# The Pixelpoet Trick to Improve Legato Transitions. A Short Video Tutorial



## muziksculp (Feb 22, 2022)

Hi,

I noticed that there were no videos posted on YouTube showing the famous Pixelpoet trick edit to improve Legato Transitions of Strings libraries. So, I decided to make one, using the Heavyocity NOVO Strings Legato.

I hope this is a helpful video, and you can try using it on other unlocked Kontakt Strings Libraries that you own.

The midi data for both versions is identical, and so is the mixer settings.

Cheers,
Muziksculp



Here is a new Video Tutorial showing how to apply the PixelPoet edit to Audio Imperia's *AREIA* Strings, I used the Celli Legato for this video.


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## doctoremmet (Feb 22, 2022)

Highly appreciated! 🙏🏽


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## Xabierus Music (Mar 14, 2022)

Wow, amazing results! it will work with an existing legato group of samples to improve it a little bit? (jaeger legato strings) or it has to be a long articulation only.


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## muziksculp (Mar 14, 2022)

Xabierus Music said:


> Wow, amazing results! it will work with an existing legato group of samples to improve it a little bit? (jaeger legato strings) or it has to be a long articulation only.


Hi @Xabierus Music ,

I think you need to select the samples that include the legato transitions, I'm not 100% sure about this detail, but that's my understanding. I'm currently out of town, so don't have access to my studio to test this with Jaeger Legato Strings, but I'm curious about this now that you bring it up. You can try to test it with Jaeger Legato Strings, selecting the long articulations, and see if that works.

I will try to test Jaeger Legato Strings with the Pixelpoet Trick/Edit when I'm back in town, and have access to my studio. Most likely this coming weekend.

Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## muziksculp (Mar 19, 2022)

Hi @Xabierus Music ,

OK, I spent at least an hour trying to see if I can perform the PixelPoet trick on *JAEGER*'s *Legato Violins* patch. 

But sadly, I kept getting this error message (see pic below) when I tried to switch the mode from DFD to SAMPLER in Kontakt. I think it is related to which samples I selected, I tried several options based on the name of the samples, i.e. the ones with 'leg' in the name, also tried other options, even just selecting specific dynamics, i.e. Dyn 3 only since they seem to be the ones triggered when I play the legato patch, but I just got tired of trying to get it to work. 

This is the message I get after selecting the sample groups that I thought are needed, but it keeps telling me that there are purged samples, and this does not allow me to switch to SAMPLER mode to apply the rest of the steps needed. 

If you are willing to try it, or someone else on this forum on the JAEGER Vlns Legato patch, I would be interested to know if it can be done, and which sample groups need to be selected. 

Cheers,
Muziksculp 

This is the error message I keep getting :


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## muk (Mar 20, 2022)

The error message is pretty specific. Is it possible that you haven't activated all mic positions on the patch you trying the editing on? When selecting articulations from purged mic positions this message would come up.


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## Mr Greg G (Mar 20, 2022)

You can adjust the legato sample transition speed in Jaeger IIRC, so I don’t think this trick would be useful in this case.


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## muziksculp (Mar 20, 2022)

muk said:


> The error message is pretty specific. Is it possible that you haven't activated all mic positions on the patch you trying the editing on? When selecting articulations from purged mic positions this message would come up.


@muk , 

Thanks for the feedback. 

I will look further into this detail.


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## Xabierus Music (Mar 20, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> Hi @Xabierus Music ,
> 
> OK, I spent at least an hour trying to see if I can perform the PixelPoet trick on *JAEGER*'s *Legato Violins* patch.
> 
> ...


wow thank you for trying it out! i tried the same the other day when i wrote on this post because i was getting the same error message in the same specific area (when changing from DFD to Sampler), i thought I was doing something wrong, but i see that it is common in those patches, I will try too the recomendations that are writen below, thanks again for confirming this!

Have a great day !

