Help needed with tracks & MIDI messages

[a440]

Hi everyone. I need some help with a few things.

I'm using Usine live (first time last weekend!) as a MIDI router (and VST host, among other things) for 2 MIDI controllers, and a couple of external keyboards. I've set things up so that each song of a 9 song set is an individual track. I have 9 buttons on one controller set up to send CC messages which change tracks and activates them (via the track "play" button). I'm using the "on activate" module to trigger program changes, volume settings, etc, when the track is activated.

This is working OK, but when going from song to song, I have to remember to first hit the button for the track just finished (the CC/global remote is a toggle) to turn that track off, and *then* hit the next button to activate the track, which then sends the messages to set up the keyboards.

Is there a way to use something like solo, which, when the track is selected
via the global remote, deactivates the previously-selected track, and activates the selected one? Is anyone else using it this way?

Also, if anyone can tell me how to construct a MIDI bank-change message, I'd appreciate it - I currently have a series of "Create MIDI Message" modules (Bank MSB, Bank LSB, Program Change) separated by "Wait One Cycle" modules. Can this be done another way (or can I request that "bank change" be added to this list of options?)?

Thanks!

[bsork]

If I understand you correctly you're using just one track/patch at a time, and there are two quite simple ways of implementing this:

1) Put all the patches into one track, and change the grid line, or...
2) Use your existing setup with separate tracks, and create snapshots for each song in the Conductor.

Using Solo has the drawback of still running all the non-soloed tracks and using CPU for sounds you don't want to hear. Maybe not an issue for you...

I suppose the bank change message could be created using the script module, but why not create a sub-patch which you can insert wherever needed? A word of warning though that might not be applicable when sending program changes etc when activating, but anyway: I created a sub-patch with a midi file player sent to the Midi Output module, and then put eight of these sub-patches together. The result was garbage out with missing notes etc. Instead of using the Midi Output module in the sub-patch, I had to use Send to Midi Bus in the sub-patches, and picking those signals up in the main patch with Get from Midi Bus before sending to the Midi Output.

[senso]

hello,

1) Put all the patches into one track, and change the grid line, or...
2) Use your existing setup with separate tracks, and create snapshots for each song in the Conductor.

good solution in most of cases. Also, the "conductor mode" can gives good results! (to memorize scenes; see the manual). Presonnaly, I use this solution.

Also, if anyone can tell me how to construct a MIDI bank-change message, I'd appreciate it - I currently have a series of "Create MIDI Message" modules (Bank MSB, Bank LSB, Program Change) separated by "Wait One Cycle" modules. Can this be done another way (or can I request that "bank change" be added to this list of options?)?

In fact I'm not a MIDI expert. I've never used the Bank change message...
Let met time to think about it, find a solution for you.

[a440]

Thanks for the replies!

bsork: re:snapshots and Conductor - thanks, I'll take a look at that. Because our music is basically live, I can't necessarily rely on timings from Usine, but maybe I'm not fully understanding the Conductor's capabilities...
I didn't really want to use solo, I just wanted the effect of deactivating on track when another is activated; it was more of an analogy.

senso: re:bank changes - don't work too hard on it. Most of the docs I've read from Google search results basically say "put all your sounds in the same bank: don't bother with bank changes, they're too complicated!"
I'm willing to do that (in fact, I have that for most of the sounds), but occasionally we'll do some one-time-only things, where I don't really want to move sounds around, so it would be nice.

[senso]

hello,
Just a word about the conductor.
It's just a way to memorize precise scenes and recall them with a single button (next scene).
Like a workspace snapshot.
I think it's adapted to your problem.