This is really a GPO problems
 

Howdy John, That's real
 

Thanks for your reply/help.
 

Thanks for your reply/help.

<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>quote:</font>

So, do I understand correctly that if you have the .gpo or .studio file, that you can double click that file and get the GPO Studio to come up, fully loaded, and then play the file from Composer? Or the converse situation, that you start Studio, then start to load an instrument sound, and the computer starts searching and can't find anything?<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

The template files have suffix .gpo on this settup.
There is no problem getting GPO to work with MNC.
The problem is purely regarding GPO templates.
If I create a GPO template myself (start GPO studio etc and load the sounds) - then save the result as a .GPO file, then no problems. I can reload that file later and use it as a template for new or existing work.

However, if I try to load a .GPO template from the Garritan distribution files drive:\progFiles\garritan\studio\template (think that's correct path), then the problem starts. I can see the pulldown list of templates in Garritan (the distn ones that is), but, when I click to select one (any one of them), garritan fails to find any .wav files it needs to load up the player. It then offers me a chance to search the entire disc for the samples! If (being optimistic) I say Yes, it starts at C:. As there are several partitions this literally could take hours to do - and that search is per-sample-note I think!

<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>quote:</font>


I have GPO, and am using the version 2.0 Studio on my computer. I have 2 hard drives, and I have both the GPO library as well as the GPO Studio installed on the same hard drive (c: ), so I've not had the problem that you've experienced.
<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

Ah I see. In your case then I think it is ok because GPO starts with C: anyway. AFAIK there is no option I can set to tell GPO where it's own sample files are! Also the path shown in the wiindow is read-only so I cannot edit it to change the path. It could well be that the GPO has not been installed correctly I don't know, however as I have no control over that and didn't do the installation myself.

I could put together my own .gpo files but that seems a lot of work as they already exist.

Last night I found this on the GPO forum...
• INSTALL GPO ON THE DEFAULT DRIVE - Sometimes issues arise where it is being installed. To be safe it is recommended that GPO be installed on the default location which is usually the boot drive. IT may be easiest to do an "Easy Install" or install all listed components.

There is no way I could install like that on my system due to the sizing of various partition - plus I don't generally like major applications living on the boot drive anyway.

<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>quote:</font>

Another thought occurs to me, in that you may need to be sure you'vegot the GPO Studio running _before_ you start Composer. This isn't an issue for me on my computer since my initial setup, but not knowing what the setup is there, it may be an issue in your scenario<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

I'm sure the start order is correct thanks.

<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>quote:</font>

Anyway, I think it's a very reasonable request that if someone createsa song file that they intend to use with GPO that they include the .gpo (v 1.x) or .studio (v 2.0) file to go with it.<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

Yes maybe that could do asked for somehow from contributors? I don't know how - the board admin person could post something to this effect maybe? I find people tend to change the templates quite a bit anyway and it would be nice to be able to just down load an MNC piece and hear it straight away.

<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>quote:</font>

I'm not sure I understand why you wouldn't be able to use GPO
distributed templates with Composer - I thought that part worked?
Where am I confused?<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

Probably my less that clear initial post - I hope I've explained it a bit better here.

btw the MNC tutorial on the GPO site is excellent.

Thanks again,
-John Smith

Howdy John, As far as I kno
 

Howdy John,

As far as I know, the distributed templates themselves are not copyrighted or anything like that, so you could (if possible on your system) simply copy them over to where the others are that you have (which work), and open them from there. It seems to be a matter of pathway, rather than that the templates themselves are "bad".

Are they both (GPO library and GPO Studio) installed in the same partition on this system? Perhaps double-clicking the template that you want to use might work?

My guess (though it's only that) is that wherever you install it, both the Studio and the Library have to be on the same hard drive (or in the same partition). I don't see any way to change it after the fact, so the installation would need to be done "right" the first time.

You might want to check the Kontakt site, too, since it's essentially their player.

ttfn,
Sherry

Hi Sherry, Wow! I really fee
 

Hi Sherry,
Wow! I really feel stupid. I can't get past the 1st page of the GPO Tutorial. I can't even bring up GPO Studio. When I installed the program I left all the check marks to load everything, but all I get when clicking on the GPO icon is the Kontakt Player and I can load instruments into it. None of the tutorial files listed in the tutorial with the file extension .gpo can be accessed to download. Not on Notation.com nor on garritan.com . Not only that but the kontakt player has horrible latency and I cant get that working correctly either. Help! Thanks a bunch.

