New forum user loving synth music

[Gary D]

Hello, im very new to the forum and have been into midi sequencing on and off for a few years, However last year i was forced to retire my Quadrasynth due to non reversable nerve damage, late this fall I decided to go the Tone generator route (yamaha MU500) and dabble with some midi files again even though im not able to interact with a keyboard any more, But im still having fun breathing new life into old and or mangled midi files hehe,(i always find the ones that sound like a angry cat bouncing around in a grand piano fun) I use XGworks 3.0 sequencing software wich includes a feature rich full blown on screen channel mixer, so far ive been having alot of fun with the yamaha, im still on the fence about upgrading to a Roland Integra 7, But so far the MU500 hasnt disapointed. I dont have a specific genre , depends on my mood .. My latest challange is to add vocal tracks to midi files that sound empty with the lack of vocal layers, the hard part is getting the correct tempo and finding vocal tracks on sound cloud or you tube to sync up, I do it all by ear, no time coding. 1 bpm off can throw things out of wack lol. Feel free to visit my You Tube page I have a few finished posted there, I have no idea how these sound on a others sound systems I tried to EQ them as neutral as possible. Some may be a bit Bass heavy.. Feedback is welcome..

Im not able to post Links yet but do a search for user Yamafun on YouTube

Thanks!

 

[SeaGtGruff]

Welcome to the forum, Gary! I'm sorry to hear about your nerve damage, but glad to hear that you're still having fun sequencing.

There's still a surprising number of people using XGworks. I say "surprising" because with XGworks being abandoned by Yamaha, and with so many newer DAWs and sequencing programs available today, one might expect that XGworks users would have moved on to something newer and more up-to-date. But just about every XGworks user I've ever "met" online still uses it!

 

[Oriane Lima]

Welcome to the forum, Gary! I'm sorry to hear about your nerve damage, but glad to hear that you're still having fun sequencing.

Agree. Welcome Gary.

 

[Oriane Lima]

Gary, this is so good.

 

[Gary D]

But just about every XGworks user I've ever "met" online still uses it!

Thanks for the welcome! I had been using Voyetra Gold and Voyetra Orchestrator in the past when i had my Ensoniq SQ2 wich had a amazing sounding piano even by todays standards and my Quadrasynth, but when I made the switch to Yamaha , Voyetra didnt want to play nice when it came to XG files hehe. Im pretty much sold on XGworks I love the drop down menus in the mixer wich lists all the available patchs right there on the screen instead of manualy looking them up on some print out ( voyetra )

 

[Gary D]

Gary, this is so good.

The Mu500 doing all the work here, I just did a bit of tweaks of the mix , effects and patch changing, But agree'd I do luv the sound of a simple clean piano Club jazz trio!

 

[happyrat1]

From one Gary to another, welcome aboard...

Sorry to hear about the nerve damage. Then again it's still possible to post original compositions using notation editors and hardware synths.

As for remixing MIDI files that others have done? I agree it can be a hoot simply by swapping out a few GM voices for some more esoteric synths.

Take care and enjoy your stay...

Gary

 

[Gary D]

As for remixing MIDI files that others have done? I agree it can be a hoot simply by swapping out a few GM voices for some more esoteric synths.
Take care and enjoy your stay

Exactly, ive been digging threw old midi files that sounded horrible in GM mode and using the expanded resources of GM2 and XG of the mu500 and decent software to make them sound good, it may be 16 year old technology but it gets the job done in most cases, I do drive the wife crazy at times replaying a track over and over again trying to get the right voice or blend.. then im forced to put on the head phones hehe, thanks for the welcome!

 

[Becky]

Hello and welcome! Great to have you here

 

[Rayblewit]

Gary, this is so good.

Thanks for posting that piece Oriana. I tried to listen on you tube but got bamboozled.

That is indeed superb playing Gary. Most enjoyable.

Its a huge welcome from me too Gary to have you here and I look forward to your imput.
Cheers

 

[SeaGtGruff]

There are a couple of Yahoo groups you might be interested in-- midkar (for "MIDI/karaoke") and xgworks-exchange. The midkar group is extremely active-- it generates several emails every single day-- whereas the xgworks-exchange group is much quieter. The midkar group leans heavily toward XG-compatible MIDI files.

 

[Gary D]

The midkar group leans heavily toward XG

wow intresting, I will have to check that out, thanks for the info!

 

[Gary D]

Anyone remember the group Art of Noise? I found there version of the Peter Gunn theme in my midi collection , it was one of those files that flopped on my older synths... 16 tracks to fiddle with with a little coaxing the yamaha pulled it off, I just posted it on my YouTube page for anyone intrested in some classic Art of Noise...
still on link posting probation LoL
search for user yamafun

 

[Rayblewit]

I have this 45

 

[Gary D]

I have this 45

Love it!!! ive never heard the re-mix version before!! i had the original CD,,... can really hear the channel panning and inverting with headphones on