Note velocity snap?

[Cobus Prinsloo]

Hi, is there a way to quickly match velocities between notes? I'm thinking of the facility to use "smart guides" as used in apps like Adobe Illustrator and MS PowerPoint. This forces cursor movement to snap to an object in close proximity and greatly increases workflow speed. I included an example that I quickly compiled in Photoshop: you'll see where the cursor is, and a temporary smart guide appears to snap the movement to the height of another velocity bar.

If there's no such option, I think it should be added as a feature request. I constantly have to adjust velocities after recording play via my Midi controller, and this will really help with productivity.

Edited January 25 by Cobus Prinsloo

[sjoens]

No snap there.  You can request it in the Feedback Forum.  Otherwise you can use the Event Module or run CAL scripts to set a range of velocities on selected notes.

[Promidi]

Transform tool, Cal Scripts or line tool over the velocities.

[Max Arwood]

Midi plugins too. 

[sjoens]

13 hours ago, Promidi said:

or line tool over the velocities.

Probably the closest thing to a snap but you have to watch the left hand gage closely to maintain the same value.

Would be a smashing good bit of werk flow if we could hold Shift or some such while using the draw tool to maintain the same value across the sweep.

Still, you can select all the notes and simply enter the value in Event Module, tho you may have to zero them all first.

[Promidi]

Just now, sjoens said:

Still, you can select all the notes and simply enter the value in Event Module, tho you may have to zero them all first.

You could zero them all with the transform tool first, then raise them to the value you want them to me.

Personally, to set velocities to the same value,  I just use one of my Studioware panels that lets you set all selected velocities to the value set by a vertical slider......  It's reasons like this that I wish the bakers would bring back Studioware panel creation in Sonar 2025.

[David Baay]

Better yet... Don't do that! You'll get a more musically satisfying performance by leaving some of the variation that results from eyeballing (or earballing) an approximate match to a target velocity. Mathematically perfect regularity is the enemy of musicality.

[Promidi]

6 minutes ago, David Baay said:

Better yet... Don't do that! You'll get a more musically satisfying performance by leaving some of the variation that results from eyeballing (or earballing) an approximate match to a target velocity. Mathematically perfect regularity is the enemy of musicality.

This I have to concur with.   (Same goes for timings, but that's a story for another thread)

If the velocities are varying a bit too much , I do a compression of the values.  My Studioware panels has a slider for this as well.

[Sock Monkey]

What I do takes 5 seconds. 
find a lower velocity stem. Select all, grab the shorty and drag to the top. Let go. Now drag all back down to desired level. 
You can get good at this so that small variations can be kept. 

[Amberwolf]

I'd also like an ability to constrain drawing values of (assorted things); for me something like holding a modifier key while dragging would do the job 99% of the time, as long as doing that doesn't alter my selection (so I can perform the action on just selected notes when necessary). 

 

FWIW, there are certain sounds in certain synths that respond using different samples or different sound variations when the velocity is at specific value transitions; in these cases I have to set the specific velocity that triggers that if I didn't manage it while attempting to play in some notes where I miraculously got the timing I wanted (that I'd never be able to repeat). 

 For these cases, I'd generally do something like what the OP is doing, except that I'd probably select by a filter like a velocity range and cut and paste those notes to separate track or clips in another lane, etc., and then alter just the velocity of those notes by just setting them to the specific velocity, or by adding or subtracting enough velocity to trigger the sound I want. 

Mostly this is done for percussion sounds, but sometimes it's a synth track (most often Z3TA2+) used for some mostly-repetitive pattern (that usually used to be an arp pattern that was then edited in the track as individual notes). 

[sjoens]

Many ways to skin cat... poor cat.

[David Baay]

15 hours ago, Amberwolf said:

FWIW, there are certain sounds in certain synths that respond using different samples or different sound variations when the velocity is at specific value transitions; in these cases I have to set the specific velocity that triggers that if I didn't manage it while attempting to play in some notes where I miraculously got the timing I wanted (that I'd never be able to repeat). 

