Band-in-a-box

[guitarzan]

Whew. Not sure I can help you, guitarzan. In the case of the Soundfont, that's something which maybe the online documentation for sfz -- or that Soundfont -- can clear up.

Wow, thanks for the fast response! It's not THAT big of a problem...I just send the drums to DR005 (and the Addictive Drums demo for really happening drum sound) for now. Jamstix can also really go to town on these SuperJam parts, but I'm trying to come up with a very CPU-lite setup so I have enough resources to record my guitar parts with all the fx running and amp modelers, etc. Then, if I like the results I plan to go back and tweak every track, possibly sending them to individual vst synths, etc. It would be nice to get sfz to initially do the drums and all, though, for simplicity and CPU conservation.

[guitarzan]

In a GM context drums should be sent to midi channel 10. However I recall that some implementations (Roland?) expect drums to be sent to channel number 16. So that's something you can try: either channel 10 or 16 for drums.

Is this a stand-alone version of SFZ you've yoked to SJam? Maybe it doesn't interpret the channel numbers correctly, or it's in "omni" mode so it's not multi-timbral. Try running it in a simple VST host lik MiniHost or SaviHost...

I can choose to put the drum track on ch. 16 in SuperJAM, I'll try that!! Thanks for the advice. I tried changing the channels manually in eXT, but there is probably something encoded to the MIDI track by SuperJAM?

I tried the sfz/MIDI Yoke setup using both Mini Host and eXT as a host for sfz, not a standalone. I'll have to find some documentation for rgc:audio sfz and see if I can figure this out.

EDIT: Nope, damn! Tried changing the drums to ch. 16 in SuperJAM (which makes them piano on the MS GS Wavetable) and exporting the MIDI track and everything still turns out fine in eXT except the drum part, which is still being plunked out on a piano Thanks, though, I'll get this figured out yet!

[filkertom]

In a GM context drums should be sent to midi channel 10. However I recall that some implementations (Roland?) expect drums to be sent to channel number 16. So that's something you can try: either channel 10 or 16 for drums.

Is this a stand-alone version of SFZ you've yoked to SJam? Maybe it doesn't interpret the channel numbers correctly, or it's in "omni" mode so it's not multi-timbral. Try running it in a simple VST host lik MiniHost or SaviHost...

Also, the automatic MIDI configuration in SJam allows you to set the drums to either channel 10 or 16.

EDIT: Aah, just a few moments too late, and it didn't help anyway. Sorry!

[filkertom]

Whew. Not sure I can help you, guitarzan. In the case of the Soundfont, that's something which maybe the online documentation for sfz -- or that Soundfont -- can clear up.

Wow, thanks for the fast response! It's not THAT big of a problem...I just send the drums to DR005 (and the Addictive Drums demo for really happening drum sound) for now. Jamstix can also really go to town on these SuperJam parts, but I'm trying to come up with a very CPU-lite setup so I have enough resources to record my guitar parts with all the fx running and amp modelers, etc. Then, if I like the results I plan to go back and tweak every track, possibly sending them to individual vst synths, etc. It would be nice to get sfz to initially do the drums and all, though, for simplicity and CPU conservation.

For whatever it's worth, I play the CPU game too, and I've found the best way is to just render everything, one track at a time if necessary. I'm running an Athlon 64, which at one time would've been more than enough, but these kooky VSTi/DXi plugins these days, they got no respect for their elders. Seriously, if not for ASIO drivers my system stutters like Porky Pig.

[guitarzan]

OK, good news!! All I had to do was to open the sfz GUI and just index the channel to 10 and the bank to 128 and it's been working fine since?? No idea why I had to do that only with the drums and not the other tracks?? Main thing is, the whole "band" is running off one instance of sfz, and in "Draft" mode that uses, like...zero CPU!!

One other thing, though, if I change to something other than the "Standard" GM drum set while the track is running, it switches back to standard when the track starts over. Same thing if I change the sounds of the other tracks - where is this MIDI information (supplied by SuperJAM I suppose) located and how can I edit it??

[BertKoor]

there is probably something encoded to the MIDI track by SuperJAM?

Yes, midi files always include the channel numbers on which to play the notes.

I've tried SFZ inside MiniHost, and I think this is a bug in SFZ. It uses the instruments bank instead of the percussions bank of the soundfont for channel 10.

[BertKoor]

OK, good news!! All I had to do was to open the sfz GUI and just index the channel to 10 and the bank to 128 and it's been working fine since??

Yep, that's it! No bug after all, just pilot error...
Thanks for figuring that out

[silenthill2006]

Whew. Not sure I can help you, guitarzan. In the case of the Soundfont, that's something which maybe the online documentation for sfz -- or that Soundfont -- can clear up.

Wow, thanks for the fast response! It's not THAT big of a problem...I just send the drums to DR005 (and the Addictive Drums demo for really happening drum sound) for now. Jamstix can also really go to town on these SuperJam parts, but I'm trying to come up with a very CPU-lite setup so I have enough resources to record my guitar parts with all the fx running and amp modelers, etc. Then, if I like the results I plan to go back and tweak every track, possibly sending them to individual vst synths, etc. It would be nice to get sfz to initially do the drums and all, though, for simplicity and CPU conservation.

