On 8/14/2011 10:43 PM, hostdadrb wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I've gone through the archives, but cannot find quite what I'm
> looking for. I've been using BIAB since 2005. I've used Roland VSC
> for about that long also. While VSC works better than Microsoft GM
> sounds, if I want a better sound, I export the MIDI to my DAW and use
> sound fonts. I would like to be able to use VSTi or DXi, but I don't
> understand enough about what I'm looking for to even make a decision
> on what to use. It's the old scenario where I don't even know enough
> to ask the right questions! I do see the ability in Opt/MIDI to
> select DXi, but when I render, I get an empty wav file. I see the
> ability to load a VSTi, but don't know what I need to get all of the
> instruments in one VSTi. I use VSTi's in the DAW and they work fine,
> but they are on single instrument VSTi's. I assume there are VSTi's
> that have several instruments in one VSTi.
>
> The audio is an onboard SigmaTel Audio system. I think it only
> handles software buffering. While "free" is sometimes better on the
> pocketbook, I don't mind upgrading the audio card and/or buying a
> VSTi or DXi if I need to. I just want to be able to render a good
> sound by using BIAB and not have to export to a DAW to get a better
> MIDI sound. Can someone point me in the right direction?
>
The most recent versions of BIAB come with Forte or CoyoteDXi (which
shows up as CoyoteWT, I believe), which is a GM-compatible DXi plug-in.
Look on your BIAB CD to see if you have the installation files for it
on your most recent version of BIAB. You most likely do, since you're
using real instruments, and they've only been with us for several
versions of BIAB now, and I believe CoyoteDXi was included with all
those releases. I see both ForteDXi (an earlier version of CoyoteDXi
which I purchased back when BIAB only included a crippled demo version
of it with new releases) and CoyoteWT (the version which comes free with
BIAB these days).
Once you've installed it, click on the icon labeled DXi (to the right of
the Song Title entry panel) or go to the Opt. menu and select Midi/Audio
Setup.
Click on the Use VST/DXi Synth checkbox and it will open a dialog box
with a lot of empty instrument slots listed.
Click on the Options button and a list of options opens up -- Click
"Scan For New DX Plugins." The program will then scour all your
hard-drives for DXi synths. Once that's done, you'll be back at the
list of instrument slots but hopefully the name of one of your DXi
synths is showing in the top of 4 possible places in the Synth Track
tab. There should be a down-triangle next to the name of that synth and
if you click on it, any other DXi synths should show up. Select one (or
if there is only one, leave it) and exit that dialog and then click PLAY
and your output will all be routed through the DXi synth.
You can't combine midi output with DXi output. I don't think you can
combine Real Instruments with DXi output, either (although I haven't
worked with it a lot, so hopefully others will chime in with their
thoughts). If you choose a Real Style, the choices for changing
instruments are grayed out (at least on my computer they are) so you get
whatever the style gives you, which is entirely real instruments for
these styles. I will admit that I haven't worked enough with Real
Styles to know all the ins and outs of them.
There are a lot of DXi plug-ins as well as VST plug-ins which provide
much better sounds than most soundcard midi synths or than VSC or
MicrosoftWavetableSynth -- but they can run into a lot of many. Very
few of them are free because of the amount of time necessary to sample
each instrument properly for best sound and then a lot more time needs
to be spent on the entire soundset to get all the sounds to blend well
with each other and have consistent volume levels.
There is also the wonderful field of SoundFonts -- there are some free
soundfont DXi players, so you can load one of the soundfont DXi player
and then load up a soundfont (of which there are hundreds, if not
thousands, of free ones, many GM compatible with no effort on your part)
and get some great sounds with no effort.
But I will warn you that once you start getting into DXi or VST plugins,
you are entering a new level of complexity with BIAB (or any other music
program you use them with) and therefore you will need to put in some
hours of practice and learning before you get the great results which
are possible. And you might find some DXi or VST synths available with
terrific sounds but which aren't GM compatible, so you have to wrestle
with that aspect of things, and many cost a lot of money.
Good luck -- I hope I've at least pointed the way for you to start
exploring this aspect of BIAB further.
--
David H. Bailey
dhbailey@davidbaileymusicstudio.com
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