[器材] Korg nanoKEY Studio

18/11/13

1.   Korg Kontrol Editor無法和其他音樂軟體同時共用設備。舉例來說，如果同時開啟NI Kontakt 5和Korg Kontrol Editor，那麼Kontrol Edtidor將無法接收或傳送任何設定

官方的回覆是因為Kontrol Editor是32-bit，因此無法和64-bit程式共用。個人覺得這設計有很大的瑕疵，現在幾乎九成的軟體都早已是64位元了，結果我們用戶還被你這個Editor卡死。我是認為官方其實有義務出一個64-bit的Editor，考慮到產品的未來性

The KORG KONTROL Editor doesn't recognize the microKEY when a DAW program is running.

  April 13, 2018 07:13

·     In case of the Windows standard driver, only one application program can use the microKEY/microKEY Air. To use the microKEY/microKEY Air from two or more application programs, please install the latest KORG USB-MIDI driver.

·    The KORG USB-MIDI Driver cannot be used from a 32-bit application program and a 64-bit application program simultaneously. When a 64-bit DAW software is used, the KORG KONTROL Editor, a 32-bit application program, cannot be used simultaneously.

眼前的解法是只能先在Editor做好一切設定，再開啟其他程式

2.    nanoKEY Studio的X-Y Pad的modwheel訊息無法被鎖住，也就是像joystick會自動回彈。且在Kontrol Editor裡面也無法改變這個行為

事實上Kontrol Editor中的Pitch/Mod選項也只能調整pitch bend相關的部分

3.   nanoKEY Studio的Trigger Pads還有一些有趣的設定可以試，例如他的note可以設定四個，還有可以改為傳送program change等

4.   nanoKEY Studio在Global 下的velocity curve和sensitivity設定

[轉貼] What is a Reese bass, and what is it's place in EDM music

命名由來是一位Techno音樂家Reese，他在這首歌使用的bass音色後來被叫做reese bass

Reese – Just Want Another Chance (1988)

[轉貼] 電音中的一些常用音色介紹

電子音樂其實沒有真正常用的單個音色，因為音色本來也算是電子音樂作者性的一部分。

這個網址給出了一些比較經典的音色，不能說現在有多流行，但曾經流行過：

http://www.synthmania.com/Famous%20Sounds.htm

下面再補充說一些，如有疏漏謬誤請指正：

1.     SuperSaw

可謂是當今EDM不可或缺的音色，滲透進了各種流行商業曲中。

本質上是detuned saw wave，即許多音高略微不同的鋸齒波疊在一起，給鋸齒波“加厚”，之後根據口味和混音疊加EQ、壓縮器、混響之類效果器。

多數情況用來演奏比較大的和絃。

2.     Acid

在上世紀80年代流行過一陣子，現在的商業曲大概不會用到吧。

指的是用Roland公司的TB-303合成器擰出的非常扭曲的音色，是acid house這一流派的基礎。

常作為bassline。

[軟體] Cubase 10 的新功能

起初是打算要寫一篇完整的新功能介紹，但是底下這篇已經太詳盡且圖文並茂，最後決定只記錄對我的工作流程比較有直接幫助的

AdmiralBumbleBee.com – Cubase 10: Is it worth it?

往常Steinberg都是在12月初發布最新版Cubase，結果v9.5和v10卻是選在11月中，整整早了一個月，不知道是不是為了和他牌軟體廠商的Black Friday黑色星期五促銷競爭。無論如何我們來看看今年(2018)的Cubase Pro 10有什麼值得注意的更新

外觀更新

1.     HiDPI (limited support for Windows 10)

因為良好的視覺效果是硬體和軟體合力作用的效果，其中，高PPI只是提供了硬體基礎，細膩的顯示效果還取決於作業系統是否開啟了HiDPI渲染，它是螢幕上一個字元或圖示顯示得模糊或清晰的決定性因素之一。

HiDPI本質上是用軟體的方式實現單位面積內的高密度圖元。在我們的慣性思維裡，高解析度意味著更小的字體和圖示，兩者只能舍其一。而通過開啟HiDPI渲染，可以在保證解析度不變的情況下，使得字體和圖示變大。

