MIDI Quantize

[swpowe]

I've been using DP for a while (off and on) now and I'm really really liking many things about it. I have to say that one thing I'm still struggling with all of the time is MIDI Quantize. I'm coming from Logic where I could easily recording some MIDI material and then quantize to a 16th (or whatever) and it sounded great. For some reason, DP seems to have different thresholds or something. I don't want this to come off as a rant about Logic vs DP. I'm trying to switch 100% over to DP but this keeps me from loving my experience since 98% of what I do requires MIDI.

I don't know if it has to do with buffer settings (they're the same in Logic as DP) or if there's somehow slightly more latency but if I record a passage and try to say quantize to an 8th note, DP will quantize to an 8th but it seems to always been either too late or too early (compared to what I intended). Meaning, quantize works but it just seems like it isn't as "smart". I'm sure I'm just not as smart (thus the post asking for help).

I've read about the quantize settings (sensitivity, strength, etc) and I still can't seem to accomplish what i'm looking for. It seems to just take so much more time to just clean up a performance that's close but just needs a little work. Any suggestions? I'd love to figure out any tips or tricks or if I'm just totally missing something obvious.

thanks.

[HCMarkus]

Do you have the Sync Recorded MIDI to Patch Thru option enabled? This can work for or against you, depending on buffer size.

Quantization in DP works great if the notes are placed properly.

[Rick Cornish]

I'm sure you can find an answer to this. It's hard for me to imagine how DP's MIDI Quantize could be much easier, but I've never spent time in Logic, so I have nothing to compare it to.

Two thoughts to consider:
1. DP sometimes quantizes notes in my tracks to a beat I hadn't intended. In 100% of these cases, it's because my keyboard playing was either so far ahead of or behind the beat, DP assumed I wanted the note 16th note after beat 2, for example, than right on the note. Depending on the part, I can fix that by changing the quantize resolution to a larger amount (in the example above, changing from a 16th note resolution to an 8th note or quarter note would have probably fixed it, assuming the part wasn't intended to be full of 16th notes). Otherwise, it takes a bit of manual tweaking of the worst notes in the Event List for that part to bring things back to where I want them. Regardless, DP is doing exactly what it is supposed to do, the problem is with my playing. :\
2. If you're trying to Groove Quantize, that's another matter. Groove Quantization is very cool, but takes some fiddling to get right. If—for example—you want to have a horn part lay against your track the way the Basie band's horns would have played it (a bit late to the beat) that's easy to accomplish, but it takes time (at least for me) to dial-in the exact amount of swing and late emphasis. The Groove Quantize can definitely capture this, though—to feel right—the amount of emphasis can vary based on the tempo of the piece.

Good luck with DP.

[Shooshie]

DP can't read your mind and know what you intended to play, vs. what you played. However, within the given limitations (if your note is within half the resolution range from its target) it works like all other DAWs quantization and puts the note where it belongs. I don't think Logic possesses any sort of artificial intelligence that says "even though this note would quantize to the previous beat, I can tell that he wanted it on the NEXT beat." So, I can't really see there being a difference between the two, functionally.

However, you may be experiencing a keyboard lag, depending on how you are routing your MIDI or MIDI audio, or if your buffer is too large. This may be messing with your actual playing, causing you to play things much further off-beat than you may think you're playing. If you take a very simple quarter note line and play it as precisely as you can, multi-tracking it with an existing quarter note line that is quantized, see if your playing is right with the previously recorded track, or if it's coming off late. If it's the latter, we should talk about your options for routing MIDI with DP, and/or monitoring what you play.

Shooshie

[bayswater]

Logic does a quantize mode that tries to figure out a groove and line notes up with that. From what I can see, DP does the same thing if you delve into the quantize options and set them up accordingly. One thing for sure: this Logic mode does not compensate for sloppy playing -- the manual says it requires "technical musical prowess", so you wouldn't really need to quantize anyway. It's really intended to let you play with a style that is precise and consistent but doesn't hit the grid consistently.

[Schweats]

Can't tell you about Logic , however, I can tell you that Input Quantize works like a charm , first time - every time ! I set the strength percentage to 75%-83% , 16th notes, for pop tunes and I never look at things afterward unless I played a triplet figure that sounds wanky with that setting)
Try It … HTH - Schweats

[stubbsonic]

Try HCMarkus's suggestion first. That has come up before.

The next solution, though not ideal, could also work. If you are noticing that your notes are sometimes getting sent later in time (i.e., as if some latency were affecting the final rendering of the notes) you could select the whole batch and just slightly slide them left before quantizing.

Or if the notes are getting sent earlier in time, slide them right prior to quantizing.

It's situations like this where it might be nice if DP's quantize function had a "pre-shift" option. Where it could shift notes by a positive or negative amount before rendering the quantize thresholds & calculations. Could make for some interesting feels.

[Kurt Cowling]

Also, make sure you don't have any latency inducing plugins on the Master Fader (or the instrument track) while tracking MIDI.