After making all necessary preparations, we are now ready to make the first recording of our MIDI drums.

Step 1: Click on the track header of the MIDI track you want to record in.

Step 2: Set your virtual drums as a plug-in in your MIDI drum track. We use Samplitudes sound generator “Vita“ as a plug-in and select the “Acoustic Drum Kit Ballad“ program. The hi-hat is activated by the F#1 key.

Step 3: Press “R” on your keyboard or activate the record button in the transport console. Recording starts. Now play a simple quarter note hi-hat part on your keyboard.

Step 4: We have activated the loop mode in the transport console and set “Overdub“ as the MIDI recording mode.

This way, we can add the bass drum (C1 key) to our 8-bar segment in the second recording round by playing it on the 1st, 4th and 5th beat. On the third round we can add the snare (D1) on the quarter beats 2 and 4.

Step 5: Now press the “Stop“ key in the transport console to stop recording and listen to the drum recording.

Step 6: Double click in the arranger on the recorded object. The “Matrix Editor” will open.

Step 7: When you click on the drum symbol the display switches to “Drum Editor”. The drum notes will be displayed according to their velocity as vertical bars of varying height.

Step 8: Now we want to quantize the played notes. We’re going to change the quantize grid to 1/8 notes. If you enter # in the length quantization values input field, the value will be linked to the respective snap quantization value.

Step 9: Now we’re going to click on the “Quantize” button, to quantize the notes to the next 1/8 note. In order to quantize all notes, make sure than no single note is selected.

This will conduct a standard quantization of your recordings.

Step 10: Now we would like to double the hi-hat sounds in order to give our groove an eighth feeling. To do so, we double click between two hi-hat hits in order to select all notes.

Step 11: Copy notes using “Ctrl + C”, move the play cursor in the first bar to the right by 1/8 and paste the hits into the empty 1/8 space using “Ctrl + V”.

Hint: In order to move the play cursor in 1/8 grid steps, set the beat grid in project settings (keyboard shortcut: I) to 1/8.

Step 12: The copied hi-hat notes are highlighted, which means that we can now slightly reduce the intensity of the notes. Varying velocity between “on beat” and “off beat” improves the natural feeling of the hi-hat track.

Step 13: Drag a frame for all snare notes and move them up or down using the arrow keys on your keyboard. This lets you test out various other drum sounds for the selected drums.

Step 14: If you activate the “Play clicked notes” function found in the options section of the MIDI Drum Editor you can hear the sound whilst adjusting the hit’s intensity.

Step 15: Now we would like to zoom into a pre-defined range. We’re going to draw a range over two bars and click on “Zoom” and then on “Section from Range”

Step 16: Now select the snare hits in this range and change the quantize grid to 1/64.

Step 17: Begin playback in loop. If you move the snares by 1/64th of a note left or right using “Event to grid on the left (Ctrl + Alt +1)“ and “Event to grid on the right (Ctrl + Alt +2)“, you can play with the timing.

Step 18: Holding down Alt while left clicking on the notes lets you move them in fine increments.

This way you can take some notes off the quantize grid in order to delay or move them slightly forward.

Step 19: Set the quantization grid back to 1/8 and quantize the snare hits again to fit them exactly to the 1/8 grid.

Step 20: Finally click once more on the “Zoom” button and select “8 beats” to zoom out and see the whole drum part again.

Next time we will examine MIDI syth recordings in more detail. We wish you fun recording and editing your MIDI drums in Samplitude.

Your Samplitude Team

Step 1:
To prepare the track for MIDI recordings click on the “MIDI” button in the Track Editor.
The MIDI section will automatically expand.

Step 2:
First, select the recording device (MIDI in) you want to use. Simply choose you input device (e.g. MIDI keyboard) from the MIDI In drop down.

If you have more than one MIDI device connected to your system select <ALL>.

Step 3:
For your MIDI output device, select the MIDI port (e.g. the MIDI output for your soundcard, VST instrument or external MIDI module), you are using from the MIDI out slot.

If you don’t hear anything when you press the keys on your keyboard, you probably haven’t activated monitoring yet. Turn on monitoring by clicking on the speaker symbol on the track you’re having problems with.

Step 4:
By right clicking on the “Mon” button in the transport console you gain access to extra options that determine the behavior of the recording and monitoring button.

If you activate the “Automatic MIDI record switch on the current track” and “Automatic MIDI monitoring (thru)” the selected MIDI track will be activated for recording, and monitoring for the input signal will be switched on. If you want to record multiple MIDI tracks simultaneously, deactivate the option “Automatic MIDI record switch on current track”.

