What Works???

[benmmustech]

Hey everybody, can someone point me to a document or something of the like that tells me what markings actually does something to the music on the stave.

EG: staccato playing. I know that this marking works but I would like a document that shows me all the markings that work.

Peace Ben

[Surfwhammy]

. . . can someone point me to a document or something of the like that tells me what markings actually does something to the music on the stave.

The simple high-level information is that all the articulations and dynamics in NOTION 3 work very nicely and quite precisely, but the fact of the matter is that it all depends (a) on the specific sound samples in the library for each instrument and (b) on any customizing that has been done for those instruments which have standalone user interfaces, support rules, and so forth and so on . . .

Additionally, it depends on the way the specific instrument was played when it was sampled, and there is yet another aspect which in some respects is a bit more subtle, although the consequences are not so subtle . . .

Using SampleTank (IK Multimedia) as an example of a VSTi virtual instrument, it can be used to create custom sampled sound libraries and loops for an instrument, where the basic strategy is to record a separate note played in a particular style for each note that can be played on the instrument, where for electric guitar at standard tuning one plays and records a set of individual notes ranging from E3 to perhaps D6 depending on the number of frets . . .

The notes are recorded in a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) application like Digital Performer (MOTU) on the Mac, and once they are recorded each individual note is exported as a separate WAVE file which has a specific name that follows a standard naming convention which can include the scientific music notation name of the note as part of the suffix, which makes the work that SampleTank does in analyzing and converting the audio file to a sound sample easier and more precise . . .

All these individual note audio files are put into a single folder, which then is reference by SampleTank to analyze and to create the custom sampled sound library for the instrument played with a specific articulation and dynamic . . .

For example, you might have played the notes on the electric guitar when there was a tremolo effects pedal set at a specific pulsing rate, depth, and so forth, and in this case each note will have the same pulsing rate, depth, and so forth. If you sampled the full range of notes, then there are no "missing notes" or "gaps" in the sequence of notes, which is very important to understand . . .

However, if you only record a sample of every third or perhaps fifth note in the chromatic scale, then there will be (a) real notes and (b) emulated notes, which is where everything moves into a surreal universe for several reasons . . .

When there are "gaps" or "missing notes" in a sampled sound library, the SampleTank engine will compute the non-sampled notes using various algorithms, where it might start with the audio for the nearest lower real note and then adjust it mathematically to create a nearby higher note, but it also might start with the nearest higher real note and then adjust is mathematically to create a nearby lower note, which for pitch is not so difficult to do and generally sounds very realistic but with a few caveats . . .

One of the caveats is that the emulated note is created basically by multiplying the pitch of the real note by some value, where multiplying by a value greater than one (1) produces a higher pitch note but multiplying by a value less than one (1) produces a lower pitch note, and while this works very nicely for pitch, frequency, harmonics, overtones, and whatever, it does not work so well for time-sensitive effects like vibrato, tremolo, echo, and so forth . . .

In other words, you can begin with a real "Middle C" (C4 in scientific music notation) and multiply it by some value greater than 1 to create a C#4, and both the original real note (C4) and the algorithmically computed note (C#4) will sound nearly identical in terms of pitch, frequency, harmonics, overtones, and whatever, but using the electric guitar with fixed rate tremolo example, the tremolo for the C#4 note will be faster than the tremolo for the C4 note, because the tremolo effect is part of the audio sample and cannot easily be separated from it, so as the audio sample effectively is multiplied, so is the embedded tremolo rate . . .

And while all the articulations and dynamics work very nicely and precisely in NOTION 3, what they do is highly dependent on the specific sampled sounds for each instrument, and the general rule I use is that the best strategy is to use a specific set of samples for the exact articulations and dynamics you need, because otherwise with some articulations and dynamics you get variations due to the real notes and algorithmically computed emulated notes, and you can get these variations even when every note is sampled, as explained later using a pizzicato example (see below) . . .

The other strategy is to select a set of samples that have (a) no "gaps" or "missing notes" and (b) are played with no articulations and dynamics, at all, which maps basically to a complete set of plain notes where each semitone in the full range of the instrument is sampled as a separate audio file . . .

If you do the combinatorial mathematics on this, then it becomes clear that doing a complete set of samples for every possible combination of articulations and dynamics might take billions of years, so the sensible strategy is to make an effort to keep everything as simple as possible, which is the strategy I use here in the sound isolation studio, where as a general rule I avoid using any articulations and dynamics whenever possible . . .

