nanostudio 2 - midi start?

reasOne

i’m not really sure what to title this thread haha.

so what i want to do is not have drum computer start until it hits a particular bar in the track, let’s say bar 16 for example.

well drum computer, and other apps are always going to play if the host is playing, so my only way to really start and stop it is to mute/unmute or unlink it from the host...
that isn’t going to work in all situations..

i don’t really want to waste the sequences in dc to have it repeat am empty bar 16 times...as the sequences are already limited enough...

so is there a way to trigger dc to start rolling at bar 16 on its own, or to unmute the track automatically at bar 16 ( least preferred idea)
i need the intro drum free, and unless i buy another app to record the midi ( don’t want to) or until we have audio tracks... i can’t figure out a way to do this.

what are you guys doing to build your intro and use dc.. im busy making other tweaks so un muting or pressing play on the track manually isn’t going to work.

edit: i should mention i don’t usea midi controller so that is kinda out

for visual reference 😎

reasOne

also at different parts in the track it would be nice to have it stop playing / cut the drums out to do transitions

ugh we need audio

klownshed

When I've used NS2 for similar, I've done it two ways;

1. Automate the track muting. This is pretty easy, you just automate the volume.

2. Sample the loop into Slate for triggering. I often use the grid feature in Slate to chop it up too. (Shame slate doesn't have transient detection and slice to pads -- chopping has to be done manually but for short loops it's not too much of a PIA). I usually keep the original track around too, just disabled.

3. Capture the MIDI (using a convoluted work around) and trigger the drum machine with NS2 MIDI regions.

Having used all three options, I usually prefer option 2 as triggering the loops and hits opens up other possibilities and options (reversing hits, processing hits with fx separately, etc.)

reasOne

@klownshed said:
When I've used NS2 for similar, I've done it two ways;

1. Automate the track muting. This is pretty easy, you just automate the volume.

2. Sample the loop into Slate for triggering. I often use the grid feature in Slate to chop it up too. (Shame slate doesn't have transient detection and slice to pads -- chopping has to be done manually but for short loops it's not too much of a PIA). I usually keep the original track around too, just disabled.

3. Capture the MIDI (using a convoluted work around) and trigger the drum machine with NS2 MIDI regions.

Having used all three options, I usually prefer option 2 as triggering the loops and hits opens up other possibilities and options (reversing hits, processing hits with fx separately, etc.)

thanks for that info!
these sequences are pretty long that i’m running..
i think i’ll need to sample the whole thing to slate or automate the volume like you suggested..
but man i wish we could just record audio or set up something to trigger it..seems like very important daw things! hopefully soooon on one of them 😬

reasOne

is it possible to record from a ns2 track into a slate pad? i can only get it to record from mic in my findings

Shabudua

I believe if you change Drumcomputer’s clock from Host to Internal then it won’t automatically play whenever NS2 is running. Instead, it will only play patterns as instructed by midi notes. So in place of DC’s built-in pattern queue, you enter the right notes into an NS2 midi region. No note = no pattern.

klownshed

@reasOne said:

@klownshed said:
When I've used NS2 for similar, I've done it two ways;

1. Automate the track muting. This is pretty easy, you just automate the volume.

2. Sample the loop into Slate for triggering. I often use the grid feature in Slate to chop it up too. (Shame slate doesn't have transient detection and slice to pads -- chopping has to be done manually but for short loops it's not too much of a PIA). I usually keep the original track around too, just disabled.

3. Capture the MIDI (using a convoluted work around) and trigger the drum machine with NS2 MIDI regions.

Having used all three options, I usually prefer option 2 as triggering the loops and hits opens up other possibilities and options (reversing hits, processing hits with fx separately, etc.)

thanks for that info!
these sequences are pretty long that i’m running..
i think i’ll need to sample the whole thing to slate or automate the volume like you suggested..
but man i wish we could just record audio or set up something to trigger it..seems like very important daw things! hopefully soooon on one of them 😬

I just bounce the track in NS2 and import the audio into Slate from there. For longer sections, I put the loop in Pad 1, duplicate the Pad then edit the sample with grid turned on and cut it to 1 or 2 bar loops, duplicating pad 1 again to select each section.

