop, slicing and placing the slices chromatically on the keyboard is REALLY easily.

It must be noted that the midi and audio connections are all mini-jacks (2 MIDI Adapters – Male 3.5mm TRS to Female 5 pin DIN are supplied) and the unit has midi in and out, no through connection.

Developments

This thing has just come out but the makers are very pro-active, engaging with users and implementing wishlist features very quickly. It seems like there’s updates monthly ATM, adding functionality and workflow improvements.

Yeah, it’s not a computer running a DAW, an Octatrack or an MPC, but they already exist if you want one. Sure, like everything there limitations, it’s not gonna be all things to all people, but presently the glass is half full for me when it comes to this unit.

This is a great little reinvention of the wheel, and VERY intuitive to use.

Key Features

Streams long samples from the microSD card with a max sample size of 4 GB, which can be many hours
1 stereo audio input and 3 stereo audio outputs, plus stereo headphones output
16 note polyphony: Up to 4 notes per pad for samples, 2 notes per pad for clips and slicers
16 samples, 16 sequences and 16 song sections per preset
Supports 1 and 2 channel WAV files with 16, 24 or 32-bit resolution at any sample rate (48kHz preferred)
24-bit ADC and DAC
USB MIDI Device In and TRS MIDI In can trigger samples, notes and sequences
TRS Clock In and Out, and TRS MIDI Out for synchronizing with additional instruments
USB powered – can run off a USB power block or wall outlet
Dimensions: 5.5″ x 5″ x 1.25″ (14 cm x 13 cm x 3 cm)

You can check out 1010music’s Blackbox in more detail here: https://1010music.com/product/blackbox