Tracktion - problem - shortcomings

[Andywanders]

Started making a track using Drumatic in a rack with seperate outs for KIck, Snare, and Hats going to 3 tracks. Triangle II for a bass track, the JX synth for a pad, and a vocal track.

So far, so good.

Then tried some external MIDI gear. Oh my God, what a nightmare...!

Can't send any program changes that use higher bank No's. So I'm limited to 128 progs - rubbish.

Also, can't name any programs - the names there are GM names, none of my outboard gear has a GM bank.

Even then, the selected program always jumps to a different one every time the track is started. Weird...

And stuff like MIDI volume and pan....

Well then I decided to take a break and get some lunch. Save, shutdown.




30 mins later I powered up and loaded the song. Hit play and... Shock, Horror..! The drum parts are missing...!

I mean, they're there on the screen, but they're not playing.

AND... The MIDI track playing the outboard synth is now playing another different sound.

At this point, I gave up.

I know it's free now - thank you Mackie, it really is very nice of you... But if I can't get it to work, then it's pretty much useless.

I know there's a lot of very happy Tracktion users here so I just thought I'd ask; Does anyone use it with external hardware synths..? If so... How..? And, has anyone experienced a VST (Drumatic) going silent for no apparant reason..?

[freeztar]

Even then, the selected program always jumps to a different one every time the track is started. Weird...

I've been experiencing this too. When I'm running sfz with certain soundfonts, it will reset the program to number 1 automatically every time I hit play. It resets it again when the midi part starts. I haven't figured out how I'm going to render that part yet. If I figure out a work-around, I'll let you know.

And stuff like MIDI volume and pan....

[/quote]

There is pan and volume control for midi tracks.

I don't use outboard gear, so I can't help you there. I'm beginning to see Mackie's master scheme now. Release an old/buggy version for free, get everyone hooked, and then release a newer version with bugs fixed. It's pretty brilliant actually.

[ModuLR]

I've been experiencing this too. When I'm running sfz with certain soundfonts, it will reset the program to number 1 automatically every time I hit play. It resets it again when the midi part starts. I haven't figured out how I'm going to render that part yet. If I figure out a work-around, I'll let you know.

It sounds to me like you've got a program change recorded in your midi clip. That is why it changes automatically every time you hit play on the clip. If you select the midi clip, then click "insert program change-> remove all program changes from this clip" it should solve your problem.


andy... I don't have external gear, but that program change bit might apply to you as well... also I'm quite fond of Drumatic and have never encountered a problem using it.

[Lunch Money]

Not much anybody can say. MIDI, especially of that complexity, is one of the things Tracktion wasn't even originally intended to do. If you can get it working at ALL, that says something.

So, yes... that's one of its shortcomings. If your setup relies on using external MIDI gear, I'd use another host until Tracktion is updated to even support this kind of usage.



Greg

[Andywanders]

Not much anybody can say. MIDI, especially of that complexity, is one of the things Tracktion wasn't even originally intended to do. If you can get it working at ALL, that says something.

So, yes... that's one of its shortcomings. If your setup relies on using external MIDI gear, I'd use another host until Tracktion is updated to even support this kind of usage.



Greg

Thanks Greg, at least I know where I stand now. Yeah, I do use a lot of external MIDI gear - well, 3 good synths - so I guess Tracktion isn't right for me.

Seems fine for audio though, and that mastering plugin looks/sounds good, so I think I'll hang on to it. Also It will probably be usefull for collaborating with others, as I imagine everyone and his dog has downloaded it by now...

ModuLR, I did check for recorded program change messages but didn't find any. And the missing drum sounds, well, I really don't know. Never had a problem like that before. Oh well... Back to Logic for me...

Thanks for your replies.

[Panda]

Did you mean by 'the drums weren't there anymore' that there was a midifile but no sound coming from it? If so, i've had it too and you can solve it by changing the midichannel it's on from 1 to 2 and back to 1 (or whatever in fact), then it should work again (or at least, on my comp it does)...

regards,

p

[clueless]

have you fiddled with the "send all-controllers-off midi message when playback stops" setting?

[Andywanders]

I must say (though I really do appreciate your suggestions) that the above comments do not excatly fill me with confidence regarding using Tracktion for serious projects.



Thanks anyway.

[Lunch Money]

I wouldn't use it with confidence for any serious projects that require external MIDI hardware.

That's a different thing.

[nuisance sonore]

I love Tracktion, but for controlling outboard gear it's useless AFAIC; just as bad for outboard gear controlling it. If T2 doesn't address thoses issues or take too long, I (and many other I'm sure) will be jumping ship.

[Lunch Money]

Who'd expect anything different? I imagine the issues would be addressed, but that's really the only solution... if a feature that you NEED isn't present, it's only natural to seek it elsewhere. <shrug>

[nuisance sonore]

Yes, I guess one of the reason for me sticking with T is that I can't find a host that has all the feature I need without the junk I don't need .

Cubase? It needs a dongle, I will never buy software with dongle.

Sonar? It has gotten quite expensive and cannot be resold, something I have to consider since it cannot be used as colateral when my small business is in need of a loan.

Logic? only run on Mac.

FL studio? don't know, haven't looked into it yet.

Podium? Can't make head/tail out of it.

Orion? Haven't looked yet.

Vegas? I love Vegas, but no midi and no VST's, worse than T for the feature I'm missing.

Acid 5? Too buggy.

Am I missing any others?

[vtx]

I don't mind the program except for 1 thing,,I've got 3 vsti's and 2 live tracks,,at the end of playback I'm getting stuck midi notes
Usually theres a midi kill switch,,a hot key,,something,,,I tried e to e ,it turns the sound off but doesn't kill it.
Anyone had this and found a kill??

[clueless]

I don't mind the program except for 1 thing,,I've got 3 vsti's and 2 live tracks,,at the end of playback I'm getting stuck midi notes
Usually theres a midi kill switch,,a hot key,,something,,,I tried e to e ,it turns the sound off but doesn't kill it.
Anyone had this and found a kill??

"have you fiddled with the "send all-controllers-off midi message when playback stops" setting?"

again...

[vtx]

I don't mind the program except for 1 thing,,I've got 3 vsti's and 2 live tracks,,at the end of playback I'm getting stuck midi notes
Usually theres a midi kill switch,,a hot key,,something,,,I tried e to e ,it turns the sound off but doesn't kill it.
Anyone had this and found a kill??

"have you fiddled with the "send all-controllers-off midi message when playback stops" setting?"

again...

I seen your earlier reply,,,of course I tried it ,,controllers by default,,stop and reset,, I tried flipping it on and off ,,no dice