GPO, GM and samplers

Lately I have reviewed some MIDI/sequencer sampler software. I have fallen in love with Garritan Personal Orchestra when looking for DAW software. They just released a new version - GPO4 - as I already have mentioned.

GPO makes very good sounds for piano, cellos, violins and most of the other instruments they have in their orchestra. And most of the instruments works as expected without any problems at all.

There is to things that I really miss out, and it is:

1. Percussion  - mapped to General MIDI. Today all percussion instruments has to be remapped from general MIDI standards.
2. Guitars. I love the sound of a good guitar.

To solve this I found a very nice tool called ForteDXi. It is a sampler (DXi interface) that gives you all general MIDI instruments not found anywhere. It is loaded with 128 high-quality sampled instruments, and offer a sound quality far better than the standard Windows Midi Synthesizer.

New version of Garritan personal orchestra is released

World famous Garritan just released a new version of their fine personal orchestra.

There are many changes, most noticeably is that they have replaced their Kontakt player with ARIA. You can also purchase and download the suite online now.

I am exited to try it out soon! I tried out the previous version about a year ago.

Tracktion 3 MIDI is buggy

After using Traction 3 for almost a year (read my conclusion here) solely for mixing audio I started on a MIDI project. I tried out with Garritan Personal Orchestra (read more about options I have tried here).

Traction often crashes when I try to load MIDI files downloaded from the Internet. The files plays correctly with MIDI-OX and Windows Media player.

When Traction manages to read the MIDI file (it happens on one of ten tries) I can work on my MIDI project and try to map instruments to Garritan. This works almost well. Some times when I try to load instruments then Traction crashes again.

Basically I can not work with MIDI using Tracktion.

Looking into the forums for help just confirms that other people also has similar problems. The product has not been updated for over a year, and there seems to be nothing new from the Mackie web site.

For now I am looking into REAPER to see if it any good and can replace Tracktion...

Convert MIDI to MP3 online

On this page you can convert your favorite MIDI file to MP3/WAV/OGG online with almost no hassle.

Selfsat H10D mounting experience

A while ago I bought myself a satellite dish from Selfsat. I finally had the time to mount it on my wall.

My conclusion is that this dish is easy to mount on the wall and fairly easy to adjust properly. It took me about 3 hours to mount and adjust it.

The signal quality is good, I can receive all my HD channels without any problems.

Selfsat H10D first look and review

I just deiced to buy a satellite dish. I found a dish from Selfsat called HD-10D. The main reason I chose this dish over a traditional round dish was its size and its discrete form.

The dish is flat and does not stand out from the house. But you can read all about these arguments from their own homepage. For the rest of this article I will talk about my experience with this dish.

The box

When I received the box my first impression was a solid box with all parts properly locked in the right position This box is made to be shipped around the world.

The box ships with all brackets you probably will need. For wall mounting, window mounting and on a vertical stand. You get all the screws and nuts you need - except for those that you need to mount to the external surface. (Your wall etc.)

You also get a compass. Nice if you don't have one - you will need it when you adjust the dish.

The assembly

The assembly is straight forward. The included instruction manual takes you step by step through how to assemble it for your specific configuration. The assembly is done within half an hour plus the time you need to put in on your wall.

Mounting

I have not mounted it yet so no comments here for now. I am exited to learn how to mount and adjust the dish to the wall. I just need a received before I can continue.

MIDI software

For many years I have heard about MIDI and what you can do with it. But there has never been a need for it - until now. My first experience with buying a new Terratec soundcard was that when I sent MIDI output to the soundcard and did not hear anything.

From that point I had to search for some useful MIDI software I can use. Here is what I found.

Software	Feature
Virtual MIDI Keyboard	With Virtual MIDI Keyboard you can trigger MIDI notes using the mouse or the computer keyboard. It has five knobs which send volume, panning, modulation, and two user configurable midi controllers. Another feature of Virtual MIDI Keyboard is that it can send MIDI controller data when you move the mouse while playing the keyboard. Virtual MIDI Keyboard is freeware.
MIDI Ox	MIDI-OX is a Windows 95/NT program (also Win98/Me/2000/XP/Vista). It is a 32 bit program which will not operate under earlier versions of Windows. MIDI-OX is a multi-purpose tool: it is both a diagnostic tool and a System Exclusive librarian. It can perform filtering and mapping of MIDI data streams. It displays incoming MIDI streams, and passes the data to a MIDI output driver or the MIDI Mapper. You can generate MIDI data using the computer keyboard or the built-in control panel. You can even record and log MIDI data and then convert it to a Standard MIDI File for playback by a sequencer.
Free MIDI music	We also could use some free MIDI sample files to work with. You can find lots of them here. Royalty Free Music.com offers a comprehensive music library of production music for your various royalty free music needs including full albums, tracks and free music clips, loops, and beats available for download.

Audio Master class review

Audio Master Class is an online course for learning how to do audio well. By audio I mean how to record music, how to mix it, and something about all the cool gadgets you can buy to edit music.

If you don't have time to read the entire article, the summary is here:
I find this course to be very light and not very educational. At least if you want to learn as much as possible. If you have no knowledge on this topic you can read and learn a lot. But when you have learned a lot there is still more to learn. Stuff that you cannot find here.

Information about the course

The course is called Music Production and Sound Engineering and are built up of 12 modules, each covering a topic. On print the main text of the course corresponds roughly to 40 pages, printed from Internet Explorer. The twelve topics are:

1. Analog & digital audio
2. Microphones
3. Microphone preamplifiers
4. Equalization
5. Compression
6. Recording Software
7. Effects & Plug-ins
8. Synthesis & Sampling
9. Recording Techniques
10. Mixing
11. Mastering
12. Marketing Your Music & Recording Services

Each module are built up of:

• An introduction.
• The module main text (large HTML page).
• The answers the questions in the main module text.
• Examples.
• Assignment.
• Assignment notes.

For each module you are expected to spend at least a week working on the module text and on the assignment. I am not sure if this is because of the alleged complexity of the course or if it is to make sure you have read and understood the content.

The only way to learn is to spend time and experiment. The course only points you in the right direction, you'll have to work hard to get through the course.

Extras

If you look at the web pages for Audio Master Class, and more specifically to their publications you will find content they want to charge you for. This is content that to my knowledge is not included in the course. I had to ask to get some of them available for me.

My review

I have read through much of the material and the author talks us easy through each chapter of the book and it is fairly easy to learn and understand the topic.

You get listening samples, you get to download good samples you can work with and try for yourself. This is something I have not found anywhere else.

But it stops there. When I am ready to learn more, and I sure will do so - I need to look elsewhere to find the knowledge I hunger for. And if so this course is mostly waste of your money. Money is a scared resource. (The book Mixing Engineers handbook seems to give me a lot more value for the money.)

About the author

My experience with music production and mixing is very very limited, I have started out with the best intent to try learn something new and exiting. But I find it hard to find any good place where I can learn the basics before I go practice.

AHD 200 review

AIPTEK, a company based in Germany have created a cheap and light camera called AHD 200.

Cheap is good, or is it?

In Norway this camera is sold by Clas Ohlson for less than NOK 1000 (nearly €100).

High Definition Camcorder - AVC (H264) performs 720p (1280 x 720) high definition quality at 30fps

I do not intend to write a lengthy review of this camera. For it's price I like the camera. You buy a cheap video camera, and you get what you expect from a cheap camera.

There is no optical zoom with the camera, only digital. When you zoom the picture gets bad, so do not use the zoom.

I have attached some videos from the camera so you can make out your own opinion. All recordings are from the highest possible bitrate and resolution.

1. Outdoor recording of a car driving by. (5MB.)
2. Low light, indoor recording walking down the stairs. (10MB.)
3. A picture of a car and a boat outdoor.
4. The outdoor and the low light indoor recording rendered to a MPEG file with TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress. (26MB.)

Other sources and references:

• A test at SimplyDV
• A test at cnet
• Product homepage

Synful orchestra

Realism, Expression and Smart Articulation

Realistic instrument simulations depend on the transitions between notes, as much as on the individual timbres. Slurs with varying amounts of portamento, lightly tongued or bowed note transitions, fast runs, detached hard attacks – these note transitions are the connective tissue of musical expression. Whether you play live from keyboard or edit directly in a sequencer Synful Orchestra responds automatically with realistic sounding note transitions. There are no special buttons or phrasing tools. If you play staccato Synful Orchestra creates staccato attacks. If you play legato Synful Orchestra creates realistic legato transitions. Synful Orchestra models the way notes are sustained, the graceful onset of vibrato, breath sounds, the sound of the bow on the string, the change of tone color as a note becomes louder or softer. Using the innovate Synful Pitch Wheel mode, you can easily create natural string portamento. Synful Orchestra lets you make music like a musician not like a programmer.

