CC controllers NOT working in EastWest Hollywood strings (SOLVED)

[willard cottrell]

Hi all.

I'm working w/ Hollywood Strings Gold - (cheap version).

I am using midi entry, but I can't get the above controllers (cc 1 or cc 11) to effect a change in sound.  The draw or wheel will put in the changes but they do not effect playback and in some instances erase the spot even though I'm using Sound on Sound.  The composition is for string orchestra.  I have five instances of Play -Vln 1, 2, viola, celli and Cbassi each one containing the same (7) articulations w/ the exception of the CBassi.

I hope someone has an interest in pointing me in the right direction.  I have spent hours researching tutorials and reading the manuals - EWQL HS Gold and Play 6.  

 

Willard

Edited August 19, 2021 by willard cottrell

[David Baay]

Does the instrument UI have a modulation control? If so, does it move in response to the controllers? Do you have a 'forced' output channel assigned in the track header? If not, you'll need to make sure the controllers are on the same channel as the notes. I have no experience with EastWest instruments so don't know if anything special is required to configure controller response.

Edited August 16, 2021 by David Baay

[bitflipper]

^^^ This.

Not an EW Play user here, either, but I assume it has a visual representation of the mod wheel in the UI, and that it is animated to reflect the value of either CC1 or CC11.  If it's not moving, that would be a clue that the instrument isn't seeing mod wheel events.

There may also be an expression slider that determines how the instrument responds to CC11. When it's all the way down, CC11 would be ignored. I don't know if this particular instrument offers that feature, but it is a common one with orchestral libraries.

I'd guess it's probably not a MIDI channel problem, since the track does play, which indicates the notes are on the right channel. If you're putting CCs in manually via the PRV, they should automatically go on the same MIDI channel.

[David Baay]

I briefly checked out the manual for this instrument, and it seems pretty straight forward - CC1 (Modulation)) switches between four articulations, but only for instruments in the '03 Short Tight' folder and the '04 Short Loose' folder that have short attacks. So if your trying to use CC1, you'll need to make sure you have an instrument loaded in that channel that supports it. 

CC11 (Expression) works as usual to control the volume of an instrument within a range limited by CC7 (Volume). This will work for all instruments, and is easy to hear, so I would suggested experimenting with that first as a sanity check, and then try CC1.

If it's still not happing, it might help to see some screenshots of what you have set up, and maybe the Event List view of a MIDI track. It will also help to be using split MIDI and Synth audio tracks rather than Simple Instrument tracks so that you can clearly see MIDI events registering in the output meter of MIDI tracks, independent of the audio response.