RM1x

So, did I fall in love with it again?
Yes yes yes yes yes!!!
It's an awesome bit of kit. I had worried a bit about MIDI editing but that's half the fun. With the QY100 supplying the sequence the RM1x takes over and perfects genius with brilliance. I've been tweaking the track all evening and it sounds wonderful for a backing track made from presets and a touch of adjustment.
Will I write a tune this way again?
Absolutely. It's so much fun being this hands on. From iPhone to tape in a few weeks. I love my DAW but I love this method too.
It makes me happy.

Dedication

How much time have I spent on this project?
Well, I spent all of this evening re-writing my track on the QY100. I then transferred it to the RM1x where it didn't sound so great. I'm really hoping that the next phase which is a voice re-assign helps me fall in love with the RM1x the same way that writing this track has made me fall in love with the QY100.
I know for a fact that I haven't pushed the QY100 to its limits and I also know that the RM is a more powerful machine. If I spend an equal amount of time with the RM I'll be rewarded, right?
I hope so. Only time will tell. You can sense the doubt. I know it's the same doubt I had with the QY so I'm hoping that by trial and error that doubt goes away.
Fingers crossed.

One Step Forward Two Steps Back

So here's where we stand.
Ive been playing with the MIDI file on the RM1x today and I've learnt a lot about its MIDI editing capabilities. It's all good. But, at some point in the proceedings I've messed with MIDI velocities on the QY100 and there's a huge drop in volume in the main track section. What I need to do is write the track from scratch in the QY100 and make a new MIDI file for the RM1x. It's a pain but much less of a pain that editing each note by hand.
What I will say is that I'll have a much better backing track for the Tascam when I'm finished. It's been a good learning process going through all this and everything gets easier the more I play. It may be back to square one for now but I'll be back to this point in no time.
You live and learn.

Huge Grin

Who says that impatience is never rewarded?

As my last post shows I spent Friday morning creating a couple of MIDI files. I was going to wait until Monday to see if they'd work properly in different environments but I'm an impatient sort and with the company of a bottle of red wine I got home from DJing and set about testing the new files from my QY100.

Above is a composite of two very different but equally accepting environments. First is FL Studio playing the STM and second is my RM1x doing the same with the enhanced Yamaha XG file. It's important to note here that the sounds used on the QY100 aren't faithfully reproduced on either platform but the replacement sounds do an admirable job of getting the composition across. Each platform easily lets me change the original MIDI settings so that with minimal effort I can produce a track that I'll be very happy with once finished.

I'm going to stick with my original plan and plough on with the RM1x route. There really isn't too much work to be done here but I do need a couple of hours with the manual. For what I'll end up with it'll be worth a session of head scratching with added trial and error.

I'll drink to that.

P.S. If you want to mess with the MIDI files you can grab the Standard MIDI File by clicking here and the XG enhanced file here.

My MIDI Morning

I enjoyed this morning.
Having sorted out all my pattern data I spent this morning programming my track into my QY100. One false start later and the track was complete.
Next thing to do was backup my track and save out as MIDI which I did. I produced two MIDI files, one standard and one for the Yamaha XG sounds. These two files contain all the pattern and chord data dumped down to standard MIDI channels which means that they can be used elsewhere. The SMF will be dropped into FL Studio at some point but my next challenge is to get the XG file into the RM1x.
The RM1x has a floppy disc storage system and I have a disc writer so I'll try that first. If that doesn't work I'll just plug a MIDI cable between the QY100 and the RM1x and go from there. I'm excited about the next stage but it'll have to wait until Monday as I have stuff to do.
Until then it's back to the manuals.