Subject:GM Drum Map errors in Acid Pro 6-7

Posted by: Mats Eriksson

Date:1/23/2012 7:39:11 AM

Hi everybody!
I really do have searched the forums on this topic, and scrutinized the manual to both Acid 6 and 7 but never got the following to work.

1. When creating or exporting from another project a GM or GM2 Midifile of Channel 10, drums only, it plays alright with the RIGHT drum mapping (corresponding events to snare, hh etc) in every other DAW program, except Acid pro 6-7. Even in Acid Pro 4.0 it sounds right.

2. When trying to remap everything, it works ok, after a 2 hr major chore workouot. I do save it. But the next time when Acid 6 (or 7) opens it resorts back to some kind of default MIDI GM Drum map, that is NOT what I want. It's regardless of using their own DS Softynth, EZDRUMMER, or NI bandstand, or anything else as sound source.

3. I have downloaded midi kit drum maps for this and that, but it seems to go back to another default one. So here comes the question:

Q: Why the **** should Acid Prod 6-7 treat GM (and GM2) Midifiles differently AS DEFAULT, than earlier versions of Acid? This annoys and pisses me off to no end. And leaves Acid 6-7 unusable for me.

I do have read all hints tips and tricks, and scrutinized the manuals, just as well as this forum. In the end, it means those projects I used to work in inside the very old Acid 4.0 wasn't transferable to 6 or 7 at all. I upgraded from 6 to 7 just because I thought that this would be fixed somehow, and it didn't. So please don't ask me to upgrade to 8.

Subject:RE: GM Drum Map errors in Acid Pro 6-7

Reply by: Mats Eriksson

Date:1/24/2012 2:14:53 AM

I have to add, that since it not possible to receive e-mail notifications whenever someone replies, I list the operation below in steps.

1. When opening - say - Acid 4.0 and import a MIDI drum file and let either DLS soft synt play, or EZdrummer, everything sounds ok, snares are snares, hihats, cymbals and so on.

2. When opening Acid 6 or 7 and import the MIDI file, the DLS soft synt or EZdrummer plays them notes wrong, rimshot is bassdrum and snare is something else. Even when selecting a different drum map it plays them wrong.

3. When in Acid 6 or 7, when I choose to export that MIDI file again, to a a new midifile it has changed the note on, and re-mapped it without me ever editing it. A save it to a new name.

4. When importing that newly saved MIDI file into old acid 4 or any other program, it plays all notes WRONG, regardless of DLS softsynth, EZdrummer.

I e Acid 6-7 initiall defaults any imported MIDI drum file, and remaps it, for some strange reason. I want to change a default setting, so that it does not behave like this, unless I want to. I want to find the setting that does NOT re-maps ANY imported MIDI file to a different drum map. It's supposed to be GM insdie Acid 4 as well as 6-7 but it aint.

I have even created a different Drum Map for EZ drummer inside Acid 6 and 7 but it doesn't matter, it plays the wrong hits on different instruments. Having edited the scroll list, Acid 6-7 changes inital notes from F# to C and so on, directly without me wanting it, or pressing any button. Then when saving it (the MIDI file) it saves with the "new" settings and notes, and f*z up the note. It means all old acid projects with MIDI files ,and drum maps to gm2 doesn't work at all.

Subject:RE: GM Drum Map errors in Acid Pro 6-7

Reply by: Iacobus

Date:1/24/2012 1:44:46 PM

I have a drum map I've created for KitCore and don't have any problems importing or exporting MIDI; kicks stay as kicks, snares as snares, etc. Note this is within ACID Pro 7 itself. Any MIDI I've imported before from other programs (like Finale's music notation program) work fine as well.

I should note one caveat: Whatever the key of the MIDI file is must be what your ACID project is in order for things to fall in place.

For example, if my Finale project was in C Major, then my ACID project's key should be in C as well or it'll get transposed. Is that what's tripping you up perhaps?