If you still don’t hear anything when you press the keyboard make sure the MIDI out channel on your keyboard is the same as the “channel in” you selected in the track editor.

Step 5:
Make sure that the MIDI synth is routed to the same track as the “channel out” in the track editor.

If you’re unsure simply select “all” for the channel out, this will guarantee you hear the MIDI synth no matter which channel it’s routed to.

Important: Lots of drum machines are routed to MIDI channel 10, as this is the preferred drum channel. Often the drum machine is created specifically for this channel according to GM1 (General MIDI) specifications.

Step 6:
If, however, you do want to use a VST instrument, click on the MIDI out slot and select “New Instrument” from the menu that appears.

You should now see a list of all available virtual instruments. For this tutorial we’re going to select Samplitude’s own synth “Vita”.

Clicking on the instrument will open the VSTi’s interface.

Step 7:
Using the VSTi manager in the docker we’re going to open the routing setup window. These settings control the behavior of the connected software instrument.

Here you can choose from three options: simple, multi-timbral and multi-channel. The first keeps audio and MIDI together on the same track, the second allows you to route the audio returns to a new track separate from the MIDI track, and the third option creates a new track for instrument outputs.
We are going to choose the simple option „Simple: Audio and MIDI together on the same track“, to ensure the same track sends MIDI commands to the instrument and receives the instrument’s audio signal.

Step 8:
You can now see that the MIDI output is routed to our VST instrument, it should light up to indicate that a VSTi has been loaded. You will also the same VST in the plug-in slot and in the track editor.

You can switch the VSTi on and off by clicking; click once to turn it off and click again to turn it on.
Click on the “X” to close the VSTi interface and hide the window.

Right clicking on the instrument in the track editor or in the track header will reopen the VSTi interface.

Step 9:
We want to record 8 bars, so we need to draw in an area in the grid toolbar.

Step 10:
As we’re going to be using the same MIDI object to record and mix multiple times we need to change the MIDI recording status in the transport console from “Normal” to “Overdub”.

Step 11:
Activate the loop mode to make the section play over and over again.

Step 12:
Switch the metronome on using the “Click” button.

When you press play you will hear the metronome click at the selected tempo.

Step 13:
If you right click on the “Click” button a window with the metronome settings will open.
Select „Active while Playback” and „Active while Record” and set the number of precounts to 2.

Use the volume slider to adjust the metronome volume.

If you want to use different metronome sound for the “first beat” and “beats” simply click on the folder icons and select the sounds you want to use.

Now all the preparations are done we are ready to make our first recording.

Step 14:
Click on the track header of the MIDI track you want to record and begin recording using the “R” key or by clicking the record button in the transport console. After using the “Stop” button to end the recording you will be asked if you want to keep or delete the recording. Confirm that you do want to keep the recording by choosing “OK”, your recording will then appear as a MIDI take in the VIP.

Next time we’re going to be dealing with MIDI drum recordings. We hope you enjoy preparing MIDI and VSTi recordings in Samplitude. Until next time!

The Samplitude Team

Ryan Ferris is one of these musicians. Besides his daily work for “Front End Audio”, a professional distributor in the US, he also is a musician.

Combining work and passion it was only a question of time for him to discover Samplitude.

But let’s start from the very beginning. Ryan took the time to tell us a little bit about his whereabouts:

I began my journey into audio engineering when I was 15, starting out with a 4 track cassette recorder.

 

A few years later, I graduated to an 8 track cassette recorder. I still have both of them, and regularly listen to the nearly 50 tapes I have. If you have never recorded on a 4 track cassette recorder, you are missing out – it really forces you to be creative. In 2000 I got my first computer set up (which was mainly used for transferring my multi-track tapes to make CDs), and a friend introduced me to the world of midi. I remember thinking – “I can have a 16 piece orchestra behind me!?” That was an exciting experience. 2002 came along and I was fresh out of the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences, and had the great opportunity to further my education at a local studio in my home town. In the months spent at the studio, Bob taught me a lot, and those lessons are employed all the time. Though I have worked with production companies, and done some live sound recording for bands, my home studio is where I love to be the most. Whether working on my own projects, or with friends and others, having the control over the environment to really explore the approach to each session, and try new things, is great. Needless to say, my studio has evolved a good bit over the past 10 years, and if I’m not at work or asleep, that is where you’ll find me. Even if all I am doing is spending the day testing different mics, and mic placement on a snare drum, it is a day well spent. Thanks to that aspect, coupled with working at Front End Audio, I have had the opportunity to be exposed to a lot of gear and knowledge. It may not always be the thing people want to hear, but you do really get what you pay for, and good gear matters. That journey has led me to Magix, and I am proud to use Samplitude. The Sonic Superiority makes it more than worth the investment. You can’t paint a masterpiece if you don’t know how to use a brush, and what brush to use. It’s now time to start painting.

