Introducing myself to the community

[cmpessoa]

I would like to introduce myself to this great community in order to start sharing my experience with vArranger and give my contribute to its best development.

I have been visiting this forum for about a year trying to get the most information possible about vArranger. A month ago, I finally decided to take the plunge and buy it. I was using a Roland BK-7m as my arranger and wanted something more practical for my Reveillon gig this year. The decision was between vArranger and a Roland BK-9. The Roland BK-9 has everything I need. vArranger has even more features. But I never found any software arranger really good before. So, I was quite renitent.

Being a guitarist I have also some more issues to solve than a keyboardist when considering the use of vArranger (or any arranger by that mater). I was using a Roland GR-09 as guitar to MIDI interface and always had good chord recognisance with the arrangers I used. But I decided to buy a Roland GR-55 in order to improve that part of my setup too.

Man, the first days of testing were so frustrating! I just couldn't get good results with Roland GR-55 and vArranger. But I am used to that kind of difficulties and just kept tweaking, exploring, searching this forum,... and finally, by the second or third week, things started working together.

I then decided to move forward and prepare vArranger to be my arranger for my Reveillon gig. Preparation of styles, sounds, lyrics, controllers, MIDI interfaces,... Total madness, but, by the end of december, I was ready.

So, the real test came. The Reveillon gig. 6 hours of continuous playing with people dancing all the time! Used many Roland and Ketron styles and some SMFs.
RESULT:
6 hours of playing and singing pleasure!!! vArranger is so much easier to use and effective than my BK-7m. With only a touch of a key I have a new style, new sounds, the lyrics displayed,... no more frustrating waitings between songs while I try to setup everything through ridiculous screens and stupid scroll wheels like those of the BK-7m!

I also used a Ketron SD2 as sound module and this gave me a much more natural and present sound than BK-7m would have to. On top of that, it also allowed me to use Ketron styles and discover that, they too, are the best in many cases!

So, for me, after this gig, vArranger is a total winner and will certainly be my first choice arranger from now on. And, as such, I will be glad to share my experience with it in this forum and be part of this great community of like-minded people and help our genie Dan to make vArranger the best arranger in the World. (Which, probably, it already is :-)

Here is a picture of my Reveillon gig setup:

[Dan]

Thank you very much for your detailed review, and I am sure that other midi guitarists here will profit from your experience.

I am glad that your 6 hour 1st Jan. gig was a winner with vArranger

Thank you again for your confidence, and welcome to you in the forum

Dan

[stewbow]

 I found this post very interesting
I have had VArranger for a few years now but have never felt that I would be comfortable live on stage with it
Looking at the OP's picture of his set up I would have nightmares With all the cables ha ha ha
I went for the BK9 option for live work

[cirerenrut]

Very nice post. As a matter of interest, how long will it take you to set up your equipment from scratch ?.
Eric

[cmpessoa]

I normally take half an hour to bring everything from my car and then about one hour to setup. Can be quicker if needed :-)

By the way, stewbow, in my case, cables and buttons are precisely part of the dream :-) When I played in a band, I was the guy who make the connections and read all the manuals from start to finish :-)

[Lylo]

Good introducing cmpessoa. 

Me to I'm played with vArranger for the reveillon (same all my gigs). 
And I have only one arranger, vArranger, on stage (with a sos computer backstage).
Computer open at 18h 31st and close at 4h 01st, no problem (sounds only with vAsynth, sf2 and vsti). 

[cmpessoa]

Hi Lylo. It seams to have been a great party.

Yes, indeed vArranger is VERY stable, simple to use and complete. That's why I decided to use it live. I tried some other softwares before but things where too much complicated, limited or unstable for my taste. Examples? I tried BIAB (too much bloated, too many problems, not a real arranger), OMB (too much complicated / outdated, limited), Live Styler (a promising option until development stopped), Ableton Live (not an arranger, very limited for our specific needs) and some others.

If we have a backup computer like you, we can use vArranger life without fears. I only have one computer right now. That's why I keep my BK-7m ready to go on stage. It is my backup. But I never needed it. (The EXR-3 I'm also using is only serving as a controller keyboard. It was my first arranger :-).

Lylo, don't you have lag using software synths? I tried them and there still is a small lag that makes it not suitable for me.

[Dan]

To get low latency audio with the virtual synths, you need to go on option MIDIPORTS
You need to select an ASIO or WASAPI sound card for AUDIO OUT. Not DirectSound

[stewbow]

Hi Dan

could you send me the latest version please

all the best

Stuart

[cmpessoa]

I don't remember now but I think I never tried ASIO OUT. I have to try it then.
In that case I could rely on the software synth as a backup sound module if needed. This because I steel prefer the superior sound quality I get with BK-7m and even more with Ketron SD2.
But I have to admit that the sound quality of the integrated vArranger software synt is quite good already. And sometime ago I also bought JazMan SF88 soundfont which is a software version of the Roland SC88 that, seams to me, have the same sound quality than the hardware version.

[Dan]

Yes, and the good news is that you can use soundfonts to replace / add more sounds and also VST instruments.

This is another world...

[sweetbb]

I don[t understand yet, I think I have asked before, but will again, perhaps I will understand this time.

If I try to use a different gm soundfont, will I need an .INS file for it, or could I just put it in the folder where the other soundfont is, and replace the standard soundfont with the new soundfont. 

Thank you.

[sweetbb]

To get low latency audio with the virtual synths, you need to go on option MIDIPORTS
You need to select an ASIO or WASAPI sound card for AUDIO OUT. Not DirectSound

#cmpessoa,

If you don't have a soundcard with native ASIO drivers, you could perhaps try 'ASIO4ALL' it is an asio driver that can work with any soundcard.

[Dan]

Or use WASAPI better than ASIO4ALL

[sweetbb]

Dan, I thought so, but I was not sure.

[Dan]

If I try to use a different gm soundfont, will I need an .INS file for it, or could I just put it in the folder where the other soundfont is, and replace the standard soundfont with the new soundfont. 

vArranger automatically put the SF2 sounds directly in the sound group buttons PIANO, E.PIANO, CHROM, etc... or in the INS & SF2 screen. You don't need to add an INS file

[sweetbb]

Can you put more than 1 soundfont into the "c:\Program Files\vArranger2\vArrangerData\Sounds\SAMPLES\" folder, and if so, how does vArranger2 know which one to choose, how would I know which one has been choses, or can you use them all at the same time, simultaneously?

Or do the internal sounds get replaced with the new sound of a new soundfont in this folder, and some sounds do not get replaced?

[Lylo]

With Google translate :  http://www.varranger.com/vforum/index.php/topic,1539.0.html

[Dan]

As the questions are coming often, I took the time to start to write on the vArranger Software Synthesizer on the WIKI

Here is it :   http://www.varranger.com/wiki/index.php/SF2  !!!