quattj

I am shortening existing MIDI files using the split option, and deleting the end parts that I do not need.  However, in the process I am losing a few "end of track" events, like "Reset All Controllers", "Stop All Sound", etc.  Is there somewhere in Cakewalk that I can automatically add things like this back to the ends of the cut tracks, or would I need to use some kind of scripting to do that?

7 hours ago, 57Gregy said:

Are you referring to THIS or THIS?
The green-highlighted box is the timeline.
The red-highlighted box appears to be a MIDI track with nothing recorded in it.

 

The red highlighted box is the item in question.

I have completed 145 other MIDI files using more or less the same technique I am using now.

MIDI files are created with a utility.

Files are edited with Anvil Studio, Sekaiju, and a few other pieces of software.

Once the files are essentially "complete", I open them in Cakewalk, trim them to the length I need, and apply a fade out at the end using a CAL script.

Up until now, none of the other 145 files ever showed the setup track, yet in this soundtrack (31 new files that I am opening, no importing) in Cakewalk multiple files are displaying the setup track in  the Cakewalk track view.

I understand how Cakewalk displays data.  I understand it normally has separate views for certain things.

To be clear, whether or not Cakewalk displays this track in the track view, it exists in the MIDI file.

So I did just take a look at the event list in Cakewalk for that particular setup track.  It shows a SYSEX reset (forget if it's the GM or GS) and a second line that said "Sysx Bank".

So I checked a setting that I recently changed:

"Always use Sysx Banks for MIDI files (instead of Sysx Data)"

It was originally selected, and I recently unselected it.  I tried re-selecting it, and the setup track is now not displaying.  So to answer the question, something with the way Cakewalk handles SYSEX is the cause for the track displaying when this option is unchecked.

2 hours ago, John Vere said:

But first, sys exclusive and time signature data are not part of a track. Sys ex has its own view which opens in the multi dock. Time signature is found in the transport module. 
 

They actually are part of a track, for that is the structure of a MIDI file.  MIDI files consist solely of the Mthd header chunk and a subsequent series of Mtrk track chunks.  The very first track in a MIDI file is where all of the setup takes place.  It normally does not contain any note data (unless it is a type 0 file, which only contains a single track).  Normally this first track is not displayed in Cakewalk, but for some reason, with a few of these files, it is being displayed.  My goal it to understand why it is doing this so I can either A) ignore it (though it will make some of my edits a little more tedious because I will need to deselect it all the time) or B) remove or move the offending event(s) to the next track (ie, the first musical track).

Other editors, such as Sekaiju, always display the setup track.  See the attached screenshots from Sekaiju.  You can see the setup tracks at the top of the list, and also the events that are in each setup track.  In Cakewalk, for one of the files (song 02) it does not show the setup track, yet in the other one (song 04) it does, so my assumption is some event in the setup track is causing it to be displayed in Cakewalk.

It is not a setting that is being modified, as I can load all of my files at the same time, and some will show it, while some will not.

More info about the internals of a MIDI file can be found at

https://www.midi.org/specifications/file-format-specifications/standard-midi-files

I am working on a MIDI soundtrack, as I have done with six others in the past.  Normally the track view has not been showing the "first" (setup) track, containing things like time signature and SYSEX data.  However, with my current soundtrack, some of my songs are showing the first track, while others are not.  What event(s) would cause the track to appear in this soundtrack, but only on some of the files?  In the attachment, the top file is not showing the setup track, while the bottom one is.

Thanks, I'll give these a shot!

Does anyone have a CAL script for removing "duplicate" events that occur on the same tick, but contain different values?

I have a MIDI file I am trying to clean up that has hundreds of volume events that happen on the same ticks (same track, same channel), meaning there are hundreds of tick values that contain two or more volume events with differing values for the same notes.

So for example:

Tick 510 -> Note On

Tick 540 -> volume 64

Tick 540 -> volume 73

Theoretically the first event should get ignored because they both happen at the same time, but the values that are set in my file may need to keep the first OR the second, so I would hopefully be able to specify if I wanted to remove either all the first occurrences, all the second occurrences, etc.

Firstly:

Currently, when I open an Event List window for a strictly MIDI file, it is not displaying the initial program change on a track.  (File -> Open -> Name.mid, View -> Event List)  It will display any program changes further down the track, just not at the very beginning.  Is there a setting somewhere to change this, or is it a bug?

