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Mastering MONTAGE: Quantize in OS v3.0

Written by Bad Mister on October 4, 2019. Posted in MONTAGE.

Quantize: Before, Real Time or After

Quantize is the function that lets you change the positioning of MIDI notes against the time. In the sequencer this can be done as you RECORD, or can be applied to your data after-the-fact. This is your choice. Quantize is one of those “tools” you find in modern sequencers that many feel funny about using. It is the ‘ultimate cheat’ because it moves your notes from where you actually played them to some other pre-determined position so that the timing is corrected. However, used properly it can be an extremely useful tool.

It is particularly useful for drum programming because it is difficult enough to play musical sounds in time, no less program drum grooves from an interface like a keyboard. When you press the RECORD button, the SETUP screen offers you an opportunity to set a Quantize value. This will be the smallest musical timing interval that the sequencer will record.

For example, if you set the Quantize value to a sixteenth note (120 clock ticks), then all notes played will be placed on the nearest sixteenth note. This can only help you if you are slightly late or slightly early. If you miss the beat entirely and have absolutely no sense of rhythm, QUANTIZE can actually make things worse. It can be used to tighten up loose timing but it cannot fix things if they are too far off. Don’t blame the sequencer – it’s YOU!!! The wonderful thing about recording, you can always do it over!

There is a Quantize function found on the RECORD SETUP screen which corrects data on the way to the Sequencer. There is also a Quantize function found as a non-destructive PLAY FX which lets you try out different timing values in real-time while your Pattern plays back. And there is a Quantize function found as a Pattern sequencer NOTE Job which rewrites the events on the recorded Track.

The Quantize found among the PLAY FX is non-destructively applied, which means you can try it before applying it permanently by using a “Normalize Play FX” Job. Here are the details:

Before

RECORD QUANTIZE: On the RECORD SETUP screen you can opt to set the Quantize parameter – the setting here will mean that the selected value is the smallest possible timing subdivision you can document. In other words, your notes will always be moved to the nearest value as set:

In the PATTERN RECORD screenshot, “Rec Quantize” is set to a sixteenth note (120 clock ticks), this value is usually good enough for tightening up recording when working on drums, but can be used at any time for any type of recording. It is a personal decision – once you quantize via this method it cannot be undone. You would have to record it again.

Real Time

PLAY FX QUANTIZE: From the main PATTERN screen you can tap “Edit/Job” > “PLAY FX 1” and reach a set of tools that allows you to “try out” various quantize and swing quantize functions before you commit to them:

These non-destructive functions let you change quantize, the percentage quantize, even create a swing feel or triplet feel (shuffle) from what you played. You get to hear immediately how you are adjusting the data:

There is a “Normalize Play FX” Job that will allow you to make your settings permanent by rewriting the data in the track. PLAY FX are a great way to experiment with the positioning of the notes and more. Swing functions include Velocity and Gate (duration) parameters which can radically change the feel of what was played.

After

QUANTIZE JOB: Touch “Edit/Job” > “Note” > Quantize
Quantize can be strict or loose because it is programmable. If, for example, you are a little off at a particular point you can use the quantize job to move your notes to nearest musical value of your choosing:

The resolution of the sequencer is 480 pulses per quarter note (ppqn). This means it divides each quarter note into 480 equal parts. That is, 1920 clock ticks per 4/4 measure.

480ppqn = 1/4 note, 4 quarter notes per measure in 4/4
240ppqn = 1/8 note, 8 eighth notes per measure in 4/4
120ppqn = 1/16 note, 16 sixteenth notes per measure in 4/4
60 ppqn = 1/32 note, 32 thirty-second notes per measure in 4/4

320ppqn = 1/4 note triplet, 6 quarter note triplets per measure in 4/4
160ppqn = 1/8 note triplet, 12 eighth note triplets per measure in 4/4
80 ppqn = 1/16 note triplet, 24 sixteenth note triplets per measure in 4/4

Picture in your mind’s eye that quantize is as follows: the resolution of the sequencer is 1920 pulses per 4/4 measure. Each of these “Clock ticks” is a pin sticking up; 1,920 of them per measure… and your notes are like ping-pong balls, that when dropped, must land on one of these pins.

