vst-ch4_a.qxd 10/7/02 4:58 PM Page 90 4 Meet your hosts This chapter describes the installation and basic use of VST Instruments within two of the main MIDI + audio sequencers, Steinberg s Cubase VST and Emagic s Logic Audio, both of which support VST 2.0 technology. System requirements and performance issues VST Instruments require a VST 2.0-compatible host application like Steinberg Cubase VST, Cubase SX, Nuendo or Emagic Logic Audio and most run on both the PC and Mac computer platforms. Your chosen host software should already be running successfully on the computer before you install a VST Instrument. Once installed, the VST Instrument is loaded and activated inside the host application similar to a regular plug-in effect. The sounds are triggered via MIDI, either in real-time using an external MIDI keyboard (or other controller), or from a recorded MIDI Track. There are a number of computer hardware factors which affect the performance and playability of a VST Instrument. Paramount among these are CPU speed, the amount of RAM memory and audio hardware latency. CPU speed and RAM software synthesis, software sampling and software effects processing are CPU-intensive activities. The number of voices available for any software instrument is, therefore, directly related to the amount of CPU power available. The drain on CPU power varies according to the number of notes being played simultaneously and according to the complexity of the tone being produced by the instrument. Many software samplers and samplebased drum modules require substantial amounts of RAM in order to run smoothly. This is particularly true for those which use diskstreaming techniques where greater use of RAM memory results in less strain on the hard disk. Latency latency is the delay between the user input and the time it takes for a digital audio system to respond and process the data through its hardware and software, expressed in milliseconds. This affects real-time performance with VST instruments since it imposes a slight delay between the moment you press a note on your MIDI keyboard and the moment you hear the sound from the instrument. If the delay is too long then it becomes impossible to play in real-time. (Real-world electronic musical instruments also suffer from a similar delay.) For real-time performance the audio hardware should be capable of latency times of less than 20ms. Achieving this requires a 90
vst-ch4_a.qxd 10/7/02 4:58 PM Page 91 Meet your hosts 91 high-quality audio card/hardware with a special ASIO driver. Dedicated ASIO drivers producing low latency times are also beneficial for the general operation of the host software. (See relevant internet sites and software/hardware developer documentation for precise details of ASIO drivers and hardware system recommendations.) Installing and using VST Instruments within Cubase VST For use with Cubase VST, VST Instruments are installed on your computer in a similar fashion to regular plug-ins. Follow the installation instructions supplied with the chosen VST Instrument and, when complete, you normally find the relevant file(s) located in the Cubase vstplugins folder alongside the regular plug-in files. In some cases, you may need to manually drag the installed plug-in file into the vstplugins folder. When you next launch Cubase VST, the newly installed VST Instrument is added to the list of available instruments within the software. Before you can play or open the graphical user interface for a VST Instrument it must first be activated in one of the slots of the VST Instruments rack (similar to a regular plug-ins rack). This is opened by selecting VST Instruments in the Panels menu (Figure 4.1). Info Most performance based problems with VST Instruments are likely to be directly related to your computer s CPU power, RAM memory or audio hardware driver (and not the host application or VST Instrument itself). To ensure the best performance, high speed CPUs, large amounts of RAM and audio cards/hardware with dedicated ASIO drivers are highly recommended. Figure 4.1 VST Instruments rack To load a VST Instrument into one of the rack s slots, click on the name display in the center of the front panel (which reads No VST Instrument if no VST Instrument is currently loaded). This opens a popup menu containing the VST Instruments which are available on your system. Selecting a VST Instrument from the menu loads it into the rack and its name appears on the front panel. Activate the VST Instrument by clicking on the power button. Once activated, two or more VST Instrument channels are automatically created in the VST Channel mixer. These are used to regulate the volume, pan position, EQ and routing of the audio output signal from the instrument, just like a regular audio channel. The appropriate number of channels is also automatically created for those VST Instruments featuring multiple output channels (e.g. Kontakt, HALion, Model E, Battery, DR-008). To open the graphical
