Is there any plan to build the capability to send program changes by name rather than by MIDI value? A number of hosts have used the Cakewalk instrument definition format (.ins). It would be nice not to have to maintain a spreadsheet on the computer to do the mapping manually.
Yes - I would support this. This ought to be included in GP - but I feel it is of low priority,
Barry
Not sure what’s involved in this — you have to have an account to see these definition files. If you can send me a couple of those files so I can see what’s involved we can make an assessment as to whether it makes sense to support them but I also suspect it’s low priority compared to other stuff. Until you mentioned them, I had never even heard of these.
David,
Here is a link to how they are made:-
http://forum.cakewalk.com/Instrument-Definition-Files-Cakewalk-Sonar-INS-Files-m3716596.aspx
And they are not chargeable - they are free and available all over the place - most manufacturers in my experience seem to have them available - certainly Roland, Yamaha etc. Here is a link to some :-
https://www.notation.com/vb-forum/showthread.php?t=3891
Barry
Yeah, I saw those links but I’d just like to look at a few already created files — candidly I don’t need the distraction of figuring out how to build them right now.
I tried to upload a couple of examples, but they are not of the allowed file types. Here are some snippets:
; --------------------------------------------------------
.Patch Names
[New - Alesis QS 8 & 8.1 Mix Bank]
0=0. SmilesToG
1=1. SpeakNoE
2=2. MornDance
3=3. PicThis
4=4. No78
5=5. Birdland
6=6. Slipstream
7=7. Blues47
8=8. Tunisia
9=9. Spain
10=10. SpeakNoEvi
…
[New - Alesis QS 8 & 8.1 Program & FX Bank]
0=1. PureStereo
1=2. SpainFlute
2=3. AntiquePno
3=4. Pianooohs
4=5. LA Studio
5=6. No Quarter
6=7. Fat Roadz
7=8. Whirl Lee
8=9. Mars E Pno
9=10. TineString
Since it is of low priority as far as GP is concerned, I wonder if Deskew Technologies would consider writing a commercial plug-in like Selector. I am more than willing to pay for such a plug-in. This way, it can be used not only in GP but in other DAWs. There seem to be a lot of musicians who want to control hardware devices from software.
David,
The INS files were in ZIP files in the second link I sent you. But, no matter, I’ve uploaded some that I use anyway -see here:-
http://www.mediafire.com/file/l9okx7a2j7j73hq/INSfiles.zip/file
olive,
Try ReaControMidi
Barry
Thanks, can you explain the meaning of the item in square brackets and the meaning of 0=0, 0=1, etc
I have never looked at INS files in any depth - but I would assume the 1st number is the PC value. So if you have something like:-
[Motif XS Pre 1]
0=Piano: APno: Full Concert Grand
Then ‘Motif XS Pre 1]’ is the group of 128 instruments. ‘0’ = PC number, ‘Piano’=Grand category (Piano), ‘Apno’=Piano sub category, and ‘Full Concert Grand’ is the synths patch name.
The LSB and MSB are picked up right at the bottom of the ins file in its own section. So at the bottom of the file:-
.Instrument Definitions
[Motif XS]
Patch[0]=Motif XS GM
Patch[8064]=Motif XS Pre 1
For GM the LSB and MSB are zero. For group ‘Motif XS Pre 1’ the LSB and MSB are encoded into the 8064
I hope this makes sense.
Barry
Well, that would make sense except that in the first example there were entries such as
0=1
1=2
So what is the first number and what is the second number and why an equals sign?
I’ll look it all up at some point if we decide to support this but right now it’s just curious
My interpretation is that the LHS is for the synth and is the Prog Chng number. The RHS is what is displayed for the operator. SO if the format is ‘0=GrandPiano’ where Prog Cng=0 and Grand Piano is displayed in the menu for the operator. Then the same thing applies to the ‘0=1’ i…e 0 is the Prog Chng # for the hardware and 1 is displayed on the menu for the operator. I think whoever created the INS file was just being ‘minimalist’ i.e. was just indicating it was patch 1.