MIDImage

Create Patches & Ranges

The Bank Patch List form can be used to create a new set of instruments and the note ranges for MIDImage

Select a row, then adjust the From and To values (the MIDI note range) in the fields on the right, and enter a Patch name.

To apply changes to the list, press the Set Changes button.

To save changes to disk, press the Save Bank Patches button, and save it as a .bank file. The file must be saved in the /Banks subdirectory for MIDImage to see it.

SoundFonts

You can also create a patch list by importing the patches from a SoundFont^® file (.SF2 only), if your soundcard is SoundFont^®-compatible. Press the Open SoundFont button and choose the SoundFont^® file to import. Note: any changes to note ranges or instrument names you make to this will not affect the SoundFont^® file. Save the resulting .bank file by pressing the Save Bank Patches button.

If the SoundFont^® file contains a set of percussion instruments on bank 128, a .perc file will also be created. This file will be loaded when Track 10 is used as percussion.

If the file contains other banks of instruments, a .misc file will be created containing the Bank, Patch number, Patch name, and MIDI note range in this format:

  
  Bank/Patch  Name (MIDI Note Range)
  001/120     Gtr. Cut Noise   (000-127)
  001/121     Fl. Key Click   (000-127)
  001/122     Rain   (000-127)
  001/123     Dog   (000-127)

When using these additional banks, you will have to check your soundcard bank configuration to determine which Bank corresponds to the additional bank. In the above example, if that was the only SoundFont^® file loaded, the additional instruments would be accessible at Bank 1. However, if there is already a bank loaded at 1, the additional instuments would be bumped to another bank. Also, MIDImage will not show the additional instrument names in the Track drop-downs, and you'll have to choose them by Patch number. (The Patch number appears in the status bar at the bottom of the program when the mouse is over the name.)

NOTE: Many SoundFont^® files available on the web do not follow any kind of convention and will not parse properly. For instance, instead of starting at Instrument/Patch 0, they start at 1. This offsets all the instruments, making ones life difficult and causing premature baldness. If you come across one of these files, you can edit the .bank file in a text editor to readjust the offset. It is suggested you insert the missing Instruments/Patches using the Instruments/Patches from the Default.bank, rather than having a blank line, since any missing Instruments default to that bank. For instance, a file which starts at 1 should have 21:108=Acoustic Grand Piano inserted at line "0".

Also, many of these files give MIDI note ranges of 0 to 127, even though their usable ranges are much narrower. This applies to both regular instruments, percussion banks, and the additional banks which may be present. It is suggested you edit the .bank , .perc, or .misc file to show the real ranges. A SoundFont^® editor (such as Vienna) can be used to determine the MIDI ranges.

MIDImage does not use the SoundFont^® files itself. It only scans them for instrument names and note ranges. The SoundFont^® files must still be loaded into your sound card or other compatible device, or the new sounds will not be heard. (The device may or may not use the default instuments, in that case.)

MIDImage automatically uses Default.bank as Bank 0 when a new composition is created. (It assumes the MIDI device defaults to General MIDI) You can set a new default by renaming your choice as Default.bank in the /Banks subdirectory. This should be bank 0 of the soundcard (marked as "Synth" in the SoundBlaster Live 5.1 cards).

MIDImage can also load the SoundFont^® files into your soundcard automatically when a Project is opened.

This dialog will appear when the Tools|Autoload SoundFonts is checked. To prevent it appearing again until the next time you start MIDImage, check the Don't Ask Again box. (If you intend to manually load the banks, and some reside in other directories, you should not check the box.)

Select the Drive and Directory where the SoundFont^® files are stored, and press the OK button. Each time a Project is opened, MIDImage will replace the current banks with the ones specified in the Project. Newly created Projects must be saved and then reopened for this to take effect. (See the next paragraph for how to load them immediately.)

You can also manually load the banks by pressing the Load Banks button on the Controllers page. If a SoundFont^® directory has been specified previously (by checking the Autoload SoundFonts menu), the banks will load immediately. If not, the Select SoundFont Directory dialog will appear first.

When the Load SoundFonts form appears, a number of things will happen:

1. If you have multiple SoundFont-compatible devices, you will be able to choose into which to load the banks. If not, the banks will begin loading immediately to the default device.
2. As the banks are loaded, the filename and status will be recorded on the form. After they have all been loaded, the form will close.
3. If any of the banks cannot be loaded, it will be marked with an error, and the form will not close automatically. In the above image, the second SoundFont^® did not exist, generating "-- Unknown Error"

Notes:

1. The SoundFont^® files must all be in the same directory for any given Project (as chosen in the Select SoundFont dialog).
2. The SoundFont^® files must have the same base name as the .bank files (the default).
3. The SoundFont^® cache must be large enough to hold all the banks.
4. The Default bank (bank 0) will not be replaced.

If the requirements of 1, 2, or 3 are not met, the SoundFont^® files will not load properly. If the Default bank is not bank 0, the results will not be as expected.

SoundFont is a registered trademark of E-mu Systems, Inc. in the United States of America and/or other countries.