In other words, I prefer to select a specific sample where the instrument was played by the musician in the style (articulations and dynamics) that I want, and in some instances I do some of the articulation work in the DAW application using the NOTION 3 generated audio, where for example if I want tremolo at a fixed rate for every note regardless of whether the note is real or emulated, then I do the tremolo using a VST tremolo effects plug-in in the DAW once I have recorded the NOTION 3 generated audio as a soundbite in Digital Performer via ReWire . . .

And common sense strongly suggests that the result of using a pizzicato articulation in music notation on a violin where the sample sounds were done with the violinist play the violin with a bow is not going to sound the same as a sample done with the violinist actually playing the violin pizzicato . . .

All the articulations and dynamics work, but the way they affect specific sampled instruments will vary depending on the way the instruments were played by the musician when the individual note samples where recorded . . .

Explained another way, NOTION 3 does all the articulations and dynamics required to control and play a cowbell very precisely, but if the sample is a tuba played with vibrato, then it is not going to sound like a cowbell . . .

In other words, NOTION 3 sends the correct commands and parameters, but if you instruct NOTION 3 to send the commands and parameters for a piece of chocolate pie but the restaurant does not have chocolate pie, then you are not going to get chocolate pie . . .

Summarizing, everything works, but the generated audio is highly dependent upon the specific sampled sounds for each instrument, and in some instances as best as I can determine NOTION 3 also does a bit of computational work for certain types of articulations and dynamics, so the best strategy is to learn how the various sampled instruments sound and how articulations and dynamics specified via music notation affect the sampled instrument sounds, which basically requires one to have the ability to remember virtual festivals of very specific nuances for all the instruments in sound sample libraries, or at least to be able to find things quickly "by ear", which is fabulous . . .

Fabulous!

P. S. As an example, one of the things I like to do is to count and memorize things, which I first started doing as an entertaining thought exercise after working in a grocery warehouse for a while, during which time I realized the vast importance of being able to identify every single item in a grocery store, as well as its size, quantity, price, and so forth and so on, and it just so happens that this is relatively easy for me to do, where one my curious activities involves memorizing everything sold at a Walmart Supercenter, with a few exceptions, most of which are items that change frequently like clothing styles, not because it boring, but because there is no point to stuff that is virtually guaranteed not to be on the shelves in a few months, so I skip the clothing sections and some of the other seasonal sections like Christmas decorations . . .

And this skill is very useful with sampled sound libraries, where for example I was curious about French Horn samples in Miroslav Philharmonik (IK Multimedia) last year, so I started counting them but stopped after about an hour or so when the count went over 150 . . .

In other words, there are somewhere in the range of 150 to perhaps 250 very specific sounds samples for French Horns in various articulations, dynamics, individually and in several different types of ensembles and sections, which is one of the things about Miroslav Philharonik that I like, because if I need a French Horn played by the musician in a specific articulation, dynamic, and style, it probably is there somewhere, which once I find it maps to the NOTION 3 generated audio for French Horn sample I selected in the Miroslav Philharmonik standalone user interface sounding the way I want it to sound without needing to use any articulations and dynamics in the music notation, because the French Horn was played by the musician using the articulations and dynamics that I want, which effectively does not require either Miroslav Philharmonik or NOTION 3 to do any arbitrary computing to create emulated notes, since everything already is there in the real notes that were sampled . . .

For reference, the particular skill to which I am referring generally is called "eidetic memory", which colloquially is called "photographic memory" but applies to all the senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch, and whatever), and my perspective is that most people have eidetic memory capabilities but that the eidetic memory capabilities are more developed in some folks . . .

There are various strategies for developing and enhancing natural eidetic memory skills, and this is one of the reasons that I do the Walmart Supercenter exercise, which I make FUN by realizing that it is totally strange but makes a bit of sense in the grand scheme of everything . . .

Mnemonics are another way to improve memory skills, where two examples are (a) "Kings Play Chess On Fancy Green Sofas", which is a mnemonic for remembering the classic parts of biological taxonomy (Kingdon, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species) and (b) "I Don't Play Lydian Mode A Lot", which is a mnemonic for remembering the classic musical modes (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian) . . .

