Mod Archive Forums
Music Production => MilkyTracker => Tracking => MilkyTracker Feature Requests => Topic started by: the-486-kid on August 14, 2007, 05:06:48
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[NOTE: Moved over from old forums ;D ]
I'm really interested in expanded MIDI funtion in Milky Tracker!
For nearly a decade, I have used FT2 live, on stage. And About half of the tracks in the XM's I perform live are controlling my MIDI gear. Tweaking knobs on the midi gear and tweaking the tracks/mix of sample and midi data flowing from FT2 comprises my live sets.
Sadly, I can not yet use MILKY to properly play back these songs, or use Milky on stage with out this super fundamental functionality.
FT2's MIDI out is HORRIBLE I might add.. It lags, lacks many features of even the most basic midi output, and it oftentimes does not send proper note off's, but along with all the other idiosyncratic behaviors of FT2, I have just gotten used to, or worked around them.
I would LOVE to find expanded MIDI features/functions in the next release of Milky Tracker!
I envision the ability to build MIDI instruments with amplitude and panning envelopes, and the ability to send track FX such as, volume, portamento, arpeggio, etc, and of course.. proper note offs, to resolve one of the major failures of FT2's MIDI out
This would turn Milky Tracker into an AMAZING live performace tool!
Milky would be on stage with me at every gig!
I dream of being able to control my ATARI ST, my C64, my NES's, my gameboy's my sk-1's, speak n spells, and all the other wild MIDI instruments in my studio.. all with my tracker.
Additional MIDI IN functions
Support to patch the incoming Pitch / Mod wheel MIDI data to instruments Tune / Vibrato LFO's etc.
Support to patch incoming MIDI CC data to Instrument volume sliders, etc...
Can I get a witness?
FULL MIDI please!
Maybe I need to make a kind donation to the author of this fine program, ;)
loving 0.90.60 by the way!! WHOO HOO!!!!
~486
http://www.the486kid.com
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I dream of being able to control my ATARI ST, my C64, my NES's, my gameboy's my sk-1's, speak n spells, and all the other wild MIDI instruments in my studio.. all with my tracker.
Controlling my other synths with Milkytracker is like a dream come true :)
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I totally agree that Full MIDI I/O support would be awesome with GM and everything. Of course, I wonder how it would work really, without making MilkyTracker more than just a modern FastTracker II clone. .XM extensions are out of the question, so a modified format would probably be neccesary, unless an adaption of .XM could work.
I ain't sure. I just know that MIDI and trackers are not the optimum combination, although it is a combination that well made fully works together. :)
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For MIDI In, if you want to, you should add GS and XG support. Quicktime plays GS, and, with either a soundcard or a soundfont, XG files.
GS is a Roland extension of the GM format, and XG is Yamaha's extension of the GM format.
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What do you mean GS and XG for MIDI in? MilkyTracker just plays any inbound notes using the currently selected instrument, it's not like it's multi-timbral or anything.
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Here's the desciption for GS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_GS) and XG (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_XG).
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Right.. But how does this relate to MT?
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I think he means that MT should interpret the additional commands that are sent via these protocols. Btw my Yamaha synth also supports XG of course, it would be cool to support it so I could probably also record pitch wheel changes and the knob settings :)
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Btw my Yamaha synth also supports XG of course.
Wow, Yamaha supports XG. I wonder why? No, can it be? They invented the XG extensions?! GS is invented by Roland, I'm not sure in what order though.
EDIT: Geez, Korg? I knew I was out and walking! Roland made GS. I stand smitten.
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Eagle, I know that they invented it, i just wanted to make clear that i would appreciate XG support as i have a compatible synth :P
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I think all this XG / GS stuff may be a bit of a side track, and off my original and more simplistic feature request. :police:
In FT2, each instrument has some basic MIDI functions, that are saved into the .XI header. This should kill the argument that it would be bending the file architecture to incorporate these features, but it ain't 'cuz it's always been there!
How it works:
You select the instrument that you want to add/adjust MIDI, then click "I.E.Ext." which stands for Instrument Editor Extension:
There you have two check boxes
"Instrument MIDI enable" and "Mute Computer"
as well as three horizontal sliders "MIDI transmit channel"; "MIDI program"; and "Bender range (halftones)"
So effectively, one could set up an Instrument, that could function in two ways: Accept MIDI IN signal on a specific channel, to trigger sample playback of a specific sample!