Iacobus

Subject:RE: GM Drum Map errors in Acid Pro 6-7

Reply by: Mats Eriksson

Date:1/24/2012 2:56:11 PM

thank you so much for a fast reply, very much appreciated. However, I have thought of this. Sorry, I didn't put it up earlier, but I thought if I listed all things I've tried the post would be unwieldy to read. That was one thing that struck me after a while, since I thought that exporting just channel 10 drum files always hits the same notes, regardless of transposing the key.

The thing is, that, if that was the case, it should play wrong inside Acid 4 too. If the external exporting program did it in any other key. Mind you, I have tried making midi files from scratch inside acid 4 saved the to standard GM Midi files, and imported them to Acid 6 and 7.

To check, that they've REALLY exported in key of C, I took a generic Band-In-A-Box file with all other instruments removed, just leaving drums unmuted, and then made SURE as h*ll it was in the key of C. Played good in Acid 4, but not in Acid 6-7. Regardless on exporting midi file type 0, 1 or "drums on separate tracks".

-----

Thing is, while the MIDI file was playing inside Acid 6 and 7, I tried to use the transpose function, while it was playing. Fun to play with but it never got right. You just moved the intervals up, and the relation between the hits where never right, and I did lower the transposing function too.

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And yes, I have done a reinstall on both acid 6 and 7.

Subject:RE: GM Drum Map errors in Acid Pro 6-7

Reply by: Mats Eriksson

Date:1/25/2012 8:56:35 AM

I have detected SOME pecularities on the "key of C" thing:

1. In Acid 4.0 all projects opens up, with the KEY set to NONE, which can be read down to the right of the BPM setting. Just along the "tuning fork" that's displayed. I e it defaults to NONE.

2. In Acid 6-7 the same "tuning fork" default to A.(!?). Not even C. However, when moving that one to C it still doesn't work - provided that the original file is in key of C - BUT!!! It does when setting that one as well to NONE.

So it works when setting the key to NONE. However, in the properties panel where you can set "start all projects with these settings" you can't make 6 or 7 Default to NONE. No matter what you do. In Acid 4 it was no problem. As for now, I have to go a great deal back and forth between acid 4 and even 6 AND 7, because of convenience in editing some things.

So, the actual problem is - sort of - solved in one way, but not really. On top of this I would like to have ACID 6 and 7 to default to EZDRUMMER midi map for pop/rock kit. And default to NONE each time.

Subject:RE: GM Drum Map errors in Acid Pro 6-7

Reply by: Iacobus

Date:1/25/2012 11:58:49 AM

What you could do is make a template project with just a MIDI track routed to EZdrummer and its corresponding map and its key set to none. Then open this project (but remember to "save as" separately right away so you don't overwrite this template).

You'll have to do the rest manually but you'll at least have a couple steps taken out.

Subject:RE: GM Drum Map errors in Acid Pro 6-7

Reply by: Mats Eriksson

Date:1/27/2012 2:51:50 AM

Thank you for your suggestion. Yeah, that's a way to do it. It's a - kind of - acceptable workaround. But anyway, each time I start such a template project, with a midifile included, it seems to start up the DLS soft synth as well, regardless of how many times I delete it, and save it as that. I do have to do the one an only right klick / delete each time, because the EZdrummer "soft synth" loads as well, and takes a little time. It was like that in Acid 4.0 too.

I still wonder how many things of "my preferences" you can make as a default each time a project starts up... or really, not "project starts up" but each time I start Acid (any version, 4,6,7). Regardless of project. I would like it to default to EZDrummer drum maps, to the key of NONE...and so on. I mean, whoever or whatever said that the KEY OF A should be the default one in the first place?!?!? And that most people are starting with that one? Wouldn't C be the best place to start everything on?

It may be that the tuning fork is in the key of a (a440) but most programs - say Band-In-A-Box, Adobe Audtion, Tracktion - starts up as default in the C key.