# ARTz•ID & SkiSwitcher2: New Cinematic Studio Strings Script for SS2



## Peter Schwartz (Oct 7, 2016)

Hey Everyone,

------------ The Latest News -------------
*Cinematic Studio Strings Script **for SkiSwitcher2!*
Click Here to jump to the post...


_-------- (OLDER) NEW & FREE SCRIPTS ! ---------_
_*Free Scripts & Updates*_
_Click here to jump to the post..._


_-------- (OLDER) NEWS & EVENTS ---------_
_*Live Demos of SkiSwitcher2 & ARTzID*_
_Hosted by AskAudio.com_
*Monday, December 19th at 12:00 PM Pacific Time*

 *Thanks to everyone who attended! For those who missed it, an archive of the broadcast will be available in the near future.*






During the demonstration I'll be covering all the major features of both systems, including:

• The Fundamentals: The notes of your music self-select their own articulations.
• Multi-timbral articulation recording on a single track
• Polyphonic articulation switching
• Live-playing of articulations that can't be switched by what's playing from your track.
• Creation of Hybrid (combination) patches with all articulations playable on one track.
• Editing: notes immediately sound with the correct articulation when you click on them in the piano roll, score, or event list.
• Offline Editing: changing articulations after-the-fact

Time permitting I'll cover other features of these systems, including specialized scripts for Cinematic Studio Strings (CSS) and Vienna Instruments. *Live Q/A throughout the webinar.*

All attendees will receive a discount code towards the purchase of either system, good through the end of this year, and a randomly chosen attendee will receive a free copy of *ARTzID*.


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## Ashermusic (Oct 7, 2016)

OOH!

Folks, if you are a Logic user, you want to do this!


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## Softmo06004 (Oct 7, 2016)

Hello Peter, i'm very interested in this sort of tools. I just wonder if it is possible to choose the organisation of the keyswitch. Let me give you an exemple. If i load 3 instruments in one Kontakt, let's say Spitfire Chamber Strings. In Channel 1, core palette, in Channel 2, décorative palette and in channel 3, performance palette. Can i organize my keyswitch as i want? For exemple, the 2 nd keyswitch of channel 1 in C-2, the first keyswitch of channel 3 in C#-2, the fifth keyswitch of channel 2 in D-2...? Infact, it's for one of my client who have both, spitfire banks and ARTzID and i want to prepare for him easy channel strips
Best!!


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## wbacer (Oct 7, 2016)

All signed up, thanks Peter, looking forward to the webinar.


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## Peter Schwartz (Oct 7, 2016)

Hi Softmo,

With both systems you can do what you described for Spitfire instruments.

With SkiSwitcher2 (SS2) you can map each channel to a different UACC value, and it's really easy to set up for use with one palette. However, SS2 also lets you combine a palette with individual articulations (brushes) in the same instance of Kontakt and play them all from one track. To do this you just load up the palette (ch1) and assign brushes to other MIDI channels. The palette articulations can be remapped in any order right from the Script. And simply by using ">" as the first character in the name of your brush articulations, they become automatically assigned to higher numbered channels, up to a total of 16 articulations (the max # of articulations supported by SS2).

So with SS2 you can intermingle articulations from the palette and the brushes in any order you want. Ch 1 and 2 can be palette sounds. Ch 3 can be a brush. Ch 4 and 5 can be palette sounds, Ch 6 can be another brush. And so on...

With ARTzID, the remapping capabilities for UACC instruments are far more extensive. You can combine up to 16 different palettes and/or brushes in a single instance of Kontakt and access all of those articulations from a single track.


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## marco berco (Oct 8, 2016)

I already use ARTz-ID from Peter Schwartz for all my sample librairies. It has a small learning curve to be accustomed with but nothing really difficult, it is really worth the try and it is affordable for what you get. 

I suggest the purchase of ARTz-ID more than the Key Switcher 2 as it is a lot more powerfull and offers much more combinations for the few bucks you add...

Peter has been helpful to be efficient with ART-z-ID and I am really grateful for having helped me to discover this new world. I don't use keyswitches anymore now, and the use of the Spitfire Audio UACC has becoming a joy to work with.

I have redone all my templates and now I could not work without this software, so easy to manage and no more KS headaches. I have spared about half of my time programming the KS and so on, then concentrating more on my musical compositions and orchestrations.

Thumbs up Peter !


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## Ashermusic (Oct 8, 2016)

If like me, however, you never need more than 16 articulations, there is a beautiful simplicity to the SkiSwitcher 2.


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## resound (Oct 8, 2016)

The webinar sounds fun, I'm looking forward to it!


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## Softmo06004 (Oct 8, 2016)

Peter Schwartz said:


> Hi Softmo,
> 
> With both systems you can do what you described for Spitfire instruments.
> 
> ...


Thank you for your quick answer!!.
My client only have ARTzID but i surely be interested in buying one for me
I have understand the way to do this...
I can do that for Spitfire...only? ( i mean thru UACC)?


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## marco berco (Oct 8, 2016)

Ashermusic said:


> If like me, however, you never need more than 16 articulations, there is a beautiful simplicity to the SkiSwitcher 2.


I totally agree with you Jay, if you don't need more than 16 articulations, Skiswitcher 2 will make it and more easily, but in my case, and depending the situation and the library, I am fond of ARTz-ID for what it is giving me.

I explain : when using let say the Berlin Strings, and the Violins for example there is KS patches for Longs, Shorts, Dynamics and up and down runs, thus making 5 potential KS patches.

For using Orchestral Tools Strings I am using the Combinatrix within ARTZ-ID, where you can use patches with up to 12 articulations, thus making the full template at 60 articulations, up to 12 articulations to channel 1 concerning the longs, up to 12 articulations for channel 2 concerning the shorts and so on. But we don't generally need so much, so where ARTz-ID helps a lot, even if you don't need more than 16 articulations is the way you can use it without using any KS.

Indeed, if I want only 3 longs on the first three slots selected on channel 1 and 4 shorts on the first four slots selected on channel 2, you attribute the ID 1-2-3 to the longs and 4-5-6-7 to the shorts with the help of the Scripter on the left hand side.

If you use the OT KS patches, you can't do that as Skiswitcher 2 reacts only to channels and you are obliged to input KS on each channel for longs, for shorts and so on, you can only change for Longs or Shorts using two channels.

The only way to use OT strings for example with Skiswitcher 2 is to load individual patches up to 16 articulations, so it is more up to you to decide the number of articulations needed so as the method of woking which will fit your personal preferences.

ARTZ-ID is particularly helpful for those using the UACC with Spitfire Audio as Peter already made a special patch for ARTz-ID, here you don't deal with channels (all the patches are set in channel 1 with UACC activated but you only deal with each number for UACC getting an ID).

Jay is right in his observations (and I can tell his advices are always wise) as we seldom use more than 16 articulations and that SkiSwitcher 2 looks much more easy to use for one who start this method using this software.

In fact it depends only on your choices. I directly started with ARTz-ID from the beginning and now I am so well accustomed to it that I wouldn't like to change for less but it's up to you !

Indeed, everything is easy as long as you now how to use it... Peter's advices helped me a lot for using ARTz-ID at the beginning, this I can really say.


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## Peter Schwartz (Oct 8, 2016)

Hey Everyone,

@marco berco and Ashermusic , thanks for your endorsements and explanations!

Judging by my correspondence with many of my composer/customers (a really nice side-benefit of having this little business) there are indeed plenty of composers -- including several A-listers -- for whom a 16 articulation maximum just ain't a problem. They just prefer not having a ton of options. And there _is_ a certain simplicity to SS2 that facilitates that. On the flip side, ARTzID was created in response to those composers for whom 16 just aren't enough.

It's really quite interesting to see how individual needs vary. If nothing else, I think the fact that both systems sell equally well proves they there's no right or wrong way to play this orchestral samples game. And it doesn't feel wrong to suggest that that is exactly as it should be.

By the same token, ARTzID's ability to address far more articulations per plugin doesn't have to be exercised. It's like having a car with a speedo that goes up to 140 MPH; it's nice to know you _can_ go that fast, like, to outrun the cops on occasion  but it works just fine at regular highway speeds. 

@Softmo06004 , I'll answer your question in a separate post.

Cheers!


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## garyhiebner (Oct 8, 2016)

Awesome-ness! Can't wait for the webinar.

These are awesome tools to use with Logic and your sample libraries. I've been using the SkiSwitcher2, and it has really changed the way I use my sample library instruments. Much easier now to switch articulations in Logic.


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## Ashermusic (Oct 8, 2016)

Peter Schwartz said:


> Hey Everyone,
> 
> dual needs vary. If nothing else, I think the fact that both systems sell equally well proves they there's no right or wrong way to play this orchestral samples game. And it doesn't feel wrong to suggest that that is exactly as it should be.
> 
> B



Both solutions are brilliant, so horses for courses. Either way, you cannot go wrong IMHO.


