Linking to Your Sequencer Linking with MOTU Digital Performer |

(Mac OS)
Beatnik has verified compatibility with Digital Performer versions 2.6, 2.7, 2.7.1, and 2.7.2.
Setting Up Install MIDI linking software on your computer, following the supplied installation instructions. You'll need to use both the Open Music System (OMS) and MOTU's FreeMIDI. OMS is needed because the Beatnik Editor will listen to OMS, but not to FreeMIDI, so FreeMIDI has to talk to OMS in order to communicate to the Beatnik Editor. They can both be downloaded from the Web. OMS is available at: http://www.opcode.com/downloads/ For best results, make sure to get version 2.1 or greater. FreeMIDI is available on your Performer CD, or at: http://www.motu.com/english/download/ Make sure to get version 1.43 or greater - earlier versions will not work with the Beatnik Editor. If either of these sites are inaccessible, do a Web search using your favorite search engine. Install Digital Performer and FreeMIDI on your computer, following the supplied installation instructions. Important: When you run the FreeMIDI Setup program, go to the File menu and select FreeMIDI Preferences. In the FreeMIDI Preferences dialog box that appears, be sure to turn on the following options: Allow other applications Use OMS when available Restart your computer. This will activate OMS and FreeMIDI, so that Digital Performer and the Beatnik Editor can detect them. Turn off AppleTalk manually, to avoid possible crashes when using OMS. When using OMS with AppleTalk active, the computer may crash when you exit either Digital Performer or the Beatnik Editor. Although OMS will try to turn AppleTalk off automatically, that will not prevent the crash. To avoid this problem, manually turn AppleTalk off before starting either Digital Performer or the Beatnik Editor: Go to the Apple menu, then open the AppleTalk Control Panel. In the AppleTalk Control Panel, click the Options... button. The AppleTalk Options dialog box will appear. In the AppleTalk Options dialog box, select the Inactive option, then click the OK button. The dialog box will close. Close the AppleTalk Control Panel. Launch the Beatnik Editor. Always launch the Beatnik Editor before Digital Performer. Otherwise Digital Performer won't detect the Beatnik Editor at the other end of the linking utility. In the Beatnik Editor, select the linking utility as your MIDI input source. Go to the Edit menu and select the Preferences... command, then in the Preferences dialog box select OMS as your MIDI input source. In the Beatnik Editor, make sure you have one or more Session windows open. If you want visual linking, click on the Instruments tab in a Session window. Launch Digital Performer. Note: If FreeMIDI displays a dialog box asking whether you'd like it to slave to OMS, answer Yes. Working with Digital Performer and the Beatnik Editor
Remember: Always launch the Beatnik Editor first.
In Digital Performer, open your sequence. If you open a demo or other pre-existing file, Digital Performer may prompt you to remap the sequence's MIDI destinations. If so, click in the New Assignment Column (under MIDI Destinations) and select Beatnik. Note: Digital Performer doesn't recognize the Beatnik Editor as a multi-Bank synthesizer. As a result, you'll need to enter all your Bank Selects in your Track Event Lists. If you just enter a Program number in the Arrangement window, Digital Performer will always access Beatnik's Bank 0 - never Bank 1 or Bank 2. Verify that the link is working. MIDI events on MIDI channel 1 are visually linked to the Beatnik Editor. This gives you an easy way to verify that the link is working: Just send a Program (patch) Change from Digital Performer on channel 1, and look at the Beatnik Editor to see whether that same patch number is highlighted in the Instruments tab of the current Session window. Note: Although Digital Performer uses Program numbers 1-128, the Beatnik Editor uses Program numbers 0-127. As a result, you need to enter a program number one higher than the one you want the Beatnik Editor to receive. Inserting MIDI Bank Select and Program Change (Patch Change) Events Into Your Sequence
In order for you to be able to export a MIDI file from Digital Performer, import it into the Beatnik Editor, and convert it to an RMF file that plays the correct MIDI Instruments every time, you'll have to insert Bank Selects and Program Changes into your tracks' MIDI event lists. This is especially important if you're using Instruments that you've created in the Beatnik Editor.
Open a Track in the Event List window. Pick a Track that contains notes that you want to drive the Beatnik Editor, then go to the Transport window and click the Event List button: The Event List window will appear. In the Event List window, insert a Bank Select event at the very start of the Track. This will be a Continuous Controller message for controller number 0. In the Event List toolbar, click on the Insert button, and then select the Controller option. A time position box will appear: You want the event to occur at the very start of the Track, so type in 1/1/001. The new event will appear at the top of the list. In the new event, double-click on the column beneath the Zoom button, then type in the number 0 to set the Most Significant Byte (MSB) part of the Bank Select message: Again in the new event, double-click on the column beneath the Audible Mode button, then type in a number to set the Bank Number part of the Bank Select message to the Bank you want to use: Use Bank 0, 1, or 2: Bank 0: General MIDI Melodic Instruments (on channel 10: General MIDI Percussion Instruments) Bank 1: Beatnik Special Melodic Instruments (on channel 10: Beatnik Special Percussion) Bank 2: Custom Melodic Instruments (on channel 10: Custom Percussion Instruments Still in the Event List window, insert your Program (patch) Change events: In the Event List toolbar, click on the Insert button, and then select the Patch Change option: A time position box will appear: You want the event to occur right after the Bank Select message, so type in 1/1/ 002. The new event will appear at the top of the list. In the new event, double-click on the column beneath the Zoom button, then type in the number of the program you want to use: Note: Although Digital Performer uses Program numbers 1-128, the Beatnik Editor uses Program numbers 0-127. As a result, you need to enter a program number one higher than the one you want the Beatnik Editor to receive. Tips: Save your work often Remember that to ensure consistency of sound, your playback settings should match the Event List. Moving Your Sequence Into the Beatnik Editor and the RMF Format
When you're finished inserting all your Bank and Patch changes, and your notes are all sounding the way you want them, save your sequence as a Standard MIDI File. Then, in the Beatnik Editor, Import that MIDI file into a Session window (or just drag it into the Songs tab of a Session window ), Play the song as a check, and finally export it as an RMF file.

Linking to Your Sequencer / Linking with MOTU Digital Performer top |