The Yamaha AN1x Synthesizer mailing list

To answer the recent questions concerning AN1xEdit:

First thanks for the praise...its always nice to know the work is
appreciated :-)

Regarding the comment about an AN1xEdit for Sound Diver. Michael Haydn did
ask me to produce an adaptation for SD some time ago. Unfortunately,
commitments to other projects at the time prevented me from taking up the
offer :-(

Regarding using Cakewalk with the PLG150AN and AN1xEdit. If you want to be
able to select edited patches from within Cakewalk, then you must first
upload your edited library bank to the PLG150AN card (using the library
Select all and Send commands). Thereafter you should be able to select the
patches using standard Bank/Program change messages from CWPA.

Regarding Reggies comments on AN1xEdit being able to send Program changes.
AN1xEdit was never designed as a realtime sequencing control surface for the
PLG150AN card and certainly not as a means to select preset patches from the
cards ROM (other than for morphing control). In general I recommend people
use AN1xEdit solely as a voice editing tool and librarian. If you want to
perform real-time control of an AN device I suggest you make full use of the
Matrix feature of each voice. Thereafter upload the voice to the device and
use your sequencers capabilities for patch change and controller editing to
perform realtime control. This way you will minimise the amount of sysex in
the MIDI stream and get much better (and natively editable) results. You can
also make better use of external controller surfaces (e.g. control freak,
phatboy, AN1x knobs etc)

If you are going to work on sound editing, then you want to ensure that what
An1xEdit has, is the same as that in the AN device. Therefore it is
essential that An1xEdit selects the data from its own library and uploads it
to the AN device. (in the case of the PLG150AN there is no way to dump in
the reverse direction....so its the only way to synchronise the editor and
the card). In any case, the time taken to upload a single patch to the card
is comparable to the time it takes the card to select and configure a preset
patch internally.....so there is no real benefit to simply providing a
program change!!!

Regarding integration of editors into third party environments. I totally
agree with this approach; the current standalone app approach is too
inflexible and complex.

I am working with Yamaha, Cakewalk and Microsoft on a new MIDI plugin API,
that will provide this functionality (Open MIDI Plugin System - OMPS).
Hopefully this will allow full integration of plugin editors, such that they
can perform realtime automation, transmission via the clients MIDI ports and
direct editing of data within the clients tracks. The specification is
nearing completion, so we hope to see some apps using it towards the end of
the year! Whether, Steinberg, Emagic or other vendors adopt the format is
purely up to them...but they are certainly aware of its development. I guess
in the end it will depend on the quality and quantity of available
plugins....and to some extent end user pressure :-)

It should be noted that the API can also be used for other purposes. For
example OMPS can be used to produce:

- Alternate plugin data views (e.g. replacement list, piano roll, score
views etc)
- Authoring tools (such as data and format checkers)
- Complimentary sequencing functions (such as auto accompaniment and
generative music sequencing)
- MIDI processors (delays, appregiators, transformers etc)
- Softsynths (sample accurate MIDI streaming, for rich MIDI control of audio
plugins)

Note the API will be totally open and there will be no need for precompiled
libraries or licensing fees etc. So any budding programmers will be free to
create their own plugins :-)

Of course I would like to release versions of An1xEdit and XGedit in this
format....however if/when I do this will depend on commitments to other
projects in the future.

Regards

Gary Gregson

Email:gary@...
http://www.yme.co.uk/yme