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Why not assign reserved midi channel 10 to fixed channels .. if possible?

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Handy to use the GM channel 10 .. in the parameter tab is to see what druminstrument is used when there a symbols assigned in the arrangement ( by up and down .. the name of the drumsound is changing)
Example : i do have a cymbal on channel 5 and want to assign this channel to midi channel 10..were i can further assign to a cymbal 
It is bypassing the reserved midi channel 10 in the GM rack, because i use a fixed rack.
On channel 6 is a snare again on fixed channel... also must use reserved channel 10? 


My solution to assign on channel 5, 6 on the vsti with the gm stero soundset is not working....  i don't see the druminstrument name(s) in  the parameter tab when select a drum symbol.
Probably the name giving feature is only working for reserved channel 10 in the GM mode..if this can be used too on fixed channels then it is also easy to chance from drumsound for different GM drumsounds in the arrangement.  


Yes i know grooveagent 4 as vsti  rack is a good deal, but for now i do want to stay with the GM drumsounds. 


Tue, 2014-12-30 - 20:35 Permalink

You can do that if you want. Its up to you, your device definition and vst/instrument as to what channels you use.

Dont get mixed up though between a GM drumkit and a GM pitched sound that is a drum type. A GM drumkit can not be pitched, different notes play different drum sounds. Maybe your cymbal and snare are pitched instruments and thats why the vst puts them on a different channel?

Also some vsts and instruments do not use channel 10 for drums at all. My ableton live drum racks use whatever midi channel I set the drone to that drives them, they use different note values for each drum sound but other than that work in a similar way to the GM drum standard. However I have a hardware synth and midi channel 2 is the kick, 3 the snare, 4 closed hihat, 5 open hihat, etc.

At the end of the day you have control over the channel usage in synfire unless its fixed by the vst/instrument, just edit the device settings.

(The proper description for your snare is probably 'tuned' rather than pitched, but it amounts to the same thing - you can decide which note/pitch to play it at).

Tue, 2014-12-30 - 22:36 Permalink

Yes, as you know on midichannel 10 is a reserved channel for a GM rack
If you add a symbol for a drumsound on this channel..you can read the name of the assigned drumsound in Synfire in the parameter tab.
This is not working ( to read the drumname) if you use not channel 10  and choose the same GM drumkit
A solution for this is to assign a GM rack with the reserved cchannel 10 for every drum channel, and because there is only one reserved midi channel 10 per Halion5 vsti..i am forced to use more GM racks for the drum sounds belonging to the midi construction kit.
Laborious..all this with midi GM drumkit.


Another quick way is to assign the GM129 Stereo GM kit ..OR other kits ! to the channels, but then you must know what drumsound is under the pianokey
I think this a better solution then using only the GM stereo drum kit.
Halion5 is capable of offering a lot of drumsounds, so maybe its better to choose from there to and this is the quickiest way.
There is no easy and quick GM soundsassigning possible it seems with the midi construction kits 


It seems that the snare has symbols on different pitches..so with the  GM snare sounds in Halion5 you get problem with the soundassigning , maybe has a not GM snare sound  a range of snares to offer ?  
Yes.. A Snare combi key sound in Halion has for instance  6 octaves with every octave a different snare sound for 4 keys.
You can loose yourself in the details here... i must listen to the wave snare in Cubase to get a idea of the used snare


Its impossible to make one GM rack with 16 reserved channels  :)     

Tue, 2014-12-30 - 22:39 Permalink

sorry Jan Im not explaining it very well. The snare and cymbal you have on different channels are probably not part of the gm standard drum kit (they are gm instruments from the percussive section). You can play any note (within the sounds note range) and the snare will play but at different pitches. if you send the midi to channel 10 its unlikely you would get a snare sound.

The standard gm drum kit assigns different drum instruments to each note and you can not change the pitch, playing a different note will play a different drum instrument. Check out the following link which shows the gm standard instruments (including cymbals, snares and other percussive instruments) which are proper pitched instruments, plus further down the page, there is the drum kit definition for channel 10 (non pitched).

(http://www.midi.org/techspecs/gm1sound.php)

 

Sorry forgot the link and this post has crossed with your update...hopefully this will help

Thu, 2015-01-01 - 12:04 Permalink

yes, i do understand what is the matter with the GM drumsound.
Let Cognitone try to find a solution for not GM drum sounds what are imported on different channels into Synfire ( not reserved channel 10) and i want them assign as GM drumsounds.


 

Thu, 2015-01-01 - 18:21 Permalink

This is probably better handled by a human as only you can tell which instrument is suitable for the mapping e.g which fixed pitched snare drum should be used to replace the pitched one ( as it depends on the gm soundset/vst being used). There must be a reason why the composer/arranger uses the pitched drum sounds rather than the fixed sounds of the gm drum kit (on channel 10), either they couldnt find a sound they liked or maybe they are playing the sound at different pitches.

You should be able to change the midi file in cubase before the import. First make sure the notes are all the same, change the midi channel to 10, lastly change the pitch of all the notes to one that matches the snare sound you want to use. Alternatively you can do this in synfire after the import. This should keep you going until your feature is coded into synfire.

 

Thu, 2015-01-01 - 20:02 Permalink

It makes it more complicated to handle the drumsounds in Cubase..the only way is to assign them to one track and export them as GM reserved channel 10. 
Whatever midi drumkit i load in Synfire with not GM drums .. i like to handle this in Synfire during import and with the rackassigning. 
So importing the drums channels and assign them to GM channel 10 each individually, couldbe  be the solution..is this possible in Synfire?
Example channel 3, 5, and 7 has assigned channel 10 GM reserved.


It seems to be not possible to do this Synfire alone?..you need first put all drums on one midi track in Cubase..

Thu, 2015-01-01 - 22:31 Permalink

Ok, it seems to be possible to assign during import of a midi file in Synfire for the drumsounds choose channel 10
So all imported drumsounds are set on one channel 10 ... just what i want.
BUT is is only to use for a imported midi with drumsounds who have one pitch.
For the imported midi there are two pitched snares..so the GM drum channel 10 snare is useless here.  
Further you must make absolute symbols for the drums .. to see the drumsound name