This particular entry has two main points:

1. Show how to use multiple instruments on one instance of a VSTi (in this case, Hypersonic 2 is used as an example)
2. Present workarounds that will prevent the user from getting errors that can halt productivity when using Hypersonic 2.

These two go hand-in-hand because #1 directly gives the workaround mentioned in #2.

Hypersonic 2 is a versatile VSTi that was discontinued by Steinberg some time ago, and one of the most sought after from our Production Vault.  For those who use Hypersonic who may have problems with it (those who obtained it from the vault have had issues) and use FL Studio, I have some workarounds on how to get rid of those pesky errors, including this one when opening your project:

Figure 2011-02-20/0: “There was an error loading the settings for the plugin ‘Hypersonic 2′”

When this happens, Hypersonic 2 defaults to the “Welcome to the Matrix” preset, and if you don’t remember what preset you used, you’re dead in the water.  This can also get very frustrating when you try to save a project with Hypersonic 2 and FL Studio will freeze then crash, killing your progress, or automatically crashing when adding Hypersonic 2 to your project.

We will go over two different scenarios.  Starting a new project, and modifying one that exists (and you possibly getting the error pictured above).  Now I know these can be a pain, but unfortunately, it is a discontinued product, and we can only do workarounds.  Once you get into the habit of these workarounds (some are good practice anyway), it’ll become second nature.

Starting a New Project with Hypersonic 2 on FL Studio

Whether or not you use Hypersonic 2, make it a habit to open one up first before any other VSTi on a fresh session of FL Studio; meaning as soon as you double-click FL Studio, add Hypersonic 2 right away.  I’ve noticed it conflict with other VSTi’s and crash upon adding, so adding it first gets rid of that quirk.

Secondly, (and this is important):

DO NOT ASSIGN NOTE VALUES (STEP SEQUENCER OR PIANO ROLL) TO HYPERSONIC 2 ITSELF.

That may sound strange to you, especially if you haven’t been using FL Studio for that long.  The correct way however to assign notes on Hypersonic 2 is through MIDI Out Channels.

This way, you can use different multiple instruments and only ONE HYPERSONIC 2 INSTANCE.  This method works for the other big multi-instrument VSTi’s as well, including SampleTank and Kontakt instruments, albeit with slightly different methods due to the differences in interface.

To make this clearer, let’s take a look at the Hypersonic 2 interface.

Figure 2011-02-20/1: Hypersonic 2 Interface

The highlighted area is where you would pick your instruments.  I know some people simply pick one instrument for this instance of a VSTi, then open another instance to use another instrument preset.  It’s a waste of DSP power, and considering how many high quality VSTi’s are resource hogs, you need all the processing power/memory you can get.

The correct way would be to use MIDI Outs.  By linking a MIDI Out to each of the 16 available slots above (counting “Welcome to the Matrix” in the first slot), you can control up to 16 instruments off of one instance of Hypersonic 2.  As I’ve said earlier, this also goes for SampleTank, Kontakt VSTi’s, and others, so bear that in mind when using other VSTi’s as well.

How do you do that, you may ask.

Figure 2011-02-20/2: VSTi Settings Button

First, we have to assign a MIDI Input Port on Hypersonic 2.  This can be done through the settings window by clicking on the gear icon on the upper left of the Hypersonic 2 window (other VSTi’s get this box as well).  Check the picture above for refernece.

Figure 2011-02-20/3: VSTi Settings Window

After clicking on the VSTi Settings Button, you get the window above.  Here, you will set the MIDI Input number to a number of your choice.  It’s defaulted with “–” and by changing this to a particular number you give the MIDI Out channels a port to reference when sending the input from the Step Sequencer or Piano Roll or from your MIDI Controller.  In this case, it’s set to 0.

Figure 2011-02-20/4: MIDI Out

Next, add a MIDI Out Channel, which is done similarly to how you add a sampler, or audio clip channel.

Figure 2011-02-20/5: MIDI Out Settings

Notice above how on the MIDI Out Settings there is a Channel setting (number), and a Port setting (number).  The Port should match the number you chose for your VSTi.  For example, if you selected MIDI Input Port 0 on your VSTi settings, your Port setting on the MIDI Out should be 0 as well.  The Channel setting corresponds to the number instrument you chose on Hypersonic 2.

