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AndyB01

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Posts posted by AndyB01

  1. I like how the piano follows the drums in places - weirdly hypnotic. 

    I don't know why but I kept expecting a guard's whistle despatching a train at some point - perhaps this is your 'Supper's Ready' Jesse 😀👏

    Only another ten minutes to go... 😉

    A truly remarkable piece of instrumentation.

    Andy

  2. At least you have the option to refuse, those of us stuck on perfectly good i7700 processors are deemed unworthy by the Microsoft CPU Police.

    Not that I mind staying on W10 for now, I just object to being forced into an upgrade earlier than I might have because those CPUs don't happen to be fitted to Surface Pros - funny coincidence that...

    • Like 1
  3. I should have added, in EzKeys, make sure you use the split tool to break the song down into its constituent parts such as intro, verse, chorus, bridge etc, so you can apply different variations from midi packs to each.

    Don't be afraid to experiment either, for example sometimes using a bridge or pre-chorus variation on a second or third verse can add some an extra dimension you might have otherwise missed.

    Andy

  4. Bumping this old thread to reply to the comment by @Jesse Screed above

    So I am re-working an old song of mine that I posted on here a couple of years back - as I think it can be improved - and I have used it to demo the technique described above. First off, here is a base chord track of the song - hand coded entirely in Scaler 2 and played from the grid using one-finger chords and key switches - recorded to an aux midi track in CbB in real time:


     

    Pretty dull and uninteresting I am sure you would agree (I hope you didn't listen all the way through)

    And this is the same track, routed through a bus, with three additional piano tracks. These have all been built by importing the base chord tracks into EzKeys and editing them in each case using different MIDI packs and the 'use browser midi' function to replace the basic track:

    Now, I have deliberately gone over the top for effect here by adding three tracks and you could argue less is more in this game - but it all depends on the effect you're after. Note this is still pretty raw with no mixing or FX, save for some panning left and right to add some width.

    Obviously you have to browse and audition a few EzKeys MIDI packs to find a few candidate matches, before deciding which to choose and how long that takes depends how many MIDI packs you own (if you own as many as @Bapu it might take a lifetime). Then you just do any PRV corrections you feel necessary (there are invariably a few bum notes) and then blend them into a bus and - hey presto - your very own virtual session pianist.

    Hope this illustrates the workflow a little.

    Andy

  5. 1 hour ago, craigb said:

    Loved them both, but I must admit that (as with others) I kind of treated them as different bands.

    Agreed - Hackett's recent re-working of old Genesis with Nad Sylvan on vocals have been better than many of Collins' interpretations - although no question, Collins was an excellent front man in his own right.

    I think the most inspired decision Hackett made was asking Amanda Lehmann to do lead vocals on Ripples - an absolutely incredible rendition IMHO.

    • Like 1
  6. 8 hours ago, Jack Stoner said:

    Does it do it only on battery or only with mains power adapter?  or both?  

    Has done it on both, as a dud battery was the first thing I suspected as it's still the original one.

    I haven't tweaked any settings in the BIOS (Clevo BIOS is pretty locked down).

    I have tried resetting memory and checking physical connections as - after heat and battery - this was my next suspect.

    The intermittent nature of the fault makes it really difficult to diagnose so I am really appreciative of the ongoing advice - thanks all.

    I'll report back once I've had chance to try some of the above suggestions.

    Andy

  7. 1 hour ago, jesse g said:

    Click Start > Type "Power" and select > Power & Sleep Settings and see how long before it goes to sleep, I changed my settings to NEVER.

    Also try updating the BIOS.

    Cheers Jesse #1 already done and #2 awaiting on a supplier to get me a BIOS update, as Clevo unhelpfully only make their BIOS updates available to suppliers and registered OEM Providers. Mad I know, I can get to the site but it wants a login and password that I don't have - the guys at Scan Computers are on to it for me.

    Mind you, a BIOS flash might just brick it or make things worse - decisions, decisions eh... 🤷‍♂️

  8. For the rest of the one (or possibly two) fingered brigade - with limited keyboard chops (self included) - you might find this homespun technique of mine useful.

    In order to build up song chord tracks, I find building up chord patterns in Scaler a useful way to do it - either select from the pre-set patterns or come up with your own. You have seven patterns to work with in a grid and eight chords per pattern. As soon as you start using multiple patterns, Scaler will assign a key switch (starting at C1) to toggle between them - so you can end up with seven patterns switchable using keys C1 and B1. Make sure you only select and bind Pattern 1 in order to generate the key switches. The chords you assign on the grid are triggered by binding the grid to the keyboard and I have mine set to trigger each chord in sequence from notes C2 to C3.

    With a bit of planning, you can easily fit in all the chords you need to complete a song, but remembering which key switch and which trigger to press when, in which order and for how long can get a bit tricky. What I do - based on my song structure - is to write a chord map in Excel to help me play the chord track and record it into Cakewalk in real time - here's an extract of one of mine:

    image.thumb.png.218262fef0a02b8ecb7f7c4e64790aa5.png

    So on the above extract, Pattern 1 C1 or Pattern 2 D1 etc denotes the key switch, the colour-coded Bar Count represents the duration of chord (i.e. do you hold it for one, beat, two beats or four) and the Trigger Note (C2, D2, E2 etc) denotes the key you press on the keyboard to trigger the chord and the chord being played is written underneath for reference only.

    Top tip - hold the key down for the full duration of the chord - don't use the sustain pedal or the results can go haywire (especially if you quantize the recorded track).

    Now I'm not trying to re-invent musical notation here (although my sight reading is terrible), but I find the above kind of works for me. Using the map above, I can play the trigger notes and key switches to generate and record a chord track in real time against - for example - a piano VST (provided you have set up the routing correctly in Cakewalk) without having to worry about multiple takes and getting all the finger positions right and hitting smooth transitions etc.

    I am aware that I can set the timings in Scaler and select specific patterns to be played back by Scaler and capture the resultant midi, however this sounds very robotic to me, the velocity is a flat line and and even after 'humanising', it doesn't really ever sound right to me (that might just be my poor execution and lack of Scaler chops though).

    Of course, I could just put the hours in to become a better keyboard player and actually learn how to play my own stuff - but where's the fun in that? 😂 

    Once the chord track is generated I can then use it with a virtual session pianist like EzKeys to create piano accompaniments in any style I choose, based on simple arpeggios or even the various midi packs (depending which ones you own) to create backing piano tracks I could only ever dream of being able to play.

    Anyway I thought I would share this workflow in case it's of help or interest to anyone else - the Excel file (other spreadsheets are available) is pretty simple to set up as you can see and I just set it out to follow the entire song structure.

    Hope it's useful

    Andy

    • Like 3
  9. Unbelievably - after just two days of rock solid performance - this wretched problem is back again. ☹️

    Can't be heat now as core temps have stabilised but the blasted thing won't stay up for more than about 15 minutes. Just powers off and shuts down at random.

    To say I'm mightily brassed off would be understating things by a long way but - worse still - I now have absolutely no idea what the cause is any more or where to even start looking.

    Any inspired guesses welcome.

    Andy

  10. Hmm enjoyed this - the blend between the lead and BGV is very well done as others have said - bit of a Chris Rea vibe I thought (which is definitely a big plus for me).

    Nice work.

    Andy

    • Like 1
  11. Lyrics capture the history, mystery, beauty, misery and utter madness of London - well supported by the video. The guitars sometimes go just slightly out of time/ sync - like a phase issue - but not enough to distract - feels like it might be intentional in which case I think it definitely works well.

    Well thought out story and well executed - enjoyed it.

    Andy

    • Like 1
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