Cheers,
Fred

Hi again Sherry, P.S. How do
 

Hi again Sherry,
P.S. How do you open GPO STudio?
Fred

Hi Sherry, Oops! You can scra
 

Hi Sherry,
Oops! You can scratch most of the above. I got a little smarter and decided to read further. I did not know I had to download GPO STudio from the web site. I checked the box to include it when I installed GPO, but that wasn't enough. I now have Studio so I can go on further with the tutorial. However, I still can not download any of the .gpo files. My browser tells me the page does not exist. Thanks again!

Cheers,
FRed

Hi Fred, (Fred I was wr
 

Hi Fred, About downloading
 

Hi Fred,
About downloading those GPO files, I had the same problem, but your have to 'right click' on them and then do a 'Save Target as' and that will download them.

Hope that helps ... Clyde

Hi Clyde, Thanks for the help
 

Hi Clyde,
Thanks for the help! I didn't know the Mod Wheel should be set to about 50%. I now have all the software, but I can't get to the page to download the files with the .gpo extension. This is what I get when trying to get to the page to download them:

This is the url given in the Tutorial:
www.notation.com/MidiNotateComposerGPOTutorialFiles/MidiNotateComposerGPOEx.gpo

and this is the error the browser brings up:
"The XML page cannot be displayed
Cannot view XML input using style sheet. Please correct the error and then click the Refresh button, or try again later.

The system cannot locate the object specified. Error processing resource 'http://www.notation.com/MidiNotateComposerGPOTuto... "

I have no idea what "style sheet" is so therefore can not correct the error as they suggest.
I think I would be OK if I could download those .gpo file extensions.
Thanks again,
Fred

Hi Fred, The 'mod
 

Hi Fread, Oops - my picture
 

Hi Fred, Clyde has you head
 

Hi Sherry, I think the prob
 

Hi Sherry,
I think the problem with downloading the '.gpo' files is that the browser doesn't know what to do with it, and consquently tries to load it as a web page.

That is why it works if you do a right click and then a 'save target as', as you are telling the browser to simply copy it to your PC.

I think the best solution for the GPO notes is to put the '.gpo' file in a zip file, as the browser knows what to do with zip files (if you have an unzip program installed, which most people do).

(PS: I had the some problem with Fred several yseras ago, and I still have it, even though I reloaded my XP only last week. So I don't think it is confined to Fred's system).

Cheers ... Clyde

Hi Clyde & Sherry, Thanks
 

THis is the error that pops up
 

THis is the error that pops up when trying to open the file:

The XML page cannot be displayed
Cannot view XML input using style sheet. Please correct the error and then click the Refresh button, or try again later.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The system cannot locate the object specified. Error processing resource 'http://www.notation.com/discus/messages/26888/gpo...

Fred

Hi Fred, I've downloade
 

Howdy guys, Thanks Clyde fo
 

Howdy guys,

Thanks Clyde for zipping up those files and posting them here. That's a nicely-done workaround for folks who have trouble getting the .gpo files for whatever reason.

For Fred, did you rename your downloaded files before downloading, or after downloading? If your browser thinks it's smarter than you, and is renaming .gpo files to .xml as it's downloading them, then just rename it after. If I'm missing the whole point here, can you please give me a blow-by-blow description of what you're doing and what message it's giving you.

Also, what browser are you using? I'm using Firefox 1.5.0.9, and I love it. I have a variety of extensions that I've downloaded along with it that make web surfing and downloading files really easy. I see that Internet Explorer 7 has emulated the Firefox model quite heavily, which is a bit of a new way of doing things for MS. If you're using IE7, there may be some bugs with the download application(s) that need working out yet.

ttfn,
Sherry

Hi Sherry, I tried renaming
 

Hi Sherry,

I tried renaming the files after downloading them, but Windows would not let it happen. It continued to add the xml extension even after renaming the file. I am using IE6. One of my programs ( can/t remember which) advised not to download IE7 because there were issues that caused problems. I don't even remember what they were, but I just haven't downloaded IE7 because of remembering that. Anyway, the zipped files worked ok so I just got rid of the others.
Thanks for the help!
Cheers,
Fred

Hi Sherry and everybody! Ca
 

Hi Sherry and everybody!

