u-he

Julian Cafarella · Post by **Julian Cafarella** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 11:18 am

I have recently downloaded the current Demo for Zebra 2 but cannot get it to recognise program change from my midi controller nor do the presets respond to automation in Cubase SX3 whereas for most other plugins they do.

If this is because the demo presets are in H2p format and saving is not possible, then can they be converted as a batch conversion in the full version of Zebra or must presets be converted individually by switching to Native preset management (for example)

Julian Cafarella

Urs · Post by **Urs** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 11:39 am

Just put a bunch of presets (.h2p, .fxp) into the "MIDI Programs" directory of Zebra's presets folder, then restart Cubase. There you go.

Julian Cafarella · Post by **Julian Cafarella** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 1:24 pm

Urs wrote:Just put a bunch of presets (.h2p, .fxp) into the "MIDI Programs" directory of Zebra's presets folder, then restart Cubase. There you go.

Great. Many thanks!! I think I will buy Zebra now

Julian Cafarella

Urs · Post by **Urs** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 1:34 pm

Zebra 2.5 (coming out soon, free update) will also react on Bank Select (Control Change 0)

Btw. one can not load files upon a MIDI event, otherwise some hosts crash. That's why the first Zebra that's opened loads them all into memory (in a very economic format). And that's why all changes to the MIDI Programs folder only take effect after closing/reopening Cubase. But once you got that it shall work flawlessly.

Cheers,

Urs

peoplethought · Post by **peoplethought** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 3:34 pm

I'm bringing this thread back up because I'm trying to make a patch in MAX/MSP using Zebra and I can't figure out how to do program changes. I tried putting the presets in the folder like above, but now I'm not sure what to do. I've tried everything I can think of. I've sent it midievent messages and cc messages of all kinds but I can't get it to respond.

JFM · Post by **JFM** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 3:48 pm

Hi,

This is a bit off the subject but am looking for a good synth for work on progressive house music - thinking about deadmau5 type plucks/chords/bass sounds - are there soundsets available for Zebra (which i hear is an incredible synth)that might fit this bill if i were to purchse Zebra?.

thanks

jfm

zvenx · Post by **zvenx** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 4:00 pm

On a different note, Urs is there anyway to hide the midi program folder?
I will never use it and of course when I delete it Z2 recreates it... yes not a biggie, but being anal retentive I wish it wouldn't show up in my browser at all since I will NEVER use it.
thanks
rsp

Urs · Post by **Urs** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 4:28 pm

peoplethought wrote:I'm bringing this thread back up because I'm trying to make a patch in MAX/MSP using Zebra and I can't figure out how to do program changes. I tried putting the presets in the folder like above, but now I'm not sure what to do. I've tried everything I can think of. I've sent it midievent messages and cc messages of all kinds but I can't get it to respond.

The MIDI Programs are scanned (and compiled into a compressed binary database to speed up preset loading) only when Zebra is loaded for the first time. You might have to restart the host to make changes come to effect.

peoplethought · Post by **peoplethought** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 4:42 pm

So should I send a midi message or use a cc to change it? I tried sending it message 192 as this is supposed to be a program change message, but it didn't work. This works with other instruments.

Urs · Post by **Urs** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 4:57 pm

peoplethought wrote:So should I send a midi message or use a cc to change it? I tried sending it message 192 as this is supposed to be a program change message, but it didn't work. This works with other instruments.

Just a MIDI Program Change should do the trick. From Zebra 2.5 you can also use MIDI Bank Select (CC #0) to switch between folders inside of MIDI Programs

mcnoone · Post by **mcnoone** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 5:56 pm

peoplethought wrote:So should I send a midi message or use a cc to change it? I tried sending it message 192 as this is supposed to be a program change message, but it didn't work. This works with other instruments.

Just to check, you could just right-click a knob, and select "midi learn" then move a knob on your controller to see if it's working...right?

JFM wrote:are there soundsets available for Zebra

Yes the link below, and under Zebra2 presets, these "psy/chill presets-by psycox" have some sounds that might be what your looking for.
http://www.u-he.com/PatchLib/

peoplethought · Post by **peoplethought** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 6:00 pm

I'm trying to send the program change message with MAX/MSP itself. Not with a controller. I've tried sending the message "midievent 192" and it doesn't work. I know I should ask this in the max forums, but I got this to work with other synths, so the problem is specifically with Zebra.

mäxchen · Post by **mäxchen** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 6:11 pm

Urs wrote:
peoplethought wrote:So should I send a midi message or use a cc to change it? I tried sending it message 192 as this is supposed to be a program change message, but it didn't work. This works with other instruments.
Just a MIDI Program Change should do the trick. From Zebra 2.5 you can also use MIDI Bank Select (CC #0) to switch between folders inside of MIDI Programs

so i can have access to more than 128 preset via midi, is this right?

bmrzycki · Post by **bmrzycki** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 7:56 pm

peoplethought wrote:I'm trying to send the program change message with MAX/MSP itself. Not with a controller. I've tried sending the message "midievent 192" and it doesn't work. I know I should ask this in the max forums, but I got this to work with other synths, so the problem is specifically with Zebra.

You'll need to send a series of MIDI messages. I wrote a Reaper script that generates midi program changes, so I know how to do it now. (click here if you're interested in said project).

There are 3 variables in question:
1. bank number MSB, CC# 0
2. bank number LSB, CC# 0x20
3. program change, midi message 0xC0

It seems a lot of programs/synths/hw respond to them differently but the general consensus seems to be to send them in the following order:

Code: Select all

bn 00 xx
bn 20 yy
cn zz 00

"xx" is the bank MSB number, "yy" is the bank LSB number, and "zz" is the program change number. "n" is the MIDI channel 0-F (1-16). I use the default of 0 (channel 1) for all subsequent examples.

Example: you want bank number 4, preset 27. You'd then send:

Code: Select all

b0 00 00
b0 20 04
c0 1b 00

Example: you want bank 129, preset 111:

Code: Select all

b0 00 01 # MSB says bank 127
b0 20 02 # LSB says bank 2 (127 + 2) = 129 
c0 6f 00 # preset 111

Remember that MIDI messages are all 7-bit numbers (0-127). This effectively gives you 16384 banks at 128 presets per bank.

I've tested this code with Alchemy, Surge, and Zebra and it seems to work fine. if you have trouble you might consider removing bank MSB or swapping the order MSB and LSB are sent to the device. PC should always be last however. this prevents the device from switching within the current bank, and then switching to the newly requested bank.

I hope this helps!

peoplethought · Post by **peoplethought** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 10:08 pm

So much trouble for such a simple task. But I appreciate your help. How do I convert the zz into a number? This is called a byte isn't it?

u-he

KVR Audio

Preset change by Midi