Sequencer? (1 Viewer)

[egg_]

I want to make arrangements of some tunes I have in my head for instruments I don't play/have (e.g. accordian and fiddle). How does one go about doing this? Presumably some sort of drum machine type thing where I program (or record) the notes I want and use that information to trigger accordian and fiddle sounds ... that's what a sequencer is innit? Forgive my ignorance, I've only ever used real instruments and recorded the audio in the past. I've borrowed a version of Cubase but don't really know where to start, dunno even if Cubase is the right thing to have

 

[nine]

I want to make arrangements of some tunes I have in my head for instruments I don't play/have (e.g. accordian and fiddle). How does one go about doing this? Presumably some sort of drum machine type thing where I program (or record) the notes I want and use that information to trigger accordian and fiddle sounds ... that's what a sequencer is innit? Forgive my ignorance, I've only ever used real instruments and recorded the audio in the past. I've borrowed a version of Cubase but don't really know where to start, dunno even if Cubase is the right thing to have

If you have access to reason you could use the matrix pattern sequencer.You can hook it up to the synth or sampler that is also in reason and sequence your notes,you can have up to 32 patterns programmed into it aswell.
I'm sure there would be some vst sequencers that you can get for cubase but i'm not that schooled in cubase to tell you the name of any.

 

[Alex]

I want to make arrangements of some tunes I have in my head for instruments I don't play/have (e.g. accordian and fiddle). How does one go about doing this? Presumably some sort of drum machine type thing where I program (or record) the notes I want and use that information to trigger accordian and fiddle sounds ... that's what a sequencer is innit? Forgive my ignorance, I've only ever used real instruments and recorded the audio in the past. I've borrowed a version of Cubase but don't really know where to start, dunno even if Cubase is the right thing to have

A sequencer is definitely what you need for this purpose: it is a device that allows to program/record a sequence (indeed) of notes and durations, edit/mess around, and play them back.

Basically, when you play your part, the sequencer keeps tracking of everything you're doing (duration, notes, dynamics, controllers, etc.) and writes them in a page that looks more or less like a spreadsheet, usually as coloured bars of different length and position (which represent your notes)

Once the part is there, you can edit it, change it, etc. until you're totally happy. If you want (or don't have a midi keyboard) you can just "draw" your notes in the page and it will play them for you.

Usually it's used to "pilot" a keyboard or anything that has its own sounds and a MIDI interface. You can do this on 8/16/32 separate tracks depending on your gear. Most keyboards are "8 parts multi-timbrical" (or multi-timbric..? can't remember) which means you can play up to 8 sounds at the same time, hence 8 tracks.

If it's a PC though, you can use the internal PCI card sounds (a.k.a. General MIDI) on 16 tracks. They are quite crap but very good to write arrangements and experiment, then when you need to record you can play the very same MIDI file through a good keyboard or any MIDI instrument.

A very good compromise is the Yamaha QY10 or QY20 - You can find it second hand for a few quid, it has its own internal sounds and its own built-in sequencer but you can also pilot it with the PC (Cubase, Cakewalk) so that you have a full screen to work with and this makes things a lot easier.

Here's a review:

http://www.harmony-central.com/Synth/Data/Yamaha/QY20-01.html

I had a LOT of fun with this stuff, you can really write/arrange full songs with it. Personally I prefer Cakewalk to Cubase, I think it's easier to use

 

[egg_]

Hmmm thanks fellers
So if I'm running Cubase (or Cakewalk) on PC can I get software synths for the pc that I can use the sequencer to run? How realistic can you get when it comes to reproducing acoustic intruments?
And how do you 'hook up' Cubase to a software synth?

 

[Alex]

Hmmm thanks fellers
So if I'm running Cubase (or Cakewalk) on PC can I get software synths for the pc that I can use the sequencer to run? How realistic can you get when it comes to reproducing acoustic intruments?
And how do you 'hook up' Cubase to a software synth?

It's not that you need a software synth. You can use the general MIDI sounds for a start, some are decent (Strings, organs, etc.), some are awful (Distorted guitar, drums).

Also, I know there are some plug-ins which reproduce exactly what a synth would do and, in that case, the quality of the sounds would be excellent. Can't help you here though as I always used the real thing (keyboard)

The internal sounds of the QY20 are very good too (especially drums) that's the perfect solution to your problem and I'm sure you can find one on ebay for 50 quid or so

 

[Alex]

Hey I just happened to read a similar thread on another board.... check this: http://www.kvr-vst.com/ there are tutorials too