i2M setup for tenor or alto sax?

The i2M musicport™ MIDI Converter & Hi-Z USB Audio Interface

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Slimandslam
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Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2018 4:53 pm

i2M setup for tenor or alto sax?

Post by Slimandslam »

I've got my new I2M with firmware version 1.4x. I ran the software to change the settings, and I set
all four channels to "Voice/Wind". Is there anything else I need to do in order to optimize use with
a saxophone? I'm using an iPad Air 2 and Notion software.

Cheers,

Jason
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james
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Re: i2M setup for tenor or alto sax?

Post by james »

For Saxophone, good microphone placement can be important. You want to make sure you don't pick up any MIDI sound, or you can get feedback (the MIDI sound is detected and generates MIDI notes for that).

You also want to keep the sound getting to the i2M as pure as possible. Here are a few other posts with some tips:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1699&p=5264&hilit=saxophone#p5262
viewtopic.php?f=19&t=812&p=2157&hilit=saxophone#p2157
Slimandslam
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Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2018 4:53 pm

Re: i2M setup for tenor or alto sax?

Post by Slimandslam »

Unfortunately, those other posts were not very helpful at all.

Below are my hardware setup and an example of what's I'm seeing in the app.
The setup seems to be working as expected. I tried both Notion and Symphony Pro 5 on
the ipad and get identical results, so I think the issue is with the i2m.
setup.jpg
setup.jpg (147.98 KiB) Viewed 16708 times

So, I did individual note input of a G major scale very slowly, and that produced the first measure which
I think the app transposed. I guess there's no Midi "length" for the note? It always produced eighth notes no mater
how I played them. Then I did realtime input of a G Major scale at a slow tempo and that produced
the garbage you see later. I have the i2m set for Vocal/Wind input.
music.jpg
music.jpg (179.61 KiB) Viewed 16708 times
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james
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Re: i2M setup for tenor or alto sax?

Post by james »

I guess there's no Midi "length" for the note?
The i2M does of course include the length of the note. It sends note-on when the note-starts and note-off when it ends. I think you must have quantisation selected in the software so it's forcing all the notes to a fixed length.

It would be useful if you could send us an example of the audio recorded through the i2M. Then we can see exactly what's happening and hopefully offer more help. It's best if you can record this as a .wav so there is no lossy compression added to it, this way we can see exactly what the i2M is seeing and should be able to reproduce the MIDI conversion you are getting.

I'll send you a PM with my email address where you can send a wav file if you want to do this.
Slimandslam
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Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2018 4:53 pm

Re: i2M setup for tenor or alto sax?

Post by Slimandslam »

When I try to upload a WAV file, your forum software says "The extension wav is not allowed."
The extension mp3 is allowed, so I uploaded an MP3 of my G major scale on Tenor Sax. It was recorded
with an iphoneX from the same distance and in the same location that I'm doing input with i2M.
Attachments
TenorSax.mp3
(133.5 KiB) Downloaded 778 times
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james
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Re: i2M setup for tenor or alto sax?

Post by james »

Thanks. I've sent you a PM with my email address so you can send me the wav file directly.
casadeyra
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Location: Kathmandu, Nepal
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Re: i2M setup for tenor or alto sax?

Post by casadeyra »

Hi, Everyone, I'm new to the forum. This forum is quite excited because I'm a full-time musician and I play both my Tenor and Alto sax on a daily basis and I'm a big believer in keeping my setup simple.
http://www.casadeyra.com/
hamyamys
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Joined: Mon Mar 04, 2019 11:42 am

Re: i2M setup for tenor or alto sax?

Post by hamyamys »

Slimandslam wrote:When I try to upload a WAV file, your forum software says "The extension wav is not allowed."
The extension mp3 is allowed, so I uploaded an MP3 of my G major scale on Tenor Sax. It was recorded V Tight Gel | Penomet | Bathmate | Vigrx Oil | Semenax

with an iphoneX from the same distance and in the same location that I'm doing input with i2M.
All of these are just natural you can't share it with others seriously


You can share it with or without those holding things you can justify with the location
Slimandslam
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Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2018 4:53 pm

Re: i2M setup for tenor or alto sax?

Post by Slimandslam »

So, after trying several setups, it appears that this device is not suitable for analog wind instrument input.
If someone has successfully used it for that, I'd love to find out your settings and setup.
jtillinghast
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Joined: Wed May 15, 2019 6:39 pm

Re: i2M setup for tenor or alto sax?

Post by jtillinghast »

I'm also very disappointed with sax performance. My setup: clip-on contact mic on Tenor, experimented with placing on the bell, on the neck, even on the ligature (someone suggested on the mouthpiece, but I couldn't make that work). Playing with all MIDI playback through headphones, so I know there was no signal bleeding over. Firmware upgraded to 1.4.

The two major issues: I saw quite a few octave transcription errors (playing a scale, random notes would either jump up or down an octave). Also, there were many times when playing legato, the first note would register but it wouldn't register the second note in a passage (even if moving very slowly - 1 sec + per note).

I was hoping someone had found a way to tweak the settings to get it more in line, but it just seems like people are agreeing that it's too unreliable to use. Disappointing. I may tinker with it for a couple more days before I send it back.
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