Modartt user forum - Easy and fast switch between presets

Re: Easy and fast switch between presets

2016-01-11T13:39:12Z

No, I had not considered Ctrl, I did not know about it. I have been looking for a midi controller for a long time, but found them to be both rather expensive and not exactly what I needed. This is fabulous, seems I have to spend a lot of time working with Jack and Ctrl plus all the extra configuration for PTQ and the SL-88 (keyboard).

Thank you very much for the suggestion and bringing this to my attention.

Re: Easy and fast switch between presets

2016-01-11T10:48:58Z

Torsten B. Hagemann wrote:

I still would like everything to be automated, the less I have to remember regarding configuration and setup during the show the better

Have you considered a Ctrlr panel? You can automate pretty anything you want... In your case, I think that you could assign a MIDI-out sequence to a button, and a MIDI-in trigger to that button so you activate it from your hardware controller.
Or, if you have access to your computer screen on stage, you can make a panel with big fat buttons for each preset you need (see the top-left list in Pianoteq Touch Panel).

Re: Easy and fast switch between presets

2016-01-09T19:51:36Z

As mentioned in another topic I just started to use Jack (on Linux Mint) to handle multiple input and output, and that also solved the issue I had with having two instances of PTQ running in parallel. Now I can open two instances and make them listen on different midi channels, works fine. I just have to use Jack as output instead of ALSA.

Re: Easy and fast switch between presets

2015-12-23T10:28:39Z

I agree, it sounds like the right solution - except I do not have any midi modules that can send these four commands in a row, so I will have to do that manually :-). But at least I can do that between songs (I hope), so I can switch easily during the song.

I still would like everything to be automated, the less I have to remember regarding configuration and setup during the show the better, it tends to move my focus away from the music if I have to think about all the different changes I have to observe. Maybe I should consider building a midi arduino box?!?

Re: Easy and fast switch between presets

2015-12-22T21:28:12Z

I think it would work by assigning program changes to your Pianoteq presets, then assigning a CC to A/B switch. Before your song you send a chain of 4 MIDI messages: program change for A patch, CC for A/B switch, then program change for B patch, then CC for A/B switch again (to go back to patch A).

Didn't try this, just speaking/suggesting from the top of my head. But I think it should work.

Re: Easy and fast switch between presets

2015-12-22T20:38:06Z

Thanks, groovy. I think that the solution will be that I manually load the second sound in B before the song, and then be able to use the A/B switch setting handled from midi, somehow.

But it would be nice if it was possible to load both presets, one in A and one in B. If it was possible to determine the target (A, B or 'current') when using the midi command for Load preset, then it would be fairly easy, as I could use the same midi PC order to load both presets. But then I might also want the possibility to select either A or B specifically, instead of just having the switch option.

Re: Easy and fast switch between presets

2015-12-22T19:58:39Z

Torsten B. Hagemann wrote:

Well, running two instances on Linux has a problem, as I get the message that the soundcard used for output is "busy". How do you handle outputs from two instances?

Yes, that is the normal behavior, when a running software has exclusive, direct access to the soundcard. I get "busy" too, when I try to start a second PTQ on the same soundcard (Debian Linux). A solution would be a soundserver, like pulseaudio, but it costs latency used out-of-the-box. With little effort pulseaudio can be coupled with jackd, a low-latency audio-router, and then it should work performant. - If you ask me - not a very elegant solution to start two instances, just to switch between two sounds. I hope someone has a simpler solution from inside one instance.

Re: Easy and fast switch between presets

2015-12-22T18:54:13Z

Well, running two instances on Linux has a problem, as I get the message that the soundcard used for output is "busy". How do you handle outputs from two instances?

Re: Easy and fast switch between presets

2015-12-22T15:48:03Z

I can confirm that loading a pair of PTQ instances works just fine, I'm using this system since long ago... As long as you don't play any note on one instance, the CPU barely knows there is something happening ! (i5 laptop, Win 7/64, 4 GB RAM) AFAIK, it's true for other VTSi's as well, by the way, the biggest difference is the RAM used by sample-based programs.

Re: Easy and fast switch between presets

2015-12-22T14:17:47Z

OK, worth a try. At least it can not hurt to test it. Thanks.

Re: Easy and fast switch between presets

2015-12-22T13:45:29Z

I think you should go with two Pianoteq instances instead. When one is playing, the other one is running idle anyways, it doesn't consume much CPU at all.

Re: Easy and fast switch between presets

2015-12-22T11:15:23Z

Thanks for the help. Frankly, I would have been surprised if it worked that way, because that would somehow ruin the idea of the A/B switch: if you load a preset and it overrides what is in the other section, then you can only compare what you have already stored with the last preset you load.

But thank you for considering this.

I think I will have to find a way to manually load the presets in each of the A/B, and then use the A/B switch from my midi controller.

If I find a better (automated) solution I will post a reply.

Re: Easy and fast switch between presets

2015-12-22T11:08:26Z

You need to assign your CC to the command "A/B switch" in Options->MIDI.

EDIT: Hmmm. Seems that it won't work that way, sorry. I thought Pianoteq saved states A and B with the full preset, it looks that this is not the case after all, unfortunately.

Re: Easy and fast switch between presets

2015-12-22T08:36:24Z

Thanks. Did not work for me in the first attempt, I will give it one more try, then.

Just to make sure that I understood the process correctly. What I do is:
a) In A I select a preset (e.g. Bluethner Daily)
b) I switch to B and select another preset (e.g. Soft Rhodes)
c) I right-click on the save-button and save my preset under the name Bluethner-Rhodes
d) I assign a midi event PC 21 to load this preset

When I send a PC 21 to PianoTeq, then it only loads the Soft Rhodes (and if I am on A when saving the preset, then it only loads the Bluethner). Should I do something differently?

Really appreciate your input on this, thanks.

Re: Easy and fast switch between presets

2015-12-21T22:49:12Z

Sorry, that's just how I call them. Same thing as "full preset"!