The New Korg Kronos: Video Manual Part 5 - Audio Recording & Sampling

Q. How can I simulate a 12-string guitar sound in the studio?

By Various

I have someone coming into my studio to do some recording and I'm looking for a way to achieve a 12‑string guitar sound for him from a six‑string acoustic. I've looked for freeware plug‑ins but haven't had much luck.

Stephen Scott

Via email

 
Generating the distinctive sound of a 12‑string guitar when you only have a six‑string might seem straightforward with the array of technology we have access to these days, but it's probably best done by rather more mechanical and low‑tech means.

SOS Editor In Chief Paul White replies: There's no ideal way to do this, as even the best octave doublers double all the string pitches, whereas on a 12‑string guitar, the top two strings are tuned in unison. Should you wish to experiment with octave doublers, be aware that the vast majority of them are based on current pitch‑shift technology, which tends to sound a little warbly and thin on all but the most expensive processors. The reason for this is that pitch shifters work by breaking the sound into very short segments, then shortening them or looping them depending on whether the pitch shift is to be up or down. Where the pitch is to be increased by an octave, each audio segment is sped up to twice its normal speed, which makes it half its original length, so then it has to be used twice to fill the original time. This works OK on smooth sounds, but can give a doubling effect on the attack of notes. You can also hear an unnatural shimmering effect where the segments are rejoined.

More sophisticated pitch‑shifters try to minimise the damage to note attacks, but the most effective of these tend to be in software plug‑ins or designed to work on single‑note guitar lines. For all that, I've never managed to create a pitch‑doubling effect for guitar that sounds much like a 12‑string (other than with a Line 6 Variax or Roland VG system, where the strings are processed separately), and you'll often get a more realistic sound by just using the pitch‑shifter to add a slightly detuned version (detuned by somewhere between five and 10 cents) to the original. This produces a natural chorus‑like effect but doesn't replicate the effect of the octave strings — it sounds more like a 12‑string guitar where all the pairs are tuned to unison.

I think your best bet is to double the guitar part, with one pass played straight and one with an acoustic guitar restrung for Nashville tuning, where the bottom three strings (or four, if you prefer) are strung with thinner strings and tuned an octave above normal. If this isn't possible, try doubling the part with the second pass played using a capo, so that the chords sound in a higher position.

Published January 2009

The New Korg Kronos: Video Manual Part 4 - Sequencer and Effects

Q. Which small mixers have high impedance inputs?

By Various

I recently read Mike Senior's review of the Alesis Multimix 16, and he listed as one of the cons the lack of a high‑impedance instrument input. I agree with him, but have been searching for ages for a small mixer with this kind of input and can't find one anywhere. Is there one? The mixer isn't actually for me, but for a musician friend who still records to eight‑track cassette via an old PA and various pedals and outboard. He plays bass pedals and has an ancient drum machines, plus he sings and plays guitar and banjo. The outboard and the PA mixer are noisy, and as I transfer his tapes and mix them I spend far too much time on noise reduction and not enough on mixing and production. He is not technically savvy, and getting him to use several of the eight‑track inputs is not a option, so I am looking for a mixer he can plug his instruments into and get a clean relatively noise‑free signal from, to feed the eight‑track.

SOS Forum post

 
Not as many small mixers as you would imagine come with high-impedance instrument inputs. Soundcraft's Compact 10 is one of them.

SOS contributor Mike Senior replies: High‑impedance inputs aren't tremendously common on traditional small‑format mixers, and it was only really because the Alesis Multimix 16 also offered USB audio interfacing for recording purposes that I felt that this omission was a significant missed opportunity. Unlike mixers, a lot of audio interfaces do have instrument inputs built in, and these products inevitably compete to a certain extent with the Multimix for the punter's pound. However, if you root around a bit you can still find a few products that might fit the bill.

For example, Mackie's latest 402 and 802 VLZ3 mini‑mixers both have two line inputs that are switchable for high‑impedance operation, and also have the company's renowned XDR2 mic preamps, so those would probably be well worth looking at. I can see their relative operational simplicity being a big part of the appeal here too. The same company's newly announced U420 four‑channel mixer/interface also has a high‑impedance input, but I don't think you really need that unit's Firewire interfacing, so it wouldn't represent good value for you in this case.

