Configuring MIDI

The Sync tab is used to configure MIDI Time Code synchronization between ACID and other... 

While recording an audio source is a fundamentally different operation firom recording MIDI data, the procedure for doing so is very similar. Audio is recorded as sounds, and MIDI is recorded as data that can be used to recreate the performance (for example, what note was played, how hard the key was pressed, and how long the note lasted). MIDI can be recorded into individual tracks or multiple takes can be recorded into a single file by looping the playback. MIDI setup and configuration are dealt with in much more detail in Chapter 10. 

As mentioned previously, the basic process of recording MIDI is similar to recording audio, but the type of data recording and how it is configured is completely different. See Chapter 10 on MIDI for a full explanation. 

MIDI stands for Music Instrument Digital Interface. It is a relatively simple and universal computer communication standard that allows synthesizers, sequencers, drum machines, electronic instruments, controllers, and computers to talk to one another. MIDI data is not audio data that can be used to create noise out of a speaker, unlike. wav or other media files with audio data. Instead, it is a set of instructions that tell a MIDI instrument how to play. In the case of your computer, your sound card may act as a MIDI instrument or device. While MIDI is a fairly simple standard, the huge variety of devices and possible configurations can rapidly lead to confusion. 

As mentioned, the quality of the MIDI output from ACID does not depend on ACID but on your sound card. Configuring ACID to use the correct MIDI device can he a complicated task. Since wavetable synthesis is often the highest-quality synthesis on a sound card, getting ACID to output wavetable samples properly is important. Unfortunately, wavetable synthesizers often use some of the same circuitry that the sound card needs to play back regular media files, and this can cause conflict. This section is going to discuss how to configure ACID MIDI tracks to get the highest quality and talks about some workarounds for a few potential problems. 

MTC and MIDI Qock are generated in AQD using a MIDI device on your computer. Configuring AQD to generate code is a matter of selecting a device to use, much the same as you select a MIDI device for MIDI playback at the track level. To set up ACID to generate MTC ... 

As you have noticed, configuring and generating MIDI Clock is a similar process. As with MTC, you will need to select an output device, but MIDI Clock is measured in terms of tempo, measures, and beats, so it is not necessary to select a format. MIDI Clock can be generated by a shared device used for playback. 

Most consumer-level sound cards have only one hardware MIDI port and, therefore, only one default driver for MIDI input. This input driver can be shared between two applications running at the same time, so you can trigger and synchronize playback from two applications at the same time. It is not possible to use this port to communicate between two software applications, but you can install a software-based Virtual MIDI Router (VMR) to create another MIDI inpnt port so you can use another software application to trigger ACID. Sonic Foundry has included its VMR on the ACID CD. Specific usage is discussed later in this chapter. Once you have configured the master device to generate MTC, make sure the frame rate of the device and AQD match and then ... 

The MTC Output tab corresponds to the Generate MIDI Timecode settings item and allows you to configure which messages are sent to the slave device. In most situations, it will be necessary to generate Full-frame messages only on start and stop of playback and record. In almost all situations, you should not use internal timer, as this can cause the applications to drift out of sync. 

Final configuration of the Virtual MIDI Router after installation. 

Configure ACID to output MIDI Tlmecode (MTC ACID and Vegas both chase MTC and not MIDI Clock). This is done from Options > Preferences > Sync tab. In the Generate MIDI Hmecode settings option, select one of the Sonic Foundry MIDI Routers. See the previous chapter for details. 

The Generate MIDI Clock settings option configures a MIDI Clock signal to be created by ACID (instead of MTC, as previously detailed). The Output device allows you to select the hardware and software combination used to generate the MIDI Clock and can be different from the MTC device. 

Considering that LAS/s synthesis technique does not demand heavy computation to process the samples, sounds can be produced in real time via a MIDI controller, mouse or even the computer s alphanumeric keyboard. The program provides facilities for configuring the MIDI communication. 

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