There are major pins (1-foot long) every 480 – those are your quarter notes. There are pins (half as long) every 240 pins – those are your eighth notes. There are pins half again as long every 120 pins… and so on.

Although quantizing during record can be used to tighten-up your timing, you have the options of recording your data without quantize and applying it, where necessary, after the fact. This is accomplished with the Quantize NOTE Job. When you apply quantize after the fact, you have more options about how this timing correction is applied… including allowing you to artfully change the feel of the music.

Let’s say you are trying to land on an “1/8 note” pin and you are late by 12 clock ticks, er, a pins. Quantize (at 100% Strength) will move your ping-pong ball (note) to the nearest pin that represents the value you select. If you set the “Strength” to 50% what this means is that it will move your note half the distance to the strict value. In my example you missed the 8th note pin by 12 ticks late, meaning you might have landed on clock tick 252 when attempting to land on clock tick 240. A quantize to the nearest 8th note (240) with a 50% Strength will move you 6 ticks toward a value divisible by 240; to 246… which is half way between 240 and 252.

When using the QUANTIZE job you can select a measure, beat and clock tick range over which to impose it. You can select a quantize value, a Strength %, a Swing Rate (which offsets the upbeat value up to 50% of the quantize value), Gate Time (changes the duration of notes, careful here – this will mess with your feel). Once you execute a quantize, listen closely to what it has done. You can UNDO it, as well.

The last JOB executed on a track can be undone.
Touch “Overview” > “Undo Last”
“Redo Last”

For more on the subject of SWING and PLAY FX QUANTIZE please see the following article:
“Swing Quantize and the Play FX“

Questions/comments? Join the conversation on the Forum here.

Mastering MONTAGE: Scenes in OS v3.0

Written by Bad Mister on October 2, 2019. Posted in MONTAGE.

The Power of Scenes

A Scene is a stored set of MIXING, SYNTHESIZER and SEQUENCER settings. This term comes to us from the Yamaha digital mixing consoles and hard disk recorders, where a “snapshot” of settings can be stored and recalled, on demand. It was originally designed to recall a set of parameters similar to how a Program Change event would recall settings on a synthesizer, except it recalled mix settings. Imagine being able to recall all fader settings, all pan positions, etc., instantaneously. Since the MONTAGE and MODX have a built-in Digital Mixer, it has been expanded here to include some synthesizer parameters, as well.

As implemented here in the Motion Control Synthesis Engine, there are eight such “snapshots” that can be taken and then recalled at the press of a button. The data is stored to the SCENE buttons in a simple gesture: hold down [SHIFT] + [SCENE] to take the ‘snapshot’. They can be a very useful part of your musical composition construction. This short article will point out how you can make the best use of this very powerful feature.

From the PERFORMANCE HOME screen, in the first column, touch SCENE to recall the Scene Memory screen (shown below). Any changes made here, on the Scene Memory screen, are automatically memorized to the current Scene number (listed across the top). This screen will serve as a record of what is stored in each location.

There are eight MEMORY Switches controlling the ten types of information that can be captured and recalled:

Arp – the currently active “Arp Select”, 1-8. The main ArpSw must be active
Motion Seq – the currently active “Motion Seq Select”, 1-8. The main MS Sw must be active
Super Knob – the current position of the Super Knob.
Super Knob Link (NEW) – which of the 8 Common Knobs are linked to Super Knob movement
Mixing 1 – “RevSend”, “VarSend”, “Dry Level”, “Pan”, “Volume” for each of the 16 Parts
Mixing 2 – “Cutoff”, “Resonance”, “FEG Depth”, “Mute” for each of the 16 16 Parts
Kbd Ctrl (NEW) – the currently active Keyboard Transmit configuration
AEG – Attack, Decay, Sustain Release of the Amplitude Envelope Generator
Arp/MS FX1 – Swing Quantize, Unit Multiply, Gate Time, Velocity
Arp/MS FX2 – Amplitude, Shape, Smooth, Random

A SCENE snapshot can remember the current status. This turns them into very powerful tools, indeed. This means you can change the entire tenor of the mix, instantly, at any time. Change the fidelity of the mix… make it sound filtered, far away, crystal clear, make it sound like it is underwater, inside out… you can break it down to a few instruments, change what Parts are set to respond and what your keyboard is set to send, and so on.

