MIDI sequencing for my needs in Cubase??

[Xplora]

Hi all,

I've got big plans, big needs and a tiny clue. Background... I play and write extreme flavoured metal. I play guitar, bass and drums well enough to write and record. I own a keyboard but the skills are lacklustre in the extreme

I want to use Cubase to trigger an Alesis DM5, a Korg XD5R, as well as playback DFH Superior, AND in the near future I want to be able to use the EastWest sample libraries. This is all MIDI based stuff.

Once that's done, I want to be recording guitars and vocals over the top. I'm in the process of triggering my drum kit as well...

What is going to be the best way to hook all these ideas together? This is way out of my league, but I need all these things working together to get the ideas on "paper". I use an older ST Audio C Port as well.

I've found that I have worked well with Powertab 1.7 in the past, but I don't understand how this connects to Cubase, or if there is an alternative within Cubase either.

Thanks!

[Xplora]

Wow. TOo hard basket for this one eh?

I KNEW there was a reason I was struggling with this!

[richiebee]

What's the question? People use Cubase to link together MIDI and audio sources, if that's what you're asking.

[Xplora]

Originally Posted by richiebee

What's the question? People use Cubase to link together MIDI and audio sources, if that's what you're asking.

What is going to be the best way to hook all these ideas together?

[richiebee]

Cubase has different track types. Two of those types are audio and MIDI. Setting up is pretty much as simple as deciding what kind of track to use. They work alongside each other. MIDI tracks can trigger internal VI's (using the standard VST or DX upto Cubase 3, and VST only in Cubase 4) or your external keyboards, sound modules etc.

Although DAW's have their own unique workflow, most have the same basic functions. Most handle MIDI and audio tracks. Setting up is what is different. I certainly haven't seen all the DAW's out there, but of those that I have seen, Cubase is the easiest for setting up MIDI tracks.

So, you want a good audio interface with audio and MIDI functionality. I think I'm correct in saying your external MIDI devices don't have USB connectivity. So, you'll probably daisy chain the MIDI devices, have them go through your audio/MIDI interface, and get the MIDI data recorded into Cubase. If you're using your external sounds, you also need to have them send their audio signal through your interface to record into Cubase. You don't have to commit to audio data as you perform... you can record the information as a MIDI track, then play it back and record the audio later... maybe after you've cleaned it up.

If this doesn't answer your question, maybe you can be more specific on what you're looking for.

[Xplora]

I think that's helping...

Weird Q: can I route all the midi through the one chain using "THRU"?

And just as importantly, can I route say 2+ MIDI tracks through the one device/VST if they are on the same channel? Thinking about having a track for the kick drum and snare, and separate MIDI channels for crashes/chinas/rides/hats... that kind of thing.

[richiebee]

To be honest, I never used THRU and I don't quite recall its function. When I used to have two synths and only one MIDI connection to my computer, I had the out of one synth going to the in of the other, then to the computer. The problem with having one MIDI connection to your computer is identifying which instrument sent the information... because its going through a MIDI/audio interface, your computer sees the MIDI data as coming from that interface, not from your respective controllers. So, I'm actually not sure what the answer is here... these days I have one controller keyboard, and all the sounds are internal, so its not been an issue for me in years. Transmitting on different channels is easy enough in most controllers (that's where you'd specify the MIDI transmission channel) but I don't know how you would trigger the sounds on more than 16 MIDI channels through a single MIDI connection. If you don't need more than 16 channels, you can usually turn off some channels on one synth and have them play on the other...

You can have as many MIDI tracks on whatever channels you like... yes, you could in theory have a separate MIDI track for each drum (kick, snare, hats etc) even though they might end up being played by the same MIDI channel and the same source. Cubase doesn't care... you simply assign the output of each MIDI channel accordingly. And this applies to internal and external MIDI devices.