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## Peter Schwartz (Oct 9, 2016)

Now you're makin' me blush, Jay!

@Softmo06004... regarding remapping articulations, I've already covered UACC a few posts up. 

For both systems, the order of articulations in multi-timbral plugin setups are determined by the MIDI channel assigned to each patch in the plugin itself. That's the most efficient and straight-forward approach. 

Regarding keyswitching patches... SkiSwitcher2's "hybrid instrument" feature lets you do this to a certain extent, but I don't have any remapping scripts, per se, and that's because I've only had one or two people ask for such a thing. Sure, it's a good idea, but there just hasn't been much call for that kind of feature. I think this is because most people are already used to the order of articulations as preprogrammed in keyswitching patch presets and continue to use them that way even when being driven by my systems. However, it would be easy enough for me to create a Script for both systems that let you remap articulations for single keyswitching patches.


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## Softmo06004 (Oct 9, 2016)

Peter Schwartz said:


> Now you're makin' me blush, Jay!
> 
> @Softmo06004... regarding remapping articulations, I've already covered UACC a few posts up.
> 
> ...



Ok, thank you very much Peter! I 'm very surprised that so few people are interested in working with optimized keyswitch setup but i understand that you can't waste time to adapt your tools for each of us That make sense!!
Thank you anyway for the time spent for the answer!
Best.


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## OleJoergensen (Oct 12, 2016)

It was a great masterclass. Thank you Peter and MacProVideo!


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## garyhiebner (Oct 12, 2016)

Awesome webinar Peter and AskVideo! Can't wait for the next one


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## wbacer (Oct 12, 2016)

Excellent as usual, thanks Peter. One more thing to learn.


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## resound (Oct 12, 2016)

Great stuff! Now time to learn JavaScript....


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## Peter Schwartz (Oct 12, 2016)

Thank you all for attending! BTW, the script I showed you how to create bore fruit! Turns out Jay (ashermusic) needed a split keyboard setup for live performance: bass in the LH and the ability to choose different sounds in the RH. So with a little modification of the script (substituting menus for the sliders)... Voila!






Looking forward to seeing some of you at the next one. Cheers!


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## kclements (Oct 13, 2016)

Rats, I missed it. Hopefully I can catch the replay.


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## Saxer (Oct 20, 2016)

Is the webinar video uploaded somewhere? I missed the live stream too...


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## Peter Schwartz (Oct 20, 2016)

Thanks for your interest KC and Saxer. Not sure what's going on with the replays, but I'm in touch with the powers that be and hopefully I'll get an answer soon.


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## 5Lives (Oct 20, 2016)

Would be great to see the replay! Also, is there a way to modify SkiSwitcher to use Program Change instead of Channel? PC can be tweaked in the MIDI editor, which is really handy.


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## Peter Schwartz (Oct 20, 2016)

Hi 5Lives,

Sure, that would be possible. It would just take a little modification and voila! But... 

...that's not really the design principle behind SkiSwitcher (or ARTzID). Both systems are designed to embed the actual notes of your music with articulation-selection information -- so that every note selects its own articulation as soon as it plays. And if I was to incorporate this feature, it would likely kill off one of the coolest features of the system: letting you select articulations to play live that can't be "switched out from under you" by what plays back from the track. Here's what I mean...

Let's say you've recorded 8 measures of sustained strings. You've hit stop and you're pondering what to play next. Idea ! At bar 9 you want to continue with pizzicato! So go ahead and select pizzicato. But the pizz are a bit laggy, as pizzicato samples tend to be. So... start playback from bar 1 and as the track plays down, "warm up" with the pizz to get into the rhythm. Indeed, you'll hear your sustained strings playing back from the track as you play pizz live. (BTW, this capability works or any patch type, including keyswitching and UACC patches).

What this means is that you don't have to hit a last-second "keyswitch" or program change just before bar 9 to record a change of articulation. The notes you're playing live _already_ sound with pizzicato. And if you use capture recording, you don't even have to go into record to record the pizz part. All you have to do is play.

This is one of the very freeing aspects of SkiSwitcher2 and ARTzID -- that you're no longer bound by the limitations of articulation-switching technologies. Sounds won't switch up on you, you can play (and record) multiple articulations for any patch on the same track, and every note sounds with its own articulation as soon as you click on it in any editor.

So coming back around full circle, if I was to offer the feature you're asking for, those kinds of benefits would no longer be possible.


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## 5Lives (Oct 20, 2016)

Good points Peter - thank you for the explanation!


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## Peter Schwartz (Oct 23, 2016)

Delays, delays...  For those who asked about viewing replays of my AskAudio webinars (the Score Editor and MIDI Scripting in Logic), looks like it's going to take them longer than expected to post them online. I'll post again when they do eventually become available.


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## khollister (Oct 30, 2016)

Question - Does a ARTzID license also include the ability to use SkiSwitcher (in case I want to regress to a more simpler time)?


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## Peter Schwartz (Oct 30, 2016)

Hi khollister,

The two systems are separate products, though SS2 is fully backward compatible with ARTzID. If you were to purchase SS2 first, I offer a discount for updating to ARTzID that ends up being just a few dollars more than the cost of ARTzID alone. So far, no one's purchased them the other way around, but if that's what you wanted to do I'd offer the same deal. You can get in touch with me about this via the contact page at http://www.skiswitcher.com/contact


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## khollister (Oct 30, 2016)

Peter Schwartz said:


> Hi khollister,
> 
> The two systems are separate products, though SS2 is fully backward compatible with ARTzID. If you were to purchase SS2 first, I offer a discount for updating to ARTzID that ends up being just a few dollars more than the cost of ARTzID alone. So far, no one's purchased them the other way around, but if that's what you wanted to do I'd offer the same deal. You can get in touch with me about this via the contact page at http://www.skiswitcher.com/contact



Email sent

Keith


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## Peter Schwartz (Nov 20, 2016)

Hey Everyone,

I've got some updates and new free scripts for ARTzID customers!

• *The ReMapper Script*
Lets you remap any ID to any other ID. Useful for creating consistent articulation layouts between patches. Also useful for selecting the same articulations from multiple locations (buttons or keys) on your articulation-switching device.






• *Update *(v1.2) *for Cinematic Studio Strings (CSS)*
Now that Cinematic has issued an update fixing the vibrato/crossfade issues, I've updated the CSS Script for ARTz•ID as well. The initial version of my CSS Script was actually a bundle of two scripts, the second being a "fixer script" which worked around the CSS issues. Now that those problems are solved I've eliminated the fixer Script and revamped the main CSS Script a bit. I've also improved performance of the one-finger trills feature.

If you're an ARTz•ID customer and want the *UACC Mapper Script* (super powerful!) or the *Cinematic Strings 2 Script*, they're yours free for the asking!

ARTz•ID customers can request any of these Scripts by writing to me via the Contact tab on the http://www.skiswitcher.com (www.skiswitcher.com) website.


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## OleJoergensen (Nov 20, 2016)

Thats great Peter. Thank you for making ower workflow faster .


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## Peter Schwartz (Nov 21, 2016)

BTW, there's also a *SkiSwitcher2* version of the *UACC Mapper Script*, free for SkiSwitcher2 customers. Amongst other things, this Script lets you combine a palette and multiple individual articulations (brushes) in the same instance of Kontakt, resulting in an aggregate patch that has greater expressive range than just the palette itself. And of course, all articulations are playable from the same track (up to 16).

SkiSwitcher2 customers can request this Script by writing to me via the Contact tab on the http://www.skiswitcher.com/ (www.skiswitcher.com) website.


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## Peter Schwartz (Nov 23, 2016)

It's... *BLACK FRIDAY SALE TIME*!


Save over 25% on ARTz•ID and Upgrades
Save over 20% on SkiSwitcher2
*http://www.skiswitcher.com (www.skiswitcher.com)*
Articulation Switching Systems for Logic Pro X


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## Takabuntu (Nov 24, 2016)

Thanks Peter!!! Heading to your site right now


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## Peter Schwartz (Nov 26, 2016)

Today, Saturday, is the final day of my Black Friday sale. Ends Sunday, 12 midnight Pacific Time.
http://www.skiswitcher.com (www.skiswitcher.com)


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## kclements (Dec 5, 2016)

Hey Peter,

Any word on the replay of your web video?

Thanks


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## WindcryMusic (Dec 5, 2016)

kclements said:


> Hey Peter,
> 
> Any word on the replay of your web video?



Same question here. I have definite interest in these products, and the price seems very reasonable, but I'm as yet quite unclear on how these work and what difference exactly they could potentially make in my workflow. I need to see some video of them in actual use before I would decide to jump in.


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## Morodiene (Dec 5, 2016)

Being able to take any patches and make them a keyswitch patch is very helpful for playability. I'm still learning the ropes, but Peter's manuals are very helpful - and he's very good about tech support. A video would be great, however.


