Program changes to load drum maps + configs?

[dmitri]

Well, in MCT I think (not sure now that you doubt about it) that when you select Actions->Drummaps->Load frokm file or Save to file. You actually save all the midi notes and all the channels of all inputs. It is not related to live switching drummaps because you have to send then the whole config to MD, but it is just the idea I had of what a drummap is.

Well, in this case in MegaDrum you can call Configs DrumMaps because it saves both notes and channels in Configs.
As I said, I can add MIDI channels to drum maps but it will half the number of available drum maps.

How many drummaps are available? (to see the impact of halving them). I mean, I prefer having 3 drummaps that I can quickly change live to control different instruments (more easily done with different channels) than having 100 drummaps where I can only change midi notes. Just my 2 cents

7 for Atmega32 with 32 inputs
3 for Atmega32 with 40 inputs
between 3 and 7 for Atmega644 depending on number of inputs.

[elrules]

Hmmm I thought there was more space for drummaps

The thing is how do you approach the use of drummaps. If it is for changing note numbers to trigger different samplers (ezdrummer, addictive drums...) then it is good as it is.
But if you want to add the "live playing" possibility, then it makes more sense to include channels as well. The typical idea of this would be to be able to trigger a drumkit with one drummap. Then you switch to other (different channel) and you get a complete percusion kit. Then you can switch again to other channel and other notes and you are playing a marimba. That would be the cool thing.

One cool example, as Kid Beyond showed us in one video, you can hit a pad to start recording your performance in a loop, and then while that loop plays, you change your drummap and start playing the backing percussion, and so on.

But the thing is that halving 3 drummaps is a bit complicated and counter-productive

[dmitri]

But the thing is that halving 3 drummaps is a bit complicated and counter-productive

I doubt there are many out there with Atmega32 and 40 inputs. From my point of view if you go above 32 inputs you'd better switch over to Atmega644.
As it is, you can switch notes and channels by switching configs thus achieving the same goal. I can add channels to drum maps, no problem. The question is - does anybody care that for Atmega32 with 32 inputs the number of drum maps will drop from 7 down to 3?

[Rubis]

I care. I know that I will have at least 3 different drum maps for myself, and then other people will probably use my kit as well. If you can just load a different config, I don't see what the problem is. The MIDI standard, by default, puts all percussion on channel 10; unless you need more than 128 notes, the sampler won't care.

[kurtus420]

I care as well, I have a few samplers that require the use of different maps, I'll probably use 3-4 for sure.

[Rubis]

Dmitri, if you did do this, would this be an addition to the drum maps, but keeping them in the configs as well, or would this move them without keeping them in the configs?

If it is the former, would it save some space for drum maps to remove the channel settings from the configs?

[el-dr]

Well, in MCT I think (not sure now that you doubt about it) that when you select Actions->Drummaps->Load frokm file or Save to file. You actually save all the midi notes and all the channels of all inputs. It is not related to live switching drummaps because you have to send then the whole config to MD, but it is just the idea I had of what a drummap is.

Well, in this case in MegaDrum you can call Configs DrumMaps because it saves both notes and channels in Configs.
As I said, I can add MIDI channels to drum maps but it will half the number of available drum maps.

How many drummaps are available? (to see the impact of halving them). I mean, I prefer having 3 drummaps that I can quickly change live to control different instruments (more easily done with different channels) than having 100 drummaps where I can only change midi notes. Just my 2 cents

I think it's only a linguistic question what we mean by DrumMaps and Configs. I started this thread when I discovered that DrumMaps don't store Channel settings but Configs do. Then I realized that Configs can be regarded as the objects that store "kits" or "drum maps", while a DrumMap is something that doesn't exist in other systems I know and can be useful if you want to switch between the samples of a single instrument. Anyone who uses multitimbral setups or more than one instrument will probably switch between Configs and not DrumMaps in most cases.

The good thing about having all settings in your "kits" is that sometimes you might need different velocity curves and other settings, so having Channel and Note information only in the kits (which is used by many manufacturers) can be very restrictive: e.g. if I play a sample on a specific pad, I'd choose a dynamic velocity curve for it, but if the same pad in the next tune is used to trigger drum loops, I'd prefer to set a constant velocity "curve", so that the volume of the loop would be consistent whenever I hit the pad and would set a very high threshold to eliminate the chance of starting the loop by an accidental hit. MD is actually better than most other systems at this, because the ones that store Note and Channel data only in their kits, putting all other parameters (curves, sensitivity etc.) to the Global Settings category, don't usually allow to store multiple Global Settings (the equivalent of MD Configs).

So, I think if memory limitations have to be considered, I personally would prefer to store more Configs than to increase the number of DrumMaps with or without Channel info. But of course, it would be more flexible if the Channel settings were part of the DrumMap object. If I had to make a choice for the sake of saving memory, I'd sacrifice DrumMaps completely if I could store more Configs.

[elrules]

How much time does a config switching takes? And a drummap switching? that thing is important for live playing purposes

[el-dr]

How much time does a config switching takes? And a drummap switching? that thing is important for live playing purposes

It takes about the same time as recalling a new DrumMap. You wouldn't do either of them while playing 32ths at 160 bpm

[dmitri]

Please try this version:

Deleted. Now available in the latest firmware

1. In this version channel numbers and curves are moved from Configs to Drum Maps
2. Notes numbers are removed from configs
3. When saving/loading a Config it saves/loads a Drum Map with the same number.