Problems with Scala Files in Aria Player

Hello,

I recently purchased Garritan’s Jazz and Big Band samples, thinking it would be an affordable way to get decent sounds for writing microtonal music. The documentation says it accepts scala files. However, when I load a file that is not 12 tones to the octave, it behaves strangely. If the scale is greater than 12 tones, the sounds get soft and muddy as they go up, and bright and loud as the go down. If it is less then 12 tones, the reverse happens. I was in touch with Garritan customer service, and they refused to help saying it works fine and I don’t know what I’m talking about. Is there a way of correcting this problem within the .scl file? Or is it a problem with Garritan’s Aria Player?

Thank you for any help!

Subhraag Singh

My guess is that the Scala files are only going to work with 12 notes per octave as Apple's Logic does.
My solution (using Logic) for scales that require more than 12 notes has been to use more than one Scala file, and to make a separate track for those midi notes which represent more than one pitch.
e.g. If you want to use both Ab and G# in a composition, for the triads F minor and E major and they are both triggered by the midi note between A and G.
You select all the notes which should be sounded as Ab; paste them into a new track, and remove them from the first track.
You then turn the first track into an audio file (using the tuning code which contains G#), remembering to mute the new Ab track.
Change the tuning code to the one which contains Ab, mute the first track, and turn the second track into an audio file.
Now play the two audio track together. The result will contain more than 12 notes.
I appreciate that this is a clumsy workaround, but it does work get you the desired result; a recording using more than 12 notes per octave.

On 27 Feb 2015, at 09:16, Subhraag Singh allmusicsingh@... [TUNING] wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I recently purchased Garritan’s Jazz and Big Band samples, thinking it would be an affordable way to get decent sounds for writing microtonal music. The documentation says it accepts scala files. However, when I load a file that is not 12 tones to the octave, it behaves strangely. If the scale is greater than 12 tones, the sounds get soft and muddy as they go up, and bright and loud as the go down. If it is less then 12 tones, the reverse happens. I was in touch with Garritan customer service, and they refused to help saying it works fine and I don’t know what I’m talking about. Is there a way of correcting this problem within the .scl file? Or is it a problem with Garritan’s Aria Player?
>
> Thank you for any help!
>
> Subhraag Singh
>

Charles Lucy
lucy@...

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This has most probably to do with sample ranges. If you have a 31-note scale, for instance, you're forcing individual samples to be transposed out of their good range, which results in chipmunk effects and the like. You need to change the ranges of the samples: this requires some programming in Aria. Some of it is explained here (this is for extending the ranges of instruments but it's the same script): http://garritan.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5333 http://garritan.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5333
Garritan does not have the 12-notes-per-octave limitation à la Logic.

J