Old newcomer confusion

Impotenced wrote on 11/25/2020, 2:14 PM

Hi

I'm hoping to get some help with setting up my software and hardware. I don't know if what I have is compatible with each other or Windows 10!

I used to mess about making music with Acid Music 2.0, Acid Pro ??, Rebirth.One and Rebirth RB-338. I had a Roland MIDI keyboard with nothing but piano keys. I didn't get far with the keyboard and VSTs so one day packed it up and forgot about it.

Then, recently I was given a new keyboard (with sounds and knobs!) so I thought I'd dust off the software CDs and have a play again. So far I've played with Music Studio 11 demo and Rebirth RB-338.

A few things I can't work out...

Can Rebirth RB-338 work as a softsynth in Music Studio 11 or Pro 10? I've got the standalone working but not as a slave/VST. I've got RewireBridge 64bit installed but it didn't help. At the moment I'm saving songs as a wave and pasting into Acid.

My MIDI keyboard (Yamaha e433) has control knobs for cutoff, resonance, reverb etc but they don't work with most VST in Music Studio and not at all with Rebirth. On some synths the hardware knobs do something but most of the time they are useless. Is it possible to get a hardware device that will control the knobs and sliders on all VST? I only have USB... no proper midi connectors.

I'll save my other questions for another time!

 

Thank you :)

 

 

Comments

Former user wrote on 11/26/2020, 10:17 AM

Hi

I'm hoping to get some help with setting up my software and hardware. I don't know if what I have is compatible with each other or Windows 10!

I used to mess about making music with Acid Music 2.0, Acid Pro ??, Rebirth.One and Rebirth RB-338. I had a Roland MIDI keyboard with nothing but piano keys. I didn't get far with the keyboard and VSTs so one day packed it up and forgot about it.

Then, recently I was given a new keyboard (with sounds and knobs!) so I thought I'd dust off the software CDs and have a play again. So far I've played with Music Studio 11 demo and Rebirth RB-338.

A few things I can't work out...

Can Rebirth RB-338 work as a softsynth in Music Studio 11 or Pro 10? I've got the standalone working but not as a slave/VST. I've got RewireBridge 64bit installed but it didn't help. At the moment I'm saving songs as a wave and pasting into Acid.

My MIDI keyboard (Yamaha e433) has control knobs for cutoff, resonance, reverb etc but they don't work with most VST in Music Studio and not at all with Rebirth. On some synths the hardware knobs do something but most of the time they are useless. Is it possible to get a hardware device that will control the knobs and sliders on all VST? I only have USB... no proper midi connectors.

I'll save my other questions for another time!

 

Thank you :)

 

 

Since smarter people haven't replied to you, I will try. I do own Music Studio as well but haven't used it in a long time since I have the Acid Pro version so I believe the Preferences window may be limited. In preferences, there is a Midi tab. Now, if I am not mistaken, there should be a controller option. From what I remember, in the drop down menu, it gives you few choices. You will have to setup Midi in/out in order for it to work. One thing I am not clear on, do you have a proper audio interface? Like an external sound card?

On the other hand, I never really use the Midi/VSTs in Acid Pro as the midi handling is ancient. I create my music in FL Studio/Ableton/Cubase...whichever one I need at the given time, and then paint them in Acid. I have done this since my very first SF Acid back in 1998 and have been on that method as Acid's audio loop handling, paint tool and explorer are the best. I can create a tune within minutes doing that.

Bottom line, I don't think Acid Music Studio 11 is strong enough to handle what you are trying to do with external gear or even with softsynths. Even Acid Pro isn't really there yet as Magix is still working out the old bugs (I hope they are).

Not sure if any of this would help you, but maybe it will give you some way.

Impotenced wrote on 11/26/2020, 3:24 PM

Thank you for your reply. You've confirmed a few things I was thinking!

Since my first post my head has starting spinning.

