>> Speaking of which.. I'm testing my new Powerbook setup for the >> first time with the rest of the band today. Wish me luck. :) > Please let me know how it goes :) I'm planning on doing the same > sort of meta marker jump using audio and midi files. As soon as I > get everythong up and running I will post more info. OK, the first rehearsals with the full band and my new setup are over! To recap, I am using a MIDI (or USB) keyboard, a Powerbook and Logic to replace traditional synths. I don't have any prerecorded tracks (audio or MIDI) in Logic, the setup is simply working as a synth replacement (at least for now..). The most beautiful thing is that since the keyboard (Edirol PCR-80) takes it's power from the USB, the whole thing is very easy to set up. I don't even need any external power, just connect the audio cables and that's it (although it's naturally a good thing to connect the Powerpooks's power adapter, so that I don't run out of power in the middle of a gig.. :). I am not the best keyboardist in the world, so I use my programming skills to compensate that.. :) My Logic live setup is full of transformers, chord memorizers and other stuff to do keyboard splits and bigger chords I could normally play with just two hands. For this kind of stuff, nothing beats Logic. I just wish other parts of it would be more suitable for live use too.. Everything went surprisingly well with the band! I have thought of buying a dedicated audio interface for live performance use, but for now, I just tried connecting the Powerbook's headphone miniplug to our mini-PA. I was _sure_ there would be some problems, like too low output level or hum, but it sounded just fine. Still, a separate audio interface is probably better, because somehow I don't like the idea of using the very vulnerable miniplug on a real gig.. a heavier interface with 1/4" plugs sounds like a better idea. The only real problem I experienced was some stuck notes when changing instruments, but that was most probably due to my not-yet-perfect Logic environment, which can redirect note offs to different instruments than the corresponding note ons. I still haven't fully figured out how to make it absolutely foolproof - so that I can change instruments (with a cable switcher) as much as I like, and always be sure that note offs go to where they should. But I am working on it.. Also, I noticed that the first time you play an instrument after you have started Logic, there can be a small dropout in the sound output. But this is easy to avoid by just quickly playing a few notes with each instrument before the gig (with the volume at 0 :), and in the future I could just put the notes to the song so that Logic does this automatically. So there! :) -- --- Markus "Captain" Kaarlonen ---- Senior Web Developer & Audio Producer ----- captain@... / www.futuremark.com

> The only real problem I experienced was some stuck notes when changing > instruments, but that was most probably due to my not-yet-perfect Logic > environment, which can redirect note offs to different instruments than > the corresponding note ons. I still haven't fully figured out how to > make it absolutely foolproof - so that I can change instruments (with a > cable switcher) as much as I like, and always be sure that note offs go > to where they should. But I am working on it.. Here's how I tackled this problem: Set up a Transformer object in splitter mode before the cable switcher. Set it's event to NOTE : ALL : ALL : 0 and connect the top cable to a Monitor object and the bottom one to the cable switcher. Now route the output cables of the monitor object to all the instruments that are cabled from the cable switcher. OK, so it duplicates note velocity=0 events, but it's pretty failsafe. Stephen.

On a fine day, 04-06-2004, Markus Kaarlonen wrote: >The only real problem I experienced was some stuck notes when changing >instruments, but that was most probably due to my not-yet-perfect Logic >environment, which can redirect note offs to different instruments than >the corresponding note ons. I still haven't fully figured out how to >make it absolutely foolproof - so that I can change instruments (with a >cable switcher) as much as I like, and always be sure that note offs go >to where they should. But I am working on it.. A suggestion that might (or should?) work: don't click the cable switcher directly, but use some fader to control the switch (e.g. if the Switch has In set to Control 111, then connect a Control 111 fader to the switch and use that fader). Cable the 1st outlet of this fader to a 2nd fader whose In is set to Control 111 (or whatever you use) as well, and whose Out is set to 'Sysex'. In the sysex-fader's Event List, enter 128 control events: CC0, CC1... CC127, all with value=0. Cable the sysex fader into a transformer set to "Operations: Status=Note", which thus transforms all CCxxx events into notes with velocity=0. This way, whenever you use the switch-controlling fader, a collection of 128 different note-offs will be sent out the transformer. So: cable the transformer into the Cable Switcher. Cable the 2nd outlet of the 'switch controlling' fader to the Cable Switcher. This way the note-off dump will precede the 'switch moment' and thus the note-offs will be directed to the proper (previous) instrument before the next is 'activated'. If this still doesn't work (maybe the note-offs take too much time and the switch has been flipped before all note-offs have passed through it -- that's a matter of experimentation), you could simply direct the stream of 128 note-offs to all instruments directly, instead of passing it through the switch. I know this is a bit of a brute force approach, but to my knowledge it's the only way to make sure you never get any hanging notes. Note that the above only works for one specific midi channel (the channel of the sysex fader's 128 Control events). Oh, I just remembered: controller 123 with value=0 is supposed to be 'all notes off', so instead of sending 128 note-off events, it might also work to simply send CC123/value=0 (which would be quite a bit more elegant). Just give it a try. -- Hendrik Jan Veenstra h @ k n o w a r e . n l Omega Art: http://www.omega-art.com/