Hello,
Got D5 working on Windows… I am trying some of the new features. I like the implementation of the MIDI triggers, although this seems to been note# based. I would love to use this for sending MIDI SySEx message to control my Yamaha keyboard. I used to do this in Sibelius before. Or does anyone know how to send SyEx data in Dorico? Thx… And Steinberg keep up the nice work!
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Welcome to the forum, Marc. There’s no way to send MIDI system exclusive messages in Dorico at the moment.
Which Yamaha keyboard?
Sometimes one can do much using bank/program changes, RPN and NRPN events instead of sysex. Dorico Pro CAN do this via controller lanes and/or instrument expression maps (linked to custom playing techniques for sequences of parameters you want to reuse often).
Just sharing some personal research and conclusions (however wrong or incomplete these musings might turn out to be, I’ll share them none the less) …
Some keyboards might also have native or 3rd party plugins that more or less integrate things into a host via instrument plugin.
One problem with such plugins is that it often requires access to true VST parameters (automation lanes) to ‘automate’ sending packets of data, and I don’t think Dorico gives us user access to those parameters at this time (unless it’s brand new to Dorico 5?). In contrast, if it has built in CC learning to trigger things that way, it could work. So, it’s worth checking to see if something like that exists for your model of Yamaha keyboard.
I’ve experimented with open source panel building plugins like Ctrlr. It can be helpful, but as mentioned above, it’s not very straight forward or easy to ‘automate’ the panels from Dorico. As far as I know, this one is VST2 or stand-alone only. I end up just doing any big dumps before I begin my Dorico Session. Channel Continuous Controller, Program/Bank, and RPN/NRPN are typically more than enough to get things done from there, and Dorico can send those easily enough with high degrees of precision.
Do you also run a tracking DAW like Cubase? It’s kind of complicated to set up and learn at first, but it is possible to get any DAW that can slave to MTC synced with the Dorico transport using a third party plugin called TXL Timecode. A good virtual port such as loopMIDI (free), and some ASIO audio routing utilities such as ASIO Link Pro (also free) can help you route MIDI and Audio from one Windows App to another in real time. With a setup like this, you could have your tracking DAW send whatever you like to the instrument with precise timing.
I, for one, would welcome our SysEx overlords. I can’t use my Roland JV-2080 without SysEx.
Check out ctrlr. This is a kit for making your own device panels. It can run as a standalone app, or as a plugin in most hosts.
I think I’ve seen some ready-made ctrlr panels for the JV family of instruments. Download them, install, and maybe you’re good to go!
Note, due to the way Dorico hooks up to external instruments it might require some creative routing (virtual ports, and perhaps an app to establish some things before Dorico is launched) to make things happen, but it should well be possible.
I’m on Windows myself, and last time I checked out ctrlr, VST2 was the only ‘plugin’ option for Windows. That still works as late as Dorico 5 on Windows with no fuss. I believe Mac users with Apple silicon would need Rosetta (or a VST3<>VST2/AU bridge) to get VST2 or AU plugins working with Dorico.
If you can’t, or don’t like the idea of hosting a VST2 plugin in Dorico (plus gain some extra power and flexibility) you might bridge ctrlr in using something like:
Kushview Element (free/opensource)
Plogue’s Bidule (not free)
Blue Cat’s Patchwork (not free)
DDMF Metaplugin64 (not free).
Personally, I’d first try setting it up like so:
- Do not connect Dorico directly to the JV. Instead, Host an instance of something like bidule or Kushview Element in Dorico.
- Host ctrlr inside this ‘bridge’ or secondary host, and make the connection to the JV unit from inside this instance as well.
- A third ‘option’ would be to run something like Bidule or Kushview in stand alone mode, and route things from Dorico into it via virtual MIDI ports.
In theory, that’d carry you well into the future should Dorico drop VST2 support before ctrlr comes in that format. It’d also give you an easily portable workflow among any hosts you like for tweaking out your JV unit.
I’m most familiar with bidule. I can recommend this tool as I know that it supports stuff like linking a CC to a VST parameter that’s hosted internally. This means that until Dorico gets his own VST automation lanes, you could use CC lanes in Dorico’s play tab, and have bidule ‘link’ this to any VST parameters of subsequent plugins hosted therein and ‘automate them’ via Dorico.
Perhaps the free Kushview bridge can do this as well? I’m not sure about the others at this time (haven’t test driven them). If you intend to drive larger sysex dumps, or automate various controls in real time…I suspect you’ll want/need a way to ‘link’ incoming CC’s to VST Parameters.
Thanks for the very detailed response Brian. I have installed a patch editor for the 2080, which is based on ctrlr. I haven’t done anything with it yet. I have basic functionality with the 2080 in REAPER, which I explored when Cubase didn’t play nicely with my AMD setup. I now have 2 Intel setups, one for ITB (all virtual instruments) and one for OTB (all hardware instruments). Both seem very stable, so I now want to get deep into Cubase and Dorico. I’m new to Dorico, but I like what I see, and it served me well for a recent amateur theatre project.
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