How in the world do you load the Ambience effect?

[BuildingCastles]

There are no instructions and no explanation of this effect in the GPO manual; only a brief thank you to it's designers. That's really strange. I happened to find a picture in some review that shows it as a VST send effect, but when I go to the VST send effects, it's not in there. A little help?

[BenNichols]

Ambience effect?!

[germancomponist]

Hi and welcome Mr. Castle :)
You can download it here: http://www.garritan.com/downloads.html

Gunther

[BuildingCastles]

Thanks, Gunther!

[BuildingCastles]

Sorry, but I'm still confused. I can now open it as a VST send, but aren't those just for audio tracks? Is there some sort of trick for using it in GPO (in Cubase LE)? Why didn't they just add this into the latest version of GPO so it doesn't have to be loaded separately? Garritan seems to be a bit...disorganized. I'm googling around and having trouble finding the answer.

[germancomponist]

He he, smile.

The Ambience effect is a VST plugin and you can use it only in your audiotracks, but also in the audiotracks (single outs) where your Kontakt is playing and also with all other instruments you have got!

After your midirecording the best way is that you then transform any miditracks into audiotracks. (In Cubase:export..., and in this menue make sure that the audiotracks also go into the pool and project...)

Then in any audiotracks you can use the Ambience-effect best.

Gunther

[rbowser-]

Hi, BuildingCastles

Are you OK now with the Garritan Ambience plugin? If you're on a PC it should work fine, but from posts I've read, it apparently isn't working any more on Macs--I think that might be the case.

But the reason you didn't find any special documentation about the plugin is that you use it in a project exactly as you would any other VST plugin. There are many VST reverbs, and with all of them it's just a matter of having your software application recognizing it (having it in your VST folder) and then adding it to an audio track. They all function exactly the same, it's just standard practice of how VSTs work.

And of course audio effects don't work on MIDI tracks, because MIDI is only data. Effects process sound, audio, not MIDI.

So, no "disorganization" involved. It's just a matter of using Ambience as you do any other VST effect, various reverbs, compressors, echo units, EQs, Phasers--etc.

Randy B.

[BuildingCastles]

Hi, BuildingCastles

Are you OK now with the Garritan Ambience plugin? If you're on a PC it should work fine, but from posts I've read, it apparently isn't working any more on Macs--I think that might be the case.

But the reason you didn't find any special documentation about the plugin is that you use it in a project exactly as you would any other VST plugin. There are many VST reverbs, and with all of them it's just a matter of having your software application recognizing it (having it in your VST folder) and then adding it to an audio track. They all function exactly the same, it's just standard practice of how VSTs work.

And of course audio effects don't work on MIDI tracks, because MIDI is only data. Effects process sound, audio, not MIDI.

So, no "disorganization" involved. It's just a matter of using Ambience as you do any other VST effect, various reverbs, compressors, echo units, EQs, Phasers--etc.

Randy B.


Your post seems a bit condescending, as if you designed GPO and I'm personally insulting your work. It does seem disorganized to me because if it's meant for GPO, then A) they should at least include the separate file on the installation cd, or B) it should be built into the program. The second poster in here didn't even know what the Ambience VST was, and he has 364 posts. A product for GPO shouldn't be a secret.

Just because you use it like "every other VST effect" doesn't mean everyone is going to know how those work. I've never used VST send effects, so it's not like I have innate knowledge of how they work. That's the point of a manual. The knobs in Ambience work like all of the other knobs in other reverb effect, so by that logic, they shouldn't even include that info in the manual. They should just say, "Have fun; it works like every other reverb FX."


I'm not even going to bother with it because I need a reverb while I'm creating music - not after the song is done. If I don't have it while I'm writing, I have no idea what it's going to sound like, and therefore it's worthless to me. It's like writing an electric guitar part on an unplugged guitar. It's a different animal once you plug it in and it effects everything. It just seems ridiculous to have an effect for a synth to be designed for audio instead of midi. I'm just going to use the built-in reverb as it seems pretty nice.

[Jaybee]

Somebody needs a hug!! :)

[schneb]

Your post seems a bit condescending

Oh, hardly.

Ambiance is a third-party product bundled with Garritan for you to use if you need it. Its up to the plugin designer to provide documentation and manuals.

