essential tools for the MIDI convert
for those starting out on the MIDI road here are 2 applications, 1 essential and 1 for later (both apps are free)
MIDI INPUT VIEWER - this small application lets you see if a MIDI device is communicating with your computer - can save hours of troubleshooting when nothing works - if MIV shows input then its the DAW settings that are incorrect - if MIV shows nothing then the the MIDI device is not outputting or the cables are incorrectly connected -
http://www.softpedia.com/get…r.shtml
MIDI YOKE - this is effectivly REWIRE for MIDI - MIDI YOKE is a set of virtual midi cables that allow you to interconnect seperate MIDI programs within your computer - lets say you want to send the MIDI out from N track to another app or from another app to N track, then the you have to use MIDI yoke - MIDI YOKE has 16 virtual cables each cable can carry 16 midi channels -
in app 1 you set the MIDI OUT to MIDI YOKE 1 and in the other app you set the MIDI IN to MIDI YOKE input 1 - the two apps are now linked together - when application 1 is started its MIDI will play through the other application -
http://www.midiox.com/
then select MIDI YOKE
Dr J
Quote:
can save hours of troubleshooting when nothing works
Thanx Doc - er Rev
Well - I thought I had a MIDI keyboard coming - musicians friend just sent a message that the m-audio refurb 88 I ordered was discontinued - they’re out.
Any suggestions Doc Wabbit?
i dont know what MF were asking for a refurb (B stock here in the UK) i looked at the M audio website yesterday, i liked the look of this one
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/KeyStudio49i-main.html
49 keys, USB sound and inbuilt grand piano - but the grand piano may not fit with many genre - but there are plenty more KBDs on the M Audio site -
if you only want a KBD to play through a VST in N then there are hundreds out there and all are reasonably priced - if you want to play live on stage without a PC/laptop then the field is narrowed greatly and price goes up drastically -
as this type od use the KBD has to be far more robust than a home unit, the Nord stage/electro units are favourite with gigging musicians as is the Roland Phantom and their new stage piano - but these are meggabucks compared to a home unit -
just going from SPONGY keys to weighted action adds a couple of hundres dollare a unit, does that matter well that depends what you are used to - if you are used to a real piano kbd then spongy will not feel right - if you have no experience od a real piano then spongy will do OK -
beware of the following -
AUTOMAP this only works with certain applications - N does not do automap -
MIDI controllers - all those knobs and sliders look good in the shop but can be a nightnare to program into N, they end up redundant as using the mouse is actually quicker -
USB audio - although USB audio may seem a good idea it means that you either have to listen on phones or buy powered spkrs, A USB MIDI connection is the only way to get MIDI into most computers, to make it usuable away from the computer the KBD should have standard MIDI in/outs sockets as well -
moving to MIDI is akin to learning chinese, it takes a lot of time and effort to even start to understand it - so for starters SIMPLICITY is the watchword -
get the lowest spec (and therefor the CHEAPEST unit you can find) banks of controllers will only make the learning curve harder -
after say 6 months you will get an idea then of what features will assist you - then you can think about upgrading to a better unit - better to get what suits you than to be locked into using a set of controls that dont suit you -
EXAMPLE - a newby (who wants to buy a synth) walks into a shop and trys all the ones on show, which one do they buy ?, the one that has the most expansive sound and the most knobs and sliders, only to find that showroom sound does not fit in with their mix and the sliders do not work, if they had bought a basic unit first and worked up from that they would still be making music rather than fitting tyres to pay off the credit card bill -
Dr J
Hi Doc:
I’ve got a Roland D-5 Multi-timbrel Keyboard…
It has to be 15 years or older in technical model years…
Maybe even older…
I’ve only used it as an analogue keyboard…
What level of MIDI use can I expect to get from it’s use if I begin to use it in conjunction with n-Track, in the MIDI domain?
As well, I have a Roland Sound Canvass Model SC-55…
It’s more-than likely of the same generation…
What musical MIDI level can I expect to get from this stuff even if I knew how to make it work and get the best present day sounds from it?
Is it worth any mental input from me to get busy with it? I have the operator’s manuals for both units…
I think I’ve looked at most of the pictures in those manuals…
The rest of stuff on the pages are all Greek to me…
Well, most of it…
AND…
Why is it that many of the Bass Players Drummers or Keyboard Players end up being the TechHeads on most of the Stages 
? …
anyway… ?
