VOGONS


First post, by Mau1wurf1977

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Hey guys I'm doing a few MIDI capture projects at the moment.

The new games are fine, as they use MIDI for music and Sound Blaster for speech / effects.

However older games use MIDI for both. Now often there is a great music in the background but also a few sound effects which I would like to disable.

Now I tried various MIDI editor applications such as WIDI and Unvil Studio but I'm not getting far.

WIDI has great editing functionality but it seems it doesn't support SYSEX, so you just hear totally wrong instruments which make it a pain to "comb though the MIDI file".

If anyone knows what I'm talking about please share you experiences and what MIDI package you are using...

Reply 1 of 11, by rfnagel

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Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but anyone who knows me here will know what I'm about to suggest <grin>:

The old CakeWalk Professional v3.01 (circa 1995) 😀 A while back, Twelve Tone Systems granted permission to freely distribute the full retail install; snag it here -> http://www.queststudios.com/roland/utilities.html / http://www.queststudios.com/roland/utilities/cakewalk3.zip . Oh, and my own little mini "review" -> http://home.earthlink.net/~richnagel/#cakewalk .

Anyhoo, it has full sysex support (up to 256 banks).

Rich ¥Weeds¥ Nagel
http://www.richnagel.net

Reply 3 of 11, by rfnagel

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Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

Thanks I will check it out!

Yer welcome! 😀

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

It doesn't like W7 so I will need to get that XP mode going 😀

I'm assuming that you mean some sort of compatability mode in W7? If so, lemme know how it goes, just for my own future reference.

I remember (really not all that long ago) when I first installed WXP on my current PC. I thought to myself, "IF MY CAKEWALK DOESN"T WORK ON THIS XPieceOfCrap, SCREW IT! I'll go back to my AMD500 W98 PC!" <LOL>!

Heh, I was pleasantly surprised that it ran without a hitch under XP 😀

Rich ¥Weeds¥ Nagel
http://www.richnagel.net

Reply 4 of 11, by Mau1wurf1977

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XP mode is basically a Virtual Machine of XP. It's available to anyone with Windows 7 (free download) and gives you a Virtual Machine with XP installed.

Works really well and it can also be used to get drivers going that don't work under 7 (e.g. a scanner, so you just scan it in XP mode).

Cakewalk 3 gives me an error right after running setup. Can't find WINCAKE.EX_ although the file is there 🙁

Ok what about current programs? Like a trial version would be enough. I don't need to save the midis. Just edit them and play them and record them.

I'm downloading a trial version of Cakewalk Sonar. But not sure if this is the right software...

On the quest studio site are some DOS editors but I couldn't even manage to open the midi file 🤣

Reply 5 of 11, by rfnagel

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Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

Cakewalk 3 gives me an error right after running setup. Can't find WINCAKE.EX_ although the file is there 🙁

That's a strange one (?). Just a shot in the dark, but maybe try copying all of the installer files from the ZIP to a 3-1/2 floppy, and try installing it from the floppy.

Rich ¥Weeds¥ Nagel
http://www.richnagel.net

Reply 6 of 11, by Mau1wurf1977

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I'm having good results with the trial version of Sonar 8 Producer!

MT-32 is quite fiddly, the instrument I'm trying to turn off moves tracks but I got the hang of it it seems, it's matter of seeing the pattern in a flood of little bars 🤣

My website with reviews, demos, drivers, tutorials and more...
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Reply 7 of 11, by Mau1wurf1977

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Hit another roadblock 😢

Maybe you can help. So after finishing two tracks, I discovered that the software I'm using changes the speed (tempo).

I haven't figured out how to "read" the tempo from the captured file. I figure this is a midi file property that tells the midi player how fast it should go.

Wing Commander seems to use 120 (it sounds right) but the default program used 100 so I need to do it all over again...

Reply 8 of 11, by rfnagel

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Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

Maybe you can help. So after finishing two tracks, I discovered that the software I'm using changes the speed (tempo).

I haven't figured out how to "read" the tempo from the captured file. I figure this is a midi file property that tells the midi player how fast it should go.

Wing Commander seems to use 120 (it sounds right) but the default program used 100 so I need to do it all over again...

I'm really not familiar at all with Sonar. I do know though that CWP utilitizes whatever tempo is set/embedded in the MIDI file. But, if you're using DOSBox to capture the MIDI, things will look like a mess (especially in "score"/music notation view).

This is due to the MIDI capture starting before the actual MIDI data starts to play, but the tempo should still be OK nonetheless.

Also, standard type 0 and 1 MIDI files support temp changes, which can change the tempo of the song while it's playing; but this doesn't sound like what's causing your problem.

Rich ¥Weeds¥ Nagel
http://www.richnagel.net

Reply 9 of 11, by Mau1wurf1977

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I use the "Event Manger" view. Basically a big list you plow your way through...

Surely there is an option somewhere in Sonar that tells you what the temp of the file you just opened is...

PS: Your comment regarding DOSBox midi capturing...

Might I be better off capturing it through an actual MIDI port straight into Sonar?

Reply 10 of 11, by rfnagel

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Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

I use the "Event Manger" view. Basically a big list you plow your way through... Surely there is an option somewhere in Sonar that tells you what the temp of the file you just opened is...

Ahhh... in CWP they call it "Event View", prolly the same thing.

You won't find any initial tempo settings in there (as well as any tempo changes for the rest of the MIDI file). Tempo changes aren't a MIDI "event" per-say, and are utilized/embedded elswhere in the MIDI file.

CWP uses a seperate "Tempo" window to enter any tempo changes (see attached pic). As you can see by the pic, I randomly drew a few tempo changes, yet there isn't any black boxes in the little squares on the right side of the screen; to the right of the "Size" column... which would mean that there were MIDI events contained on that track (also, the "Size" column would have a number in it, the number of MIDI events for that track).

Anyhoo, I'd guess that Sonar prolly has something similar... as a basic tempo editor of sorts would be a main-staple of any MIDI sequencer. But, I have no idea where it would be in Sonar.

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

PS: Your comment regarding DOSBox midi capturing... Might I be better off capturing it through an actual MIDI port straight into Sonar?

You would have the exact same problem, including the one I described about "synching" the whole schmear up. You would want to start the MIDI recording with your sequencer, and then start the music within DOSBox. Same problem... the MIDI recording starts, and then the MIDI data plays, resulting in a mess.

Hehe, that's how I *used* to do it, way back when. When I wished to record the cook MIDI music of a game that I couldn't rip the MIDI files/data from.

I connected two PCs together with a MIDI cable, started CWP on one, and then the game one the other <grin>. Same problem though, a real mess... especially in score/music notation view when looked at by a musician <LOL>.

(edit) :duh: forgot to attach the pic... it's attached now 😀

('nuther edit) Tell ya what, if you want; ZIP up the MIDIs and send them to me at richnagel@earthlink.net , and I'll see if I can figure out anything for ya. In CWP, I could most definitely see any tempo changes that might be lurking in there 😀

Rich ¥Weeds¥ Nagel
http://www.richnagel.net

Reply 11 of 11, by Mau1wurf1977

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It's bedtime for me now. Another allnighter thanks to Retro MT-32 action. I put links to a few clips in the MARVIN thread.

All looks good but I must have done a copy paste error in the Title Score and it has that afterburner sound every 2nd time the song plays again. Will fix it up tomorrow, it's easy because I have saved everything...

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