Pitch Bend an Octave or greater

[Dev Donnelly]

I am trying to pitch bend a dense chord by at least an octave, if not more.  The pitch bend on my controller (Nectar Impact GXP88)  only changes pitch up and down by 2 semitones.  When I tried to expand the range in the Piano roll view I couldn't find any method to do this.  There is also a MIDI Event Controller in Cakewalk that allows you to adjust some of the controller parameters, but I couldn't get it to extend the pitch bend more than the 2 semitones up and down (+/- 8192).

Anyone know how to do this?  Can it be done?  I have seen some discussions online using other programs like Ableton, so I hope this feature is buried somewhere inside Cakewalk,

Thanks,
Dev

[Nigel Mackay]

Pitch Bend Sensitivity.

In the Event View add an event. Change the Kind from Note to RPN.
Change the value In Data to 0.
The value in the last column must be semitones multiplied by 128.

128 = 1 semitone.
256 = 2 semitones
1536 = octave
etc

[rsinger]

The sound module/VSTi normally has some place to set the pitch bend range. +- 2 is a common default. 

[bitflipper]

Pitch bend data is just a number, like any other MIDI data. The only difference is the resolution, because pitch bend is 16-bit data and can therefore offer 16384 different values rather than the usual 128.

But it's entirely up to the instrument as to what pitch wheel data actually does. As noted above, most (almost all) instruments present the maximum pitch bend as a user-selectable parameter. Some let you automate it, so the amount of bend can change during a song. 

If you tell us specifically which synth you're using, I'm sure someone here has used it and can tell you how to configure it the way you want.

[Dev Donnelly]

bitflipper, I will use either Rapture Session (preferred) or Dimension Pro.  I can't find and info on changing the range of the Nektar pitch bend wheel.  In the Piano Roll View I can activate the Controller View at the bottom and select/insert "Wheel".  I can then draw a line to show a pitch change, but i can't get more than 2 semitones up or down (0 to 127).

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Dev

[Dev Donnelly]

8 hours ago, Nigel Mackay said:

Pitch Bend Sensitivity.

In the Event View add an event. Change the Kind from Note to RPN.
Change the value In Data to 0.
The value in the last column must be semitones multiplied by 128.

128 = 1 semitone.
256 = 2 semitones
1536 = octave
etc

Nigel, are you referring to the Event List?  There is a "Kind" category that is currently set to note.  When I insert a new event it duplicates the Note Kind.  However, I can't change the Note to RPN.  I can change other values (HMSF, MBT, CH, DAT, etc) but not Kind.

Am I looking in the wrong place?

Thanks,
Dev

[bitflipper]

Unfortunately, I no longer have either Rapture or Dim Pro installed, so I can't check. But both are quite popular, so I've no doubt somebody will come along to answer your question.

You might have a problem, given that those are sample players rather than synthesizers. As a general rule, samplers don't handle  pitch as well as true synths because they're reading back prerecorded content rather than generating tones on the fly. Consequently, shifting a sample's pitch more than a couple semitones tends to sound funny.

[scook]

Rapture Session is a program player. It does not have a way to adjust the program behavior outside of the Instrument tab. Pitch  Bend range is typically not displayed on that screen.

Dimension Pro, Rapture Classic and Rapture Pro all have per-element settings for pitch bend range. Here an image of DP showing the pitch bend range setting for Element 1.

 

[bitflipper]

20 minutes ago, bitflipper said:

...I've no doubt somebody will come along to answer your question.

I should have said "I've no doubt scook will come along to answer your question".

[sjoens]

In Rapture (not Session) and Dimension, just click on the Bend values in scook's example and scroll your mouse up.

The limit is 24 semitones or 2 octaves.

[Dev Donnelly]

1 hour ago, scook said:

Rapture Session is a program player. It does not have a way to adjust the program behavior outside of the Instrument tab. Pitch  Bend range is typically not displayed on that screen.

Dimension Pro, Rapture Classic and Rapture Pro all have per-element settings for pitch bend range. Here an image of DP showing the pitch bend range setting for Element 1.

 

Thank you scook!

I found it in DP, Rapture and even in an old Sound Canvas VA.   Wonder why they didn't include it in Rapture Session.  Does Rapture Pro have all the sounds of Rapture Session?  If so, if I didn't purchase it back with my old Sonar Platinum can I get an upgrade now?

Thanks,
Dev 

[scook]

Think of Rapture Session as the replacement for Cakewalk Sound Center.

Both are designed to play programs created for other synths. They have simplified interfaces with few controls.

The programs for Rapture Session came from the new content bundled with Rapture Pro.

Rapture Pro was the replacement for the original Rapture and Dimension Pro. It included all the programs bundled with those synths and many more.

Unfortunately, BandLab has not released their version of Rapture Pro; the synth is not available at this time.

[Dev Donnelly]

OK, thanks for info scook.  I looked around a little and couldn't find it either free or for price, thought that might be the case.

[Nigel Mackay]

9 hours ago, Dev Donnelly said:

Nigel, are you referring to the Event List?  There is a "Kind" category that is currently set to note.  When I insert a new event it duplicates the Note Kind.  However, I can't change the Note to RPN.  I can change other values (HMSF, MBT, CH, DAT, etc) but not Kind.

Am I looking in the wrong place?

Thanks,
Dev

Double-click on it should work.