mettelus

4 hours ago, Brian Walton said:

Painter 2023 at Humble Bundle is also $30.

The days have been creeping by lately... I thought that had already expired but it has 5 days left!

Look up "Comping"... you can record multiple takes without the need to undo anything, then choose the best phrases from the take lanes.

2 hours ago, user4325874 said:

Metallic materials: Create beautiful lifelike-looking metallic strokes and structures, paint with gold, silver, emerald, and other colorful and shiny surfaces.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzeCur4KQzr/

I must say, that metallic look is pretty friggin awesome.

For those unfamiliar with Rebelle, it is a painting program that started with watercolor realism (still by far the best for watercolors because of this) and expanded into pretty much every other painting medium (thick paints, acrylics, oils, etc.). A typical Pro upgrade (yearly) is roughly $50 for owners of the Pro version, but AFAICT this intro price is for everyone (no need to own anything from them to get it). It is also very likely for most users that there won't be a compelling need to upgrade.

Side note: As with all painting/drawing programs, a stylus is highly recommended to get full use from the application. While there are many things you can do with a mouse, others like pen tilt and pressure require a stylus to use. Applications such as this require an input medium (stylus) that the app can interpret as a "brush" to render the realism of painting/drawing.

Pretty much every DAW has a search filter for their browsers. so I gave up on organizing plugins a long time ago.  Ultimately, organization is just a waste of time that is easily overwritten with updates, so you just end up in a do loop for no reason.

14 hours ago, jesse g said:

How long does this type of sale last?

Most sales are probably going to get re-run through the holidays (if they do not extend that far already). The PreSonus sale is 11/20-12/31 from their web page and all of the vendors are just mimicking them. Amazon has been running some of the hardware cheaper than retail for a while now.

I got a chuckle last week from an email warning their (I forgot the company already) "Pre-BF" sale would end in 4 days! I just laughed and thought, "And?? It is going to be back on sale cheaper in 7 if no one buys from you now." Annual sales are locked by calendar year, so 12/31 is commonly the date where sales become unpredictable.

During the second Amazon Prime Day this year I grabbed the Revelator Condenser microphone (the dynamic was not on sale then) to test out the USB mics for myself. I have spent a lot of time miniaturizing electronics in my career, so wanted to look at these for what they are. That microphone impressed me so much that I wanted to also test the Revelator Dynamic when it went on sale. I have been working with someone doing narration work in a non-optimal environment on a budget condenser mic, and although that has been made significantly better, a dynamic microphone would be better suited. Both microphones went back on sale for Black Friday at Amazon ($59.99 for the Condenser, $99.99 for the Dynamic), so I grabbed the Revelator Dynamic so I could make an evaluation of them both during the same sitting. For her situation, there is also a sibilant issue, and the thing that attracted me to these more was the FAT Channel (pre-FX chain) that is included.

Some features of these mics specifically that impressed me:

1. They are both 6-in/6-out audio interfaces, although the only hardware input comes from the microphone itself. These serve as available ASIO stereo pairs to applications, so loopback usage is a breeze (the software has a mixer to control each of the three output mixes). It also negates the need to buy an audio interface, so anyone only doing vocals could get by on just the mic.
2. They have dedicated ASIO drivers which were updated last month after I bought the condenser and actually addressed one of the bugs I found.
3. They have dedicated OBS drivers, although I have not used OBS yet.
4. The FAT Channel (pre-FX chain) are the same FX in Studio One, so the signal can be processed prior to being written to disk and minimize post-production work.
5. Each comes with either Studio One Artist (permanent) or a discount on Studio One+ (subscription). At the time I got the condenser, that also came with Ableton Live 11 Lite, but the dynamic I just got did not.
6. They are Dolby Atmos hardware, but only work for binaural mixes via the 1/8" headphone jack.

What I found lack-luster, or truly abysmal:

1. They both include a desk stand, and neither is usable. The dynamic needs a stand off of about 2" so you would need to hunch over a desk to use it properly, and the stand for the condenser is a rigid "rock." HORRIBLE decision for any condenser!!! Both are better used on a mic stand with boom, and the condenser version MUST be shock mounted. Both mics are 53mm in diameter, and there is a shock mount with clip on Amazon that is suitable, but due to the buttons on the mic itself, you cannot clip either in the center.
2. The USB cable with the condenser was 1m, the dynamic was 2m (both are too short for my use). Since I run the cable around behind my desk, I just used a 3m USB cable I already had (USB-C to USB-A) and they work without issues.