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## Mishabou (Dec 5, 2016)

Peter Schwartz said:


> Today, Saturday, is the final day of my Black Friday sale. Ends Sunday, 12 midnight Pacific Time.
> http://www.skiswitcher.com (www.skiswitcher.com)



Hey Peter...i know this is a long shot but any chance you can port Skiswitcher to Pro Tools ? I will buy 3 copies guaranteed


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## kclements (Dec 6, 2016)

WindcryMusic said:


> Same question here. I have definite interest in these products, and the price seems very reasonable, but I'm as yet quite unclear on how these work and what difference exactly they could potentially make in my workflow. I need to see some video of them in actual use before I would decide to jump in.



Maybe you have seen these already, but if not, here is an explanation from Peter's website. This is a basic idea of what the two scripts do and how they may work for you:

http://www.skiswitcher.com/how

Also, you can see this SkiSwitcher review from Jay: https://ask.audio/articles/review-skiswitcher-2-for-logic-pro-x


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## WindcryMusic (Dec 6, 2016)

kclements said:


> Maybe you have seen these already, but if not, here is an explanation from Peter's website. This is a basic idea of what the two scripts do and how they may work for you:
> 
> http://www.skiswitcher.com/how



I hadn't seen that ... thanks, it helps explain the functionality, but it also raises new concerns. I hadn't realized that the Scripter plugin is being leveraged for this, and I've read more than once that Scripter puts an abnormally heavy load on the CPU when running any sort of semi-complex script. Now I'm worried that this approach might not be something that would be usable on more than a few tracks without hampering my DAW's performance.


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## Ashermusic (Dec 6, 2016)

WindcryMusic said:


> I hadn't seen that ... thanks, it helps explain the functionality, but it also raises new concerns. I hadn't realized that the Scripter plugin is being leveraged for this, and I've read more than once that Scripter puts an abnormally heavy load on the CPU when running any sort of semi-complex script. Now I'm worried that this approach might not be something that would be usable on more than a few tracks without hampering my DAW's performance.



Wrong, I run a ton of them.


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## WindcryMusic (Dec 6, 2016)

Ashermusic said:


> Wrong, I run a ton of them.



Sounds promising, thanks!


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## kclements (Dec 6, 2016)

Ashermusic said:


> Wrong, I run a ton of them.



Me Too - I'm sure I don't run as many as Jay does - But I am starting to incorporate SkiSwitcher more and more, and haven't seen any CPU load issues.


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## resound (Dec 6, 2016)

Ashermusic said:


> Wrong, I run a ton of them.


Same here


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## Morodiene (Dec 6, 2016)

Ashermusic said:


> Wrong, I run a ton of them.


Also there are certain modifications you can do to reduce the amount of CPU usage if that's a problem. One is only loading those CC's that you need for each art (rather than have all available for all possible arts).

That, and of course, the usual recourses you have to adjust things like buffer size and caching. I'm using this with Play (HWO) and had to adjust some things, but I'm not sure how much of that is due to the Artz-ID scriptor or using HWO since I just got both. But I've been monitoring CPU usage as I'm doing this, and it's really not been touched much.


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## Peter Schwartz (Dec 8, 2016)

Hi All, been traveling a bit, hence my delayed reply(s).

@kclements, I'm not sure what the deal is with the replay of that video. I'll make enquiries again.

On the subject of Scripters, Morodiene has pointed out the main _potential_ source of CPU hits with Scripts: the CC Cloner. This Script takes CC's on ch1 and duplicates them on multiple (selectable) MIDI channels. It's only applicable for use with multi-timbral patches, part of the scheme for letting you record multiple individual articulations on a single track. The Cloner eliminates the need to record separate CC's on separate tracks for each articulation. But I stress "potential source of CPU hits" because it appears to be minimal on most systems.

But for "just in case" situations... the Cloner defaults to loading up in a data thinning mode so that it has the least amount of work to do. Also, a series of menus lets you tailor which (if any) CC's are cloned on each channel.

For Kontakt instruments I include a Kontakt version of the Cloner coded by Mario Krušelj. This Script loads directly into Kontakt so that Kontakt (very CPU efficient!) does the CC cloning job, not Logic.

As Jay and Resound pointed out, they use a bunch of Cloners with no problem.

There's only one other aspect of ARTzID in particular that can (theoretically) use up a bit of CPU -- and that's to do with the articulation name displays (there are two). To be on the safe side, I built in a feature that lets you individually turn off the "Live + Track" articulation indicator, specifically for CPU-saving reasons. But in retrospect, I think my adding that feature was overkill/over-cautious because I'm not running the most powerful system and I've yet to find any reason to disable those displays because of suspected CPU-suck.

(to be continued)


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## Peter Schwartz (Dec 8, 2016)

Thanks, Morodiene, for mentioning my tech support. Though I'm a busy guy, I'm committed to supporting my customers, and corresponding with them is something I enjoy. In fact, many of the latest features of both systems came about from discussions I've had with customers about wanting certain capabilities.

One or two other notes about CPU usage... It's not possible to build a system within Logic itself (as are both SkiSwitcher2 and ARTzID) to accommodate 3rd party plugins and be entirely CPU-transparent. All plugins consume CPU to one degree or another, but I've done my best to code the Scripts for minimal CPU usage even when using multiple Scripters on a channel.

In fact, with SS2, if you're running multi-timbral patches and using the Kontakt CC Cloners, technically you don't even need a Script (here the Script only displays articulation names). But even with the Script in place, no actual MIDI processing takes place so in the big scheme of things the Script is more or less passive.

And with ARTzID, the equivalent setup (and Script) simply converts articulation ID values to MIDI channels -- performed by essentially one line of code and thus absolutely minimal CPU usage.

HTH!

Peter


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## Peter Schwartz (Dec 8, 2016)

Anhtu said:


> Hey Peter...i know this is a long shot but any chance you can port Skiswitcher to Pro Tools ? I will buy 3 copies guaranteed



Ah, if only it were possible... There's no form of Articulation ID built into PT, and, no Scripting capability that would let me snag that information and convert it to keyswitches or CC#32 messages to send to a patch. IOW, the system has to provide patches with the articulation-switching events they normally need to see. That's the role of the Scripters in most cases.

And even for a MIDI channel-based system such as SkiSwitcher2, where the MIDI channel determines the articulation played by each note, here's how that plays out (or, sadly, not) with PT...

PT doesn't seem to record (or provide access to) the MIDI channel of what you record. The channel is determined at the output of each track. Now, it's entirely possible to use various means to encode notes on different channels on the way in to PT. Here the channel is used as an indicator ("ID") for which articulation you want, and notes on different channels would then feed into PT as you play and record. But ultimately, PT would re-channelize those notes on the way out of the track to whatever channel setting is set for the track, making the whole exercise a moot point. And then (sigh) there's no Scripting capability available to let me detect the channel and in turn provide keyswitches or CC#32 messages to the plugin. Further(sigh)more, when it comes to multi-timbral plugins, notes on different MIDI channels intended to target different articulations in a plugin would all end up being spit out on the channel of the track too.


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## Morodiene (Dec 10, 2016)

> The live demo/webinar of http://www.skiswitcher.com/ (SkiSwitcher2) and http://www.skiswitcher.com/ (ARTzID) I posted about previously has been postponed until December. Watch this space for details.



Any word on this? I've been using it and so far it's working great, but I feel as though something like this would really help me utilize all that's available.


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## Peter Schwartz (Dec 10, 2016)

Indeed! I should know (fingers crossed) by early next week about the date for this month.


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## wbacer (Dec 10, 2016)

If you are running Logic and you are not using SkiSwitcher or even better ARTzID, all I have to ask is why?
Logic, enhanced with SkiSwitcher or ARTzID is how Logic should have been designed in the first place. 
If other software developers provided support half as good as the support Peter provides, we would never have to worry about our systems going down and we could just focus on writing music. IMHO
And Peter has never given me any free software, although he should.


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## Heinigoldstein (Dec 11, 2016)

wbacer said:


> If you are running Logic and you are not using SkiSwitcher or even better ARTzID, all I have to ask is why?
> Logic, enhanced with SkiSwitcher or ARTzID is how Logic should have been designed in the first place.
> If other software developers provided support half as good as the support Peter provides, we would never have to worry about our systems going down and we could just focus on writing music. IMHO
> And Peter has never given me any free software, although he should.



Absolutely true. I tried SkiSwitcher 2 years ago and it speeded up my workflow dramatically. I never did any project with a big template without it from this time on. I own ARTzID too, but still stick to SkiSwitcher, because it is so easy to use and 90% 16 articulations is enough for me. But I´m sure ARTzID is great too and it´s time will come within my template. 

