Steinberg Nuendo 3 Working With MIDI Manual

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The MIDI editors 3 – 141
Coloring notes and events
By using the Colors pop-up menu on the toolbar, you can select a 
color scheme for the events in the editor. The following options are 
available:
When any of the options (apart from “Part”) is selected, you can se-
lect “Setup” from the Colors pop-up menu. This opens a dialog in 
which you can specify which colors should be associated with which 
velocities, pitches or channels, respectively.
Option Description
Velocity The notes get different colors depending on their velocity values.
Pitch The notes get different colors depending on their pitch.
Channel The notes get different colors depending on their individual MIDI channel 
values.
Part The notes get the same color as their respective part in the Project win-
dow. Use this option when you are working with two or more tracks in an 
editor, to make it easier to see which notes belong to which track.
GridMatch The notes get different colors depending on their time position. This 
mode makes it easy to see e.g. if the notes in a chord start at the exact 
same beat. 
						

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3 – 142 The MIDI editors 
						

							4
MIDI devices 
						

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Background
The MIDI Device Manager allows you to specify and set up your MIDI 
devices, making global control and patch selection easy.
But the MIDI Device Manager also features powerful editing functions 
that can be used to create MIDI device panels. MIDI device panels are 
internal representations of external MIDI hardware, complete with 
graphics. The MIDI device panel editor provides all the tools you need 
to create device maps where every parameter of an external device 
can be controlled and automated from inside Nuendo.
For descriptions of how to create device maps and the powerful device 
panel editing features, see page 157. 
						

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MIDI devices – general settings and patch 
handling
On the following pages, we will describe how to install and set up 
preset MIDI devices, and how to select patches by name from within 
Nuendo. This section also describes how to create a MIDI device from 
scratch.
About program change and bank select
To instruct a MIDI instrument to select a certain patch (sound), you 
send a MIDI Program Change message to the instrument. Program 
Change messages can be recorded or entered in a MIDI part like 
other events, but you can also enter a value in the Program (prg) field 
in the Inspector for a MIDI track. This way, you can quickly set each 
MIDI track to play a different sound.
With Program Change messages, you are able to select between 128 
different patches in your MIDI device. However, many MIDI instruments 
contain a larger number of patch locations. To make these available 
from within Nuendo, you need to use Bank Select messages, a system 
in which the programs in a MIDI instrument are divided into banks, each 
bank containing 128 programs. If your instruments support MIDI Bank 
Select, you can use the Bank (bnk) field in the Inspector to select a 
bank, and then the Program field to select a program in this bank.
Unfortunately, different instrument manufacturers use different schemes 
for how Bank Select messages should be constructed, which can lead 
to some confusion and make it hard to select the correct sound. Also, 
selecting patches by numbers this way seems unnecessarily cumber-
some, when most instruments use names for their patches nowadays.  
						

							NUENDO4 – 146 MIDI devices
To help with this, you can use the MIDI Device Manager to specify 
which MIDI instruments you have connected, by selecting from a vast 
list of existing devices or by specifying the details yourself. Once you 
have specified which MIDI devices you’re using, you can select to 
which particular device each MIDI track should be routed. It is then 
possible to select patches by name in the track list or Inspector.
Opening the MIDI Device Manager
Select MIDI Device Manager from the Devices menu to bring up the 
following window:
When you open the MIDI Device Manager for the first time, it will be 
empty (because you haven’t installed any devices yet). On the follow-
ing pages we describe how to add a pre-configured MIDI device to the 
list, how to edit the settings and how to define a device from scratch.
This is the list of MIDI devices you have 
connected. The first time you open the MIDI 
Device Manager, this list will be empty.These buttons let 
you manage the list 
of installed devices. 
Here you specify to which 
MIDI output the selected 
device is connected.This button opens 
a selected device.This button allows you 
to import Mixmaps.These buttons are 
used to import/export 
XML Device setups.  
						

							NUENDOMIDI devices 4 – 147
Installing a MIDI device
There is an important difference between installing a preset MIDI de-
vice and importing a MIDI device setup:
•The presets available in the Install Device dialog do not include any 
device mapping of parameters and controls and no graphic panels.
They are simply patchname scripts. When you install a preset MIDI device it is added 
to the Installed Devices list.
•A device setup can include device mapping, panels and/or patch in-
formation. 
Device setups are also added to the list of installed devices when imported. 
To install a preset MIDI device, proceed as follows:
1.Click the Install Device button.
A dialog appears listing all pre-configured MIDI devices. For now we assume that your 
MIDI device is included in this list.
2.Locate and select the device in the list and click OK.
•If your MIDI device isn’t included in the list but is compatible with the 
GM (General MIDI) or XG standards, you can select the generic GM 
or XG Device options at the top of the list.
When you select one of these options, a name dialog will appear. Enter a name for the 
instrument and click OK.
Now the device appears in the Installed Devices list to the left.
3.Make sure that the new device is selected in the list and pull down the 
Output pop-up menu.
4.Select the MIDI output that is connected to the device.
5.Click the Open Device button.
Now a separate window opens for the selected device, showing a node structure in 
the left half of the window. At the top of this structure is the device itself, and below it 
the MIDI channels used by the device. 
6.Select Patch Banks from the pop-up at the top of the window. 
						

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The Patch Banks list in the left half of the window shows the patch 
structure of the device. This could simply be a list of patches, but it’s 
usually one or several layers of banks or groups containing the patches 
(much like a folder structure on a hard disk for example).
•You can rename a device in the Installed Devices list by double click-
ing and typing – this is useful if you have several devices of the same 
model, and want to separate them by name instead of by number.
•To remove a device from the Installed Devices list, select it and click 
Remove Device.  
						

							NUENDOMIDI devices 4 – 149
About Patch Banks
Depending on the selected device, you may find that the Patch Banks 
list is divided in two or more main banks. Typically, these are called 
Patches, Performances, Drums etc. The reason for having several 
patch banks is that different “types” of patches are handled differently 
in the instruments. For example, while “patches” typically are “regular” 
programs that you play one at the time, “performances” may be com-
binations of patches, which could e.g. be split across the keyboard, 
layered or used for multitimbral playback.
For devices with several banks, you will find an additional item labeled 
Bank Assignment. Selecting this opens a window in which you can 
specify for each MIDI channel which bank it should use.
The selection here will affect which bank is displayed when you select 
programs by name for the device in the track list or Inspector (see be-
low). For example, many instruments use MIDI channel 10 as an exclu-
sive drum channel, in which case you would want to select the “Drums” 
(or “Rhythm Set”, “Percussion”, etc.) bank for channel 10 in this list. 
This would then let you select between different drum kits in the track 
list or Inspector.  
						

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Selecting a patch for an installed device
If you return to the Project window at this point, you will find that the in-
stalled device has been added to the MIDI Output menus (in the track 
list and the Inspector). Now you can select patches by name, in the fol-
lowing way:
1.Pull down the Output menu (in the track list or Inspector) for a track 
that you want to play the installed device, and select the device.
This directs the track to the MIDI output specified for the device in the MIDI Device 
Manager. The bank and program fields in the track list and Inspector are replaced by a 
single Programs field that currently reads “Off”.
2.Click the Programs field to display a pop-up menu, hierarchically list-
ing all the patches in the device.
The list is similar to the one displayed in the MIDI Device Manager. You can scroll the 
list up and down (if required), click the plus/minus signs to show or hide subgroups, etc.
3.Click a patch in the list to select it.
This sends the appropriate MIDI message to the device. You can also scroll the pro-
gram selection up or down, as with any value.