HoofJaw Forums / MIDI Discussion / Ask the Experts - Q&A

Just Keyboards

qtband — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:13:57 GMT

I have a band.
I need a keyboard player.
I want to use midi files instead of a real guy.
How do I buy files with just keyboard and a click track?
Our drummker has Cakewalk.
Can he buy a midi and remove everything except the keyboard part?
Ken

Midi Pitch Flat

Switchblade20 — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 11:26:51 GMT

Hi! My midi on my computer is flat, like 30cents or more. I've been searching around the web a lot and can't find an answer. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to fix it, or if there's a program to raise the pitch. Thanks!

Where do I start? Need recommendations

jclaydon — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:59:25 GMT

I just recently bough an effects mixer that is supposed to be controllable thru MIDI but i don't understand the instructions at all, and it doesn't say anything about what kind of software to use, or how to set it up using a computer.

I am currently COMPLETELY clueless and have no idea where to start so that I can learn the basics and how MIDI works.

Any sources/references books you could suggest would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

-James

Total Noob

Guitarist47 — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 18:02:05 GMT

Hi,

Im Karl Schmidt. I am a musician, and i want to write music. I would like to know how to start writing guitar music usin midi to insert it into a program i have.

thanks,

Karl

midi sustain problem

egiep — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 04:03:49 GMT

CAN ANYONE PLEASE HELP ME

i am a newcomer to midi i have been using ableton live and reason for a couple of years now and decided to hook my yamaha djx1 up to them via a usb midi cable my problem is i can get notes to play in both software but when i press a key on my keyboard the note juxt continues to play and i cant play anymore..i can keep pressing a key on my keyboard it will play one note sustain that not then about every ten key presses it will play another note but sustain this aswell then the two notes will be playing over each other but in a constain sustain mode i have tried another lead looked for other drivers and cant seem to solve this problem can someone please help thanks in advance

Need help, don't know what I'm doing

Rubbersoul — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:36:02 GMT

My Mate just showed me how, using a keyboard, you can turn MIDI tracks into proper backing tracks. He's got a fancy keyboard with a floppy disc drive so it's really easy for him to get the MIDI into the keyboard to use its "engine"(?) I have an old Yamaha (PSR 37) keyboard that has a 5 pin MIDI input on the back of it. My question is, how do I get MIDI tracks burned onto CD to play through the keyboard so I can play proper music? Is there a better way to get them in? (I'm not stuck on the CD format)I know this is a bit of a rambling post but its because I really don't know what I'm talking about. If anything is unclear, please ask me and I'll do my best.

does midi edits out the singer?

Wendell — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 14:10:40 GMT

Every midi file that I have been able to listen (took me a long time to figure out how to get ANY sounds at all from midi files) has NOT had the singer input. i.e. there are no songs with words...am I asking a dumb question???

STUDENT IN NEED OF HELP

graydyla — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 23:56:49 GMT

Hello,
My name is Dylan Gray and I am a film production student at Niagara College. I am currently researching MIDI Technology for an English Thesis. I am exploring the influence of MIDI Technology on today's Entertainment Industry. I will be touching on all aspects including: cell phones, video games, radio/tv/film, and of course music producing. One of the requiremtns of the assignment is to interview five industry professionals about the subject. I have had the great experience of owning a MIDI system for as long as I can remember. I know a lot about the system and am excited for the opportunity to speak to professionals. I am asking for your (or anybody's help). If anyone has contact information that they can share with me then please e-mail me at graydyla@hotmail.com. Thanks for your time.

no sustain pedal being recorded

tomcat — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 04:21:49 GMT

HI,

I have recently installed Cubase SE V. 3 and used a Midiman Midi connection between my Technics digital piano and my Apple Mac. Evertything is working ok (play and record) other than the sustain pedal information is not playing back (it may not even be recording the sustain but I don't know that for sure). Can you give me any pointers to solve this problem? I have also tried a Edirol Midi interface but the problem is the same.

Total newbie, help needed

mindfood — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 14:08:37 GMT

Hi there,
As stated by the title, I am a complete newcomer to MIDI devices, my usual instrument is a drum kit.
I have recently joined the band MindfooD, and have been trying to write some songs for them. To this end, I have purchased a Yamaha PSR E203, with Steinberg Cubasis VST v.5, running via a MIDi to USB connection into a Dell computer.
The problem I have is that I have no idea how to get the computer program to recognise the keyboard and accept input from it. I have the MIDi out connected on the Yamaha, running into the USB port on the computer, but Cubasis will not respond to the keys.

Any constructive advice (apart from 'stick to the drumming :)) will be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Roy.

