sharke


This is a really cool idea that I plan to put some effort into.  I can think of several ways to apply this.

It certainly is, it did make me laugh when I first read it, mainly the way sharke put it, just bash away giving no thought to pitch, but I can see how it could be quite useful to me, and work quite well in the end.

I just was playing with that "Humanize.CAL" and the settings seem bass ackwards... low values of "enter percentage" jumble notes all over creation (like "2"), whereas high values (like "50") insert slight nuances in the existing data. Never used this before, but that certainly isn't intuitive. If subtle shifts are desired (and it seems to do "okay"), use high values with Humanize.CAL (low values, even the default "10" is too small, wreak havoc on the data).
 
Groove Quantize on the other hand is the opposite (small values => subtle shifts, high values => drastic shifts).

Try this CAL to randomize timing.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cme9jbh2gdj1and/Random%20Time.cal?dl=0
 
And to randomize velocities:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/qct6jv393a2uxbw/VELRAND.CAL?dl=0

Thanx,  I will try these as soon as I can.

When writing MIDI orchestration, it's close to impossible for those of us who aren't professional keyboard players to bang out every line by hand. It's well documented that the start/stop times of players don't line up in an orchestra, with some slightly ahead and others further behind, because of several different factors such as instrument, playing style, articulation, distance hearing, etc. This also applies to drummers. Pick up any drum midi pack that hasn't been quantized, examine the start/stop/velocity times, and you may be shocked at just how loose it is, even with the same line being repeated. Beat detective, and aligning instruments to grid, has destroyed the more human aspects of music IMO. It's one of the reasons I was drawn to the underground music scenes. Most mainstream instrumentation is just too fake to have an emotional impact for me.
 
If you know what you're doing using humanize and nudge functions, you can avoid resonance peaks, and have what sounds like a human playing the instrument. So yes, that means that your start/note times do vary by incredibly small degrees (less than 5ms), and velocity variances, combined with expression (usually channel 11), lead to a more human performance. You can use different methods, but sitting down by hand and editing 10,000 midi notes is something I never want to go through again like I did in the past. 
 
I tried using the Humanize CAL in Sonar, but it's far too erratic. I gave up using it. I programmed things for a long time by hand. Sonar could use a good humanize function, and if it hasn't been listed in the features request, then it needs to be. Sonar has a far more advanced MIDI palette than Studio One, but the Studio One humanize functions are excellent. I can program a static grid of notes and chords, then hit one function, and it's already saved me hours of work. There's also a Less Humanize function that will tighten up if the first pass went to far. It sounds great, and it saves me time. It's really the number one function that I wish Sonar would integrate.

Resonant Serpent
When writing MIDI orchestration, it's close to impossible for those of us who aren't professional keyboard players to bang out every line by hand. It's well documented that the start/stop times of players don't line up in an orchestra, with some slightly ahead and others further behind, because of several different factors such as instrument, playing style, articulation, distance hearing, etc. This also applies to drummers. Pick up any drum midi pack that hasn't been quantized, examine the start/stop/velocity times, and you may be shocked at just how loose it is, even with the same line being repeated. Beat detective, and aligning instruments to grid, has destroyed the more human aspects of music IMO. It's one of the reasons I was drawn to the underground music scenes. Most mainstream instrumentation is just too fake to have an emotional impact for me.
 
If you know what you're doing using humanize and nudge functions, you can avoid resonance peaks, and have what sounds like a human playing the instrument. So yes, that means that your start/note times do vary by incredibly small degrees (less than 5ms), and velocity variances, combined with expression (usually channel 11), lead to a more human performance. You can use different methods, but sitting down by hand and editing 10,000 midi notes is something I never want to go through again like I did in the past. 
 
I tried using the Humanize CAL in Sonar, but it's far too erratic. I gave up using it. I programmed things for a long time by hand. Sonar could use a good humanize function, and if it hasn't been listed in the features request, then it needs to be. Sonar has a far more advanced MIDI palette than Studio One, but the Studio One humanize functions are excellent. I can program a static grid of notes and chords, then hit one function, and it's already saved me hours of work. There's also a Less Humanize function that will tighten up if the first pass went to far. It sounds great, and it saves me time. It's really the number one function that I wish Sonar would integrate.

Well put (and thanks for defining "frog hair" for me)!!!!
While I can see the point of playing everything in (even banging away without regard to pitch) in some instances I can't imagine the mess I would end up with while orchestrating.
I use PRV like one would use staff view, visually drawing in notes (and even velocities and controllers).
When I do "play" a part in I inevitably have to make adjustments anyway (again hats off to you that don't need to do that).
I finally got around to trying the randomize feature in the CW quantizer and like some suggested it doesn't work the way I need it to.
The Groove Quantizer is closer to what I need but it seems to only make shifts that are later in time as opposed to random ("early" and "late"). 
I would start a FR but judging by this thread it would be a waste of time.
I reckon I'll look for alternatives...has anyone tried the "humanize" plug-in from the OP?
Thanks so much for everyone's suggestions...even Sharke's...I can imagine that could be a very cool way to make a fast run for various instruments.
Thanks again,
Randy

There are some orchestral parts which you just can't play on keyboard by hand. For example, try to play manually timpani roll with crescendo or harp glissando. I usually step-record timpani roll with small steps like 32nd, then stretch or squeeze the passage to fit into certain amount of beats, then randomize timing and velocities. Only after such manipulations the roll starts to sound more or less realistic. The same with harp gliss.

Well I dunno, a tympani roll is probably one of the things I would indeed play in (but would probably have to edit somewhat) being a drummer...to each his own though no?

I use a timpani roll sample.   The traditional Vienna string libraries have trill articulations and they are awesome.  I was very disappointed to find that Vienna's Dimension strings, while superb, require you to program your own trills.  I can't make that sound good and even the examples from Vienna sound bad to me.

You could drag the MIDI out of Sonar to a folder, humanize in Studio One, then import it back into Sonar. Sonar has a better piano roll, and metering, so I usually prefer Sonar. I just can't live without the humanize function.
 
At this point, I think everyone concedes to needing more than one host to finish out a project. I also use Reaper for varispeed recording, Live for Max for Live/soundscaping, Cubase to open old projects, Notion for old school composing, Reason for electronic drum sandboxing, Audiomulch for on the fly weirdness, etc.
 
Started off on slicing up cassette tapes when I was a kid, so I'm really stoked with the amount of tools we have at our disposal. Rather than whine that something is missing (not that I think the OP was whining), I just find what works.