When it comes to Samplitude, Ryan also has something to say:

What do you think is the strength of Samplitude?

I think the two major strengths of Samplitude (that really sold me on it), is first and foremost – the sonic quality.

I have engineered on eight other DAWs, over the past 12 years, and Samplitude simply sounds better. The imaging (left to right, and front to back) is wider and deeper, it properly captures and reproduces the details of the instruments and performances, it maintains the dynamics, and is a natural, real, sound to it. It is nice to have a DAW that is mindful of audio, without injecting character or smears.

Secondly, it has a pro level workflow. When I look at the mixer window, I might as well be sitting in front of a real console. The layout is exactly like the large format consoles I cut my teeth on. What I initially thought was a “learning curve”, was simply the DAW tapping me on the shoulder and saying, “go back to your schooling, and think like an engineer”. Once I approached it from an engineers mindset, it made sense. I really appreciate knowing that there are people out there developing a DAW with engineers in mind. 

Also, I really love the fact that the stock plug-ins are 100% usable. They function, and sound as great as Samplitude does. That will save you a bunch of money!

How did you come to Samplitude?

I am always looking to find that right piece of gear. That piece I can add to my studio, and it not only inspires, but improves my work.

There is so much pro audio software available, the possibilities are endless.

But all the plugs and virtual instruments in the world doesn’t matter, if you are constantly trying to compensate for some aspect of your DAW. I have searched and searched for the DAW that provides the right workflow, and best sound quality. It was that search that ended with Samplitude. 

Since which version are you using Samplitude?

I am new to Samplitude, first getting into it at Pro X. While I know I have a lot to learn, and have only begun to scratch the surface of this DAW; the basics took no time to get comfortable with. I honestly don’t due to much with a DAW anyway.

I really just want it to be my tape machine and mixing console, and Samplitude does that beautifully. I am really excited about diving deeper, and making music – the way it is meant to be.

Matching to Halloween 2012, Ryan made his first song completely with Samplitude (under usage of some external plug-ins). The bass guitar, for example, is actually a mic’ed bass with an added Vandal.

For all of you who want to check it out, here is the link (please note that the page contains explicit images): http://factoryofghouls.bandcamp.com/track/gracing-dismemberment

Further Links:
Front End Audio

I. Create a project folder
Before opening <Programmname> we recommend that you create a Samplitude project folder on a hard drive of your choice.

Step 1:
Holding down the Windows key and pressing “E”  opens a new Explorer Window.  This opens a graphical user interface for accessing the file systems of all the hard drives and CD/DVD drives on your computer. In this case our desired drive is the “Audio drive (E)”.

Step 2:
Double-click to open the audio drive and right-click in an empty space.

Step 3:
Click on “New” then on “Folder”. This creates a new folder.

Step 4:
Type a name into the text field. We’re going to call the folder “Samplitude Projects”.

So now we have a dedicated folder in which we can save our Samplitude projects.

II. Settings for a new project

Step 1:
Double-click on the Samplitude desktop shortcut. The Samplitude interface will open together with the start selection screen.

Step 2:
For this example we are going to choose “New multitrack project (VIP)”. Now the “Setup for new Project (VIP)” dialog appears:

Step 3:
Enter a name for the project in this window. We’re going to call the project “Getting Started”. It’s a good idea to give the project a distinctive name – even if you don’t know what you’re going to call the song yet.

Step 4:
Click on the folder icon and navigate to the Samplitude project folder we created.

Note: Try to get into the habit of creating a new folder for every project or song. All the audio for that song will be saved to that folder. It is probably best to use a dedicated drive for these files.

Step 5:
Tick the checkbox next to “Create New Project Subdirectory”. This creates a subdirectory in the file path we specified. The first time you save, the project file (VIP) will be saved in this subdirectory with the predefined name.

Step 6:
At first we’re going to select 16 under “Track Number”.

Step 7:
We will leave the sample rate at 44.1 Hz and set the initial project length to five minutes. The specified project length will be adjusted automatically when loading or recording.

Step 8:
For further settings click on the “Project Options” button.