I also set the sample to only play when a key is held down.

This avoids having to go back to when the sample is triggered when you're playing back.. There is a trick using Obsidian to get it to play from wherever you are in the song, but I prefer just triggering from Slate as I like to have the separate parts and hits on the pads.

@Shabudua said:
so in place of DC’s built-in pattern queue, you enter the right notes into an NS2 midi region. No note = no pattern.

That would seem like a good way to do it. I tend to want to 'print to tape' as much as possible as I have too many bits of songs I can't play back from years ago as plug-ins change etc. Having them as audio makes life easier. But I'd do that in addition to sequencing the patterns by just exporting all tracks as audio -- which is one of NS2s strengths.

But yeah. NS2 needs audio tracks. Now would be a good time :-)

(But I wouldn't be surprised if NS2 gets audio approximately never from now -- sounds like it's not been as much of a financial success as hoped or required. And before you shoot me down for jumping to conclusions, I wouldn't have done so if the developer hadn't actually said that NS2 hadn't been as financially successful as hoped or required! ;-)

dendy

@reasOne
is it possible to record from a ns2 track into a slate pad? i can only get it to record from mic in my findings

just use mixdown .. fastest way is to solo track hou want to record, set song loop .. then im mixnown select instead of "final mix" just "soloed tracks" and region "song loop" instead of "entire song" .. mixdown it .. now go to slate and load mixdown file from mixdowns directory ..

but i think for this use case is just simple automation of mute more effective .. my solution would inserting nanostudio's "stereo gain" effect as insert .. then you can automate "gain" knob of this effect .. this is better that automating directly mixe volumne fader, because you can still adjust relative track volume using mixer fader (which is usual method), and gain plugin on insert will ensure mute/unmute of plugin ....

Shabudua

@klownshed said:

(But I wouldn't be surprised if NS2 gets audio approximately never from now -- sounds like it's not been as much of a financial success as hoped or required. And before you shoot me down for jumping to conclusions, I wouldn't have done so if the developer hadn't actually said that NS2 hadn't been as financially successful as hoped or required! ;-)

Ironically, it might have been a bigger success if it had audio to begin with.

ecamburn

Can’t you just trigger an empty pattern in drum computer when you want silence?

espiegel123

@Shabudua said:

@klownshed said:

(But I wouldn't be surprised if NS2 gets audio approximately never from now -- sounds like it's not been as much of a financial success as hoped or required. And before you shoot me down for jumping to conclusions, I wouldn't have done so if the developer hadn't actually said that NS2 hadn't been as financially successful as hoped or required! ;-)

Ironically, it might have been a bigger success if it had audio to begin with.

It wouldn't be out yet if it had waited for audio.

klownshed

@espiegel123 said:

@Shabudua said:

@klownshed said:

(But I wouldn't be surprised if NS2 gets audio approximately never from now -- sounds like it's not been as much of a financial success as hoped or required. And before you shoot me down for jumping to conclusions, I wouldn't have done so if the developer hadn't actually said that NS2 hadn't been as financially successful as hoped or required! ;-)

Ironically, it might have been a bigger success if it had audio to begin with.

It wouldn't be out yet if it had waited for audio.

Haha no.

I love NS2 on the iPhone though. It’s easily the best DAW-type-thing I’ve tried on the tiny phone sized screen. I transferred some stuff which made my iPad fall over and give up to my iPhone and actually managed to get stuff kind of finished with it.

Once I get a decent iPad to run it on I’m interested in seeing how I get on with it; it works perfectly on my phone and the opposite of perfectly on my iPad Air 2.

(Which granted is now starting to feel as old as me and needs an upgrade — me and the iPad).

Hopefully NS2 still has some life left in it.

drcongo

@dendy said:
but i think for this use case is just simple automation of mute more effective .. my solution would inserting nanostudio's "stereo gain" effect as insert .. then you can automate "gain" knob of this effect .. this is better that automating directly mixe volumne fader, because you can still adjust relative track volume using mixer fader (which is usual method), and gain plugin on insert will ensure mute/unmute of plugin ....