And there are other types of exercises, where the general idea is that you can experiment with different strategies to determine which ones work best for you, but it is important to understand that memorizing stuff requires a bit of work, some of which is simply dull, boring, and repetitive, but the more you exercise your mind, the more stuff you can do with your mind, for sure . . .

For sure!

In this respect, perhaps the most important thing is to determine what you truly enjoy doing and want to do passionately, which typically coincides with an odd epiphany and for me occurred when I realized that I like the way a Fender vacuum tube amplifier smells when it is warmed up, which basically provided the clue that I really like electric music . . .

And once you have the required epiphany, then you soon realize that everything involved in what you truly like to do is important, which in turn makes it not so completely and totally dull, boring, and repetitive, because while initially it might be dull, boring, and repetitive sooner or later once you learn it, then (a) there you are and (b) you just know it, which is vastly useful in one way or another, where for example on might accurately suggest that most of the people on this planet probably are dumbfounded that anyone would notice and then remember that Elvis Presley does a stellar uvular trill on the the "h" of "hound dog" toward the end of his hit record "Hound Dog", which is fabulous . . .

Uvular Trill (wikipedia)

[NOTE: The stellar uvular trill occurs on the "h" of the second "hound dog" in the last verse, chorus, or whatever at approximately 2:01 in the following remastered version, and it sounds more like a snare drum roll, but it is a uvular trill . . . ]

"Hound Dog" (Elvis Presley) -- Youtube music video

Fabulous!

P. S. "Hound Dog" is one of the songs I study and have been studying for over half a century, along with "Walk Don't Run" (The Ventures), "She Loves You" (Beatles), and a few others, and the more I listen to these songs the more stuff I hear, which is part of what makes them unique as Gestalts, and there are some vastly useful techniques that one can glean from studying these songs, where for example a uvular trill is a very specific and typically highly advanced vocal articulation for a singer, which makes it all the more amazing that Elvis did it probably intuitively without having any idea what it was called or anything else other than the fact that it worked nicely for the song . . .

[Dave Dominey]

lmao

[benmmustech]

Thanks Surf Whammy, wow that was a long post. Fortunatly I am fairly eidatic already and I am also auto didatic.

Just finished inputing Eleanor Rigby into Notion 3 and I must say no it's not perfect but for my first attempt and given that I was learning string theory along the way, it sounds pretty good to me.

I will post it in a couple of days.

Ben

[Surfwhammy]

Thanks Surf Whammy, wow that was a long post. Fortunatly I am fairly eidatic already and I am also auto didatic.

Just finished inputing Eleanor Rigby into Notion 3 and I must say no it's not perfect but for my first attempt and given that I was learning string theory along the way, it sounds pretty good to me.

I will post it in a couple of days.

Ben

Glad to help!

"Eleanor Rigby" (Beatles) is a great song for making sense of music theory for string sections (counterpoint, harmony, melody, rhythm, and so forth) in a practical way for what one might call "modern" musical genres, and the song in general provides a few clues to the vast importance of the work George Martin did in arranging the strings and producing the song . . .

"Eleanor Rigby" (Beatles) -- YouTube music video

When I first started using NOTION 3, I knew a good bit about treble clef and at least some of the various articulations and dynamics, although with emphasis on "some", but there are a lot more articulations and dynamics than most folks imagine, so unless you know all of them it takes a while to learn everything, and even then there is more stuff to learn, where one example "more stuff" is tempo change terminology, which is on one of the Post-Its that I keep handy for moments when I really want to waste time memorizing truly frivolous bits of information . . .

[NOTE: Tempo changes certainly are important, but in the "play by ear" universe here in the sound isolation studio I am not convinced that I need to know the Italian names for everything. As best as I can determine, NOTION 3 supports tempo changes, but it does it in a different way than simply using the tempo change terminology, which makes sense because it is an activity done by a conductor, which makes using the tempo change terminology more of a composer's instruction for the conductor to use than something absolute in a mathematical sense, so NOTION 3 provides ways to specify how it is done with mathematical precision, which is explained in detail in the NOTION 3 User Guide . . . ]

Accelerando
Allargando
Calando
Doppio movimento
Meno mosso
Mosso
Più mosso
Precipitando
Rallentando
Ritardando
Ritenuto
Rubato
Stretto
Stringendo

[SOURCE: Tempo Change (wikipedia)

My experience with NOTION 3 is that it takes five or so songs to develop a productive working style, and it also requires a good bit of experimenting to determine how everything actually works . . .