Secondly:

Is there a way to refine the Event List filtering?  For example, if I show only "Controller", it shows ALL controllers, which makes it difficult in a complex file if, say, I'm just looking for Volume (7), or Expression (11), etc.

I normally work mainly in the main track view for the edits I need to make on my midi files.  I am now also using the piano roll view to edit some of my cc values.  Is there a way to lock the zoom level together so when I zoom in/out in one, it zooms the same in the other?  In other words, a 1:1 zoom across multiple views?

Sounds like you are looking for an active USB cable.  It contains circuitry to amplify the signal to allow a longer USB run.

https://www.google.com/search?q=active+usb+a+to+b+cable

As a workaround, I am now:

- using my instrument switcher to temporarily change any instrument with a number >= 100 to an instrument number <= 99 (in most cases, 2x Page Up gets me -20 instrument number, which puts it in the "acceptable range",

- making the required edits with Cakewalk,

- resetting the changed instrument numbers back to their originals using my instrument switcher.

Pain and suffering reduced by 92%.  Cakewalk no longer corrupts the instrument selections, and I no longer have to spend a bunch of time manually deleting incorrect bank selects.

In the latest version 2022.11, this issue is still present.  I have replied to the support email with a follow-up.  See the mess in my NEW project!  It appears any Bank Select for [*edit] an instrument number 100 or over [*/edit] causes a problem.

Siiiiigh.  I had to re-edit all of the final finished files with Cakewalk to insert a measure at the beginning of 34 of the songs (it auto-added the setup measure only to a single song), and it re-added all of the incorrect instruments that I had already manually removed. 😪

I've been working on a project converting video game soundtracks to MIDI.  MIDI files are being created and modified prior to being brought in to Cakewalk for some final touch-ups.  For the first soundtrack I did, Cakewalk automatically created a setup measure in all of my files so things like the GS reset and other setup type things would have enough time to execute before the music actually starts playing.

However, in my second soundtrack, it only did this for one of my files, so now I have 34 files that start immediately upon playback (even though they contain all the same setup information as the previous soundtrack) and one file that has a delay of a measure before it starts playing.

For consistency and smoothness of playback, I'd like to add this setup measure to all of the files.  I know I can insert a blank measure at the beginning of each, but I'd like to have the MIDI system setup things moved in to that measure as well.

Suggestions?

I read the bank select documentation.  Curious why it would change the default "Normal", which is what my files *should* use, in to using "Patch".  And why it only happened with a small amount of them.  They all go through essentially the same creation process, and are all edited with the same various softwares before being brought in to Cakewalk.

All of the offending items were Program Change 117, 118, or 119, though not in all files, and not all instances of each. (116, 117, 118 depending on the editor in question)

2 hours ago, User 905133 said:

Maybe someone who knows what is going on under the hood of Cakewalk has some insights into why its happening. 

...

BTW: Sounds like video game music!!! 

I emailed support about the issue.  They are looking in to it.

...

100% video game music!

I am working on a project converting SNES (Super Nintendo) soundtracks in to high quality MIDI files.  This soundtrack (Super Castlevania IV) is nearly complete.  This issue with Cakewalk delayed it 😛

I just went through all of the files one by one, and only 4 of the 35 were affected.  Took about an hour to delete all the extra program changes.  Once I test them out, I think it will all be good.

If you're curious to hear the final soundtrack when it is complete (as well as the previous soundtrack I have finished, Super R-Type), check out the project playlist on YouTube.  It has full soundtrack video(s), as well as links in the video descriptions to my Google drive folder, which contains instructions on the process I am using to create the files, as well as downloadable mp3 and MIDI versions of the soundtracks.  New soundtracks will be added as I complete them.  Hopefully with all the issues ironed out for the next one

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzNFPVjo8upworyQq0DXDTiCZzPP29Frw

It appears that what is happening is:

There is a bank select, followed by a program change in the original file.  Cakewalk is holding on to this program change number.

There is new bank select followed by a new program change, at which point Cakewalk applies the previous program change number to the new bank select (which it should not), and immediately follows it by the same new bank select but with the new program change number (which it should).

You can see in the Sekaiju screenshot that PC 116 is then followed by a wrong PC 116, PC 118 is followed by a wrong PC 118, and the next PC 116 is followed by a wrong PC 116.  It does not happen all the time, which is strange.  It seems only certain bank selects are having this problem.  Thus far, I see it happening with specific melodic perscussions (though I have not analyzed my other files yet).

