Hello too all!

I was wondering if there was anyway of creating the quality recordings we get from the tapspace website, on a PC, and with a limited budget for not being able to buy mixing software. I searched the forum and found some useful information, but the information helped me if i was mixing. I need to get a quality recording with something other than audacity before i worry about mixing.

I found this from TylerDurden:
https://www.tapspace.com/forums/index.php?topic=2070.0

Also, this complicates things, I want to accomplish this in Sibelius 3.1.3

If there isn't a way that doesn't involve spending money, then Audacity will do.

Let me know guys.

Thanks in Advance.

You sound like you are where I was a few years ago:)

Can you tell us a little more about your setup? Are you running VDL through the Kontakt Player it came with? You should be able to find some effects settings (reverb especially) in the control panel of the K2 player.

Do some tweaking with the playback velocities to get the volumes you want (loud, soft, accents, cresc./decresc., etc.), add the reverb, and it should come out ";decent"; if you're going through Sib 3.

Audacity is not an intimidating program at all, I used it all the time before I switched to Mac. That will give you a lot more control over the balancing and overall effects.

Good luck, homey!

The biggest improvement you can make is to adjust the [u]velocities[/u] of the notes.  This is time consuming in Sibelius because you have to do it note-by-note.  After that, finding the right balance between the instruments and moving them a little left/right is important. 

If you're a student or teacher, you can get Ableton Live LE or Cubase LE for around $75.  This makes everything a lot easier.  You would export a MIDI file from Sibelius, then open it in Cubase and assign tracks to the VDL Kontakt player.  You'll have more control over dynamics, you'll have better performance, and you can add a nice subtle reverb effect when you're done.

And of course- the actual arrangement has a lot to do with it as well.  Weak writing will always sound like weak writing.

Lydian9:

I am indeed just using VDL through the Kontakt that came with VDL. I tried once using those hidden midi controllers, but nothing seemed any different. (the little numbers and stuff with the ~)

I've been on Sib 5 for a while, so some of these things may be called something different

Try this after you have the part typed it with all the accents:

Triple click the snare line so every measure is highlighted just in that one staff.

In the PROPERTIES panel, find PLAYBACK, and check the box for LIVE VELOCITY. That will give all of the notes in your SD part a playback velocity of 80 (you can of course change that up or down if you want).

Now, repeat the triple click step

Then, go to [Edit], [Filter], [Advanced Filter...]

Check the box with the Accent, and click [Select] or [OK].

Your accents should be highlighted now, go back to the Properties panel and make their Live Velocity around 100-105.

That will give you a basic dynamic range with your accents sticking out, from there you can tweak them up or down compared to whats going on around it. You can repeat the process with each line (TD, SD, Marimba, etc.), or do one massive select all.

That seemed to be the quickest way for me to add dynamics and balance if I had already entered the score.

If you want a passage to change volume (louder OR softer), then yes, you DO need to go in and manually adjust each notes' velocities until it sounds like you want. It can be a pain in the @$$ but it's given me the most control.

Is that what you're asking for, or do you want more like concert hall reverb type stuff?

I'm just looking to create higher quality recordings through Audacity. To be completely honest, once you brought the concert hall reverb into your equation, I got lost. I'm not much of a techno junkie, and i know very little about mixing and stuff. I just know how to work sibelius pretty efficiently without a midi keyboard, and to get VDL to play through my very outdated version of Sibelius.

Ideally, I want to make a good enough quality MP3 to send in a ram or two I've written to be placed on the ";User Submissions"; section of the site.

If you set your channel volumes, tweak the velocities, and add some reverb through Audacity, you should be good for that.

Unless, as J pointed out, it blows. I submitted a Joplin arrangement to Row Loff that I'm still waiting to hear back about. Of course, that was 6 years ago, what does that tell me? :)

Oh that gives me good hope.  I've been tweaking a trash can piece to send to them.  Perhaps I'll hold off on that.

[quote author=Lydian9 link=topic=3012.msg15951#msg15951 date=1237922257]
If you set your channel volumes, tweak the velocities, and add some reverb through Audacity, you should be good for that.

Unless, as J pointed out, it blows. I submitted a Joplin arrangement to Row Loff that I'm still waiting to hear back about. Of course, that was 6 years ago, what does that tell me? :)
[/quote]

6 years is a long time man.

And when i saw your response, ";it blows";, it made me laugh and turned my day around.

Thanks for the help guys. Appreciate it.