MIDI Virtual Instruments
Index
MIDI and the sound card
Have you ever heard a MIDI file? Depending of the quality of the sound card the sound varies. They are great sound cards in the market that can emulate the real sound of instruments, but not realistic ones. To make you prove how MIDI sounds I let you hear a MIDI file using the sound of your computer.
How does it sound?
Listen to a regular MIDI file here
During my early stages in musical composition, about 10 years ago, I found that a MIDI file performed by the sound card of the computer was short. Moreover, some instruments sounded as anything, but as it supposed to sound. So, after days of looking for a solution, I found a software piece capable of transforming a MIDI file intro a WAV file. This software is called MIDI Render.
The first MIDI render I discovered, was Audio Compositor. It is a great tool that I still use for some rendering tasks. The second MIDI render I found is called Timidity++, which was initially released for the Linux Operating system. It came with a set of patches of medium quality. Now, these tools are deprecated, still you can download timidity for free but Audio compositor is not longer available on the market, I have a copy which I plan to share later.
New MIDI virtual instruments: VSTi and DXi
Steinberg Technologies, a software company, developed a DAW program called Cubasis VST, which is a host program for the main purpose of audio mixing. Later, Steinberg technologies, implemented small software packages called VST plug-ins. These software packages are capable of attaching to a VST host as Cubasis, performing different tasks depending of the purpose of the plug-in.
Nowadays, there are many VST hosts available in the market. For example: Cakewalk Sonar, Cubase and Sony Acid.
The purpose of a VST plug-in is to perform either an effect in one of the DAW audio channels or to act as a virtual instrument in one of the MIDI channels. This is explained with details on the Audio Mixing Tutorial.
How does it sound like a MIDI file performed by a VST instrument?
I uploaded a sample file to let you be the judge.
Amazing, isn’t it? The song sounds as it recorded on a recording studio.
What is DXi?
DXi is the version for the DirectX technologies; it works in the same manner as a VST plug-in does. In fact, DirectX effects came first to the market and later were implemented as instruments too.
How to start with MIDI virtual instruments?
- First off, you need a VST host. There are several VST hosts on the market; the one I recommend you is Cakewalk Sonar Producer Edition. Sonar is practically cheap in price, costing up to 700 dollars.It includes a set of VST and DirectX plug-ins either for effects as for instruments. Moreover, it has an interface to manage musical scores.
- You need VSTi or DXi instruments; there are hundreds of free VSTi instruments around the internet. However, the best are those which you must pay. If you plan to buy Cakewalk sonar Production Edition as your VST host, this has a bunch of DirectX and VST instruments.
