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Programming a keyboard

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 12:23 pm
by alchemydragon
Hey everyone. I am part of a stage project and the directer is wanting to know if he can use DP 9 to make his MIDI keyboard into a sound board for the SFX sounds for the show. I have come across how to do it using other programs, but the directer uses DP 9 and wants to use it. I'm not sure if I need a plugin or if the program can already do it. Thanks in advance.

Re: Programming a keyboard

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 1:18 pm
by daniel.sneed
Sfx sounds can be played with DP just as a tape player, or with the included mini-sampler.

To help make it clearer, what exactly do you intend to use the keyboard for?

BTW, hom many different Sfx sounds will you use for the whole show?
Will it always be a time gap between two Sfx sounds?
Or will some sounds overlap?

Re: Programming a keyboard

Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 2:20 pm
by stubbsonic
I've used two main things for sounds in a show, a K2500 (or K2000 or K2661) where I triggered both samples & sequences from within the K2xxx (that's comparable, I suppose to using DP and some kind of sampler within DP). The K2xxx had the capability of seemlessly triggering samples on some keys and whole sequences on other keys (amazing, IMHO).

The other software I've used is Macs Cue ($20 USD)

http://www.clgizmos.com/macscue/index.html

I think it's a little long in the tooth, but it allows you to set up a cue list, have overlapping sounds, and run things quite seemlessly.

I suppose DP could work in terms of cueing chunks, and hitting play, you would have the advantage of being able to change things and not have to export things. For me, DP isn't stable enough to trust in a high-pressure situation (YMMV). Having something like MachFive, or Kontakt to trigger samples might be useful within DP or otherwise.

Re: Programming a keyboard

Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2017 10:25 am
by daniel.sneed
stubbsonic wrote:[...] I suppose DP could work in terms of cueing chunks, and hitting play, you would have the advantage of being able to change things and not have to export things. For me, DP isn't stable enough to trust in a high-pressure situation (YMMV). Having something like MachFive, or Kontakt to trigger samples might be useful within DP or otherwise.
You are right in YMMV, for I've run many shows with DP, no redundant system, crossing fingers, all has been smooth sailing until now.
I must say I focus on making things as clear and as light as possible, and rehearse ad nauseam.
BTW, one internal HD died on me 3 days before a show, got it replaced in time. Since then, I always set an external bootable clone HD. Never used it though.

I've heard of Mac Cue, but it seems to be stuck in OS Leopard...

Re: Programming a keyboard

Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2017 12:12 pm
by HCMarkus
I imagine the OP wants to map the various SFX across the keyboard for easy triggering throughout the show. If this is the case, loading the sounds into a sampler is probably the way to go and will probably require a plugin like NI Kontakt or MOTU Mach5 as Stubbs suggests.

Unless there are other audio tasks required, Apple's inexpensive Main Stage software package (which includes a sampler) may be the best bet. Although I have never used DP's simple sampler, I seem to recall it does not allow sample mapping to specific keys. Please correct me if I am wrong here.

Re: Programming a keyboard

Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2017 1:25 pm
by stubbsonic
daniel.sneed wrote:
I've heard of Mac Cue, but it seems to be stuck in OS Leopard...
I emailed the Macs Cue developer yesterday and though he admits it is overdue for a rewrite, he confirmed that it still works in the current Mac OS.

What's great about Macs Cue is you just set up your cue list and you can fire everything with the space bar. You can set up a subsequent cue that will both fade any currently running cue and start the next one. You can easily set relative levels, including some volume changes during the cue-- nice for background sound effects.

Once you get the basic flow, it's quick and easy to use and edit. I remember someone was trying to run music & sound effects from iTunes!! Ugh. I swooped in and set up Macs Cue on their rig and they were delighted at how much easier and better it was.

Re: Programming a keyboard

Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2017 5:32 pm
by alchemydragon
HCMarkus wrote:I imagine the OP wants to map the various SFX across the keyboard for easy triggering throughout the show. If this is the case, loading the sounds into a sampler is probably the way to go and will probably require a plugin like NI Kontakt or MOTU Mach5 as Stubbs suggests.

Unless there are other audio tasks required, Apple's inexpensive Main Stage software package (which includes a sampler) may be the best bet. Although I have never used DP's simple sampler, I seem to recall it does not allow sample mapping to specific keys. Please correct me if I am wrong here.
Wow! Thanks guys for the ideas. HCMarkus you are correct. The director would like to map them to the keys for manually doing it. As far as I know the main system will be a Windows machine. I'm not to happy about it since I am a Linux person, but I do recognize where Mac has it's good points.

I will look at the plugins and see if that will do it. As for how many sounds, he hasn't sent them to me yet. Building a set tends to put everything else on hold for some time. Thanks again guys. I think I will post how we go about for others if they need an idea.

Re: Programming a keyboard

Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2017 6:23 pm
by mikehalloran
Windows? Oh dear...

I just stumbled on this thread. My first thought was also MainStage 3, $29.95 from the App Store. If this is a school or non-profit community production, I have an unredeemed license that I can donate to the cause (I got one with the Apple EDU bundle recently but I already have a copy). Message me for details.

Mac Cue 2 looks cool, too and there's a demo if you're not ready to spend the $20.

Both of the above do require a Mac, however. Them's the breaks sometimes.

Re: Programming a keyboard

Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2017 6:39 pm
by bayswater
HCMarkus wrote: Although I have never used DP's simple sampler, I seem to recall it does not allow sample mapping to specific keys. Please correct me if I am wrong here.
Model12 will do, presumably, 12 sounds, because you can map sound to notes directly in the VI interface. And with multiple instances, maybe you do multiples of 12 sounds., and although it looks like the MIDI note mapping is over a fixed range perhaps each instance could be set to a separate MIDI channel.

Re: Programming a keyboard

Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2017 8:38 am
by mesayre
I know this is an old thread, but thought I'd throw in a couple of suggestions in case you are still looking:

For a free solution, you could try tx16: http://www.tx16wx.com/

The interface takes some getting used to, but it's very full-featured.

If you don't mind spending a little, you can try TAL Sampler. I love this one. I get lots of use out of it: https://tal-software.com/products/tal-sampler

Good luck!
Mike