This may seem like a silly question to long time users of sampling, but I am new to samples. I am using Finale 2008 for my notation program, but I doubt that is pertinent. Some sample sounds in VDL 2.5 are one-click-plays-the-entire-sample sounds. Some sounds play for the length of time that the key is pressed. This probably works just fine if using a MIDI keyboard. However, since I do not have a MIDI keyboard and I am entering everthing from Finale, I have noticed that there some sample sounds that only play for what seems like a quarter note time value although I may have chosen a whole note in my score. Some samples play for the entire 4 counts of a whole note, while others do not. If I use 4 quarter notes some samples don't seem too bad because of the nature of the sound, but samples such as a long crescendo roll on cymbals, restart the sample every quarter note, which of course is not what I want to hear.

Is there some way of making these short-playback-of-long-samples work properly?

Warren Barnett

Warren-

Due to some of these samples being a certain length, they are not going to be editable.  The notes that you enter trigger a WAV file that is a certain length.  These cannot be changed from within Finale or VDL.  There are short, medium and long cymbal rolls that you can use when writing so that you can use the desired length that works best for you.    When you are entering 4 quarter notes and you have chosen it to play one of the longer notes, this will restart the sample and end the one that was already in progress.  You may want to take a look at the different keyboard mappings in your VDL User Guide which is located in the Documentation folder.  This will give you the locations of those certain sounds.  Since you are not using a keyboard, you may have to use your arrow keys (or plus and minus keys) to adjust the note pitch so that you are accessing the correct sound.  You may also need to combine notes to make a sample longer if need be and then use the MIDI TOOL to adjust volume of sustained crescendos, etc.

Let me know if you need further clarification.

I think that you missed my point. There are some samples which are long which will ONLY play back short. For example, if I choose the Djembe Large sample bank and press the C5 key in the Kontakt2 window, I hear this very interesting sample that lasts about 10 seconds. If I enter the appropriate note in Finale (C6) it will only play for about the length of a single quarter note. I have tried entering whole notes, and even whole notes tied over several bars, but every time I only get to hear the sample for the length of about a single quarter note. There are many other long samples which will play their entire length after entering a single quarter note, and there are samples which play for the duration of the note which is entered. Is there any way that I can get to hear the entire sample sound?

Warren Barnett

Your solution was the one I was going to suggest. Writing longer rhythmic values in a notation program like Finale is the exact same thing as holding the key down for a longer duration before releasing it. That's how you'd control the sustain of such samples from Finale or Sibelius. So I think you may be doing something else to cause it to cut off. Are you using the correct drum map to be certain the exact pitch you intend to play is actually being played?

Yes, I am sure. I get the beginning of the sample but it quits after about a single quarter note. It doesn't matter what value note that I enter. I have this Finale Percussion Map thing down to a fine art, but this continues to be an issue. Any suggestions?

Warren

OK. Then I wonder if this has something to do with your DFD settings. In KP2, click the ";Options"; button and try adjusting the slider in the DFD window to the left or right. This will adjust the amount of RAM reserved for DFD usage, which controls how samples are streaming from your hard drive. If there's a hiccup in this streaming it could errantly cut off the sample, even though it hasn't been released yet. You might also watch the DFD meter at the top of the KP2 window while playback is occurring. Sometimes when these hiccups occur, you'll see that meter twitch as well.

Another thing that may be worth asking is what sort of audio driver you're using. If your computer's audio interface isn't streamlined for audio efficiency it may be getting jammed up and cutting off the sound.

Hmmm... �� I think that I have discovered the problem. I have been setting up templates using a second staff that happens to be using the same MIDI channel, and there are quarter notes in the corresponding bars so that I could see the actual pitches that would need to be entered without using the Percussion Map. So of course, they were taking priority over the notes which I was entering in the my working staff. My bad. My bad. But thanks for the input. It made me look to other places for the problem. I guess because some samples didn't have the issue, I didn't consider the possibility that the 2nd staff was the cause. Also, without using samples, I could enter as many staves as I wanted with the same MIDI channel, and it didn't matter what note values that I had in any staff.

Thanks very much. I love the product! Especially now that I figured out one of the little quirks of samples.

Warren Barnett

Glad you found the culprit Warren. Believe me, I know how certain quirks that would seem obvious can drive you crazy, so I'm glad to hear you're back on track. Happy new year!

And a Happy New Year to you. Or as a friend long ago would say ";Happy New Beer";

Warren