Overall, both microphones are usable (again, the condenser must have a real shock mount), but the condenser has a higher noise floor and 120Hz hum from the transformer. Although the Expander/Gate can deal with this, there is a delicate balance between input gain (in the software) and the gate threshold. The dynamic version is far more forgiving. The design of the Revelator Dynamic is very similar to the Shure SM7B, but the Revelator has the pre-amp inside it, so has a noticeable noise floor (but easily addressed with the expander/gate).

I have not gotten to stress test these yet beyond video work, but will do so in the future. I just wanted to mention these quick because they went on sale for the holidays and might be of use to some.

52 minutes ago, OutrageProductions said:

I'd take a large diaphragm condenser any day for sung vocals, either gender.

^^That is pretty much it. Also bear in mind that you can rotate a condenser to remove some of the sibilant content if that is an issue.

The reason the SM7B has less proximity effect is simply because the screen forces a longer standoff range to the element. It also does not have a transformer internally, so needs to be plugged into a good pre-amp.

That is an odd one. Have you tried clearing out the Picture Cache as well? That will also force recomputing (all) waveforms and is the only other option that comes to mind.

1 hour ago, George Thomas said:

On a different note, I'm trying to mask a constant high hat that goes on as a metronome throughout the entire track (quite irritating) Q Range is 12 band equalizer and did the job but obviously bites me elsewhere 😄 Anyone know a good one that can remove or dampen a particular frequency.

The included EQs should be able to address this easily. Some (like Sonitus Compressor) do not display the frequency spectrum, so SPAN (free) is a useful visual tool in such situations (can drop that anywhere in the FX chain to see what you are doing without affecting performance). For a parametric EQ, you want the Q factor pretty high (so shaped like a spike), reduction level pretty extreme (initially), then sweep frequency around until you find what you want to address (even without SPAN). Once you find it, back off the reduction level to a more reasonable setting (and can even flatten/reduce the Q factor to make the EQ less obvious). Having SPAN inserted in the FX bin after the EQ will let you visually see the adjustments you are making real time (with any plugin actually).

The most probable cause is that you have an effect with a look ahead buffer running, often a mastering plugin like Ozone. If you hit E (Global FX Bypass) does the latency persist when you arm the track?

If you are comfortable with editing the registry, all of the ASIO drivers on your computer are listed under

"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ASIO"

The left pane looks almost like a folder tree and you will see a RealTek key (looks like a subfolder) listed under the ASIO tree. You can highlight that key, right click, and delete it. Close the Registry Editor when done, reboot, and CbB shouldn't see it anymore.

The RealTek ASIO driver is known to be bad. Try disabling that in Windows Sound Control Panel and see if it takes. There was a post recently that someone said that did not take and they had to drill into their registry to remove it. If you are comfortable with that, you can Google "Removing the RealTek ASIO driver from the Windows Registry." It shouldn't be that convoluted, but seems to be for some.

This video "should" be all that is required to remove that RealTek ASIO driver. I would try that first and see if it takes before ever considering playing in the Windows Registry.

Which brand of monitor do you have? Reason I ask is even though some LG monitors do not come with the OnScreen app, that app  is generic, so you can install/use it from a different monitor's download page on the LG site. I am not sure if OnScreen will work with other brands though, but that would give you control of windows that are active (i.e., not docked).

First place to start is Google "Scarlett [put gen here] 2i2 drivers" and download the ASIO drivers from Focusrite. If you have 3rd Gen, then "Scarlett 3rd Gen 2i2 drivers."

Focusrite has dedicated ASIO drivers which you want to use, especially when you have recording and playback through the same device. Start there (you may need to reboot after), then set your Driver Mode in CbB to ASIO and adjust the other preference screens (if needed) to focus that device. 128 or 256 as an Audio Buffer is a safe place to start; but if your CPU can handle it, you can start lowering that buffer to improve latency.

