Velocity question

[LeanderL]

Hi!

I have a couple of midi tracks programmed for SD2 and Metal Foundry. When playing them with SD3 it does not work well. The velocities are off. My old SD2+Metal Foundry kit uses a Ludwig Supraphonic snare and a 18×22 Tomas Haake Custom kick drum. I use the Andy Sneap kit 3 preset in SD3.

My midi has three snare hits, velocities 122, 115, 105…the difference is clearly audible. Even velocity changes (in order to avoid robotlike machine effects) between 124, 122, 120 are audible. In SD3 these hits all sound alike! Parts with crescendos no longer work. 🙁 The velocity difference has to be much bigger to be audible in SD3.

Why?

Please take a look at this image and compare SD3 to SD2+MF. It shows the snare drum. What am I doing wrong? Does SD3 use different velocity settings? I spent hours and hours to program my tracks but they sound off with SD3. Is it because I do not use bleed in SD2+MF but in SD3?

SeelenPuls ~ Poetic metal from Austria: SeelenPuls.at
Grummelgnom ~ Sociocritical metal from the forest: Grummelgnom.at

Topic

[Henrik Ekblom]

Does it sound the same in SD3 if you use the same library? I just wanted to be sure that there’s no bug or similar that causes this.
First – check any compressors in the mixer. A compressor can cause this behavior, since it makes the hardest hits lower, but can leave the softer hits unprocessed.
You can also increase the volume range of the instrument (the snare for example) by lowering the volume in the Soft Hits property box, in the drums tab. This will make softer hits lower in volume.

Reply back here on how this works out, and we can continue to help you if necessary 🙂

Henrik Ekblom - User Experience Designer
Toontrack

[LeanderL]

Did some tests with velocities 85-127.

My kit sounds the same in SD2+MF and SD3.

1) My kit based on J. Skog – LOG (if I remember correctly)…with Ludwig Supraphonic snare. Sounds natural and the different velocities are clearly audible and visible.

2) Andy Sneap Kit 1

3) Black Metal

4) Andy Sneap Kit 3 (the basis for my current kit)…you clearly see the difference is lost! 🙁

5) Andy Sneap Kit 3 snare, xsnare and reverb muted… compressor on snare bottom and snare top disabled. Finally the velocity curve is better.

6) Andy Sneap Kit 3 snare…same settings as above but all effects on snare bottom and snare top disabled.

The effects destroy the velocities…but it’s still strange that Andy Sneap uses effects and settings that result in a monotone snare (4). I can change the settings but then the sound is lost as well. 🙁

I don’t think this can be fixed…the workaround is to adjust velocities of all drum tracks I created with SD2+MF…but it would also mean that your midi files don’t work well with all kits as some are sensitive, some produce almost the same sound for velocities 85-127.

SeelenPuls ~ Poetic metal from Austria: SeelenPuls.at
Grummelgnom ~ Sociocritical metal from the forest: Grummelgnom.at

[LeanderL]

What should I do now? Change velocities and keep soft hits at 45 (not 85)? Change the snare? The problem is that the kit sounds good but does not react to velocity changes well (not just the snare but also kick drum etc.).

SeelenPuls ~ Poetic metal from Austria: SeelenPuls.at
Grummelgnom ~ Sociocritical metal from the forest: Grummelgnom.at

[Author]

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