Posted by Les on February 27, 2007 at 18:27:51:
In Reply to: Re: Distortion posted by Steven Glenn on February 26, 2007 at 19:52:48:
Hi Steve,
Sorry, the midi file submissions and site updates have been neglected quite a bit.
I've been working 16-hour days
on a project and simply couldn't get to it. I'm about to finish and the updates will resume this weekend.
I'll contact you by email about your submissions. I just checked on the Forums to clean up after the spammers when I noticed your message.
To make a midi file sound good on all kinds of sound cards and modules is pretty much impossible.
I think the Roland SoundCanvas is the best bet to make midi sequences enjoyable for most people.
When visitors are complaining about the quality of midi files I always recommend getting some sort of SoundCanvas module
and a midi sequencer program instead of the useless midi player plug-ins.
As for the sequencing part, one of the common problems is dynamics. A lot of files need compression, keeping the
velocity values somewhere between 40 and 110 or so. It's best to set volume to a steady level and use expression for crescendos.
You'll find a couple of useful tips on these at the Classical MIDI Connection.
: Thank-you, Les, for that insight. It will keep me from 'fixing' things that don't need fixing. I should be able to create files that sound good on small systems and that are distortion-free on any system. One question: Would you tell me if the Overture to Candide which I recently submitted sounds full enough? I have two other arrangements ready to go which sound excellent on my little setup of "mother-board-sound-card attached to cheeze-ball".
: : I listened to the file and didn't notice any distortion. I have a Roland JV-2080 hooked up to a pair of Event Project Studio 5 speakers. They are not exactly "high-end" but not the cheapest either, and the file sounds pretty good, no distortion.
: : The problem might be with your speakers or amp or the synth you're using runs out of polyphony, etc., it's not the MIDI sequence.
: : Like most orchestral pieces, the "Procession of the Nobles" will sound best if arranged for 2 MIDI ports (32 channels).
: : : I have the world's cheapest pair of desktop speakers but I also have talent. I'm rewriting some midi files and am wondering: Do people with good sound systems get Godzilla distortion in files like Jeff Adams's (otherwise excelling) arrangement of Rimsky-Korsakov's 'Procession of the Nobles', measures 72 and 75?