New With ??? About My Set Up Options

[torchsong]

Light candle and commence...

[QUOTE]Hmmm. Well, then, let me ask you these burning questions. Since it's an iMac, can I safely assume that it's a USB FastLane, not a serial one? If USB, do you have the latest/correct drivers from MOTU for your system? Finally, have you tried installing FreeMIDI and turning off OMS, just to focus on your DX-7>FastLane>iMac>FastLane>DX-7 and make sure that everything is fine up to that point, without intervening software?

Yes, Fast Lane is USB and I have the latest drivers
Free MIDI is installed but wasn't running so I turned off OMS and started Free MIDI, no crashes so I checked the configuration, everything seems to be working, meaning a signal looks like it is coming from the keyboard except now I have no audio.

I have a pair of computer monitors hooked up to the imac.
Would I want to make an audio connection via the mixer? I don't believe I have the proper size connectors to do that.

Where does QuickTime fit into all of this?

As for Metro and other software, do they only work best with OMS???
I won't ask why

Thanks for all the help!

[damann]

[quote=torchsong,Nov 23 2002, 22:15]
[QUOTE]

As for Metro and other software, do they only work best with OMS???
I won't ask why

Thanks for all the help![/quote]
hi torchsong,
nothing works "best" with oms unless, as in the case of digi, it insists on oms to WORK AT ALL!
reading this post, it really seems that you've configured free midi/oms correctly etc.
it has to be back to levon rivers' extension clash theory. did you try the system 9 set with the oms or free midi extensions as the only active 3rd party drivers?
are you running your music apps on a system that's also used for graphics, internet etc purposes?
for instance, yahoo mesenger & plenty of other non- music apps can screw things up.
consider the fact that maybe metro is the problem.
try pt le again, same problem?
versions, drivers, all up to date?
seems like the problem became different when you switched to freemidi, no?
metro famously dosen't really support midi! unlike digi, they at least don't pretend. s**t i have 2 b careful here.
techtool & or diskwarrior ARE essential to ensure your system isn't the problem. as levon says, stay away from norton!
keep the posts coming, good luck...

[Tone]

Greetings all

I read the comment by damann on MIDI concerning the Digi and thought it was a good point to jump in.
I started home recording only this year (using a 001 and a Korg Triton Le WS ) and I am happy with the general progress made - thanks to advice from yourselves and other excellent forums.
I must say, the MIDI facilities on my 001 have been a godsend. I can get a tight rhythm section, change the groove and randomise to my hearts/ears content. (and it's flexibility makes it bloody addictive!). Cheating? Maybe, but for somebody at my entry level who is quite far off making the step-up to professional studios and session musicians - its superb!
Now my queries;
1. A common point of critique from others kind enough to listen and offer advice on my songs is the "cheesy" sound from my Triton. Particularly backgroung fillers (strings, soft synths etc) and keyboard sounds. I know you get what you pay for but, like everyone, I would really like to give my comps a better sound. Does anyone out there have any suggestions where and how I can improve (or add to) these sounds. [There is a provision for using a separate sampler card but I didn't buy it and wouldn't know how to get the best from it if I did.]
Maybe a stupid question but I have to ask.

2. I experimented with the "Compressor" plug-in (on the Master Fader only!) with excellent results - more by luck than good management. Are there set rules which elements (Vox/Inst?) usually require compression and under what circumstances would a Limiter be preferred to a Compressor?

I trust the MIDI comments and these two queries are approriate to the forum

Thanks to all
Tony

[Levon River]

I trust the MIDI comments and these  two queries are approriate to the forum

Definitely appriate to the forum, Tone (if you're operating in OS 9.x), but you might want to copy yer message and start it as a new thread since it wanders far afield from torchsong's woes that we're trying to get unknotted. (I'm not trying to do the moderators' job; just think you'd get more responses if you put your questions into a relevantly-titled thread of your own creation.)

The short answer to getting better/more "real" sounds into your mixes is definitely "sampler" (or sample-playback unit, if you don't want to get into tweaking or creating sampled instruments). There are too many available options to list, both hardware and software. If you're on a tight budget, definitely check out the shareware VSamp software sampler; it works as a VST instrument or standalone, and also reads Soundfont and SampleCell format. There's a world of free Soundfonts out there to get you started, some of them damn good. The program CDXtract will give you accessibility to almost every sample format out there, and the ability to convert to almost any format you need.

Hope that puts a spark in yer plug.

[Levon River]

Free MIDI is installed but wasn't running  so I turned off OMS and started Free MIDI,  no crashes so I checked the configuration, everything seems to be working, meaning a signal looks like it is coming from the keyboard...

Oh, that's a blessing. That's religion right there. That's manna from the skies. Now we're getting somewhere...

...except now I have no audio.

Let's keep the MIDI and audio issues separate, or we'll just be back into a taffy-pull.

