A few notes on softsynths I've been digging up:
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Yesterday: set up a MIDI track in Reaper with the virtual keyboard as its input, routed it to a MIDI output on the Icon M15, sent that MIDI signal to the MicroFreak, got successfully played the MicroFreak that way.
Today: set up two MIDI tracks in Reaper with the BeatStep Pro as their inputs, routed to two MIDI outputs on the Icon M15, sent those signals to the drum machine and the MicroBrute, got zip. Didn't even get around to hooping up the 'Freak.Simplifying further, bringing the Mi5 back in but hooking up only one device and starting over with an empty project: more or less the same result: MIDI not going out of the computer to the Mi5 (or not going out of the Mi5 to the synth), and while I can hear sound through my interface, nothing meaningful is making it to the tracks.
What does make it to the tracks may be audio representations of the MIDI signal? But if so, how? -
Simplifying further, bringing the Mi5 back in but hooking up only one device and starting over with an empty project: more or less the same result: MIDI not going out of the computer to the Mi5 (or not going out of the Mi5 to the synth), and while I can hear sound through my interface, nothing meaningful is making it to the tracks.
What does make it to the tracks may be audio representations of the MIDI signal? But if so, how?Anyway, I'm gonna take a break and then later today, I'm gonna retrace my steps from yesterday (one synth, on the upstairs computer, with the settings that Reaper has on that machine), and try to find out what I did differently then. There are a few variables outside of Reaper, but I'll deal with those one at a time.
Rest assured: I will also be reading the manual. It's just that at 456 pages, getting to what I need may take a while.
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Anyway, I'm gonna take a break and then later today, I'm gonna retrace my steps from yesterday (one synth, on the upstairs computer, with the settings that Reaper has on that machine), and try to find out what I did differently then. There are a few variables outside of Reaper, but I'll deal with those one at a time.
Rest assured: I will also be reading the manual. It's just that at 456 pages, getting to what I need may take a while.
Upstairs now and on the iMac, everything works just the way I set it up, and just the way I expect it to: Beatstep goes into Midi track in #reaper Midi track sends to Midi hub, Midi hub sends to MicroFreak, MicroFreak sends audio to audio track, audio track sends to master bus, master bus sends audio back out, easy as pie. Stuff gets recorded too.
Now, I this is a different MacOS version and a different audio interface, so these are variables I could check for.
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Upstairs now and on the iMac, everything works just the way I set it up, and just the way I expect it to: Beatstep goes into Midi track in #reaper Midi track sends to Midi hub, Midi hub sends to MicroFreak, MicroFreak sends audio to audio track, audio track sends to master bus, master bus sends audio back out, easy as pie. Stuff gets recorded too.
Now, I this is a different MacOS version and a different audio interface, so these are variables I could check for.
But there's a niggle: I was reminded this afternoon that I cannot work uninterrupted downstairs due to frequent borksplosions. So what I'm gonna do instead is bring all the gear back upstairs and squeeze everything onto this desk. Starting with the audio interface: I like the one I'm using upstairs for daily use, but it's only got two inputs and I need five. So after I shut the computer down for the night, I will swap the interfaces.
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But there's a niggle: I was reminded this afternoon that I cannot work uninterrupted downstairs due to frequent borksplosions. So what I'm gonna do instead is bring all the gear back upstairs and squeeze everything onto this desk. Starting with the audio interface: I like the one I'm using upstairs for daily use, but it's only got two inputs and I need five. So after I shut the computer down for the night, I will swap the interfaces.
And that's it for today because I'm very tired. Will be watching tutorials passively the rest of the evening.
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And that's it for today because I'm very tired. Will be watching tutorials passively the rest of the evening.
GDI the old iMac chose this moment to stop recognizing the Zoom SR16 entirely. And to stop loading GarageBand. AND to undergo cascading failures when I try to do something about it like reinstall the SR16 driver.
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GDI the old iMac chose this moment to stop recognizing the Zoom SR16 entirely. And to stop loading GarageBand. AND to undergo cascading failures when I try to do something about it like reinstall the SR16 driver.
I swear, every step of this process, the universe is resisting me.
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I swear, every step of this process, the universe is resisting me.
But I can outwit the universe! See, one thing that is extremely useful to know about Macs is that the Audio/Midi configuration app is a tangled mess of garbage that hasn't been meaningfullly updated or maintained since the PPC era, so if you get multiple answers to the question "Why isn't my audio device recognised", if even one of it mentions the existence of that app, that's where you look first. Then you delete everything in there and reconnect your devices.
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But I can outwit the universe! See, one thing that is extremely useful to know about Macs is that the Audio/Midi configuration app is a tangled mess of garbage that hasn't been meaningfullly updated or maintained since the PPC era, so if you get multiple answers to the question "Why isn't my audio device recognised", if even one of it mentions the existence of that app, that's where you look first. Then you delete everything in there and reconnect your devices.
And everything works! It's a little frustrating that it took three separate sessions to set it up the way I *thought* it was gonna work all along. I'm pretty sure that the MIDI conflict that made the R16 not work for me on the desktop machine was also what made things go awry on the MacBook, but I don't expect I'll ever put that too the test. Everything just about fits on this desk anyway. In fact, I can swap out the MIcroFreak for a MicroKorg if I want.
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And everything works! It's a little frustrating that it took three separate sessions to set it up the way I *thought* it was gonna work all along. I'm pretty sure that the MIDI conflict that made the R16 not work for me on the desktop machine was also what made things go awry on the MacBook, but I don't expect I'll ever put that too the test. Everything just about fits on this desk anyway. In fact, I can swap out the MIcroFreak for a MicroKorg if I want.
This is what my desk looks like right now. I'm still a bit salty about the time I lost to things not working through (apparently at this point) no fault of my own, but I can get started on the actual 'learning to make music with only sequencers' part of the project.
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This is what my desk looks like right now. I'm still a bit salty about the time I lost to things not working through (apparently at this point) no fault of my own, but I can get started on the actual 'learning to make music with only sequencers' part of the project.
Crowded as that looks, there is space on the left to replace the MicroFreak with a slightly larger synth and I'm actually really tempted to put the MicroKorg there. Haven't explored that thing much.
One thing at a time, I guess.
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Crowded as that looks, there is space on the left to replace the MicroFreak with a slightly larger synth and I'm actually really tempted to put the MicroKorg there. Haven't explored that thing much.
One thing at a time, I guess.
@reinderdijkhuis I was just thinking "Is that a MicroFreak?" - which I wouldn't have just 24 hours ago, when I hadn't read @etherdiver's run-down of it & therefore had never heard of it
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@reinderdijkhuis I was just thinking "Is that a MicroFreak?" - which I wouldn't have just 24 hours ago, when I hadn't read @etherdiver's run-down of it & therefore had never heard of it
@reinderdijkhuis @etherdiver BTW looks great - not crowded at all, very orderly & yet still creative
I see you're sticking with #Reaper, at least for now?