And yes, Peters support is great. Sounds like an advertisement in a cheap shopping channel, but it´s the truth


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## WindcryMusic (Dec 11, 2016)

wbacer said:


> If you are running Logic and you are not using SkiSwitcher or even better ARTzID, all I have to ask is why?
> Logic, enhanced with SkiSwitcher or ARTzID is how Logic should have been designed in the first place.
> If other software developers provided support half as good as the support Peter provides, we would never have to worry about our systems going down and we could just focus on writing music. IMHO
> And Peter has never given me any free software, although he should.



I watched the available videos on these utilities, and honestly I still haven't been swayed to try them. What I see so far is something that adds another layer of complexity and potential erroneous behavior ... to basically replicate essentially the same workflow that I already have. So I continue to await the expected webinar video to at last show me the error of my ways.


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## Ashermusic (Dec 11, 2016)

WindcryMusic said:


> I watched the available videos on these utilities, and honestly I still haven't been swayed to try them. What I see so far is something that adds another layer of complexity and potential erroneous behavior ... to basically replicate essentially the same workflow that I already have. So I continue to await the expected webinar video to at last show me the error of my ways.



If you are using Logic rather than Cubase then unless you are using a third party solution, you CANNOT be replicating what they allow you to do. And The SkiSwitcher is very uninvasive, making things more simple, not more complicated.


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## WindcryMusic (Dec 11, 2016)

Ashermusic said:


> If you are using Logic rather than Cubase then unless you are using a third party solution, you CANNOT be replicating what they allow you to do. And The SkiSwitcher is very uninvasive, making things more simple, not more complicated.



One of these days I'll probably agree wth you on that.


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## Ashermusic (Dec 11, 2016)

WindcryMusic said:


> One of these days I'll probably agree wth you on that.



It is not a subjective opinion, it is empirically factual. Whether your workflow requires what it adds is subjective.


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## WindcryMusic (Dec 11, 2016)

Ashermusic said:


> It is not a subjective opinion, it is empirically factual. Whether your workflow requires what it adds is subjective, but the statement that I made is not and I don't mean to be insulting, but any other opinion demonstrates lack of knowledge about what Logic Pro can and cannot do.
> 
> As the author of three Logic books and countless articles published articles on it, I think I can be considered credible.



Oh, trust me, I'm not arguing any of that. But okay then, let's dive into my specific concerns then (so you can tell me more specifically where I'm in error instead of telling me I'm just uninformed in general, hehe).

My main concern with Skiswitcher, at least as far as I understand it, is related entirely to my workflow. I do not set up pre-existing templates, because I don't like how long it takes to load a project that has a bunch of tracks (or articulation) I'm not even going to use (I often have to squeeze my musical efforts into small slices of time, and I don't want to spend half of those time slices waiting for a project to load). As such, each time I would want a set of articulations, it appears to me that I'd need to set up a Kontakt instance with multiple individual articulation patches on different channels, and then possibly edit a script to give me meaningful names for those channels. That seems like a lot of work, that I don't have to do up front when I use built-in key switches (especially those based on CC values, which I use whenever available because they do some degree of back-seek when starting playback at an arbitrary location), often with a custom Lemur template that is setup to match that set of articulations, which I call up whenever I'm working on that track. I get that the use of MIDI channels by Skiswitcher entirely eliminates any issues with articulation selection when starting playback at an arbitrary point, but that's not as big of an issue for me as the setup time, or the potential loading time if a large template that has such setups already.

Conversely, my main concern with ARTzID is with the use of the Logic articulation ID. I freely admit that I am largely ignorant of this particular feature of Logic, but from my (possibly uninformed) viewpoint based upon things I have read, it appears to me this feature isn't really supported well by Apple, and I am wary of a 3rd party utility building upon something that I don't trust Apple to support or even keep around should they decide to do away with it in one of their "simplicity" binges. Beyond that, I also don't fully grasp how articulation IDs would be used to select articulations in Kontakt - for example, I'm concerned that using the articulation ID on each note to select an articulation in the sample library may result in a barrage of articulation selection messages coming into the library's scripts and at the same time as the associated notes, and I already know that some of my libraries don't deal well with either of those things (e.g., they need the articulation change to arrive some number of ms ahead of the notes that intend to use that articulation). I'd need to know more about how ARTzID translates articulation IDs into something that the sample library can use in order to cease being concerned about this and purchase the utility ... which is precisely why I'm hoping for a webinar video to explain this better.


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## Ashermusic (Dec 11, 2016)

WindcryMusic said:


> My main concern with Skiswitcher, at least as far as I understand it, is related entirely to my workflow. I do not set up pre-existing templates,



Then it is not for you. But if you ever decide to user Vienna Ensemble Pro for orchestral templates so that you don't have the load times you dislike, then it will be very valuable.

I have said however before, and I will again, that impatience is the malaise of our era. The ONLY reason I am a guy people hire to help them with technology is due to my patience, not my brains or native ability.


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## Morodiene (Dec 11, 2016)

For me, I really like the idea of making any of my articulations into a keyswitch. I don't use VEPro (yet), and I'm not at the point where I use templates. But the playability aspect helps with recording to get as close to the sound I want when playing. That reduces the amount of time spent tweaking, or recording in little sections for each individual articulation.

But obviously, it's not useful for all workflows, so it does depend on what you're doing and what you need.


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## WindcryMusic (Dec 11, 2016)

Ashermusic said:


> Then it is not for you. But if you ever decide to user Vienna Ensemble Pro for orchestral templates so that you don't have the load times you dislike, then it will be very valuable.



Alas, I have a different issue with VEPro. If only it weren't for the iLok requirement (and I've covered my reasons for strenuously avoiding iLok and PACE-laden software previously on this forum so I'm not going to go into them again), I probably would be using templates; I have a 2nd iMac with a broken display (but otherwise fully functional) just sitting here that would be ideal for VEPro, and a gigabit network to make the connection. But as things are, I have to have my primary iMac loading and running everything … which is part of what makes templates impractical for me.


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## procreative (Dec 11, 2016)

WindcryMusic said:


> My main concern with Skiswitcher, at least as far as I understand it, is related entirely to my workflow. I do not set up pre-existing templates, because I don't like how long it takes to load a project that has a bunch of tracks (or articulation) I'm not even going to use (I often have to squeeze my musical efforts into small slices of time, and I don't want to spend half of those time slices waiting for a project to load). As such, each time I would want a set of articulations, it appears to me that I'd need to set up a Kontakt instance with multiple individual articulation patches on different channels, and then possibly edit a script to give me meaningful names for those channels.



Just a tip in case you had not thought of it. You can set up a track, say a strip with Kontakt in it and say for example Berlin Strings Violin 1 Keyswitch Patch, add the Midi FX and any other FX routing etc. Then save it as a patch in Logic.

That way if you start a new project and want to use said instrument just add a blank track then recall that patch via the Library inside the User presets folder (its the icon that looks like an In Tray).

Me personally, I think this system is great. But I am still unsure of using the Event Editor to change articulation as it does not give any clues as to which articulation is being triggered and although the system has a Smart Controls option I am not too keen on them as its not very efficient use of the screen estate.

I like the precision it offers, but I am currently using an automation based alternative and I like the visual feedback you get in the track automation showing the articulation name.

If only there were a system that combined the best of both. The precision of note based data encoded with changes with the feedback of the automation lane in the track.


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## WindcryMusic (Dec 11, 2016)

procreative said:


> Just a tip in case you had not thought of it. You can set up a track, say a strip with Kontakt in it and say for example Berlin Strings Violin 1 Keyswitch Patch, add the Midi FX and any other FX routing etc. Then save it as a patch in Logic.



About a year ago I went through and set up patches like this for every one of my main sample libraries, with this same thought in mind. Hundreds upon hundreds of patches.

Unfortunately, my attempts at actually using them thereafter revealed widespread problems with Logic's implementation of patches. Aspects of the patches not loading at random, samples occasionally not loading in Kontakt, and the resulting tracks proved to not be portable from my laptop to my main studio computer even where sample libraries were located in exactly the same location on both hard drives. It was pretty frustrating for me after having put all of that time into setting up a patch library, and I'm disinclined to revisit the idea as a result. Instead, I've been concentrating my attempts at streamlining my workflow to making greater use of Lemur templates to control articulations.


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## Peter Schwartz (Dec 11, 2016)

Wow, so much to reply to! First of all, thank you Wayne and Heini and everyone else for your very kind comments!

@WindcryMusic -- I'll address your concerns below.

*Templates*
As @procreative pointed out, you don't _have_ to work with an established template to use either system. You can indeed set up your instrument channels in advance (or on the fly), save channel strip settings or patches for them, and recall them a la carte into a fresh project. The only requirement, and it's no big deal by any stretch, is that your fresh project contain the Macro (an environment element). And getting that to happen is as simple as using the supplied Install project as your blank project. Thus, "fresh project" = Install project. Easy peasy.