Best midi book available?

Jim River — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 21:00:26 GMT

Dave,

Do you have a favorite midi book that you might recommend to me? That is, assuming I already have Dave Clackett's book.

Thanks, Jim

Midi guitars becomming required these days?

Jim River — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 20:06:35 GMT

Dave,

I am really trying my best to make some good midi files and I wonder if using a midi guitar to input guitar parts is standard these days? Do the best programmers use midi guitars or midi guitar pickups?

This is a mystery to me. Cheeeeers, Jim (obvious mispelling to avoid copyright concerns).

MIDI SUSTAIN PUNCH-IN PROBLEM

don — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 23:32:42 GMT

Let's say you've played in midi up to bar 20. Your last note was at bar 20 and it had sustain on it (controller 64 at 127) which lasts until bar 21, where you lift your foot (controller 64 at 0). So far, so good. Now, you want to punch-in and start playing a new piece a little before bar 21. So you punch-in there, but the new notes have all this sustain on them because the punch was before the sustain off command. Other than (1) editing the sustain off to start earlier or (2) playing a sustain off command at the punch before your new notes (very cumbersome with a tight punch!), what do you do to prevent the unwanted sustain?

Triton Extreme to Sonar Midi Setup

Midiabuser — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 10:08:42 GMT

Top of the day to you all!

I am attempting to setup midi between Sonar HS 4 and Triton Extreme. I want to record multiple midi tracks to Sonar but get odd results that seem to have no reason. Does anyone have a setup that works? Inputs/Outputs from Sonar and Triton Global and track settings? I have attempted every conceivable combination of settings and I just can't seem to get my brain to embrace what it is I am doing wrong?

Problems include but are not limited to: Sound on channel 1 ok but can't get sound on channel 2, echoed sound (even with local off) wrong sound (even with Triton's global set to not allow patch or bank changes) etc. Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks

2.8ghz PC with 512 ram and M-Audio 2496 Card

triton studio

music4842751 — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 18:21:26 GMT

i have the triton studio and i have the sonar 6 xl recording software

the interface is hooked up but im not getting any sound this is all new to me can some one walk me thugh what im supose to do

thank you

marty

Dealing with background vocals

Jim River — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 11:08:40 GMT

I am making some midi files for karaoke purposes and I want some advice about what to do with background vocal lines in music. Should I avoid songs that have background vocals? Should I leave them out? Should I sequence them in and put them in parenthesis?

Jim

Triggering Wav samples with MIDI controller

swizzscoob10 — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 17:33:38 GMT

To whom it may concern:

I have an M-Audio Axiom 25 MIDI controller. This has eight pads on it like an MPC. I see and hear producers sample record (.wav files) on their MPC or synth w/pads. My question is can I trigger .wav files from the Axiom 25 and utilize the pads? Or are those pads just for MIDI drum instruments? Because I would love to sample and chop oldies but goodies with ease, if I can do so, without buying an MPC, editing it by hand in ProTools, or sampling through the Triton. Thanks for your time, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Program Change on Fantom X/R from Logic Pro?

calgman — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 16:04:31 GMT

Hello,

I am not only new to this forum, but also new to the XR.

I am writing to see if any one has any ideas about changing Banks and Programs within a Bank using MIDI. In the Event Window, I tried the MSB and the LSB values of 87. 0 respectively along w/ the patch number of 20. All I see happenign is that the Bank changes to the GM bank. With 87/0, the User Preset bank should have been selected - as indicated in the Owner's Manual! The attached jpg file shows the patch-change table!

Help please!

-Sam-

GM2 Bank/Patch problem on Fantom XR

JMidi — Sun, 27 May 2007 15:16:34 GMT

I have recently purchased a Fantom XR. I am using an old version of Cakewalk Professional. I use Cakewalk for the "Play List" feature for live performance. I am having trouble figuring out what to send from Cakewalk to Fantom to get the GM2 Group patches. I am using SysEx because the Bank does not seem to work in Cakewalk (or I do not know what to enter). Below is what the Fantom brings up when I send the bank and patch info. I am sure I am not doing something correct but have not idea. As you can see each increment in the patch does not increment the received patch on Fantom by one. I have figured out what to sysex to get the other Fantom preset patches. I have had this version of Cakewalk forever. Would part of my problem be solved by upgrading to Sonar (some version)? I must, however, keep the Play List feature (or equivalent). Can someone show me the correct hex bank and patch I must send to get each GM2 patch. Thank you.

