Aaagh! What did I do?

[Mark Bastable]

I don't know how I did this, but I seem to have set something up so that any midi track I create sends its output to a drum map. And there's very little scope to change it.

Have a look at the screenshot. I want to feed in an audiotrack with  MidiGuitar on it, in order to give myself a miditrack that will be output to the Master. But when I create it, it assumes I want to output to the drum map, and the dropdown doesn't give me much alternative.

Late last night, when I was assigning an output, something popped up which I clicked before I read it, but I think it had 'all synths' in the prompt.

What the hell have I done, and how do I undo it?

 

[Mark Bastable]

This ought to be in QandA. Mods, please move it, if so. Sorry about that.

[scook]

The image shows a MIDI track with its input coming from MIDI Guitar and the output drop down open.

Since it is a MIDI track, the output must go to something that can process MIDI data. 

The output of a MIDI track cannot go to an audio Master bus.

[Mark Bastable]

Okay, obviously I've totally confused myself, because what I'm trying to do I have done before, but I can't remember how.

I have an audio guitar track. I want to create a midi track from it, using MidiGuitar.

So what I thought I must have done before is use MG as an effect on the audio track (with MG 'Output MIDI' parameter turned on). And send that to a Midi track in record mode, in order to  record the midi output from the audio track via MG.

Maybe that's not what I did before..... Dammit.

[scook]

Usually MIDIGuitar is added to an audio track and the MIDI data from the plug-in is used to drive a synth.

While it is possible to host the synth in MIDIGuitar, adding the synth to the project using either an instrument track or audio+MIDI track pair setting the input of the instrument/MIDI track to MIDIGuitar is a better solution.

 

[Mark Bastable]

@scook

Okay, thanks to your very clear advice, I've figured out the problem, if not the solution. As you say, I need to be sending the midi to a synth, but I don't want to send it to the SI Drums, but to a piano.

The synth dropdown in the track used to say 'Replace synth...' (I think)

Now it says 'Replace synth for all tracks using this synth..."

But I only want to change this one.

Edited August 1, 2021 by Mark Bastable

[scook]

A synth requires at least

• one MIDI and one Audio track
• an instrument track

The image above shows just a MIDI track.

If I wanted to use Track 10 with a synth, I would use any of the methods other than the "Add Track" menu to add the synth and its audio track.

These methods include, dragging the plug-in to the project from the plug-in browser and Insert > Soft Synth from the main menu.

Both open up the Insert Soft Synth Options dialog. This may be used to add the synth and the audio track(s). 

Once the synth and audio tracks are added to the project use the output drop down on the MIDI track to point to the synth.

[Mark Bastable]

The track above it is the Audio track - as you say, it's audio+MIDI track pair. The only difference is that the audio track isn't live, it's already recorded.  The Midi track that's receiving doesn't seem to care whether it's live or not.

So all I need to do is change the synth from drums to a piano, which I'd usually do by using 'Replace synth..."

 

[scook]

The MIDI track is currently points to MT-Power DrumKit.

Do you want to replace MT-Power Drumkit or add a new piano synth and point the track to it?

[Mark Bastable]

I want to replace the drum synth with a piano synth. My problem is that I don't know how I got the drumsynth there in the first place, but if I 'Replace Synth for all tracks using this Synth...' it'll presumably put that piano on my drum-synth track as well.

So the root problem is that I don't know how to turn  'Replace Synth for all tracks using this Synth...' back to 'Replace Synth...' which is what it used to say there.

You're being very patient with me. It's appreciated.

[scook]

The replace synth option changes depending on how the synth is setup.

It appears like what you want to do is use an existing audio track along with MIDI track 10.

 However, there are other MIDI and audio tracks setup to use the same instance of the drum synth.

In this case, add the new synth using one of the methods that relies on the Insert Soft Synth Options dialog such as the + on the synth rack or

28 minutes ago, scook said:

dragging the plug-in to the project from the plug-in browser and Insert > Soft Synth from the main menu

and do not select any track options in the Insert Soft Synth Options dialog.

Once the synth is added change the MIDI track output and audio track input to the new synth.

 

[Mark Bastable]

Terrific. Thank you.

What dictates whether or not you get 'Replace all...' or 'Replace just this one...'?  It can't just be that there are multiple instances of a synth, surely? I mean, you're as likely to want to change only one rather than all of them. 

[scook]

10 minutes ago, Mark Bastable said:

It can't just be that there are multiple instances of a synth, surely?

That's right.

In fact, multiple instances of a synth has nothing to do with.

Multiple tracks using the same instance change the behavior of replace synth.