engrssc wrote:This is a question, not an answer.
Last one I called said 'I only do pipes. Know nothing about virtuals'.
Any authoritative reading material? Stop sound libraries as related to sample(d) sets? Seems you need to have a mental 'image' of what a stop really should sound like. Fairly hard to describe detailed sounds with words alone. I would prefer some single notes in several ranges, then some harmonies if time permits. Repeat this 10 times till
that sound sinks in.Then we might have something.
I can balance, remove peaks, etc, but the result most likely doesn't sound as does the real stop. Haven't found any sample set producers uploading single stop demos. Demos are all about composites for the most part. To me (and a few hundred others), it's all about how it sounds.
Rgds,
Ed
Hi Ed,
I understand your dilemma exactly and I too asked a very similar question some time back. How do you figure out if the stop you are voicing sounds like it should? AND, another question I had at the time pertained to how do we know if the stop is at the proper amplitude in comparison to the others in the set? I think much of it is done by ear, how the stop is perceived, and some are better at it than others, in other words it's a craft that's acquired over time and everyone's craft is a bit different brew. Due to the fact every builder's example of a given stop is going to sound a bit different than the next builder, listening to an example stop gets you in the ballpark, but doesn't fully do the job, at least for me anyways. I take time to listen carefully to a real example of the organ in question, listen to several different recordings to get an overall picture, again not perfect but at least you are hearing the instrument in question.
When I voice I go one stop at a time, starting with the front portion of the set, then the rear or surround, diffuse portion, etc., I only have one signal (front, rear, etc.) on at a time so as not to influence in any way what I'm currently working on. For each stop, one at a time, I play several notes from low to high and I note the clarity and brightness along with amplitude and try set myself in the room and ask myself if it sounds correct to the acoustic. Sometimes closing my eyes and repeatedly listening and adjusting helps. Once I get the sound in my head (clarity, brightness, amplitude) and adjust to where I am happy with that stop, I move to the next one. Some stops seem to come real easy to me (i.e., this stop is way too loud, or way too bright) and I can quickly adjust it and move to the next, others take more listening before I make a decision.
I generally find mixtures, some 2' and 1' are the stops that jump out the most and when the instrument is first played without voicing, these stops can be quite often obnoxious. This is likely 100% my sound system and how my speakers respond that exaggerates the situation, but there's the beauty of the voicing facility. Early on I was constantly fiddling with increasing / decreasing the treble and bass response on my amps, next thing I knew was I'd load another set and I was back at it turning knobs again. Overall I find most of the sets I have are pretty spot on for voicing out of the box, especially the newer sets, and it generally comes down to tweaking brightness up or down more than anything for me anyways.
Marc