*Naming Articulations*
Yes, it takes work to enter the names, but it's a one-time thing you do for each patch. And when patches from the same library have similar layouts as do Vienna or Berlin, there's an approach you can take for saving lots of time... Let's take keyswitching Berlin woodwinds patches. They all have the same layout. So, you load up the piccolo and enter the names for its articulations. Then save a channel strip setting (css) for it. Now recall that css on a new track, swap out the instrument patch with flute, and re-save it under that new name. Repeat for the rest of the woodwinds. Easy.

*Articulation ID*
Here I have to correct you on your outlook. Apple/Logic fully supports Articulation ID -- something I can state with 100% confidence. First of all, it's the basis for drum selection in Drummer Tracks. That's a very big deal, and it's all done with Articulation ID. Additionally, EXS-24 patches named with the "+" character all rely on Articulation ID for switching. In short, any fears that Articulation ID is unsupported are entirely unwarranted.

Besides, I wouldn't put a system out on the market and ask people to pay for it based on unreliable or unsupported technology. That's just askin' for trouble. Trust me , ARTzID is not a science experiment. 

*Articulation ID --> Articulation Selection*
I accomplish this with Scripts that detect the ID for each note and in response (and only on an as-needed basis) generate the kinds of articulation-switching events your patches need to see. Those events are sent to your plugins behind-the-scenes, entirely within the channel strips. So what you see in your score/piano roll/event list are just notes with an ID. And what you get is flawless articulation switching.

This approach to articulation switching also means you can select a different articulation in advance of playing in a new part and NOT have it switched out from under you by other articulations playing back from your track. I talk about this earlier in the thread.

_to be continued..._


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## WindcryMusic (Dec 11, 2016)

Peter Schwartz said:


> I accomplish this with Scripts that detect the ID for each note and in response (and only on an as-needed basis) generate the kinds of articulation-switching events your patches need to see. Those events are sent to your plugins behind-the-scenes, entirely within the channel strips. So what you see in your score/piano roll/event list are just notes with an ID. And what you get is flawless articulation switching.
> 
> This approach to articulation switching also means you can select a different articulation in advance of playing in a new part and NOT have it switched out from under you by other articulations playing back from your track. I talk about this earlier in the thread.



Thanks for responding, Peter!

So, since I think I'm more interested in ARTzID, let me concentrate on that. The first paragraph quoted above (and specifically the "on an as-needed basis" comment) encourages me to feel confident that ARTzID is smart enough to not spam articulation selections to the library for each note with that ID. That's great news, but I'm still concerned about the other issue I mentioned, which is that some of my sample libraries (and that includes some well known ones) can't switch the articulation instantly, so I find I need to trigger the articulation change before any notes for that articulation by some fraction of a beat. Does ARTzID deal with that, and how? Maybe you can address this in a follow-up?

Thanks again!


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## Peter Schwartz (Dec 11, 2016)

_...continued from above..._

*Automation-Based Articulation Switching*
There are tons of downsides to using this approach. To begin... using automation means that the articulation-switching instructions are separate from the notes. So if you want to move or copy notes, you have to also ensure that the automation is moved as well. That's not always a straight-forward operation. And changing the tempo of a track after-the-fact becomes an articulation-switching nightmare. With either SS2 or ARTzID, there's no distinction between a note and the articulation it sounds with, and that's how it should be IMO.

Second... If you've ever tried using a system where automation is used for articulation selection... well, I find it to be an absolute nightmare to change the articulation choices after the fact. Moving automation points for articulation names is finicky as hell. But I'll add "YMMV" as this is my experience.

Automation-based switching means that articulation selection is "monophonic": you can't have more than one articulation play from a track at any given time. With my systems you can have multiple articulations playing simultaneously with any patch type. So by using automation, that feature goes out the window.

But the worst part about using automation for these purposes is that whatever articulation you select in anticipation of playing in a new part will be switched out from under you when your track plays down. My systems don't do that.

*Displaying Articulation Names in Automation*
You can indeed do this with SkiSwitcher2. It's not even a special function. It's just something that Logic automatically does when you have a track in Touch or Latch and the plugin parameters checkbox is enabled in automation prefs. So if you want to see the names there, you can. But with ARTzID, I've specifically disabled this capability because the resulting name display is very cramped (Logic attempts to cram upwards of 128 articulation names in the automation display regardless of how few you might have in a patch. It's a Logic thing, nothing I can do about it).

To wrap this up... Both systems offer three basic functions:

• Eliminate articulation selection mis-tracking. This is particularly a problem for keyswitching patches. Additionally, my approach for doing this provides for polyphonic articulation selection, as well as the feature I described for selecting a different articulation to play live than what plays in your track.

• Eliminate track creep by letting you address all articulations for multi-timbral plugins on one track.

• Expanding the expressive range of any given patch by letting you combine multiple patches in the same plugin and address them on one track.

Everything else they do, including polyphonic articulation switching and the specialty Scripts provided for remapping, CS2, CSS, Vienna, etc., are all afterthoughts.

Hope that helps!


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## Peter Schwartz (Dec 11, 2016)

WindcryMusic said:


> Thanks for responding, Peter!
> 
> So, since I think I'm more interested in ARTzID, let me concentrate on that. The first paragraph quoted above (and specifically the "on an as-needed basis" comment) encourages me to feel confident that ARTzID is smart enough to not spam articulation selections to the library for each note with that ID. That's great news, but I'm still concerned about the other issue I mentioned, which is that some of my sample libraries (and that includes some well known ones) can't switch the articulation instantly, so I find I need to trigger the articulation change before any notes for that articulation by some fraction of a beat. Does ARTzID deal with that, and how? Maybe you can address this in a follow-up?
> 
> Thanks again!



You're *very* welcome! So you know, I enjoy these discussions, and I'm the last guy in the world to do "the hard sell" so please don't take any of what I've written as being "pushy".  

I like the way you put it -- "spamming articulation selection". Brilliant! And to avoid this, all Scripts have a feature called *Data Reduction* (on by default) that ensures that articulation-switching events are only sent to a patch when it detects a change in MIDI Channel (SS2) or Articulation ID (ARTzID). You can even turn it this feature if you wanted to on each Script.






Data Reduction doesn't come into play with multi-timbral patches because the MIDI channel of the notes is the "driver" for articulation selection:

• With SS2, notes on their natural MIDI channel play the intended articulation as they would otherwise do.

• With ARTzID running in MIDI Channel mode, the ArticulationID -- which can only range from 1 - 16 with m/timbral patches -- is imparted to each note's MIDI channel on the way out of the Script. In other words, the Script performs a very direct Articulation ID --> MIDI Channel channelizing function. So there's no latency and there are no articulation-switching events to send. Thus, Data Reduction doesn't come into play.

*Speed...*
I've tested this system with all manner of libraries, and there's only one isolated situation where articulations won't switch truly instantly: EastWest EWQLSO "leg" legato articulations in their various keyswitching patches. Through testing I found that Play requires 35 ms of "pre-roll" for the keyswitch notes needed to access those articulations. That's with the old version of Play. I actually haven't tried it with the new version of Play yet.

Otherwise? I've found that plugins/patches of all types respond instantly, in a word, to articulation changes sent just prior to the musical notes (as my systems do). I've even done tests where passages recorded with normal keyswitching notes and again with my systems will phase cancel entirely.

Further evidence of the speed at which plugins and patches can respond to articulation changes can be found when driving keyswitching patches and having them play multiple simultaneous articulations with quantized notes on different MIDI channels or ID's. With keyswitching string patches you can achieve (for example) layered tremolo & sustained, simultaneous whole and half-step trills, octaves sounding with different speeds of staccato, and so on. Same with UACC patches.

The only limitation there is with unison notes and the way some libraries respond to them. Some libraries are happy to receive the same note multiple times, others aren't.

HTH!


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## WindcryMusic (Dec 11, 2016)

Thanks again Peter! The existence of the Data Reduction switch clearly confirms that you've considered this in your design ... kudos for that.

I'll have to do some additional tests to specifically identify which sample libraries I was experiencing the need for some "articulation pre-roll" on. (By the way, it's my turn to applaud you for such a perfectly descriptive term for this scenario!) I don't recall which anymore because, after I started running into such problems, I just made it my standard practice to allow some "articulation pre-roll" with all sample libraries to be safe.

I'm definitely continuing to consider an ARTzID purchase, and very much appreciate your informative and considered responses.


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## procreative (Dec 11, 2016)

Got to say I am still seriously still considering switching to this system. 

Peter has to be one of the most patient and helpful guys around here, I reckon I have probably driven him mad over the last few months dithering and his attention to detail and lengthy responses are truly amazing!


