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Curious about the process people use to create....


ice9

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I've talked to several people, and I was curious what different people use to create CDLC.

 

Obvious EOF and RSTK are a given, but there are a lot of different paths:

 

Personally, I do:

 

  • GP5/tab file-> TuxGuitar -> GoPlayAlong (to get sync file), editing in TG as necessary for accuracy
  • lyrics -> UltraStar
  • Combine using EOF, and tweak as necessary for bend strength, unpitched slides, etc.
  • RSTK->DDC->finished PSARC.

 

EOF is great, but I have a lot of issues with note placement/time sync, so I tend to import from TG/GPA.

 

I do have an ulterior motive here... a direct TuxGuitar->Rocksmith file export.  No EOF needed (but GPA would be).  Would this be of interest to the community?

 

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My 10-Step process:

  • Gather as much information on the song as I can (tab, live videos, video lessons, etc).  I've never found a guitarpro tab that I was completely happy with, so just importing never seems to work out.  
  • Use Audacity to add 5 seconds of silence at the beginning and 3 seconds at the end of the mp3 . Save .ogg and .wav versions.  Cut it down to 30 seconds with a fade in and out and save as the preview .wav
  • Import the .ogg from step 2 into EOF.  Chart, sync and do everything else in EOF.
  • Import the .wav and _preview.wav from step 2 into Wwise to generate the .wem files.
  • Find some album art and use photoshop to crop it and some free software I found to convert to .dds
  • Compile everything in the toolkit with a placeholder tone.
  • Start Rocksmith and hope for the best.
  • Fumble around until I find some reasonably close tones.
  • Release and wait for someone to tell me I messed something up.
  • Repeat as desired.
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yeah - I hear ya on #1.... tabs are usually never "quite" right - I end up doing a lot of comparing of tabs, gp files and video.....  but I like to have a good gp5 file as a basis when I am done.

 

I even had a video of Dave Ellefson on Five Magics that I was slowing down to 50% so I could see what the hell he was doing :D

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I exactly do as you do ice9 except that I always check here http://usdb.animux.de/index.php?link=list for an ultrastar file if it already exists.

 

And I always resync lyrics I created myself.

Take a look at my Workshop. You'll find which song I plan to create someday.

 

Please leave constructive feedback, it helps me creating better customs !

Please don't thanks with comment but with the button !

 

 

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oh cool - didn't know about that site... yeah - if I screw something up really big in Ultrastar, I'll tweak it in EOF.  Main issue with using preexisting Ultrastar files is the sync against the particular mp3 file.  Hopefully it won't change, but just like GPA files, there's always a chance it'll be a "little" off....

 

Would you find a direct TuxGuitar + GPA -> Rocksmith XML exporter useful?  (not to step on EOF's toes - just trying to make it easier)

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I start up EOF, and make a folder, then I import the .mp3 into Sonic Visualiser to get all the bpms of each count and then import the .gp from Songsterr. Most of the song will be perfectly in sync. This is how I get my customs done so quickly. If the Sonic Visualiser gives beats too slow, they most likely need to be doubled, if they are twice as fast, you really can't halve the beats. So if Sonic Visualiser doesn't work, I try to balance out 10 measures each with an average bpm if I can. I am currently working on an instructions list with a editable checklist because it has been requested.

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In fact I edit my tab in GP6,

sync it with GPA,

Export the xml from GPA

Export my gpx tab to gp5

edit the xml to match my gp5 filename

and then import it in EoF 

and tweak all the slide bends etc.

Take a look at my Workshop. You'll find which song I plan to create someday.

 

Please leave constructive feedback, it helps me creating better customs !

Please don't thanks with comment but with the button !

 

 

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This is what i do:

  • Find a good GP tab
  • Edit the song that i want to chart using Audacity (to add leading silence)
  • Sync the tab with the song in GPA
  • Import everything to EoF
  • Edit the arrangements: Transporting solos, adding tone changes, phrases, sections, etc
  • Generate the .wem files with Wwise
  • Use the toolkit to chart the song and generate the CDLC
  • Test the CDLC, if something is wrong or for me is not cool, i change the things and generate again
  • Upload it to Customsforge

And it's working well, did some 7-string songs and 5 or 6-string bass and other cool CDLC

I also use Ultrastar for Lyrics 

9A7alLl.jpg

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I do have an ulterior motive here... a direct TuxGuitar->Rocksmith file export.  No EOF needed (but GPA would be).  Would this be of interest to the community?

There would probably be things that wouldn't be possible to notate in GPA itself, so it might not allow for all features to be accounted for. It would be interesting to see what people could come up with though.
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I've been looking at what is available vs what rocksmith is looking for, and I think it can be done.