vst-ch4_a.qxd 10/7/02 4:58 PM Page 92 92 Users Guide to Sound Synthesis with VST Instruments user interface for the VST Instrument click on the Edit button of the VST Instrument rack front panel (Figure 4.2). Figure 4.2 Click on the Edit button to open the interface for the VSTi In order to trigger the VST Instrument via MIDI you must first allocate a spare MIDI Track to the instrument in the Arrange window Output column. Click in the Output column of the chosen Track. This opens the output menu where the name of any currently active VST Instruments are found alongside the other output ports (Figure 4.3). Select the desired VST Instrument and choose an appropriate MIDI channel (not necessary with all VST Instruments since many are permanently set to Omni mode). With the Track selected you can now play the VST Instrument from an external MIDI keyboard. If desired, you can make a recording onto this Track. You can also trigger the VST Instrument using an existing pre-recorded MIDI Track if you set the Track s output port to the VST Instrument. Figure 4.3 Allocate a MIDI Track to a VST Instrument in the Output column
vst-ch4_a.qxd 10/7/02 4:58 PM Page 93 Meet your hosts 93 VST Instrument automation within Cubase VST Automation is understood here to mean the recording of manipulations of the control parameters of a VST Instrument. In Cubase VST, this is achieved by recording MIDI System Exclusive or Controller data onto a regular MIDI Track. Most VST Instruments support the System Exclusive method. Before you can record SysEx automation data you must first make sure that System Exclusive is not filtered in the MIDI Filtering dialog (Options/MIDI Setup/Filtering). Next, select an empty MIDI Track, activate record in the normal way and then tweak (move) the controls of the chosen VST Instrument. When you play back the Track, the controls you manipulated now move automatically according to the recorded data. Some VST instruments, notably Native Instruments Reaktor, Pro-52 and B4, feature controls which send and receive MIDI Controller data and use this, instead of SysEx, for automation purposes in Cubase VST. In many ways this is more convenient. It allows tweaking of the parameters from a remote control surface and the manipulations can be recorded simultaneously into Cubase VST. Alternatively, moving the parameters using the mouse on the computer screen equally produces MIDI controller data which can be recorded into Cubase VST. The other advantage of using controller data is that it can be viewed and edited in Cubase VST s Controller editor (Edit/Controller). Figure 4.4 shows the editing of Pro-52 filter cut-off and resonance automation. Cut-off is assigned to MIDI controller 70 and resonance to 71. Tip VSTi automation is excellent for producing filter sweeps and special effects and can add an extra dimension to synthesizer parts. Almost all VST Instruments are capable of automation within Cubase VST. Figure 4.4 Editing Pro-52 filter cut-off and resonance data in Cubase VST s Controller editor
vst-ch4_a.qxd 10/7/02 4:58 PM Page 94 94 Users Guide to Sound Synthesis with VST Instruments Converting VSTi Tracks into regular audio Tracks in Cubase VST VST Instrument Tracks can be converted into audio files for use on regular audio Tracks using Cubase VST s Export audio function (File/Export/Audio Tracks, see Figure 4.5). Export audio exports nonmuted audio data and VSTi Tracks between the left and right locators to an audio file. This is helpful when your computer is running out of system resources since regular audio Tracks use less CPU and less RAM than VSTi Tracks. Figure 4.5 Use Cubase VST s Export Audio function to convert VSTi tracks into audio files Installing and using VST Instruments within Logic Audio For use with Logic Audio, VST Instruments are installed on your computer in a similar fashion to regular plug-ins. Follow the installation instructions supplied with the chosen VST Instrument and, when complete, you normally find the relevant file(s) located in the Logic VstPlugIns folder.
vst-ch4_a.qxd 10/7/02 4:58 PM Page 95 Meet your hosts 95 In some cases, you may need to manually drag the installed plug-in file into the VstPlugIns folder. When you next launch Logic, the newly installed VST Instrument is added to the list of available instruments within the software. Before you can play or open the graphical user interface for a VST Instrument, it must first be activated on an Audio Instrument channel. To achieve this, select an existing Audio Instrument Track in the Arrange window or create a new Track using Ctrl+Enter on the computer keyboard. Convert the new Track to an Audio Instrument Track by clicking and holding on the Track name and selecting Audio/Audio Instrument/AudioInst1 from the pop-up menu (Figure 4.6). Figure 4.6 Select an Audio Instrument channel in Logic s Arrange window Double-click on the Audio Instrument Track to open the Environment window. Logic automatically scrolls to the fader strip for your selected Audio Instrument Track. VST Instruments are inserted into the top insert slot of the Audio Instrument channel. Click and hold on the insert slot and select the desired VST Instrument from the Stereo/VST menu which contains the instruments which are available on your system (Figure 4.7). Figure 4.7 Click on the top insert slot of the Audio Instrument channel to insert a VST Instrument The name of the VST Instrument appears on the insert slot and the GUI for the instrument is automatically launched (Figure 4.8). The instrument is now ready to be played using an external MIDI keyboard or other controller. Opening the user interface for an already-active VST Instrument is achieved by double-clicking on the insert button.
