Version 5.1 - triggering from plugins - how?

[neilwilkes]

What's the idiots guide to using D5.1 with BFD2 as a plugin, please?
I am finding BFD gets note on/off signals, but nothing is output back to Drumagog, and it looks like nothing much is happening in BFD2 either.
I know this has been around for a while, and I am sure it used to work.
Now I cannot seem to get any sound though, so I must have either not done someting & forgotten I have not done it, or something had changed & I do not know what.

Any idiot guide (non-MIDI filled explanation) for a humble sound engineer would be seriously helpful.

[Chris M]

Hello,

A great place to start is our Plugin Hosting tutorial, which can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUc9nZRUMt4

This will go through the general ins-and-outs of Plugin Hosting, using EZDrummer as the hosted Plugin. While BFD is different from EZDrummer, much of what is covered will apply.

The most common problem when using BFD in Drumagog is that the MIDI numbering systems have a two-octave discrepancy, meaning C5 in BFD is C3 in Drumagog. One easy way around this is to use the 'Note Learn' feature in BFD. If Drumagog is set up to trigger, pressing play while the 'Note Learn' feature is running should send a MIDI note from Drumagog to BFD, and BFD will automatically detect which note it is.

A good strategy is to ensure that Drumagog is triggering to your satisfaction before adding BFD. If Drumagog is triggering each intended hit appropriately, adding BFD will simply follow the same pattern.

Once triggering is working in BFD, a specific mix between BFD and Drumagog can be achieved using the Mix slider on the 'Plugins' tab of Drumagog. Furthermore, a specific mix between the BFD/Drumagog combination and the original material can be achieved using the Mix slider on the 'Main' tab, giving you complete control over the blend of sounds.

Best,

Chris
WaveMachine Labs

[neilwilkes]

I wish it were that simple, Chris.
Sadly although I see BFD2 is triggering, I am getting zero back into Drumagog.
I am also not seeing any actual meter action in FD2 either.
Clicking on the loaded kit piece works fine - I get output.
That is all though, and I get nothing else at all, not with BFD2 or any other instrument.

I just cannot get Drumagog to actually trigger any instrument at all.
It used to work, all of a sudden it does not & I cannot work out why.

EDIT.
Checked BFD2 version, and I am on the latest "official" release, so no problems there.
One area that might point to the problem is that although Drumagog is set to C3, BFD2 says it is seeing info on C5.
I'm also unsure where to set the MIDI information as well - there are 2 places in D5 for this, and none of them make any real difference - still silence. However, when D5 is set to "MIDI out Enable" I see MIDI information triggering in BFD2 but still get no return, and no actual triggering is happening. I can preview a kit piece, but not actually trigger it.
It's got to be a setting, but damnatum si quis est........

EDIT 2.
Dragging the kick drum to key C5 makes it work.
How do I get D5 to do this?
Seems the settings in D5 just do not work, or else I am finally slipping into my dotage (possible)

[Chris M]

Hello,

The easiest way to get BFD2 set up with Drumagog is to get Drumagog triggering properly first. Once you are satisfied with how it is triggering, add BFD2 in the Plugins tab. Load a drum in BFD2, right click it, and select 'Start MIDI Learn.' Playing back the track you intend to replace should trigger Drumagog, which will send a MIDI note to BFD2, which will automatically recognize it. Click 'Done' to confirm.

If this doesn't work, make sure the Blend slider (in the 'Main' tab) is all the way to the right,. Otherwise, settings in BFD2 might be preventing it from working. However, with a fresh Drumagog plugin and a fresh BFD2 plugin, this method should work.

Best,

Chris
WaveMachine Labs

[neilwilkes]

Hi Chris.

I will try again with the "Learn" function.
Drumagog 5 is triggering just fine with GOG files.
The problem is that no other VSTi is triggering at all, where it did just used to work.
Seems to me D5 is outputting on a completely different channel to the one it says it is.
All the places (well, both of them) say C3 for the Kick Drum.
Yet D5 is actually outputting on C5, not C3. I can see the "note on" "note off" messages in BFD2.

I just tried the "Learn" method, and it worked just fine - excellent stuff. Thanks for the tip there, much appreciated.
What do I do in those VSTi where there is no learn function?

[neilwilkes]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I wanted to confirm that all is working as it should be.
I just popped in to see what's new, and realised I had never even bothered to say "Thank You".

Please forgive the rudeness!!