BIAS FX Tuner issues
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Has anyone noticed the tuner picking up the wrong notes? I'm getting B for the E string and it has a lot of trouble getting my Drop A on the 7 string. The Tonestack tuner gets this ok
I notice in REAPER's ReaTune that the window size by default is set too small to deal with low strings well
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It seems a bit sensitive, picking up second- or third-order harmonics occasionally, so I make sure all strings are muted.
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I usually tune to the twelfth-fret harmonic, which tends to give me a purer tone than tuning to an open string.
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I find the low E is always hard, for any tuner to pick up. I often just tune my A, and than fret tune the E off of that.
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The correct frequency of a tuned G string is so easy to blow by too, and accidentally sharpen. Never understood why. It's like, 'It's coming up... it's coming up... it's coming up... oh damn, it's sharp.' LOL
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@kgm : depends on the music you play and the voicings you fret. I have always played some form of metal, and learned to tune via open strings in combination with fifth-fret power chords. Only the B needs bending when in a chord.
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When I pick low E string I often display "B" on the tuner as well
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@pipelineaudio I'm going to windows dude. Thinking about building a rack pc. What do you think? Pc has to get tones as good as Kemper or axe right? I hear mercurial spark is amazing
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I'm working on some ways to control all the guitar sounds in REAPER as conveniently as with the iOS stuff. The big hurdles were a wireless MIDI pedalboard and a decently cheap tablet that anyone can afford as easily as an iPad.
Software wise, there's not even anything remotely resembling a comparison, because of VST or whatever your plugin format of choice, you can mix and match whatever you want. You are no longer limited by routing. You can run control signals for FX like pitch and noise gates from things other than your primary signal path. You can completely specify what output gets what exact treatment (multiband compressor for the lows going to your monitoring rig, unaltered signal to the PA for instance).
COMPLETELY customized and dictatable MIDI control...polarity, min/max, and yes, auto engage anything
No more hassles sharing presets from one device to the next.
Right click!
Fine tuning
Direct parameter entry (and workarounds for software that didn't allow it)
Every single solitary downfall of the iOS software is out the window
SWS Live Configs allows an insane level of control, but for me, I have an easier way, I guess if I ever need as much power as SLC allows I can go in there.
Right now, I'm just using SWS snapshots and turning off everything but mute state.
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I make a track of the exact sounds I want, arm it, turn monitoring on, move on to the next track with a different sound, etc, etc, etc
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Mute all but track 1, save as SWS snapshot 1, go to actions and pick snapshot 1, click learn, press the midi pedal I want for it. Mute track 1, unmute track 2, repeat
The CC's still go wherever you want them and you can "learn" those as well.
INSTANT sound switching (and there's ways to improve this even further with a spillover track)
There are way more elegant ways to do this, and if CPU power or throughput is compromised on the cheaper tablets I'll look into this , but for now, on my HP i3 4gig RAM Craptop, I'm able to do this with 32 separate tracks of virtual racks with zero issues . I am awaiting a cheapo tablet to show up on craigslist to see exactly how this fares in the real world
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All that verbose windbaggerry aside, your specific question, I am more happy with the sounds I can get on a PC than an Axe or Kemper, but really, those are also just software DSP processes, so you in theory could get the exact same sounds, though you'd need their code. Between Bias, TSE, LePou, Ignite and whatever, I've never found myself unhappy with the guitar sound while I'm working on an album mix, you may need to experiment to find stuff that works well live.
For me, I have no qualms, WAY happier with what I can get out of VST than any amp setup I've ever owned or recorded in my life
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@pipelineaudio ok so then I have to figure out what I'm doing wrong.
I have an i5 sandybridge laptop and never can get it to sound right through a cab or pa. Must be doing something wrong.
Have you tried the mercurial stuff? I'm interested what you find performance wise running their stuff in oversampled mode. If that can be done live I'll just upgrade my laptop maybe?
Maybe I don't really need to build a new i7 monster for a live rig.
What do you think of thunderbolt vs USB 2.0 interfaces?
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I am having MASSIVE trouble translating a lifetime of running through studio monitors to actual live performance speakers. In general I see it in two parameters : tone and dynamics. PA speakers and guitar cab speakers dont usually have the same sort of damping factor to them, which is leading to floppy flubby bass, which is driving me nuts,m but I realize that can be fixed with dynamic EQ or multiband compression. The eq response itself on the other hand....man, moving your head a milimeter has a giant impact on the sound...at least in the studio you can kind of stay somewhat still, but on stage? Forget it
Tackle that translation and you'll be happy I would think. I've come to accept that live I'm not in a studio, so get a sound I'm comfortable with, keep the low end from flapping to death and I'm more than happy.
In terms of power, we know any modern computer has more actual power than the systems I mixed hundreds of albums on, but there are other factors that affect throughput, and that;s why I really want to do a bunch of cheap craigslist experiments.
I know more than a few USB interfaces do just fine. I don't really have any opinion on thunderbolt until things become more standardized across platforms for that.
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@pipelineaudio right on. I'm about to give up on the iOS stuff. Work on the pc suff. I'm trying to learn more about getting dynamics from using vsts in the chain.
I read somewhere about using parallel compression to get crazy dynamics. Basically two compressors one going into the other and the first one only compressing a bit and then the next one pumping it up or something. I wish I could find the thread it was super interesting. Had to do with recovering dynamics you lose from noise gates
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If you really want to get good at parallel compression, get a compressor with a wet dry knob like ReaComp or any of the stillwell stuff and a stereo drum track. Make insane squishy disgusting compression then slowly add the dry and see what happens.
Later on learn to rout it to two channels so you can eq them separately. Part of that New York sound is parallel compression where the compressed track has either zero mid range or gobs of highs and lows boosted
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@pipelineaudio sounds cool. I barely know how to record a track with amp sims let alone using rack compressors and shit like neve somslle plugins
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Man i seriously never thought of parallel compression for live guitar, but it could really solve some problems
You could get all the sustain you want and "ease" of playing and making artificial harmonics, without getting all grainy
Dammit, I'm supposed to be working on something else right now!!!
Another rabbit hole
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So how is the surface pro 3 performance wise?
I.e. With all your tracks up and muted etc for live performance with multiple instances of different plugins and stuff running.... how is the sound? Latency? Any kind of issues?
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Sorry you have an HP i3 laptop. What kind of tablet did you order?
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I didnt order anything yet. I made an RPP with everything ready on free portable plugs and I'm just asking people to bring their tablets and convertibles over to test it while I wait for something to show up on the local craigslist pages
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@brian-dress said in BIAS FX Tuner issues:
@pipelineaudio ok so then I have to figure out what I'm doing wrong.
I have an i5 sandybridge laptop and never can get it to sound right through a cab or pa. Must be doing something wrong.
Yes, I am sure it is more likely a config rather than your laptop... It has got to be signal levels or impedance or something. My Macbook destroys through my power amp and cab once its dialed. Some of the plugin sounds I am getting I like as much as my AxeFx for certain tones.
What do you think of thunderbolt vs USB 2.0 interfaces?
Theoretically, for guitar, there should be no real difference, although the thunderbolt interfaces tend to be higher end, IMHO. So maybe generally better. Some expect lower latency with the TB or USB3 but for audio data the bus should not be the issue at USB2 speeds. That said, with extra $$$ being put in R&D they might get better drivers etc.