Can anybody tell me how to save a file in Composer that consists of both GPO instruments and general midi instruments? When I try to do it, the file saves and reverts everthing back to MS GW Wavetable device in the staff setup.
Also, both Audacity and the Windows Sound Recorder (which both record 'as heard by') will not record if GPO Studio is open. So far, the only thing I can save are wave files through GPO Studio where only GPO instruments are used on every staff. Thanks for any help!
\
Cheers,
Fred

Howdy Fred, Hmm.... I ju
 

Howdy Fred,

Hmm....

I just tried creating a file that used both GPO instruments as well as some soundfonts, saved the file, then reopened it in the same session. The Staff/Setup showed that the devices, banks and instruments were just as I had saved them. So I'm unable to reproduce your observation with the following steps:

1. Open an existing file (three instruments) and click Staff/Setup.
2. In the Staff Setup dialog, use the drop list to set the Device for the first staff to "GPO 1", and channel 1.
3. Set the Device for the other two staves to "SB Audigy 2 synth A", channel 2, 001 grand piano.
4. Click "Ok."
5. Use "File/Save as" to save the file with a different name than the original.
6. Close the song.
7. Reopen the song file and check Staff/Setup to check the Devices, channels, and instrument assignments. They're just as I saved them.

How do your steps differ from mine so as to produce the "non-saved settings" file?

Also, I've used Audacity to record "What you hear" when I use a mix of soundfonts and GPO (I've not tried out the Windows Sound Recorder). For my setup, I also have to be sure that the sound level slider for "What you hear" is all the way up - for some reason it seems to get set to 0 sometimes when working with GPO. You might want to check your soundcard settings.

Another recommendation for recording here is to use the ASIO driver ASIO4all (available at www.asio4all.com) It's free, and it makes getting all the ASIO information synchronized between your recording software and the GPO Kontakt player. It also will help you get any latency matching done much easier if you're using multiple devices.

I hope something here is helpful!

ttfn,
Sherry

Hi Sherry, quote: I just t
 

Hi Sherry,

quote:
I just tried creating a file that used both GPO instruments as well as some soundfonts, saved the file, then reopened it in the same session. The Staff/Setup showed that the devices, banks and instruments were just as I had saved them. So I'm unable to reproduce your observation with the following steps:

1. Open an existing file (three instruments) and click Staff/Setup.
2. In the Staff Setup dialog, use the drop list to set the Device for the first staff to "GPO 1", and channel 1.
3. Set the Device for the other two staves to "SB Audigy 2 synth A", channel 2, 001 grand piano.
4. Click "Ok."
5. Use "File/Save as" to save the file with a different name than the original.
6. Close the song.
7. Reopen the song file and check Staff/Setup to check the Devices, channels, and instrument assignments. They're just as I saved them.

How do your steps differ from mine so as to produce the "non-saved settings" file?

1. I did not try to save the file with a different name. I just tried to save it as a midi file with the same name.
2. My sound card is Realteck AC 97 Audio ( synth is MS GW Wavetable )

When trying to record the file using GPO, it will not record the general midi staves, only the GPO instruments.
When pressing the record button in Audacity and Sound Recorder ( to record what it hears) it tells me it can not record that type of file (or words to that effect) as long as GPO Studio is open. If the Studio is not open, you don't hear the GPO instruments at all.

As a side note, Windows Sound Recorder is a top notch wave recorder. It will only record 60 seconds however, unless you "trick" it into recording longer. I created a 10 minute wave file in Audacity (copying a smaller file and pasting it at the end a few times to make it 10 minutes long) then open the file in Sound Recorder and you can record up to 10 minutes ( or 10 hours if you want to copy and paste that many times...of course the file would be 8000 MB long instead of 80 MB).

I am going to try saving a file using a different name as you suggested above. Assuming that that works, would you then be able to hear the GPO instrument sound without having to open GPO STudio? Also, does it matter if the file is saved as midi or .not file?

Thanks again!
Fred

Hi Sherry, I saved the file
 

Hi Sherry,

I saved the file as you instructed above, using 3 instruments. Saved it with a different file and name and it saved the file as desired. However, I also saved it with a different name as a midi file and it only worked in the current session. When I closed Composer and re-opened it and opened the midi file, the GPO staff reverted back to General Midi. That's puzzling.

