JnTuneTech

Several good bits there, no doubt. The main ask though, is to incorporate the control into the channel strip without a 3rd party. And although the supplied plugin Channel Tools does the job, it is a separate operation to use it when mixing. Plus, it is only VST2. I do already use Channel Tools a fair amount for stereo imaging, and in fact I have a few FX chain presets where I have used the custom GUI options in the ProChannel to create some quick (though sometimes quirky) controls for what I use most often (primarily stereo image shift), but again, that requires moving away from the rest of the basic channel strip controls to use easily when mixing. A lot of digital mixers have at least independent L/R sliders instead of a single pan knob on the stereo channel strips.

At the very least, if we could get Channel Tools updated to VST3 and/or integrated as a ProChannel module, that would also be something I use for precise stereo panning a lot.

Well, I don't know the capabilities of that device, but the one I used has USB connectivity, which among other things, allows for (messing) setting up certain MIDI routing matrices and uploading them to the device, which holds several configurations you can access with a physical button. -Never worked as I expected though, except for very simple patching. -It does also have SMPTE encoding capabilities, that I never used, but interesting. Really, if patching MIDI was as simple as a one-to-many scenario, then of course you could easily lump it in with audio patching. But, it is not. Rarely is MIDI just one stream like audio.

From my experience,, the suggestion of MIDI FX would be the most likely route to satisfying much of these types of discussions, rather than something provided by the DAW. As it stands, Cakewalk provides both multiple MIDI input selection of a hardware port (live routing to multiple plugins) as described here earlier, as well as the ability to duplicate an existing (recorded) MIDI track and have each duplicate linked to the original notes - data stream. Going much farther than that would indeed be getting into higher levels of complication. I am remembering this also as I look over some of my ancient MIDI mixer hardware, which was often a PITA back in the day. Every multi-instrument scenario has so many dependencies & differing needs. Routing MIDI can be much more complicated than just recording a track, and then outputting it, and even both of those options have their own logic to design. I keep planning at looking into some of the MIDI FX options that are out there, but my memories of wrestling with my "simple" MOTU Micro Express sort of douse the enthusiasm! -But hopefully that's just me. One supposes maybe there could even be a "simple" MIDI routing & mapping utility of sorts baked into the DAW, though the devil is in the details!

BTW - If that is all you really need, there is an option to simply record what you hear from tracks - including what you "tap" in real time. For example, to record the output of your drum sampler GUI "taps", once you have the drum sampler output working to where you can hear it, as you described, look for the track output selector, in the track inspector for instance. Click on that, and change the output to "New Aux Track". Once you have created the aux track (it can be renamed and/or moved if needed BTW), "play" your drum sampler, and make sure you can see & hear the output coming from that new track, and also even as you play the existing project. Once you have that working, it is easy to enable recording on the aux track, and then record as you "tap" along, and then play that back afterwards. -It can be quick and creative for on-the-fly sound ideas, just using the mouse.

If it works as you say, then the DAW should treat it like any other hardware port - so yes, one could get the percussion note view as outlined here earlier. However, the results still wouldn't seem worth the effort or resources involved, IMHO. But, yes if it works for you - carry on!

Not typically, no. In general, a virtual MIDI port utility provides a way to connect separate MIDI-aware applications running on the same PC, not within a DAW or app itself. There are certain workarounds, but they are not likely what the OP here would be looking for. -If you do want to try something for fun (?) you can use a standalone version of a Drum Sampler/Synth (many provide both a VST and standalone implementation), and connect it though virtual MIDI port(s) to your DAW. Then one can use the port mapping & GM MIDI drums definition method outlined above. However, most of the time that would not be practical, and depending on your audio device & drivers, it may not work at all. Definitely a bad use of system resources. The limitations of MIDI make "loopback" a bad word, because creating a MIDI feedback loop can really stop things cold, including the entire OS on your PC. -Now that would certainly qualify as "wretchedness" - at least in my book! 😅

