Topic: Genos JAZZ Performance - Looking for improved Audio Styles / Brass / Audio Pads

[Pijeon]

Hi there,

I have had my Genos over a year now, and while it still continues to impress, after practising my Jazz set so often, you start to notice some areas where the Genos could be improved.

I have been fortunate and lucky enough to use VSTs , and they are the most realistic instruments available ;  Some of the Genos voices are extremely impressive, but because of the difference in sample size, it is not hopeful to compare them with the top sample libraries.

Regardless, I am looking to perform Jazz/ Lounge music on the Genos in various restaurants and hotels in the coming months, and I want to make my set sound as Professional and polished as possible.

The Jazz Styles and some of the Ensembles are really impressive, but some of the "Midi" Brass phrases , are just that-  Very Midi. 

I have downloaded the Audio styles from Yamaha for Jazz, but my understanding is it is just the Drums that are Audio ;  I am ideally trying to find some really high quality Jazz Styles (Especially for the BACKING brass phrases) but all the excellent Genos sellers do not seem to offer much in this area.

I have bought the wonderful Ensemble voices/ Registrations from Soundwonderland and Leigh etc but wondered if anyone had dabbled with audio phrases for such styles - To me the Brass phrases of the Jazz Styles are the ones in most of need of "Audio/ REX" samples , but as far as I can tell there is nothing of this nature offered.

Ketron Event have gone down the road of using "Real Styles" , which do sound extremely realistic, however I am not convinced by the Ergonomics/ Voices or the O/S of the Event - In an ideal world perhaps Real Styles from Event , with Voices from Genos would be a winning combination!

The Ultimate Jazz and BigBand by Genos magic is another stand out for registrations.

Sample creator do a really authentic pack , the Algo Revo, with real guitars via REX  but that covers mainly pop , Rock etc

I guess I could make my own "audio phrases" from my sample libraries, but this would require a massive amount of work, and time.   

Just to be clear I am not picking at the Genos , its still a wonderful instrument, I just want to try and deliver the most realistic performance available.   For me the Mute Trumpet is probably my favourite Voice, followed by some of the Jazz / Big Band Ensembles etc.

Anyone with ideas or thoughts about this , I look forward to hearing more.

The other way I might add more realism to the performance, could be by Multi pads ; But again it is finding someone that offers such a service.

Thanks in advance, and I hope I have made clear about the sort of things I am looking for to add that edge of realism;  I think some of it may be the fact I have spent Hundreds of hours playing the Jazz styles, so you will of course start to notice things that bother you - Overall they are still extremely impressive though

PJ

[Drsun19]

Hey!

You can always revoice your styles..What i do is to have a lot of sampled libraries (i play mainly latin music) i.e. a set of Congas and Cowbells which sound better than the ones the genos has, or maybe a "Baby bass" instead of the acoustic bass. These libraries enhance the genos sounds and it will depend on how you mix them, it's very time-consuming but in the end it's worth it.

There are also midi files which i use and in the track 10 (drums) i separate only the perc and send them to channel 9 where i assign the "latin real kit" which i sampled and sound great.

There are samples which are not mapped in GM so i need to change the keys to the ones that coincide with the samples, i use MIDI WORKS Ya, so it is easy to change these mapping.

The sky is the limit, the Genos is a very powerful instrument. I'm really astonished for the revo drums, especially with Jazz kits and brasses, but certainly you can help yourself with another voices.

Luis.

[mikf]

PJ
A dripping tap makes little noise, and in the normal course of events goes unnoticed. But when you start to notice it, it starts to sound like a beating drum and becomes the only thing you hear, until it drives you crazy.
I say this because I think you are getting the realism of the voices out if proportion. The clue is that you say you have listened to these phrases while you practice “hundreds of times”. That is never going to be true for your audience.
 I have heard great players like Baartman playing jazz on these instruments and not once have I thought “this would be way better if the style voices were top quality VSTs”. Mostly I hear how brilliantly he plays, not the occasional backing phrases, and certainly not the voices in the backing phrases. And I am probably much more musically discerning than the average listener.
I could get it if you were saying the phrases themselves are poor and could be improved,  - but the voices used in the phrases…hmmm.
So my thought is to worry less about these little things and just play the best you can. No one will notice these details in an audience. Maybe if you were doing studio level quality recording yes, - but at a gig, not a chance.
Mike

[pjd]

Hi there,

The Jazz Styles and some of the Ensembles are really impressive, but some of the "Midi" Brass phrases , are just that-  Very Midi. 

PJ

Hi PJ --

We both sign our messages "PJ", so this could get confusing. 

I know what you mean. For jazz, some phrases can feel stiff, lifeless, or "MIDI". I think jazzers want things that breath.

Instead of audio grooves, I've experimented with MIDI phrases and created styles from scratch. Some sample libraries -- such as those from Apollo Sound -- provide MIDI files. Then there are the two jazz volumes from Twiddly Bits. It's a fair bit of work to create a style from scratch and takes a commitment to learning MIDI style creation.

Just curious -- what jazz subgenres are you most interested in?

All the best -- pj (AKA Paul D.)

P.S. Glad to see you on the forum.