As far as recording, Audacity and Sound And Record will not record with GPO Studio open.

In Audacity, the error states " Error while opening sound device. Please check the input device settings and the project sample rate" I can't see anything out of whack there.

In Sound Recorder, the error states " Your audio cannot record into files like the current file. To record, create a new document".

It's looking more and more like I made the biggest mistake of my life asking for GPO and JABB. If I am the only person who gets to hear the instruments, what good is it? If I write a piece with GPO instruments, at this point I would have to invite everyone to my house in order for them to listen to it. If it were possible to return software, I would do it in a heartbeat. I realize I may be the only person who is having these problems, but nonetheless, it is still very disappointing. I have 36 hours invested so far, and have gotten nowhere. If you could wave a magic wand over my head, I sure would appreciate it. Thanks again for all your help and any further suggestions.

P.S. I feel certain I could accomplish what I want if I use GPO or JABB instruments for every staff. At least GPO Studio would save the wave file and I could convert it to MP3 to save space. That would mean I would have to completely re-write everything with just one note in each staff. OH boy!

Cheers,
Fred

Hi Fred, I haven't inst
 

Hi Fred,

I haven't installed Audacity on the new machine, but I just checked in Acoustica and it has a lot of recording source options. If you can set Audacity, or any other recorder, for wave as the source, it might be worth a try. Total Recorder has a set up where you can record from other software--it has its own recording engine--so you might get the free trial of that, too. (It was only about $11 to buy and has them all beat). Worth a try.

Since you get a failure to open sound device, I'm just guessing that you might need a different source. But, again, it shouldn't hurt anything to give it a go.

Goooood Luck and lots of it,

best,
mgj

Howdy Fred, Ah - you won
 

Howdy Fred,

Ah - you won't be able to save the device configuration in the MIDI file as it's not part of the MIDI format. The device setup that you give a file is only saved in the .not version of the file.

As for the recording difficulties, you'll need to be sure that all your driver bit rate settings are in agreement, or you won't be able to record. It is a bit of work at first to make sure that everything is all set up in the proper "agreement" configurations, but well worth the time spent. The two biggest factors are the (1) bit depth and (2) sampling rate. These two parameters have to be in agreement, or your recording either won't work at all, or it will sound really bizarre. 16 bit is the CD standard, and a sampling rate of 44,100 Hz is pretty universal for most "hobbyist" audio recording setups.

You'll need to set your recording software as well as the output on the Studio player for JBB and GPO (Settings/Audio driver) to those parameters.

If you want to do some reading, you can google "audio computer record primer" and browse through some of the docs that come up there.

Don't despair Fred - it'll be worth it when you get the setup running!

ttfn,
Sherry

Hi MG, I'll have to che
 

Hi Sherry, Thanks for the s
 

Hi Fred, I haven't bee
 

Hi all, Just to give you so
 

Howdy Fred, For the above m
 

Howdy Fred,

For the above mentioned parameters to set in Audacity, they're located in Edit/Preferences, where you'll see a tabbed dialog box with a lot of various options. The first three tabs - Audio IO, Quality, File formats - are the ones of most importance.

Also, as Clyde points out above, you'll need to be recording the correct source, and that source listing as he shows above varies depending on the sound card that is in your computer. For Clyde, it's "stereo mix", for me it's "What you hear". You'll need to check your options there, which will be specific to your soundcard.

Then, after you've got the ASIO4All driver installed use the GPO/JBB Studio (Settings/Preferences) to set the sample rate. Then, use the Studio's "Settings/Preferences/Audio Control Panel" to setup the ASIO4All driver parameters.

I know it sounds like a lot of stuff, but essentially what you're doing is just making sure that all the links in the chain are speaking the same language (bit depth and sampling rate). After you've got that all set up, you should be in business.

ttfn,
Sherry

Hi Fred, One of the interfa
 

Hi Fred,
One of the interface 'difficult' areas with GPO is its requirement that every different voice needs to be on a separate midi channel.

That is nothing to do with Composer, but a GPO requirement, and it is understandable as GPO's origins are in orchestral music where there is one instrument per stave (eg violin, cello etc). I have found with GPO a similiar problem with their organ sounds, that to change sounds requires a new midi channel, which means a new stave.

