Ernst

Answering some of the comments and questions, here is some of my experience. In the past (when mp3 still was not here) probably many of us had midi files. I even produced some of them with a Yamaha Clavinova, and sequencer and sound module (midi sound banks) and got midis on diskette. Moved them later to the PC. You can certainly also hook that directly to your PC. From different parts, I also collected tons of midis, and they where just sitting there on my diskettes, and now on backups in CDs (as midis) and I could play them back with the PC, or the Clavinova and speakers. Once there were more challenges to use these midis, to eventually burn audio CDs with the best or most liked ones, I looked around how to do it. I found Wavmaker Wavmaker from Polyhedric This is a software that allows you to go from midi to wav (that´s the most I have used). There is a very complete soundbank and every midi instrument has its equivalent. I am just a non-technical user, please excuse my descriptions. You can render midi files to wav files. Then later you can process these wav files with whatever sound editing program you use, and can also mix. You can also go from wav to mp3, with so many software around there. I use Musicmatch. So, later you can mix sounds with your preferred program, and get the desired background sounds for eventually your PTE shows. Ideal would be it be also to do the inverse, going from wav to midi to gain space for the PTE shows, and keep them small. My experiences have not been good enough to use it. It apparently (did not check around recently) works fine when you have just a single instrument, voice, etc., but nothing polyphonic. (As a human, I may be wrong with this comment). ------ That´s one thing. The other one, I was exploring the possibility to capture streaming audio from tjhe Internet (while listening to it) and found Total Recorder (Total Recorder- Highcriteria with this software I can capture whatever sounds come from the internet, and get a Wav file. If you should use it, it is important to Normalize volume to ideally (for me) 100%. Sometimes the sound volume coming in is low in volume, and going to 100% you get a good sound file. Of course, you can do this also with your sound editor, but better do it immediately. This wav file can then be further processed, or changed to mp3, and eventually be mixed (whatever your use for it is). Also, with Total Recorder I learned that you can capture sound coming from your soundcard, while listening. So, just play your midi in your preferred player (I tested with Windows media player and vanBasco midi-karaoke player, both OK) and capture it with Total Recorder. As I said yesterday, sometimes you will have to try both ways (that is, Wavmaker transforms midi to wav) or direct capturing (soundcard transforms to wav with Total Recorder) and decide what kind and quality of sound you prefer. I have seen that with a good soundcard, you can capture also a very good midi. I did this experiment using Band in a Box music generator (version 12 is just out) Band in a Box v 12 With Band in a Box you can also render a wav file, and import midis. The recent new version 12 is very powerful. Additionally, very good Support. This is all I can say now, and this is my experience with the mentioned software. I am not endorsing nor are part of those companies. Just a happy user of their software, after searching, testing, and all that what you when you decide what your needs and conveniences are. Regards Ernst

Well, well, things happen fast, and I was lucky. Trial and error. I found the way how to capture (with Total Recorder) the sound of midis coming from the PC soundcard. It was a problem of settings. Recording sources and parameteres have to be set to "Soundboard", and then "Use these lines of recording control/Record through Total Recorder)" and select WAVE/MP3. It worked fine. This solves my problem. Sorry to have distracted the forum with my question, but I also wanted to share this solution. My interest was really to create these sounds, either by myself or through the Melodist of Band in a Box, and capture these sounds from Band in a Box to a WAV file. Later edit, MP3 it, and use as sound on a PTE show or put it in my Acoustica MP3 Mixer with other sounds or music files. Thanks again. Regards Ernst

Thanks Guido: Yes, I am the same. I was ehajek in the old forum. I was so enthused to get soon into the new forum, that I did not realize that I was subscribing now with a different username. Sorry for the confusion. Thanks for your suggestion. It is certainly a possibility to try. I was wondering if there was software that could capture midis while playing, (out of Total Recorder which I have been unable to configure for this capture of midis) without having to plug- or unplug. Presently I have an adapter for output both to headphones and speakers. I could put an additional one to have an output and then go to line-in, to record midis. But, also, I have a cassette player hooked into line-in (some old favorite tapes are digitalized, cleaned, and the Cd-ed). As many of you surely also have it, I have a salad of cables behind the PC and monitor. Better say, a mess! Thanks again, Guido. Regards Ernst