總結下來就是：高PPI(硬體) + HiDPI渲染(軟體) = 更細膩的顯示效果(retina)，二者缺一不可。

(HiDPI = High Dots Per Inch; PPI = Pixels Per Inch)

2.     Updated Plugins

把以前一些看起來年代久遠的內建插件的外觀和排版做了翻新，除了看起來更現代之外，重要功能也更容易找到，單位也被清楚地標示出來(我還蠻納悶為什麼以前會把單位省略，變成很多時候要翻說明書才知道他想表達什麼)

雖然聲音處理引擎應該是沒有變，但光是UI的改良就足以大幅提升工作效率

[技術] 合成器 Synth Pad 音色

1.  波形選擇

OSC1: wavetable | 53-gibralta (59%) + 78-mexico city (41%)

OSC2: triangle (8va)

fine tune +4

2.  Amp Envelope

調高A (0.577ms)

也調高D和R，目的是一個smooth的音色

[技術] 合成器 Synth Snare 音色

1.  波形選擇

OSC1: sine (body部分)

OSC2: noise (attack部分)

2.   

在mixer依喜好調整每個OSC的比例

[技術] 合成器 SuperSaw 音色

1.  波形選擇

     OSC1: saw

OSC2: saw (8va)

OSC3: saw (8vb)

OSC4: sine (8vb)

2.   

在mixer依喜好調整每個OSC的比例

sine的存在感很低，可能需要大一點，不容易被聽到，主要是提供一個低頻的打擊感

[技術] 合成器 Wobble Pad 音色

1.  波形選擇

OSC1: wavetable | 85-nicosia (62%) + classic saw (38%)

2.  Amp Envelope

調高A和R，因為這裡要做的是有節奏的pad，因此A和不用太大，只要聽起來有球狀的聲音即可

[樂理] 小調卡農

小調卡農

雖然不知道有沒有更早的作品，關於小調卡農，我自己印象最深刻的是這首

久石譲   – 君をのせて

[技術] 定義 Swing

Swing def. 1

Swing is a rhythmic style you can apply, in which off-beats are moved forward in time relative to on-beat notes, creating a relaxed, bouncy feel. This offset is calculated based on the currently selected Quantize value. For example, at 100% Swing, with 16th-note quantize selected, a pattern of 16th notes play at a 2:1 ratio; On-beat notes play on beat, and offbeats play as though they were the final 16th-note triplet in a group of three. You can set the amount of swing between 0% (straight timing) and 100% (fully swung).

在Studio One的定義下，swing = 0%代表二連音，swing = 100%代表三連音的第1, 3顆音符

Cubase和FL Studio亦同

“…Cubase uses 0% to represent perfectly straight timing, while 100% equates to triplets.”

16th Swing (%)	定義	六等分		起始位置
0	1:1	3:3		0
25		3.25:2.75	13:11	8.33
50		3.5:2.5	7:5	16.66
75		3.75:2.25	5:3 = 64th	24.99
100	2:1	4:2	4:2 = 32th triplet	33.33

For MIDI and VST-based instruments you'll find each track's inspector has a "MIDI Inserts" pane. Expand it, select a slot and choose "Quantizer" from the drop-down. There you'll find your Swing control. What nice, is that it's non-destructive (works in realtime).

Hey all! Long time Sonar user here. Crossgraded to Cubase 9.5 Pro, have been putting it through it's paces and noticed that the Quantize Swing function percentage reacts differently than I'm used to. In Cubase 0% Swing is a perfect straight beat and 100% Swing is a perfect Swing (a perfect quarter note eighth note triplet). In Sonar, 50% Swing is perfect straight beat and 66% is a perfect swing. Past 66% and up to 100% the Swing becomes Over Swung ( the second note gets closer and closer to the third) Being able to Over Swing is very important and useful for Jazz ride cymbals and EDM stuff MPC style. Under 50% Swing in Sonar

the Swing becomes negative swing. (the second beat gets closer and closer to the first beat) Equally useful for a slight rushing feel for certain parts of a groove.

My feature request is for the Quantize Swing setting to allowing the full range of negative Swing to completly Over Swung. Thanks in advance for your consideration and time!!