In another thread, I have been suggesting to Mark (and he agrees) that the interface these packages needs to be enhanced to make it easier to overcome these types of issues.

And these issues are in no way confined to GPO - every sound source package that I have used works differently and has another set of equally annoying issues.

Cheers ... Clyde

Hi Fred, Just to illustrate
 

Hi Fred,
Just to illustrate that GPO and other software sound packages have their 'labour intensive' features, I have several organ packages, and they each have similiar problems:

(a) One organ packages requires a separate stave for each stop (almost impossible to use because of this)
(b) Another one requires notes be held down for the period that stops are drawn (ie each note on a separate channel indicates a stop is drawn, and if you want to have a stop drawn, then a certain note representing that stop is played - which can be for the whole piece). Again this is almost impossible to use, fortuantely there is a way around it, although it does impose some restrictions.
(c) Another organ package requires Modulator wheels be used for stop changes, each stop given a value of modulator wheel 81 to turn it on, and modulator wheel 80 to turn it off. Again, very hard to use, and the score is hard to read to see what is going on.

So don't feel too bad about the effort you need to use to drive GPO - and I'm sure sometime in the future interfaces to these things will be a lot better (at least I hope so).

Incidentally, I'm interested that it was necessary to do this with the GPO Jazz package, as I was wondering what they would do in this area.

Cheers ... Clyde

Hi Sherry, Clyde and MG, Th
 

Hi Sherry, Clyde and MG,

Thanks for all the help and suggestions. I am totally unable to get any recorder to work with GPO. I took MG's suggestion and downloaded "Acoustica". I like the recorder better than Audscity, but that won't record with GPO open either. It gives me the same error message as Audacity. Everything will record Composer or any other sounds "as heard", but as soon as I open GPO they turn their noses up. There is nothing I can't record. I am not new to using Audacity. I have used it successfull for over a year without incident. I just uninstalled and downloaded an earlier stable version and that did no good either. Yes, I need to use "stereo mix" as the source also. One thing that Acoustica added to the possible problem list was that the device may be in use by another program. It's not.
There are 48 processes running on my computer but nothing is using a lot of CPU. That ranges from 2% to 3 or 4%. I have no idea what processes I can safely end. Who knows what the processes are? You sure can't tell by looking at the file names ( except for a few ). Maybe I'll get brave one day and try ending a few at a time to see if that helps. The parameters (as far as I can tell) are in agreement 44,100Hz and 16 bit depth on everything. There could be a problem in ASIO4all. My sound card is accepted fine and the "Out" shows available, but the in is "unavailable" . I've tried everything sourceforge recommends there also, but can't get that the way it should be either. I'm thinking of not using the ASIO4all driver, but I don't know what to expect if I don't use it. If I don't get this thing straightened out, I will have to use GPO instruments only. That would take an immense amount of work. My son gave me those programs for Christmas. I don't know how to tell him they are not working for me. He lives right next door so I can't tell him what a wonderful time I am having. He's sure to want to hear it. All I wanted to do was just add a few GPO instruments to each of my files and record them with a nicer sound. Using GPO for everything would make the files huge to say the least. I wouldn't have enough hard drive space left to write a 2 sentence letter. Oh well, if anyone can get me straight, I sure would appreciate it! Thanks again.
Cheers,
Fred

P.S. My son just walked in and, being the honest guy I am, I had to tell him and explain my problems. He said "Dad, I'm 47 years old so I can safely say that over the last 47 years I have never seen you not accomplish what you wanted to accomplish. You'll figure it out and then it will all be easy". What a winner!

Hi again all, Here is somethi
 

Hi again all,
Here is something interesting that may shed some light on my problem. (although I have no idea what to do about it)
The Acoustica Recorder I downloaded (trial version) has a dialog box under "preferences" with a small box that says:
"Some sound cards do not support simultaneous recording and playback. This will not matter if you are playing sounds from another sound card". Below that statement is a "Test" button.
With GPO Studio NOT loaded, pressing the test button states "Sound card supports full duplex"
Opening GPO STudio and pressing the test button again states "Sound card FAILED full duplex test".
Closing GPO Studio and pressing the test button again, the message then reads "Sound card supports full duplex". So there is definitely something wrong only in GPO. Any ideas?
Thanks again,
Fred

Hi Fred, And I thought I ha
 

Hi Fred,

And I thought I had sound card woes! I may not have the technological expertise to grasp what is going on, but I assure you I feel your pain. It may even be that I have a glimmer of what the problem may be.

First, though, what you said about being out the money may not be necessarily so. I have seen a 30, and sometimes 60 day money back provision for all the software I've purchased. So you may be able to take heart about that.

Something you said in your last couple of posts brought a tsunami of things I'd rather not remember crashing in. When I got this machine, it had Audigy HD Audio powered by a Sigmatel on-board chip. It defaulted to Microsoft's GS Wavetable Software synth, but also had a Creative Soundfont synth, with which I could use soundfonts.

I had a horrid and very depressing time trying to get a sound card (that is the physical card you have to put in a slot in the computer) to work at all, even though I disabled the Sigmatel chip in the BIOS set up, which the Dell techies assured and re-assured then re-re-assured me was all I had to do. I wanted the sound card, btw, because I wanted to have more than 16 channels and the card has 2 hardware synths which allow up to 32 channels. And also because I got messages similar to yours when I tried to record. In fact, no recorder would give me the what you hear or midi synth option to start with. And the sound quality wasn't very good to begin with.

Finally, I not only disabled the on-board audio in the BIOS setup, but I deleted every thing that had anything to do with audio before re-installing the sound card. Finally, the card would work and I have good sound and can record using midi synth and what you hear. I also have to set volume levels down at under 50% to keep Soundblaster from living up to its name. And I have only one hardware Synth, though there are 2, that I can use without crashing the computer; so while I can have up to a couple of gigabytes worth of soundfonts on that, I still have only 16 channels available.

Anyhow, I feel your pain acutely. What I am wondering is whether your computer has an on-board chip powering your audio. Your lack of options for recording sounds like the same situation I had with the Sigmatel chip. Neither I nor the Dell techies found any way to be able to record from Composer, or any software for that matter.

My rage when I think about all this still increases my vituperative vocabulary to a level that even Shakespeare would have envied. My wife used to wonder why steam was rising from my hair and smoke was billowing from my ears.

However, there are consolations.

One is that, as long as I can get everything into 16 channels, I can use soundfonts. There are a lot of them out there and I have been able to cull some very good ones for a number of instruments. So far I have only looked at freebies, but I imagine some of those that are for sale might be even better. So far I have found a violin, cello, tuba, clarinet, flute, and a lot of percussion instruments that sound as much like the real things as is probably possible. As long as I need only 16 channels, I can record directly from Composer, then use Acoustica as described in the next paragraph.

Then there is Syntfont which lets you replace GM instruments with any soundfont located in any folder on your computer, and it gives you 32 channels, then play it to a .wav or .mp3 file. The file can be loaded into Audacity or Acoustica and reverb, chorus, graphic equalizer, stereo enhancement, etc. effects applied. (Synthfont is donationware.)

There is also VST, which I don't begin to understand, and haven't had time to explore yet.

The trouble with Synthfont is that to make changes, Composer has to reloaded, the changes made, then Synthfont has to be loaded and the changes tried out, then if there are more changes, etc., etc. Also, Synthfont has dropouts when maximum true polyphony reaches 100.

Also, Mark has said somewhere in the Forum that a version of Composer is in the works which will allow more than 16 channels and use soundfonts, which would get rid of the necessity of switching programs to make every change. (Some things, like volume, pan, etc. can be changed in Synthfont, but a crescendo can't be added or modified, for instance.)

So, although you may not get quite the sound of GPO instruments, as long as your card or chip can use soundfonts and you can use Audacity to make recordings and work with effects, you should be able to get the kind of sound that is close to what you want. And probably in a much simipler fashion.

So take heart. One way or another, you will get there.

all best,
mgj

PS. If you'd be interested, I could make and send you an .mp3 file in which first I'd play the MS Wavetable SW synth instrument and then a more realistic soundfont that I've found. You can hear the vast difference even in the raw recording; then you could load it into Audacity and experiment with the application of effects. Although I have a system which is still far from right, it would give you an indication of what is nonetheless possible.

Hi Fred I know exactly how
 

Hi Fred

I know exactly how you feel. David has expressed the frustrations well.