Figure 2011-02-20/6: Multiple Instruments, Multiple MIDI Outs

Using the instructions above, we can use multiple MIDI Outs to control multiple instruments off of one instance of a VSTi.  In the example above, Hypersonic 2 was assigned a MIDI Input port of 0, and the “Soft Grand Piano” is on channel 1, and the “Brassy Orchestra XXL” is on channel 2.  The two MIDI Out channels, labeled “MIDI 1 – Piano” and “MIDI 2 – Orch” are set to play those instruments by setting their Port settings to 0, and their channels 1 and 2 respectively to correspond how they are assigned in Hypersonic 2.  You can test this out by clicking on either of the MIDI channels and play using your keyboard or MIDI controller, and you will notice that the MIDI Out channels are playing the instruments from Hypersonic (or whatever VSTi) as assigned and you no longer have to assign note values to the step sequencer or piano roll of Hypersonic.  All note and other settings can be done through the MIDI Outs.

PLEASE NOTE: Although you can assign notes and other MIDI values to MIDI Outs, you cannot assign MIDI Outs to go to effects.  Only the VSTi itself can be assigned to an effects channel in this case.

Modifying an Existing Project that uses Hypersonic 2 and Gives Errors

If you get errors, such as the one shown in Figure 0, the workaround is as follows.  Once you do this for your project, you won’t get these errors again provided you do not assign note values to Hypersonic 2 itself.

1. Upon opening FL Studio, add a Hypersonic 2 VSTi channel.  Make sure it loads properly.  This will prevent FL Studio from crashing when Hypersonic 2 opens in your project.
2. Open your project.
3. Assign the MIDI Input Port in the existing Hypersonic 2 instance (refer to figures 2011-02-20/2 and 2011-02-20/3 above) to a number of your choosing.  If you have multiple instances of Hypersonic 2 open, write down what instrument presets you used, and mark all Hypersonic 2 instances (except for one, which will be the main one we will use for the project).  Assign the instruments you had written down to the one instance of Hypersonic 2 (see figure 2011-02-20/6 above).  Assign the MIDI Input Port to the one Hypersonic 2 instance remaining.
4. Add as many MIDI Out channels as you have Hypersonic 2 instruments.  If you have three instruments on your once instance of Hypersonic 2, then have three MIDI Out channels.
5. Assign the Port setting in those MIDI Out channels to the MIDI Input Port number you used for Hypersonic 2.
6. Assign the Channel settings in those MIDI Out channels to correspond to the instrument you wish for it to control.  For example, if instrument #2 on Hypersonic 2 (assigned MIDI Input Port 0, for example) is “Lead Guitar Licks,” and you want one of your MIDI Outs to control it, the MIDI Out Settings should show Port 0, Channel 2.
7. Copy/paste your step sequencer and piano roll settings to the corresponding MIDI Out Channel so that the note values, velocity values, etc. will no longer be on a Hypersonic 2 instance.  They will be on the MIDI Out Channel instead. See below for an example.

   Figure 2011-02-20/7: Multiple Instruments, Multiple MIDI Outs

8. Once you’ve got everything moved properly, write down the instruments you used on Hypersonic 2, along with what number were they on Hypersonic.  In the example above, “Lead Guitar Licks” is 1, “Classic B” is 2, etc.
9. Once you’ve noted everything down and you are certain everything is moved over properly (notes and all), delete the last Hypersonic 2 instance, so that there are no Hypersonic instances whatsoever in your project.  All your notes and velocities etc. are all moved over to MIDI Outs so they will be preserved.
10. Save your project.  Your project should save with no errors.
11. Exit out of FL Studio.
12. Re-open FL Studio.
13. Add a Hypersonic 2 VSTi instance.
14. Open your project.
15. Add a Hypersonic 2 VSTi instance.
16. Reassign the instruments on Hypersonic 2 the same way you have written down.  All the MIDI Outs still have their port and channel settings, so your notes, velocities, etc. will still correspond to the same instruments as long as you have them assigned the same way.  You will not need to re-enter any notes or other information anywhere.
17. Save your project.  You should get no errors.
18. From here on in, all changes to notes, velocities, etc. will be made to the Piano Roll’s or Step Sequencers of the MIDI Outs and not on Hypersonic 2 itself.  You may also add instruments to Hypersonic 2 now, provided that you use a MIDI Out for each new instrument you use.  Remember: NO NOTES ON HYPERSONIC 2 ITSELF, ONLY ON THE MIDI OUTS.  I can’t stress that enough.
19. That’s it.  If you ever open up your project from here on in and get an error about loading the settings, just do steps 11-14 above, and only those steps ONLY.  Your settings will load normally, and you won’t have to reassign anything.

So that should do it.  I’ll be making a video to outline everything later, so look out for that if anything is unclear about these instructions.  As always, hit me up at moonshyne@moonshizzleproductions.com if you have any questions for me.