No, I don't have a MIDI interface. What I want to to achieve with a MIDI controller will have to be forgotten about for now. I just have a bog standard soundcard (Asus Xonar) that supports ASIO. My old Audigy 2 was better equipped than this card. It had a gameport! I have bigger problems.

You said "...as Acid's audio loop handling, paint tool and explorer are the best". I thought this nearly 20 years ago and that's why it was my first go-to program this time around. I find the interface kindly familiar too. I may have to take the same approach as you and do MIDI stuff somewhere else. It makes me wonder if my old copy of Acid Music 2.0 will still be of use. I wish I could find my copy of Pro 7, or whatever it was.

What's frustrating me the most is where I've ended up with the Studio and Pro trials I've used. They seem screwed!. The few tunes I put together in Studio using waves I made in ReBirth and the DN-e1 synth won't play properly in Pro. Each time I open my save file I have to reinsert the synth and adjust the settings. It doesn't seem to save it! Last night I also added a synth from Reason (also on demo) and that doesn't play at all when I open the save file. Today, I can't even get the synth to work with my keyboard. No settings have changed... yesterday it worked, today it doesn't.

My fumbled, simpleton experience has found Acid to still be great at pasting in loops etc but a nightmare for everything else. I think I had Acid Pro 7. For me, it was better!

 

 

 

Former user wrote on 11/26/2020, 5:31 PM

What's frustrating me the most is where I've ended up with the Studio and Pro trials I've used. They seem screwed!. The few tunes I put together in Studio using waves I made in ReBirth and the DN-e1 synth won't play properly in Pro. Each time I open my save file I have to reinsert the synth and adjust the settings. It doesn't seem to save it! Last night I also added a synth from Reason (also on demo) and that doesn't play at all when I open the save file. Today, I can't even get the synth to work with my keyboard. No settings have changed... yesterday it worked, today it doesn't.

My fumbled, simpleton experience has found Acid to still be great at pasting in loops etc but a nightmare for everything else. I think I had Acid Pro 7. For me, it was better!

 

 

 

Hey there, I am glad I was able to clear some things up. However, unfortunately, AcidPro is very unpredictable on re-opening Midi stuff as of yet. There are numerous bugs that still need to be worked on. Acid Pro was and will be the greatest DAW on the planet and like I always mention, for 3 main reasons (for me), the paint tool, explorer on the bottom and loop handling. These 3 things are simply not available anywhere else, in any other DAW. Having said that, what you said about Acid not saving your Midi material, I wouldn't trust it as of right now as Acid is ages behind in Synth/Midi/VST stuff so I don't waste my time recording anything in Acid. I make everything in those other programs. I open Acid first, then other DAW, I don't do rewire garbage. I set vocals in Acid, and then start creating sounds in, lets say cubase, and save the audio in cubase, refresh acid and double click the file in acid and it pops up in the arrangement, and I continue. I can finish the first draft of a song within 20 minutes this way. For some reason, I was never that guy who could do all that, this fast in any other DAW (I own most of them).

So, Acid pro is the best if all goes well but unfortunately, we are at version 10 and it is still unstable. Old time users like us, we are frustrated that a company finally took over Acid & has churned out upgrades but the problems are still there!

For you losing your version 7 copy, do you have the serial number saved someplace? maybe in an email? because if you do, all you gotta do is, add the serial number in magix account and it should give you a download link. But I'd say, if you can try version 10, try it, I think its on sale right now but do it on your own descretion, like I said, still a lot of bugs, it is very clunky, crashes and freezes. But simple work like loops and audio, works alright. Don't mess with the features they have added, that is where the program really becomes unstable. So, if you decide to get it, try it out, invert the skin to "Light", it is somewhat easier on the eyes than the dreadful Dark theme they changed to.

Check back if you have more questions. I would love to talk about this.

Esther-Robertson7924 wrote on 1/7/2022, 2:13 AM

Hi your information was so helpful. Could you suggest a very easy daw to use to work alongside acid pro 10 to use a midi keyboard. And could you suggest a brand of midi keyboard with this program. Thanks