Virtual Sampler 3 & SoundFonts

BluesMeister

BluesMeister

Occasional Poster
And now for your listening pleasure, I present the tutorial:

Using VSampler3 with SoundFonts.

You will need to down-load and installed the latest version of VS3 from www.vsampler3.com

You will also need to install MIDI Yoke. You can Google for MIDI Yoke. It’s free and very easy to install if you follow the installation instructions.

Warning! During installation of VS3, do not associate LM4 drum files with Virtual Sampler! Those LM4s have a .TXT extension, and every text file you have on your HDD will be associated with VS3 rather than your favourite word processor.

When VS3 is installed it can be run as a standalone sampler or as a Dxi in a sequencer. The following instructions are specific to using VS3 and CakeWalk HomeStudio2002.

1) Start CakeWalk
2) Start a new project or open a current one.
3) Insert an Audio Track
4) Drag the bottom of the Audio Track pane until the FX box is visible.

Right Click on the FX box and choose VS3 Dxi

When VS3 is loading you see the Splash Screen for a few second. This will be replaced by the VS3 main view – however it is severely truncated. You must drag the bottom RH corner until you can see the main view as intended.

--
BluesMeister
 
LOADING SOUNDFONTS

In the main VS window there are two windows, one showing the channels and banks, to the right of this is a second window. Below the second window is a small aperture with a grey round button at the right hand end. Click on the small button and a menu drops down. Scroll down and click on Disk Browser. In the window you will now see two grey folder-icons, one named <root> the other just shows two dots ... Click on <root> to display all of the folders on your HDD.

You can use your mouse to drag the slider to the right of the window until you find your SoundFont directory. Double click on your SoundFont directory’s name. The list of SF2s in that directory will now be displayed.

Each SF has an icon next to it (it’s actually a portion of a keyboard). Double click the icon of the SF to be imported. This will open the SoundFont and in some cases will display multiple instruments in the SF file. Click and hold down the left mouse button on the instrument and drag it into the first vacant Channel slot in Bank1. Double click the File Open icon to close it.

Do this for each of the SoundFonts you want to import.

Remember! Drum SoundFonts should be imported into Channel 10.

--
BluesMeister
 
ASSIGNING SOUNDFONTS TO MIDI CHANNELS

Click on the MIDI button to reveal the MIDI Rack. You will see three columns of 16 rows corresponding to the 16 channels available. All of the Instrument channels will be assigned to the last SoundFont that was imported. Each channel will display a small open-padlock next to the instrument name.

Click on the instrument name in Channel 1. This opens up the Assign Instrument To MIDI Channel dialogue box.
You will see that Bank 1 is open and displays the names of all the SoundFonts you imported previously on the VS Rack page.
Double click the instrument to be imported into Channel 1.
You will see that Channel 1 now displays the name of the SoundFont you want in Channel 1 and the padlock icon is now locked.

Do this for all 16 channels. If you have a channel that has no instrument assigned to it, click on the Clear button in the Assign Instrument To MIDI Channel dialogue box.

The reason for Clearing those un-used MIDI channels becomes obvious when you go to VS3’s Mixer Rack. Unassigned channels are greyed out.

--
BluesMeister
 
ASSIGNING BANKS & PATCHES IN CAKEWALK

In Piano Roll View, open each instrument by opening the track pane. You can do this by dragging the bottom of the pane downward or by pressing the Minimize Strip button (It looks like two overlapping squares to the right of the MSR buttons.

Click on Bank and set to 0-Vsampler Dxi Bank 1
Click on Patch and select the appropriate Patch for the Channel.

Now you can minimise VS3.

In CakeWalk, go to Options>MIDI Devices. Inputs will be your soundcard’s MIDI input. Outputs: you will need to select MIDI Yoke Junction: 1

Hit the play button. :)

--
BluesMeister
 
That is awesome, thanks! You know it like where to part your hair. I dont have that version yet though. I`m still awe with an earlier one, bout a foot and a half over my head but I'm gettin it worked out. Live Synth spoiled me with simplicity, so I tend to stay near the side of the pool, but working on it.
 