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## Ashermusic (Dec 11, 2016)

WindcryMusic said:


> Alas, I have a different issue with VEPro. If only it weren't for the iLok requirement (and I've covered my reasons for strenuously avoiding iLok and PACE-laden software previously on this forum so I'm not going to go into them again), I probably would be using templates; I have a 2nd iMac with a broken display (but otherwise fully functional) just sitting here that would be ideal for VEPro, and a gigabit network to make the connection. But as things are, I have to have my primary iMac loading and running everything … which is part of what makes templates impractical for me.




It doesn't use an iLok or PACE, it uses and e-Licenser (Steinberg key.) And it is a huge help even with only 1 computer.


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## WindcryMusic (Dec 11, 2016)

Ashermusic said:


> It doesn't use an iLok or PACE, it uses and e-Licenser (Steinberg key.) And it is a huge help even with only 1 computer.



Ah, thanks for the reminder. Unfortunately I dislike e-Licensor almost as much as iLok. I just knew it used something like that, something I wanted nothing to do with when I investigated it. I keep hoping that someday the makers of VEPro will see fit to add a challenge/response authentication option to win the business of people like me, but to my knowledge they haven't shown any signs of doing so.


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## Peter Schwartz (Dec 11, 2016)

Yeah, dongles suck, tho my studio isn't mobile so they stay put and out of sight/mind. Though (uh oh) I used to think it was bad practice for Vienna to overtly charge customers for the means of protecting their software. I mean, the cost of copy protection is part of the cost of producing software, so why should we have to pay an extra $25 - $40 to protect _them_, know what I mean? Now, it could be argued that by purchasing hardware to protect their software we protect our own investment. Hmmm... on second though I kinda think that philosophy has the same substance as the filling in an air sandwich. But then again, the cost of supplying a "free" dongle with the purchase of Vienna software could get unwieldy if you buy more than one product. Even though they run a tight ship re keeping track of your purchases, they could (perhaps?) still end up supplying a lot of dongles that end up being stuffed in drawers across the world.

Then again, you don't really have to wait for them (or ILIO) to ship you one... you can get eLicensers readily at a local music store and thus get up and running faster than if they had to snail mail one to you. But maybe the biggest reason not to totally hate the eLicenser is because of what Vienna Ensemble Pro can do for you. All in all, the extra money spent on the dongle amortizes itself quite quickly once you start to utilize the power of VEPro. How's that for a sales pitch? LOL


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## Ashermusic (Dec 12, 2016)

I like dongles. I liked it when Logic Pro had the XS Key and I like iLok and e-Licenser because I can go to a client's studio, download the software, plug in the dongles, and get to work.


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## Peter Schwartz (Dec 12, 2016)

[exhales] Finally! It's gonna happen...


*Live Demonstration of SkiSwitcher2 & ARTzID*
_Hosted by AskAudio_
Monday, December 19th at 12:00 PM Pacific Time

Click Here to Enroll

During the demonstration I'll be covering all the major features of both systems, including:

• The Fundamentals: The notes of your music self-select their own articulations.
• Multi-timbral articulation recording on a single track
• Polyphonic articulation switching
• Live-playing of articulations that can't be switched by what's playing from your track.
• Creation of Hybrid (combination) patches with all articulations playable on one track.
• Editing: notes immediately sound with the correct articulation when you click on them in the piano roll, score, or event list.
• Offline Editing: changing articulations after-the-fact

Time permitting I'll cover other features of these systems, including specialized scripts for Cinematic Studio Strings (CSS) and Vienna Instruments. *Live Q/A throughout the webinar.*

All attendees will receive a discount code towards the purchase of either system, good through the end of this year, and a randomly chosen attendee will receive a free copy of *ARTzID*.

Cheers!


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## WindcryMusic (Dec 12, 2016)

Peter Schwartz said:


> [exhales] Finally! It's gonna happen...
> 
> 
> *Live Demonstration of SkiSwitcher2 & ARTzID*
> ...



Whoa, this must be my lucky day. My initial thought was that I'd have to miss the mid-day webinar because of work ... but then I realized I'd already scheduled a day off for the 19th, so I can attend after all.


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## Peter Schwartz (Dec 13, 2016)

Houston, we have a link! *Click here* to enroll in the upcoming webinar, December 19th!


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## OleJoergensen (Dec 14, 2016)

Peter Schwartz said:


> Houston, we have a link! *Click here* to enroll in the upcoming webinar, December 19th!


Houston...? What about us living in Scandinavian? :-D just kidding.
I look forward to watch your class Peter!


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## Peter Schwartz (Dec 14, 2016)

World-wide SkiSwitcher/ARTzID webinar Sleep Scheduler


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## resound (Dec 15, 2016)

Loving the new Remapper script. It makes it my workflow much easier when using Spitfire libraries with UACC in combination with other libraries!

The SS2 Vienna script gives you the ability to have different velocity XF settings for each articulation, but I found the Vienna script I have for ARTzID does not have this ability. Was this intentionally left out, or am I missing a script?


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## Peter Schwartz (Dec 15, 2016)

Glad you like the remapper!

Regarding Vienna, nope, you're not missing a Script. I didn't create an ARTzID version. But I'll have a look at the SS2 version and see if I can port it over for ARTzID. Stay tuned...


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## Peter Schwartz (Dec 15, 2016)

OK, looks like it won't be too hard to port this over for ARTzID. I've already got it mostly working. Give me a day or so and I'll make the one thing that's not working work (LOL) and test it out thoroughly.


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## resound (Dec 15, 2016)

Peter Schwartz said:


> OK, looks like it won't be too hard to port this over for ARTzID. I've already got it mostly working. Give me a day or so and I'll make the one thing that's not working work (LOL) and test it out thoroughly.


That would be great, thanks! 

And I just figured out how to change articulations for ARTzID and SS2 tracks from the same TouchOSC template, so that kind of solved my problem in the mean time.


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## Peter Schwartz (Dec 16, 2016)

resound said:


> And I just figured out how to change articulations for ARTzID and SS2 tracks from the same TouchOSC template, so that kind of solved my problem in the mean time.



Great! (Wondering if you're using the feature I built in where you can switch between ARTzID mode and SkiSwitcher mode or if you're doing something else  ). Meanwhile, the script adaptation is coming along nicely. At the moment it's configured so you can switch up to 36 articulations (cells) -- which is more than double the capacity of the SS2 version -- and where each cell can be individually tailored to respond to velocity or the xFade CC (typically CC2). I could expand this to 48 cells, but I'll see how I feel about it in the morning .


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## resound (Dec 16, 2016)

Peter Schwartz said:


> Great! (Wondering if you're using the feature I built in where you can switch between ARTzID mode and SkiSwitcher mode or if you're doing something else  ).


Yup! I created a couple buttons on my TouchOSC template to switch back and forth, and I've got buttons numbered 1-40 something that send both CC32 values and MIDI notes for keyswitches. I couldn't get it to work at first, but then I realized I needed to set the SS2 panel to "2nd Keyboard" and voila!

The new script looks great! 36 articulations is way more than I would need


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## Peter Schwartz (Dec 17, 2016)

Hey Everyone,

The Custom *Vienna Instruments Script* that @resound and I were discussing just above is finished, and I'm making it available to ARTzID customers at no charge. The Script overcomes a significant limitation of the Vienna Instrument plugin's design where you have no choice but to select either velocity or crossfading to control dynamics for all samples in a given patch (matrix). With this Script you can now individually specify which articulations are controlled by velocity or crossfading (using a CC) within the same patch. For example, and as shown in the screencap below, you can select Velocity to control the dynamics of shorts (staccato, pizz, sFz) using normal keyboard technique, and select Xfade to control dynamics for longs (sus, tremolo, portamento, etc.) with a CC2. Supports up to 36 articulations.

ARTzID customers can write to me via the http://www.skiswitcher.com/contact (Contact) page at http://www.skiswitcher.com (www.skiswitcher.com) to request a copy.


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## Peter Schwartz (Dec 19, 2016)

In less than two hours from now...


*Live Demonstration of SkiSwitcher2 & ARTzID*
_Hosted by AskAudio_
Monday, December 19th at 12:00 PM Pacific Time

*Click Here to Enroll*

During the demonstration I'll be covering all the major features of both systems, including:

• The Fundamentals: The notes of your music self-select their own articulations.
• Multi-timbral articulation recording on a single track
• Polyphonic articulation switching
• Live-playing of articulations that can't be switched by what's playing from your track.
• Creation of Hybrid (combination) patches with all articulations playable on one track.
• Editing: notes immediately sound with the correct articulation when you click on them in the piano roll, score, or event list.
• Offline Editing: changing articulations after-the-fact

Time permitting I'll cover other features of these systems, including specialized scripts for Cinematic Studio Strings (CSS) and Vienna Instruments. *Live Q/A throughout the webinar.*

All attendees will receive a discount code towards the purchase of either system, good through the end of this year, and a randomly chosen attendee will receive a free copy of *ARTzID*.


