Creating MIDI devices - Questions

Cubase
1

Hello,

I’m starting to read the “MIDI Devices” document to build device panels for my hardware synths. I have a few questions so far:
For your information, for now, I’m planning to create a MIDI device for a Marion Systems MSR-2 multitimbral synth, a revamped panel for a Syntecno Teebee monotimbral synth, and perhaps later another one for a Cheetah MS6 multitimbral synth and for an Oberheim Matrix-1000 hopefully.

  1. On p.6, under the “Create New MIDI Device” section, the difference between “Identical” and “Individual” channels is explained, however I don’t understand:

“Identical/Individual Channels: Here you can specify which MIDI channels you wish the device to use. Identical channels share channel settings and parameters, whereas Individual channels are “exclusive”. An example for this are GM/XG devices – in these devices, the channels are all identical, except channel 10, which is always the drum channel.”

So…Do I have to select all the MIDI channels I intend to use? Those will be individual if I’m using a multitimbral synth, correct?
What if I have a monotimbral synth? Then I check only the 1st channel in the Individual section?
What if I don’t select any identical or individual channel? Will that work? Does this selection determine the number of MIDI channels that’ll be selectable in the Inspector drop-down menu?
Identical channels are only used for GM-type synths, right? Does this mean that when you send a note to one channel, the other identical channels will receive this note as well?

What Identical/Individual channels should I check in the following 2 different cases?

  • A multitimbral synth on which I may be using 1 or 2 different MIDI channels (whichever 1-2 channels chosen among channels 1 to 16)
  • A monotimbral synth on which I’ll use 1 MIDI channel (whichever channel chosen among channels 1 to 16)

That was my first question so far. More to come :sunglasses:
Thank you.

2

Hi you,

as far as I remember “identical channels” simply all share the same control set, etc. on the Panel. So yes, I would click all channels that I want to use later. “individual channels” can have different controls.

Hth, ERnst

3

Thank you. In the “Create New MIDI Device” window, under the “Channel Settings” section, there is a list of settings, but I don’t understand the purpose because it is incomplete, so…

  1. If I don’t select, say, “Volume” and “Modulation” in this screen, can I still use it down the road when assigning a parameter to a knob/slider?
  2. Why are there only a few controllers listed, but not all of them?
    Thanks.
4

  1. Yes, you can.

  2. These are the most commonly used controllers and most midi devices should respond to them. If you select any of them in “Channel Settings” section, those parameters will be created for all channels of your midi device, regardless whether you chose identical or individual channels.

But you can always add them later if you need to.

5

OK, Thanks!

6

Hello, how can I use my custom knobs out of PNG graphic knobs that I prepared in Photoshop?
Also, how can I make the label text color white instead of black?
Thank you :wink:

7

Does someone know? :bulb: