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Subject:Can Acid automate vst instrument parameters? And one other question!
Posted by: pazzap
Date:2/2/2003 11:26:08 PM

And if so, how???

The other question i asked a while ago and one gugy did respond and say it could be done, but when i asked for a walk through I got no answer...I am currently only on Acid pro3, but need to know these things before i upgrade....Yes i did download 4.0b demo but cant work this out...The question:
Can i send an audio track to , say a vocoder, and play that vocoder via midi???

Subject:RE: Can Acid automate vst instrument parameters? And one other question!
Reply by: Iacobus
Date:2/3/2003 11:30:20 AM

I believe what you're meaning to ask is if you can automate VSTi parameters via MIDI. The short answer is yes. Note that the VSTi being used should support such a feature. As you record MIDI and fiddle with controls, the automated parameters should also be recorded. You just have to set up real time MIDI in ACID so that you can run MIDI through the VSTi and hear the changes as you record them. (And, of course, assign parameters to your controller.)

Not sure about your second question. Digital audio and MIDI are two different animals. Sounds like a VSTi sampler would be your best bet. You could then throw the vocoder effect on top of it all.

HTH,
Iacobus

Subject:RE: Can Acid automate vst instrument parameters? And one other question!
Reply by: pazzap
Date:2/3/2003 12:22:52 PM

Thanks!
I did end up upgrading to 4! It's an incredible audio engine, the best plugin delay compensation i have ever heard....A few more questions, please do reply:)

1) I tried what you suggested, but when recording midi in acid i am not able to move any knobs on my vsti's..they just freeze....
2) Is there any way in the piano roll or any midi editor to select a bunch of notes and make them equal length?
3)Is there any way of syncing plug in effects to tempo, such as various delays, etc that support tempo sync...
4) Is there anyway of autmating "bypass" switches for effects??(very important)
5) Are multi out vsti's supported??
PHEW! that's it!

TIA!!

Subject:RE: Can Acid automate vst instrument parameters? And one other question!
Reply by: Iacobus
Date:2/3/2003 1:26:51 PM

Glad to be of help!

1) You have to do it in your MIDI controller (i.e., MIDI keyboard or similar device), not the VSTi itself.

2) You mean a specific note value? Try using the Selection Tool, select a range of notes and then click the Quantize button (It's the 3rd button from the right in the Piano Roll Editor view). Choose a specific note value and whether or not you want to apply the changes to start times and/or note durations. Experiment to see what works best for you. (Use CTRL+Z on your keyboard to undo if results are not what you wanted.)

3) Try this formula for calcuating delay for a particular tempo:

60,000 / (BPM) x (note value) = (delay in ms)

So, for example, if you wanted a delay to fall on 8th notes in a tempo of 120 BPM:

60,000 / 120 x .5 (because 8th notes are typically assigned half a beat) = 250 ms

If you wanted the delay to fall on dotted 8th notes:

60,000 / 120 x .75 (because a dotted 8th represents 3/4 or three-quarters of a beat) = 375 ms

You'd then take the result and enter it in the plug-in of your choice.

4) I know some DirectX effects are automatable (like the Flange/Wah-wah and Resonant Filter effects) via envelopes. It's a matter of using these envelopes, as well as using FX envelopes, to turn desired effects on and off. Not sure about MIDI though.

5) Yes and no. The VSTi itself will work, but you will not be able to output the VSTi to multiple outs. As a workaround, you can create another instance of the VSTi but you will have to create a separate MIDI track so you can route it to this new instance. (You can copy/cut MIDI data from one track to another if necessary.)

A little funky, yeah, but what a lot of newcomers don't realize is that MIDI was unheard of in previous versions of ACID (it used to be just digital audio only with MIDI sync support), so MIDI has to fit into ACID's paradigm (as a loop based music tool) for now.

HTH,
Iacobus

Subject:RE: Can Acid automate vst instrument parameters? And one other question!
Reply by: dkistner
Date:2/4/2003 4:33:05 AM

You probably already know this, but be darned sure your Acid 4 is updated to 4.0b! If you bought it in a box, you may not have the latest upgrade, and it's essential.

Subject:RE: Can Acid automate vst instrument parameters? And one other question!
Reply by: dkistner
Date:2/4/2003 4:34:11 AM

Thanks, Iacobus, for the formulas! I knew there had to be a way to figure out what was needed without just throwing numbers in.


Subject:**please** Peter from SF, read this...maybe only you know the answer
Reply by: pazzap
Date:2/5/2003 7:25:27 AM

i don't think anyone seems to properly understand my "vocoder" question..it's not just about vocoders, but any vst fx that are "playable" via midi...it would also require that Acid can do sidechaining, which if it does, i cannot work out.....

basically, there are many vst fx, which are also seen in many hosts as instruments...
(but not in acid, afaik)

Let's say, for example, i have an audio loop on track 1...Then, i create a softsynth track, and open one of these vst fx that support midi as a softsynth...I want to "send" the loop on track one to this effect, and "play" the effect via midi, as any other vsti would be played....is this at all possible, and if not, will it ever be?? This is the only real *major* disadvantage of acid to me at the moment, besides the lack of a built in metronome(BTW, will that be incorporated soon???)

For anyone who didn't know what i've been talking about these past few posts, you DON'T know what you've been missing...midi gates, vocoders etc..how do you think all the trance writers get those cool rythmical patterns???

Just a few exmaples of these effects:

-rgc audio pentagon 1 fx
-pro 52 fx
-Hybridalien midigater
-Scuxxphut phut boy slim
-DFX scrubby, rezsynth
etc........

Like i said, you don't know what you're missing

Also, one last question
Will a cpu monitor be incorporated any time soon?



Subject:RE: **please** Peter from SF, read this...maybe only you know the answer
Reply by: pwppch
Date:2/5/2003 11:01:01 AM

No, we don't support any type of side chaining.

I understand what you want to do, and it is just no possible as we don't feed audio to any VSTi (or MIDI to any DX.)

Will seriously consider this problem for then next version.

Thanks
Peter

Subject:RE: **please** Peter from SF, read this...maybe only you know the answer
Reply by: pazzap
Date:2/7/2003 11:30:19 AM

you obviously missed the very simple questions about the cpu meter and a metronome..thanks for you reply tho

Subject:RE: **please** Peter from SF, read this...maybe only you know the answer
Reply by: dkistner
Date:2/7/2003 12:26:41 PM

Pazzap, the metronome and CPU meter questions have already been answered in the forum--several times. Just do a search. What you find may have application to what you're trying to accomplish.

Subject:RE: **please** Peter from SF, read this...maybe only you know the answer
Reply by: pwppch
Date:2/7/2003 7:31:28 PM

We use to have a CPU meter. It was always too late to help. That is, it would peak and things would go south.

The metronome: Well we always felt ACID was a metronome. Lots of requests for this one though. On the user top 10 list I think.

Peter

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