And it is important to understand that doing songs with NOTION 3 is not just a matter of understanding how NOTION 3 works, because especially for more "modern" genres you need to have additional instrument libraries, which inevitably involves having a few VSTi virtual instruments, where my current favorites are (a) everything from IK Multimedia and (b) Kontakt (Native Instruments), where Kontakt is a new addition, so I am learning about it, but it works, which the important aspect from my perspective . . .

In other words, you are expanding your knowledge of music notation and learning how everything works in NOTION 3, but there is at least as much new information to learn when you start using VSTi virtual instruments, and then there is the matter of VST effects plug-ins like T-RackS 3 Deluxe (IK Multimedia) for mixing and mastering, where mixing and mastering really is a separate and distinct skill which is at least as complex as playing an instrument, singing, arranging, composing, and producing, but there also is the computer stuff and, when you record real instruments and singing there is the Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) stuff, all of which maps to a lot of things to understand in at least enough detail to be productive in a practical way . . .

My strategy is to develop a complete system that does what I need to do, where the focus is on keeping everything simple when possible and delving into detail only when necessary, and this is working nicely . . .

I do everything on Apple computers, and I have developed a finely tuned complete system that is coming along nicely, so my ability to provide help is focused on the Mac, although to the best of my knowledge one can do the same things in the Windows universe . . .

Regarding songs by the Beatles, with the correct set of sampled sound libraries, it is entirely possible to do all the songs on "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" or any other Beatles album and to have the instruments sound amazingly accurate and realistic . . .

I read something about Kontakt having specific sampled sounds for Beatles songs, although I have not explored it yet, but I know that East West Quantum Leap (EWQL) has an excellent set of sampled sounds that are specific to Beatles songs and are very realistic . . .

Fab Four Virtual Instrument (EWQL)

There is a set of drumkit samples for Kontakt that are done at Abbey Road Studios and are focused on two drumkits from the 1960s, where at least one of the drumkits maps to the standard Ringo Starr drumkit, but I have not found anything specific regarding other instruments, although I think they are present but probably spread over a virtual festival of other libraries, which is similar to the way IK Multimedia does it, where for example there is an excellent Hofner Beatle Bass selection in one of the add-on libraries for SampleTank, which is the electric bass guitar that I use, since this particular electric bass has unique deep bass tone which is rivaled only by the Gibson EB-0 electric bass or its dual-pickup upgrade, where the Gibson EB-0 actually gets an even deeper bass tone than the Hofner "Beatle" Bass . . .

And of course the NOTION 3 London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) bundled instruments are recorded at Abbey Road Studios, so doing realistic orchestration for Beatles songs mostly is a matter of doing a bit of work and making sense of stuff, really . . .

Really!

As I recall, I think that I worked for approximately 500 hours on the first song I did with NOTION 3, and a lot of the time was focused on learning new stuff about music notation, VSTi virtual instruments, ReWire, and so forth, as well as devising a system for having hundreds of "heavy" VSTi virtual instruments, which in the current 32-bit application universe requires a using a set of synchronized NOTION 3 scores . . .

The second song required less time, and now I can do a song much faster, although it depends on how many "sparkled" instruments I decide to have, because the reality of "sparkled" instruments is that each one requires eight (8) staves and spreading notes across the eight (8) staves, which no matter how you do it takes several hours . . .

And the fact of the matter is that even though it takes a while do input everything, it is faster and vastly less expensive when everything is done by one person as contrasted to hiring an orchestra and all that stuff, which continues to be something that only millionaires can afford to do . . .

It might take 100 hours to do elaborate orchestration when you do everything yourself, but I think that it saves from $50,000 to $100,000 in orchestra fees, which I think makes it both practical and smart in the grand scheme of everything, and if you do it wisely most people cannot tell the difference, because the various orchestral sampled sounds are played by formally trained and experienced musicians on real instruments, which is the way I put the 100 to 500 hours of my time into perspective . . .

Another useful bit of information is that when there are 100 musicians and instruments in an orchestra, if they work in the studio for 1 hour, then this maps to 100 "musician hours", which is the best way to put the 100 hours for one person into perspective, since no matter how it is done, it takes 100 "musician hours", really . . .

Really!

Most of what I know about music is self-taught and "play by ear", and one of the basic rules for this particular strategy is that one tends to avoid wasting time . . .