This is a good tip. I usually set one of the automation knobs to the AU instrument's own volume and do muting on that, which is useful if you've got some delay or reverb on there as those will continue after you've muted through automation. @dendy's tip frees up a knob though.

(Side note, as you're looking at automating DrumComputer in NS2: mapping one of the automation knobs to the remix strip is fantastic)

espiegel123

So much great NS2 knowledge in this thread. It would be great if it were added to the wiki so it is easier to find

If some of you ND2 gurus could do that, it would benefit the community greatly.

drcongo

There is only one NS2 guru and it's @dendy

dendy

@drcongo said:
There is only one NS2 guru and it's @dendy

being guru smells with cult-alike followers, small temple with sacrificial altar, mass suicide .. uhm.. not sure i'm ready for that kind of stuff, so let's agree on version that i'm not guru, i'm just monkey which lived with NS2 for 5 years more most of other users - enough time to learn every last bit of app :-D :-D

klownshed

When I’m making music with my phone I use many apps — including NS2 — to make little loops and just keep saving them as audio and dumping them all into BlocsWave.

Once I have a germ of an idea or arrangement that I want to flesh out that’s when I import the loops I want into Slate tracks.

BlocsWave let’s me bulk export everything ready timestretched and easily sorted. This also means I end up with lots of easily manageable loops. Chopping them up in slate (using the grid set to 16ths usually) allows me to add hits/change notes and mix things up if I need to.

BlocsWave is my favourite way to jam out arrangement ideas. NS2 makes it quick and easy to turn those ideas into full arrangements.

If NS2 had audio tracks it would be even easier.

GarageBand is great but it’s way too slow to get the audio loops in to it. I just use the files app to get a load of loops into NS2 in one go.

I also find NS2 to be quicker to arrange with than GB. And it took a while but I’m happy with this workflow (god I hate that word!!) for now. Especially on my iPhone which is my primary iOS device for music these days.

I used to use hardware samplers like I use slate decades ago and it works fine.

reasOne

thanks for all the replies! i had to sleep since i’ma night shifter 😂
i also don’t have much faith in audio tracks being added but hey i guess we all know you buy an app for what it is not what it could be... its still very much worth the price and def is the best way to work on an iphone. fingers crossed for future add ons!

i’m going to try all the methods and see how each one fits, def not bad work arounds! i think triggering dc to start with a midi note in piano roll sound the most strait forward but i have to see if i can also stop it with a note, if not that’ll kinda not work in every situation. off to test things out!

Lil_Stu07

Yeah I had this problem too. I ended up triggering blank patterns when I didn't want it to play. Worked well enough. Just leave a single pattern blank and trigger it at the start of every clip you want silence/no drums.

oat_phipps

Oh a nanostudio2 thread? Guess what? 2 years now, no audio tracks!

Will

@drcongo said:

@dendy said:
but i think for this use case is just simple automation of mute more effective .. my solution would inserting nanostudio's "stereo gain" effect as insert .. then you can automate "gain" knob of this effect .. this is better that automating directly mixe volumne fader, because you can still adjust relative track volume using mixer fader (which is usual method), and gain plugin on insert will ensure mute/unmute of plugin ....

This is a good tip. I usually set one of the automation knobs to the AU instrument's own volume and do muting on that, which is useful if you've got some delay or reverb on there as those will continue after you've muted through automation. @dendy's tip frees up a knob though.

(Side note, as you're looking at automating DrumComputer in NS2: mapping one of the automation knobs to the remix strip is fantastic)

When I save effect chains, I try to save them with a stereo gain in the first and last position. Then it’s always easy to automate the “mute” either with or without tails (by muting the last gain).

dendy

@klownshed
workflow (god I hate that word!!)

This ! I would like use "creationflow" definitely :-)

reasOne

@dendy said:

@klownshed
workflow (god I hate that word!!)

This ! I would like use "creationflow" definitely :-)

to me it’s more of a lazy flow than a work flow

klownshed

@reasOne said:

@dendy said:

@klownshed
workflow (god I hate that word!!)

This ! I would like use "creationflow" definitely :-)

to me it’s more of a lazy flow than a work flow

I think I have trouble with the "work" bit. And the "flow" bit. It's neither "worky" or "flowy" in most cases...