From all that's gone before, it seems now like the culprit has got to be OMS (Now *there's* a gasp-making surprise ). Okay, now, I haven't wrestled with this beast in months, and somebody said it changed recently, but there was a function in FreeMidi for it to "Emulate OMS." (Somebody sed recently that now it goes the other way somehow, but I haven't read up on it. Pray some of these other MIDI jockeys will wade in here soon and share their wisdom.) But have you addressed this issue of OMS acting like FreeMidi (for the Fastlane) and/or FreeMidi masquerading as OMS (for Metro)? We may have uncovered the black heart of this anti-musical monster.

If you track down what the latest state-of-the-confusion is between FreeMidi><OMS emulation, and get just *that* set up by the book, with yer synth audio outputs NOT going through the computer, but just to somewhere you can hear it, and then run Metro and see what happens with recording and playing back MIDI, that will be a further narrow-down.

Only when the MIDI is working should you start tackling the audio part. They are separate, separate, separate issues. Trying to handle both at once is the fast train to Bedlam.

I have a pair of computer monitors hooked up to the imac.
Would I want to make an audio connection via the mixer? I don't believe I have the proper size connectors to do that.

<A-*hem*!> You just never listen to a word I say, do you?

Adapters are dirt cheap. We'll get there. The *first* step is getting your MIDI equipment talking to your computer and software without crashing the machine.

Where does QuickTime fit into all of this?

Aiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeee!

Leave it alone, girl! Seriously, it's not in this picture at the moment.

As for Metro and other software, do they only work best with OMS???
I won't ask why  :)

I don't know specifically about Metro in its current incarnation. But if you debug the FreeMidi><OMS emulation quandry, it shouldn't matter. The problems arise when there's one thing expecting to find FreeMidi, another expecting to find OMS. The two were competing proprietary <Spit!> methods of handling MIDI when they both started which did not co-exist well at all at the System level, both trying to take over. MOTU relented and provided an OMS emulation option in FreeMidi. That seemed to work well to solve most problems. As I said, I don't know exactly what happened after that; Opcode went belly up.

Thanks for all the help!

Always been a sucker for a cello.


P.S. to damann: just read yours, and Metro does in fact support MIDI; it started out as the MIDI-only companion to Deck. Then Deck and Metro got orphaned to different companies. Metro grew audio capabilities; Deck is still audio-only. Maybe Deck is what you were thinking of. Metro and Deck have the same parents.

[Tone]

Levon

Thanks for the direction

I suspected Sound Effects/Engineering may be a tad too far away from these forum subjects.
I'll keep surfing, starting with the name you gave me, and see what comes up.

I had to try though

Tony

[Levon River]

I suspected Sound Effects/Engineering may be a tad too far away from these forum subjects.

No, no, you misapprehended me: Your questions and topics are as welcome as the flowers in May here, and you're likely to get some very expert help and direction in these forums. I was just suggesting that you start a new thread (topic) with a title to it that will attract the attention of others here who are knowledgable in those particular areas. Right at the bottom of this message there's a button that says "New Topic". Just click that and you're off and running.

[Levon River]

Ummmm, torchsong? Where'd you go?

Oh, well... Making music, I hope.

[torchsong]

aah yeah, playing music the old fashioned way... with a bow!

I took a break for holiday and family stuff, thinking that when I returned to this everything would work...

Extensions seem to be under control, no conflicts but I still have no sound when I play the DX7 and no sound when testing the set up in OMS or with Free MIDI. What gives???
I made separate sets of extensions for each application so I'm running one or the other (OMS/FreeMIDI) not both at the same time. (and no graphics stuff either!)
Will this help?

ProTools Free still refuses to work

It is embarrassing to have to post these requests for help because it probably is something really basic causing the problem I still have my hair but the dent in my head is getting bigger

I tried Metro first because of cost (cheep!) but now I'm wondering if it was worth the headache

[kaboombahchuck]

Well hello!
Sorry I did not look at this one sooner.
When I use metro, the first track does not seem to have any playback sound after being recorded, so here is what I do. I record the first track, then I export it. Then I delete the track I just recorded and reimport the one I just exported. Sounds kinda wierd, but it works. Usually I only have to do this to the first track. All others should work fine. Also go to setup (I think) and choose digital recording. Click on recording options and check play through. This way You can hear what you are playing when it comes to keyboards. As far as the midi stuff goes, I'm gonna have to look at the string of posts so far and see if I can help you out on that one.

Oh, also make sure that you choose sound in in your sound controll panel and check sound through. I am also running a behringer (2004 eurorack) so when you look at you gain, set it all the way down (in the sound controll panel), this will keep the evil hiss monster at bay.

I am using OMS with Metro, but it took me a long while to get it to work. If you click on my signature, It will take you to the site where my music is. All of the songs there was done using Metro 5 and an iMac. The only song that was done using the midi sequencer is "no title".