I have found on my Mac that I don't need it. I got a little tired of seeing a donation window from Ambiance every time I needed to make a change to the settings. If you want the best ambiance sound, learn to use the Convolution Reverb on the Kontakt 2 Player.

[Michael_uk]

Randy's post is most certainly not condescending and Garritan products most certainly are not disorganised.

As has been pointed out, if you have problems with the third party product provided by Gary then you might like to look at the reverb provided with Kontakt Player.

I do agree that if you have limited knowledge on using VST, as you say, then some instructive manual would be good but this is down to the third party developer, not Gary.

As a matter of interest, I have tested using Ambience with both Finale 2009 and with a MIDI file in Sonar Producer. I don't mean to contradict my old friend Randy and Gunther and I probably have misunderstood but the Ambience does seem to work fine with MIDI files in both Finale and Sonar. As I type I am listening to a MIDI file playing in Sonar using the ambience and I am changing the 'room' live as it plays. It is simply a matter of copying and pasting the Ambience.dll into the VST folder of your sequencer and it should be ready to use.

I do understand just how frustrated you must feel and I hope I have been of some help but you will get more help and support by being less accusing and aggressive.

If you would like to stay with the Ambience and need further help with this please post back and I will do what I can to help.

[Hippie]

I'll jump in here just for the heck of it........................


I am what most of you would call OLD SCHOOL....................

I plug it in, turn it up and record it.

I record everything dry....dry as a popcorn f*rt. Then I put the track into the mixing board and give it the effect/effects I want, one track at a time. Most songs have about 64 tracks in them......That's why I drink while I work. :p :D

When I play a track I know what it will sound like when I am done tickling it.

I do Symphonic Rock for myself and other song writers.

I use Magix and Sound Forge 8 for all my recording, mixing & mastering.

I use GPO ONLY for all orchestra tracks. I record it in stand alone using 2 computers....that way it gives me the HUMAN feel of the music.....no one can play right on time with anyone else.....it makes a nice warm blend to the ear and soul.

Now how you approach your music is yours......this is how I do mine.


And it works and sounds like a live recording when I am finished.


Old School. :cool:

[rbowser-]

Hello again, BuildingCastles.

I am sorry my post seemed condescending. While working over here in Moscow, Russia, on a production of a stage musical I wrote, I wanted to take a break from the work at hand here and see if there was a question at the Forum I could try to help with, and I picked yours. The brevity of my reply doesn't appear to have been too helpful.

Here, I looked this up for you. It's a good outline for the "desk top musician"--touching on all subjects for the help of newcomers:

http://www.cakewalk.com/Tips/Desktop.asp

As you can see from other replies, people aren't using Ambience so much anymore because there's a Convolution Reverb built into the Kontackt Player which hosts GPO. You can use any impulse files you can find, making it a very flexible reverb, and the nature of Convolution, being recordings of actual "air" in real spaces, can create a very realistic effect, hence its popularity.

It's a huge topic, producing music on a computer. There are some basic things which can't be explained over and over again in programs, because it really is up to users to get some background information on their own. There are many books and online sites to help newcomers sort out things, like on the link I added above.

Basically, there really is no such thing as a "plug-n-play" instant satisfaction program or utility when it comes to composing and recording music on a computer. With a bit of study and experimentation, things will become more clear to you, and you'll see that the open endedness of the possibilities is exactly as it should be. You want to be in control of the tools you use, not the other way around.

Let me help with a few more things you brought up:


Just because you use it like "every other VST effect" doesn't mean everyone is going to know how those work. I've never used VST send effects, so it's not like I have innate knowledge of how they work.
Yes, I understand, and that's why a bit of research and study is mandatory, otherwise your experiences will be nothing but frustrating.


I'm not even going to bother with it because I need a reverb while I'm creating music - not after the song is done. If I don't have it while I'm writing, I have no idea what it's going to sound like, and therefore it's worthless to me.
Yes, some people like to work that way, and it is possible to do that, adding any reverb you want to the Audio track which parallels your MIDI track. Most people find, however, that it's more productive to work "dry," as Hippie described. The first step in a music project is composing the actual notes, not jumping to the final product. So I'm with Hippie, my work flow is to work dry, not skipping the steps of creation until I'm ready to make a recording which includes the effect of it being played live. You may eventually discover that this will work best for you also.