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## WindcryMusic (Dec 19, 2016)

Peter Schwartz said:


> In less than two hours from now...
> 
> 
> *Live Demonstration of SkiSwitcher2 & ARTzID*
> ...



Looking forward to this very much!


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## Peter Schwartz (Dec 19, 2016)

Many thanks to everyone who attended the webinar!


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## OleJoergensen (Dec 19, 2016)

Peter Schwartz said:


> Many thanks to everyone who attended the webinar!


It was inspiring, thank you Peter!


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## Peter Schwartz (Jan 5, 2017)

OK Everyone, who wants the new Cinematic Studio Strings script for SkiSwitcher2? 

This is a free Script for all SkiSwitcher2 customers. Packs 18 articulations into 16 MIDI channels! 

Highlights include...

• One-finger trills (half and whole step)
• Trills can be played polyphonically, and both trill types can sound simultaneously
• Velocity-adjustable triggering of Bartok Pizz
• Velocity-adjustable triggering of accent samples for Marcato (normal and legato)
• Adjust Measured Trem timing right from the Script
• Full polyphonic articulation switching
• Much more, including Smart Control setup and monitoring!

*To get your copy, visit the Contact page at http://www.skiswitcher.com (www.skiswitcher.com) and send me a request. Cheers!*






Two Smart Control layouts to choose from:


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## Ashermusic (Jan 5, 2017)

This makes working with CSS so much more pleasurable. great job Peter!


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## hdsmile (Jan 6, 2017)

Great job Peter it's looks really helpful and promising, also thought to get it, but unfortunately missed Black Friday sale:( I would get both ARZt•ID and SkiS 2, hope for a rebate
Alex


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## Heinigoldstein (Jan 6, 2017)

marco berco said:


> I totally agree with you Jay, if you don't need more than 16 articulations, Skiswitcher 2 will make it and more easily, but in my case, and depending the situation and the library, I am fond of ARTz-ID for what it is giving me.
> 
> I explain : when using let say the Berlin Strings, and the Violins for example there is KS patches for Longs, Shorts, Dynamics and up and down runs, thus making 5 potential KS patches.
> 
> ...





Marco, since you work with BSt and ARTzID, could you tell me if it is possible to handle multiple KS in real time with a KS patch ? It doesn´t work with SS2, even if you edit it later on, Capsule reacts weird and is not reliable.
Can you send multiple KS, CCs, IDs or what ever and Capsule works like it does with normal multiple KS ?
Thanks in a lot in advance !


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## Peter Schwartz (Jan 6, 2017)

@stephen court, the situation with PT goes beyond its lack of a scripting feature... Last I checked, there's no access to the MIDI channel in MIDI recordings, and for SkiSwitcher2 to work this is essential. (This next part might be of interest to @Heinigoldstein)...

In SkiSwitcher2, the channel is used as an articulation identifier. For live playing, you set the channel by using a range of keyboard notes (channel changing keys) or program change messages. Because the MIDI channel value is an intrinsic part of every note message, in essence, every individual note becomes embedded with information about your articulation choice for it. Then, by way of a script, that MIDI channel value is leveraged to send articulation-switching messages to a patch. Channel = articulation. So... unless notes can be recorded on different MIDI channels, even that part of the equation won't work for PT.

With ARTzID, an additional piece of information (a "fourth byte") is attached to every MIDI note. This is the Articulation ID value and is a Logic-specific feature. Just like MIDI channels, that value can be leveraged by a script to send articulation changes to a patch.

@Heinigoldstein , I'm not familiar with how Capsule works. But both systems handle multiple keyswitches, meaning this... Let's say you have a hard-quantized 3 note chord where each note is on a different channel (or has a different ID). The result: every note will sound with a different articulation, regardless of patch type. This means UACC, keyswitching, Vienna (keyswitch + Y axis CC) or multi-timbral patches. So both systems, by default, can perform polyphonic articulation switching. But I'll have to learn more about how Capsule works in order to help you. And if neither system is applicable for use with Capsule for some reason, I'm pretty sure I could modify the scripts to work with it. After all, MIDI is MIDI so it's just a matter of my understanding what Capsule expects to see MIDI-wise.

Cheers!

Peter


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## kclements (Jan 7, 2017)

Peter Schwartz said:


> In less than two hours from now...
> 
> 
> *Live Demonstration of SkiSwitcher2 & ARTzID*
> ...



I was (again) unable to attend, being away for the holidays. Any chance this will be available to view/download?


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## Heinigoldstein (Jan 7, 2017)

stephen court said:


> I'm trying to fatham under what scenario 16+ articulations would even be necessary!! I think the most I would need at my disposal at any given time would be 8-10.



I agree that 8-10 articulations will usualy be enough for a tune. But most of the time, I don't know in advance which. So it's great for me to have as much ready to play in my template as possible. Especially for strings.....How about a trill Sfz here or sul pont trem there....if it fits, you might have to do it for other instruments of the section too.....it always bothers me to look for it, load it, set the midi channels and so on.


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## Peter Schwartz (Jan 7, 2017)

Hi Stephen,

_I have 6 articulations set out across 6 tracks for EW Hollywood strings (Eg., Sus, Leg, Slur, Marc, Stacc). These are non-keyswtich patches. Can I use Skiswitcher to put all those articulations in one track? Is this the multi-timbral feature? _​
Yes. 

http://www.skiswitcher.com/multi-timbral-patches

Both systems will drive keyswitching, UACC (Spitfire), Vienna Instruments, and multi-timbral setups. And your plugins can be hosted directly in Logic or in VEP.

Additionally, you can create Hybrid instruments -- where you combine a keyswitching patch and one or more individual articulation patches in the same plugin. Under the system, this combination will behave as a unified patch, with all articulations playable on one track. For example...

In one instance of Play you can load the Hollywood Strings violins patch that has 4 keyswitches for changing string position, and on top of that add up to 12 additional individual articulation patches (staccato, pizz, trills, whatever you want). It will act as one giant patch.

You can do the same for UACC patches too.

With ARTzID you can create Hybrid instruments combining up to 8 keyswitching and/or individual articulation patches. There's a Script that does this for UACC (Spitfire) patches too. For example, you can combine 3 Spitfire string palettes and a bunch of individual articulation (brush) patches all in the same instance of Kontakt and play them all from one track.


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## Peter Schwartz (Jan 8, 2017)

You're welcome Stephen!

In my systems you view and monitor articulations names in the Scripter plugin itself (SkiSwitcher & ARTzID) or the Smart Controls (ARTzID). Shown below is the appearance of the ARTzID articulation name displays, both of which update in realtime. *Standby* display shows you the articulation you've selected to play live/record, and the other one monitors the currently sounding articulation.






The Standby articulation is "sticky" and can't be changed by what plays back from your track. So even if a track is playing back (say) a sustained sound and you select staccato to record for the next phrase, you'll always hear staccato whenever you play the keyboard. (Works for any patch type too).

And this points out one of the key disadvantages of recording MIDI events to switch articulations (keyswitches, CC#32 messages, program changes) or when working with 3rd party systems that use automation to do articulation changes: the track will always switch your current articulation choice out from under you when you play back the track. That just can't happen with either of my systems.

With ARTzID you can also view these articulation name displays in the Smart Controls, which mirror the controls of the Scripters.






SkiSwitcher features only one articulation name display in the Scripter, and doesn't currently sport Smart Control displays. But that's all going to change very shortly (how's that for some 1st hand inside info  ?)

Regarding editing articulation changes after the fact... As you probably saw in the videos, you do this by changing MIDI channels (SkiSwitcher), or with ARTzID, the Articulation ID number. It's waaaaaaaaaaay faster doing things this way than moving keyswitches around.

Additionally, you probably also saw in the videos how, when I click on notes they sound instantly with the right articulation. That just won't ever happen when working with recorded keyswitches, or systems that record articulation changes in automation. It's kind of a game changer.

I'll address the rest of your questions in a separate post.


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## Peter Schwartz (Jan 8, 2017)

_...is there a way to get a bird's eye view, or global view, to see all articulations being used in a particular midi region?_​
I was gettin' to that part 

You can, in fact, do this with SkiSwitcher2. It's just a byproduct of how Logic works and not some kind of special feature that I had to build in. All you have to do is enable plugin automation (automation prefs), turn on Automation View, and put a track in Latch or Touch. If you play the track down you'll see automation names appear in the track lane. This will give the _impression_ that you can then move that data to change articulations, but that wouldn't be the case. It's "display only". With my systems, the only thing that determines the articulation choice for notes comes from data embedded in the notes themselves, be it the MIDI channel (SS2) or Articulation ID value (ARTzID).


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## Peter Schwartz (Jan 8, 2017)

_Damn - too bad you could't change the articulations with the automation lane. But it looks nice!
_​
Two things about that... First, changing those automation points is _very_ fiddly. Second, all of those points are late because automation is a bit laggy when it comes to recording them. Third (I did say two things, right?)... if I used automation to change articulations, it would entirely defeat about...

