Virus Control - small enhancement, physical midi ports

    Hi,


    Im now pretty happy that Ive got a good standalone setup, where I can choose to use VC or not.


    Basically, Ive got an audio interface connected to analogue in/outs, spdif and midi in/out - so I don't need VC.


    However, I do like to do some sound design work with Virus Control.
    What ive done is create a small Max application which hosts Virus Control, and connects Synth In -> Synth Out and audio is directed to over analogue outs/spdif
    So once Ive done my work in Virus Control, I just do Store -> Multi Buffer and all is good.


    The only 'issue' is when you have the USB connected it not only disconnects the keyboard from the internal synth engine (when VC starts... why?), but also disconnects the keyboard from the physical midi ports.
    This is a pain, since most of my apps/projects configured to the Audio interfaces midi ports (which are physically connected to the TI keyboard) ... so I end up having to change this when USB is connected OR unplug the USB.


    so what Id like in Virus Control is (in order of preference):
    a) Enable Physical MIDI in/out
    b) Enable Local keyboard in/out
    c) Disable sound over USB entirely.
    d) Disable USB midi


    I could imagine a-c, could even be labelled as a single 'standalone' button as essentially it puts the TI back into the same state as when the Virus Control is not loaded.
    ( a & b , could be a toggle if necessary, i.e. MIDI over physical or USB)



    This would enable me to use Virus control standalone, without having to change my setup.


    Thanks

    Zitat von thetechnobear

    when you have the USB connected it [...] disconnects the keyboard from the internal synth engine (when VC starts... why?)

    This behavior can be configured from the unit's config menu - set "local control" to enable. But note that if the DAW is set to receive MIDI from the keyboard and send it back to the Virus you'll start hearing 2 notes one on top of the other for each key you play. Since my workflow uses the modular approach, where the DAW is the center of everything, and no module is supposed to do anything on its own, I'm quite content with the integration as it is, but I can see how the ability to turn certain functionalities on and off regardless of the current mode can lend itself to different setups.

    Thanks, I know I can enable local - though you get the 'nag' from the TI, that you should not do this when running virus control :o)


    My setup is really about where I don't use Virus Control for any midi/audio, just to edit patches i.e. like standalone.


    I do this for a few reason - but the main one, is so that the TI can be used from multi places at once, as you cannot have VC loaded more than once (either in multiple applications, or multiple instance in same application)


    so yes, this is just about asking Virus Control to make certain behaviour 'optional' to make it useable in other cases - there are alot of requests here for a standalone more, and these steps could help this.

    Hi all,


    There's one simple fact: Quite many of us (myself included) have tried to use TI but there has allways been problems - mostly sync and latency issues - and we have decided to use our Virus with old fashioned MIDI way. To me it's OK cause in my setup there are many other hardware MIDI synths too.


    But we would still like to have benefit from Virus computer integration: sound programming and librarian features. So is it really too much to ask for (some kind of) standalone VC app? I have feeling that Access is unwillling to admit that there's something wrong with their Total Integration; they want us to think that the problems are in us: we cannot make our setup work flawlessly. But when you read this forum you clearly see that WE are quite big amount of users. Just resently someone said that he cannot trust TI in his studio productions. And there are countless others... And now there are new kind problems based on Mavericks update. To me all this makes it clear that Access should really take US (old fashioned MIDI users) seriously...

    I think its pretty clear we are not going to get a standalone editor - but some small enhancement like the above could help.


    Im considering writing something in MAX as an editor, would be useful if someone has sysex documentation, i can get much of the info by debugging myself, but it would be much quicker if there was some existing documentation.


    Access - can you supply a document for the Sysex format? (for TI) we have the CC, but this doesn't cover everything.

    Patch parameter page B is covered by the appendix of the Virus C manual, along with the general sysEx format. A few parameter numbers seem to have been deprecated and moved to pages C and D, but still respond in a backward compatible manner. For the rest, you'll just have to tweak knobs and record MIDI data.
    Hope this helps.
    P.S. I'd love to have some user moderated database of Virus TI sysEx strings, to patch up that hole in the documentation.

    I was refereed here from another thread.
    Am I understanding this correctly?: You cant use the midi features if the VC is in Standalone mode?


    I fear I may be way off (and admittedly I haven't tried yet because I don't know that much about the tech) but I want to use VC to make editing patches easier but run audio out instead of through USB to help with the crackle.

    Shark, if you start VC it will disable the physical midi ports (you can still use the virtual USB midi i.e Virus TI Synth)


    IIRC, the physical midi ports are also disable as soon as an application opens the virtual USB midi ports.


    this a pain for those of us with physical midi setups, because on my Mac, I have all my applications setup to talk to my Virus via the physical midi, but as soon as I start VC, I have to switch the applications configuration over to use the USB midi. (then switch them back when I stop using VC)


    I just don't see a good reason why the TI should do this… I think the reason is probably related to the virtual Virus TI MIDI ports,
    which allow you to send midi data to the via over USB and then out the midi ports - (which basally makes the Virus a midi interface card)
    Fine… but allow us to turn it off.


    lots of people on this forum are complaining about VC, but if the Access did a few small things (as per this request), we could have a really good physical solution, that would allow us to use TI using analogue outs and physical midi ports, and still get the wonderful sound design facilities of the VC.
    I think it should be a very simple thing for Access to implement, just don't get the USB turning off the physical ports (potentially disable Virus TI midi) , and allow us to keep the local keyboard active (stop turning it off, and warning us all the time about how it shouldn't be used with VC :( )