Subject:Midi track - multiple channels - how to?

Posted by: fartheststar

Date:12/15/2012 2:42:26 AM

Hi all, I bought Acid 7 years ago but am just now getting into midi. I've just realized how to pull my Aria Garritan player that came with Acid, and it looks like I can assign 16 different instruments to 16 different midi channels, but I'm kindof clueless as to proper way to do this.

I'm a guitarist who's a terrible keyboard player, and I'll be doing a lot of step write for midi as a result - but what I'm wondering is - how do I input all the information for all the different channels? Can I see it all at once? Do most people use a whole bunch of midi channels w/ a bunch of instruments on a single midi track with one VST, or do you use different midi tracks with the same VST loaded up several times but with only 1 instrument per VST?

I'm not even sure I'm asking this correctly, but I'm hoping this question about workflow and single instance vs. multiple instance of VST makes sense.

For those that use the Aria Player for Acid --- Conceptually does it function similarly for Kontact Player when using multiple instrument sounds? Up to now I've just been loading up multiple instances of each player for 1 instrument, but from web searches I get the impression this isn't a very good practice to use.

Subject:RE: Midi track - multiple channels - how to?

Reply by: Weldon

Date:12/16/2012 8:49:29 AM

You can open a new midi track and choose whatever vst you want to use. You can change the midi channel though I have yet seen a reason to do that. I have used the same and different vst's throughout a project and have projects with over 20 different midi tracks. Some using the same vst, but on a different preset. Like you, I am having to learn by fire as there are no real viable tutorials available to Acid users on this stuff since Sony quit the product, everyone who is serious about midi and vst's use software other than Acid.
You can find hundreds of tutorials for vst/midi for Ableton or even Fl Studio. Very few for Acid.

Subject:RE: Midi track - multiple channels - how to?

Reply by: Weldon

Date:12/16/2012 8:53:31 AM

Another option I have used is to render out my midi track and use it as a loop. In fact, I bought my midi controller with the intent of making my own loops. As I learned more about midi, I wanted to just use midi tracks, but I find that Acid will replace vst presets randomly for no reason. If I build a bass line or synth line I like, I render it out and make it a loop.

Subject:RE: Midi track - multiple channels - how to?

Reply by: Iacobus

Date:12/16/2012 3:33:29 PM

Try not to overthink this. Basically, each VSTi you insert is its own. So you can have more than one instance of ARIA, each with its own set of channels (1 through 16 in this case). This is why it's important to label those for easy identification just in case you start going crazy.

Signal flow goes like this: track > VSTi > channel number

You could have an ACID project with something like:
MIDI Track One > ARIA Player 1 > MIDI channel 1
MIDI Track Two > ARIA Player 2 > MIDI channel 5

That being said, you want to keep it as compact as possible. One instance of the ARIA Player allows for 16 separate channels. There is no need to open another instance of ARIA if you're doing just two instruments. The only reason why you'd insert another instance of ARIA is if you need more than 16 instruments.

Instead, simply insert another MIDI track and route that to channel 2 of the same ARIA Player. Then go into ARIA Player itself and insert the instrument you need in channel 2.

You might be interested in trying the ARIA engine update. Do *NOT* uninstall ARIA for ACID Pro as this is only an update for the engine that ARIA for ACID Pro uses. It does not include the instruments included in the ARIA for ACID Pro library.

When you install this, use "ARIA Player (Multi)" from then on when inserting the VSTi instead of the one used for ARIA for ACID Pro. Be prepared as even though the elements operate similarly, it looks far different than the one used for ARIA for ACID Pro.

Subject:RE: Midi track - multiple channels - how to?

Reply by: miquel

Date:12/16/2012 4:53:31 PM

Thank you for this complete info.

This new version also loads sfz files.

Subject:RE: Midi track - multiple channels - how to?

Reply by: fartheststar

Date:12/17/2012 7:33:10 PM

"Instead, simply insert another MIDI track and route that to channel 2 of the same ARIA Player. Then go into ARIA Player itself and insert the instrument you need in channel 2."

This makes sense. Thank you. So each different midi sound will have it's own track and midi notes, but the tracks should/can share the same vst instrument. That helps me. Appreciated.

Subject:RE: Midi track - multiple channels - how to?

Reply by: fartheststar

Date:12/17/2012 7:36:14 PM

Hi Weldon - thanks for the comments. I'm using this for composition - so I'm trying to not to render anything until I have to - but I do admit it seems quite a bit easier for me to work with regular audio than it is midi. I wish it wasn't that way, but audio just seems more natural.

Subject:RE: Midi track - multiple channels - how to?

Reply by: Iacobus

Date:12/20/2012 1:24:18 PM

I remember cutting my teeth on MIDI back in the day, then progressed into digital audio as DAWs and hardware became more capable.

I prefer digital audio too (*especially* when it comes to things like distorted guitars). The only thing is that unless you have a dry track to work with, it's set in stone. It's not as flexible as MIDI but then again you don't have to deal with the complexities of MIDI either. You just bang your drum, make sure everything recorded properly, and that's it. xD