I have had no problems so far starting up JABB and GPO, which I received yesterday. Perhaps it helps, if I tell you about my experience.

In connection with Composer, I use Realtec AC97 Audio as you do. I have a different setup for Cubase which does not matter here. I use a small audio mixer to connect the PC and a sound system and for mixing and recording other sources. This should not matter either. I use a low cost audio editor from www.goldwave.com, which I highly recommend for its many necessary and excellent features required for any serious audio recording.

I installed JABB, GPO and Garritan Studio.

1. Open Garritan Studio.
2. Click on the first of eight groups. Kontakt Player comes up.
3. Select the instruments.
4. Open your file in Composer.
5. Under Device select GPO Studio or what ever you wish.
6. Under Channel select the channel as per your Garritan Studio choice.

I used both, General Midi and GPO instruments in the same file. It all worked well for me, including recording to Goldwave.

Best wishes for your endeavor,
Best wishes for a successful and prosperous New Year,

Herbert

Hi Fred It should have been
 

Hi Fred

It should have been mgj has expessed his frustrations well

Herbert

Hi Sherry, MG, Clyde, and Herb
 

Hi Fred, Do all the recorde
 

Hi Fred,

Do all the recorders on your computer have a Device Settings option? I just noticed that in Acoustica it gives me only two options for playback and recording. One is the Audigy 2 Zs and the other is modem line, or somesuch. I think that one or the other was set for modem line when I first got it and I had to set them both for the Audigy 2 Zs. Maybe this is worth a look.

best,
mgj

Hi MG, Yes, they all have o
 

Hi MG,

Yes, they all have options for playback and recording. The two options I have are Realtek AC97 Audio and Default Wave Device. Playback and recording are both set to Realtek AC97 Audio. Thanks!
Cheers,
Fred

Hi Fred I have set the driv
 

Hi Fred

I have set the driver in Garritan Studio to “Windows Direct Sound-RealtecAC97Audio_1”. The software also has a record function on its Host Application. This function only records the Garritan instruments playing in Composer, but not any GM instruments, you might also use in the same song.

What is really needed here is a function in Composer that exports a .not file to a .wav file.

Best wishes

Herbert

Hi Herbert, quote: What
 

Hi again, Herbert Using Dir
 

Hi again, Herbert

Using Direct Sound- REaltek AC97 Audio_1 as the driver, are you able to record "as heard" into any recorders (Audactity, Acoustica,etc.) with a mixture of GPO and General Midi instruments? That's the only problem I'm having. Thanks again!

Cheers,
FRed

Hi Fred I have had another
 

Hi Fred

I have had another look at my hardware setup. The main difference of what I have here and what you may have is a small hardware mixer I am using. By using the mixer, I am feeding “Line Out” of the PC back into “Line In”. It works well enough, but may not help you. It would be far better, to have a software solution, rather than conversions of the music file via analog in the sound card.

By this method you can always record what you hear.

Best wishes,

Herbert

HELLO WORLD!! YAAAAHHHHHOOO
 

Howdy Fred, Congratulations
 

Howdy Fred,

Congratulations!!!!

And now you can send someone up here to the beanfield to flog that crazy chick who was so all-fired gung-ho about using Asio4All ;)

Enjoy using GPO and JBB - I think you're in for a blast!!

ttfn,
Sherry

Hi Sherry, Thank you and th
 

Howdy Fred, That's grea
 

Howdy Fred,

That's great that things are working better all round.

For the echo in Audacity, you might want to check the Preferences settings (under Edit, of all places), and fiddle with the "play while recording setting" to see how that affects any "echo" you hear.

ttfn,
Sherry

Hi Fred, Wheeeee! You must
 

Hi Fred,

Wheeeee! You must feel like dancing a jig about now.

Did you actually get more volume for the same settings? I don't remember just when that happened to me, but I do remember eliminating ASIO somewhere along the line.

Don't forget to write down that jig.

all best,
mgj

Hidey Ho! MG, >>
 

Hi again, Sherry >>
 

Hi again, Sherry

>>>For the echo in Audacity, you might want to check the Preferences settings (under Edit, of all places), and fiddle with the "play while recording setting" to see how that affects any "echo" you hear.

