Korg Keyboard Live Performance Issue

[mutation]

My setup currently involves Cakewalk Sonar 2 connected to my Korg X5D synth.. I've been trying for the longest time to figure out how to get Sonar to select patches from the synth's 'combi' bank. My hope was to use Sonar to simply change instrument/bank on my synth in a live setting using the following process:

On stage, my laptop, running Sonar, would be conected to my synth. I would create a blank cwp (cakewalk project) file that was simply a collection of tracks I'd pre-programmed with patch/bank information and in the order that I require the various instrument sounds within the song I play live. Then, while playing, I'd simply press the down arrow key on my laptop keyboard to move to/higlight the next preprogrammed track (when you do this in sonar, it automatically sends a program change message to your synth), thus changing the instrument sound on my synth. When it comes time to change the instrument sound again, i'd simply press the down arrow again, and so forth...

This currently works correctly with the Korg's GM sounds and bank A, but it does not select combi sounds because that requires the keyboard to be in "combi" mode, as opposed to "multi (allows selection of G bank and A bank)" I haven't found a way to select a combi sound while remaining in multi mode..Nor do I know of a way to make sonar send a BANK change message in addition to the default PROGRAM change message it sends when you highlight a track.

Does anyone know a way around this problem? Is there perhaps a better way to do what I'm trying to do?

Note: I'm currently using a korgx5d instrument DEF file I found on the web.


Thank you ever so much for any help you might offer!

[Hipelius]

You can't do that. I guess it's because polyphony; let's say it's a combi with 8 timbres -> if the all the timbres are in double oscillator mode pushing one note uses 16 polyphony.

It's the same thing with my N364

[mutation]

Ahh, so you're saying that I wouldn't be able to remain in Multi but select and play a Combi sound.. that does make sense, and I suspected that might be the case.. That said, however, can anybody think of a way I might be able to select a patch from a bank in one step? For instance, my keyboard comes with its own librarian/editor software which does some of what I need, but with some shortcomings:

Let's say I'm using the Korg software on a laptop connected to my Korg as a means to choose patches during a performance. If I'm playing a sound in Bank A, but want to then change to a Combi sound from the Combi bank, I'd have to click (in that software) the "combi button" which sends the sysex bank change message, and THEN click the particular patch I want. It does the job, but it's simply too clumsy to do during a time-critical live performance.

If there was some way I could organize the patches I need for each song I play in my band, much in the way Jordan does, and then step through them with a keypress (in which both bank select and program change messages can be sent), that would be optimal. It just seems that with my Korg, I'd need some type of software that I could set up to send BOTH a bank change AND a patch change message each time I step through my patch collection.. does that clarify?

Thanks for any advice you may have!

[jeebustrain]

My setup currently involves Cakewalk Sonar 2 connected to my Korg X5D synth.. I've been trying for the longest time to figure out how to get Sonar to select patches from the synth's 'combi' bank. My hope was to use Sonar to simply change instrument/bank on my synth in a live setting using the following process:

On stage, my laptop, running Sonar, would be conected to my synth. I would create a blank cwp (cakewalk project) file that was simply a collection of tracks I'd pre-programmed with patch/bank information and in the order that I require the various instrument sounds within the song I play live. Then, while playing, I'd simply press the down arrow key on my laptop keyboard to move to/higlight the next preprogrammed track (when you do this in sonar, it automatically sends a program change message to your synth), thus changing the instrument sound on my synth. When it comes time to change the instrument sound again, i'd simply press the down arrow again, and so forth...

This currently works correctly with the Korg's GM sounds and bank A, but it does not select combi sounds because that requires the keyboard to be in "combi" mode, as opposed to "multi (allows selection of G bank and A bank)" I haven't found a way to select a combi sound while remaining in multi mode..Nor do I know of a way to make sonar send a BANK change message in addition to the default PROGRAM change message it sends when you highlight a track.

Does anyone know a way around this problem? Is there perhaps a better way to do what I'm trying to do?

Note: I'm currently using a korgx5d instrument DEF file I found on the web.


Thank you ever so much for any help you might offer!


Isn't there a performance mode on that synth? My N5 has one. You can set up 16 different patches (combinations or programs), one outputting to each midi channel.

At least that's how I would program my patches on that board.

[Ael]

From my experience using Cakewalk Home Studio to record stuff with a Korg X5D in tech class using an Aardvark 24/96 interface thing, we could never, ever, record combi sounds...so that might be the same thing with playing them as patches, for some reason, it just doesn't work, the DEF file doesn't include it, to the best of my understanding.

[mutation]

You know, I just recently learned how to record combi sounds--what you need to do is record the sysex bank and patch change messages into the track. What I then do is go into the event list and change the start times of those recorded message events to as early as possible in the track (i.e. 00:00:01). Then, with that information present at the beginning of the track, it will allow you to record using the combi sound. I imagine you'd run into trouble with polyphony if you did with more than one or two tracks in the same CWP file though...

Aside from recording, would anybody have a suggestion for how best to send the appropriate messages to my keyboard to select patches during LIVE performance? For instance, I'd need to have the flexibility of going from a patch in bank a to a combi, then back to another patch in A and so forth at the touch of a button. I'm able to isolate and record the sysex necessary to make those changes, I just currently have no way of telling Sonar to send those (korg sysex) messages when I highlight a track. Is there some other kind of software that will allow you to do that? It's such a simple thing too, you'd imagine someone would already have programmed it long ago! ;-)

Thanks again for responding!