Xab


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## muziksculp (Mar 20, 2022)

Hi @Xabierus Music ,

I have some very good news for you. 

I finally got the PixelPoet Edit performed on Jaeger Legato Violins, and the difference is again day, and night between the preset legato and the edited version.

I will be posting an audio clip showing both versions in action. Also some helpful notes on how I got it to work. I will need to spend some more time to make sure I got all the details correctly to post the instructions. I think this would be useful info. for Jaeger users, I'm also curious to see how the Celli, and Violas Legatos sound after I edit them. I think it was really worth the time spent trying to improve them using the PixelPoet trick, the built-in 'Sample Start', and 'Legato Smooth' dials don't even get close to what the PielPoet trick offers.

Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## muziksculp (Mar 20, 2022)

Mr Greg G said:


> You can adjust the legato sample transition speed in Jaeger IIRC, so I don’t think this trick would be useful in this case.


Not the case. The PixelPoet edit improves the legatos a lot more than the transition speed dial in Jaeger. I will be posting some audio clips so you can hear the difference.


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## Xabierus Music (Mar 20, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> Hi @Xabierus Music ,
> 
> I have some very good news for you.
> 
> ...


Amazing news ! I suspected that could be a workarround but im too noob in the kontakt background yet to figure it out, this image is already helpfull, i really apreciate your efforts, and congrats for geting it to work, im sure it will sound amazing, i will wait for the clips to see the big difference in the sound transition of the legato patches, again, amazing job! 

have a great day!

Xab


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## muziksculp (Mar 20, 2022)

Xabierus Music said:


> Amazing news ! I suspected that could be a workarround but im too noob in the kontakt background yet to figure it out, this image is already helpfull, i really apreciate your efforts, and congrats for geting it to work, im sure it will sound amazing, i will wait for the clips to see the big difference in the sound transition of the legato patches, again, amazing job!
> 
> have a great day!
> 
> Xab


Hi @Xabierus Music ,


I also used the PixelPoet edit on Audio Imperia's *AREIA Strings* *Legatos*. Again, with greatly improved results compared to the stock legato patches. 

I will be posting a new video during next week, showing the details of how to perform the edits on both Jaeger, and Areia String Legato Patches. Which could also be helpful to use it on other Unlocked Kontakt libraries. 

I will post some audio clips a bit later today showing the improvements this edit offers when compared to the stock legato patches. 

Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## Xabierus Music (Mar 20, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> Hi @Xabierus Music ,
> 
> 
> I also used the PixelPoet edit on Audio Imperia's *AREIA Strings* *Legatos*. Again, with greatly improved results compared to the stock legato patches.
> ...


Wow thats nice, i only have Jaeger by now, but its good to hear that this can be applied to other Audio Imperia Strings, great news !

Ill check those clips as soon as i see them, great work !

Have a great day

Xab


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## Lionel Schmitt (Mar 20, 2022)

The pixelpoet trick is nothing more than telling Kontakt where to start playing the interval (Sample Offset) - in this case earlier than in the stock version. You can do the same with any other articulation, although I found the trick to fail quite often and have my own way of doing it which I'll have to make some videos about at some point.

Afaik the speed knob in Audio Imperias libs does the exact same thing (setting the start point of the intervals) and so do the knobs in the Spitfire libraries I have. So if it sounds different when using the pixelpoet trick that's very strange.

It's very simply stuff and there is nothing magical about the pixelpoet trick. In fact it's just the first step in tweaking legatos. There are other parameters to be tweaked since the trick can also degrade things.
Eventually I'll make videos about all that since I've spend many hours over many days digging much deeper into legato tweaking etc.


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## muziksculp (Mar 20, 2022)

DarkestShadow said:


> So if it sounds different when using the pixelpoet trick that's very strange.


Not just different, but better.


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## muziksculp (Mar 20, 2022)

Hi,

OK, so here is the first comparison audio clip, you will hear the Preset Jaeger Legato Vlns first, then a short silence followed by Jaeger Legato Vlns with PixelPoet Edit.

