BASSMIDI Driver

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Ravior
Posts: 1

Post by Ravior »

Hello,

I have a Quick question:

I'm using - as recommended - BassMidi as a Midi driver. I downloaded this Weeds SoundFont thingy and installed it.

Now that I set up the Bassmidi driver to use that one huge file, how do I choose the instruments from it which I want to play? Theres dozens in it but I dont see an option for that. I also just have a crappy little keyboard for beginners and hope I can choose the instruments without buying another keyboard or so...?

Help would be really appreciated.

Greetings,

Ravior
Nicholas
Posts: 13132

Post by Nicholas »

So BASSMIDI works like other General MIDI synths: internally it keeps track of 16 channels, each of which can be set to a different instrument. To change instruments, it needs to be sent a "program change" message that says something along the lines of "switch channel 7 over to use the Xylophone".

You can use Synthesia to do that for you. Head over to the Development Updates section of the forum and download the latest preview from the pink box at the top of the screen. The latest Synthesia 10 preview has a new feature called Free Play where you can mess around with instruments and play any notes you like. Once you have BASSMIDI set as your output device, Synthesia should be able to activate any of the instruments in your SoundFont just by you picking one from the list in Free Play mode.
qazxsw21000
Posts: 39

Post by qazxsw21000 »

After about a half hour of looking and trying to download BASSMIDI, I found a 3.1 download here(Direct Link). I installed it and set it up with my favorite soundfont. I believe I will stick to timidity++. I like how BASSMIDI handles symbols in the percussion track. But the instruments sound weird and the drums too on files I didn't create. BASSMIDI also has trouble with effects on instruments like bending and vibrato (basically any effect that bends the pitch). BASSMIDI also has weird effects like note-to-note transitions tend to sound rough and some instruments sound like they came straight from MS' Wavetable Synth and some even sound wrong altogether. I also noticed the cutting of notes, or, at least, the perception thereof. I also noticed that for a brief instant all sounds are cut and come back in, kind of like a CD skipping. I never checked if this was a random event or if it happens in specific location within the MIDIs. If anyone wants, I can create a small comparison video between timidity and BASSMIDI to show what I am talking about.
Nicholas
Posts: 13132

Post by Nicholas »

Do you have any better luck with VirtualMIDISynth than BASSMIDI? They use the same library underneath, but it seems way better supported. (The author has even been known to post in our forums, here, when users have questions.)
qazxsw21000
Posts: 39

Post by qazxsw21000 »

No, actually. I will try later, though. I'm with my dad to help on his school project.

*EDIT*
The reason I didn't try it yet is because I had it mixed up with CoolMIDISoft (I forget the name (CoolSoft MIDI?)).

*EDIT 2*
It was the same one. It handles note-to-note transitions better, but pitch bending is still awful. I also still don't like the percussion track, though it does handle the symbols the way I like too. I played one of the song I've been testing with with timidity and it sounds weird still; maybe I need to choose a different MIDI file.
FreeBird
Posts: 22

Post by FreeBird »

Hi. I use this post to inform RichNagel of a possible bug. It looks like BASSMIDI prevents Synthesia from exiting correctly under Windows 10 (cf. my post on viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7417). Thanks, FreeBird.
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DC64
Posts: 830

Post by DC64 »

When using only Bassmidi and the weeds soundfont, it seems like Bassmidi will occasionally crash part way through the song. The audio will sound like it is severely distorted and the speakers are falling apart. Sometimes restarting Synthesia will reset this issue, though it happens soon after a song starts. Has anyone else run into this?
"And now for something completely different."
Nicholas
Posts: 13132

Post by Nicholas »

For what it's worth, on our side we see quite a few crashes come in through our automatic crash reporting system where the current code location is somewhere inside bassmidi.dll. I've never tried to reproduce it myself, but there are people out there having trouble with Bassmidi.

Do you run into the same problems with VirtualMIDISynth?
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DC64
Posts: 830

Post by DC64 »

Nicholas wrote:Do you run into the same problems with VirtualMIDISynth?
Not really (or not yet), though it feels like there is a little bit of lag depending on the soundfont being used. I'm on win 8.1 if that helps.
"And now for something completely different."
Nicholas
Posts: 13132

Post by Nicholas »

Have you tried step #5 from the FAQ answer? That usually drops latency down to being competitive with the synths built right into keyboards.
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