Pardon my adding in here, but it sounds like you are both referring to the PRV display when the MIDI track's output selection is using a mapped instrument definition, and one that has the programming note @Starship Krupa mentioned to force display of the notes as percussion. -In the example above, I also went into the right-click menu for the keyboard/note names section, and changed the default, which was blank at first. -The option to set this up does only come around when you are selecting a hardware output, AFAIK. It can be done via the "Configure..." option in the dialog as represented above, or from Preferences > MIDI > Instruments. -It can be setup without an actual hardware port, by using a virtual port (such as loopMIDI, etc.) , or, if you are not needing to monitor the playback of the notes (I know some folks who can write music without hearing it first {not me!}, you can also use the mapping temporarily (see the Save Changes... checkbox) on an existing hardware port to experiment if you like. In the examples above, I have used default instrument/note definitions included in Cakewalk products for years now. The ones that have "drums" in the name usually have the percussion view flag enabled. Now, I wanted to follow on to a previous post here, and state that while note mapping can be handy, and with time & patience (!) can be created/edited manually, I still find that creating/modifying a Drum Map is what I choose for in-depth day-to-day drum programming. It gets me the note names and selected organization in a few steps. I also prefer standard note view in PRV for drums, as it gives me the option of creating note lengths that help me see the intended dynamics - as it would be in an actual Piano Roll for say a player piano or music box. -But that's just me. In any case, there are lots of choices, and I only wish I had been able to learn these things more quickly when I was getting started. That still frustrates me - finding examples & detailed, easy to search documentation using real-world procedures. -Of course, I am just slow sometimes, I will easily admit.

So, the same principles apply as above. Each VST has its own settings to configure. MIDI files have several options within them. You would need to have the two matching, otherwise you get the issue you describe where meters show activity, but no sound from the VST. -Provided of course that you have a sound device connected. Just remember, MIDI is not sound, just instructions for how to play sound. A hardware organ, for instance, or a VST and a sound device need to be connected, and set up properly, in order for the MIDI playback to work audibly.

That part I cannot answer, as again I am not familiar with your hardware. It's probably best if you can find a manual for the organ, to determine what the MIDI channel settings are at minimum. Generally what you describe happens when the MIDI being sent is on the wrong channel for the instrument, but it could be many things. -Keep learning how MIDI works and find out the specifics of your device, and learn the tools that can help you get Cakewalk and your organ on the same page, and you will get there!

It should work, provided that the standards of the MIDI files you copied are within the standards that Cakewalk commonly accepts. -Regardless of that, if the organ accepts MIDI control, you should be able to figure out some sort of compatibility to have the organ play MIDI files from Cakewalk. It is certainly used for that purpose, and from my experience - once you learn the tools, it can do a lot with MIDI control.

Welcome to the forum! -So, a basic answer to your question is - yes, Cakewalk is well suited to playing and editing, even creating MIDI files, and will play them out to most any standard MIDI capable device. While the details of your post include some hardware I am not familiar with, if it uses basic MIDI standards, it may be very easy. The MIDI files you mention may work either opened as a project, or imported into a project, as long as they are in a standard format. The rest of the answer would depend on what the hardware organ requires, and then the PC will require at least MIDI output hardware , and the appropriate connectivity between the two is needed to complete the picture. Having that, if the MIDI files open, the next steps would be determining if they will properly drive the organ, or if they need adjustment to match the desired output & playback.

Well, in reading this thread over several weeks now, I seem to glean only that everyone has differing tastes on working with percussion MIDI in CbB & Sonar. So far I can only agree generally about the definite issues of naming conventions, and challenges learning/discovering the drum map and PRV note name toolset itself. I began many moons ago discovering MIDI mapping tools, and have since lost the taste for default sample maps and drum grid views, but that's not to say I won't use them, when it seems the best fit for the material being edited. I do find that any time a drum map view seems empty, it will be a view setting carried over from a previous session, or just a wrong track output assignment/selection. I get what I click, though there are the odd times when editing a drum map that the PRV doesn't immediately update when doing modifications. I then close, re-open. A few clicks. As others have stated, understanding & organizing the maps & templates is a bit clunky, -once you finally learn how they are set up by default, of course, and that selectively changing that helps a lot. For me doing that also helps backup the data, though it's never as critical as realizing the exact drum map(s) you want are saved within each project anyway. Whether it's little rectangles, or asterisks, note views can be entirely up to each project, so it seems good there is a choice. Sorting the view really seems to be the key tool to have, for me. I mostly hate the default instrument mapping in drum synths, and am happy to do away with duplications and have only instruments I need for the project at hand, organized by my tastes. I happen to mostly prefer using note value views (rectangles), as I use them in varying sizes to visually emphasize certain aspects of dynamics, not to mention that several samplers I use have uses for varying note values on select instrument notes. Everyone has their comfort zone, but drum maps did seem a bit complex to me at first. I don't know if that could quite be called wretchedness, but that is a colorful way of putting it!

