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MONTAGE Series Synthesizers
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Topic starter
I'm currently using my ROLI Rise 25 as a MIDI controller for my Yamaha Montage 7. The Rise generates MIDI Pitchbend messages when you slide your finger(s) from side to side. I'm having some trouble getting Pitchbend to work the way I want it to.
I would like to have things set up so that when I move my finger up the keyboard one semitone, the pitch of the sound also moves up one semitone (and the same for moving my finger down). What I have been able to achieve so far is that when I move my finger up 2 semitones, the pitch of the sound moves up 1 semitone, and similarly for moving down.
I recorded the MIDI output from the Rise into Cubase and found that for each semitone that I moved my finger, the value of the MIDI Pitchbend message changed by approximately 170. On the Montage, I have a guitar sound in which I have set the Pitchbend up and down parameters to +24 (up) and -24 (down).
My questions are:
1. Is the MIDI Pitchbend message value increment of 170 per semitone a value that should work with the Montage?
2. Is there some setting on the Montage other than Pitchbend up and down that I could use to set up the behavior that I want?
3. I noticed that the Pitchbend up and down parameters don't have the same maximum settings: the maximum for Pitchbend up seems to be +24 for up, and -48 for down. What's the reason why these settings aren't symmetrical? I would have thought that the top and bottom of the Pitchbend range would have had the same maximum absolute value.
Thanks…
Posted : 11/07/2016 2:03 am
Michael,
There was a video posted to YouTube in the last 3-4 days that deals with setting up a ROLI keyboard to work with a Montage.
Posted : 11/07/2016 2:18 am
1. Is the MIDI Pitchbend message value increment of 170 per semitone a value that should work with the Montage?
170 what?
Pitch Bend as a MIDI message has some 16,384 units of change. (-8192 through 0 and up to +8191)
How far those units of change bends the pitch, is determined by the receiving device.
2. Is there some setting on the Montage other than Pitchbend up and down that I could use to set up the behavior that I want?
Pitch Bend (En) is its own category of message in the MIDI spec. Are you sure your device is sending Pitch Bend?
Coarse Tuning (Element parameter) will also affect the pitch, and can be offset +/-48 semitones. This is an assignable parameter with the Montage
3. I noticed that the Pitchbend up and down parameters don't have the same maximum settings: the maximum for Pitchbend up seems to be +24 for up, and -48 for down. What's the reason why these settings aren't symmetrical? I would have thought that the top and bottom of the Pitchbend range would have had the same maximum absolute value.
This is probably based on musical usefulness. There are more uses for the bizarre sounds going down four octaves than you would find when bending the original pitch up. Aliasing and other weirdness exist going up, where going down in pitch simply is less teeth rattling and therefore remains more useful. It's subjective, but it's all about that bass, no one likes the dentist drill. 🙂
I'm not really sure if there is an actual technical reason or its just that stretching things lower is just simply more forgiving. Either way it is not symmetrical on purpose.
Posted : 11/07/2016 6:04 pm
Topic starter
1. Is the MIDI Pitchbend message value increment of 170 per semitone a value that should work with the Montage?
170 what?
I dragged my finger up two semitones on the ROLI, and the values in the MIDI Pitchbend messages recorded in Cubase went from 0 up to 340. Dividing 340 by 2 gives 170. (Actually, the MIDI Pitchbend values went from 8192 to 8532, because MIDI interprets 0 thru 8191 as -8192 (the 0 MIDI message value) to -1 (the 8191 MIDI message value). MIDI interprets 8192 as pitchbend 0, and 8193 thru 16383 as pitchbend +1 to pitchbend +8191.)
Then I dragged my finger up 24 semitones, the full width of the ROLI Rise 25 "keyboard." I looked at the change in the values of the MIDI Pitchbend messages, divided by 24, and got the same value of 170.
So the ROLI is giving me a change of 170 per semitone in the MIDI Pitchbend message value.
2. Is there some setting on the Montage other than Pitchbend up and down that I could use to set up the behavior that I want?
Pitch Bend (En) is its own category of message in the MIDI spec. Are you sure your device is sending Pitch Bend?
Yes, because I can see the Pitchbend messages in Cubase.
This is probably based on musical usefulness. There are more uses for the bizarre sounds going down four octaves than you would find when bending the original pitch up. Aliasing and other weirdness exist going up, where going down in pitch simply is less teeth rattling and therefore remains more useful. It's subjective, but it's all about that bass, no one likes the dentist drill. 🙂
That makes sense, but there are some kinds of music for which I would probably prefer listening to a "drill solo," even if it were my own teeth getting drilled… 😀
Posted : 11/07/2016 10:48 pm