vst-ch4_a.qxd 10/7/02 4:58 PM Page 96 96 Users Guide to Sound Synthesis with VST Instruments Figure 4.8 The graphical user interface for the VSTi is automatically launched when the instrument is first activated Recordings can be made with the VST Instrument in the same way as with a regular MIDI Track, and any MIDI Tracks with pre-recorded MIDI data can be changed to play back via the VST Instrument (click and hold on the Track name and select an Audio Instrument from the pop-up menu). Logic does not support multiple outputs for VST Instruments (at the time of writing). VST Instrument automation within Logic Audio Automation is understood here to mean the recording of manipulations of the control parameters of a VST Instrument. In Logic (version 5 and later), this is achieved using the Track Automation system. Logic Track Automation data is recorded independently of all MIDI data and has 32- bit resolution for the recording of very precise and smooth automation. Most VST Instruments function well with Track Automation. To prepare for Track Automation, double-click on the VST Instrument Track in the Arrange window, select Touch in the automation mode field of the Audio Instrument channel and double-click on the insert button on the VST Instrument channel strip to open the user interface (Figure 4.9). Touch is the standard automation mode. It replaces existing data per parameter for as long the control is manipulated. This allows you to go on improving your tweaks in real-time until you are completely happy with the effect (by continuously cycling on the relevant segment of the song, for example). To record the automation, put Logic into play
vst-ch4_a.qxd 10/7/02 4:58 PM Page 97 Meet your hosts 97 Figure 4.9 To record Track Automation select Touch mode in the automation mode field (record mode is not necessary) and tweak the VST Instrument s controls as desired. All parameter movements are recorded for as long as you are in Touch mode. When you have finished manipulating the parameters you can change the Automation mode to Read mode. This implements read-only status for the channel. To edit the data, open the Arrange window, select the Audio Instrument Track containing the automation and activate Track Automation in the View menu. The vertical zoom level is automatically set appropriately. The automation data for one of the parameters should be visible in the sequence of the chosen Track. If not, click in the center field of the expanded Track and choose a parameter from the lower section of the pop-up menu. Several parameters can be shown simultaneously by clicking on the small right-facing arrowhead at the lower left position of the Track. This shows additional parameters in sub-tracks. Figure 4.10 shows cut-off, Q and envelope modulation automation for the Muon Tau Pro VSTi. Note that Logic s Track Automation allows the drawing of automation curves for the creation of very smooth parameter movements (see Logic s documentation for more details about Track Automation). In Logic version 5.0 (and later), to record automation with VST Instruments which use preset MIDI controller numbers for each of their control parameters (such as NI Pro-52 and B4), select Software Instruments use MIDI Controller as standard MIDI controls in the MIDI options dialog (Options/Settings/MIDI options). This allows the normal
vst-ch4_a.qxd 10/7/02 4:58 PM Page 98 98 Users Guide to Sound Synthesis with VST Instruments Figure 4.10 Editing Tau Pro automation data using Logic s Track Automation system recording of automation using external controllers like the modulation wheel of a synthesizer or the faders and dials of a remote control surface. Controller data can be edited in the Arrange window using Hyper Draw (View/Hyper Draw/Other). For convenience, it may need to be merged first (Functions/Merge/Objects). VSTi automation is excellent for producing filter sweeps and special effects and can add an extra dimension to synthesizer parts. Almost all VST Instruments respond to Logic s Track Automation system. Converting VSTi Tracks into regular audio Tracks in Logic VST Instrument Tracks can be converted into audio files for use on regular audio Tracks using Logic s Bounce function found on the Master audio object in the Environment window (Figure 4.11). Bounce transfers non-muted audio data and VSTi Tracks in the selected region in the Arrange window to an audio file. This is helpful when your computer is running out of system resources since regular audio Tracks use less CPU and less RAM than VSTi Tracks. Figure 4.11 Use Logic s Bounce function to convert VSTi tracks into audio files