More to come soon!

-mnshyn

Widely regarded as one of the best solutions for bass, Spectrasonics discontinued this product upon releasing the much more feature-packed Trillian. Since you can’t get this one in the stores anymore (you’re lucky if you can find one in the area that still has it in stock, and Spectrasonics themselves isn’t selling it), it’s now up on the Production Vault.

So if you need bass with a lot of different options, this is the VSTi you’ve been looking for.



NOTE: Inside the RAR file you’ll find a .nrg file which is a DVD image. You can either burn the .nrg image into a DVD or use MagicISO or something similar to open the files within.



Head on out to our Production Vault and get the VSTi today!

Also, remember to sign up for our Mailing List to get weekly updates on our music, the blog, and our production vault!

More coming your way!

-mnshyn

DSK Music puts out some decent free VSTi’s, and this particular one is no different. The DSK Overture VSTi gives you 53 different orchestral instruments (spanning the four different instrumental families, strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion) with the ability to combine 4 of these for whatever desired orchestral sound you are looking for; definitely not bad at all for a free VSTi. The VSTi also has various sound envelope options, as well as delay, reverb and chorus options. This is probably one of the best free VSTi’s I’ve ever had the opportunity to use and I’m sure my fellow producers (especially those starting out) will have no problem adding this one to your tools.

Head on out to our Production Vault and get the VSTi today!

Also, remember to sign up for our Mailing List to get weekly updates on our music, the blog, and our production vault!

More coming your way!

-mnshyn

The Mad FX Kit has got a bunch of dirty drum sounds as well as some strings, organs, vocal samples and different types of sound effects.

Also included in this bundle is the voc-one VSTi which is a simple choir VSTi. It’s no Symphonic Choirs VSTi (a beastly VSTi, I might add), but it can get the job done in a pinch. There are controls in it to also change the vowel sounds of the voices to give you some extra leverage, as well as reverb, breath, and different tonal controls.

Head on out to our Production Vault and get the VSTi today!

Also, remember to sign up for our Mailing List to get weekly updates on our music, the blog, and our production vault!

More coming your way!

-mnshyn

I like Hypersonic 2 (a great multi-instrument VSTi that has been discontinued) as a multi-instrument VSTi, and it has helped me out on different projects. So when Brian Bullion (fellow in-house producer and MsP member) bought a new computer I told him to try it out. Only problem was that we could never be successful in installing it due to the dongle software that was included in the installer. On 64-bit Windows 7 (and more than likely on Vista), it would fail with an error on CLEDX.EXE.

Good thing though is that someone was able to find a way around it, and now we have a version that will install just fine on 64-bit Windows 7 without any issues. It’s in the form of an ISO, RAR’d for a little bit of compression. Just burn the ISO or open it in your favorite CD/DVD Virtual Drive application and run the setup.

You can download this version here.

And also, for those who don’t know, MsP music is not only on iTunes, but now we’re on Amazon as well! So if you’re one of those guys who can’t buy stuff on iTunes, or don’t have an iPod, you can now buy our MP3′s from Amazon.com.

MooN ShynE’s music on Amazon.com can be found by clicking here, and Black and Blue Ink.’s music on Amazon.com can be found by clicking here.

More to come soon, including the release of an ADM album AND a Black and Blue Ink. album before the year’s end, which will both be available on Amazon and iTunes! Stay tuned!

-mnshyn

Don’t let the small size of this synth fool you. This little monster comes with a lot of presets and editable filters that can prove to be very, very useful. If you listen to some of Timbaland’s production from a few years back (circa 2007) you can hear sounds/arps/gates very similar to what you can find on this particular VSTi. If you’re a fan of that Timbaland style, this Vanguard VSTi will very much come in handy.

Head on out to our Production Vault and get the VSTi today!

Also, remember to sign up for our Mailing List to get weekly updates on our music, the blog, and our production vault!

More coming your way!

-mnshyn

The FoRcE oNe project has some interesting tidbits.  First off, the beat for this one as selected was a custom I made specifically for him in his interests.  He’s a big Lil’ Wayne and Young Money fan, so this beat follows that new southern sound with an MsP twist.   The drum pattern and bassline are akin to those found on their recent work, but the instrumentation and sampling is more MsP style.  Once some recording is done, I will post up a tidbit so you guys can get an idea of what we’re aiming for.  The second thing about this that I like is that FoRcE oNe will be spearheading the project, and I will just be trying to bring out the vision he’s got.  I’m trying to get him to let his creativity loose while increasing my producing experience in the sense of producing for other people.  Most of my producer work has been for myself, so getting a chance to produce for others (especially for uno because he’s only done one song on his own, this will be his second) is always exciting.

