Not what I expected

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bigl2369

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I demo'd some software... ableton and reason and fl studio. It just didn't sound right. I was just putting in midi notes in the quantized grid and drawing triangle shaped envelopes for automation. It just did not sound good. The midi was just totally unnatural sounding. The automation was playing more than a 32nd note ahead of time.
 
How can MIDI sound "unnatural"? And are you saying that all three software packages have serious issues with automation?
 
that's what I'm saying(the automation is ahead of the beat) and I know no one will believe me... but yeah midi drums/synth all quantized on the grid doesn't sound natural

try making a dot high and a dot low and a dot high for four beats quantized in 8th notes with automation so its like a quarter note wobble, and put a snare drum in quarter notes... it sounds off
 
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Your getting latency somewhere there's just no way it can be across 3 different programs. And no one has said anything about it.
 
the automation is ahead(so latency is not an issue)... theres nothing particularly wrong with the midi, I just don't like the way it sounds

have you ever even tried to wobble with automation? could you humor me and just try the quarter note wobble and snare thing like I said
 
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any parameter you like...as long as you can hear the envelope, it doesn't matter... its just to show you that I think its out of sync
 
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Well, I tend to agree with the others who have posted. It's very unlikely that all 3 DAWs (widely used by many many people) are inherently flawed at automation. There are tons of videos on YouTube of people demonstrating automation in FL and Live and every other DAW. There's gotta be a latency issue somewhere, or maybe you need to adjust some options in the DAWs to better suit the sound card or output channels you are using.

Tryna help man, but you're saying 3 DAWs work for just about everyone else except you.
 
did you even try what I said?(the quarter note wobble) and its ahead of the midi not behind... and when you record the midi the audio is right on the grid... so its not latency

why don't you just give what I said a try and see how you think it sounds
 
I've read this thread over at least 3 times and I honestly can't figure out what you mean...

At this point, best option is recording a video and explain it that way. Otherwise, I agree with Desire...
 
I can't make a video because I don't have the programs installed anymore and even if I did I wouldn't be allowed to demo them anymore.

Put in a synth with a whole note... then modulate the volume so its a quarter note wobble. It looks like a triangle... four triangles and its like four quarter notes. Just make sure you draw the triangle so the peak is on the quarter note beats.

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Create a track with a synth, give it a whole note, draw a modulation envelope like the picture on the synth's volume.

On another track just put a quarter note snare and just listen to how I think the automation is over a 32nd note ahead of time.

I cant explain it any simpler than that, it should sound like a wah-wah and a snare.
 
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Ok, I understand what you're trying to do now.

Based on your description of the automation being a bit ahead of time, (I'm only speaking from FL's point of view since that's all I use) I can only think of two things;

1) Maybe you didn't snap your automation to the grid? If not, your points might be off beat.

2) If you used automation clips, perhaps the clips themselves were not set to snap. This sounds more likely, since you said all your automation was slightly ahead of time.

Just a few guesses.
 
Nope, everything was lined right up with the grid. Please just humor me and see how it sounds because it should take less than two minutes.
 
I've done it many times before haha. With all sorts of parameters. It's always sounded exactly as I would expect... but none of us can replicate your exact setup.

If literally everything is lined up, there is no reason your automation data should be ahead of everything else.

The fact that you had that exact problem in 3 different DAWs means there's something else unique to your situation going on.
 
Would you mind uploading a simple song that you made just using midi and automation envelopes? Or even just the quarter note wobble versus the snare...

I just thought that it didn't sound good and I thought I was gonna be able to make cool shit really easily...
 
Latency is definitely the issue if that's the case.
If it's too early then set the buffer offset higher but if it's too late then set buffer lower.
Some soundcards can do almost zero, some can only go down to 6-7ms max and some can only go down to a whopping 30ms.

Also, to show us an example of what you asked, take snapshots of whatever it is your asking about with the built in snipping tool in windows or use software like OBS[open broadcasting software] to show exactly the problem you are having as well.
 
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Well I know what it sounds like on my system, I want to see what a quarter note wobble versus a snare sounds like on your setups. Would it be too much to ask for five minutes of your time? Could someone please upload a synth wobbled with automation in quarter notes versus a quarter note snare on dropbox or something?
 
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