Version 1.7 (11/12/14)

Discuss working with MultitrackStudio for iPad
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StormJH1
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Joined: Thu Aug 28, 2014 3:30 pm

Version 1.7 (11/12/14)

Post by StormJH1 »

Didn't know there was a new update coming. Thanks, Giel!

This one addresses mostly workflow issues (allows "open in" for audio and MIDI files into MTS; allow exporting MIDI or .m4a via email), offers to reduce latency to 128 frames, and some other bug fixes.

One question I had - the update says you can set GMSoundFonts to be the default instrument, but this did not appear in options. The app does not come with any SoundFonts - if I import a GM SoundFont, I assume the option will appear?

(For those who don't know, "GM" stands for General MIDI - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_MIDI - It is like a database of samples numbered 0-127, with each one representing a different instrument. MTS has its own database of GM instruments, but the quality varies. Actually, I wasn't a huge fan of the MTS instruments initially, but after I started importing MIDI files, I found them very useful for arranging backing tracks and demoing parts that you can then replace with other instruments. Anyway, you can import other ones from the web if you have better samples)
Support
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Re: Version 1.7 (11/12/14)

Post by Support »

StormJH1 wrote:One question I had - the update says you can set GMSoundFonts to be the default instrument, but this did not appear in options. The app does not come with any SoundFonts - if I import a GM SoundFont, I assume the option will appear?
You have to import soundfonts using the SoundFont Player. GM soundfonts will appear in the Preferences pane's 'Default instrument' list.


Giel Bremmers
StormJH1
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Joined: Thu Aug 28, 2014 3:30 pm

Re: Version 1.7 (11/12/14)

Post by StormJH1 »

Support wrote:
StormJH1 wrote:One question I had - the update says you can set GMSoundFonts to be the default instrument, but this did not appear in options. The app does not come with any SoundFonts - if I import a GM SoundFont, I assume the option will appear?
You have to import soundfonts using the SoundFont Player. GM soundfonts will appear in the Preferences pane's 'Default instrument' list.


Giel Bremmers
Thank you, I did get that to work. Wasn't happy with some of the GM SoundFonts I found, but I will have to look at some better ones. As with everything in MTS, the MTS instruments are surprisingly good and versatile for being tucked into an overall package that is about 14MB in size! At the very least, they are great placeholders for song sketching, and you can swap in other apps quite easily with the Virtual MIDI/AB upgrades last update.

Did I see someone tell me that Matrix Sampler can now save "presets"? Does that mean the samples are saved in the app? IIRC, Matrix would store samples only as part of an individual track, but they needed to be loaded each time. (SoundFonts, by contrast, are stored by the app, and can be recalled any time).
Support
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Re: Version 1.7 (11/12/14)

Post by Support »

StormJH1 wrote:Did I see someone tell me that Matrix Sampler can now save "presets"? Does that mean the samples are saved in the app? IIRC, Matrix would store samples only as part of an individual track, but they needed to be loaded each time. (SoundFonts, by contrast, are stored by the app, and can be recalled any time).
The Extension Pack now features user presets. All built-in effects and instruments have a Presets button which allows for creating and loading presets. The Matrix Sampler presets include the samples themselves indeed.

In addition the Preferences pane has export and import options. 'Export' saves all presets to a zip file. You can use this to copy your presets to another iPad etc.


Giel Bremmers
StormJH1
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Joined: Thu Aug 28, 2014 3:30 pm

Re: Version 1.7 (11/12/14)

Post by StormJH1 »

Support wrote:
StormJH1 wrote:Did I see someone tell me that Matrix Sampler can now save "presets"? Does that mean the samples are saved in the app? IIRC, Matrix would store samples only as part of an individual track, but they needed to be loaded each time. (SoundFonts, by contrast, are stored by the app, and can be recalled any time).
The Extension Pack now features user presets. All built-in effects and instruments have a Presets button which allows for creating and loading presets. The Matrix Sampler presets include the samples themselves indeed.

In addition the Preferences pane has export and import options. 'Export' saves all presets to a zip file. You can use this to copy your presets to another iPad etc.