GM2, midi channel 1 (B0 and C0)

F0 B0 00 00 C0 00 F7 – patch 1

F0 B0 00 00 C0 01 F7 – patch 4

F0 B0 00 00 C0 02 F7 – patch 6

F0 B0 00 00 C0 03 F7 – patch 8

F0 B0 00 00 C0 04 F7 – patch 10

F0 B0 00 00 C0 05 F7 – patch 14

F0 B0 00 00 C0 06 F7 – patch 19

F0 B0 00 00 C0 07 F7 – patch 23

F0 B0 00 00 C0 08 F7 – patch 25

F0 B0 00 08 C0 00 F7 – patch 2

F0 B0 00 08 C0 00 F7 – patch 5

F0 B0 00 08 C0 02 F7 – patch 7

F0 B0 00 08 C0 03 F7 – patch 9

F0 B0 00 08 C0 04 F7 – patch 11

F0 B0 00 08 C0 05 F7 – patch 15

F0 B0 00 08 C0 06 F7 – patch 20

F0 B0 00 08 C0 07 F7 – patch 23

F0 B0 00 08 C0 08 F7 – patch 25

MIDI Drums - live application, help needed!

djhombre — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 05:04:30 GMT

Hi there,

I've recently bought a lovely Alesis ControlPad for my wife who plays (traditional) drums in a band. She is hoping to utilise the ControlPad & play them live as an extension to her usual drumkit, for things like percussion sounds and other stuff. So, ideally we need to plug the ControlPad directly into an amp for the sounds to play out...however the only output on the ControlPad is MIDI Out.

Is there anything on the market which could help us take the MIDI Out and pass it into the amp, like an adapter or something?

Any help much appreciated (especially before my wife becomes too attached to the ControlPad!)

Thanks in advance

Neil

PS - because she'll be using this in a live environment, the adapter/whatever should be as compact as possible!

Am looking for Coca Cola Cowboy backing track midi

drwfran — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 13:58:28 GMT

Am looking for Coca Cola Cowboy backing track midi

Special commands needed?

Jim River — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 14:24:47 GMT

When making a standard midi file for professional use, do I need to include
"All notes off" or "All controllers Off" at the beginning of the song? It seems like a good idea so that any pitch bends or notes from a previously played song would be set to zero.

Thanks, Jim

Pitch bend range question revised

Jim River — Thu, 17 May 2007 21:24:13 GMT

When a person writes a general midi guitar solo, do they make the pitch bends with a whole step range? It seems that they do but I want to make sure I have not made a big mistake!

Thanks, Jim

MIDI and distribution

Lina — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 08:51:00 GMT

Hi there.

This may seem like a not very relevant topic on this forum , but I'll try my luck anyways.

I'm writing an assignment on MIDI, and have to explain how it has affected the production, circulation, and consumption of music. Now the first part is easy, but can anyone help me learn about how the advent of MIDI has affected circulation (distribution) of music, if at all?

Any other pointers, advice, thoughts, ideas, references would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much for your time.

Lina.

Using NRPNs to create high-definition controller

brettb — Mon, 14 May 2007 01:42:28 GMT

The Industry standard Pitch bend controller has 16384 increments (+/-8192) and I believe uses registered parameter numbers (RPN) to achieve this. I would like to know how to turn other continuous controllers into a similar high-definition controllers using non-registered parameters (NRPN), such that when I turn a knob for, say, CC#37 for example, it will output numbers from 0 to 16384 as opposed to the usual 0 to 127.

If this cannot be done, is there another way to create such a controller?

Thanks,

Brett

Pitch bend setting in a standard PC sound card

Jim River — Tue, 15 May 2007 23:34:11 GMT

I recently learned that pitch wheel information does not correspond to a specified interval. Since this is so, it is certainly true that different sound modules can interpret pitch wheel info differently. For my 360 Systems bass module, it is always a minor third up or down and I can not change it. My other modules like a Korg 03R/W will let me set the pitch bend range. So my question is, in making standard midi sequences with General Midi in mind, can I assume that most people and most computers are set to 2 (whole step) as their default pitch bend interval?

Jim

Using Atari ST as sequencer

unseen midi — Mon, 14 May 2007 20:51:45 GMT

Good day midi maniacs,
Was just wondering, i'm about to recieve an Atari ST running cubase in a few days, and i wanted to know how i could use it as my main sequencer, along with upto 4 hardware samplers, midi keyboard and pads and a multi track tape recorder, along side a PC used as a sample library/editor.
Would it work if i got something like the MOTU 8x8 midi express for the PC, plugging the 4 samplers into 4 of the ins to transfer samples from the pc to samplers, returning to 4 outs to sequence samples is the atari. Then having the Atari plugged into the 5th out and returning to the 5th in.
With the 3 left over outs for the keyboard, pads and multi track recorder and the 3 left over ins for whatever i please.
I dont know much about midi routing, and wouldnt be suprised if this set up did as much as an empty cardboard box, and ofcourse i'de need to have the internal port send and recieves routed correctly.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks.