Quick feedback on this guy.  I picked this up and been playing around with it and it is more dependent on the material. After testing with a few songs that were a bit too complex, I backed off and focused on the remastered "Seven Bridges Road." Because the tonal information is very discrete, the power added to those frequencies is not significant until you hit around +6dB, and over +12dB it begins inserting a phasing/reverb effect. For the vocals themselves it wasn't a massive difference (traditional EQ would work), but it did add definition to the bass vocal (that caught me off guard) and was significant in making the guitar crisper.

As I was playing with it, I realized dynamic key mapping would be useful to select the notes in the key to follow the chord progression. Although they are exposed, I was not able to find the key switches to toggle them. I sent a quick message to Plugin Boutique to see if this can be done now or if it is actually a feature request. Because this is set to all notes in the key (by default) with no active means to adjust that (that I could find), it is a bit limited in what I would want to use it for.

[Side Note: If you open a VST3 in DaVinci Resolve, it shows all the parameters exposed to the host (even if a DAW doesn't show them), which can be helpful to understand which parameters are exposed (even if you cannot make an articulation map for them... yet).]

I find this one very interesting. I use MCharacter a lot, but it is really only suited for monophonic material and lacks some of the processing capabilities of this one, especially the dynamic EQ aspect and working on polyphonic material. Whereas MCharacter can address specific harmonics (more suited to tweak timbre), this appears more focused on the harmonics series of the key (broader application), but for practical purposes they would complement each other nicely. As I think on this a little more, I do not think either can really do what the other does.

On 11/10/2023 at 4:08 PM, chuckebaby said:

Have you tried dragging to select an area vs just selecting the clips themselves ?

I had checked this when the OP first asked. Clip gain is linked to the clip being hovered over (it doesn't even need to be selected), so is currently limited to one clip only. To do what the OP is seeking is definitely a feature request.

9 hours ago, Kawika said:

Hmmmmm, As I think about, it would be cool to zoom in after-the-fact at the editing stage; though , I don't know if that's possible.

Basically, you add video FX as you would an audio FX in a DAW... pans/zooms, transitions, etc. Pretty much anything you can envision just gets added to the video and adjusted to taste similar to VST FX in a DAW.

DaVinci Resolve has all of the bells and whistles of any video editor, so you can do things with video you never even thought about before. The Studio version has additional FX and features (primarily the ability to save/export work above 4K), but you want to be totally comfortable with the free version before ever thinking about that upgrade. The concern for someone new with that is it is truly fully functional (i.e., 4140 page manual functional).

The two other editors that came up readily with VST support were Adobe Premiere Pro (which is subscription based, so they would hold your work hostage on you), and Final Cut Pro (which I "think" is Mac only, but not sure).

For what you are asking, you could also do the video work in a simpler editor, and the audio work in a DAW (both will import the video file, but only be able to perform its own task). So that is a "Yes" to what you asked above...

DaVinci Resolve will let you do about anything, and the manual IS readily searchable, which may be the best way to navigate its features for tasks you want to perform. I would try kicking the tires on DaVinci Resolve free first to see how you take to it. It has the same drag/drop functionality you would use in a DAW. You just need to get familiar with the FX browser and Inspector (which lets you adjust the video FX you have in focus). As with CbB, you also need to add the VST scan paths manually in preferences for it to scan/enable them. If not, what you asked above is the "easiest" method to do it... just open/save the same video file in a video editor or DAW and do the work you need to get done for each aspect separately.

They are XLR, so they should be, but they can get damaged over time. If you have a different cable available, that is worth trying as well for sure. Depending on environment, a broken XLR cable (or unbalanced in general) can act like a radio antenna.

As this is very specific to the hardware involved, it would also be worth contacting Focusrite and Yamaha directly. It seems that the keyboard is the real culprit. If phantom power is off does that persist? I read a couple posts saying that phantom power alone can cause static (seems limited to their mixers), but also found this thread which is concerning. The OP there was basically asking if keyboards have protection circuitry on the XLR outputs against phantom power surges, and the answers were a mixed bag. I would focus on contacting Yamaha customer service for sure with your make and model. Be sure to ask them specifically if connecting the XLR with phantom power can damage the keyboard connectors?