Aha! That did the trick. I unchecked "Software Playthrough- Play new track while recording it". I left the 'Play other tracks while recording new one' checked. I had to fiddle a long time with various volumes, but the best I could get it is with playback set to 0.7 and record set to 0.1. Now the spectograms are NEARLY identical. The newly recorded track is exactly 0.35285 seconds behind the original track. I guess that explains the horrible echo when trying to record . I don't think it's a coincidence that the latency with my AC97 Audio is 35MS. hmmm! Anyway, I think there is a way to line up those two tracks, but it isn't a necessity because I don't need them to be together to record the new track by itself.

Thanks again!
Fred

Hi Fred I am really happy f
 

Hi Fred

I am really happy for you, now that you are progressing with recording GPO.

I fear, there will be more hurdles to overcome. The Modulation Wheel seems to have problems in relation to the volume level after playback has started in Composer.

I have to correct something I have said yesterday. You do not need an external hardware mixer, to record composer with the Goldwave Sound Editor. You just select Stereo Mix as your source. There are no echoes or any other problems.

What do you mean, when you say that the newly recorded track is exactly 0.35285 seconds behind the original track? I do a lot of recording, cutting, splicing, mixing converting etc. I never had a problem with lining up tracks precisely.

Your idea of a party at Mark’s place is excellent. Please put me down on the invitation list and for free plane tickets for two.

Best wishes,

Herbert

Hi Fred The problem I had
 

Hi Fred

The problem I had with the Modulation Wheel, was easily fixed. The Modulation Wheel needs to be set to an initial value in Composer’s GraphOverNotes. This is all explained in Mark’s tutorial on GPO.

Best wishes,

Herbert

Hi Herbert, Thanks for all th
 

Hello All, I just re-record
 

Hello All,

I just re-recorded "Solitude", a song I composed in May, 2005 using GPO Steinway Grand Piano. The song was originally improvised on the fly and, including editing, took less than 5 minutes. You can listen to it on my Soundclick web site. Any feedback or suggestions for improvement would be appreciated. Thanks!!

Cheers,
Fred

http://www.soundclick.com/fredwinterling

Hi Fred, I listened to, the
 

Hi Fred,

I listened to, then downloaded, "Solitude." For some reason I'm getting sounds like LP scratches, though not at regular intervals. But I do like this composition. That is a nice sounding piano, too--mellow bass register, without being muddy, and progressively brighter treble.

"Saxophone Rock" I had only heard in the .not version. Needless to say, this is more fun. Congratulations to both you and the volcalist.

best,
mgj

Hi MG, Thank you, glad you
 

Hi Fred, Good grief! I gue
 

Hi Fred,

Good grief! I guess the lesson is: look at the details before you download. When I heard it, I thought you had latched on to a text to speech program. On my return to the site a little while ago, I wasn't really surprised to find who the singer is since we already know she is multi-talented.

Nice job, Sherry! and nice song, Fred!

best,
mgj

PS. No 'scratches' in "Saxophone Rock."

Hi MG, I thought you knew w
 

Hi Fred, I got the scratche
 

Hi Fred,

I got the scratches listening on the site, both mp3 and hi fi, as well as in the downloaded file. Also there was a hiss, like a tape beginning, which I got rid of by turning the down the volume, which was much louder on this piece than the others. The scratch went away, but not entirely, when I turned the volume down, too, but so did the sense of presence--reverb.

It was just this one piece, so I suspect you may be right about a download or maybe upload problem.

all best,
mgj

Hi MG, It's possible I
 

Hi Fred, Will listen late a
 

Hi Fred,

Will listen late afternoon or evening.

best,
mgj

Hi Fred, 5:53 PM. No hiss,
 

Hi Fred,

5:53 PM. No hiss, no scratch, even with the volume way up.

best,
mgj

Hi MG, Thank you! That'
 

Hi MG,

Thank you! That's great!

Cheers,
Fred

Howdy guys, Just a note on
 

Howdy guys,

Just a note on Asio4All and latency - I found a trick that may help and posted it here.

ttfn,
Sherry

Re: GPO and MNC music contributions
 

Hi friends,


I'm adding the information to all SynthFont related posts that with the Notation Software Synth, as well as the advanced audio capabilities of version 5 and going forward, there is no need to use SynthFont with our software as our synth is actually more flexible and handles more than SynthFont does.


ttfn,
Sherry