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Topic: Voice in staff one is not right (Read 2561 times) previous topic - next topic

Voice in staff one is not right

I enter most of my music in the Vocal Accomp. mode. I usually assign the vocal staff a voice like Violin or Trombone or something like that so it stands out from the other two staffs, which are usually one of the pianos in MIDI.

I've been using the Yahama SXG Driver, and this arrangement works fine. Last night I noticed I had the Yahama OPL2/OPL3 Synthesizer (is must have come with my new computer). I changed to it and the treble and bass staffs sound terrific, even better than with the XSG Driver, which I did not think would be possible. BUT now, the Vocal line does not sound above the bass and treble clefs.

Does anyone know why this is happening? I enjoy hearing the Vocal staff voice rising above the accompainment, but I also like the better quality of the OPL2/OPL3.

I don't understand why the OPL2/OPL3 would subordinate the Vocal staff.

All help appreciated,
Gordon

Re: Voice in staff one is not right

Reply #1 –
By "rise above" I presume you mean volume of sound rather than pitch? If the former, it's true that different synthesizers have different instrument balances; however, being both Yamaha products I would think this to be insignificant (I have a DB60XG, my wife has a SoftSynth, we've never noticed any untoward incompatibilities). That being said, you can change the relative volumes of your instruments either by 1) using dynamics (pp, mp, f, etc.) which changes note velocity, or 2) changing channel volume settings (press F2 and click the Midi tab).

If by "rise above" you mean pitch, try changing to a different instrument patch that contains more harmonics (overtones), like perhaps oboe or one of the vox patches (53, 54 and 86 are some you can experiment with).

Re: Voice in staff one is not right

Reply #2 –
Thanks Fred:
I'll bet the problem has to do with instrument balance. It used to be that a clarinet could be heard above the pianos, but no more. Perhaps I need to change to a voice with a different pitch. I'm going to try changing volume and pitch.
The vox patches mean nothing to me. I asked about a year ago about accessing voices above 128 and got some excellent answers; unfortunately I was never able to understand them well enough to make anything happen.
Thanks again for the fast response, you're one of the constants in this group. BTW, I see you changed your e-mail since I last looked.
Regards,
Gordon