MIDI clips getting merged has to go

In the last month I have bought a line 6 midi controller and EZdrummer to get into midi programming only to find it highly frustrating.

The drag and drop feature of EZdrummer would make it incredibly easy if n-Track handled the clips and also kept them separate - just like it handles .wav clips. It would be awesome to right drag clips then be able to edit at will for feel and minor changes in a track of clips.

Flavio - is this a major programming effort to fix?

I have been interested in Midi for some time now. However, I have never been able to fully understand how to use it with Ntrack and that is a disappointment because I love Ntrack for audio recording and mixing. I really don’t know why it seems so complicated, I guess I am spoiled by the way midi works in programs like PowerTracks where I just open a file and record midi and audio by selecting the track’s use. Apparently, it take two tracks to play/record midi in Ntrack? Like I said I’m confused. Does want to make a tutorial for Ntrack Midi?
Thanks,
Bax

I don’t have EZDrummer so I don’t know how it exports clips.

MIDI data is usually separated by MIDI Channel only. Since all drums are usually on the same channel (ch 10 for General MIDI), the only way to separate them into separate tracks would be to put each MIDI note on a separate track. (This is why it’s easy to have one MIDI track that has all channels in it.)

Of course this isn’t the way any other MIDI tracks should be separated…usually.

Is this what you mean, to have the kick on its own track, and the snare on its own track, etc?

Yes, it’s a GREAT feature, but it’s pain to implement.

(That’s something Bars&Pipes would allow long ago…once I wrote a set of tools that would do it for you… :) …I miss the old days)

phoo - what I mean is my midi verse drums or whatever them my chorus drum clip then my 2nd verse clip - then my last chorus out clip then my tag/ending clip. When you place these together in n the all merge into one and even that is very tricky - I have yet to get them to line up. See what I mean? It would be great if a midi clip was able to be handled within a track the same as wav clips are.

Ah, yes! That’s what we were talking about in another post. Yes, I agree.

That’s still a problem because MIDI is nothing more than a list of MIDI events with each timestamp being relative to the previous event.

Yes, GREAT feature…PAIN to implement.

if you put two Audio clips on the same track you have two audio clips, each is a seperate to itself other than being on the same track - MIDI is slightly different -

a MIDI track is a continious item - the piano roll has (in theory) no end - so as it is one continium you cannot add something to it at one part without it becoming part of the whole -

HOWEVER creating MIDI lanes (seperate small piono rolls) that overlap thw master piano roll is not beyond the realms of possability - BUT if notes on one lane overlapped another there would be the problem of STUCK NOTED, where one note plays continiously as its NOTE OFF command was masked by the overlay -
to re-position the added MIDI clip, all you have to do is IN THE TIMELINE (as it is easier) not the oiano roll highlight the section of the track you want to mave then using the cross that appears move the section left or right - you can copy and paste sections and drag the section to another track -

if the moved area ends up close to (or on top of) the original data, play the track to check for stuck notes before finalising the move -


M.R.

I don’t think drums HAVE to be on channel 10 - do they?

GM MIDI drums are only available on channel 10 - drum software is usually OMNI recieves on all channels

M.R.

To be General MIDI they are required to be on channel 10. Soundcards that stick to the GM Standard have drum sounds on channel 10 and other instruments on the rest. The GM Standard also sets up which drum sound is triggered by which MIDI note.

When using other synths than GM is doesn’t matter. If you got a VST Drum Instrument in a track, as long is it’s set to receive on channel X, then the drum tracks can be channel X.

There’s no real reason to not always use channel 10, except when trying to keep EVERYTHING separate, and that means panning and volume per drum. MIDI pan and volume affects all notes per channel. Can’t really do that anyway when using most soundcards.

(Don’t confuse note velocity with volume events. Velocity can be used to adjust volume of each drum.)

As an experiment, play a channel 10 MIDI drum track to a SoundBlaster, then switch the channel to any other channel.

No, thay don HAVE to be on channel 10…VST Instruments mean you don’t need to stick to the standard. :)

Well -
I see what PW means. Yup.
All together - ‘We want drag and drop MIDI on the timeline’

The big problem with EZD and similar products and n-Track has nothing to do with MIDI channels or being GM compatible or not.

Dragging a pre-made MIDI clip into the n-Track time line simply does not work the same as most other modern sequencers I have tried. The other guys KEEP the length of the MIDI “clip” intact and treat it AS a clip. If you want to repeat the clip you just CTRL + Left-click and drag out as many measures you want. The mouse tom-foolery may be slightly different between them but I KNOW SAM and Reaper both have this function. It really makes working with “canned” (or even home grown) MIDI clips slick and painless.

One of the neat new things in ‘R’ is you can specify if a clip is a “ghost” clip or not. What this means IF it is a “ghost” clip changing one instance of the item changes ALL of the “ghost” copies. This is a feature borrowed from Logic, Sam, and a few others. Having said that, there are several things I DON’T like about 'R’s MIDI implementation as well. So I guess there is always a compromise somewhere… BUT I do wish Flavio would update MIDI handling in n-Track. It IS a bit long in the tooth as compared to several of the other guys.

D

.

Quote:

what I mean is my midi verse drums or whatever them my chorus drum clip then my 2nd verse clip - then my last chorus out clip then my tag/ending clip. When you place these together in n the all merge into one and even that is very tricky - I have yet to get them to line up.


You can copy and paste from one piano roll, to another,
and then select a group and move them to the desired
postition.
So if you had [midi_verse_1] on track 1







[midi_verse_2] on track 2
you could open piano roll for track 2, select (everything?)
and copy to piano roll on track 1, then you can position
that selection anywhere on track 1.
Seems to work OK.
Quote:

Seems to work OK.


Key words being seems and work.

I don't have the time or patience to work on something that seems to be ok.

This is foundational tracking.

That's like "Ah shucks Leroy the footer is only an inch off square, we have the whole house fix it with."

Poppa’s right there, if the foundation is off by an 1" then when you go to put rafters (midi) on, it’s a real pain in the butt!
It can be done yes, but really no need for it!

Well -
you wanted to work with midi clips.
you wanted to place them in the timeline at the desired location
It does work.
Can’t help you with time and patience. ???

Are you serious seven? Have you actually done a midi import drum track?
You would not say that if you’d tried it. Yes I want to work with clips - plural - in the same track. n won’t do it.

Importing from another program to N-track drums?
No, because the maps are not going to be the same.
That’s not N’s fault.
But, if you make a basic kick/snare in N, (track 1)
Clone the track and add some hi-hats or whatever (track 2)
Clone that track and add (you know layers) (track 3)
You can then put what is on track 2 or 3 onto the time-line
of track 1 anywhere you want.

Im talking about dragging and dropping from EZdrummer Seven. Nothing like working with n-Drums.

I don’t need another work around. Work is an ugly four letter word. I’d appreciate it if you’d not use it when addressing me.
:agree:

Is there a program that you know of that
will let you drag and drop from EZ-drummer