The beat is in Bb minor, and utilizes samples from a rare old school soul song called “Why,” as well as the use of the Hypersonic plugin by Steinberg.  Drums used were from the Sounds in HD kits that Boy Gnyus supplied me with, and of course the beat was created in FL Studio.  It clocks in at 140bpm, but will mostly sound more like 70bpm with that Young Money style flow that’s been coming from the South.

The second project that was worked on this weekend was the impromptu MooN ShynE/ADM/K-Maculate project that started earlier this evening. What we’re looking to do is something in the vein of what David Guetta has been doing these days as well as other non-hip-hop club hits.  So far, we’ve nailed down a decent club beat akin to Guetta’s recent hits such as “Sexy B*tch” and “Memories” with Kid Cudi, but once again, putting an MsP spin on it.  It’s a good mesh of styles as ADM’s electronic work comes into play here production wise in a big way, K comes in with some creativity as far as concepts, lyrics and vocals, and I come in with my lyrics/vocals and production work.  We’ve already recorded a small piece of the song that will fit as one of those catchy 8 bar loops that DJ’s should have fun with in the clubs.

The song is in Ebm, using a mixture of different drum kits we have here at Lunar Base.  We used Native Instruments’ FM8 for some synth work, as well as Vanguard for a gate.  We were using Cakewalk Studio Instruments String Section, but we may opt for a different set of strings (Hypersonic being a very likely candidate) as I’ve overused String Section to death lol.  We layered the kicks and included 808 bass drums to give it that extra push.  We’re also using the Izotope plugin called Trash (the plugin used to achieve Justin Timberlake’s voice in Sexy Back) to give it that real gritty club feeling.  Next week, we’re looking to do some more work on this, and I hope to have a sample for you guys to hear after that session.

All in all, a very productive weekend, and with other projects also in the wings, there will be more fun coming!  Stay tuned.

-mnshyn

E-MU has the PatchMix system, which is a little app that runs that handles your ASIO.  On Windows XP, there used to be two different visible devices in Windows; one ASIO, and the other a standard wave device.  Usually, most non-audio production stuff would run on the standard wave device E-MU driver, and I would run Audition and FL Studio on ASIO.

However, after installing 7, I ran into an issue: there was only one device, and only ASIO would work, meaning that only my audio production apps had sound.  Everything else, Google Chrome, Media Player, iTunes, etc. would not play.

I thought it was an issue with the driver, but after doing some investigating, I found that Windows itself has a selector for sampling rate.  You need to match this rate with PatchMix.

Here’s a quick screenshot, in case you run into the problem.  Click on it to see it fullsize:

Figure 2010-03-05/1 - PatchMix and Windows 7 Sound Control Panel

Notice how both PatchMix and Windows 7 are running on the same sampling rate.  This will allow other Windows apps to use sound.

To get to the Windows 7 Panel you see above:

1. Take note of what sampling rate PatchMix is using.  If you’re using 44.1K, you will need to set Windows to 44100, i.e.
2. Hit the Window Logo (The nice circular logo at the bottom left)
3. Click on Control Panel (On the second column)
4. Click on Hardware and Sound
5. Click on Manage Audio Devices
6. Click on the device that says Speakers, E-MU E-DSP, then click Properties
7. Click on the Advanced Tab
8. Choose the appropriate sample rate to match with PatchMix, then hit Apply.
9. Test by hitting the test button to hear a sound.  If you hear the sound and do not get a “this device is being used by another application” or similar message, you’re good to go.

Growing pains, I tell you.  But at least it’s working!

By the way, thanks to the people who have so far bought tracks from Phase 3 – L.Y.R.I.C.A.L. Without Fear!

Will update soon with a vid or two, MsP news, plus a review on the EastWest Quantum Leap Choir VSTi, as promised!

-mnshyn

But I digress.  I managed to get my hands on East West’s Quantum Leap Symphonic Choirs.  Now mind you, this is a 42GB library.  FORTY-TWO GIGS!  Symphobia was about 20?  This is supposedly one of the best (if not THE VERY BEST) choir VSTi’s out there, so I’m looking to see what I can do with this.

So I’m very excited to see what I can make with this.  Once I get all this installing done, I’ll try to make something and I’ll put the results up.

If you’ve ever tried to use this VSTi, I’d appreciate some feedback comments from you.  Let me know what your experience was!  In any case, check back for some samples tomorrow.

-mnshyn