I've encountered that situaiton with velocity-switched samples. I generally use Process > Find/Change in that case.

[Amberwolf]

32 minutes ago, David Baay said:

I've encountered that situaiton with velocity-switched samples. I generally use Process > Find/Change in that case.

Unfortunately that feature wasn't created yet in the ancient version of SONAR I use.

So I use Edit - Select - by Filter and then whatever process I need to. 

 

But yes, it is primarily with velocity-switched samples, and some with non-sample synths that have different stuff going on with velocity for different oscillators, LFOs, modulators, or effects,

Edited Sunday at 05:50 PM by Amberwolf

[David Baay]

49 minutes ago, Amberwolf said:

Unfortunately that feature wasn't created yet in the ancient version of SONAR I use.

Used to be Edit > Interpolate, and I'm pretty sure it's been around since Cakewalk for DOS.

EDIT: Just checked, and it had moved to the Process menu but was still 'Interpolate' in S7 which is the oldest installed version I have. 

Edited Sunday at 06:35 PM by David Baay

[Amberwolf]

 

19 minutes ago, David Baay said:

Used to be Edit > Interpolate, and I'm pretty sure it's been around since Cakewalk for DOS.

EDIT: Just checked, and it had moved to the Process menu but was still 'Interpolate' in S7 which is the oldest installed version I have. 

Ah, yes, I use that too, but more often just the slection filter which is basically the first half of interpolate, because that way I have the chance to actually see what has been selected and verify that is correct, before I do anything to it.  (because it's a modal dialog I can't get "behind" it to zoom, scroll, etc., as I can rarely fit everything I want to deal with on one screen at one time with enough zoom to see whats going on). 

[57Gregy]

On 1/24/2025 at 8:51 PM, Cobus Prinsloo said:

I constantly have to adjust velocities after recording play via my Midi controller

May I ask why?
Do you want them all the same velocity?
Do you want greater differences between notes?

[Sock Monkey]

For my backing tracks it is critical that the bass is consistent from song to song.. For at least 8 years now I have used the Ample P bass, it’s output control set at 1.0. Velocity at 106. Track fader at unity. This results in every song being at the exact same volume. Bass is the anchor for the tracks. Even a ballad will have the same bass level. 
I use a little more range on the drums . For the very maximum can’t be above 110. But I will use a lot of different velocities on drums and piano. Organs as well as some other instruments I use don’t use or respond to velocity so I set mine at 100 and then use volume automation. 

Cubase has a Velocity menu that allows you to choose a set velocity for highlighted notes. 

Edited Tuesday at 04:42 AM by Sock Monkey

[Cobus Prinsloo]

9 hours ago, 57Gregy said:

May I ask why?

Most definitely. Especially for a bass line, to make it sound more organic. Bass with a constant velocity setting tend to sound artificial.

Or, when playing a piano, you want to keep it sound as natural as possible. The velocities don't always translate well when recording Midi play, so velocity adjustments afterward in the piano roll are a must for me.

[Cobus Prinsloo]

On 1/26/2025 at 9:00 AM, David Baay said:

Better yet... Don't do that! You'll get a more musically satisfying performance by leaving some of the variation that results from eyeballing (or earballing) an approximate match to a target velocity. Mathematically perfect regularity is the enemy of musicality.

I agree 100%. But, sometimes the note velocities simply don't translate well when recording Midi play from a keyboard. 

[Max Arwood]

You should look here ->
https://viramor.com/

My favorite for what you want to do is this plugin 

https://viramor.com/csmulticompander-midifx/

There are 4 sections. Look at the Velocity‘: Scales note velocity

These plugins will jump start your midi work. Just drop this on a midi track. All will be non destructive. Viramor is graciously giving these away. You should get them all. Be sure when you install them don’t move the folder where you have installed them. 

correction-where you installed them “FROM” keep them in that place. Don’t rename folders or move them..

Edited 23 hours ago by Max Arwood
Clarification.