I don't really know the MD plugin, in fact hearing that you found it to be advertised as "multi-out by default" is quite interesting. I do know that they do, as most samplers will, offer or have vendors for different sample sets, -"kits" of course, and sometimes additional percussion & whatnot. In my experience, loading different sample sets is not something you want to do by a program change. Generally, I will load a separate instance of the sampler to "add on" parts like percussion, for instance, and just point the instruments MIDI note(s) to the proper instance (kit) using either the drum map, or just pointing the proper MIDI track output specifically. You haven't mentioned it, but I hope you have found out how each "kit" has its own note map - settings in the plugin itself as well. For instance, if the snare is not mapped to the GM number you want, you can either change the MIDI note(s) in the track, or just change the sampler "Kit piece" to respond on what mapping you want. And yes, you will be looking for other sampler plugins to handle the rest of the melodic MIDI parts. Depending on how the tracks were composed originally, they may also be reliant on GM patch changes, which was very common, and as @Promidi mentioned, you are best off trying to stick with legacy VST2 plugins for the most compatibility with that. -As I mentioned in another thread here, Roland is still selling license keys for the Sound Canvas VA VST2 plugin through the end of September, but it is being discontinued in the cloud & support options going forwards. Otherwise, I would recommend that for a quick playback of older MIDI tracks with GM format & patch changes, etc., - and of course that one is not a free plugin either.

It's great that you got some of the drums instruments to play, sounds like you are well on your way. I will agree that using the multiple outs method may be a bit much, and you can certainly just achieve playback with only one stereo output on a drum sampler. Still, it can be useful later if you decide to convert each kit piece to audio for very granular mixing. -I happen to do that a lot, and am in fact currently using a project that splits the drum MIDI out into 6 separate parts, going to respective mixable outputs, and that comes in handy come mixdown time. But if that's not needed, just run one instance of the drum sampler, and point all drum (Ch. 10 in your case) MIDI outputs to the drum synth, use a standard primary stereo output from that, and it will be simpler, especially for previewing. Some effort may be necessary to "fine tune" and get things to match up better (or at all), and although others may argue, I find that, especially once you know what MIDI input mapping your drum synth - kit is set up with (and that usually has options), it is a quick matter to add a drum map to a project, assign it to the drum MIDI track(s) one by one, and instantly have a view of what notes are there to be assigned to start out with. -There are other methods, to be sure, such as just using an instrument definition from the default GM sets to overlay on the basic PRV keyboard, for instance. But trying any of that is relatively painless, and if you don't find it useful, -just remove the map! In keeping with some folks who like to explain step by step: I will take a project, or often just an older MIDI file opened and then saved as a project, and look at the MIDI track assignments. If there is a Ch. 10 MIDI track, chances are it contains GM drum MIDI, especially if it was formatted years ago, and especially if it has been assigned to a legacy GM multitimbral synth such as Sound Canvas. It is often even labeled "Drums" if you have opened the file directly. So, I will now assign a GM (or usually Roland GS Standard) format drum map to the likely drum MIDI track material's track output. -You don't even have to have a synth plugged in at that point. Once the drum map is assigned to the MIDI track's output (it does involve a few steps at 1st), I close the Drum Map tool. Then, I select the MIDI track in question, and use PRV to see what is on the track visually. If, as older MIDI files often are, the drum kit pieces (note numbers) used in the file are set up to GM standards, you will visually see notes in place that are already matching the GM template (kick, snare, etc.) in the map view. Anything else that is not, will show up as "unassigned". From there, I usually refer to a working playback (audio, or other GM synth playback) version of the MIDI file/track, to figure out what is playing where the "undefined" notes show up. For most pop material, it's usually pretty simple. -The steps after that vary for me, depending on the drum sampler I want to use. -There are other ways, and of course other issues too, as MIDI can have inline data that may change the actual playback parameters, and that won't show in a drum map. -But getting the basic drum kit instrument piece assignments working with this method gets things started for me very quickly, with older GM standard formatted material. And even if it's not GM, you can visually make out the general patterns and label/assign them quickly. Your mileage may vary, of course!