so I am accustomed to being able to create volume envelopes on individual midi tracks and have it work....with ewql it doesnt....maybe I'm doing something wrong...in ewql (silver xp) I have to put a volume envelop on the track that ewql is on (the vst) but then this of course effects every single instrument within the vst. I want to be able to control volume without being forced to edit velocities...but more importantly there are no reverb tails (which I found is really aweful) so to make up for it I make the last note longer than it's supposed to be and then fade it out....if I do this at the end of the song and all the instruments do it no biggy putting an envelop in the vst track works fine. but if lets say the violins cut out for a few measures but everything else keeps going I need a way to fade out the violins without fading everything else out. Has anyone figured out how to do this?

There's no reason you'd ever want to use a volume envelope on the ewql host track. To do any kind of volume change of crescendos, diminuendos, swells, etc. you'll want to sent CC informatioin. Any modern sequencer should let you easily draw in CC information or record it from your midi keyboard. The relevant tracks for ewqlso are CC 1 (mod wheel), CC 7, and CC 11. CC 1 is only relevant for some instruments: for some it will fade volume, and for others it fades the character of the tone such as tremolo/vibrato. CC 7 is meant to be set at the beginning of the track and not dynamically adjusted. For instruments where CC 1 doesn't affect volume, use CC 11 to effect changes throughout the track. These messages should be sent on the track for the individual instrument, not to the host track.

All that said, there's a .pdf manual available for owners of ewqlso. To get a copy of it, you'll need to send your registration information to the creators ewqlso. You can find the details of that on their forums; I don't recall offhand who handles that.

thank you Im so glad its not just a "well that how it is deal with it" my current keyboard doesnt have a modwheel I know it's embarrasing...Im buying a new one next week though (m-audio axiom 61) so I'll check out this whole confusing thing you are talking about and figure it out thanks!!

So I figured out how to draw CC envelops but ewql isnt recognizing them....all my other synths when I go to select which CC (CC1 CC2 CC3 etc.) They replace the word CC# with whatever the CC function is (like volume or expression). When I try and perform this on a ewql midi track all of the CC's are all still called CC's and not given a name stating what they do. I thought it wasnt a big deal and went ahead and tried CC1 CC7 and CC11 but none of them are effecting the track in any way! what do I do?!

I am trying to draw them in I didnt think you had to enable anything to draw it in...at least not in sonar, I think cubase makes you but all my other synths are responding without any additional steps

A quick note: I use EWQLSO Gold, not Silver so some things may be different (perhaps many things are). I strongly suggest you read straight through the EWQLSO .pdf manual. It is fairly short and will help you in any number of ways.



You'll need to enable automation if you want to record CC data in real time (that is, from a keyboard or other source as the song plays). If you want to draw the data in with a mouse, you won't need to do that. Here are some things to check to make sure it's working:

First, load the ewql library; I use the built-in VST sampler. Next, create your midi track and assign its out to the ewql track on channel 1. In eqwl, load an instrument to channel 1. Place some notes in the midi track and make sure you hear noise.

Now let's add some CC data. Open the piano roll view for the midi track in question. Make sure that midi track is the active track. Make sure the controller pane is showing (press C if it isn't). There are three drop-down menus on the left sade of the controller pane. Set the top one to Control, the middle one to 7, and the bottom one to All Channels. It is correct that you will need to select your CC by number (this is the middle one). In fact, activating a CC in Sonar can be annoying (this might be correct in Sonar 5; I haven't tried it). To do so, you will have to type in the CC you want, not select it. In the piano roll view, it will be the middle drop-down menu. Except it won't actually drop down a menu. Instead, you'll have to type in the number you want, then click on one of the other drop-down menus to activate it. Set your cursor to draw or line mode. Draw some data with wild variations. Now play it!

If you hear the variations, congratulations! If not, you'll need to read a manual or provide more specific info if you want help here.

Lastly, a word about reverb. The way you'll want to add reverb is through a reverb module. There are a couple ways to do this. The easiest way is the following:

1. Find the EWQLSO host track in the track view.
2. Right-click on the FX pane and select "audio effects."
3. Find your favorite reverb from the drop-down list that shows up. If you haven't installed any better ones, use the default Cakewalk Fxreverb.

The better way to do reverb is by routing the out from EWQLSO to a subgroup or an effect send, but that's out of the scope of this discussion; consult SONAR reference material for that.

thanks for such a detailed response...unfortunatly it didnt work....btw an easier way to draw in your CC data is not in piano roll but by right clicking on a clip and creating a midi envelop from the options in the menu that pops up...I least I prefer this method...but anyways I tried in piano roll (and sonar 5 did fix the problem you mentioned because I could select a CC) and nothing. In fact the other synths again in piano roll renamed the CC's according to their function (expression ,volume, etc) but again ewql did not and i got no response : ( I guess I'll try the PDF manual...hopefully it's more in depth than the one they package with the product or I will have to email customer support.

EDIT: how frustrating the ewql forum is being difficult and after even remaking my password/username it wont let me login to post. Anyways I just tried actually using the CC's on my other synths and they are working perfectly...so it's so problem with ewql not how I am doing it in sonar...is there a button I need to hit in ewql or something?! I looked for a forum post about a pdf manual and it sounded like it's the one shipped with the software which I have.

[Edited by - JimWelch on August 3, 2006 1:32:22 AM]

...I know it's in the manual...well actually technically c11 is not volume its expression cc7 is volume. Either way neither of them are responding.

EDIT:
I just tried an experiment I opened it up as a stand alone and tried using the mod wheel. my current midi controller doesnt have a mod wheel so I was using the mouse to move the one on scree. The pitch wheel works fine but as I held a note and moved the mod wheel I heard no differences. I tried muted trumpets, angel choir, and violins none of them did anything when I moved the mod wheel...maybe the specific instruments I picked arent effected by the mod wheel...or maybe this is another symptom of the problem. So annoying!! I emailed tech support but they take forever and I bet wont know an answer and ask me if Im sure I know how to enter CC data.