NOTION Music Forum

Certain notes of the N3 harp have a strange distorted sound in the right speaker. For example, A below middle C.

Anyone else hearing this?

I hear no distorted notes in the Harp sample.

Best wishes,
Thorrild

Just the right speaker? That's interesting. Try tweaking the pan position and width and see what happens.

The distortion gets panned with the note, as if it were part of the sample.

I've attached a notion file along with what I hear when I play it.

I downloaded the Notion sample file, and I hear a distinct metronome-like clicking sound in the right channel when I listen with SONY MDR-7506 headphones (a personal favorite) from pianissimo to mezzo-piano, but it stops when the level moves to mezzo-forte and higher . . .

This can be due to several possibilities, including simply being the way the notes were played and recorded, but it also can be a characteristic of the instrument, itself, rather than the way it was played . . .

I like Concert Harp, but I had problems getting enough volume to hear the N3 Harp, so I did some experiments with the Concert Harp from Mirosolav Philharmonic (IK Multimedia), and I like it better . . .

So, I use the Concert Harp from Miroslav Philharmonik set to fortissimo and run it through the Opto-Compressor in T-RackS 3 Deluxe (IK Multimedia) using the "LOTS!!" preset but with the output level of the Opto-Compressor increased from 10.5 db to 12.0 db, so that it is easy to hear, really . . .

http://www.surfwhammys.com/Ode-To-A-Mode-Surfwhammy-12-31-2010-ST-N3.mp3

Really!

[NOTE: As a general rule, I nearly always set the Notion 3 track sliders to 0dB and keep the dynamic articulations to a minimum whenever possible, which tends to produce the best quality when I ReWire the Notion 3 generated audio into Digital Performer 7. Once everything is in Digital Performer 7, I adjust it VST plug-ins, which provides more flexibility in mixing than having the effects already defined in Notion 3. I can add effects in Digital Performer 7, but I cannot remove effects that were done in Notion 3, so I prefer to do the effects work in Digital Performer 7 rather than in Notion 3 . . . ]

Sometimes, when there is distortion it can be caused by the levels being incorrectly set, so this is something to consider . . .

Another potential source of distortion and clipping is the Reverb unit, although I really like the Notion 3 Reverb, which is very nice, for sure . . .

For sure!

However, I disable the Notion 3 Reverb before I get the Notion 3 audio into Digital Performer 7 via ReWire, since it is easier to work with reverberation and echo after the fact in Digital Performer 7 . . .

Ideally, it would be nice if Notion Music sold the Notion 3 Reverb as a standalone VST effect, since it is a very nice and melodic reverb . . .

And for reference, my focus at present is more on DISCO, Surreal Flamenco, and Pop than Classical, although I am working on an "inspired by" song based on "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Nirvana), which I am calling "Tastes Like Midsummer's Eve" (The Surf Whammys) and probably will include a few bits from "Baby I've Got You (On My Mind)" (Powderfinger) and "Blast From The Sun" (Placebo), since I have an odd sense of humor and think this will fit nicely with the overall theme of "Electric Underpants", the Surf Whammys upcoming album of patently silly DISCO and Pop songs 'inspired by" the recent hit songs of Christina Aguilera, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, and Britney Spears . . .

My primary concern is being able to hear all the instruments distinctly when there are a lot of instruments and some of the instruments are what one might call "electronic" or "amplified", hence have considerably greater natural volume ranges than a lot of orchestral instruments, which is fabulous . . .

[NOTE: All these are what I call "basic rhythm sections", and they are done via music notation and VSTi instruments in Notion 3. Later, I add real vocals and lead guitar using an overall strategy that is explained in detail in some of my other posts to this FORUM . . . ]

http://www.surfwhammys.com/Surrealeria-1-7-2011-ST25-XP2-N3.mp3

[NOTE: This is the Surf Whammys song "inspired by" the Britney Spears hit song "Hold It Against Me" . . . ]

http://www.surfwhammys.com/Put-It-O-Me-1-18-2011-ST25-N3-DP7.mp3

[NOTE: This is the Surf Whammys song "inspired by" the Lady Gaga hit song "Bad Romance", which for the most part only needs the real lead guitar solos, since the vocals are done . . . ]

http://www.surfwhammys.com/Im-Going-Goo-Goo-Over-Ga-Ga-11-28-2010-2-DP7.mp3

Fabulous!