Swing def. 2

大部分的硬體鼓機跟著沿用了Roger Linn的定義: 50% = straight, 66% = triplet

同樣使用這套標準的DAW有Logic和Reason

The ‘swing’ function as we now know it – originally known as ‘shuffle’, a term still used by some hardware manufacturers and software developers – was first introduced in Roger Linn‘s 1979 LM-1 Drum Computer. Linn realised that he could approximate the effect of a human drummer playing in swing timing by quantising each drum beat to the nearest step and then delaying the playback of every other  step in the sequencer (to see how Linn introduced his ‘auto-correct’ and ‘shuffle’ features, take a look at the LM-1 manual). But this effect was useful for more than just jazz-style triplet-derived swing timing; different delay times could replicate a variety of lazy, swinging grooves. The longer the delay, the more obvious the effect.

Linn’s system used percentages to express the amount of swing applied to every second step. (At this point let’s assume we’re talking about the most commonly used form of swing in dance music: 16th-note swing.) Those percentages pertain to the degree that every second 16th note is positioned in relation to the beats either side of it. So 50% swing refers to straight timing, where every second step is played exactly half way between the two beats either side of it.

The most common approach (and the system we use in our Beat Dissected features) is the one implemented by Linn back in 1979, where straight timing is referred to as 50%, meaning that the first beat of every pair of 16th notes takes up 50% of the time of those two notes (i.e. the full 8th note). At a 60% swing setting, the first beat would take 60% of that 8th note. You’ll still find that approach in hardware such as Akai MPCs, Korg Electribes, the DSI Tempest and DAWs including Logic and Reason.

The main swing option in Logic dispenses with percentages altogether, offering a choice of six settings instead. In the case of 16th-note swing, these are called 16A through to 16F. The manual defines those settings by swing percentage, using the same convention (50% = straight timing) as Linn:

16A: 50%
16B: 54%
16C: 58%
16D: 62%
16E: 66%
16F: 71%

50% is no swing, meaning that both 16th notes within each 8th note are given equal timing. And 66% means perfect triplet swing, meaning that the first 16th note of each pair gets 2/3 of the time, and the second 16th note gets 1/3, so the second 16th note falls on a perfect 8th note triplet. The fun comes in the in-between settings. For example, a 90 BPM swing groove will feel looser at 62% than at a perfect swing setting of 66%. And for straight 16th-note beats (no swing), a swing setting of 54% will loosen up the feel without it sounding like swing. Between 50% and around 70% are lots of wonderful little settings that, for a particular beat and tempo, can change a rigid beat into something that makes people move. And unlike the MPCs, my new Tempest drum machine makes it very easy to find the right swing setting because you can adjust the swing knob in real time while the beat plays. I first introduced swing – as well as recording quantization – in my 1979 drum machine, the LM-1 Drum Computer.

[軟體] Studio One 中的 Musicloop 和 Audioloop

Musicloop

如果你曾經試圖從Studio One匯出MIDI檔，你可能會發現還有一種 .musicloop的檔案類型

這個 .musicloop就是PreSonus公司開發的Musicloop格式，也可以把它看成一般MIDI的加強版，目前應該只有在SO裡可以使用。一個 .musicloop其實打包了數個檔案：

[技術] Detune 在合成器裡的作用

Detune

中文譯為去諧、解諧，但其實還是原文detune較常用

原理是以微小的單位改變OSC(波形)的音準，使它稍微偏離標準

這個小單位可以用cent (100 cents = 1 semitone)或Hz (1/s)，擇一來表示

例如我們可以把A4 detune到A4 +10 cents，也等於detune了+2.55 Hz

[軟體] 2018精選五台軟體合成器 (synthesizer)

這個由Equipboard網站挑選出來的列表，表中所提到的合成器都符合:

1.     Affordable – 售價在200美金以下

2.     Up to date – 常常更新，加入一些新功能或除錯

3.     Pro artist usage – 被專業人士使用

4.     Numerous recommendations – 在論壇和社群網站上有很多人推薦

5.     Rated highly by publications like MusicRadar and Sound On Sound