 

 

I do have an ulterior motive here... a direct TuxGuitar->Rocksmith file export.  No EOF needed (but GPA would be).  Would this be of interest to the community?

There would probably be things that wouldn't be possible to notate in GPA itself, so it might not allow for all features to be accounted for. It would be interesting to see what people could come up with though.

 

Like what?  I've been looking at the generated files, and the techniques available in RS2014, and I think it's all doable.

 

What things do you think are not notable?  fret anchors, chord fingerings, there is a way (or at least a workaround) ..

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I would think fret hand position is the best example, that's pretty specific and something I can't remember seeing in any normal tablature program. Sure they could be automated, but what if the author wanted to place them manually? Other things that EOF automates like chord fingerings and names can be done in a tablature program, but at least in Guitar Pro 5, you have to open a chord menu for it to assign the name and fingering. Text/section markers will probably have to be used a lot for things like section/phrase markers, tone changes, and any other special status that doesn't have an equivalent in guitar music (like the ignore status). As limited as EOF's native lyric authoring capability is, it would probably be a little more awkward yet to do lyrics in Guitar Pro.

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heh - I just noticed your name in the commit logs for EOF :)  LIke I said - no disrespect - EOF obviously has a lot of work put into it.. just curious if any thought had been done.... here's what I was thinking:

 

1) Chords:

-Yes, you can manually enter chords in TuxGuitar.  In this case, it would be directly used by the exporter

-This can be doubly used as a fret anchor (if there's a single note, but it has a chord with all X's, use the position as the anchor)

- not sure about arpeggio support

- for any chord not explicity defined in the tab, it guesses the right one during export (like EOF) - TuxGuitar already has the code to guess the right chord name for a given chord - fingering choices, seem relatively straightforward - would have to figure out exceptions to this rule

2) section/phrase markers

- exactly - use markers for sections, text for phrases

3) lyrics - haven't tried much, but it does seem to rely on putting 'notes' in, rather than a time, or at least putting the lyrics on known notes

- was thinking of supporting a ultrastar import - you could then tweak as necessary

4) fret anchors

- see #1

- but also curious how EOF determines it - haven't looked at that code yet - I know in some places, while it might be easier to play with fingers 1/3, if it's a major scale, you're better off fingering with 2/4, as the start of the major scale.

 

Honestly, I'm doing this for 2 reasons... 1) I'm a java dev 2) I always like to have a side project going.... so I was just playing around and was thinking "what if I could do all this from TuxGuitar?", and decided to find out :)

 

wow... didn't mean to write that much :D 

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also, TuxGuitar has a plugin system for import/export as well - investigating to see how easy it would be to add beat/note/measure 'decorators', like fret anchors and fingering information, via a plugin system as well

 

What would be awesome would be to have to full-screen capability and ease of use of TG, but all the capabilites of EOF.

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It would definitely be nice to be able to work with a single integrated package -- I imagine the crew making the official DLC have some really nice tools to work with.

 

That said, I'd prefer the package be integrated around EOF, which I think is pretty great software, despite it's limitations (I'm having a lot of difficulty with the color scheme of the interface these days, I just get too bleary eyes staring at the screen. But that's because my eyes are getting kind of old now....).

 

I tend to use EOF and Guitarpro side-by-side. I think EOF is easier for plotting rhythmic notation and matching notes exactly to the music. But Guitarpro is easier for inputting notes and, of course, listening to the playback to make sure they're accurate.

 

I also use EOF for the leading silence, for syncing the beats and for generating the preview track as well.

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I use tons of utils :lol: especially sound/audio related utils

 

and first of all TuxGuitar is very helpful for me

(I save in GP5 format)

 

(and most of the tools you mentioned in this thread too, like EOF, etc...)

 

First and the most important thing for me is synchro notes with audio (I correct it sometimes over 50 times before I am happy) :lol:

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@@ice9 @@smirocsmo and others, do you think TuxGuitar is better than Guitar Pro? I use Guitar Pro mainly for changing the strings in which notes are played (which is a really slow process because it just can't select all the notes with same pitch) and for putting slides, hammer-ons/pull-offs, harmonics and vibrato. For main low level editing I use a program called Aria Maestosa which works with MIDI, but has a lot of good things for selection and makes it -really easy to add notes and make riffs/phrases (it has a tab view mode, since the main mode is a music score one). I think I will test it today and se if it solves my problems

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01. Look for a GP or powertab file

