Hi I would like to be able to edit midi in a piano roll inside cantabile, so why not a really good piano roll.
I downloaded the demo of FL studio, and installed the FL studio plugin. But Cantabile cannot see it. I am unfairly sure that I know how to scan plugins.
Two questions has anyone had any experience of this?
Is there another credible piano roll midi editor as a vst that I am not aware of?
The usual questions: is Cantabile looking in the right place? Is the expected 32/64 bit plugins installed? As far as options, Reaper is āfreeā and I believe has a piano roll editor.
Well. isnāt FL Studio a DAW? It is not a VST plugin (unless something has changed). Cantabile opens VST .dll files. FL Studio is an application and would probably be an .exe file.
There may be a midi roll editor as a VST plugin somewhere on the vast internet, but I am not aware of one,
Here is a small discussion about piano roll in Cantabile:
Iām not sure why the O. P. would want to edit inside Cantabile. I think some of the DAWs can run as a VST. Cantabile is intended for live performance, so I canāt imagine why one would want to edit MIDI live. So, maybe there is some perceived workflow advantage?
FL studio is the only one I an aware of that can run as a vst. I had some recent successful improvisations where I didnt play any keyboard but rather sequenced different synthesizers.
My problem is mostly a technical one - why wont cantabile scan and load the FL studio vst.
If it is a vst, you will have to locate where the FL Studio dll file was placed during installation. Then, you will have to go into Cantabile and direct it to the folder it is in. You do that by opening Cantabile - tools - options- plugin options - addā¦then browse to the folder the VST is in.
This from FL Studio site:
## Installing FL Studio VST
FL Studio asks to install the VST plugin of itself during the installation. However, if you didnāt install the plugin version at that time, or you want to install it on more than one host, from the Windows Start Menu, select Programs > FL Studio > Advanced > Install Plugin Version . You will see a dialog where you can set the plugin folder of the host where you want the connection installed.
I agree with you Richard. Donāt know why anyone would want to edit midi live, but to each his own. My concern would be what kind of load a DAW would impose on C3. I would certainly edit in an external DAW or midi editor. I wonder if anyone has tried that on Mainstage. 
Hey Corky,
Fruity Loops is a step sequencer and is usually creates/edits in real time by selecting beat patterns with the transport running at tempo, that might be what is meant, kinda like Ableton but for step sequencer FL tracks.
Dave
Hi Daveā¦thanks
Understand FL features itās step sequencer, but it is a DAWā¦
FL Studio is a digital audio workstation developed by the Belgian company Image-Line. FL Studio features a graphical user interface based on a pattern-based music sequencer.
I was going by the OPās original post of using Studio to edit midi in a piano roll. He also stated:
Original post never led me to a step sequencer use, which would be somewhat understandable. Thanks for the info.
Piano roll is a more general case than a step sequencer - it can loop just like a step sequencer, but on the other hand you can just compose arbitrarily long sequences that blur the line with āsongsā. I just find it ergonomic to have a few such sequences loaded up, and perhaps looping side by side, but I can and do edit them on the fly, or create new ones on the fly. my partner also has his sequencers running (his are step on hardware but that is his choice) and then he plays guitar too loud over top of all of it, and last time we played I tried to not over play, but rather created rymthmic and melodic sequences that I could change out dynamically. and since some were pre-prepared, it is like coming to a jam with āsongsā.
we want to do more of this because it was fun. cantabile is the best VST host I have found, and its the best thing to use in this context. the piece that is missing is a good sequencer. last time I used my MPC live, which has a great sequencer, but then I have another box to sync and worry about, and the MPC is not very tight sync-wise so then I have a sync box, and it becomes more of a mess.
if I can just insert a piano roll into cantabile, it does away with a lot of that mess. and while I like some other DAWs, as you guys know Cantabile is just better for me ergonomically.
Just a curious questionā¦what is your sequencer or piano roll triggering?
Corky thanks for the interest you have shown in my setup, I am not a very good musician and the end results donāt really justify all my effort but I enjoy the process.
I have a K2600XS synthesizer which makes some really amazing sounds, and I have been sequencing that from my PC or the MPC live. My friend likes āambientā music so I have been using lots of sounds from the arp 2600, Synclavier, System 1m, se-02, Arturia Pigments, Oberheim Matrix 12 I think it is, the Korg Ms20, also making a lot of use of the MS20 as an effects processor, the Buchla Easel, and the Arturia V DX7 plugin which is far far greater than the sum of its parts with the extra features Arturia tacked on. So the MPC live, the se-02, the system 1m, and the k2600XS, are hardware, everything else is a VST. I have lots of soft synths, and the hardware just isnāt worth it for me as a hobbyist. I have all the VSTS from Arturia V Collection, Roland Cloud, and the Korg Collection and some others.
What I really enjoy is that if I were listing all these crazy synths and they were hardware it would sound like bragging, and I would seem foolish, but I have spent a lot less on the VSTs than on the hardware. But even that is all used and cheap. In a couple of weeks I will be down to just my keyboard controllers my PC and a couple sync box type things. I also practice piano using the PC controlled by a digital piano.
So, I use .mid files in Cantabile for soundcheck, since I am both soundman and keyboardist. The use of C3 is about live performance. I saw the plugin version of FL studio and, unlike an average step sequencer, it offers a piano roll view. That may be useful. However, I am not skilled on FL studio.
Cantabile 3 is a very specific resource. I do some software programming for businesses, and one of the problems that develops is when the programmer is attempting to build in features that drift from the original utility of the software.
For example, a programmer develops a scheduling tool for a Doctorās office. Over time, clerical wants to use the scheduling program to track and harvest data that is housed in the electronic health record. As the programmer seeks to make this happen, the software loses utility as both a scheduler and electronic health record since each one is pristine in its scope of operation when used separately.
Cantabile 3 will hopefully never pursue becoming both a DAW and VST player, otherwise, it will lose quality as a pristine VST player.
I view C3 as a highly functional performance tool that may require hours and hours of preparation using a DAW to produce .mid, mp3 or .wav files for the media player(s). Come show time, C3 outperforms a DAW by far.
@gminorcoles I celebrate your statement that you are not a very good musician as we all are not very good musicians given the right context. Sounds like you are pretty well in the game with your integration of hardware and software synths. The musicians who think they are good, and need no input are the truly pathetic ones.
I donāt think I spoke to anything that pertains to this thread, but I am super impressed with my post. I feel great!
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