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Topic: HELP PLEASE! (Read 4843 times) previous topic - next topic

HELP PLEASE!

How do I get my noteworthy composer to play Soft Synth instead of General Midi?

Re: HELP PLEASE!

Reply #1 –
With Noteworthy open and with a song selected, click on “TOOLS” in the toolbar, and from the drop down menu which appears click on  “OPTIONS”
In the new window, select “MIDI”
You will see two windows; on the left is “Available play devices”, on the right is “Devices used by playback”
In the right hand box it will show what is your current playback device, presumably General Midi.   In the left hand box it will show what alternative devices you have available for use. If ‘Soft Synth’ is correctly installed it will be in that box.
Click on General Midi and it will be highlighted; click on the left facing arrow in the centre and it will change to the left hand side.
Click on Soft synth and highlight it, and use the right pointing arrow to move it into the right hand window, Noteworthy will then use Soft Synth for play back.
Whilst Noteworthy will run with more than one device chosen for playback it is good practice to have only one chosen.

Tony

Note that General Mid may be labelled as Midi Mapper in these windows

Re: HELP PLEASE!

Reply #2 –
Just to be a pedant, "General MIDI" is a standard rather than a specific synth... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_MIDI

The default synth in Windows is the "Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth" and is the default synth that "MIDI Mapper" uses.  This is a softsynth, though not a particularly great one...

Tony's directions will enable you to select from whatever MIDI output devices that are installed on your computer.  Both softsynths and ports connecting to hardware synths.  If you don't have any choices here other than MIDI Mapper or the MS GS Wavetable then you may want to look at installing additional synths.

Creative cards come with soundfont compatible synths.  Also you might want to look at VST (Virtual Studio Technology) - see my "Dummies Guide" on the Scripto at: http://nwc-scriptorium.org/helpful.html#Explanations

Otherwise, there are any number of options, a search of the 'net will, I'm sure, give you more options than you can plow through...  ;)
I plays 'Bones, crumpets, coronets, floosgals, youfonymums 'n tubies.

Re: HELP PLEASE!

Reply #3 –
When I worked with Win 3.11 (yesteryear, that is :-), MIDI mapper had a very useful function: I always used it to remap the GM patches and drum instruments to and from the GEM WS2 mapping.

Indeed that's what MIDI mapper was for, isn't it?

Then I changed keyboard. My Yamaha is always by default GM compliant and with XG on, so I completely dismissed the good old MIDI mapper.

Now I still have the same Yamaha keyboard but I upgraded my computer (HW & SW) with the latest win2000 ;-).
Of course, I still don't need the MIDI mapper services but, out of curiosity, I was looking for a way to program it as I did in the old times: I found no way.

What's the use of a MIDI mapper not programmable?

Or, more probable, where the ass behind my keyboard should have looked to find the MIDI mapper setting tool?

Re: HELP PLEASE!

Reply #4 –
Azzie,
Do you have a sound card installed on your PC?

Tony

Re: HELP PLEASE!

Reply #5 –
Quote from: Flurmy –
Now I still have the same Yamaha keyboard but I upgraded my computer (HW & SW) with the latest win2000 ;-).
Of course, I still don't need the MIDI mapper services but, out of curiosity, I was looking for a way to program it as I did in the old times: I found no way.

What's the use of a MIDI mapper not programmable?

Or, more probable, where the ass behind my keyboard should have looked to find the MIDI mapper setting tool?

Nah.  M$, in their infinite wisdom, chose to remove that functionality - and have reduced it even further in vista - you don't even have an applet to change the default synth anymore...
I plays 'Bones, crumpets, coronets, floosgals, youfonymums 'n tubies.

Re: HELP PLEASE!

Reply #6 –
Quote
M$, in their infinite wisdom, chose to remove that functionality - and have reduced it even further in vista - you don't even have an applet to change the default synth anymore...

Wow!
Remove that and what remains?
What's the "MIDI mapper" business now? Only to fool the NWC users? :-)

I stumbled upon http://www.winehq.org/docs/winedev-guide/mm-conf that's (a little bit) enlightening.
Now I have to investigate the files .IDF.

I'm glad the whole thing is now purely out of curiosity (at least for me!).

Re: HELP PLEASE!

Reply #7 –
Quote from: Flurmy –
What's the "MIDI mapper" business now? Only to fool the NWC users? :-)

Near as I can guess, MIDI Mappers sole function now is backward compatibility with MIDI players that default to MIDI Mapper as their playback device, or that can only address MIDI Mapper.  For these apps it provides the redirection to the active synth - in vista this is the Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth. - at least in older versions of windows there was an applet to change this.  These apps include m$ own Windows Media Player.

There are ways to redirect to other synths but they involve registry hacks.  Typical microsoft, tell us what we instead of asking us...
I plays 'Bones, crumpets, coronets, floosgals, youfonymums 'n tubies.