http://razmo.ziphoid.com/Ambiano.mp3A new program called "Ambiano" ... it's a weird hybrid that sounds like some kind of electric piano if played very softly, but as velocity is increased, it takes on the tone of a piano... it's a very playable instrument to get expressive with.
100% REV2, no external FX added... there is a bit of distortion on a high note in the demo... it's not a part of the instrument, It is just a very loud instrument, and it clipped my soundcard
This is also something I struggled with to begin with... getting high levels, but I've learned what causes the low ouputs and know how to program around it... most programs is at about -18dB and hotter, rarely below that (which also happen to be the optimum recording level according to what I've read on the net... I do not tend to lower the volume on any of my programs because I prefer to have them as hot as possible to get the best signal to noise ratio... if a user want it lowered they can do so easily themselves (is my philosophy).
By the way... this Ambiano program is in essence a 16 voice program... but it uses Layer B (as many of my other programs do too) to create the reverb. I often do this with programs that do not need 16voice polyphony for most tasks. The reason is that in many programs, I usually use the HiPass filter on the main sound to induce a kind of "resonant character" to the sound (50/50%) ... thus I have no FX slot available to do the reverb.
It does come with an advantage to put the reverb in layer B... one of the things that the REV2 reverb is lacking is the ability to modulate the input signal to the FX... I often just copy the main program on layer A to layer B, then set the FX to "reverb" and the mix to 100% wet, and then adjust the main volume of layer B to get the ratio I want... this will not do much anything else than just work as an extra FX on layer A... but if you think cleverly, you can make an advantage here. I often put a bit of vibrato on the B layer sound... this works exactly as if the reverb had a built in vibrato modulation... this makes the reverb tail much much denser... it just sounds so much better this way... and if you have problems with the reverb setting in too quickly (as if you wanted more early reflection delay), just simply add a lot af attack on the AMP envelope... and even better: if you hate that the built in reverb does not have a long enough decay? ... just extend the release time on the program in layer B... voila! ... instant ambient reverb that can last as long as you want depending on the release settings of the AMP envelope
... you can even play with the tone of the reverb tail by setting the decay time of the real reverb FX to different settings... even if they are low, the long release times of the B layer program will stretch it out anyway.... you have to be creative with what you've got
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