My struggles with Drum Maps have been legendary, but I am happy to say that I am no longer completely befuddled by them. While I still think they are unnecessarily complicated to set up and use, I at least figured out how to do it, and drum map/drum grid is now my favorite way to program beats.
Goal & background: I would also like to be able to do the PRV thing where you don't use the drum grid for editing but you still have your own custom names over on the left side. The fact that I'm not sure even what it's called should be an indicator of the level where I'm starting. However, I'm no stranger to complexity and deep diving in tech matters. I've created and released 7 extensively-modded Cakewalk themes, figured out drum maps, and my favorite plug-in developer is Meldaproduction.
I suspected it had something to do with "instrument definitions," so I tried looking in the documentation and Reference Guide for how to do Instrument Definitions and....uh, to say I found the instructions incomprehensible....It reminds me of the time I tried to learn calculus by reading a book about it.
I want to do this for Break Tweaker, which doesn't use normal GM drum names, it has some pads and then a bunch of slots for patterns, all of which you can trigger with MIDI notes. I want Pads 1-6 and Patterns 1-24. That's all. I have the MIDI note numbers it uses for these pads and patterns, so I thought I was ready to go.
First I was put off balance by how the documentation starts with a list of questions. I had been expecting....answers, I guess? Asking nonsense questions is a common interrogation technique for breaking a detainee's spirit, and-spoiler-in my case it worked:
"To create an instrument definition, you must answer these types of questions [my answers in brackets]:
What are the names of the patches in each bank? [patches? bank? I just want the note names, over on the left there where it's normally piano keys or numbers]
Which note names should be used for each patch? [each patch? I want a set of custom note names for the whole instrument regardless of what patch is loaded]
What are the names of the MIDI Controllers for this instrument? [What?? My MIDI controller is an old Yamaha CS6x to which I have never given a name]
Which RPN and NRPNs are available on the instrument? [Does this mean those old Hewlett-Packard calculators that were no good for balancing your checkbook? If there's math, can't I just use a regular calculator? I have a TI-30 that does square roots.]
Which Bank Select method does the instrument use? [Let's see, iZotope says that Break Tweaker just looks around for the best interest rates....WTH are you talking about?]
To collect this information, you need the MIDI documentation for your instrument.
[This is another interrogation technique, put them on ice for hours and then tell them they don't have the right paperwork to be released. Can you send in the "good cop" now please?]"
After softening me up with the 5 questions I couldn't answer, it then said:
"Here’s a general outline of the steps you must follow to create an instrument definition:
Create a new instrument in the Instrument tree.
Create any new name lists in the Names tree that are required for the instrument.
Drag name lists and possibly a bank select method to the new instrument from the Names tree.
Close the Define Instruments and Names dialog box.
The Instrument tree? The Names tree? Name lists? Drag name lists? I don't have a "drag" name. I have a stage name, Superabbit, and when I perform I wear clothing standard for my male gender identification. And the "bank select method" again? How about PayPal? Meng promised Cakewalk would always be free.
Then it showed a picture of The Define Instruments and Names dialog box, which must be the dialog box they were referring to that I must close. It looks like RegEdit, only less intuitive for first-timers:
This is where I decided that I was in way over my head. For all I know, the consequences of messing this up are similar to the consequences of messing up in RegEdit, and I don't know how to back this up before I start beating on it at random.
Now, snark aside, I suspect that the issue I'm having here (if it's not that Instrument Definitions isn't even the right thing to work with to get names on the left), is that the documentation was written back when a "synth" was a hardware device that you plugged a MIDI cable into, and doesn't (at least explicitly) take soft synths into account. So it's probably giving me a lot of things to do that are unnecessary.
If that's the case, can someone please tell me just the steps that apply to making note names for a soft synth that are the same regardless of what patch is loaded? Again, all I want is for there to be human-readable names over on the left rather than piano keys or numbers. I have the names, I know what MIDI note numbers to assign them to.
There are mentions in the forum about editing a file with a text editor, but I have no idea what file and what to do with it.
I have no idea about trees, banks, patches, patches of trees, or Hewlett-Packard calculators, at least as they relate to note names. If it would help, we can call my MIDI controller "Yammie."
Question
Starship Krupa
My struggles with Drum Maps have been legendary, but I am happy to say that I am no longer completely befuddled by them. While I still think they are unnecessarily complicated to set up and use, I at least figured out how to do it, and drum map/drum grid is now my favorite way to program beats.
Goal & background: I would also like to be able to do the PRV thing where you don't use the drum grid for editing but you still have your own custom names over on the left side. The fact that I'm not sure even what it's called should be an indicator of the level where I'm starting. However, I'm no stranger to complexity and deep diving in tech matters. I've created and released 7 extensively-modded Cakewalk themes, figured out drum maps, and my favorite plug-in developer is Meldaproduction.
I suspected it had something to do with "instrument definitions," so I tried looking in the documentation and Reference Guide for how to do Instrument Definitions and....uh, to say I found the instructions incomprehensible....It reminds me of the time I tried to learn calculus by reading a book about it.
I want to do this for Break Tweaker, which doesn't use normal GM drum names, it has some pads and then a bunch of slots for patterns, all of which you can trigger with MIDI notes. I want Pads 1-6 and Patterns 1-24. That's all. I have the MIDI note numbers it uses for these pads and patterns, so I thought I was ready to go.
First I was put off balance by how the documentation starts with a list of questions. I had been expecting....answers, I guess? Asking nonsense questions is a common interrogation technique for breaking a detainee's spirit, and-spoiler-in my case it worked:
"To create an instrument definition, you must answer these types of questions [my answers in brackets]:
To collect this information, you need the MIDI documentation for your instrument.
[This is another interrogation technique, put them on ice for hours and then tell them they don't have the right paperwork to be released. Can you send in the "good cop" now please?]"
After softening me up with the 5 questions I couldn't answer, it then said:
"Here’s a general outline of the steps you must follow to create an instrument definition:
The Instrument tree? The Names tree? Name lists? Drag name lists? I don't have a "drag" name. I have a stage name, Superabbit, and when I perform I wear clothing standard for my male gender identification. And the "bank select method" again? How about PayPal? Meng promised Cakewalk would always be free.
Then it showed a picture of The Define Instruments and Names dialog box, which must be the dialog box they were referring to that I must close. It looks like RegEdit, only less intuitive for first-timers:
This is where I decided that I was in way over my head. For all I know, the consequences of messing this up are similar to the consequences of messing up in RegEdit, and I don't know how to back this up before I start beating on it at random.
Now, snark aside, I suspect that the issue I'm having here (if it's not that Instrument Definitions isn't even the right thing to work with to get names on the left), is that the documentation was written back when a "synth" was a hardware device that you plugged a MIDI cable into, and doesn't (at least explicitly) take soft synths into account. So it's probably giving me a lot of things to do that are unnecessary.
If that's the case, can someone please tell me just the steps that apply to making note names for a soft synth that are the same regardless of what patch is loaded? Again, all I want is for there to be human-readable names over on the left rather than piano keys or numbers. I have the names, I know what MIDI note numbers to assign them to.
There are mentions in the forum about editing a file with a text editor, but I have no idea what file and what to do with it.
I have no idea about trees, banks, patches, patches of trees, or Hewlett-Packard calculators, at least as they relate to note names. If it would help, we can call my MIDI controller "Yammie."
Thank you in advance.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
9 answers to this question
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now