HOW TO MANAGE PATCH BANKS WITH THE MT-32! Note: When referring to the Roland MT-32 Sound Module in this text, this includes the LAPC-1, CM-32L, and CM-64, which are 100% MT-32 compatible. GETTING STARTED ----------------------------------------------------------- The first thing to keep in mind is that most MIDI sequencing software and MIDI controllers are limited to only 128 program changes, numbered 0-127. The MT-32 has room for 128 preset sounds, plus an additional 64 "memory" sounds; a total of 192 in all. Accessing timbres 0-127 is no problem for most sequencers and controllers, but how do you send program change number 142 when your sequencer will only allow you to select a number from 0-127? You don't! The MT-32 doesn't recognize CC0 or CC32 which changes banks in General MIDI. The above scenario is possible to overcome with some Roland gear, and with sequencing software written SPECIFICALLY for the MT-32. But the most popular software sequencers, like "Cakewalk", "Digital Orchestrator Pro", and "Sequencer Plus," were not designed to take advantage of the MT-32's 64-place memory efficeintly. You can access the new sounds transmitted in a patch bank by using only the 128 program changes you have available, but in some cases, you may not be able to access all 64 of the new "memory" timbres. And since there will be only 128 program changes to choose from, you won't have access to all 128 of the MT-32's preset sounds as well. The best case scenario will give you access to all 64 "memory" timbres, plus 64 of the MT-32's preset sounds. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS TEXT REFERS TO SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE NOT SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR THE MT-32. PROGRAMS AND INSTRUMENTS DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE MT-32 HANDLE THE MEMORY BANKS DIFFERENTLY. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- PATCH BANK VARIATIONS ------------------------------------------------------ In my experience, I've found that patch banks sent to the MT-32 all behave a little differently. No two banks allow the same access to the same timbres in the same way. For instance, you may have created a bank with 20 new timbres which are accessible by sending program changes 11-25, and 69-74. Create a new bank with 20 new timbres, and those program numbers may change. You can control which program change numbers will be used for memory timbres for all banks providing you use the same format when creating the banks. Some bank arranging and editing programs let you create a standard bank format that is used each time you create a new patch bank. This is advan- tageous since you'll always have access to the same program numbers each time you load a new bank. Another method you may wish to use follows. Confused yet? You should be! Patch banks can be VERY confusing when you use them with generic sequencing software that hasn't been designed with the MT-32 in mind. NOTE: The following text refers to a ZIP file (EMPTY.ZIP) which is available from the ROLAND MT-32 SOUND MODULE RESOURCE CENTER's "UTILITIES" page EMPTY PATCH BANK TEMPLATE ----------------------------------------------- Included with this text is an "EMPTY" patch bank file. "Empty" in the sense that it contains 64 empty memory positions that you can fill with new sounds. If you transmit the empty file, you'll see the 64 empty positions display on the MT-32's LCD as you send the various program changes. The following will display for each position not presently filled with a timbre: MEMORY: Also included is a EMPTY PATCH BANK TIMBRE LIST showing all the empty memory positions available, and their location or Program number. (EMPTY.DOC) Finaly, you'll also find a MIDI file called "EMPTY.MID" included. This file plays for 128 measures but contains no music. Instead, each measure contains a Program Change MIDI event, starting with Program Change #0 (in measure 1), and ending with Program Change #127 (in measure 128.) Once you transmit the "EMPTY" patch bank, play the EMPTY.MID MIDI file and watch the LCD display on the MT-32. You'll note that the empty "MEMORY:" positions correspond to the empty positions on the EMPTY.DOC timbre list. TRANSMITTING THE EMPTY PATCH BANK ------------------------------------------ The EMPTY patch bank is provided in System Exclusive format: - EMPTY.SYX Standard SysEx format The EMPTY.SYX bank can be used with any System Exclusive (SysEx) patch bank utility - and there are a LOT of them out there. The most popular of these is "MidiEx." Note: "MidiEx" and "Quick Load" are available for download from the ROLAND MT-32 SOUND MODULE RESOURCE CENTER's "UTILITIES" page. NOW WHAT? LIBRARIAN SOFTWARE! ---------------------------------------------- Well, to really get into creating patch banks efficiently, you need to get your hands on a Librarian. A bank librarian allows you to copy timbres from one bank to another; index your banks; rename timbres; and generally keep track of your sounds! Everyone has their preferences as to what they want in a bank librarian. My personal favorite is Voyetra's Bank Arranger, as mentioned above. But in any case, you'll want one if you're going to do some playing around with banks. A WORD ABOUT PARTIALS ------------------------------------------------------- What's a "partial?" All MT-32 timbres are made up of anywhere from 1 to 4 partials. The "32" in "MT-32" actually stands for (M)utiple (T)imbres using up to "32" Partials simultaneously. Anyone who has worked with the MT-32 to any degree knows that in actuality, the MT-32 can NOT handle 32 partials all playing at the same time. A lot depends on what timbres are playing, but a good average would be around 22 simultaneous partials able to play. You may have noticed some sounds dropping out when you have several instruments playing together. That's called "partial drop." Too many partials trying to play at the same time - someone has to go! To that extent, the MT-32 comes equiped with a "Partial Reserve" and "Overflow Buffer" which can give priority to a specific channel, or reroute the extra partials to a second MT-32 unit. But that's another story. When you create new sounds, or edit existing ones, you might want to pay close attention to the number of partials the timbre uses. A lot of times, you may be able to turn one of the partials off completely and not lose much in sound quality. I've done this many times when I have a song that calls for a lot of instruments to play together, but there's not enough partials to go around. I might shut off a partial or two in a less significant timbre, or simply use a timbre that was created using fewer partials. As a general rule (but by no means in every case), the more partials, the better the sound quality of the timbre. CONCLUSION ------------------------------------------------------------------ The MT-32 is an amazing little instrument! When you start adding countless new sounds to its already classy timbre menu, you'll discover how much more music is possible with it! It becomes a new MIDI instrument. The ROLAND MT-32 SOUND MODULE RESOURCE CENTER was created to keep this little black box alive. We offer dozens of patch banks, MIDI files - including original sequences from users around the world, MT-32 utilities, and other helpful goodies for the MT-32. And it's all FREE! Tom Lewandowski (tom@queststudios.com) Quest Studios/The Roland MT-32 Sound Module Resource Center The Sierra Soundtrack Series www.QuestStudios.com