Possible Noob Question: Saving MIDI Files/Media Bay?

Cubase
1

Typical New Years Resolution: I want to be more efficient with Cubase (even after 16 years).

I have (literally) NEVER used MediaBay—except to try it out–or a ‘loop’ for that matter, so please be gentle.

What I want is a FAST way to take a MIDI event I create in a song, save it ‘somewhere’ (I assume MediaBay) so I can re-use it as needed in -any- CPR. So I need a tutorial…

Ideally, I would like to be able to:

  1. Right click on a MIDI event in a Cubase CPR
  2. Click some button like ‘Save MIDI to MediaBay’
  3. Assign it some ‘attributes’ and identifiers in MediaBay like “JC’s Buzz Roll” or “JC’s Purdie Fill”… etc.

…and then whenever I want to use it, I want to be able to EASILY just ‘filter out’ only -my- MIDI files. (Because every time I open up MediaBay I see THOUSANDS of pieces of junk that have nothing to do with what I want. IDEALLY, I’d like to be able to have a Macro that opens MediaBay with ONLY -my- content displayed.)

How much of this is doable? I know I can export a MIDI -track- but I just want to export individual EVENTS.

And… if MediaBay isn’t the right tool… is there a way to simply export MIDI events to a particular -folder-?

TIA!

—JC

2

Save your midi part as midi loop.

You can tag it with whatever attributes you like, preview it from Mediabay. It will load with the instrument you used when you saved it.

It’s actually easier than exporting plain midi file. No need to set up the locators, muting unwanted parts.

3

How do I do -that-?

FWIW: The Export MIDI Loop menu item under ‘Files’ is grayed out. Why?

TIA,

—JC

4

You need to have a midi part selected in the project window.
Then it will work.

5

I do. Still not working. Export MIDI Loop is grayed out.

6

I see. There’s a catch.

It works with instrument tracks only, so if you use midi tracks and rack instruments it won’t work.
It’s a shame because this way you can quickly recall the midi part, the instrument with all the settings, even the channel settings with any inserts, eq… you have used.

7

Oh for f–ck’s sake. There’s ALWAYS a catch.

Jeeeeez SB. It’s supposed to be a MEDIA BROWSER. Why can’t it write Parts into MID files? It can -read- them in, right?

So much for New Year’s resolutions. Maybe I’ll move on to ‘quit drinking’.

Thanks anyways.


—JC



8

This might make for a good feature request then.

9

Sure is! :mrgreen:

But after sixteen years of using Cubase, beta-testing Cubase, complaining about Cubase, AND documenting various issues and feature requests in microscopic details, I’ve learned ONE thing about Cubase.

Es macht nichts.

Or… as a marriage counselor once told me: you have to like her for who she is right now, 'cause SHE AIN’T GONNA CHANGE.

So I let off steam once in a while. And that’s about all I can be bothered to do anymore.

Es macht nichts.

OTOH… the one advantage of Beta Testing is that everyone once in a while they do seem to listen a -bit- more. But only a bit.

10

Hi Suntower,
“What I want is a FAST way to take a MIDI event I create in a song, save it 'somewhere’ (I assume MediaBay) so I can re-use it as needed in -any- CPR.”

I don’t have exactly what you want, but since Cubase 8 at least, there is the ability to import/export any track from any project - File/Import/Tracks from Project. This makes any project a library of tracks. This way there is no need to even save stuff. It is easy too.

Zero

11

Export the midi file to %AppData%\Steinberg\MIDI Loops\ and it will appear in Mediabay in User Content>MIDI Loops.

You could put it in any directory that is included in mediabay, I chose that one because it’s one of the defaults that come with the system.

(to just save the part, of course, solo its track, select the part and hit locators to selection)

1 Like
12

I’ll give that a try, THANKS!

  1. I wonder how that will work activating a ‘Loop’ that isn’t connected with an “Instrument Track”?

  2. Doesn’t solve the problem of -easily- getting MIDI -into- Mediabay, though.


    Anyhoo… I think for -now- the ghetto plan will be to simply have a dummy CPR with all my ‘licks’ in it and leave that open for copying/pasting into ‘live’ projects. The down side being, of course, that there is no way to -easily- Preview the bits as if the ‘browser’ actually worked.

Cheers,

—JC


13

Using the method I cited, you don’t need to keep the lick CPR open. Still puzzled as to why Export MIDI Loop is grayed out for you.

14

Read above:

"I see. There’s a catch.

It works with instrument tracks only, so if you use midi tracks and rack instruments it won’t work.
It’s a shame because this way you can quickly recall the midi part, the instrument with all the settings, even the channel settings with any inserts, eq… you have used."


15

I just tried Steve C’s method and it worked here, with both a MIDI track and an instrument track. It only saves the MIDI though.
Z

16

His ‘method’ doesn’t do anything to make it easy to EXPORT to a MIDI Loop.

17

Just a thought Suntower, but I have moved away from Rack instruments entirely, I just don’t need them. All my tracks are instrument tracks and I never (well hardly ever) use multis. This way everything seems to behave itself, and since I folderise, hide and disable everything unless I need it, there is virtually no footprint on RAM or CPU. I have 1200 tracks in my template and they take 6 gig of RAM and hardly any CPU.
If I want from this master template I can simply delete stuff, or I can create a virgin cpr and just import what I need.
Anyway that’s my way of working. No Rack instruments at all.

18

This was a helpful video for me. Sadly, it only works for Instrument Tracks… NOT for plain ol’ MIDI tracks.

NB: Turn down yer sound. He uses the LOUDEST frickin’ sound to test with. :smiley:

19

A Midi loop isn’t actually a loop. It’s a container that includes everything an instrument track can, plus midi. It’s a cool idea, but without drag and drop to mediabay it’s not so useful. (There was a period during C8 where you could drag and drop midi parts from instrument tracks onto mediabay. Then in 8.5 it was removed. I am optimistic that we will see it again in 2018. I am speaking with a slight tone of sacrasm :stuck_out_tongue: )

Here’s what I just played with, it feels like a decent workflow, once you set it up.

  • create a folder in the Cubase Projects folder called “midi riffs”.
  • Go into mediabay and navigate to it in the left Define Locations pane and check-mark it.
  • Turn on “Show Managed Locations Only” to hide all the un-checked folders.
  • Export a midi file to the aforementioned folder, and it appears in Mediabay. Just set the filter to midi files, and leave the drop-down menu on All Media. (User Content only shows the %AppData% and other system dir stuff afaik)
    The file is shown, you can preview it in the previewer, it’s routed through the midi output you select in the dropdown menu.

(midiloops automatically load the instrument they were created with. edit: I was typing while you posted the youtube link…)

20

“Export a midi file to the aforementioned folder”

Aye, there’s the rub.

Again, the -key- for me is to be able to -populate- the folder easily.

My -entire- ‘workflow’ (cough) is about what I call LONG TERM RE-USE. I’ll play a drum part in 2007 (literally) and then in 2017 I’ll be working on a new piece and it will dawn on me that what I really need are bits from that 2007 piece. And it’s always fraught copying/pasting from one to the other. I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Your method is great -if- I either:
a) When I’m done with a project, create separate MID files for each ‘lick’ I think I want to re-use in the future. (I can dream).

b) Hire an assistant, like ‘Hans’, to do such menial tasks. (I can dream).

Thanks for taking the time. This could be useful for me.

—JC