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 Forum index » Instruments and Equipment » Soft synths
Want to run a stable LIVE rig with NI synths
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pdxmusic



Joined: Dec 22, 2007
Posts: 1
Location: portland

PostPosted: Sat Dec 22, 2007 8:25 pm    Post subject: Want to run a stable LIVE rig with NI synths Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Hello, the music that I play harkens back to the good old days of progressive rock. I have the need for some synths, mostly basses and leads, so I plan to use Massive. I would also like to build up some lush soundscapes with absynth. and round it all out with the all important B4 II.

Now my question is I would like to have a keyboard hooked up to each synth independently so I dont have to keep going to my computer and changing between programs. I already have the 3 midi keyboards, and a Lexicon lambda which I am currently using to route one of my boards through midi and the other USB. Is there some sort of control box where I can route all my keys to one box then send that data out to my lambda or is there another more effiecent way. Also I would like to integrate the behringer bcr2000 so I can really tweak the Massive for all its worth.

Any suggestions would be helpful.
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DES



Joined: Feb 28, 2003
Posts: 794
Location: New Jersey
Audio files: 8

PostPosted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 3:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Hello pdxmusic!

What you want to do is possible but is dependent on the capabilites of some of your gear. I'm not familier with the Lambda - in particular the driver applet for it.

You will need the following:
- 3 'outputs' or destinations for the soft synths
- 3 midi inputs or sources to route your external keyboards to the soft synths.

Let's take of the first part - the sounds destination.

There are basically two ways to operate the synths - stand alone or in some sort of Host program like Cubase, Sonar, Chainer, KORE, etc. Whether you need to run them in a host is dependent on your sound card driver. You will want to make sure it is running in ASIO mode and is multi-user compliant. Alot of the sound cards I have used recently can handle this. It's easy to test - try starting all three applications and see if you can play them using their gui keyboard. Some of the multiple-output sound cards have a mixer applet that is tied to the sound card driver. If yours has this, then set each soft-synth to use a different channel (or pair of channels). For example, I have a MOTU Traveler and I can set Absynth to the first pair, B4II to the second pair and MASSIVE to the 3rd pair. These are then mixed together to a single output pair (I can alternatively route them to different outputs...something you would want to do if running a surround system). If you have enough audio inputs you can even route your external synth audio thru the cards mixer. You probably won't have any type of bass/mid/treble controls doing it this way though.

The other way is to use a Host program like Cubase, Sonar, Logic - depends on your OS and preferences. Chainer is a very in-expensive host program that is suprisingly versatile though it only has two audio inputs. You can find free hosts out there - I would suggest going to www.kvradudio.com - a wealth of info is there. I'm also sure that everyone on the forum here will be able to give you suggestions. Currently I am using KORE 1 and 2. The nice thing about Host programs is that they integrate your soft synths togehter - something stand alone can't do as well. You can also apply 'community' effects like delays, reverbs, etc. The Hosts will also manage some of your MIDI routing as well though some of them are limited to one input port only..

The other issue is getting the MIDI from your external keys into your system. Ideally you would want three MIDI IN ports. With the Lambda and the BCR2000 you will have two...all you need then is a MIDI Merge box. M-Audio used to make them - and I think that Midi Solutions still does. You can also look for a multi-port interface like a MOTU Midi TimePiece A/V which will give you 8x8 MIDI capability. These are going fairly cheap on Ebay, Craigslist, etc.. Actually, I jsut looked at your post again - if one of your keyboards can connect via USB, you are set to go. One keyboard in the Lambda MIDI interface, one in the BCR interface and the last one via USB. Go into each of the soft synths and select the approriate MIDI port.

You didn't mention what keyboards you have... Some have the capability of merging their MIDI In port with their own MIDI data...if one of yours can, then you can merge two together and you'll be set to go. Just remember that each MIDI port is limited to 16 channels. I think this would be more then enough for what you want to do.. Also - some keyboards can be split into zones and each zone assigned it's own MIDI channel. You could potentially run all three soft synths off one keyboard.

There are also software programs like MidiOX that will help you manage your MIDI data flow. And, some of the multi-port MIDI interfaces will do the splitting for you.

The BCR2000 should show up as an MIDI interface - I forget what mine show up as - USB-something or other... Just enable it in Massive in the MIDI IN port selection...should be good to go..

Hope this starts you off in the right direction!

Dave
www.ambientstickist.com
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