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Don't understand how loop points are supposed to work

Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2017 6:21 pm
by Sagebrush Gardener
Hi,

I am a brand new user, so please forgive me in advance if this is a dumb question.

I am having trouble understanding how loop points are supposed to work. I have a .WAV sample of a strings chord (about 12 seconds). It has a slow fade in (about 2 seconds) and a slow fade out (also about 2 seconds).

I loaded the sample in VA-Beast and went to the PCM Setup screen, then I edited the loop points like this:

Intro (2 seconds fade in) | Loop | Outro (2 seconds fade out)

I set the Play Mode to "Intro + Loop Forward + Outro".

What I expected is that when I press a key to play the sample, it will fade in then loop the middle part of the sample for as long as I hold the key. Then when I release the key, I think it should play the Outro / Fade Out part of the sample.

However, when I release the key, the sample stops playing immediately instead of fading out.

Am I doing something wrong, or am I misunderstanding how this is supposed to work?

Thank you.


SG

Re: Don't understand how loop points are supposed to work

Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2017 7:57 am
by planet-h
Welcome to the forum, Sagebrush.
And thanks for your message.

You've set it up correctly.

The only thing you have missed is to increase the amp ADSR envelope release time (which is set to 6.9ms by default).
The amp envelope always surrounds the sound, independent on its origin.
Once you set a longer release time, you'll hear the sample outro as expected.

Re: Don't understand how loop points are supposed to work

Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2017 9:29 am
by Sagebrush Gardener
Wow, that sounds great! Thanks! I have been experimenting with creating multi-voice chords in ChordBot, exporting them as WAV files, then importing them into G-Stomper as samples.

Just one more question and I will leave you alone. :)

What is the best way to assign different samples to different keys? My goal is to have about five or six different chord samples (a mix of major, minor, and other chords) loaded at one time and control them either from the synth keyboard or the drum sampler. I have had partial success setting up the chord samples on the drum sampler. I like the interface of the drum sampler, but the problem is that it only plays the complete sample from start to finish -- I don't see a way to fade samples in and out on demand. The synth keyboard is good at fading samples in and out on demand, but I don't see a convenient way to have multiple samples available to choose from. One possibility is to assign different samples to VT01, VT02, etc. It is a bit awkward switching between them, but maybe that is the best solution. And it does have the advantage of being able to play one sample as any note, so I could put a major chord sample on keyboard 1, a minor chord sample on keyboard two, a minor+9 chord sample on keyboard three, etc. This is for an ambient sound with slow atmospheric washes.

Re: Don't understand how loop points are supposed to work

Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2017 2:53 pm
by planet-h
Sagebrush Gardener wrote:What is the best way to assign different samples to different keys? My goal is to have about five or six different chord samples (a mix of major, minor, and other chords) loaded at one time and control them either from the synth keyboard or the drum sampler.

That mostly depends on how you want to use those samples later on.
The VA-Beast PCM module is probably the best choice, as you have the ability of using a regular key press, hold and release.
To assign multiple samples to different key ranges (or to single keys), you have first to load a sample in the VA-Beast PCM module, then set the root key, low key and high key for that sample.
Once you did that, the sample will only play if your key press is in that defined key range. If you set the root key, low key and high key to the same note, then the sample will only play at that specific note.
To assign the keys, simply long press the root key button for example, then press your desired key on the keyboard. Do the same for the low and high key, and the assignment is complete.
To add another sample, short press the smp button and then press the right arrow >> to open a new sample slot. Once loaded, assign the sample to other keys than the first one.
Depending on the way you want to use your chords, you can either assign each sample to one single key, or assign it to a key range, e.g. one octave (e.g. root key = C4, low key = G3, high key F#4).

Sagebrush Gardener wrote:I have had partial success setting up the chord samples on the drum sampler. I like the interface of the drum sampler, but the problem is that it only plays the complete sample from start to finish -- I don't see a way to fade samples in and out on demand.

That's correct, yes. Playing drums is usually done by sending triggers that fire a sound. And that's what the G-Stomper drum samplers do. You can of course change the start point, length and much more of the underlying sample, but at the end it's still fired by a trigger, not by a note on/off command like a synth sound.

Sagebrush Gardener wrote:The synth keyboard is good at fading samples in and out on demand, but I don't see a convenient way to have multiple samples available to choose from. One possibility is to assign different samples to VT01, VT02, etc. It is a bit awkward switching between them, but maybe that is the best solution. And it does have the advantage of being able to play one sample as any note, so I could put a major chord sample on keyboard 1, a minor chord sample on keyboard two, a minor+9 chord sample on keyboard three, etc. This is for an ambient sound with slow atmospheric washes.

As mentioned above, I'd say the best way to go is to assign each sample to a key range within the same VA-Beast instance.
If you use one chord over the complete kb range, then it won't sound very well if you pitch it down too much (e.g. if the root key is C4 and you press C2 or C6).
If you need the kb range, then a half octave up and down from the root key should work pretty well.

Hope that answers your question.

Re: Don't understand how loop points are supposed to work

Posted: Mon May 01, 2017 12:17 am
by Sagebrush Gardener
To add another sample, short press the smp button and then press the right arrow >> to open a new sample slot.


Ah, yes. That's the piece I was missing. Thanks! Well, I'm off to play with it for a while. I think I am trying to use it for a different style of music than it was intended for but it is fun. It's the best $12 I ever spent. :)

Re: Don't understand how loop points are supposed to work

Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 2:17 pm
by planet-h
Sagebrush Gardener wrote:
To add another sample, short press the smp button and then press the right arrow >> to open a new sample slot.


Ah, yes. That's the piece I was missing. Thanks! Well, I'm off to play with it for a while. I think I am trying to use it for a different style of music than it was intended for but it is fun. It's the best $12 I ever spent. :)


You're very welcome!
And thanks a lot for the kind words:)

Re: Don't understand how loop points are supposed to work

Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2017 12:10 pm
by sindyciaray
It's the best $12 I ever spent.

Re: Don't understand how loop points are supposed to work

Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 4:00 pm
by planet-h
sindyciaray wrote:It's the best $12 I ever spent.


Thanks a lot, sindyciaray. Great to hear that you're happy with the app.