Both versions use the exact same midi data, and dynamics curves. Both are set to the Classic Mix option. and 31% Vibrato, Reverbs are turned OFF, I'm using an algorithmic Reverb for both that share the same Kontakt instance, and a limiter on the Master Output. The Preset version is set to -250 ms sample start, and 80% Legato Smoothing.

Cheers,
Muziksculp

View attachment Jaeger Pixelpoet Leg Vlns test 2.mp3


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## Xabierus Music (Mar 21, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> Hi,
> 
> OK, so here is the first comparison audio clip, you will hear the Preset Jaeger Legato Vlns first, then a short silence followed by Jaeger Legato Vlns with PixelPoet Edit.
> 
> ...


wow the transitions sounds smoother and softer and gets rid of the classic legato bump built in the original patches, it is clearly an improvement !


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## muziksculp (Mar 21, 2022)

Xabierus Music said:


> wow the transitions sounds smoother and softer and gets rid of the classic legato bump built in the original patches, it is clearly an improvement !


Yes, that's exactly what I hear. You can also adjust the sample start values to get different legato results. I had it set to around 10.6 ms. which is on the conservative side.


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## muziksculp (Mar 23, 2022)

Hi,

OK, so here is an audio clip showing* AREIA Vlns Legato* . (first without, then with PixelPoet Edit improvement). 

You will first hear the stock Vlsn Legato preset, followed by a Harp Gliss sound signaling the end of the first version, and the beginning of the PixelPoet version.


The stock preset is set at -250 ms Sample Start and 80% Legato Smoothing, both set to 33% Vibrato. Exact same dynamics, and midi data. The PixelPoet edited version is set at -125 ms Sample Start and 50% Leg. Smoothing. Both versions are using the Classic Mix setting.

Just a bit of algorithmic reverb, (both preset reverbs turned OFF), and a limiter on master bus, no EQ.

View attachment Areia Leg Vlns Improvement Compared v2.mp3


Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## Pixelpoet1985 (Mar 24, 2022)

Thanks @muziksculp for providing all the information and making the videos!  

Good to see that the "trick" is useful to you and others.


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## Pixelpoet1985 (Mar 24, 2022)

DarkestShadow said:


> It's very simply stuff and there is nothing magical about the pixelpoet trick. In fact it's just the first step in tweaking legatos. There are other parameters to be tweaked since the trick can also degrade things.
> Eventually I'll make videos about all that since I've spend many hours over many days digging much deeper into legato tweaking etc.


It's true, there isn't anything magical about it.  

But, on the other hand, there hasn't been anything or anyone else providing these information before. I don't have any experience with (Kontakt) scripting. I did some google research, experimented with parameters in Kontakt and coincidentally found this "trick" on my own. And decided to share it with others.

Looking forward to your results and your videos.


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## Lionel Schmitt (Mar 24, 2022)

Pixelpoet1985 said:


> It's true, there isn't anything magical about it.
> 
> But, on the other hand, there hasn't been anything or anyone else providing these information before. I don't have any experience with (Kontakt) scripting. I did some google research, experimented with parameters in Kontakt and coincidentally found this "trick" on my own. And decided to share it with others.
> 
> Looking forward to your results and your videos.


Indeed, that's why it shall remain the "pixelpoet trick" :D

I also didn't have a clue about legato tweaking AT ALL before coming across your trick so many thanks for sharing.
It just opened a rabbit hole and now I find myself having gotten pretty deep into legato realizing that literally every library can be improved with the right offset (which is what the trick does mostly) and ADSR settings. Sometimes even SAVED.
Some of what I saw made me worried about the health and sanity of the producers.


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## muziksculp (Mar 27, 2022)

Hi,

Today I tried to see if I can improve the older *Cinematic Strings 2* Legatos using the PixelPoet trick, and I think it does improve the legatos to sound smoother, and less bumpy a bit.