Another option might be the Soundcraft Compact 4 or Compact 10, with one and two high‑impedance inputs respectively, and these should also be pretty easy to drive. Edirol's M16DX and M10DX digital mixers also have high‑impedance inputs, but I'd probably steer clear of those in this situation, simply because the potential benefits of their built‑in digital processing will almost certainly be lost on someone dealing primarily with analogue gear and not particularly technically minded. Other than those models, there doesn't appear to be much else out there with an instrument input built in, but I think we're going to see that changing, to be honest, as the line between 'mixer' and 'audio interface' becomes ever more blurred.

Published February 2009

The New Korg Kronos: Video Manual Part 3 - KARMA and Drum Tracks

Q. Can I use multiple controllers with my software?

By Various

I'm a Propellerhead Reason user and I plan to Rewire the software to Steinberg's Cubase DAW. My plan leads me to ask two questions about using MIDI keyboard controllers and control surfaces.

First of all, is it possible to use two, three or four MIDI keyboards simultaneously in Cubase and/or in Reason without using Reason's Combinator device? A lot of the time I will want to use both my hands on two different keyboards, or route three or four keyboards to trigger different sound modules so that I don't have to use the mouse to change patches, especially during a live performance.

 
A transformer-isolating DI box such as the ART Cleanbox II can be a cost-effective solution to ground-loop hum.

 Secondly, I'd like to buy a fader-equipped control surface, to control the mixers in Reason and Cubase. I'm impressed with the price of Behringer's BCF2000, but then I found out that its motorised faders are not 'touch-sensitive'. How important is this feature for a control surface? Considering that I'm on a tight budget right now, do you think I should wait — say, a year — until I can afford something like Mackie Control Universal Pro?

Kamaul

SOS contributor Derek Johnson replies: The answer to your first question is yes, but you will need to have a MIDI interface that can handle three or four keyboards, with a MIDI In and Out port for each instrument if you plan to use the sounds generated by those instruments. In addition, more MIDI interfacing will be required for the sound modules you mention. Be aware that two or more keyboards playing simultaneously can potentially generate a lot of MIDI data, and some simple, USB 1.1-based interfaces may struggle.

In Cubase, you'll have to set up the MIDI Input for each track — new tracks default to 'All MIDI Inputs,' which is not what you're after. Obviously, you'll need to assign a track to a particular MIDI Out and MIDI channel. Note that it is possible to record on multiple MIDI channels generated by an external device (a multiple-zone controller keyboard, for example) but the data will be recorded on one track. It's simple to extract individual MIDI channels to their own separate tracks using the 'Dissolve Part' function, however.

If you're Rewiring Reason to Cubase, there's nothing else to worry about. The Rewire link routes audio to Cubase, provides bi-directional MIDI communication and full synchronisation, and (of particular interest here) allows Reason to be treated as a sound module by Cubase. From the Cubase track list, any device in Reason's rack will be available as a target to any of your controllers.

Should you want to work with Reason alone, Reason's Hardware Interface device (below) provides access to four MIDI buses — your controller keyboards are assigned to these — which can then be routed to devices in the Reason rack. The limit here is 64 devices (16 MIDI channels for each external control bus input).

Now to your second query: touch–sensitive motorised faders are a very useful tool, and it's fantastic that the option is available in the price range offered by Mackie's MCU. With touch-sensitive faders, the host software immediately goes into record mode (for fader automation) as soon as you touch a fader — even if automation is currently being played back. Recording stops when you let go of the fader, and any pre-existing automation data continues as originally recorded. Changing existing automation data without touch sensitivity is a little less spontaneous.

However, let's put this into context: motorised faders are a good thing in any shape, and Behringer's BCF2000 offers the facility at an exceedingly favourable price point (well under £150 in the UK if you know where to shop). Not many years ago, motors on your faders wouldn't have been an option at anything approaching this price. Though coming down generally in favour of touch-sensitive faders, Hugh Robjohns made a some useful points against them (or at least against leaving the touch sensitivity on all the time) in a 'Sound Advice' response back in the November 2004 issue of SOS.

If I was on a tight budget, I'd probably go for what I could afford now and enjoy a year of having hardware control over my virtual studio. Anything that takes the focus away from the mouse is going to enhance the fun and creativity in anyone's studio. Besides, you could wait forever for each new jump in technology to become affordable, or to fall within reach of your saving ability. However, no-one would blame you for wanting the MCU and being prepared to wait for it. In fact, your patience is admirable!

Published December 2008

The New Korg Kronos: Video Manual Part 2 - Programs, Combinations and Set List