Hey there, VSL-iacs!
Now that my new computer is assembled, I am working on my DAW setup.
I had an idea for my orchestral template, which I want to share - hoping to receive some feedback and constructive critisism; I'd be most thankful. Of course, there is a problem as well, which I will present right afterwards.
Template Idea
I had the idea of installing a VE instance for every big group, say [winds], [strings etc], [percussion + others].
Every instrument of the group would have its own MIDI port.
Example: piccolo on port 1, flute on port 2, oboe port 3 etc.
I would then use the 16 channels of the respective port for further differentiation.
In the example: flute 1 on (port/channel) 2/1, flute 2 on 2/3 2/2, flute w/ transposition trick on 2/5 2/3, flute with different VIP settings (eg. Vel-X-fade controlled via velocity not CC2) on 2/7 2/4etc.
(The reason for choosing odd channel numbers is the idea of sending the keyswitches on the correlating even channel number in order to easily omit them when exporting MIDI data to a program like Finale.) EDIT: This is not necessary, because the channels in the Reaper track do not automatically mirror the channels in the routing. I can have 16 channels in the Reaper MIDI track and can send all (or any other combination) to them to, e.g., 2/2.
The reason for this approach is: I want to keep the template modular (*), which means that I will only add cases like above if necessary. For it would mix up channel numbers etc when just randomly inserting a "third flute track for whatever reasons", I thought it would be nice to have the instruments capsuled in their own ports, which gives 16 (or 8 in the aforementioned style) possible tracks per instrument and keeps the routing matrix clean and clear. If the current piece demands a cello divisi, I'll just add appropriate tracks in the "cello port" and so on.
Every instrument (read MIDI port) would then send the audio of its channels to one dedicated instrument bus, which routes back to Reaper, resulting in one audio track per instrument for stem rendering and post production. (This way I try to limit myself during my first steps of mixing.)
(*) I'm new to this and I know that template building is really hard, not least because of the uncountable possibilites and styles. I'm trying to find my way of doing things, and I'm sure that this won't be the last template (or attempt of a template), I'll be building...
That much about the template idea - feel free to comment, I'll GLADLY listen to your advice and experience!
The Problem
I'm working with the latest version of Reaper and I have a problem with routing the channels to a VE instance. The first bus works fine, but all other busses do not send their MIDI to the VE instance and I cannot figure out why. I feel like it's a very simple thing, but I can't find it. I read that the multi-port-possibilites come with the VST3 standard, which VE supports automatically(?).
I appended a very simple project, showing the problem (the cello tracks produce no audio, the MIDI information doesn't even reach the VE instance).
I appreciate any help and thoughts!
Kind regards,
Lukas