III. Project options

Step 1:
Activate the Snap/Grid view by ticking the checkbox next to “Snap/Grid”

Step 2:
When working with songs we recommend that you select the “Beats/Bars” option in the “Snap to” list and “Bars/Beats” from the “Show grid” section.

Step 3:
In the “Snap to” section you will find a drop down menu where you can set the snap resolution. First we’ll set it to 1/4.

Step 4:
The default time signature in the Bar/BPM section is 4/4 and the default BPM is set to 120. These settings can be changed whenever want in the transport console (keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + T). We’re going to leave the other settings as they are.

Step 5:
Click on “OK” to close the project options.

Step 6:
To finish, click once more on “OK” in the “Setup for new project” dialog.  Now we’ve made a new 16 track project which from now on will be opened with the specified settings.

IV. Audio settings

Step 1:
Press “Y” on your keyboard to open the audio setup options.

Step 2:
Set the driver system to “ASIO”.

ASIO drivers enable you to work at low latency and monitor VST plug-ins and virtual instruments in realtime.

Step 3:
If you are using the sound card built into your computer, it’s worth testing the “MAGIX Low Latency” driver. If, on the other hand, you are using a professional sound card/audio interface built into your system, you should activate the appropriate driver. In this example we will use a sound card by “M-Audio” and select the ASIO driver “M-Audio Delta ASIO”.

Step 4:
The ASIO buffer is set to 512 by default. Experiment by setting the value lower. To do this, click on the “Settings” button. This will open the control panel of your audio device. Here you can reduce the ASIO buffer and thus the response time regardless of how powerful your computer is. This is particularly important when vocals or instruments are being played in live to ensure that there is no audible delay. However, keep in mind that reducing the ASIO buffer settings will use more processing power. The corresponding output and input latencies are indicated at all times.

Step 5:
The VIP object buffer indicates the buffer size for the internal processing of object effects and economy tracks in hybrid mode. In every other monitoring mode, it also determines the buffer size for editing track effects. With a smaller VIP object buffer size, the amount of playback delay also decreases (latency). Nevertheless, the processor can be overloaded, and this will result in dropouts during playback. Large buffer sizes actually increase stability, but they also increase the latency of the system. The field below displays the resulting latency in relation to the buffer settings.
The VIP object buffer size must be at least as large as the ASIO buffer size, and double the size when the Hybrid Engine is used. Aim for values in the range from 1024 to 8096 samples.

Step 6:
For Device Resolution/Driver Communication we are going to use the 32-bit option.

Step 7:
Go to “Monitoring Setup” and move the slider to the far right. The Hybrid Audio Engine enables audio monitoring throughout the entire mixer and also calculates playback tracks in the mixer with short latency. This usually provides the best results.

Step 8:
Set the Monitoring Behavior to “Tape Monitoring”.

Step 9:
Tick the Mix Input and Playback checkbox. If track monitoring is activated, you will be able to hear the input signal during playback.

V. Audio devices
This is where you configure the inputs and outputs of your audio device.

Step 1:
Activate the available inputs of your sound card in the “Recording” section. We will leave inputs 1 to 6 activated. This gives us 3 stereo or 6 mono inputs.

Step 2:
Go to “Playback” and activate outputs 1 + 2 to output the stereo master. We can also activate outputs 3 + 4 in order to output a separate headphone mix.

Step 3;
It’s also possible to rename the outputs and inputs – simply click on “Rename” and assign new names.

Step 4:
These inputs and outputs are now also accessible in the track editor.

VI. MIDI Settings
Now we’re going to take a look at the MIDI settings.

Step 1:
We’re going to set the “Global Record Device” and the MIDI input device to Delta AP Midi. This will be the one you will connect your Midi keyboard to.

Step 2:
Now we are also going to set the “Global Play Device” and MIDI output device to Delta AP Midi.

Step 3:
It is best to disable the “Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth” to avoid unwanted signal transmission when recording MIDI.

Step 4:
In “Audio/MIDI Sync” we are going to set the Force Sync to 100% to achieve the closest possible match of MIDI and audio tracks.

Step 5:
It’s also a good idea to activate “Note On Chasing”. This setting causes held MIDI notes to be played (and thus be heard) when they have received their “Note On” command prior to playback.

VII. VST plug-in path und ReWire
If you are using VST plug-ins, it’s important to set the VST plug-in path.

Step 1:
Open the Effects tab and select “VST/DirectY/ReWire”.

Step 2:
Click on the folder icon to select your VST folder.
Now select “Browse VST folder”.