02. Check if GP file makes any sense at all (many aren't complete), using Tux Guitar

03. Load audio into EOF, start with bass and set BPM from GP file despite the fact it's usually way wrong

04. Load gp file and see what happens

05. Fix BPM

06. Fix GP file song structure and notes that are way wrong

07. loop 06 until everything fits

08. Add leading silence from within EOF - what is the advantage of doing that from Audacity?

09. Create song preview from within EOF

10. Cover art, wwise, first playable package

11. Play song in RS with some slapped-together initial tone

12. Notice all the errors, go back to 06

13. Add guitar parts and then loop 06

14. Add vocals by hand usually - I find that is easily done in EOF, don't have to get the notes right anyway

15. Extensive playtest

16. Create custom tone(s) and add them

17. Extensive playtest

 

 

Super interesting to read how everyone else is doing it. I'm just starting out and I'm pretty sure my process is far from optimal. If you notice errors, where do you usually fix them? Do you fix them in EOF or in the tab? I prefer to fix the tab and then reimport it...

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I hadn't bothered with TuxGuitar because its last release/update was in 2009.  Is there more to it than what's at the main website?

 

In any case, my process is much less organized than most I guess:

 

I pick an MP3 and create a new project in EOF.  

I align the first beat marker to the first indication of signal on the waveform display;

Then I usually start looking over my tabs that I have downloaded, or the midi files that I have in my archives.  If I have a very good MIDI file, I will use this to generate the beat pattern and count.  

(Above is the reason why I hate the inability to set 8th notes as the root time in EOF.  When you set the time signature in a MIDI file, it bases the count off of the length of time defined as a single beat.  A dotted note, or double dot thrown into the mix can wreak havoc with the chart, especially if complex time is used such as 12/8 with a rotating 5/4.  The beat count in EOF is virtually useless if imported from MIDI in that case.)

 

After having selected the most accurate file(s) I import them into EOF on the super-easy, easy, etc., difficulties depending on how many files I have with 'possibly' viable notation.

I snap the first note on each difficulty and then flip between them at full or 75% speed to see if any one of them stands out as really bad or superior.  I usually copy/paste individual sections from the other levels into the "Amazing" tab until I have a pretty good representation of the chart.

After that I usually slow the playback and zoom in to 1/1 at key points in the song, re-snapping a measure at a time if needed.

As often occurs, when the drummer skips a beat that isn't on the chart, or changes tempo for no good reason, I set an anchor at the point where I know everything was on-time before/after it, and drag the beat marker that is 'off' to the point where it is correct.

 

I repeat the above process of importing for rhythm and bass.

 

Once I'm satisfied that a song may be ready for a play-test, I insert the 3 seconds of silence and finally add section/phrase markers.

I don't add vocals until all other instruments are finished, but when I do, I simply add them manually, 1 word at a time.

Sometimes I use big words that I don't completely understand, just to make myself seem more photosynthesis.

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@@Daikano I've never tried to import MIDI -- does this import differently from GuitarPro files?

 

To me it makes more sense to set the beat markers first -- once they're lined up, the notes should just fall into place, shouldn't they?

 

Anyway, you're lucky to have so many sources for your customs. The songs I'm really interested in have no tabs available at all.

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A couple things I have encountered, flummi:

1) if you add the leading (and trailing, if necessary) silence with Audacity, it avoid issues down the line - EOF doesn't always deal with that if you have to reimport a track from GP

2) EOF does have built in methods for aligning BPM markers with the audio track.  I happen to find GoPlayAlong much easier - once you are done there, there is ZERO tweaking in EOF for sync.

 

I also use GPA as my way to find tab issues and fix them, as it can slow down to 50% during playback, so you can really hear the audio track.  My only "complaint" is that GPA is not free, but I bought it for other reasons as well (forcing myself to play outside RS as practice for sight reading).

 

3) Lyrics are SO much easier with UltraStar creator (free) - you can import the file directly into EOF and tweak later if you want.

 

The main reason I do it this way, is that I like to have 100% clean source files (audio, gp, gpa and lyrics), before I do ANY work in EOF.  That way, if I screw something up, I have those clean source files to import again.

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@Daikano:

 

Yes, TuxGuitar has not had any updates, but it is open source... then again, there's really not much to add/change that hinders the process.

 

One thing I had thought of doing is similar to you - creating multitracks in TuxGuitar for difficulty and manually edit them - (I know you can do that in EOF, too).  DDC is great.... but there are always those cases where it's not quite right (Bad Omen and Five Magics definitely need work on the bass for difficulty levels :D )

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@Daikano:

 

Yes, TuxGuitar has not had any updates, but it is open source... then again, there's really not much to add/change that hinders the process.

 

When I did the bass part for my release from last night, I had real trouble with Tux Guitar missing one function: Moving a note to another string and fret. I had a tab file that had a bass track which was configured for guitar. I had to move everything by hand. It was so much work that I really thought about adding that function to Tux Guitar, but then I couldn't be assed  :-P

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