MIDI sound horrible on Vista! Is there anything I can do?

Vermin Jerky — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 23:10:27 GMT

I'm not knowledgable about MIDI at all, so I'm sorry if I sound like a bit of an idiot. I'm merely a fan of MIDI music who recently purchased a new computer and noticed a decided drop in the sound quality of my favorite MIDI files.

I was terribly disappointed by the drop in quality from 98 to XP... but this is totally unacceptable. I don't even seem to have all the standard patches. This is insane and I'm furious!

Is there anything I can do about this? I appreciate both links to more help, as well as personal help. Please please please, I am begging you! I can't live with the horrible beeps coming out of my speakers!

Thanks for your time. :)

Midi damper help

jazz jasper — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 02:47:24 GMT

Don't know what happened to my last post, maybe it got deleted by accident...

Anyway here it is again

Okay here goes!...

('A' and 'B' refer to two keyboards i am using.)

'A' has all of my sounds on it and for this example i want to use piano and strings. But rather than have them all on one keyboard, i have a second keyboard 'B'.

I have programmed it so that 'B' is set to transmit and recieve midi channel 2 and 'A' is sending a piano sound to midi channel 2. Therefor 'B' now recieves a piano sound. Keyboard 'A' is set to channel 1, 'A' is sending a string sound to channel 1, (in other words itself).

Thats all working fine...

Now on to the sustain pedal... The sustain pedal is plugged into keyboard 'A', which if you remember - keyboard 'A' is midi channel 1.

The problem comes when i want to sustain a chord on both 'A' and 'B', but the damper/sustain pedal only sustains keyboard 'A'.

I want to know how i can get the damper/sustain pedal that is plugged into 'A', to send the sustain command to 'A' AND 'B' at the same time.

Do you know if this is possible and if so how? If it helps keyboard 'A' is a 'Korg Triton Extreme'

Thanks,

Jazz

way to make last MIDI note sustain in .mid file?

mrudnick — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 11:38:58 GMT

Hello,
I've been working in MIDI recently and when I play back the .mid file I create, the last midi note never sustains. The file always ends abruptly. I know it may just be a basic limitation of MIDI but how do people work around it? I use MIDI format 0. Is it a reflection of the MIDI player I'm using or will it always happen? Is there a way to compensate for it?
Thanks.

Note: When I worked with audio and MIDI together I would compensate by extending one audio clip longer than all the MIDI clips so the final MIDI notes would sustain. In a .mid file of course I can't do that.

Great soundcard for General Midi sounds?

danbroman777 — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 12:31:50 GMT

I am desperately trying to find a sound card that has great general midi sounds. I'm a
rock guitarist using Guitar Pro 5 and PowerTab sequencer software. I just bought a
Creative Labs X-Fi card that had pretty darn good instrument sounds, but due to an apparent oversight at Creative, the reverb and chorus sound effects are not controllable by the software. It wouldn't even let me add global effects to midi tracks. I'm running a P4 2.6 ghz with 1 g ram, using Windows XP SP2. It seems that here of late, most sound card manufacturers cater to the gaming and surround sound crowd, and do not put much emphasis on midi as they did in the late 90's.

These software packages are nothing fancy, but make tabbing out guitar and other instrument parts pretty easy. No plugins, they just send midi control commands to the
sound card with instrument sounds, reverb and chorus effects.

Could someone please give me some tips on some current sound cards that have
decent GM sounds, and respond to reverb and chorus commands? The only card
I'm considering trying out now are the Bluegears Enspire, which seems to have good
reviews but not much info on General Midi.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Triton Extreme

mikewithatriton — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 15:44:01 GMT

Hi guys, I need some help concerning my new triton.

I have attempted to convert my songs into wave files and then write a CD, but somehow some of them are playing slow and are not following the original tempo once there are converted.Would someone know what I should do into the sampling setup menu in order to play my tracks ?

please relpy tks.:)

need help with connecting controller w/ laptop w/ yamaha

pglenn — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 12:06:06 GMT

a bit of a beginner question and a general question - however - I have been playing with the yamaha and my PC (currently using an underpowered laptop while PC is sick) connected via MIDI (using VSTHost and/or ACID) and been having fun with it. Now I just got the MK-425C and my idea is to have the yamaha, MK-425C, and PC all connected together, allowing me to play on the Yamaha and use the MK-425C to both trigger things on the Yamaha, and to trigger VST instruments and effects via VSThost. I have MIDIox/MIDIyoke so I can "chain" MIDI options on the PC as needed. I am thinking I will either need some kind of "2x2" MIDI connector or else 2 in/out connections on the PC?

so my question is, are there any suggestions or maybe better, any extremely useful sites and documentation explaining the best way to accomplish this and the best/correct setup?