When I first started using NOTION 3, I did a lot of experiments to verify everything, and some of the experiments were highly frustrating, but in every instance when there was a problem I discovered a practical solution or "workaround", and this is one of the things I like most about NOTION 3, because while doing some types of advanced work requires some extra steps, there are practical ways to do it, and it is flawless in every respect . . .

At some point, I might write a technical book about the "complete system" I have defined, tested, and verified, which is specific to the Mac, but the high-level version is (a) that it works and (b) that I can prove it works, and NOTION 3 is the foundation for the "complete system", which basically maps to the fact that I begin a song in NOTION 3 by creating at least a kick drum "click" track and a piano "reference tuning" track, which I then record in the DAW application (Digital Performer 7.24) as soundbites via ReWire, and from that point forward I can switch back and forth from (a) working with real instruments and voices in the DAW application to (b) working with music notation and virtual instruments in NOTION 3, but I also devised a way to do stuff in the Reason (Propellerhead Software) universe in such a way that NOTION 3 continues to be the foundation and the generated audio gets into the DAW application as soundbites via ReWIre, which for all practical purposes covers everything, hence the "complete system" designation . . .

And while at present I cannot explain in great detail how to do all this stuff on a Windows machine, there are folks in this FORUM who can, so it is not a matter of it only working on the Mac, although I think that it is easier to do it on the Mac . . .

This is the most recent song that I have done using the "complete system", and the instruments are IK Multimedia virtual instruments done with music notation in NOTION 3, but the singing is real and is done in Digital Performer 7.24, all of which is enhanced with a virtual festival of advanced VST effects plug-ins, and I did it here in the sound isolation studio on a 2.8-GHz 8-core Mac Pro by myself, which from my perspective is simply mind-boggling . . .



[NOTE: This is a headphone mix, so it is best enjoyed when you listen with headphones . . . ]

"(Baby You Were) Only Dreaming" (The Surf Whammys) -- MP3 (9.2MB, 276-kbps [VBR], approximately 4 mintues and 26 seconds)

There are approximately 75 "heavy" VSTi virtual instruments, and I had to spread it over five (5) synchronized NOTION 3 scores, but so what . . .

So what!

The reality is that I could play perhaps half of it on real instruments, but it would require a lot of practicing, and there is no way I could play the rapid synthesizer stuff on a real synthesizer . . .

I need to do a loudspeaker mix, but this is dependent on finishing "The Fabulous Affordable Studio Monitor Project" that I am documenting in vast detail in the IK Multimedia FORUM, where the high-level version is that I am a full tone hearer and for "full tone hearers" there are no commercial off the shelf (COTS) studio monitoring systems anywhere on this planet unless you hire an acoustic engineer to do custom modifications, which has the real consequence of making it virtually impossible to do good sounding mixing and mastering, since the basic problem is that "full tone hearers" require a studio monitoring system that is full range at equal loudness at a sound pressure level (SPL) of 80dB to 85dB, where (a) "full range" refers to the full range of normal human hearing, which is 20-Hz to 20,000-Hz and (b) "equal loudness" refers to what colloquially is called a "flat response", which in the high-end JBL universe maps at minimum to a $7,500 studio monitoring system that needs to be adjusted, which for me simply is not something I can afford, hence the project to provide an affordable solution, which for reference costs about $650 (US) and is coming along nicely, but I have a bit more work to do, although mostly just the equalizing and calibrating steps . . .

[NOTE: The problem is that doing deep bass requires "big" and "heavy" components, and this was done as standard practice until sometime in the 1970s, at which time manufacturers switched to the sneaky weasel strategy hallmarked by ignoring deep bass, which about a decade later reached such an absurd level that in the US the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enacted specific rules and regulations that made it criminal to engage in egregious sneaky weaseling involving deceptive amplifier and loudspeaker claims and specifications, although the sneaky weasels soon devised a strategy for providing qualifying claims and specifications but without actually changing the ongoing trickery. Today at the dawn of the early-21st century, there are no COTS studio monitoring systems that are full range at equal loudness, but you can enhance them by purchasing deep bass subwoofer units, where (a) it requires two of them and (b) they cost at least as much as the "regular" COTS studio monitors, thereby doubling the real cost, and even then they need to be adjusted, equalized, and calibrated. And while this might be fine for "overtone hearers", it is intractable for "full tone hearers", and as best as I can determine it appears that I am the only person on this planet who discovered this bit of trickery and is working diligently to let everyone know about it. In some respects, I have enough formal training in mathematics and physics to have realized it sooner than I did, but the reality is that once I recognized there was a problem and started focusing on finding the solution, it took approximately two years to identify what was happening and how to correct it, and the ultimate clue came from an observation someone made in the ongoing topic in the IK Multimedia FORUM, which pointed me in the direction of the "missing fundamental" auditory illusion, which is what provided the scientific explanation for what was happening. And the fact of the matter is that being to mix and master accurately requires a studio monitoring system that reproduces the music across the full range of normal human hearing at equal loudness accurately, because yet another fact is that you cannot mix and master something that you cannot hear, and I think that one needs to be a full tone hearer to do this, because "overtone hearers" hear stuff that is not there, since they are easily fooled by the "missing fundamental" auditory illusion, which explained another way maps to "overtone hearers" not being able to trust their ears . . . ]