In the audio clip below you will hear the Cinematic Strings 2 Legato Violins 1, first using the stock legato patch, you will then hear a bell indicating the beginning of the Pixelpoet edited version, then the bell playing twice indicating the Start of the PixelPoet version with an added improved Pitchbend modulation to emulate a more emotional/romantic feel to some of the longer notes. I did this because this library doesn't have this type of vibrato, or vibrato control. I think it does make it sound very nice when this type of feel is needed.

Using the Mix Mic, no EQ, Limiter on Master Output, and Algorithmic Reverb, no Reverb from Instruments.

Cheers,
Muziksculp

View attachment Cinematic Strings 2 Leg Improvement.mp3


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## Xabierus Music (Mar 27, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> Hi,
> 
> Today I tried to see if I can improve the older *Cinematic Strings 2* Legatos using the PixelPoet trick, and I think it does improve the legatos to sound smoother, and less bumpy a bit.
> 
> ...


wow the trick really improves the transition sound in this library too, what an amazing technique!


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## muziksculp (Mar 28, 2022)

Hi,

Here is an audio example showing the *Pixelpoet* edit improvement on the *Sonokinetic Orchestral Strings* *Vlns 1 Expressivo articulation*. 

You will hear the stock legato patch played first, then you will hear a bell sound to signal the beginning of the Improved Legato using PixelPoet Edit, then two bells to signal the Improved Legato with some added Pitchbend data emulating a more passionate vibrato performance, it is subtle, but you will hear it if you focus a bit, I could have made it more prominent, but decided to keep it very subtle. 

No EQ used, just a bit of an Algorithmic Reverb, and a Limiter on the Master Output.

View attachment SOS Legato Imp Test.mp3


Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## muziksculp (Mar 31, 2022)

Hi,

Here is the video showing how I went about performing the Pixelpoet for Sonokinetic Orch. Strings Legato.


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## muziksculp (Apr 14, 2022)

Hi,

Here is a Step-By-Step video showing how to perform the PixelPoet Edit to improve the legato strings of Audio Imperia's AREIA Strings library. I used the Celli Legato patch in this video, but you can use the same procedure on the other section of AREIA Strings. 

Please note that the PixelPoet Edit requires that all the samples used for the edit be loaded in RAM, so the improved legato patches will be larger than the standard/preset Legato patches. 

I hope this is helpful. 

Cheers,
Muziksculp


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## Alchemedia (Apr 14, 2022)

Thx @muziksculp!


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## muziksculp (Apr 14, 2022)

Alchemedia said:


> Thx @muziksculp!


You're Very Welcome @Alchemedia


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## NekujaK (Apr 14, 2022)

Many thanks @muziksculp . Your efforts are very much appreciated.


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## muziksculp (Apr 14, 2022)

NekujaK said:


> Many thanks @muziksculp . Your efforts are very much appreciated.


My Pleasure.


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## Ciochi (Apr 15, 2022)

Does this work for the Lite version too?


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## muziksculp (Apr 15, 2022)

Ciochi said:


> Does this work for the Lite version too?


Hi @Ciochi ,

I don't have the Lite version, but I guess it should work for the Lite version as well.


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## Ciochi (Apr 15, 2022)

muziksculp said:


> Hi @Ciochi ,
> 
> I don't have the Lite version, but I guess it should work for the Lite version as well.


I guess I can't. there's no wrench, it's locked by audio imperia, I don't know if I can unblock somehow, but this may be the reason why they didn't answer if the legato was true or script in lite version (I know it's scripted).


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## muziksculp (Apr 15, 2022)

Ciochi said:


> I guess I can't. there's no wrench, it's locked by audio imperia, I don't know if I can unblock somehow, but this may be the reason why they didn't answer if the legato was true or script in lite version (I know it's scripted).


If it is locked you can't edit it. So, the answer is No, you can't apply the Pixelpoet edit to the Lite version.


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