I manually deleted all of the bad PCs in the final version of this same file (which I have already faded, tagged, and renamed before finding out there was a problem) using Sekaiju.

The instrument list is now correct in this file.  See screenshots of the final file before manually deleting the PCs, and after.  The after screenshot matches instruments of the original file before editing with Cakewalk.

Hmm, it looks like any time Cakewalk lists "Patch 100..." in the Patch data field instead of Controller 0, I am getting the issue with instruments.

Note that the 3 "Patch 100..." in the Cakewalk screenshot correspond to the 3 erroneous doubled-program changes in the Sekaiju screeshot.

I thought I attached some sample files.  Here is a before and after of the two versions of the first file from the original post, plus the two versions from the reply.

scv4-21 new repair 2-01.mid scv4-21 new repair 2-01 cake.mid scv4-21 new repair 2-01 repair.mid scv4-21 new repair 2-01 repair cake.mid

I'm not sure which portion you are referencing, as I haven't used Cakewalk for anything other than adding fades and extending or cropping existing MIDI files.  There are defaults in the inspector panel that are there when I load the files up.  They are identical between the original file and the opened/saved/closed file.

I literally open a file, save it, and close it and it gets messed up.  Also, I'm not really sure how Cakewalk is describing the events.  Here are screenshots of the event view from a messed up track in Cakewalk vs Sekaiju (a "clean" file, opened, saved, closed, and then opened in both editors' event views).  The erroneous instruments do not appear to even show in Cakewalk.

I finished a previous project of 15 MIDI files in mid-August, and going back and checking those now I don't see anything out of the ordinary, so it may be related to one of the most recent updates?

EDIT: I reverted to v2002.06, and it did not resolve the issue.

I am working on a project where I need to load a bunch of MIDI files in to Cakewalk one at a time to trim and fade out the ends.

I have another piece of software that allows me to see all instruments that are in use in a particular file.

Unfortunately, at the "completion" of my project, while making screenshots of the instrument lists, I have discovered that there are instruments present that were not there before Cakewalk had a go at the files, and thus all my finish work has been done on "corrupted" versions of my files.

See the following examples.  The first screenshot is the "before Cakewalk", while the second is "after Cakewalk".  All I did in this case was load the original, then save a copy to grab screenshots.

In file 21:

7 extra instruments have been added to channel 1.

In file 22:

Melodic Tom 2 and Taiko should not exist on Channel 1.

Melodic Tom 2 should not exist on Channel 2.

Out of 35 total MIDI files, quite a few have been affected this way, though I have yet to go through them all to discover all of the pain.

In the final screenshot, you can see extra program changes immediately followed by program changes and a Note On only after the second program change.

On 8/6/2022 at 5:59 AM, Bristol_Jonesey said:

Right click the clip and select "Apply Trimming"

Noted above that Apply Trimming did not work.  Bounce to clips DID work for my particular issue with these files.

10 hours ago, David Baay said:

Make sure you have Non-Destuctive MIDI Editing un-checked in Editing preferences.

I tried this, and it does not let me split all of the tracks where I need to.  Some split, some refuse to split.

9 hours ago, Base 57 said:

Did you bounce the clips after the slip edits? 

I just tried this after splitting/deleting the extra, and it seems to have worked!  I will have to test it on my other files to make sure it was not just a fluke.  I will also try the same doing a slip edit.  Thanks!

Hopefully there is a setting somewhere that can be toggled to fix this. 

I loaded the same file with Anvil Studio (the file in the last screenshot above), and used the "Truncate Song" option, and it cut the end off exactly as expected, and actually shortened a few tracks where the last note ends before the cut.  The cut was made at 1:18:07.  See the results of Anvil Studio vs the Cakewalk screenshot from above.

I believe many of them do have sustains.  It seems to be happening with long notes, which I would think that the "split notes" would take care of.  I'll give slip editing a shot and see if that helps.

EDIT: Did not help.  I dragged the ends to all line up, saved, reloaded and everything was back to how it was.  I also tried enabling "Select Controllers Along With Notes" and various options in "Delete Special" with no better results.  Splitting, deleting the excess, and then "Apply Trimming" also had no lasting effect.