Audio Export issue, Synthogy Ivory

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Chopinisgod
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2011 4:47 pm

Post by Chopinisgod » Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:45 am

Hi!

I've got a problem regarding audio export, in Sib 6,
using the Synthogy Ivory.

Playing back in Sibelius itself works fine and sounds as it should, however,
if i export the audio and listen to it in Windows Media player or such,
i find that the pedal markings are almost being ignored, or
heavily shortened.
Sustain lasts only for about 2/3rds of a bar, regardless of the
actual markings, making sections where sustain is supposed
to be kept for multiple bars sound horrible, with notes
disappearing.
I could send the audio file to anyone who wishes
to hear it, to get a better grasp of what i'm talking about.

The problem is not confined just to sustain using the pedal though,
all forms of sustain, for example a note notated to be held for over
a bar will also disappear after about 2/3rds of a bar.

This does not occur if i export the audio using another playback device,
which leads me to assume that the problem occurs during the exporting process,
when using this particular playback device, the Ivory.

The Ivory is quite huge, perhaps it is putting too great
of a strain on my computer when combined with the audio exporting?
If so, what can be done about it?
Boost my RAM?

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated!


andyg
Posts: 1727
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2006 8:55 pm
Sibelius Version: 7.1.3 and 6.2
Operating System: Windows

Post by andyg » Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:04 pm

Ivory can be very demanding!It would like tons of RAM and a powerful system. You don't say how much you've got, or what your audio system is, but as a general rule, they can cause problems with large VSTi's if they're not up to the job.

I'd say 4GB should be OK. I've not had any problems using Ivory with Cubase with that amount. I never use Sib for 'authentic' playback so I've not tried Ivory with it.

Chopinisgod
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2011 4:47 pm

Post by Chopinisgod » Thu Sep 22, 2011 9:21 am

Hi Andy, big thanks for your answer! :D

Yeah, i'm on 3GB RAM, so that might well be the culprit.
But i'm not much of a technical genius, so would it possible
for you to explain further how increasing my RAM would
help me go about this problem?
So i don't go out and spend alot of money on something i dont
fully.. understand :)

Is this the general idea - Ivory takes alot of RAM,
exporting the audio takes alot of RAM, some sort of overload,
result - flawed audio? Thus, solution = more RAM?

As for the rest of my system, i'm on an external M-Audio soundcard.
If there's anything else you'd benefit from knowing let me know! :)

Thanks again!

andyg
Posts: 1727
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2006 8:55 pm
Sibelius Version: 7.1.3 and 6.2
Operating System: Windows

Post by andyg » Thu Sep 22, 2011 9:35 am

Depending on the operating system, 3GB should be OK, and the M-Audio box is fine too.

Is there a setting in Ivory that you've missed, where it's not sounding all the sustain samples, or is it set to too low a polyphony. The usual rule when exporting to an audio file off line (ie other than in real time) is to max out everything in the VSTi and let the computer take the strain in its own good time. Ivory recommends this in their own instruction manual. Like I said, I don't do this in Sibelius, only in Cubase, but I can't see any settings in Sibelius that would cause this effect.

Chopinisgod
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2011 4:47 pm

Post by Chopinisgod » Thu Sep 22, 2011 10:12 am

I tried maxing out the voices to 160, and giving the VST a large buffer,
but the problem's still there, nasty pops and supposed-to-be sustained
notes just disappearing after about 2/3rds a bar length :/

Really strange, and i don't think the problem is with the VST,
because when played in Sibelius itself it sounds golden!

Do you have any other clues to what might be causing this?
Thanks a bunch!

EDIT; Regarding cubase, i read in another forum people having this problem,
and solving it using "real-time export", which you also mention.
Is this applicable in Sibelius in some way?

EDITEDIT; I also get a red text in the main screen of the VST when exporting - "Slow disk".
Is my harddrive too slow perhaps?
Reading in the manual, Synthogy recommends having a dedicated harddrive
with over 7200 rpm to function perfectly - do you have this setup?
Furthermore, they also say that the slow disk problem can make
voices pop and disappear - my problem exactly.
Might the harddrive be the problem? Or the RAM also?

andyg
Posts: 1727
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2006 8:55 pm
Sibelius Version: 7.1.3 and 6.2
Operating System: Windows

Post by andyg » Thu Sep 22, 2011 7:41 pm

Slow disk - fatal! Ivory stores only a tiny bit of the sound in RAM and streams the rest off disk. That 7200 speed is essential, as is fast drive - not all 7200rpm drives are equal.

Real time export may be even worse, that's if you can actually get your computer to playback in Sibelius and record in another app at the same time. The audio system will almost certainly be single client.

Just one last thought, you ARE using the ASIO drivers for the M-Audio?

Chopinisgod
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2011 4:47 pm

Post by Chopinisgod » Thu Sep 22, 2011 7:55 pm

My audio interface is called M-Audio USB ASIO (ASIO), which should be correct.

How would i go about finding my current rpm? EDIT; Stupid question, easy to google. :p
I found out i DO have a 7200 rpm drive.
And as you say, not all drives are equal, would it be possible to have an external
drive that can handle the Ivory? What are you depending on in matters of speed then?
USB-speed? My computer hardware knowledge is also quite limited :/

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions, i'm just dying to
get my music out the way i want it to sound! :D

msealey
Posts: 15
Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2011 5:26 pm

Post by msealey » Sun Oct 23, 2011 9:19 pm

On a related note, has anyone got any recommendations, please, for sound sets and otherwise optimizing use of Ivory II with Sibelius 7?

Thanks!
--
Mark Sealey

ianlowesmusic
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2014 6:09 pm

Post by ianlowesmusic » Wed Dec 17, 2014 6:23 pm

I am probably in the wrong place for this question, but I have recently installed Synthogy Ivory II on my iMac to run within Sibelius, hopefully. I have got to the stage where the standalone Ivory piano is making sounds and is visible in the Playback Devices in Sibelius as Ivory VST. However, when I set up a patch with Ivory as the playback device and select acoustic piano, I can get no sound at all. Any ideas? Synthogy support have been helpful at their end, but don't understand the workings of Sibelius well enough to advise me.

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