Missing Program Change

[gaj52]

Hi

I have a Technics KN7000 keyboard connected to my computer via a USB cable and use Cubase Studio 5 as the midi player. Normally I import a midi file into Cubase and it plays on my keyboard with no problems. Sometimes, no program change data is transmitted for the midi file and when I look in List Editor in Cubase there is no Program Change data even with all the filters deactivated so it shows all events in the midi file.

I am able to load the midi file directly into my keyboards sequencer via a small program called Song Manager, once again loading it via the USB cable. It then plays correctly with all the correct instruments, so somewhere within the midi file there is program change data, its just not showing up in Cubase.

Where could the program change data be hidden as its obviously there but not showing up in Cubase ??

Glen

[JohnG]

Hi Glen,

It is just possible that the instruments are set up using SysEx messages all bundled into a single track. If they were done for a Yamaha XG synth in XGworks they may look like this:
F0 43 10 4C 08 00 03 10 F7 = setup MIDI channel 0
F0 43 10 4C 08 01 03 19 F7 = setup channel 1
F0 43 10 4C 08 02 03 23 F7 = setup channel 2
and so on. The number before the "03" is the channel number, the one before the "F7" is the program number in hex.
It may be that the Technics keyboard or the Song Manager software can interpret these and convert them to normal program changes.
Then again it could be something different.
A sight of the file concerned would help crack it.
Regards,
JohnG.

[gaj52]

John

Thanks for your help.

I have sent the midi file to your email address if thats ok

Glen

[JohnG]

Mar 24, 2009 9:41:01 GMT gaj52 said:

John
Thanks for your help.
I have sent the midi file to your email address if thats ok
Glen

Hi Glen,

Yup, sending it to my address was exactly what I wanted you to do.

And here is the answer:



There at the second beat of the first measure at tick 007 (01.02.01.007) is the "program change" for instrument 33, channel 2. Now why it doesn't show up on the track listing, I need to investigate. Cubase is not my favourite MIDI sequencing program. I have seen this in Cakewalk/Sonar too though. If I get a chance I'll do some further investigation.

You should find all the program changes at that beat in the first measure separated by a tick or three. Just dive in and edit the "Data 1" field if you need to change the patch. I notice that there is a GM reset right at the beginning, so the file was probably authored for basic GM playback. So you may need to insert some bank change messages to get the best voices from the KN7000.

Hope that helps?
JohnG.

[gaj52]

John

Many thanks for your help.

I noticed on my screen I did not have Program change or Pan unlike yours where they are both present. I have now found the problem, its a setting in Cubase - Preferences. A menu item when ticked extracts the patch and pan data from the midi file when imported it into Cubase and puts these in the Inspector at the beginning of each track. What I didn't realise was that in doing this it removes it from the list in List Editor, I assumed it just copied the data.

For some reason the Inspector doesn't always send mid patch data to my keyboard, very often the drums play as a piano. If I untick this item in Preferences the Patch and Pan data stay in the track list and is sent to my keyboard to select the correct patch.

Something to take up with Steinberg ... I think !!

Thanks once again John for helping solve my problem

Regards

Glen

[JohnG]

Hey Glen,

An excellent piece of detective work if I may say so! Well done. The credit is yours.

Oh, and thanks for letting us know about it. I shall store that little gem away somewhere in case it needs dusting off again sometime in the future.

JohnG.

I imagine if they extract the data to display it in the inspector and you edit it, it doesn't get changed in the list view and vice versa. But hardly rocket science to make sure both fields are updated in the program whichever place you do the edit.