“Arp/MS FX” allow you to change the quantize settings and the swing quantize.

After registering the Scene, the SCENE button will glow for the corresponding button (Blue on the MONTAGE, red on the MODX). You can confirm what data is memorized in each SCENE by touching “Scene” in the first column on the screen. (Alternate method: [SHIFT] + [PART SELECT 4/4])

A SCENE recall is executed by simply pressing a SCENE button. One SCENE is a record of ‘what’s happening now’.

Why is a SCENE important? If you need to get back to initial conditions, simply store the initial conditions as one of your eight SCENES. It is very typical when recalling a Performance, that during your interactions with it, you are going to change a setting, move a Knob, change a slider position, alter it in some way. Perhaps you ‘open’ the Filters, or change the Attack. The last value for a parameter will remain in effect until you recall another Scene. For example, say you have a SCENE that MUTES a particular PART, that Part will remain muted until you either unmute in manually, or you recall another SCENE that that unmutes it.

It is quite normal, when playing a synthesizer, to alter settings while performing – having a Scene that returns you to your ‘start condition’ will be invaluable.

The PATTERN Function

There are 8 PATTERN SCENES. You can activate these in real-time. When you recall a Pattern Scene you have the ability to setup how the mix is set for each of these musical entities.

Some tips on using the Scene function: Technically speaking, a Scene simply takes a picture of your current settings. SCENE 1, for example, could be the condition of the MIX when you start playback. That is, the condition you want the mix to be in normally, because once you recall a Scene its parameters are applied and remain applied until you activate another SCENE. If you need to return to the basic setting you either have to recall the entire program by moving away and reselecting it, which is not always convenient if you need to return to normal during play. Once you create a Scene you can update it so that it reflects exactly what you want the condition to be when this button is pushed. There is always going to be a start condition.

How is this function useful? In certain genres of music (techno, electronica, dance, etc.) it is quite typical to bring tracks in and out via MUTE functions. It is quite typical to alter the entire mix on-the-fly by recalling filter cutoff settings that make the music sound purposefully muffled… and then, “on cue” burst back to full fidelity. Scene “snapshot” events can be creatively used – simply use your own imagination.

The Super Knob and Super Knob Link, allow you to change, literally, scores of parameter settings… far too many to mention here. In a situation where you are using multiple MULTI PART instruments, being able to determine which ones are going to be under control of the Super Knob greatly expands the capability and flexibility of the system.

Being able to instantly change the KBD CTRL Parts means you now have yet another way to seamlessly transition between instrument sounds with a single Performance. You can have a different lead sound or instrument for each musical section. Shown below, Scene 1 is active (blue). Playing the Keyboard will cause Parts 5 and 6 to sound. In Scene 2 you might activate a different Part or Parts to sound.

Using the KBD CTRL Memory switch means if you are holding a chord when the SCENE change is executed, the sound does NOT get cutoff, however, any additional notes will sound from the newly recalled KBD CTRL Part, or Parts. This allows you to have one lead sound during the Verse, and play an entirely different sound during the Bridge.

The eight SCENE buttons can be used to house PATTERN recordings. Each SCENE could represent a different musical section (Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Adagio, Sonata, whatever…) Not only can you control MUTES but you can now store which KBD CTRL Parts are active.

The KBD CTRL Memory does not interrupt the currently sounding Part or Parts – which makes it sonically invisible.

MUTEs disconnect the sound from going to the outputs and like a Mute on a mixing console, it is immediate and cuts off the sound, like turning off a light switch. MUTES are NOT sonically invisible. KBD CTRL works with ‘transmitting’ from the keyboard, so there is no interruption in sound, at all. All notes that are sounding when the SCENE changes will remain sounding, but all subsequent notes play from the newly activated Part(s).

Have questions or comments? Join the conversation on the Forum here.