How Do I Access The General Midi Instruments? [Macbook Pro]

Help, Support & Bugs Beginners Questions - Renoise
1

I’m using a MacBook Pro with Mac OS 10.6.8 and Renoise 2.8 beta 7. I had no problem with MIDI long time ago when I used a PC.

Playing around with GM in Logic works with Apple Quicktime, so I guess it just be some preferences-issues here. I looked at the tutorial but there are no Intel HD or Apple Quicktime for devices in preferences.

The sound in general seems to work in Renoise though, so what am I missing here?

2

  1. Copy your files to /Users/YOURNAME/Library/Audio/Sounds/Banks, example: GeneralUser GS FluidSynth v1.43.sf2

  2. Renoise -> Instrument Settings -> Plugin -> Select DLSMusicDevice (installed on every Mac by default)

  3. Renoise -> Track DSPs -> Insert a *Instr. MIDI Control device

  4. Make sure the Linked Instrument is the same from Step 1

  5. Change one of the Untitled slots by selecting the drop down and changing CC to Prg, then Click “ON”

  6. Move the Prg slider

1 Like
3

Ah, thanks now it works!

4

A new problem: after exporting to MIDI and when I listen to it in Quicktime it ONLY uses the piano-preset, even though I didn’t use the piano-preset for the tracks. What am I missing here?

(I’m using the MIDI export-tool which I downloaded from here, but that’s not the problem since I’m having the same issue with Logic.)

5

Now I’ve got the export-issue to work with Logic, but the problem remains with the export-tool for Renoise. I can hear only the standard piano sound concerning the exported MIDI files, what am I missing there?

6

“General MIDI” is not the same as MIDI. Where MIDI is a language, a file format, and a connector specification, “General MIDI” defines specific features of a MIDI instrument. Without General MIDI, playback of MIDI files created on one MIDI instrument might sound totally different on a different MIDI instrument, because the only sound definition in MIDI is the sound number (Program Number), not the actual characteristics of the sound.

The MIDI Export Tool exports MIDI, not General MIDI.

The MIDI Export Tool doesn’t know Program Numbers. Instead it tries to partition Renoise instruments into separate MIDI tracks and it’s up to the user to massage the data, after the fact, in their DAW of choice.

Patches welcome.

7

Ok, so it simply doesn’t have that function (yet?). But yeah, it can of course be worked around by opening the .midi file in Logic for instance and change the instruments there and then do the final export.

Well, the big issues got solved anyway - Thanks for your help!

8

Well, I wrote the current MIDI Export script. I don’t know how I could solve this problem. Program Numbers aren’t easily retrievable since they are set in a general purpose plugin for which I cannot guess the intention. Since the MIDI Export Tool is a Lua script, I’m more than open to other people solving this for me and sharing the code. I won’t be doing this any time soon. :)

No problem, have fun.