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I use a lot of VST's and midi. The problem is, my midi program (Guitar Pro) exports midi as it's written, all at the same constant volume and in 'perfect' time.

When I run a VST through, it's un-realstic and changing each note one at a time in Cubase is too laborious.

Is there an automated way to do this, to 'offest' the timing and volume by a percentage?

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2 Answers 2

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Eugene's answer above is excellent, and outlines some key features in Cubase that you should find useful in this task.

I'd just like to add that you can adjust the velocity of the MIDI events also - this effectively changes the volume, but it is more akin to the force with which the note is struck (ie pressing a piano key softly would equate to low velocity).

The Logical Editor can be used to change the velocity of MIDI notes, I found a tutorial here which looks like it might help you:

[TUTORIAL] How to humanise a midi (drum) track in Cubase

MIDI Quantizing and Humanizing Functions in Cubase

When you open the MIDI clip window, the velocity can be selected in the automation strip at the bottom, and you can use various tools to draw velocity in there. You may have already experimented with that, but I'm just mentioning it because I only found the additional tools after I'd been using Cubase for a while.

An another way to easily randomize the velocity in Cubase is to open up the midi stem in Cubase (double click it in the DAW). Then select the area you want to affect, or leave it all unselected. From the main menu, click on MIDI -> Logical Presets -> standart set 1 -> random velocity (60 to 100)

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There are few dedicated options available in Cubase for that purpose (there might be more).

1. The Random Quantize setting

This setting affects the result of the quantizing. It allows you to set a “distance” in ticks (120ths of sixteenth notes). Events will be quantized to random positions within the specified “distance” from the quantize grid, thus creating a more “loose” quantizing. Much like the Non Quantize setting, this allows for slight variations, while at the same time keeping notes from ending up too far from the grid.

2. Iterative Quantize

It works like this: Instead of moving a note to the closest quantize grid position, Iterative Quantize moves it only part of the way. You specify how much the notes should be moved towards the grid with the “Iterative Strength” setting in the Quantize Setup dialog. Iterative Quantize also differs from “regular” quantization in that the operation is not based on the notes’ original positions but on their current, quantized position. This makes it possible to repeatedly use Iterative Quantize, gradually moving the notes closer to the quantize grid until you’ve found the desired timing.

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