[stand by, I have to do the math... eh, multiply by 6, carry the 2 and...]

...it would defeat about 99.9% of the benefits (as I see them) of my systems.  Here's a short list of what would break...

• Clicking on notes for editing purposes would no longer cause them to instantly sound with their intended articulations
• Polyphonic articulation switching would be (foomp!) gone
• The articulation you choose to play live would get switched out from under you every time you hit play
• The automation would represent an additional layer of data that needed to be manipulated to get the right articulations to be heard (this is one of the main things my systems desperately avoid)
• Due to this additional layer of data, when you copy or move notes you'd have to ensure the automation moved along with it

So... aren'tcha glad you asked?


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## Peter Schwartz (Jan 8, 2017)

_What I do for EW Hollywood, as I would assume most of you do, is record a phrase with a sustain patch then go back and pick my articulations. So once I have a pre-recorded phrase with SkiSwitcher, do I just simply highlight the notes for an articulation then designate a chosen articulation using the scripter plugin? Also can I do this in the midi editor window or would I be forced to use the score editor window?
_​Ah. OK. So...

You can certainly do that -- play in parts with sustained patches and then go back and pick articulations. If we're talking SkiSwitcher, you do this by changing the MIDI channel of notes in any of the editors (you're not forced to do this in the score editor window. Event list, PR, Score. Your choice). MIDI channels are the means of articulation selection. Key commands make changing them easy: Event Channel +1 and Event Channel -1. Additionally, you can manually change them in the event list with the mouse.

There are even 16 additional commands, one for each MIDI channel, for applying a specific MIDI channel directly to notes. Personally, I tend to use the +1/-1 commands and mouse-editing in the event list.

The Scripter plugin's articulation displays are "read only". So all of the work you do for after-the-fact editing is done right where the notes live: in the editors.

My background is live performance (piano major/conservatory/blah blah blah) so I mostly do live articulation switching. Nevertheless, I routinely go into the editors afterward and mess with my articulation choices to get more nuance. Case in point: staccato choices. If I have an extended staccato phrase, when I'm done editing the articulations, it'll usually be a mixture of staccato and spiccato. With these systems you can get very "granular" with your articulation choices because every note selects its own articulation.

Here's an example I quickly threw together using my new CSS Script for SkiSwitcher (the first one to feature Smart Controls) to show you how effective this can be. I recorded the part with just a sustain patch. Then I changed the short notes to one flavor of staccato. That gave me the general idea of what I was going for. Then I further edited them to play different variations of staccato and the result sounds a whole lot more nuanced and musical.


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## resound (Jan 8, 2017)

Hi Peter, 

I just opened up my template and I am finding that many of my ARTzID tracks are not working correctly. The Smart Controls window appears blank and the script doesn't respond to my articulation changes. If I reload a setting from the channel strip and pull up my saved script then it works correctly and the scripting shows up in the Smart Controls window again. I recently added the Remapper script to some of my tracks, so I thought maybe that was the problem, but it is happening in other tracks without the Remapper. Any ideas?


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## Peter Schwartz (Jan 8, 2017)

Hi Resound, this is a new one... I'll email you shortly about this.


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## Peter Schwartz (Jan 8, 2017)

You're welcome!

The event list is the easiest place to see the MIDI channel of the notes which is why I showed that in the video. Second best is the Score editor (the little "parameters box" in the Inspector).

When you highlight notes in any one editor they become highlighted in all of the other editors. 

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, you can use key commands to change the MIDI channel regardless of what editor you're working in. Here's that explanation again:

_Key commands make changing [MIDI channels] easy: Event Channel +1 and Event Channel -1. Additionally, you can manually change them in the event list with the mouse.

There are even 16 additional commands, one for each MIDI channel, for applying a specific MIDI channel directly to notes. Personally, I tend to use the +1/-1 commands and mouse-editing in the event list._​


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## JohnBMears (Jan 8, 2017)

stephen court said:


> That's what I hoped - so if I select the midi notes in the piano roll then those notes should be highlighted in the event list -- then I'll know exactly what notes to change the articulation (midi channel) in the event list. Easy Peasy. If that's the case then I'm sold I'll be buying SkiSwitcher tomorrow.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



The way I have it set up and have been using with Hollywood Strings for the past year......
There are key commands to jog up or down through the 'list' of channels in Logic. They call it Event Channel + or - 1. So you can assign those and never need to 'mouse' on the event list. Just open an editor, select the notes and "up or down" them through all your patches you have loaded, Channel 1=spiccato, Channel 2=staccatissimo, Channel 3=staccato. 

So selecting the note, you just then use the key command to make that channel 1 note (spiccato) go up to channel 2 (staccatissimo) and so forth-- or down a channel from channel 3 (staccato) down to channel 2 (staccatissimo).

You can choose whatever key command you want. I use the plus and minus signs from the num pad.


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## Peter Schwartz (Jan 9, 2017)

You can find/isolate the commands easily by searching within the k/commands window for "event".


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## Ashermusic (Jan 10, 2017)

No respect to Pro Tools allowed in this thread


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## Peter Schwartz (Jan 10, 2017)

Ha!

Stephen, no, using IAC and ports in VEPro won't solve the issue.


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## Peter Schwartz (Jan 15, 2017)

There's a new Script in town for SkiSwitcher... This one lets you drive Capsule. Thanks to @Heinigoldstein for the inspiration to create it, for feature ideas, and beta-testing it. Basically, this lil' Script lets you send up to four keyswitch notes to Capsule simultaneously (any combination for each MIDI channel) so that you can select and play layered articulations. For example, incoming notes on ch1 can result in sending up to 4 actual keyswitch notes to Capsule to select (whatever combination) articulations. Then, notes on ch2 can send a different set of up to 4 keyswitch notes to Capsule to select that combination of articulations. And so on. On top of that...

Notes on other MIDI channels can be made to output the Script directly on their original channels -- OR -- they can be remapped to any other channel, all _without_ sending keyswitch notes to Capsule. What's that mean in plain English? Basically, you can create what I call Hybrid patches -- a multi-timbral setup where you load a keyswitching patch plus one or more individual articulation patches in the same plugin. Then you can play any of those articulations as though it were a unified instrument patch and record them all on one track.


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## Silence-is-Golden (Jan 15, 2017)

Peter Schwartz said:


> There's a new Script in town for SkiSwitcher... This one lets you drive Capsule. Thanks to @Heinigoldstein for the inspiration to create it, for feature ideas, and beta-testing it. Basically, this lil' Script lets you send up to four keyswitch notes to Capsule simultaneously (any combination for each MIDI channel) so that you can select and play layered articulations. For example, incoming notes on ch1 can result in sending up to 4 actual keyswitch notes to Capsule to select (whatever combination) articulations. Then, notes on ch2 can send a different set of up to 4 keyswitch notes to Capsule to select that combination of articulations. And so on. On top of that...
> 
> Notes on other MIDI channels can be made to output the Script directly on their original channels -- OR -- they can be remapped to any other channel, all _without_ sending keyswitch notes to Capsule. What's that mean in plain English? Basically, you can create what I call Hybrid patches -- a multi-timbral setup where you load a keyswitching patch plus one or more individual articulation patches in the same plugin. Then you can play any of those articulations as though it were a unified instrument patch and record them all on one track.


Well, send us all an update then!! My BWW will be happy.


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## Peter Schwartz (Jan 15, 2017)

@Silence-is-Golden, this can be arranged!  I'm still writing up the documentation for it, so stay tuned. Meanwhile, send me a PM with your email address so I know who to send it to.


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## Peter Schwartz (Jan 15, 2017)

Documentation's all done, so the Capsule & Hybrid Script is now available for all SkiSwitcher2 customers for the unbelievable price of $FREE. Please visit *http://www.skiswitcher.com/contact (www.skiswitcher.com/contact)* to request your copy, or, you can also send me a private message here on vi-control.


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## Mishabou (Jan 16, 2017)

Hi Peter,

Any chance your system can be ported to Digital Performer ?


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## Ashermusic (Jan 16, 2017)

Anhtu said:


> Hi Peter,
> 
> Any chance your system can be ported to Digital Performer ?



Peter's system only works with Logic Pro because only Logic Pro has the Environment.


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## Peter Schwartz (Jan 16, 2017)

Technically I could work around DP's lack of environment-based MIDI processing, but as far as I'm aware, DP doesn't have any kind of MIDI Scripting (as does Logic) which is essential.


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## Heinigoldstein (Jan 16, 2017)

I cried on Peters shoulder, that I'm not able to use multiple KS in Capsule in realtime without bypassing SkiSwitcher and bam....just a few days later he came up with this script. 

What an unbeatable support !!! 


And it works great by the way. Thank you so much again !


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