Midi Clip Exported From One DAW Is Different In Another DAW?

[Carpenter]

I'm trying to export a midi clip from Studio One and bring it into Cubase. I am exporting the clip out of Studio One onto my desk top (as a midi file) and then importing it from the desktop into Cubase. However, the original midi clip in Studio One is like 142 bars long. When I bring that exported midi clip from my desktop into Cubase, the midi clip is now only 9 bars long, and it looks different, like all of the places that had no midi data have been removed. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?

[tonedef71]

I'm trying to export a midi clip from Studio One and bring it into Cubase. I am exporting the clip out of Studio One onto my desk top (as a midi file) and then importing it from the desktop into Cubase. However, the original midi clip in Studio One is like 142 bars long. When I bring that exported midi clip from my desktop into Cubase, the midi clip is now only 9 bars long, and it looks different, like all of the places that had no midi data have been removed. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?

It sounds like auto-trimming is being applied either when exporting from Studio One or when importing into Cubase.

Use a MIDI tool, such as the excellent free Falcosoft MIDI Player, to examine the exported MIDI clip file. If the MIDI clip looks fully intact (i.e. 142 bars) in the MIDI tool, then the trimming is being done on import into Cubase, otherwise it is happening on export from Studio One.

Either way, you will then need to examine any MIDI import/export settings in the culprit DAW to see if you can disable that auto-trimming behavior.

I am not at home with my DAW PC to test this out myself.

EDIT: I am guessing that the culprit may be Studio One. From some online forum tip I found:

* Highlight all MIDI events within the track and press G key
* Click-hold and drag MIDI events to the desktop
* A box will open with 2 options: music loop and standard MIDI file
* Before releasing click, press the ALT key to move the x in the box to the ‘MIDI file’ selection of the two options (Alternative method: Right clicking the MIDI file before exporting will give you the same options)

If my hunch is correct, you exported your MIDI with the default export option ("music loop"). If so, it understandably would trim out the empty events to ensure a smooth, continuous loop.

EDIT 2: The "music loop" option may be a proprietary Studio One file format (it has a ".music" extension).

Does the MIDI clip occupy the full length of the MIDI track? If not, I am now thinking that exporting a MIDI part as a full track (possibly with Start and End markers set) may be the best option; dragging out a single MIDI clip which does not occupy the full length of the MIDI track may result in an exported MIDI file that begins its first event at bar 0.

[jonljacobi]

I seem to remember something like this when I exported a track with multiple clips. I expected S1 to pad the empty spaces, but instead it cut them. I wound up having to join the clips into one to get the events to fall in the correct place.

[kelldammit]

Another case where weirdness can happen:
If you don't merge/glue multiple clips on the same track before exporting a midi file, sometimes other DAWs will import each clip to a new track upon import. I've run into that before with projects exported from logic and cubase...

[jancivil]

I am now thinking that exporting a MIDI part as a full track (possibly with Start and End markers set) may be the best option

I think so, as this is essentially how Cubase 'thinks' of things.

If you don't merge/glue multiple clips on the same track before exporting a midi file,

EG: copy/paste of a midi part with places of no activity within the part from one Cubase project to another means Cubase will create 'events' where there is action in the part. I'm not sure what "Midi Clip" in Studio One does, but the thing is to glue the events into a part; 'part' in S1 will be the same as Cubase's in all probability.