MIRx Clarinet natural volume

[J.Hall]

Hi I am using MIRx as a trial and I noticed that the clarinet (Special Edition) sounds much louder than other instruments, and more "in your face" than for example flute or oboe. I tested the same midi melody with a Dimension Brass solo horn and a clarinet legato with MIRx on (Teldex Studio) with natural volume and pre-eq on. Both instruments had the same expression, velocity x-fade and volume. If I understand the idea correctly, the natural volume should compensate for this and make the forte french horn louder than the forte clarinet. Of course this could be easily fixed by lowering the clarinet volume but then the point of using natural volume starts to weaken. I'm thinking maybe I missed something obvious?

[Dietz]

Hi, thanks for reporting - we will look into it ASAP.

Kind regards,

[J.Hall]

Thank you I wanted to add that I used powerpan in Vienna Ensemble on the tracks (panning horns to the left and clarinet to the middle), but I realised maybe powerpan shouldn't be used? I think it sounds better when using it but I'm no sound engineer so maybe I'm screwing things up.

[Dietz]

When working with MIR Pro or MIRx,  I would indeed try to avoid any other tools for changing panorama and/or stereo width in most cases.

One of the obvious exceptions might be the need for swapping the channels of a MIRx'ed instruments (L=R, R=L). Other than that, chances are that you're not just overcomplicating things, but also obstructing the results MIR is actually able to achieve, especially when you don't know exactly what you're after. :-)

That said, your changes must have been quite heavy-handed when they are really turning the volumes of the instruments upside down. 8-) Hard to imagine. ... we'll look into it in any case.

Kind regards,

[J.Hall]

So, just to be clear, leaving the power pan on full left-to-right (the default) in VE is the way to go? I did not do anything else than the usual panning to position the orchestral instruments. I actually just made a project just to compare the clarinet again (with the panning untouched) with trumpet ensemble, flute, oboe and solo french horn. No inserts were used on any tracks, and the levels were the same on both CC7 (volume), CC11 (expression), CC2 (velocity x-fade) and the tracks volume. The "problem" is still there. I find that the instrument is too loud and has too much presence compared to oboe and flute. It's as if it has been positioned at the Violin I, 1st chair position. I appreciate that you'll look into it. I am very interested in hearing what you come up with.

[Dietz]

Hi again,

I just tested the instruments you wrote about in your previous messages (Special Edition Clarinet Eb, Oboe, Flutes I and II) with their Natural Volume and Pre-EQ settings as supplied by MIRx in Vienna Konzerthaus Grosser Saal, as well as Mozartsaal. While it is true that the Clarinet cuts trough easily, it seems to be a natural balance between those instruments for me.

In any case - if the Natural Volume setting for the Clarinet is not to your liking, just reduce its volume by two or three dB. If the instruments seems to be too dry and up-front, bring up the wet signal a bit. After all, Natural Volume is meant to be used as a convenient starting point for your own creations. It can't and won't replace an individual mix for every new arrangement.

Kind regards,