Over my years of working on stages it was either me or the drummer that ended up finding out why something didn’t work minutes before we had to open the show…
?
I’d love to be a keyboard player…
BUT…
I’ve been relegated to being a lowly bass player all my days…
AND…
not a good one, at best…
Bill…
Bill let’s commit to getting MIDI down to an art and show these young guns a thing or two.
I’ll start shopping for a steel guitar plug in.
Pedal Steel Soundfont
That’s funny…
Tell that to Leonard when he was alive and you’d get a reply from him… although you might not like what you hear…
Leonard was one of the easiest going guys I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with…
Every-now-and-then he’d get an ugly on…
You just had to recognize what was up…
and give him space…
Then all was o.K. for the night…
The best way not to get “Cabin Fever” on the road was to figure out how to stay away from everyone…
If only I was 23 …
AaGgAaIiNn…
Bill…
Bill - come on ya old fart - lets get with the program.
Tell me this is not good for a program. Wavelore Pedal Steel Demo It’s ‘hoakey’ as heck - being what they think Country IS. But I’m impressed.
Hi Bill
in the begining there was MIDI but it had no structure - then it got structure and becane a standard (thanks to Roland) the original MIDI set contained only straight instruments, later aditions such as telephone, goblin and other PADs where added, but thats it nothing new has been added as the limit of instrumenr effects is 127 -
your Roland and sound canvas are as valid (in MIDI terms) today as ther whrere when they where made -
if the sound canvas is in a TIN (rackmount)then its a rere item and should be treasured -
if it is in a tin then you plug the Roland in to it and attach spkrs to its out - playaway -
as the Roland is pre-USB to get it to work on a PC you will have to see if you have MIDI software loaded in it - in N go to midi devices in prefs - if it says MIDI external port or MPU 401 then you can buy a joystick connector with MIDI connectors attached - plug it into the joystick port and away you go -
if no external/MPU port is shown then you will have to get a MIDI to USB convertor - plug the box into the USB and plug MIDI cables from the Roland into the box -
the fact that you cant play a KBD is no reason not to MIDI, in fact 99.9999% of MIDI users cant properly play a MIDI keyboard it lets you program MIDI notes into an application easily (you dont have to know any note names, just press the right key) -
POPPA W -
playing a STEEL GUITAR PLUGIN will be harder than playing the real thing -
PS, i aint no spring chicken - at 64 my next stop is boot hill
Yours Dr J
Hi Poppa Willis:
That’s a Smok’in Hot right-hand…
if you’re a right-handed steel player…
I remember, attempting to do a track with Leonard one afternoon in our studio, at his place…
We needed a line like that, or close to it on a song we were doing…
Leonard was a one-take kind-of-Player… If you didn’t capture IT the first time around you didn’t get IT… I knew he was thinking of a work-around…
We were 30 minutes before we rolled the tape…
Two minutes before we rolled the tape he said he wished Bobby, his son was here to do the track…
He had
a lighting fast right-hand…
He learned it all from his Father…
he played on the road… all over the country… before he got the “Cabin Fevour”…
Anyway, I was forced to say something to him in that regard…
I thought real hard…
I came up with…
Leonard, you played all those lines and stuff 25 years ago…
You just forget how to do it now…
It sort-of sounds like Buck Trent…
Do you remember him ?
Porter Wagner stuff…
he played a Fender ?
or was it?
I know it had no pedals…
AND…
He stood up…
behind his Guitar…
He had a great sound for the stuff Porter played on that stage…
AND…
a lightening fast right-hand…
he had…
If you’re interested, It would do your heart good to subscribe to Bobby Seymore’s weekly mail-out newsletter… He lives up around Hendersonville… he knows everyone…
He talks about all the Steel Guitar Players and Entertainers that came up through the System…
Bill…
p.s. Anyway, I stumbled across a site that had steel guitar samples… It seemed to me it was a Sony Sample Page… I downloaded them… I have them on a drive somewhere… I can’t remember if I had a host player that can play them… It seemed to me they were Mac oriented…
I’m still listening at that line… lol… hehe…
I learned pedal steel at 15 - My Roland MIDI Strat should be a fair tool for it. I have yet to use the MIDI on my Roland GR-9. Now I have to READ something - this sux already.
