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Old 02-16-2018, 03:00 PM   #1
dunstan
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Default volume/velocity suddenly not working on one track

All of a sudden, all the notes are playing back at the same level, no matter how I tweak the vertical bars for velocity (screen shot). Any thoughts on what I did wrong?
Thanks!
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Old 02-16-2018, 04:24 PM   #2
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apologies for stating the obvious, but you are trying to play a midi patch / instrument that responds to velocity?
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Old 02-17-2018, 09:52 AM   #3
dunstan
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Hi doozy - Thanks for the reply. Not obvious to me at all (never occurred to me that there would be such an instrument) - looks like you're right. The velocity bars appear to change the tonality of the instrument (samples that get loaded?) at different levels, but not the "volume". The plug-in here is EastWest strings. I know that with Addictive Keys, those bars do control "volume".
I'm really struggling to figure out how to manipulate volume, velocity, and expression for a midi patch. Volume I believe, is controlled by the track fader. I thought velocity was controlled by those vertical bars. I still haven't got a clue how to get to expression to work (I know it's CC11, but I don't know how to trigger that, or whatever the right word is.)
And one other thing I found: "trim volume" - no idea how this fits in the overall picture. So I know there's an envelope for "volume" and one for "trim volume", but not for "expression".
I'm studying the manual and looking on this forum, but any hints you can give me to figure this stuff out would be greatly appreciated.
D
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Old 02-17-2018, 10:10 AM   #4
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MIDI velocity is a property associated with each MIDI note. MIDI volume and expression are set by MIDI CC events. Below is a view of the MIDI Editor, with a "controller lane" showing each of them:



In the MIDI Editor you can create / edit them (check out the User Guide). But your instrument plug-in needs to be able to recognise these and to respond to them. Some do, some don't. I do not know what East West Strings supports.

Those three are ways of controlling the instrument plug-in. But, you are right, you could use the Track Volume Envelope to control the track's volume, but they may be less convenient. Trim Volume is described in 18.23 of the User Guide.
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Old 02-17-2018, 12:09 PM   #5
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Excellent; many thanks, DarkStar!
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Old 02-17-2018, 12:47 PM   #6
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Hi DarkStar:
Hope you don't mind a follow-up question...
So I found the expression MSB in the MIDI editor and drew in some random CC events (screen shot) from 0 to 127, but it doesn't affect playback levels at all. Any idea what I'm doing wrong?
Thanks!
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Old 02-18-2018, 09:06 AM   #7
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Are they on the right MIDI channel for the instrument plug-in?


Does the instrument loaded in the plug-in do anything with them (check its user manual)?
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Old 02-18-2018, 01:47 PM   #8
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By George, I think I've finally got it! Thanks again for your help.
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Old 02-19-2018, 05:16 AM   #9
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Good oh!

And, to help out others with a similar problem, please let us know what you did to get it all working.
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Old 02-21-2018, 06:59 PM   #10
dunstan
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Unfortunately, "finally got it" is very much a relative term. I got one instance of expression to work on one track, but I'm still stumbling around bewildered as to why some of the tracks are behaving one way, and some are not. When I'm in a position to post a coherent reply, I certainly will.
I will however gladly post the link to a series of great videos by Kenny Gioia which cover just about everything in Reaper:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq2...98HlB5mVFHGSsQ
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Old 02-21-2018, 07:09 PM   #11
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expression - like any midi CC depends on the instrument or patch being set to respond to it. Not all instruments or patches will respond to it, and those that do may respond differently depending on how the patch has been programmed.
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