Hi all - not often I need to post here as I can usually work it out, but I’m a bit stumped on this one.
I have a song which has a pre-programmed MIDI sequence which begins halfway through the song. This sequence is stored in a MIDI file which is loaded on a Media Player in the song, which outputs the data to the hardware synth.
The issue I’m having is that our drummer needs the metronome/click track through his headphones from the start of the song, so that he is already keeping time for when the sequence kicks in halfway through the song.
Trouble I’m having is that I cannot work out how to stop the MIDI file from playing from the media player as soon as I hit the transport play button to start the click.
Ideally, I want to press play on the transport to start the click for our drummer at the start of the song, and then trigger the Media Player on the fly, at the right moment, to then join in and be in sync with the metronome/clock.
Anything I try either results in the media player playing the MIDI as soon as I hit play on the transport (albeit at the correct tempo), or if I separate the two and run the click independently, the MIDI then no longer follows the correct tempo anymore.
I use sound playbacks to start a couple songs (too much time on my hands). To keep life simple, l use mono audio for my keys, left channel, only. I put right channel out to only the drummer, where he gets a click for count in at the end of the sound effect. This has worked well. So, if you go mono, or use multiple tracks out, you could do a click track for the length of the song - OR - you could use the metronome out on a separate track for the drummer, only.
Cantabile doesn’t really have a concept of media player “sync from here” - it’s either synced or it’s not.
Probably the easiest way to get close is modify the midi file to include empty time before it starts playing - that way it can always be in sync with your main transport.
to address the same issue, I created a multitrack WAV audio file (using reaper) with the backing track on channels 1 and 2 and the click for the drummer on channels 3 and 4.
Then I created an audio output port (Click out) in Cantabile and I used a Media Player to send channels 1 and 2 to outputs 1 and 2 of my Focusrite Scarlett (through Main Speakers port of Cantabile). Channels 3 and 4 of the wav files go through the Click Port of Cantabile, that is assigned to outputs 3 and 4 of the Focusrite (and, using the control panel of the Focusrite, also to its headphones output, so that the drummer can plug its headphones directly in the Focusrite).
If the midi sequence is a repeating loop, you could bind your controller button to enable/disable the midi route from the media player to the hardware synth instead of binding it to the media player play/stop. So you keep the media player playing (in sync) throughout the song, but its output isn’t sent to the synth until you punch it in.