Step 3:
Navigate to your VST plug-in folder then click “OK”.

Step 4:
Once you have a VST plug-in path click “OK”. <Programmname> will now search through the corresponding folder for VST plug-ins – you can see the scanning process if you look at the very bottom of the window.

The scanning process may take a few minutes the first time round, depending on the number of VST plug-ins you have.

Step 5:
If you have more than one plug-in folder, all you need to do is repeat the process.

Step 6:
Now select the “ReWire” functionality.

VIII. Save project as template
Now that everything is configured correctly , it’s a good idea to save the VIP as a template .

Step 1:
To do this go to “File > Save Project as Template”

Step 2:
The file browser should open up in the correct folder for templates – all you need to do is name the template.

Step 3:
Click “OK” to save the template with that name.

Step 4:
If you create a new VIP (Shortcut: “E”), the setup dialog will appear.

Step 5:
Now we’re going to click on the dropdown menu and the project template we saved (“Getting Started”) should be there.

Step 6:
Now we need to enter the file path and name of the project, and the “Getting Started” template will be added to the new project.

You can also modify “Getting Started” at any time and resave it. You can apply templates with different setups according to the project type.

Have fun setting up your projects in Samplitude!
Your Samplitude Team

First have a listen to this excerpt of a song without backing vocals:

Now we want to add backing vocals to the mix in a way that makes them sound natural. We can achieve this by using depth and room effects to separate them from the main vocal.

A general tip: The more backing vocal tracks you use, the more mixing possibilities you will have. Make sure during the recording phase that the timing of each background vocal take is precise.

Step 1: First we’ll roughly set the volume of our choir voices and position the backing vocals in the stereo image using the panorama knob. We’ll leave the main vocal directly in the center. Ideally the individual backing vocals should be doubled several times. This allows for more flexibility when positioning them in the panorama.

Step 2: Now we want to mix the backing vocals to position them at the back and give the impression that they are farther away from the listener. To do this we’ll lower the high frequencies using a hi-cut filter at approximately 4 kHz. We’ll also lower the dominant frequencies at 400 Hz and 2.5 kHz.

As you can see, we’ve also used a low-cut filter at about 65 Hz to avoid any rumbling frequencies in the bass range.

Step 3: In our example we can simply drag & drop this EQ setting to all of the backing vocal tracks because they were all performed by the same singer.

Step 4: At this point we can slightly boost the frequencies at 400 Hz and 2.5 kHz in the main vocal. This will bring the main vocal forward and separate it from the backing vocal even more.

Step 5: Now it’s time to automate the volume curves for the individual backing vocal tracks. Switch the automation to Touch Mode, activate the volume curve “vol” in the track header and draw each curve while the track is played back. This is a great way of adjusting the dynamic to fit each part of the song.

In “Trim” automation mode you can make relative adjustments to the drawn volume curves.

Note: An alternative to using automation is to cut each backing vocal track into smaller objects (keyboard shortcut: T) and adjust the volume of each object.

Step 6: Next we’ll create an audio subgroup which will allow us to edit all of the backing vocals as one unit.

To do this we’ll route all of the backing vocal outputs to a subgroup bus.

Step 7: Now it’s time to compress the backing vocals. Here it is acceptable to remove more dynamic than we would with the main vocal. Making the backing vocals less dynamic is another effective way of separating them from the main vocal.

For our example we’ll use the Samplitude compressor “AM-Track” in the first plug-in slot of the submix bus.

Select the preset “Vintage Warm”, open the “expert” toolbar and shut off the “auto makeup” feature. Now set the “output” knob so that you have a good balance between the backing vocals and main vocal.

Step 8: Another way to separate the lead vocal from the backing vocals is to use various reverbs. In our example we’ll add an “Ambience” room effect to the main vocal through the AUX1 output and some reverb to the backing vocals through the AUX2 bus.

For both AUX sends we’ll use the Samplitude reverb “VariVerb Pro” and feed the main vocal through AUX1 with the preset “[22] want ambience”.

For our backing vocals we’ll use the preset “[30] gospel choir” from AUX2.

Experiment with the “expert” options such as the “predelay” which defines the felt distance from the background choir. The shorter the “predelay” setting, the farther away the backing vocals will seem.

The “ER Tail” can be used to adjust the mix ratio between the first reflections and the reverberations.

Step 9: Make the final adjustments to the backing vocal volume using the backing vocal bus.

Have fun mixing your backing vocals!

Your Samplitude Team