It just seems ridiculous to have an effect for a synth to be designed for audio instead of midi. I'm just going to use the built-in reverb as it seems pretty nice.

This is something else that will be made clear once you do some study. MIDI has no sound - it's a data stream. There's no possible way to add reverb (the effect of Sound bouncing around inside a given space) to data. It would be like expecting a word document to sound like a speaker in an auditorium. MIDI is the data which tells the synth what notes to play, how loud to play them etc--it's a data recording of your performance on a keyboard. The synth you're using will have an audio track through which its sound plays--that's why when you're writing music on a computer, each instrument you add to a project will have two tracks--one for MIDI, the other for Audio. And it's on the Audio track that you can add effects. All this will become more clear to you as you study and experiment.

I wonder what "built in reverb" you're referring to? Perhaps the Convolution Reverb in Kontackt referenced on this thread. If so, yes, it sounds Very nice---no need for you to worry about the Ambience plugin if you're using Kontact's reverb and are happy.

I understand you're frustrated right now. Later on, the fog will clear, and you'll start having more fun with your projects--I guarantee it.

Randy B.

[Oyvind]

Maybe you already have found out what to do, but I write this all the same. My impression is that you would like to have some reverb sounding while you play a VST instrument, I certainly like that too. In Cubase I mean that this is possible, as I will try to explain. I am not a specialist on the matter, but here goes:

Somewhere in a Swedish magazine I found an explantion to a problem that I had myself, similar to yours: It made me realize that in the mixer there are two different kinds of channel pictures! (Forgive my English, I don`t know what they are called in that language). From left in the mixer you first can see "ordinary" midi channels, and only to the right of all the midi channels you will find the channels for the VST instruments.

To reach the reverb, you must use the VST-channels! --- and not the midi-channels. (Luckily there is a way to shut down all the midichannels , if you would like to do so, but for now it is enough to localize the VST – channel for the instrument you want reverberated)

Now, left-click on the e-button of your chosen VST slot in the mixer . In the window that now opens click in the first slot in the left column, and «lo and behold», there, at the bottom of the opened curtain, you will find access to some reverb, hopefully also the Garrian Ambience. - and not the frustrating list of «midi effects».

If the Garritan ambience is missing, you will have to copy the file «Garritan Ambience.dll» from wherever you can find it on your harddrive, and paste it into the VSTPlugin folder of your sequenzer and start the sequenzer anew. (It is not always enough to have it placed in the main Steinberg VST-plugin folder, if you have more than one Cubase – sequenser. Copy it into the VST plugin folder of the sequenzer that you actually use.)

But if you are lucky, the the Ambience is aldready in place. Click on «Garritan Ambience» and it will open. You will be able to choose from different reverb types, just make your choice. You will hopefully hear the effect at once when you play your miditrack, but there could be even more work to do:

In the edit window to the right there is another column with slots, to the right of the large EQ-square. Left-click in the top slot: You will now be given the chance to choose some output direction of the sound, by all means choose the ASIO of your soundcard, if that is an option.

When that is done, you (probably) must click the litte power button just above it, it will turn blue if you do so. That should activate the reverb, (I am not quite sure if this is necessary.)

Now: In the same black slot (where you now can read the name of your Asio - or some other output divice), you will hopefully be able to localize a small (very small !) blue dot in the bottom left corner. Left-click on it and drag it to the right . This will result in an increase in the reverb effect, it means that here we can regulate how much we want of it.

In spite of the fact that I am a fairly old man, I am a novice in using a sequenzer. So I may have made mistakes in what I write here, but I hope it will be of help any way.

And if this will not work, there is always the possibility to render the midi-track as a wav-file and import that one back into the sequenzer. Then you can use the reverb on the audiotrack, in a similar way using the e-button for the audio track.

PS. If in the mixer you look all the way to the right, you will find the master channel. If we perform the same procedure with the editbutton of this masterchannel, I find that we will obtain the reverb-effect simultaniously on all the VST- instruments, not only one of them. ( I could be wrong here, I am still trying to understand the difference between inserted effects and send effects - and the mysterious FX - channels.)

Good luck to you! - from Oyvind