This seems to be a very good orchestra use can use with VSTi technology.

DAW

For some time now I have been looking into some good, cheap and decent DAW applications. If you are not familiar with the term DAW, it stands for digital audio workstation.

In short, a DAW is a system to record, edit and make digital audio. When I started looking into this my need was only to record several tracks at once and then mix all the tracks together into one song.

To be able to record I first bought me a audio card. Looking around, not wanting to spend to much money I ended up with the Terratec DMX6Fire USB. This card has it all - 6 analog outputs, 1 digital output, 4 analog inputs and 1 digital input.

But then I needed something to record my audio with. I fist went to Steinberg and their Wavelab as they are a well known company. Not being able to download anything from their site I had to move on to something else. I found some very cool recording utilities at NCH software. But still too expensive for me.

In my search I found two vendors that interested me; Mackie with Tracktion and Cakewalk with SONAR. I have been working with SONAR 7, but Cakewalk released version 8 during my testing. I have not been able to download it and try it yet.

Can I buy online?

Dream on...

I have not found anywhere where I can buy this software online. That is, download it and play with it immediately. B&H can ship it to you, but it takes forever. At least a few days of waiting.

Licensing

Here is a big issue. You have to license it to your computer. With all the hassle that comes with it.

MIDI

When I first got started I quickly realized the potential of using MIDI devices. Specifically when recording instruments I can not play nor cannot find anyone to play for me. So I have spent some time looking into what I can do with MIDI.

Both the cheap and expensive version of both products are excellent when mixing recorded audio. But the main, and probably most important difference, lies in what extras you get when you pay the most.

You get lots of MIDI instruments and some sound effects. But with everything, you get a crippled version of third parties instruments and effects. But if you can live with that, you get much for your money.

Here are some cool virtual instruments I have found.

Name	Price	Comment
Garritan Personal Orchestra	$199	Here you have lots of good instruments for your orchestra. Violins, woodvinds, brass, percussions, some pianos and some more.
TruePianos	$180	Lots of good pianos. These pianos really sound good.

Here are the short comparison guide

These prices was found in B&H just before this article was published.

Product	Price (B&H)	Comment
SONAR 8 Studio	$279,95	Entry level version.
SONAR 8 Producer	$469,95	Producer exclusives are found here. Most important is support for surround sound.
Tracktion 3 basic bundle	not listed	This version is probably bundled with some hardware. I can not buy it, and it comes without any instruments or third party effects. But for recording and audio mixing it is not crippled.
Tracktion 3 project bundle	$99	Stripped down bundle of extras; effects and instruments. The core application is not crippled.
Tracktion 3 ultimate bundle	$249	The most extras; effects and instruments.
Kristal Audio engine	free for personal use	I found this DAW. It is cheap, simple and usable. But it lacks many nice features.

Links

Here you can read my reviews of the following software and hardware:

• Tracktion 3
• SONAR 7
• DMX6Fire

Tracktion 3 review

This article is part of a series of articles I have written during my search for a good way to record and mix music. You can read my overview here or look into my articles labeled as multimedia.

Tracktion 3

Mackie is a company that is probably more known for its mixers and other hardware used by professionals over the world.

But they do also make some software - and today I am going to look into a product called Tracktion. At the time of writing Mackie have released version 3 of their software.

Learning curve

Mackie claims that the GUI is designed to be easy to work with and intuitive for newcomers. I disagree. The first time I started Tracktion the only thing that worked for me was the button. Honesty, I try lots of software, but do not often see anything like this. I did not touch Tracktion for another week and started reading the reference guide.

I still not think that Tracktion have a great user interface in terms of ease of use. But I think that when you have spent 10-20 hours with it you will start to be productive. In Tracktion you have everything available from the main page shown below.

Features

Unlike many modern DAW's you do not have the traditional mixer here. Not that I miss it. You can accomplish the same using output filters here, but it does not look like a conventional mixer.

In Tracktion you work with tracks, where mixers (and probably most other DAWs) works with channels. A track in Tracktion is always in stereo (two channels). You do not have output buses either, but you can send the output to another track.

Chaining of filters, effects and instruments is easy to work with(when you have learned it...) So is editing and automation.

MIDI

MIDI support is great. It is easy to record and edit MIDI. And with some of the third party instruments and effects you get with Tracktion you can have endless hours of fun.

