To set a fixed velocity before recording

[faonfaon]

How to set velocity to let's say 80 BEFORE recording ?

I use a breath controller (Tecontrol) for the expression (cc11).
Some samples have a fix velocity and it is very easy to change the curve by breathing.
But most of the samples are sensitive to velocity. The harder I play on my keyboard, the louder the sound is.
That means that I must control the breath AND the attack on the keyboard to get a nice expression and the result is really not so good.
Each time the samples have a fixed velocity, the result is absolutely wonderful.

But how to set a fixed velocity to samples ?

Thank you

faonfaon

[midilance]

Some keyboards give you several velocity choices of which one might be a single velocity every time. This choice usually shows up in the "Global" section.

[faonfaon]

Thanks midilance

My keyboard, a Korg SP 250, proposes only 3 different dynamics. Soft, normal and hard.
As you said, the hard one seems to be the best for me.

[Shooshie]

See if the Change Velocity MIDI plugin will do what you want. Go to the Mixing Board and locate the MIDI track through which you are playing. Open a plugin insert and choose "Change Velocity." Now, inside the Change Velocity plugin's window there is a menu just above the main parts. Use that menu to choose SET as your mode, and then you can type in whatever velocity you want.

Bear in mind that using a single velocity reduces the expressivity of a sound with breath control to that of turning up or down the volume knob. The velocity is kind of essential to gaining the realism of a quiet or loud sound. It is for this reason that I've turned to sound libraries that are aware of breath control instruments, and which give you options for dealing with velocity, or other ways of controlling the expressivity of a sound.

Some libraries literally let you use Breath Control or Expression to fully control the expressivity of the sound, so that velocity is completely out of the picture. Some allow you to turn velocity off as a sound-input option, or you can add it as a secondary control that enhances the sound when used, but does nothing when not used. (Wallander allows lots of different scenarios regarding Velocity, including no velocity at all) Then there's the Vienna Symphonic Library method, where velocity is crossfaded so that you get a constantly changing velocity as you vary sound pressure. Velocity is used to determine which sample layer to choose, so the result is that these layers are always cross-faded into each other as you change velocity. That keeps the sound behaving and sounding properly for a given loudness.

When you find out all that's out there which utilizes BC or Expression, you will never want to use velocity-based sounds again. It's just not worth it. Sound Programmers now generally understand that they have to provide us with something that plays like a real instrument, and not an envelope-dependent, velocity-launched sound made for keyboard players.

The whole problem that we faced with the old synths was that we were trying to make expressive instruments on keyboards which only could tell the instrument where to begin the sound, and at what level to start it. After that, it was up to the instrument to take over and automatically make the sound go through its sustains, decays, and the rates for each. That was the envelope. REAL instruments don't have envelopes, or rather YOU are the envelope. So, when we use REAL control over synthesized instruments, we're providing the envelope. We still want the instrument to give us tessituras associated with loudness, but it's got to be coupled to Expression or Breath Control.

You have to study each instrument's features, or else just give each a trial run with a demo. Some are breath-friendly and others are not. Hell with the ones that aren't. The day of the Breath Controlled MIDI studio is getting closer all the time, so let your needs be known. Let developers know that you rejected their instruments because they were all velocity based. You may help bring about the necessary changes to make all instruments breath-friendly.

But the short answer to your question, above, is the realtime MIDI plugin: Change Velocity.

Shooshie

[williemyers]

I don't know if this will help you, but if you go to Setup>Input Filter and UNcheck the "On Velocities"(and "Off Velocities), but leave "Notes" checked, then DP will see all incoming velocity as "64", no matter how hard of soft you play. Give it a try?

[Shooshie]

I don't know if this will help you, but if you go to Setup>Input Filter and UNcheck the "On Velocities"(and "Off Velocities), but leave "Notes" checked, then DP will see all incoming velocity as "64", no matter how hard of soft you play. Give it a try?

Honestly, the way to do this is with the MIDI realtime plugin. The Input Filter is another path, and I celebrate that MOTU gives us many paths, but the MIDI Realtime Plugin for Change Velocity [Set] is simply tailor made for this. You can set it for any Velocity value. For this problem, you could not ask for a better fix. Except to ask the developers of VI's to do as I described in my previous post; make expression NOT hard-wired to Velocity. Until they all do this, the Change Velocity Realtime Plugin will have to do.

Shoosh

[faonfaon]

Thank you Shoosie. I will try what you recommend me to do.
Before, I must read all the details of your message
Thanks

[faonfaon]

Thank you so much williemyers !

I tried what you said and it works perfectly.

Now, I am able to concentrate ONLY my breath to draw curves with expression and music becomes more and more realistic

Thanks a lot !

faonfaon

[Shooshie]

Thank you Shoosie. I will try what you recommend me to do.
Before, I must read all the details of your message
Thanks

Oh, the stuff I talked about was mostly informational; the real answer to your question is simply "MIDI Realtime Plugin: Change Velocity, using the 'Set' panel." That's all you have to do. It's in the Mixing Board on your MIDI channel(s).

That way you can do it on a track-by-track basis, and not eliminate velocity from all the rest of your sequence.

As for all the rest of that information, it's for building your future libraries. To use your current sounds, the Change Velocity plugin will give you what you want, plus you can set it to any velocity, not just 64.

[williemyers]

the real answer to your question is simply "MIDI Realtime Plugin: Change Velocity, using the 'Set' panel." That's all you have to do. It's in the Mixing Board on your MIDI channel(s).

That way you can do it on a track-by-track basis, and not eliminate velocity from all the rest of your sequence.

As for all the rest of that information, it's for building your future libraries. To use your current sounds, the Change Velocity plugin will give you what you want, plus you can set it to any velocity, not just 64.

faonfaon, glad that my solution worked for you, but I agree that Shooshie's solution is the best one.
what I didn't realize is that, when using the plugin, even though the velocities are flattened and all passed to your destination at one level - say "90 - they are actually still recorded correctly at their correct played values in your track. so if you ever wanted to go back and hear them as you had actually played them, you could simply bypass the plug. best of both worlds!

[Shooshie]

What I didn't realize is that, when using the plugin, even though the velocities are flattened and all passed to your destination at one level - say "90 - they are actually still recorded correctly at their correct played values in your track. so if you ever wanted to go back and hear them as you had actually played them, you could simply bypass the plug. best of both worlds!

True. Or you could apply the plugin to write the values if you are sure you want them permanent.