Micro Tones - How do you generate them?

MobileMusic

How do you folks go about generating Quarter-Tones / Micro-Tones?

Do you use apps like ScaleGen for this? How does it work with Legato?

I need to generate some subtle MIDI vibratos with legatos in Cubasis using quarter tones. I've tried fine-tuning the instrument's Cents frequency down by 25%, 50% and 75% on 3 separate tracks so a next/previous semitone would generate micro tones between it and the current note of the original instrument when the tweaked instruments are assigned to separate tracks. Here is my setup:

• Track 1: Original instrument
• Track 2: Tweaked instrument with 25% fine tuning
• Track 3: Tweaked instrument with 50% fine tuning
• Track 4: Tweaked instrument with 75% fine tuning

It is generating micro-tones with the above; however, legato is not working with overlapping MIDI notes across tracks (like it does with overlapping MIDI notes on the same track) - it is producing staccato cross-track

Any other suggestions?

TIA

MobileMusic

I've posted some suggestions here:

https://www.steinberg.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=183&t=142050

wim

Easy. You just need a really, really, really tiny iPad.

MobileMusic

@wim said:
Easy. You just need a really, really, really tiny iPad.

Very funny Let me try that on my old mini 1

Phil999

generally it is best to use sound generators with built-in .scl or .tun support. One can use usual MIDI notes and keyboards, the microtuning is at the very last stage.

I haven’t used ScaleGen so far. ScaleGen has MIDI input, and could therefore be used as a tuning translator. But to which sound generator send the translated microtuned notes?

iOS apps with .scl or .tun support, or internal microtuning, are Sunrizer, Dhalang, Mersenne, etc.

CracklePot

I think the way includes using note plus pitch bend to create the microtones on a single track setup. Legato should work then, if it is implemented correctly and the instrument responds correctly. The pitch bend ranges need to match.
I don’t know much more beyond that, but that is the method I have come across most frequently for microtones and slides to be used.

MobileMusic

@Phil999 said:
generally it is best to use sound generators with built-in .scl or .tun support. One can use usual MIDI notes and keyboards, the microtuning is at the very last stage.

I haven’t used ScaleGen so far. ScaleGen has MIDI input, and could therefore be used as a tuning translator. But to which sound generator send the translated microtuned notes?

iOS apps with .scl or .tun support, or internal microtuning, are Sunrizer, Dhalang, Mersenne, etc.

Yes, I left micro-tuning for the final stages. I just bought ScaleGen and need to do some experiments with it to see if it works.

MobileMusic

@CracklePot said:
I think the way includes using note plus pitch bend to create the microtones on a single track setup. Legato should work then, if it is implemented correctly and the instrument responds correctly. The pitch bend ranges need to match.
I don’t know much more beyond that, but that is the method I have come across most frequently for microtones and slides to be used.

I thought about Pitch Bend before. When I used PB in another tutorial video, its educational value was lost a bit as the viewer needs to keep an eye on the wheel to see what additional notes are generated with the wheel.

Another issue is - apparently in Cubasis, the PB data is stored on a hidden track. When I edit/move the pitch-bent note, the PB data is getting lost.

haulin_notes

Bebot all the way!

db909

Don’t forget grooverider supports like 160 alternate/microtonal tunings

Wrlds2ndBstGeoshredr

See this thread: https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/22367/apps-that-support-microtonal-tunings

[Deleted User]

.tun files import all the way. Trying to create microtuning via midi is terrible. The synth, instrument whatever should support on it´s own microtuning. Microtuning via pitch bending sucks, especially if it will bend your frequency to chip munk territory.

MobileMusic

@Wrlds2ndBstGeoshredr said:
See this thread: https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/22367/apps-that-support-microtonal-tunings

@haulin_notes, @Phil999, @db909,

I have GeoShred, ThumbJam, BeBot and Sunrizer apps and had them in mind but I was working with SynthMaster One sounds on this project. Apparently, Sunrizer doesn't offer Legato. Using Hold for Legato is not perfect in Sunrizer and its Effects arrangement is a bit messy. Hope devs understand the importance of legato, vibrato, glide, micro-tunings in apps and also AU compatibility.

@Cib said:
.tun files import all the way. Trying to create microtuning via midi is terrible. The synth, instrument whatever should support on it´s own microtuning. Microtuning via pitch bending sucks, especially if it will bend your frequency to chip munk territory.

Found these:
http://sevish.com/music-resources/
https://www.youtube.com/c/sevish

I heard pitch bend doesn't work gracefully with legato and tun files is the way to go. Cubase has a slick Tuner effect to micro-tune instruments but not in Cubasis Hope Steinberg brings the Tuner effect into Cubasis (along with Legato) as it looks like a very simple module that alters the frequency of the notes:

Just posted a comment here:

https://www.steinberg.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=183&t=142050&p=774478#p774478

Ran out of time for this project and did not have time to experiment with ScaleGen. For now, I'll use semitone legatos in this project and will look into micro tones in my next project soon.

Cheers!

MobileMusic

Cubase Tuner effect:

palm

https://hpi.zentral.zone/tbx2

pre-ordered this when production started. should arrive any day now. No it's not an app, but it will do the job. I cannot wait!

I've used the software H-pi makes for mac and it's endlessly useful. Got the box to use with my hardware, but I'm certainly going to be retuning some auv3's as well :-)