Hello: As a newbie (in this forum) am I entitled to ask some maybe silly question? OK. Thanks, here I go. To produce some songs, I use Band in a Box BIAB Pgmusic It allows to produce midi files, and also you can render them to WAV, after having produced your midi, from within the program. I want to capture that midi, after producing it, while backplaying it. I like to change instruments every certain bars, to give it a more dynamic and pleasant feeling. I know that I could simply render the wav, and then mp3-it. But I want to record (capture the midi while it is playing, and me changing instruments). I do not know what midi player (maybe its own) uses BIAB, but when I play midis I use vanbasco midi (karaoke) player. I use also Wavmaker, but sometimes I like more the sounds of the midi (with a good Audigy soundcard) than transforming the instruments as is done with Wavmaker. I use also Total Recorder, especially to capture streaming audio from internet radios. Total Recorder is good in that it allows to capture, while you are listening (does not use the resources of your soundcard, apparently). I have not been able to set Total Recorder to record my midis while coming from BIAB, and me changing the instruments. Is there any other program around there, out of Total Recorder, that would allow to capture as needed? That is, while a midi is back-playing? Or, is there some experience around about how I should set Total Recorder to record that midi? Have made many tests to set that, but no success! Sorry for the long post. Regards Ernst

Yes, LumenLux: I am also grateful to Bart, and had the chance to visit their (Bart and Cindy´s) remodeled site. Nice interface, important sections of contents, several forums. Rich information. It was an important (and still is) way to find PTE in cyberspace, after the temporal shutdown and now about this and other software. Thanks Bart and Cindy. Regards Ernst

Ian, yes. It is good idea to add a specific area for authentic newbies to PTE. We all are newbies for this forum, but many have lots of experience with PTE. This will help them and oldies too, the latter will be able to help specifically. Regards Ernst

I am very glad that the forum came back, that we all are newbies, and there is a lot of enthusiasm to post. But as this enthusiasm grows, the many diverse topics also grow. I would like to propose (not my original idea only I had some feedback from other forum participants) that the possibility is explored to set up more forums under the general umbrella of www.wnsoft.com Many of these forum software allow this possibility and I think Invision also (as I have seen in other Invision forums). So, specific topics could be discussed better organized. After this post, I think that other members who would agree to this (of course with the venue of Igor) could add topics: Examples: 1. Synchronization slide-sounds 2. Objects managing 3. Audio general 4. Audio specific: mp3, wav, midi, mixing, editing 5. Image processing. Type, size, conversion? 6. Off-topic discussion. No PTE at all. 7. New software 8. Free stuff 9. Wish lists? I am not sure about this, since wish-lists are also gifts for competitors 10. Etc, etc. Regards Ernst

Ken and Igor: Yesterday I commented that the connection was slow. Today I must say it is very fast, and I think it may have been due to some international connection, somewhere, maybe here, don´t know. The forum and the threads open almost instantaneously. No problem now. Regards Ernst

It works, just visited it here. Audacity They are in version 1.1.1 Regards Ernst

Igor: This is again good news. What I feel with this new forum, which I like very much (it has friendly interface and colors and old friends are joining again) is that we are starting from cero. The oldies in the other forum had constructed a big history about PTE, its many facets and possibilities, and we knew of tips, tricks and other goodies, freeware, new competing software, etc. Any efforts on recovering that rich information will be very valuable. I believe that none of us had never thought that such an attitude would be possible. That a provider from one day to the other decides to cut off everything without notice, and that maybe valuable information has been lost. So, if the old forum was hosted at the server where Wnsoft had its site, maybe there are remnants that can be used. This is very important, because now there are newer newbies and older oldies here. It is certainly open that now some newbies, once they get their experience in PTE, will help too. It is also a bit boring to see that new questions now, were already old questions then. And several of us just pointed newbies to earlier threads and posts, for a solution. Once Wnsoft will have some additional time left, or maybe grows, it will be highly recommendable that the company keeps a powerful knowledge base, which could be constructed from new and old experience. Forum members have been generous and there were several offers to help on such enterprise. But, even if these have been generous offers, it is hard to implement. Every effort to recover old information will be much appreciated, and also every effort of Wnsoft to have a knowledge base, will be useful, and I am sure, very fruitful for all. Regards Ernst

Yes, Ken, here it is also very slow, with my cable connection. Maybe there is heavy traffic out there or we are too many hooked to the forum at this moment. Is this a forum hosted at Invision HQ? Regards Ernst

Me too, kindest hello to Igor, and great thanks for the effort he made in short time to keep us up and running and talking again. This is a pleasant forum outline and interface from Invision. Congratulations for having chosen it ! Regards Ernst