Media Player Midi to Instrument in Background Rack

[jfeniello]

This sure seems like a simple one, but i can’t figure it out. I have an instrument in my background rack (actually it’s DMXIS) and i plan on having a midi file per song that will play and control DMXIS. I can’t figure out how to link it? Background Rack Midi in nor DMXIS show up as something to hook the Midi output of the media player to.

thanks
-jim

[Derek]

Hi,

I use DMXIS as well in Cantabile - for a long time in V2. When starting with V3, I assumed it would be best in the background rack, but in the end, following some discussion with Brad (who is very helpful), I ended up creating an instrument rack with DMXIS in it.

In fact, I just found the email thread which explains the issue, and why an instrument rack you can reuse is the best solution, and I can confirm that it works a treat.

Hi, Brad

Thanks for the prompt reply. I’ll try your suggestion tomorrow.

Cheers
Derek

Sent from my iPhone

On 18 Jan 2016, at 21:42, Brad Robinson brad@cantabilesoftware.com wrote:

Hi Derek,

Thanks for contacting me about this.

The Global Rack is intended mainly for storing global MIDI assignments (aka bindings now). It’s not possible to route to/from it (well not in a sane manner anyway). It’s designed more as a separate/standalone kind of thing.

I recommend you put your DMXIS in a linked rack and just link that rack it into each song - that would be the “new” way to do it.

I hope this helps - let me know if you have questions.

Brad

On Tue, Jan 19, 2016 at 8:16 AM, Derek Cook derek.cook@icloud.com wrote:

Hi, Brad

Downloaded V3 and started playing with it tomight. Quite different to V2,
but shouldn't be too hard to acclimatise!

The one thing I am struggling on is as follows. Hopefully it is something
silly I am doing or missing.....

All of my songs have a MIDI file being played back which is sending MIDI 
data to a DMXIS VST plugin to drive my light show. So I thought it natural 
that maybe in the new world order of Cantabile 3 that DMXIS should be a 
plugin in the global rack, as all songs make us of it so they should all 
share the same instance.

However if I put DMXIS in the global rack, I can find no way of pointing 
the media player to a routing for the MIDI input of DMXIS. Am I missing 
something? It works if have DMXIS as a plugin object in the song. What 
am I doing wrong? Or can you recommend the best solution for this "use case"

Cheers
Derek Cook

[jfeniello]

Thanks Derek!
First off, at least it wasn’t a dumb question :). I’ll move it to a shared rack and give that a shot. Does DMXIS/DMX keep the last state when switching songs, thus unloading/loading DMXIS?
I’d love to hear any other tips or tricks with DMXIS you have.

thanks
-jim

[terrybritton]

Yep - a linked rack would definitely be the answer!

Terry

[terrybritton]

As to the issue of keeping the last state when switching songs, this sounds like the discussion going on here:

How to create Note On (sustain) persisting between Song Changes

Hi again folks… Making some progress with my demo Cantabile rig. Discovered Linked Racks which solves some of the issues I have been trying to fix which is great. In some sets I perform, I hold a synth note while I change backing tracks so there is no break (e.g. a pad flowing from the end of one song through the Intro of the next). I have achieved this using states within a song but what I’m looking to achieve is doing the same for changing Songs in Setlist (I don’t think states persist betwee…

And perhaps here also:

Rack volumes persisting through songs?

I have a set list with 11 songs in it and each song uses the same racks. Now let’s say that after sound checking at a venue, my bass rack is a bit loud therefore I pull down the volume of that rack on the first song. However, on loading the second song, the volume goes back to whatever I saved it as for the second song. My question is, is there any way too load a song and keep its rack volumes the same as the previous song? Btw, how cool would it be to have a global mixing desk with channel…

Terry

[Derek]

Hi, I never worried about states, I just had bank/patch changes at the start of my MIDI files to select the right DMXIS bank (song) and starting cue. I also had those as bindings in each Cantabile song as well to be be on the safe side!

In terms of tips, not much to report, as you know DMXIS works by using MIDI notes for bank and cue changes, and I build those up in a mIDI file in the same file I am using for creating the backing track. Works a treat, and once you have tempo synced light effects off the backing tracks, you won;t want anything less!

Oh, I guess one thing to mention is I had the MIDI file with the light cues as the Master media track (as you get the tempo from it), and the audio files were set as slave tracks.

I was gigging in Welsh Floyd (but left a month or so back) and the backing tracks, light show and trigger for video laptop (software was SCS11) were all driven from Cantabile.

[doobopuk]

Hi Jim, i had a similar issue in that I wanted to have a percussion rack available in all songs and didn’t want to add it to every song (60+). Brad as you know has advised against it but C3 being the great flexible program it is does allow you to achieve it. This is what I did, I hope this helps you.

In the background rack I added the percussion vst with it’s Stereo out set the Main Speakers. I guess you could change that to MIDI in (passthru) set to Rack MIDI Out
Input Ports - Main Keyboard ==> VST MIDI In Ch 10

In the song add the media player, MIDI file and set MIDI Out to “Loopback - Main Keyboard” (or whatever you’ve called your MIDI input controller), MIDI channel to 10 . In my case the MIDI file was actually on channel 1 so I had to route MIDI Ch 1 to 10

I am now able to play the looped MIDI file which triggers the VST in the BG rack. In fact, I also run a Vocoder in the BG rack so it’s available when ever I want it. Sorry Brad, slapped wrist I know

Hope I’ve explained this OK and I’m not barking up the wrong tree.

Chris

[terrybritton]

@doobopuk

Hope I’ve explained this OK and I’m not barking up the wrong tree.

Yeah, Brad, don’t be too ruff on him. He’s been dogged enough over this.

Glad you got the problem licked. Scratch that off the list! That was a hairy one. A lesser man would flea!

Terry