For whatever it's worth, I play the CPU game too, and I've found the best way is to just render everything, one track at a time if necessary. I'm running an Athlon 64, which at one time would've been more than enough, but these kooky VSTi/DXi plugins these days, they got no respect for their elders. Seriously, if not for ASIO drivers my system stutters like Porky Pig.

That's exactly why I bought Reason (well, not exactly. there were other important reasons). Reason 3.0 is very lite on the CPU and is great for exporting midi into. Also, it's not channel dependant like traditional sequncers. Also, if you want to do audio recording, just Rewire it into Sonar, Acid Reaoer, etc. Please check out my soundclick page. I have a track on there called "Funky" in which I used SuperJAM to compose it using my chord progression, and I exported to midi for voicing and mixing in Reason. It's currently in the top 5 in the Funk subgenre charts, and I just updated the track. Here's a link to my page:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemus ... dID=649856

[filkertom]

OK, good news!! All I had to do was to open the sfz GUI and just index the channel to 10 and the bank to 128 and it's been working fine since?? No idea why I had to do that only with the drums and not the other tracks?? Main thing is, the whole "band" is running off one instance of sfz, and in "Draft" mode that uses, like...zero CPU!!

Excellent!

One other thing, though, if I change to something other than the "Standard" GM drum set while the track is running, it switches back to standard when the track starts over. Same thing if I change the sounds of the other tracks - where is this MIDI information (supplied by SuperJAM I suppose) located and how can I edit it??

The MIDI information is in the Band window, which you can access by double-clicking on the Band in either the Keyboard window or any Section window. This gives you access to the patch and panning info, and allows you to transpose any instrument up to four octaves either way.

BIG HONKIN' WARNING: Because SJam works section by section, changing the Band for a section only changes it for that section. If you want to change it for a whole song, you have to change the band by way of the Keyboard window, either picking a new band from the dropdown, setting up your own custom band, or loading in a saved band. And, unfortunately, this only affects sections you create after that point -- there is no global "band change". Usually, when I export a MIDI file from SJam, the first thing I do is take it into a sequencer and strip out any patch and panning changes. That way, I have much more freedom over the instruments in the sequencer.

[filkertom]

For whatever it's worth, I play the CPU game too, and I've found the best way is to just render everything, one track at a time if necessary. I'm running an Athlon 64, which at one time would've been more than enough, but these kooky VSTi/DXi plugins these days, they got no respect for their elders. Seriously, if not for ASIO drivers my system stutters like Porky Pig.

That's exactly why I bought Reason (well, not exactly. there were other important reasons). Reason 3.0 is very lite on the CPU and is great for exporting midi into. Also, it's not channel dependant like traditional sequncers. Also, if you want to do audio recording, just Rewire it into Sonar, Acid Reaoer, etc. Please check out my soundclick page. I have a track on there called "Funky" in which I used SuperJAM to compose it using my chord progression, and I exported to midi for voicing and mixing in Reason. It's currently in the top 5 in the Funk subgenre charts, and I just updated the track. Here's a link to my page:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemus ... dID=649856

Ni-i-i-ice. I love the growl, and the vinyl noise.

[guitarzan]

Usually, when I export a MIDI file from SJam, the first thing I do is take it into a sequencer and strip out any patch and panning changes. That way, I have much more freedom over the instruments in the sequencer.

I guess that's what I need to find out how to do (in eXT)...edit all that patch info, etc. Maybe I'll take a look at a manual or tutorial or something, just for a change of pace

[filkertom]

Usually, when I export a MIDI file from SJam, the first thing I do is take it into a sequencer and strip out any patch and panning changes. That way, I have much more freedom over the instruments in the sequencer.

I guess that's what I need to find out how to do (in eXT)...edit all that patch info, etc. Maybe I'll take a look at a manual or tutorial or something, just for a change of pace

Well, sometimes such things aren't obvious. I use Acid Pro, and what I do is open a given MIDI track's event list, filter out Note info, select all the patch and pan info and hit Delete, and then unfilter Note info (the filter only affects what shows up in the event list, but I do like having it up). I have to be a bit careful -- sometimes there's something else in there, like master volume changes -- but usually it's pretty straightforward once you find out where the programmers decided to keep stuff.

[darcyb62]

Here's another couple of tools I found (I was curious).

http://www.jasminemusic.com/

It looks like Onyx is a stand alone program similar to Band in a Box while Orchestrator is a VST.

I think I might give it a whirl later...

[guitarzan]

Man, SuperJAM is just TOO MUCH fun!!

Check it out, I have Bela Fleck in my PC:

SuperJAM Jazzgrass Throwdown!

That's the bluegrass "band" working thier way through some hairy chord changes. Way fun!!

Who would have thought you could have so much fun with an old program like SuperJAM and a GM sountfont set??

By the way, just to be clear, MIDI Yoke works fine between SuperJAM and rgc:audio sfz (in Mini Host, or ant vst host)as long as you make sure to set ch. 10 to bank 128 on sfz for the drums (with a GM soundfont set loaded).

[filkertom]

YEAH. That's what I'm talkin' 'bout. Nice stuff, guitarzan!