LA Scoring Strings is a most fantastic string library, and recently it was updated to add a function called Auto Accompaniment. If this brings back memories of the old Casio or Bontempi keyboards, you’ll have to clear your mind. What auto accompaniment does here is split parts intelligently between the instruments playing. What that means is that you can write a string tune on a single MIDI track, and it will split your file between whatever instruments you choose to play it.
I thought I’d start with a string quartet (in actual fact, one violin, viola, cello and double bass). I also added a piano part too. So just remember that very little effort has been put into this string part – it was played live into Cubase on my keyboard.
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The Auto Accompaniment feature is tweakable and comes with many preset ensembles, so you can use it for intelligent auto-divisi between sustained parts, or fast articulations. A great time saver for LASS users.
After a lot of hard work, the Diva’s 2009 show is over, and my paycheque goes towards a new string library, expected to be delivered today – LA Scoring Strings. This library is absolutely incredible in the right hands, and while I don’t think I quite have the right hands yet, I have been practicing using divisi in my string writing in order to make for a more realistic and organic section sound – something that LASS really excells at. I think its time to take one of the drives out of my old computer and install on my new one for this library since I’m running out of space on my sample drive.
Meanwhile, the synths from NI’s Komplete are incredible. Somewhat processor intensive, but just amazing sounding, and even FM8 – an FM synth in the same vane as the Yamaha DX7 is easy to program (even using expert mode). Massive is equally good, in a different way. Reaktor possibly isn’t for me. It has some nice modules built in which will get some use, but I’m not really into synth design and find the interface somewhat clunky to use with the built in synths. Lots here though to use in future projects.
I’ve been using Native Instruments VI’s for several years now, but have been very selective over upgrading them. I have been using Kontakt 2 and have never bothered with an upgrade to Kontakt 3. Now Kontakt 4 is out and I have decided to upgrade all of my NI VI’s at the same time, by purchasing the Komplete 6 upgrade. Looks like I have a weekend of installing in store for myself…
The upgrade is pretty significant for me, adding numerous new instruments. I’m not sure I’ll use Battery which is NI’s drum sampler, though if sound libraries within it are useful, I probably will. All the other instruments seem instantly useable, with many new synth types to augment my collection. Cubase 5 came with a fairly impressive array of new VI synths (including the incredibly fun LoopMasher, but I think NI’s synth VI’s will get more use from me. Absynth is familiar (and somewhat confusing) to me, but Reaktor, Massive and FM8 are new and exciting synths for me to use.
The upgrade for Guitar Rig looks fairly modest, but adds some cool new functionality.
I’ve done some optimizing of Vista now, got rid of the lovely but unnecessary Aero and some other audio specific optimizations. I can now run my new piece with roughly 7% CPU usage, all as MIDI. Remember that this uses incredibly powerful sample libraries that required freezing on the old machine in order just to play back. This is a wonderful thing…
Well, last night was beyond frustrating – major issues with using my Saffire on the new computer. Still not sure what the problem was – it would just cut out, something like the driver crashing, requiring uninstalling, restarting, installing. But among what was an unbelievable exercise in patience (I didn’t win), I discovered a way to use my old CME keyboard with the new computer (MIDI connects the old computer through my old US-122 to the Saffire. The keyboard is connected to the old computer (Win XP) through USB, and MIDIOX sends the signal without any noticeable latency through to the Saffire. Seems to work like a dream. I also connected the audio from the old computer to the Saffires inputs 3-4, so I have everything going through the same speaker system. The down side is that to use MIDI my old computer MUST be turned on, and to hear audio from my old computer, my new computer MUST be on. Not quite what I was hoping for, but will do the job until finances allow for more purchasing.
This morning, the Saffire seems really stable on the new machine – gave it a quick test drive once again with a really intense set of plugins, and everything’s working well. My latest piece (on the home page – called Disguised) which won’t run on the old machine at all without freezing tracks to save CPU load, runs nicely on the new machine with a 12% CPU load with nothing frozen and using Vista’s Aero graphics (something I don’t intend to live with for long – they’re really nice, but an unnecessary drain). This has some intense plugins – Superior 2.0, Reverence Reverb, several instances of Guitar Rig and Voxengo Elephant among others. I’m pleased to see this kind of performance… that is the whole point of the upgrade. And I’m still not totally utilizing the new computer to its potential since I’m running Cubase in 32 bit mode.