Giel Bremmers
Perfect, thanks. I did buy the extension, mostly to support the product and to make sure I had all the features. The convolution reverb sounded nice, but some of the reverbs caused stuttering on my iPad2. That's not a fault of MTS - live convolution is very CPU demanding, and my device is old. Actually, if applied to a raw audio file (instead of playing an instrument or SF), it might work fine.

Good update and thanks for adding preset saving - I will put some of my favorite drumkits in there as Matrix kits!
Support
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Re: Version 1.7 (11/12/14)

Post by Support »

StormJH1 wrote:Perfect, thanks. I did buy the extension, mostly to support the product and to make sure I had all the features. The convolution reverb sounded nice, but some of the reverbs caused stuttering on my iPad2. That's not a fault of MTS - live convolution is very CPU demanding, and my device is old. Actually, if applied to a raw audio file (instead of playing an instrument or SF), it might work fine.
This problem only occurs while using it in a track that's being monitored indeed. An iPad 2 can easily handle Convolutor effects that are in the Effect Return section or in tracks that are playing back.


Giel Bremmers
dinoroo
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Re: Version 1.7 (11/12/14)

Post by dinoroo »

Not sure if this is a bug, but when using virtual midi apps if I try to solo a midi track there's no audio at all.
Support
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Re: Version 1.7 (11/12/14)

Post by Support »

dinoroo wrote:Not sure if this is a bug, but when using virtual midi apps if I try to solo a midi track there's no audio at all.
In which circumstances does that happen?

This works fine for example:
- one track using Galileo via virtual MIDI
- another MIDI track using the MultitrackStudio Instruments
- play back both tracks

The solo buttons work as expected.


Giel Bremmers
dinoroo
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Re: Version 1.7 (11/12/14)

Post by dinoroo »

I've got about 8 midi tracks I'm running into GuitarCapo+ Using vMag. I tested it again and the sound is fine until I solo a track. Then it's about 50:50 whether I get sound or not. I usually don't get sound if I rewind to the beginning and start the track in solo mode. I also tried running through Magellan and in that case in solo mode the sound cuts in and out on it but fine when not in solo mode. Seems like something is amiss there. Thanks.
Support
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Re: Version 1.7 (11/12/14)

Post by Support »

dinoroo wrote:I've got about 8 midi tracks I'm running into GuitarCapo+ Using vMag
Do all of these tracks use a unique MIDI channel? The tracks-that-are-not-soloed are muted using volume controllers (#7), so things may not work as expected if the soloed track and another track use the same MIDI channel.


Giel Bremmers
dinoroo
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Re: Version 1.7 (11/12/14)

Post by dinoroo »

In guitarcapo+ they were all on different channels, 1-8. When I tried Magellan I had to make them all ch 1 to get all of the tracks to play, otherwise it seemed to only play the track that was set to channel 1. Fwiw I'm also using an ipad 4 with iOS 7.1.2. There's been numerous reports of problems with the new audiobus sdk and ios 8, IAA not working, and possibly not being backwardly compatible with iOS 7 so this might be part of the problem.
Support
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Re: Version 1.7 (11/12/14)

Post by Support »

I'm sorry for the slow reply. AFAICS MultitrackStudio sends volume controllers correctly.
dinoroo wrote:In guitarcapo+ they were all on different channels, 1-8.
Do the track faders work correctly, ie. do they control the level of just one track? If this works soling and muting should work too. If this doesn't work guitarcapo+ doesn't respond to volume controller message the way I expect it to.
dinoroo wrote:When I tried Magellan I had to make them all ch 1 to get all of the tracks to play, otherwise it seemed to only play the track that was set to channel 1.
Is Magellan supposed to be able to play multiple channels simultaneously at all, and if so did you set it up correctly?
dinoroo wrote:Fwiw I'm also using an ipad 4 with iOS 7.1.2. There's been numerous reports of problems with the new audiobus sdk and ios 8, IAA not working, and possibly not being backwardly compatible with iOS 7 so this might be part of the problem.
I don't think that has anything to do with it. You can easily check this by not using Audiobus.


Giel Bremmers
dinoroo
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Re: Version 1.7 (11/12/14)

Post by dinoroo »

I just found the "draw" feature for setting midi velocities across a region of notes. Works great. Thanks for implementing this!
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