use cases questions

[nalooti]

Hi,

before buying, I'd like to know if the followings are possible:

1/ Writing midi patterns: Tired to click on Piano Roll View in my DAW (Reaper), I'd like to be able with my guitar to write bass/drum lines pattern by playing the exact note on my guitar instead of clicking on the piano roll. Is this possible ? Please note, this is before assigning any synth sound to the midi notes. I'll do this once recording my track.

2/ Playing synth live: Now, I want to play a synth sound "live"; that is first I assign a synth sound and then I play on my guitar and hear each played note as the synth sound I have assigned. Is this possible ?

3/ How/Where to assign a synth sound ? I have Virtual Instruments (Drum, Bass, Piano, Strings) as VST plugins in my windows. Do I have to create a track first and associate that track with an instrument ? That is using my DAW is mandatory ?

4/ Any manual on associating instrument VST to this device i2M ?

thanks
nalooti

[james]

1/ Writing midi patterns: Tired to click on Piano Roll View in my DAW (Reaper), I'd like to be able with my guitar to write bass/drum lines pattern by playing the exact note on my guitar instead of clicking on the piano roll. Is this possible ? Please note, this is before assigning any synth sound to the midi notes. I'll do this once recording my track.

I've not used Reaper, but I assume this is possible. Usually you need to put your MIDI track into record, select the i2M as the MIDI input then start recording. Any MIDI played on the i2M will then appear on your track. There is no need to assign an instrument (unless Reaper requires that).

2/ Playing synth live: Now, I want to play a synth sound "live"; that is first I assign a synth sound and then I play on my guitar and hear each played note as the synth sound I have assigned. Is this possible ?

Of course this is possible, and one of the best ways to enjoy the i2M. How you do this depends on your DAW. Check your manual for how to play a MIDI keyboard live -- it's just the same with the i2M.

3/ How/Where to assign a synth sound ? I have Virtual Instruments (Drum, Bass, Piano, Strings) as VST plugins in my windows. Do I have to create a track first and associate that track with an instrument ? That is using my DAW is mandatory ?

Again, I don't know reaper. Check the docs for Reaper. You must have some software running to convert the MIDI from the i2M into audio, but it doesn't need to be a DAW, a simple VST host would work, or a stand-alone sampler application.

4/ Any manual on associating instrument VST to this device i2M ?

There is no specific manual for the i2M. You just assign a VST to a MIDI track like you would if you were using the piano roll, or a MIDI keyboard. The manual for your DAW should give all the details you need for this.

[nalooti]

question 3/ what do you mean by a VST host ? The only host type I know for VST is a DAW which means using the DAW (even not for recording) is mandatory for live playing. This is strange because usually a DAW is only useful for recording!

question 4/ based on your answer again, using the DAW seems mandatory even just for playing (not recording) !

For live playing, is it just not possible to associate a synth sound to i2M with the provided soft ? (therefore not using any DAW for playing, even if it is mandatory for recording) ?

[james]

question 3/ what do you mean by a VST host ? The only host type I know for VST is a DAW which means using the DAW (even not for recording) is mandatory for live playing. This is strange because usually a DAW is only useful for recording!

There are some simple VSTi hosts that aren't DAWs. For example:

http://www.hermannseib.com/english/vsthost.htm
http://www.tobybear.de/p_minihost.html

question 4/ based on your answer again, using the DAW seems mandatory even just for playing (not recording) !

For live playing, is it just not possible to associate a synth sound to i2M with the provided soft ? (therefore not using any DAW for playing, even if it is mandatory for recording) ?

The i2M software is only an editor to configure built-in presets. There is lots of good (and some free) software to let you do this already (see VSTi hosts mentioned above).