Conclusion

I love the price. It is the right price for me. The price compensates for the high learning curve.

SONAR 7 review

This article is part of a series of articles I have written during my search for a good way to record and mix music. You can read my overview here or look into my articles labeled as multimedia.

SONAR 7

Cakewalk have been in the DAW business for many years now. They have a solid product and a well known reputation. While testing SONAR 7 they decided to release version 8 of their product. I could not get my hands on it, so all my testing is done with version 7. What is new i version 8 you can read about here.

My eval had expired so I could not bring any pictures from SONAR. You can find many picutres in the product home page.

Learning curve

SONAR was easy to start using. Without any hassle I could set up my channels correctly and start recording. There are lots of features in SONAR and I have probably only used 10 % of its functionality.

The manual that came with the demo is online and i chm format. Because of that I could not print it out and read on my bed as I usually do with documentation and exiting stuff.

Features

SONAR has its own mixer. With the producer edition you can easily make surround sound (multichannel)- that is an exclusive feature with the producer. And the producer have lots of third party effects and instruments that seems very promising. 

Conclusion

I find this to be a good product. But for my limited use and wallet this is not the right product for me.

DMX 6Fire USB review

From the product homepage:

High end USB 2.0 audio system
With high demands on sound quality the DMX 6Fire USB is the perfect external audio system for musicians, DJs and gamers. This unofficial successor to the DMX 6Fire 24/96 has been completely reworked and has reached new heights: Instead of a PCI expansion card, it is now equipped with a USB 2.0 jack. Instead of 24 bits / 96 kHz, its engines now hum at 24 bits / 192 kHz.

The retail price is €199.

Specifications

This was the first soundcard I found when I realized that I needed something more than the built-in sound card. This card has:

• USB 2.0 audio system
• 1 microphone input with gain control (combo XLR / 6.3 mm jack)
• 48V phantom power
• 20 dB pad switch
• 1 instrument input with gain control (6.3 mm jack)
• 4 analogue inputs (cinch)
• 1 phono input (RCA cinch) with RIAA equalizer and gain control
• 6 analogue outputs (cinch)
• Stereo to 5.1 Surround Expander
• 1 headphone jack (6.3 mm) with separate volume controller
• 1 optical digital input/output (TOS Link)
• 1 coaxial digital input/output (cinch)
• 1 MIDI interface In/Out (5-pin DIN)
• 24 bit / 192 kHz A/D converter with 114 dB (A) SNR* (input 1/2)
• 24 bit / 192 kHz A/D converter with 105 dB (A) SNR* (input 3/4)
• 24 bit / 192 kHz D/A converter with 114 dB (A) SNR* (outputs 1-6)

Sound

This sound card sounds great. I have a little problem with hum when recording on my laptop, but that is not related to the sound card. I have played and recorded sound in churches and at home and the sound card performs quite well.

The software can be configured to give you tree set of stereo outputs or one surround output. You can also use this sound card as a mixer - that is you can send what you receive out again after mixing the inputs together.

Conclusion

This sound card works great if you have the right computer for it. It is easy to use and easy to configure.

Sound utilities

In some previous posts I have written about how to make DVD's and have full control of how they are made.

This task is not easy - and it seems to cost lots of money. Anyway, here is a list of tools I have came across lately that seems to have some potential. This is not a review of these tools but I will give you the key selling points from my point of view.

Today I will only focus on sound tools.

Tool	Comment
AC3Tools Pro	A low cost tool (€49.95) to encode (and decode) AC3 files. You can encode only two channels, 4 channels or full 5.1 sound. It requires uncompressed WAV PCM files as input.
DMX 6Fire USB	This USB sound card with a retail price of €249 have 4 source inputs and 6 outputs, plus digital input/output. With this card you are guaranteed good recordings from your source.
Acoustica MP3 Audio Mixer	This low priced tool($24.95) can combine several input files in WAV, MP3 into a two-channel output. You can easily pan balance, fade volume and mix music to your own needs.
Wavelab 6	This tool seems to be great for recording and editing your music. It can handle from 2 to 6 channels, depending on the version. This tool is somewhat expensive, and no trial is available.

Pegasys TMPGEnc

This tool encodes your input stream into any MPEG supported output, including DVDs. It is not a tool to edit your videos, just to encode them.

AC3 and DTS encoder

I finally found a tool to code AC3 and DTS streams with more than two channels. This tool is expensive and looks much like Aften.