Really Crappy Midi sounds???!!!

[Freuman]

Hello all, Just wondering if I'm missing something:

I am set to record a cheesy comedy band and I am in desperate need of really crappy GM sounds!

I run Pro Tools on Mac and have hundreds of decent VIs but cant seem to find anything that sounds bad!



I know the ideal solution would be to buy a Casio keyboard or some kids toys, but I don't particularly want hardware.

Please help!

[Zukan]

What's the budget saying?

Because there are some good ones out there, Omnisynth, Colossus etc.

Does your sound card not have any GM sounds. Microsoft GM Wavetable Synth might work.

[Freuman]

If I can do it for free I would love you forever!



"Omnisynth, Colossus etc." are a bit too good for the kind of thing I need. The best (worst) I have is "Structure" (that has some fairly bad sounds).



GS Wavetable Synth would be perfect (or Apple equivalent...or whatever), but I'm not sure how to route this in PT so it outputs the GM sounds.



(Can you tell I'm not a big MIDI user?)

[Sam Inglis]

You could try the Xpand! soft synth that comes free with PT -- I think that has a GM bank. There are also freeware and shareware ones out there but I imagine most of them are VST/PC rather than RTAS/Mac. If you can find some in Mac AU or VST formats, FXpansion's excellent VST To RTAS Adapter will let you use them in Pro Tools.

[muzines]

Try the Mac's built-in Quicktime Synth.

Nice, small cheesy GM soundset.

[jrbcm]

You could seek out the Roland virtual sound canvas (VST plug?). Should be suitably duff...

[Freuman]

I do have Logic Express somewhere, so I'll keep an eye out for AUs (if anyone can recommend one I would be grateful).



I shall have to take another look at Xpand! I remember dismissing it when it first arrived with PT (PT7 I think) but now I think about it, it was probably because the sounds were just what I now need!



Thanks guys, I'll update the thread when I get back to the studio.

[BenLD]

Quicktime has a built in crappy GM synthesizer but I'm not sure if you can access it in Pro Tools

In Logic you can access it using the DLS music device under AU Instruments>Apple>DLS Music Device, but as far as I can tell you can only change sounds using program changes (like the ones you find embedded in GM midi files) - might be worth a bit more investigation

EDIT - you should be able to access it via Garageband if you don't have Logic

Ben

[Freuman]

Desmond - How would I get these to play in PT?

[Richie Royale]

Probably no use to you, but the GM player in Cubase SX is truly awful sounding! The piano and string instruments all sound the same.

[onesecondglance]

any chance of getting a soundfont to play in PT? plenty of samplers (e.g. Kontakt etc.) can interpret the .sf2 format.

there's TONS of really terribly dated GM sets for free as soundfonts...

[keeno]

This sounds like a brilliant project... Post an audio clip fo the results!

Not often I see enquiries for crap sounds!!

[Bob Moose]

wow it reminds me of track 8 on Autechre's "EP7" album

for sure GM is you friend here (or XG?)

[Tomás Mulcahy]

XPand is actually quite good sounding!

I would go to a secondhand shop and pick up a Yamaha home keyboard for under 100. The Yamaha PCMs are a bit cheesier than the Casios

It'd make a nice pressie for your niece/ nephew later.

[forumuser732935]

It'd make a nice pressie for your niece/ nephew later.

Just be kind to him, and combine it with a halfway decent multi-effects pedal too.

As for the nastiest, cheesiest GM presets you'll ever find, you could do worse than look up Bree Gorton's soundfonts. But they are amazing for the 50k or so they take up...

[wardo]

for moments like this i turn to my trusty casio sa-1 100 sound tonebank



kontakt 3 has some casio sounds if you've got that

[Freuman]

No Kontakt3, no kontakt at all...

Probably a good investment, but a bit of an expensive whim, but that's the sort of thing.

I always thought hardware would be the easiest way to go. (due to Digidesign's distaste for freebies/cheap software )

I tried the DLS, but due to my lack of knowledge (me thinks), I couldn't get anything to play in PT.



It is working in Logic though, so I think I have a (cross platform) solution..

[wardo]

Looks like hardware is the easiest way to go.

hopefully you should be able to find an old casiotone or similar cheap 2nd hand.
the rapman is well worth looking out for but might be more pricey as i suspect they've become collectible
hilarious really...should be good for comedy!
i can waste a whole afternoon with mine and the space echo

[sonics]

I've got a little white Yamaha sound module thingy here, a bit like the famous Roland MT-32. I was going to put in on ebay, but didn't think it was worth it. Properly programmed, it can actually produce music, but feed it some un-massaged MIDI files and stand back!

I did at one point need to audition MIDI files, and used that before turning to the Roland Sound Canvas VST plugin, and these days I'd use Hypersonic if I ever had to do the same thing again.

[Chevytraveller]

I have an original Casio VL1 which I could lend to the cause.. drop me a PM and we can work something out

for those of you too young to know what this is

Casio Vl-1

[danabnormal]

I have an original Casio VL1 which I could lend to the cause.. drop me a PM and we can work something out

for those of you too young to know what this is

Casio Vl-1

Was gonna mention this, a classic!

There is a VST of it somewhere too. Meeeeemoriiiiieeeeees!

[TheReson8or]

You could always sample from the pop idol/x factor backing tracks!

[Hewesy]

I have an original Casio VL1 which I could lend to the cause.. drop me a PM and we can work something out

for those of you too young to know what this is

Casio Vl-1

I had the one before that, without the fancy LCD screen

The PT-1!

Sounded nothing like flute etc, but strangely compelling when your 12...

Hewesy

[ceejay]

There is a VST of it somewhere too. Meeeeemoriiiiieeeeees!

If you REALLY want the VST here it is ...VL-1 VSTi

[Freuman]

Just to update, I bought an old Yamaha PSS-30 for lead lines:



Amazingly bad!

I am mainly using Apple DLM sounds through logic express.

(Still not found any way of using these in Pro Tools...)