Loopmash ... Name that key?

Cubase
1

First go around with Loopmash and it definately sounds better and very good. One thing when messing with the presets: where it the pitch info with the melodic loops in each preset group?

They’re not very useful if you can’t find the original key and then repitch them in Loopmash to work with your tune.

Anybody know?

Como

2

Hi,

This isn’t a perfect solution, but it might be a start.

  1. Open Media Bay
  2. Use the window layout tool to show all the panes
  3. In the “Define Locations” pane to the left, point Media Bay at the ‘VST Sound’ folder, twirl it open, then select “LoopMash 2 Content” / “Audio Files”
  4. You should see allllll the various loops and samples displayed in the results pane (make sure to reset or clear all your filters)
  5. You should see that one of the columns in your results pane is “KEY”. Click on that to sort by “Key”. not all of the loops have key info tagged (but then a lot of them are just drums I suppose).

I haven’t figured our a quick way to determine which of the results are in which LoopMash ‘presets’, but its a start!

Sure hope this helps

WPH

3

Thanks for the suggestion. I should have thought of that myself since I’ve seen key info in Media Bay when going through my own Acidized loop collection. But what a lot of work to get some info that should be simple to find.

Like … I don’t know … something as far out and radical as putting the original key signature in the title of the loop?

Como

4

I’ve located the folder where Loopmash vst content is stored and ‘scanned’ it into the index in the browser on the left side of media bay … but no content shows in the main media bay window on the right side where the contents of folders are revealed.

When I go to the location with windows explorer I see two large 500 mb or so loopmash.vst files.
Apparently some encrypted content.

Why isn’t the media bay displaying the contents? I do have show all media selected.

Thanks.

Como

5

It could be there’s a filter active (try clicking the reset filters buttons)

Or it could be that the “show deep results” option is not on. Up in the location
Pane is a folder icon. Hover over it and the tool tip says “show deep results”
(or maybe it says show subfolders… Don’t remember off hand). Make sure
That feature is on.

PM me a screen shot of your MB if this doesn’t fix it.

Cheers

Walt

6

Walter P …

Thanks for your help. My problem was due to trying to navigate through the system folder as opposed to the vstsounds folder at the top of the hierarchy.

Unfortunately I discovered that only a few … less than 100 … of the 500+ file content of Loopmash include the Key information.

I am dubious that this missing key information will be corrected … even though that information must be available to Steinberg through the actual loop creators.

Hopefully any future content will include this very useful information.

I’d still like to see some type of pitch detection algorithm directly accessible from the mediabay window as an option.

Como

7

Terrific,

glad you were able to get that second part sorted out.

Just a couple of thoughts about key info on loops (and this is just my two cents)

  • A lot of the loopmash loops are non-musical (well… I guess it would be more appropriate to say ‘non pitched’. drums and stuff) so only having 1 in 5 w/ a tag for ‘key’ might not be too out of line.

  • for the ‘pitched’ loops w/o key info included, you could insert a plug like ‘tuner’ into the channel and it should tell you what key its in?

  • Or, if you insert ‘pitch shifter’, you should (I think) be able to force everythign coming into it, into a designated key, either by setting it or by using ‘MIDI’ input

I understand you’re desire to just have this ‘baked in’ to the loops like most others, but those are a couple of thoughts for now.

Cheers!

Walt

8

Walter …

I should have said ‘way less than 100 … maybe 60.’

I also believe far more than half of the loops are pitched … it is the minority with straight drumming, but as you probably know, even most electronic drums are in fact pitched.

The pitch detection plug in: doesn’t that just read out note pitch? Are you saying it will average note pitch, including polyphonic, and make a key suggestion?

I appreciate your work around suggestions and have used most of them in other contexts, but, c’mon, something that could have been easily and usefully included … or ‘baked in’ as you say … in the loopmash collection wasn’t.

It should have been and certainly should be going forward.

I’m not too worried as I have a large collection of acidized loops to use anyway.

But I, like many, also have a lot of unacidized wav file loops. That’s why I believe MediaBay should have some basic built in pitch detection. You apparently have the technology with variaudio anyway, no?

Como

9

Hmmm … a ‘pitch shifter’ forcing everything to a certain key? Can you clarify please?

I am aware of midi plugins that do this. And I am aware of audio plugins like Melodyne’s and Antare’s that do this … as well as that included in Cubase …that will force the audio to the notes of a specified key. But I don’t believe this is forcing the audio to that key, since the harmony wouldn’t be preserved even if the notes were now diatonic.

What are you referring to?

Also, in passing, let me note that there is a pitch shifter in loopmash that is available on a track by track basis within each scene. Again, while this detects pitch and someone could take some time to tune the loop (presuming the loop’s original tuning was proper A 440) in semitones … this is not pitch detection.

Como