[NOTE: FT2 listens to ALPHA MIDI IN, and only plays the instrument that is currently highlighted in the Instrument Window. Expansion would be required if you were to send Data on multiple MIDI chanels, and in turn have more than one instrument play back.]
OR
During editing or playback, Send MIDI OUT signals from specific instruments on a specific MIDI channels with MIDI Program data, to control outside sound sources.
OR, the ultimate, a combination of both IN/OUT; resulting in FT2 playing samples out the sound card, and your MIDI gear simultaneously.
MIDI OUT was a fundamental of FT2, and I feel should also be included in future releases of Milky Tracker. I feel as a user of FT2 for over 10 years now that these features were obviously WAY ahead of their time, as they are still not making it into current tracker programs. However, the main problem with FT2, is that development stopped.. and thus the bugs in the MIDI implementation were never worked out ??? huge bummer!
NOTE: I tried for 30 minutes to figure out a way to convert the .PCX screen shots that I exported from inside FT2 (Ctrl + Alt + Shift + PrtScr) but was unable to get them up here.. sorry.
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I seem to remember the screenshot format being .LBM (DeluxePaint), IrfanView (http://www.irfanview.com/) for one supports that.
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I seem to remember the screenshot format being .LBM (DeluxePaint), IrfanView (http://www.irfanview.com/) for one supports that.
Oh yeah! I think you are right.. I'll try that. The program does not auto set the .xxx extension on the end of the file ???
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I've been trying to save an instrument with some MIDI parameters, but FT2 freezed for me (running in Dosbox). Can anybody try that, maybe it's because I have no MIDI gear connected or something.
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I've been trying to save an instrument with some MIDI parameters, but FT2 freezed for me (running in Dosbox). Can anybody try that, maybe it's because I have no MIDI gear connected or something.
Saving an .XI with midi should not make FT2 freeze if you don't have midi hardware?! FT2's disk-op is totally non-hardware dependant (minus the hard drive requirement ;) )
I suspect that it's the fualt of your emulated environment, I wouldn't really know as I use real DOS.
Here are two Bass Instruments that are saved with MIDI params:
http://www.the486kid.com/XI (http://www.the486kid.com/XI)
BASSMIDI.XI: midi ch. 1, program 36, computer mute off, pitchbend increment 12
BASSMID2.XI mid ch. 2, program 127, computer mute off, pitchbend increment 6
Werd! ;D
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Saving an .XI with midi should not make FT2 freeze if you don't have midi hardware?! FT2's disk-op is totally non-hardware dependant (minus the hard drive requirement ;) )
I suspect that it's the fualt of your emulated environment, I wouldn't really know as I use real DOS.
I wouldn't be so sure about that, the XI saving works fine in DosBox when I'm not messing with the MIDI settings.
Here are two Bass Instruments that are saved with MIDI params:
http://www.the486kid.com/XI (http://www.the486kid.com/XI)
Link seems to be down atm. I'm trying later.
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I wouldn't be so sure about that, the XI saving works fine in DosBox when I'm not messing with the MIDI settings.
Link seems to be down atm. I'm trying later.
Hrm? Well, FT2 never froze for me in true dos, when saving an XI with midi perams.
type in the full addy.. it's up @ http://www.the486kid.com/XI (http://www.the486kid.com/XI)
Don't miss the (www.) and it works fine... my name server is lame.
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Don't miss the (www.) and it works fine... my name server is lame.
You can say that again. The domain lookup fails as you've got your domain configured as www.the486kid... as part of the domain rather than a host.domain... just weird, that :)
pailes: manually type the address in, that way it works.
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<techybit> There's no A record for the486kid.com, whilst www.the486kid.com does have an A record, when it should be a CNAME! </techybit>
Anyway, the way it is (wrongly) configured means that the web page cannot be viewed in Konqueror/Safari or Opera, but Firefox seems to handle it ok.
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<techybit> There's no A record for the486kid.com, whilst www.the486kid.com does have an A record, when it should be a CNAME! </techybit>
Anyway, the way it is (wrongly) configured means that the web page cannot be viewed in Konqueror/Safari or Opera, but Firefox seems to handle it ok.
AUGH! It's all wrong! :police:
Ok, I fix it :rolleyes:
Now, did you get the .XI's Pailes?