Posted
I have enjoyed wirting songs in Synfire but I have tried several different workflows until I have found one that I like.
For a while I just loaded whatever plug-in I wanted for the Synfire instruments. This was easy and fun, but I found that some plug-ins do not work as well as they should with Synfire, and also that I did not like using the mixer with the Synfire audio engine. It did not seem very responsive and some changes only seem to be able to be made when the song is stopped.
The next thing I tried was using drones with another daw. I was able to get this to work, and I liked mixing the audio in another daw, but I was still not happy with this approach either. It seemed complicated and buggy and I do not like saving two files, one for Synfire and one on the other daw, just for one project.
What I finally decided to only use plug-ins that could host 16 different instruments such as Kontakt, Halion, Play, Aria and Vienna Ensemble, and limit my tracks to 16 per arrangement. I only have one plug-in for each Synfire project (two if I am using drums), but I use several channels on the plug-in. That way I can use the plug-in's mixer and volume control instead of using Synfire's or an external DAWs. I can export the data as a midi file from Synfire whenever I want, and use another daw to process it whenever I want.
I have found that Halion Sonic works very well for popular music, and I use BFD3 for drums, which I wrote about in another post today. For classical music I prefer the Vienna Ensemble. I usually start very simple, with just the sustain articulation of the instrument I am using on each channel. That way the Vienna Ensemble loads fast and I can worry about articulations later. I also like the fact that I do not have to worry about recording mod wheel or controller data just to get a reasonable volume from the instrument like you do with some other classical music libraries.
I know that one of the strengths of Synfire is that you can use it in many different ways and that it is capable of great complexity. On the other hand, it can be difficult for a beginner to learn. If you are a beginner or are having trouble with your workflow, maybe this might help. Using Synfire with a plug-in like this is already covered in a couple of the new video tutorials, which are very well-done and very useful.
Di., 31.12.2013 - 10:08 Permalink
With HALion5 i can get 64 instruments with Halion symphonic orchestra soundbank for a larger composition, but 16 instruments are enough.
What I finally decided to only use plug-ins that could host 16 different instruments such as Kontakt, Halion, Play, Aria and Vienna Ensemble, and limit my tracks to 16 per arrangement.
Do., 02.01.2014 - 13:59 Permalink
So many midi files floating around internet and this one a mixed a little bit and there is no expression involved
Mo., 06.01.2014 - 15:01 Permalink
Hi KenK, thanks so much for sharing your experience with us. Highly appreciated. Others can learn from it and Cognitone will also learn more about how Synfire is actually being used. This would otherwise be very difficult to guess only from the support requests we receive. Thanks again!
Sa., 11.01.2014 - 17:50 Permalink
I am glad that you found this useful!
Synfire is very helpful and fun for me. I use two DAWs. Logic X eliminated their chord track feature and although Cubase 7 has one, I have found that it is not nearly as helpful as I had hoped it would be. I am much happier doing the initial work in Synfire, either importing midi files, drawing figures with a mouse or playing a midi keyboard or ipad midi instrument. (And I was impressed how well Synfire works with my ipad).
Mo., 13.01.2014 - 21:56 Permalink
Thank you for sharing these details ! Super helpful . What other multitimbrale softwares users can recommend for sketching ideas (but still sounding good enough to inspire ) ?
i have many great hardware synth (analogue, vintage samplers, digital...) but I would prefer to first concentrate myself on composition itself with a simple set up in the box. uhe Diva is great but not multitimbrale and CPU hungry .
All ideas are welcome, I see many videos with korg monopoly which is sounding quite good for sketching stuffs for example, curious about monark from NI
all the best,
Mi., 15.01.2014 - 20:56 Permalink
Hi eduardo!
Nice sounds in HAlion..yes.
For HALion5 there is a general midi multi to assign to Synfire, but i cannot find yet a general midi multi for HAlion Sonic ?
I must investigate this further..and HAlion sonic 2 can be used as a Vsti like HALion5, but how about the general midi mode for HALion Sonic 2 ? ( i must open a HAlion Sonic 2 in Synfire ....and see if there is a multi General midi mode..if yes than you can make easy a General midi devicedescription in Synfire analog to HAlion 5.)
I loaded the HALion Sonic 2 (Sonic SE ? ) in Synfire , but there is no general midi multi mode to find ( in cubase it is i think automatically assigned the general midi mode in HALion SE )..try this with general midi file
So it seems that HAlion Se is not suitable for Synfire?, but perhaps i am overlooking something, so let other users react.