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Miroslav & Notion "Layering"...

A Forum to Discuss NOTION

Miroslav & Notion "Layering"...

Postby kmlandre » Wed Apr 23, 2014 1:08 pm

Hi All-

Thought some of you might be interested in this piece as it layers the Miroslav libraries and the Notion libraries together. I think it really enhances some of the effects and makes for a more expressive color palette with subtler options. And - important bonus - you can do it without spending a lot of cash.

For example, glissing the Notion strings while keeping the Miroslav strings static makes for a *much* more convincing gliss. Also, there's a lot more realism in the various sections when the instruments are split between Miroslav and Notion (Flute 1 from Notion, Flute 2 from Miroslav, Clrnt 1 from Miroslav, Clrnt 2 from Notion, etc.).

Anyway, I'd love any feedback you have on the overall sound (or anything else, of course) and I thought some of you might find it interesting...

https://soundcloud.com/kmlandre/in-the-garden-of-faeries-final

Thanks!

Kurt M. Landre'
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Re: Miroslav & Notion "Layering"...

Postby Surfwhammy » Thu Apr 24, 2014 8:12 am

"In the Garden of Faeries" sounds very good and quite realistic when I listen to it played through the calibrated full-range studio monitor system at 85 dB SPL (Fast, Hi, and dBA weighting measured on the NADY DSM-1 Digital SPL Meter, where the dynamic range runs approximately from 55 dB SPL to 85 dB SPL, depending on the section) here in the sound isolation studio, which is fabulous . . .

Fabulous! :ugeek:

I like this composition a lot, and the deep bass is impressive (a personal favorite). The composition paints a picture, which is not so easy to do, hence another reason for liking this piece . . .

THOUGHTS ON LAYERING

Most of the time when folks use the term "layering", it refers to the way songs are recorded and produced using subsets of instruments and vocals to build a complete song one layer at a time; but I also like the way it is used to describe the technique of creating what essentially is a single part but done using techniques that make it larger than life or using producer terminology "big" . . .

I have been doing this with lead guitar for a long time, which includes doing elaborate custom modifications to a Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster so that it has dual outputs, with plans sometime in the not so distant future to do another set of custom mods to increase the total number of outputs, as well as to add a MIDI system using components from GraphTech Guitar Labs, where the general strategy is to run the monaural output signals through sets of stereo effects pedals, thereby creating what I call a "Wall of Guitars" . . .

Ghost Acousti-Phonic & Hexpander Preamp Kit for Guitar (GraphTech Guitar Labs)

Getting deep and rich bass can be difficult, but after doing some experiments and a bit of "thinking outside the box", I started viewing bass as a Gestalt rather than as a single instrument, and this strategy works nicely and includes at various times augmenting and enhancing a single VSTi virtual electric bass with bowed string bass, synthesized bass, and a touch of Cyclop (Sugar Bytes) bass, where the latter is capable of just about everything and a bit more, really . . .

[NOTE: As best as I can determine, most folks use Cyclop for Dubstep and other types of Electronic and Techno bass, but it has gentle settings, as well . . . ]

Cyclop (Sugar Bytes)

Really!

Another term associated with "layering" is the technique called "round robin" as it applies to multi-sampled sound libraries, where instead of providing only a single sound sample for a specific note and articulation, there is a set of samples, perhaps eight samples; and when the "round robin" option is used what happens is that repeating the same note maps to a different sample being used each time in a "round robin" rotation . . .

The new version of SampleTank (IK Multimedia)--which according to IK Multimedia will be released sometime this year--has "round robin" sound sample libraries and the ability to use them, where the goal is to make the resulting virtual performances more realistic based on the general fact that, for example, even the most skilled pianist will not play a Middle C quarter note exactly the same way every time, if only because grand pianos are made of wood, metal, felt, and other materiel . . .

The differences might be subtle, but (a) they exist and (b) they are part of what makes music sound real . . .

I like the addition of the choir and female vocalist, where the latter makes the section at the end magical . . .

The strings, woodwinds, and brass sound realistic, as well, and I like it . . .

Lots of FUN!
:D
The Surf Whammys

Sinkhorn's Dilemma: Every paradox has at least one non-trivial solution!
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Re: Miroslav & Notion "Layering"...

Postby kmlandre » Thu Apr 24, 2014 6:53 pm

"In the Garden of Faeries" sounds very good and quite realistic...which is fabulous . . .

Fabulous! :ugeek:

I like this composition a lot...The composition paints a picture, which is not so easy to do, hence another reason for liking this piece . . .


Thanks very much! We've been watching quite a few of the Tinkerbell movies as a family lately, so a lot of the "internal imagery" probably comes from that. Having a picture in my mind always helps me structure a piece in such as way as to give it a nice narrative feel...

...and the deep bass is impressive (a personal favorite)...I started viewing bass as a Gestalt rather than as a single instrument...


Yes, I looked at quite a few scores of my favorite composers (Barber, Holst, Stravinsky, etc.) and have seen that pattern time and time again - low register instruments are frequently (pun intended! :lol: ) used to reinforce one another. The different phasing and natural EQ emphasis of the two libraries makes that even easier to pull off. That and Miroslav has always had a somewhat warmer, if more diffuse sound to my ears.

Thanks much for listening - glad it offered you a few minutes of pleasant diversion... :-)

Kurt M. Landre'
https://www.SoundCloud.com/kmlandre
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