I wasn't sure where to post this so it ended up here. I've been messing around with some vsti via my midi on my stick. Unlike playing with a keyboard I find some real issues when playing a vsti midi instrument with strings. I find it hard to hold a solid note especially when removing the fingers from the strings. The midi is sensitive and detunes the vsti as you pull off.
So the question is this. Any one know how to compensate for this, like by using some type of midi filter that always rounds to the nearest note or something. Or some other setting in midi or vsti?
Am I making any sence on this. It is hard to describe. My VG99 sounds excellent but when I run out into my laptop and play a vsti like a cello or somthing it sounds not so good and is hard to play in tune. Anyone run into this?

Mike

I think you'll always find that using these devices to drive a standard MIDI device is going to be more "touchy" than driving the internal sounds. The Roland gear uses a proprietary technology to drive their own devices. To drive external devices, they need to do a conversion to MIDI. Historically the GI units do this better than the GR or VG units simply because with the GI units, there are no internal sounds. They are a dedicated MIDI converter.

With that said though, there are probably some things you can do. The first is practice. MIDI can be touchy and will bring out any slop. Secondly, some adjustments. I have never owned a VG unit so I can only talk based on old GR units or GI units. But with those, there are settings for "feel" and "sensitivity." The sensitivity settings are an adjustment made for each string that makes sure you're getting optimal signal. The play feel will allow you to quickly jump between sensitivity settings for picking, finger picking, tapping, etc. Lastly, the GI unit has a "Bend Range" setting that I used to really clean things up. This setting defines a tolerance for how much the pitch has to change before the unit responds. By default, the GI units are very sensitive. By turning the bend range up, you remove some of the ability to slide and do vibrato but you also provide for more slop forgiveness. For me, I only use MIDI for background pads so I tend to turn the bend range up to max.

What Glenn said.

Pitch bend sensitivity is way too high on the Roland units (I'm speaking from GR33).

That is the tweak that will allow you to hold a stable pitch.

I was watching a John McLaughlin video yesterday. Mahavishnu (80's version) at Montreux Jazz festival. He was shredding with a Synclavier II Guitar controller in 1984, without any glitches!

Clean technique is very important too.

Lee

That brings back memories. I did some Synclavier programming on one of John's albums.
John McL's guitar interface did not involve MIDI. MIDI was just being born about that time. New England Digital had a $5k blue box that you plugged your Roland guitar into.

A genius named Cameron Jones programmed wonderful adjustments into the software that allowed the player to tweak each sound differently. Cameron was also a talented musician on the double bass. So he knew fingers on strings quite well.

The tracking was amazing and one of the settings locked the synths or samples onto a steady pitch even if you bent the strings. There was also a setting for the pick noise. John McLoughlin told me once that he hired an engineer to connect six Mini Moogs to one of his guitars. He was probably the first to do anything like that.

So Mike - Glenn's advice to practice a lot is a given. As you create each new patch go through all of the details and have a complete understanding of what is going on.
And - those vsti sounds may have additional parameters that will do things on their own that you may or may not like. Good luck with it and keep us informed.
Sean Rhys Stirling