Patrick

Yamaha PSR-410
M-AUDIO MK-425C
ACID 4.0
DELL Latitude CPT
WIN-XP

How do I do this?

Mundtpiano — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 12:16:03 GMT

OK here's what I got. I'm trying to control an external midi instrument (allen digital organ) with a new Yamaha portable keyboard (YPG-225). Here's my problem. The Yamaha does not have midi in/out jacks. All it has is a USB type B jack for plugging it into a computer.

I've used a "usb to midi" adapter before with success, but this is going from midi into usb, not the other way. I thought ok, I can use this adapter backwards, with a type a to b usb adapter. I called Yamaha to ask their tech support about this and the guy said it won't work like I'm thinking. Basically he said I can't do it without a computer inbetween the two. Some schtick about you need the drivers on the computer for it to work or something.

Is there a way to adapt the usb output on this yamaha keyboard to a standard midi signal? Without the computer I mean. Adapter boxes are fair game.

I would appriciate any answers get emailed to me, as I am not a frequent visitor here.

Electric Drums and Midi

brendo — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 15:45:00 GMT

I have been asked by a friend to help him organize his home studio so he can use his DTX drum kit to trigger his own sounds.

He has a DTX version 2 drum kit. What we would like to do is record each drum pad to a seperate sequencer track, and then allocate samples to that midi information, OR control an external tone generator that allows the user to use their own sounds. The DTX does not allow users to add sounds to the brain.

He would like to be using his own sounds when he records the midi information, rather than use the standard sounds and then change them later.

Please suggest any solutions. Your thoughts are most appreciataed.

ps Windows XP 512Mb USB Midi -->Desktop

HELP! how to get damper to transmit to all channels!

jazz jasper — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 14:50:36 GMT

Hi

Here is the problem - I have a Korg Triton Extreme and an oldish Yamaha stage piano that has all the midi features needed e.g midi in and midi out. Anyway I have rigged all the sounds to come from the triton but sent them to different channels, for example in one combitnation I have strings on the top (Korg) and a piano on the bottom (Yamaha). I have the strings being sent to channel 1 ( the Korg is set to channel 1) and I have the piano being sent to channel 2, (Yamaha set to receive channel 2). Now i only have one sustain/damper pedal, that is plugged into the triton. If the yamaha is set to receive channel 1, i can sustain both keyboards at the same time (on the top and bottom keyboard), however when i change the Yamaha to receive channel 2 i can only sustain the top keyboard.

Do i need to send a CC64 to the bottom keyboard on channel 2, and if i do - how do i do that?!?!?!?! Or is it something completly different, or is it just not possible?!

Thanks for your help

Jazz

Determining device ID number

Jim River — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 21:26:37 GMT

Hi,

May I ask for help concerning device ID? While mapping my computer out to different devices, I am asked what the device ID is. I just do not know how to determine what each device ID number is. Yikes! As Little Richard says on the commercial, "Somebody help me!" (if you have time of course).

Jim

Controlling external devices with MIDI

TatianaRusso — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 14:30:11 GMT

Hi y'all,

I'm a VB6 programmer and I understand that peripherals such as DVD or DAT players as well as certain types of mixers can be remotely controlled with MIDI commands. I know how to send these commands from a PC, but what commands do I send? Do all devices understand the same commands? Is there a standard set of commands? How does it work? Can someone help me?

Thanks,

Tatiana Russo

Converting mp3 to SMF Midi files

peter301149 — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 04:03:43 GMT

Hi,

Could anyone tell me how if possible to convert audio to SMF MIDI,

I hava a Suzuki digital piano and I want to record classic piano pieces and convert to Mido to play via the floppy drive, any help appreciated.

Thanks

DR-660 Exclusive Messages

billiejean — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 12:39:43 GMT

I need help. I've been using Patrick Holthuizen's MIDI Backup Utility to backup my drum lines to SysEx files. I am able to restore some of the files to the drum machine, but some of them do nothing.

I read that the drum machine will only accept messages made for that specific machine. I found an editor for these system exclusive messages and I'm wondering if there's any way I could edit them to make the DR-660 accept them. What numbers would I have to edit to make sure the DR-660 will accept it?

I don't really know what the problem is, so what else could it be?

Please repy,
BillieJean