Double thumbs up...


...What was the question again...? V-... V-What...? VS ? You mean Virtual Sampler ?

Then BluesMeister is the man...:cool: Walk this way, please... :)

Five Stars!!!
:D
 
Pedullist said:
What's 'virtual' about it, btw? It's real, isn't it?
Click to expand...
Well, it's like this...

Virtual is the reality created in the etherial sense of that which is intangible. The reality is actually a concept that the visualiser intreprets from the information being passed along the neural synapses to the visual cortex. So what the eyes are able to see isn't necessarily there in a tangible form.

For example, a rainbow.

So, when used in the context of a Sampler, a Virtual Sampler is er, simply one that is, er, well I suppose, rainbow coloured??? :D

--
Professor BluesMeister
 
Using VS3 & SoundFonts in CakeWalk

Oh yes, I should have asked has anyone has had the opportunity to follow my tutorial and did you have any success?

--
BluesMeister
 
VSampler 3

I have a couple questions about VSampler. Isn't it in beta release currently ? Secondly, Is the midi engine functioning adequately in the beta ? If I had a large gigasample, would it beable to interpret it in its current release. I can get version 2.x very cheap through cakewalk website, In hopes of upgrading in the future to Vsampler 3. Anyone know when a shipping release of VS3 will be ? Thanks.
 
Hi LJC,

Your questions and more are probably covered if you go to VS3's web page at www.vsampler3.com. There are two forums of interest: VS3 Bugs and Working With VS3.

You are correct in your statement that it's in Beta release - it's actually VS3-RC2 (Release Candidate 2) which I presume means it's very close to its final release form.

I have previously loaded Gigasamples into VS3, but to date I haven't successfully managed to load more than one sample. My system was really struggling with the GigaPiano sample and I was getting Out Of Memory error messages, but it did import the sample :)

Some time in the next couple of weeks it's my intention to write a VS3 & GigaSamples tutorial. Stay tuned to HomeRec :D

And I must reiterate, I have no connection whatsoever with SpeedSoft or Maz-Shop.

--
BluesMeister
 
what's your opinion on VS3 direction ?

Do you think VS3 will become as powerful as gigasampler ? I'd really like to try it using a large gigasample, where'd you get the gigapiano ?
 
My Terratec EWX24/96 audio card had GigaSampler LE bundled with it. There are some Giga samples on the CD-ROM including the fantasctic GigaPiano (although some literature I have read subsequently to my purchasing the Terratec infers that it's actually MegaPiano!).

You may be able to find some free Gigas though. Try Googling for Worra's Place. I've never been there myself. Also a Hungarian site has various samples in different format, some of which are Giga. You can find it at www.soundbank.hu :)

Will VS3 be as powerful as GigaStudio? Well GigaStudio (GigaSampler is now discontinued) is vastly over-priced in my opinion, but has a huge user-base. GS requires some very grunty hardware to run it without hiccups. However, the quality of the samples is simply stunning.

If I could get some other software to stream Giga samples like GS does, at a fraction of the cost, then that would be the direction I would go in.

I haven't yet had any success in loading more than one Giga instrument into VS3. However, I don't doubt that VS3 will become a very serious contender in the sampler field.

--
BluesMeister
 
Last edited:
I assume you mean that you you don't get Sonar to see the VSampler3, right?

Anyway, in most cases these problems can be solved by installing the plugin (or whatever) in the default location.
 
Technically Yes... but actually, No.
It won't show up, because older Cakewalk (including CWPA 9) does not support DXi. That's why it won't show up. But don't be sad, fuzz. Remember, VSampler also can be used as stand alone program. Go this thread...

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=77416

Scroll down to tutorial number two. It's somewhere down there. BluesMeister used VSampler V.2.74 by then with CWPA 7 !!! and it worked pretty well. So it should go fine with CWPA 9.

;)
Jaymz
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top