Missing Fundamental Psychoacoustic Phenomenon (wikipedia)

The Fabulous Affordable Studio Monitor Project (IK Multimedia FORUM)

Lots of FUN!

[benmmustech]

Thanks for the extra long post surfwhammy, if you hadn't already read I have two technical music degree's so I've had no problems in inputing the music into Notion 3. In fact I have completed Eleanor Rigby and it's good, I'm just having a couple of problems with the Legatto and a couple of notes. I will post once I have an audio version ready, I've added a UAD Maxamizer and Fairchild emulator plugins and this really brings the sound out. This is why I haven't posted it yet the "plain version" it is just not as good without those two effects. This is the audio engineer in me.

Not only do I have two technical musical degree's (sound and audio production), I'm at an intermediate level with music theory, so much so I missed out on my PHD (music) application by very little. If I had this program when I put my application together I believe I would have been accepted.

Oh well Peace Ben

[Admin]

Thanks for the extra long post surfwhammy, if you hadn't already read I have two technical music degree's so I've had no problems in inputing the music into Notion 3. In fact I have completed Eleanor Rigby and it's good, I'm just having a couple of problems with the Legatto and a couple of notes. I will post once I have an audio version ready, I've added a UAD Maxamizer and Fairchild emulator plugins and this really brings the sound out. This is why I haven't posted it yet the "plain version" it is just not as good without those two effects. This is the audio engineer in me.

Not only do I have two technical musical degree's (sound and audio production), I'm at an intermediate level with music theory, so much so I missed out on my PHD (music) application by very little. If I had this program when I put my application together I believe I would have been accepted.

Oh well Peace Ben

Are you using the UAD and Fairchild plugs in Notion or are you rewiring to a DAW? Just curious....Sounds great though! Would love to hear the "non-plain version"

-Kyle

[benmmustech]

Thanks for the extra long post surfwhammy, if you hadn't already read I have two technical music degree's so I've had no problems in inputing the music into Notion 3. In fact I have completed Eleanor Rigby and it's good, I'm just having a couple of problems with the Legatto and a couple of notes. I will post once I have an audio version ready, I've added a UAD Maxamizer and Fairchild emulator plugins and this really brings the sound out. This is why I haven't posted it yet the "plain version" it is just not as good without those two effects. This is the audio engineer in me.

Not only do I have two technical musical degree's (sound and audio production), I'm at an intermediate level with music theory, so much so I missed out on my PHD (music) application by very little. If I had this program when I put my application together I believe I would have been accepted.

Oh well Peace Ben

Are you using the UAD and Fairchild plugs in Notion or are you rewiring to a DAW? Just curious....Sounds great though! Would love to hear the "non-plain version"

-Kyle

Hey Kyle, I'm using the UAD plugs inside Notion 3, I'm having a couple of issues with rewire at the moment and now thanks to you I think I know why.

There a couple of bugs I have noticed as well, I can't use all four master effect inserts I can only use the first three and when I go to bounce to audio, I can't see all the paremeters for the bounce down.

As for Eleanor Rigby I am trying to put vocals down at the moment, I'm haveing trouble because the song is out of my key but I have got a workaround, I import the audio file into Reaper and use the Varispeed button to slow the track down slighty just as they did in The Beatles days and when Lennon and McCartney couldn't hit the high notes. Now I am having problems with the rhythem of the vocal.

So if I can't get the vocal within the next week I will post an instrumental of the track.

Let me know if I can be of any further help.

Peace Ben