i2M for violin

[gabrieljo]

Good morning,
I'm a violonist and need to be able, in live performance, to play sounds like a Sax or a flute with the violin.
Will the i2M be able to help me with this?
What Midi instrument do you think will be giving best results, a Micro Korg or similar?
Thank you,
Gabriel

[james]

We have someone working with the i2M to do tests and hopefully a video on how to make it work best with electric violin. We don't have any video yet, unfortunately.

The i2M does work, but you may need to adjust your playing style for best results.

For sounds, because the i2M requires a USB connection, you need a computer to do this, not a MIDI synth/sound module.

If you want to use a standard 5-pin MIDI connection, consider the G2M instead. (Actually, we will be releasing details of a new G2M soon which may work better than the original for violin!)

[tklenke]

I just purchased an i2M for use with an electric violin. To be honest it's not working well. I'm not getting correct notes and the response time is horrible. I have to play quarter notes at a 120 tempo for the i2M to keep up. I also tried the i2M with my guitar and am getting the same result. I have updated the firmware to the latest version and have edited the configuration to the range of my violin. Hopefully this is just a user error and I won't have to return the i2M. If anyone can provide some assistance I would appreciate it - I've got a show in less than a week and was hoping to use the i2M for some effects.

Instruments: NS Wav violin, Epiphone Les Paul guitar with Seymour Duncan Pickups.
Software: Logic Studio, Komplete 7
Hardware: MacBook 2.1ghz duel core intel processor running Snow Leopard.

[james]

You should be able to play much faster than quarter notes at 120bpm. Is the problem the latency between playing and hearing the note? The MIDI note will be output virtually instantly so you should hear a synth note virtually instantly too. Most likely the problem is latency in your audio for some reason.

What are you using for your audio output?

Does the same thing happen with guitar and the i2M?

Wrong notes is most likely playing technique. You may need to adjust your style slightly for best results, though obviously you can't do that until you get the latency resolved.

[tklenke]

I'm using an Apogee Duet connected via firewire for my output interface. I don't have latency problems with analog in/analog out using the Apogee Duet for both. I also don't have latency issues when using a midi keyboard connected via usb while using the Apogee Duet as my output interface. As far as wrong notes, I'm hearing an octave difference when playing some notes - the low G on the violin for the most part. I'm experiencing the same issues with guitar as I am violin.

[james]

Regarding latency, if you play a clean note (plucked, not bowed) on violin, or guitar, you should be able to get a feel for it. For high notes it should always be less than 20ms, typically less than 10ms. This adds to any other latency in your system so maybe it's just pushing the latency into the realm of what you can notice?

The wrong octaves: does it make the note an octave higher or lower than it should be?

When it produces a higher note, this is usually because the fundamental frequency of the note is suppressed too much (which can happen with bridge pickups, which is one reason we suggest using neck pickups if there are issues).

If it produces a lower octave note, this is often because more than one string is vibrating when the note starts.

[tklenke]

I'm noticing that some notes just aren't being played through the i2m. For example, when I play an arpeggio over the first five strings on the guitar notes toward the end of the arpeggio are not recognized. On violin I'm noticing the same thing when I play at higher speeds. If I play at a slow speed it seems to recognize things ok. I've also noticed that the i2m won't play exactly what I'm playing - sharp or flat notes. If it helps I can send you an audio file and a midi file of me playing along with a screen shot of my settings.

When the i2m plays a wrong octave it is playing an octave lower than what I'm playing.

I am not as concerned with getting the i2m to work with guitar as violin. The primary purpose I bought the i2m was to play leads and pads with my violin.

[james]

Please send a recording of what you're playing. It will be very useful to help us see what's going on.

You can PM it, or post in the forum, or email support _at_ sonuus.com; whichever you prefer.

[tklenke]

I've sent a recording to support @ sonuus.com.

[james]

Thanks, we received the file you sent. We will take a close look at it and get back to you.