That Roland Sound Canvass
SC-55 unit is a 1/2 Single rack space “Tin Box” unit…
If I remember some or many users had four of them rack mounted in their stage rack boxes… Then Roland up-dated to AND I don’t remember what the Synth-box model was called… It was a 2-or-3 Rack space unit that was full of Roland samples…
I think the unit had a port on the front panel that the user could load new samples from time-to-time, as Roland produced new Samples…
Some kind of a memory stick port…
You had to be a millionaire to own all that stuff…
Bill…
[EDIT]
Ii KkNnOoWw… What’s this reading all about, anyway…
WwHhAaTt…
?
You got one of those MIDI Strung Guitars?
Bill…
with 4 sound canvas units in a rack, you would set up a seperate patch (instrument) on each one and each one would be set to recieve on a different MIDI channel SC1 on channel 1 SC2 channel 2 etc - the person on the kbd only had to change ths MIDI channel out to play the 4 different instruments without messing about -
Dr J
There is/was this keyboard player doing live stage work…
I don’t know what happened to him…
I don’t hear that he’s doing much Bar Work
anymore…
There’s not much of it around here anymore…
I hope it comes back for the Bar Room Players…
It’s tough out there, in this Day-and-Age…
Anyway, He had some load of Roland Keyboard-and-MIDI Equipment on the stages he played…
I don’t know the reason for it… BUT …
If I recall, he only played in the root Key of “C”…
Anything that was called on the stage he transposed to that “Key”…
There wasn’t anything that he couldn’t cover…
Bill…
the MIDI strat is a standard strat with a special pickup added - the MIDI pickup has 6 independant coils so it can respont to each string seperately - the pickup goes to a 13 pin socket which plugs into a dedicated MIDI convertoe box, the box then outputs MIDI that can be sent to other equipment or computer -
the latest official Fender MIDI strat cannot output MIDI - it uses the MIDI information to change the sound on the strat (like the lINE6 guitar does) its stupid expensive and is useless for PROPER MIDI work - the seperate pickup and convertor box is the way to go -
Dr J
Yes Bill - I have a Roland MIDI guitar - the gr 9 Roland box - has MIDI in and Out - what they’re good for Is what I’m going to find out. I should, if Doc Wabbit can confirm this, be able to write MIDI files with the out in.
This is not going to be easy, but… what is?
Hi Poppa Willis:
You are very fortunate to have a guitar with a MIDI interface …
I worked for and wired custom built guitars for a Custom Guitar builder here in the area…
The Guitars are known as Ledgend Guitars
While there I custom wired guitars for special orders…
If you check the link you’ll see one that has a Roland MIDI Interface…
I wired and modified wiring for some pretty heavy-duty guitar players around the world…
If only I could find the photo of Joe Walsh…
the guitar player with the Eagles…
He played a Tele Style Guitar I wired while he was over in Dubai, where Bruffie lives…
That was back in the late '90’s…
when that guitar was made…
The photo of that guitar is on the Legend Guitar site…
That guitar you have will play all the MIDI you ever thought you could play, AND…
More…
Take it from me…
Bill…
POPPA W -
13 pin cable from STRAT to convertor box - convertor box to PC either through joystick port or USB - if you use the USB port yoU will have to install any drivers that cane with the Roland unit - no drivers required to use joystick port (if it is active)
now for the fun bit - N cannot record LIVE MIDI notes directly from a MIDI input port as the timeline must be running to enable LIVE recording - the failure to do this had me puxxled for a while as it meant using a different app to record live then transfer back to N, but there turned out to be very simple answer and LIVE MIDI works great - (other DAWs timeline will run with nothing in the timeline, N requires a wave file or an audio track armed for recording before it will run0
open N - set up MIDI IN and OUT to correct ports - insert track (any track will do) - MUTE TRACK - add blank MIDI track, arm for recording - hit the record button the timelime will run and N will record your MIDI notes to the piano roll exactly as you played them -
on playback it will use the M$oft synth so it will play as a piano -
insert a VSTi - SYNTH 1 is a good choice (and free) then the fun begins - if you like playing MIDI then you may consider buying REALSTRAT or SLAYER 2 -
although the ROLAND has the fasted MIDI convertor yet made you cant play a MIDI equipped guitar the same as you normally would, slow and clean to start with then build up speed till notes input are INCORRECT OR MISSING then back off a bit -
Dr J