Slides
ToolBox Tutorial
- Making
Slides and Portamento (GOS Only)
The
Slides Toolbox Tutorial gives an example of a brief legato passage
with both up and down slides added. There are two basic types of slides
available: slides that move “to” a sustained tone and slides
that move “from” a sustained tone. The standard (or “to”)
slides precede the sustain tone and the “from” slides begin
at the end of the sustain tone moving toward the next sustain tone.
The two can be carefully mated to form a “from-to” combination.
The standard “to” slides use the mod wheel to switch between
1, 2, and 4 semitone slides and Keyswitches (C1- C#1) to choose between
up and down slides. “From” slides are 1 semitone UpDn only.
In
the MIDI files Track 1 is the sustain note data. Track 6 is the standard
“to” slide note data. Track 12 is the “from” slide
note data. The “from” notes have been positioned to appoximately
coincide with the end of the sustain notes (where desired). The “from”
notes are triggered in the usual way by note-on data. Tracks 2, 8, and
14 contain volume data (cc#7) that sets the relative level between sustain
and slide samples. Tracks 9 and 15 use expression data (cc#11) to make
adjustments to the slide level note-to-note. Track 5 adjusts the sustain
attack envelopes to better meld with the standard “to” slides.
Tracks 11 and 17 contain data to control the brightness of the slide
samples for blending with the sustain samples. Tracks 10 and 16 control
the release envelope speed of the slide samples. The right half of the
screenshot shows the comparison of tracks 1, 6, and 12 in piano roll
form. This will allow you to compare note positions and durations between
the sustain and slide notes. The standard “to” samples (middle
track in the piano roll display) can be approximately placed by copying
the sustain note data as a starting point for choosing which notes are
to be slides. Track 12 at the bottom, containing the “from”
slides notes, requires the most editing to achieve successful placement.
-
-
Load
1st Vln SusV into MIDI channel 1 of GigaStudio.
-
Load
Vln Slides Comb. UpDn MW KS (C1-C#1) into MIDI channel 2.
-
Load
Vln Slides “from” UpDn KS (C1-C#1) into MIDI channel
3.
-
Make
sure that each track’s data is being sent to the correct MIDI
channel. Tracks 1-5 go to MIDI channel 1, tracks 6-11 go to MIDI
channel 2, and tracks 12-17 go to MIDI channel 3. Use the screenshot
as your guide.
-
Solo
track 1 (1st Vln SusV) in your sequencer. You will hear the
passage without slides.
-
Disengage
the solo function. You will hear the passage with slides added.
-
Notice
that keyswitch data is choosing up or down slides and Mod wheel
data is choosing the interval of the slide.
-
Experiment
with the position of the slide samples. Move them slightly forward
and backward to see how positioning affects the results.
-
Experiment
with the mod wheel data to try different slide intervals.
-
Construct
your own legato line. Decide where you wish slides to occur and
use the tutorial as a model for how to organize your data.
Slides
ToolBox
Release Tutorial
The
Slides
Toolbox Release Tutorial uses the “release” version of
the “from” slide samples. These slide samples take advantage
of the “release trigger” function in GigaStudio. The slide
is triggered when note-off data is received. These are much easier to
work with because the samples are automatically placed in their approximate
position by the note-off data. This allows the user to just copy the
sustain note data for both standard and “from” slide tracks
and then delete all notes where slides are not desired. Follow the steps
above, substituting Vln Slides “from” Release UpDn KS (C1-C#1)
in step #4.
General
notes on the slides: Up slides are usually easier to make convincing
than down slides. Up slides work quite well with just the standard “to”
slides. Downslides usually work best in “from to” combinations
(this is the way they are used in the tutorial). Alignment of the two
is critical to success. Don’t overdo the slides in the mix. Subtle
works better. Also, you will need to use cc#11 and velocity to match
the level of the slides to the sustains in EXP instruments. An easier,
more elegant approach to EXP may be added later.
The
audio file Slides Toolbox
Tutorial mp3 shows the legato passage played 3 times. The first
time is just the 1st Vln SusV instrument. The second time is
with slides added. The third time is with panning (FX3), reverb (Timeworks
4080L), and EQ (Logic FatEQ) to illustrate what this sounds like in
a hypothetical mix. Separate versions of this audio file are not necessary
to illustrate the differences between standard and release versions
of the “from” slides – the results
should sound essentially identical with careful adjustments.
Thanks to Tom Hopkins for providing
these instructions.