Does the keyboard also provide audio output jacks other than the XLR? That would be another path to try. The phantom power only gets passed through the XLR connections on the AI, so if you can connect it via 1/4" TRS cables (balanced) that would be another way to see if it is truly the XLR connector on the keyboard. A single 1/4" TRS can also be used to pass stereo from the headphone output, but would be unbalanced in that case (not necessarily bad, and definitely worth trying).

If it works fine with Direct Monitoring off, that is also an option. A bit of a nuisance, but an option for you.

Whenever powering equipment on or making/breaking connections, it is good practice to always have phantom power off, gain knobs all to zero, and even the equipment off in some cases for making connections.

1 hour ago, Diana Chahine said:

Oh, I'm sure I have plugged/unplugged while the phantom power is on before... does that create irreversible damage??

That can for sure, but devices requiring phantom power are more susceptible to it. It doesn't make sense with the Direct Monitor only on though. If you record the keyboard with the direct monitor off, is that static baked into the recorded track?

Quick Edit: There seems to be a few posts with similar issues. A few were hardware related, but one guy in the middle of this thread posted:

"So, I had this problem, it was bugging me bad, but with some troubleshooting, the solution at least in my case was simple. I had to turn down the inputs I wasn't using. I was using it as a USB audio interface to play tracks from my computer in live performances. But it was hissing bad. But once I turned off direct monitoring switch and turned the levels all the way down on the knobs on the front for the two mic inputs, the hissing went completely away."

VideoStudio will not do audio plugins, but there are a few that will. DaVinci Resolve (even the free version) will though. That program is a bit more complex (is a full featured video editor), but is worth learning if you are going to delve into videos regularly. The free version would be fine for what you are seeking.

1 hour ago, Diana Chahine said:

however that only happens with the Direct Monitor is on

This part is a little odd to me. It seems sort of like a ground loop (you can try plugging everything into the same outlet for a common ground), but could also be something like the mic putting out mic levels, and the keyboard putting out line level voltage (which is higher). I do not have the 2i2, but there should be a setting for mic/line inputs on it. If that is set to "line" when using the keyboard does the problem persist?

A word of caution with phantom power (especially with condenser mics) is never make/break an XLR connection with the phantom power on. If you ever did that with the keyboard, it could also be an issue, but if it runs fine without Direct Monitor on, that seems very unlikely.

+1, you can do the audio work in any DAW, but a video editor makes it simpler to chop the video up, separate audio/video (if you choose), modify the video itself, and re-assemble everything. Although video editors have some audio functionality, they do not have the same capabilities as a DAW. Conversely, a DAW is not going to give you much video editing capability.

If you do not already own a video editor, Humble Bundle still has the Corel sale going on. It is $28.14 to get VideoStudio Pro 2023 (7 items), or $30 to get everything (24 items). I would definitely recommend the rest for that $1.86, since they include Painter and PaintShop Pro.

Cables unto themselves are pretty generic (why they have a spec), so a lot of the cost is brand/hype. I just broke a clip off an ethernet cable a couple weeks ago and Amazon had a 6-pack of 7' CAT 8 cables for $21. Although CAT 8 is overkill, not only did I get the one I needed but 5 spares for $3.50 a piece.

Even 10' USB-C cables are under $5. If you are familiar with the manufacturers that make chips themselves, they are not expensive either.... even things like the Apollo3 Blue, which has a wickedly low power consumption for its capabilities, is $3.99 (retail). What they started talking about in the video that bored me enough to close it doesn't come close.

@craigb yeah, the "SHINY!!!!!" summed it up nicely!

Flashing lights on hardware are typically codes for a fault. From this link on Focusrite's website this may be it:

"However, if you find the gain or USB LEDs flash on and off constantly when your interface is connected, it usually means it is not able to draw enough power from your computer. Windows may also continue to attempt to connect the device, often denoted by a chime sound."

When operating that interface, be sure you always have the laptop plugged in. Many laptops have inherent power saving mechanisms to conserve the battery if unplugged (like shutting off USB ports). Is the laptop plugged in and your power settings set to always on? The advanced power options in Windows are where you can surgically disable Windows from shutting off things, but some laptops also have their own proprietary software for power management... if yours has that, often there is a "disable when plugged in" option of some sort.