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June 29, 2003

Cherry Pickin'

Some months ago, I began the process of creating an XML patch listing for the Alesis D4 drum module; the D4 was not a device that shipped as a FreeMIDI preset, so it was not migrated over to the new XML .midnam format with the release of Mark of the Unicorn's Digital Performer 4 for OS X. I enjoy the added functionality of drum kit note name listings offered by dp4's drum editor, and there has been no easy way to get the note name info for each of the 61 notes in each of the D4's 21 drum kit presets. Overall, it has been an excruciatingly slow process involving the manual transcription of note names into a spreadsheet for reference and the subsequent entry of those note names into the .midnam file.

I've had this project on the shelf for over two months due to the tedium so inherent in a task of this nature, preferring in the meantime to scour the apparently meager online resources relating to this topic in search of an industrious developer who has already addressed this issue or at the very least, some sort of documentation of the note name information that could serve to eliminate the "turn knob, transcribe note name" workflow from this endeavor. At last, I found Cherry Picker. This bare-bones Cocoa app puts a GUI on the editing process and rather nicely allows for the creation and editing of both patch bank and drum kit note name listings. The note group functionality is not yet implemented, but existing note group data may be parsed and read. Cherry Picker can also read old-school FreeMIDI device name files, allowing for their easy migration over to the new XML .midnam format. This great little piece of freeware has eliminated a number of steps from my initial workflow, and I hope to have my D4.midnam file ready to go by the end of July. Thanks Cherry Picker!

UPDATE: I almost forgot, but another neat feature of this app is the ability to reference .mid files for auditioning patches. There are two popup menus that allow for the setting of MIDI input and output so that a short musical example may be played to audibly audition patches. Cool!!

Posted by Turfdigger at June 29, 2003 11:27 AM
This entry has been posted to: Audio

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Back in June, I started work on a CoreAudio MIDI XML patch document for the Alesis D4... [Read More]

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Comments

Greetings,

Just wondering if you completed your XML midi names for the Alesis D4. I've been looking for these midi names. I recently created default names for my microKORG in XML. If you own a microKORG would you be interested in a trade?

Thanks, B.

Posted by: B. at October 26, 2003 2:06 AM