I don't know if that saying is used outside of Italy, but we use it to say "from bad to worse".
The question is somehow the opposite of the one continuing to appear on this forum :-) and is a matter of MIDI, not strictly of NWC, but bear for me.
I need to pan some instruments of the drum kit.
The problem is that the pan command is unique for the whole channel 10.
Easy way out: I put the percussions I need to pan in a channel at wish (<> 10), then I tell NWC to use the bank select command with the MSB = 127, LSB = 0 and patch at wish (MSB = 127 are the drum kits). At this point I can pan that channel as I like.
Wow! It works perfectly... on a XG keyboard.
When I try with the (GS?) sound card it's a mess.
I could use the <Drums Setup Data Parameter Change> to pan the single percussion but, beside being a system exclusive message with all the problems of handling it in NWC generated file, it's supported only on XG keyboards. And I'm back at the starting point.
I think to remember that General MIDI 2 allows up to 2 simultaneous percussion kits (channels 10 and 11) but how to exploit that?
I think to remember too that General MIDI 2 (and GS) has the drum kits on MSB = 120, LSB = 0, but it doesn't seem to work.
What can I do to stay, more or less, in the GM standard?
Of course, beside: forget the pan... and get in the embers. ;-)
You stated the issue yourself - it works in XG but not in GS (I assume you mean the computer's Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth?). Whether a particular bank select works or not depends entirely on the synth or soundcard or softsynth playing it back, not on the GM or GM2 standard. Synths simply ignore commands they cannot execute and make the most acceptable substitution within their limitations. You might have to save as 2 NWC files, one as yourmasterpieceXG.nwc with all the XG tricks and one as yourmasterpieceGM with all percussion tracks on MIDI CH 10 and no nice pans. :( If only all were so enlightened as to use Yamaha! ;)
This one too, but also a Roland keyboard and a SBLive board (beside the before mentioned Yamaha keyboard).
Yes, of course, but if a synth is GM compliant then it must have all the standard patches in the right position and handle the standard controllers in the same way and the drum kit in the channel 10 and so on.
I was hoping that, since many years have passed, GM2 synths with all its bonuses were widespread.
Nominally, both Yamaha and Roland actively support it.
In practice...
True for XG, false for GS.
That's exactly what I did. :-(
If only there were only one universal standard!
Well, it is: GM; but it's old and limited.
Then GM2 was born but... I start to think it's born dead.
So we still have XG, GS, GMX etc. etc.
On the 'net I found this:
That's exactly what I'm looking for, but I don't know how to exploit it.
Hi Flurmy
Certainly in the UK, "from pan to embers" would become "(jump) out of the frying pan into the fire". I think the same expression may be used in Australia/New Zeland, but I am not sure about North America. Can anyone enlighten me?
Kind regards
Can't speak for an entire continent but "(jump) out of the frying pan into the fire" is common in the United States.
More than just "from bad to worse", it connotes that the subject has taken some action (jumping) to cause the worsening situation.
Here in New England the phrase "out of the frying pan into the fire" is quite common.
Regards
Keith
Very common out on the Pacific coast of Canada too.
So the pan... ehm, the pun was right! ;-)