Page 1 of 1

Bug or Feature: Converting MIDI part to Pattern results in loss of data - XLN Audio XO

Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2023 7:42 am
by Vocalpoint
All

Based upon a thread I was reading on KVRAudio - a user there has been using XLN Audio's XO drum plugin lately in Logic.

Due to XO's fairly restrictive capability (just really able to create 2 bars of content) this user wanted the ability to create more "loop" variants to build out his track.

Since XO allows us to drag-drop the MIDI of its current pattern right into the host - this gives us access to the RAW MIDI but editing that way might be a chore.

So he decided to go with Logics "Convert MIDI Region to Pattern" function to use Logic's pattern editor to modify the core pattern throughout the song. However, once complete he noticed MIDI that came over in the initial export was now missing from the converted pattern.

I figured I would try the same in Studio One and the end result was similar - but not exactly as bad. I picked the same XO pattern that he was using - exported out the XO MIDI, duplicated it to a new track, converted that MIDI part to a pattern and immediately noticed entire key tones were missing in the conversion.

Also in Logic - when you do a "select-all" on a MIDI part - the app gives the user a quick total of all the selected notes - which he used to compare the amount of notes between the original midi part and the converted pattern. He noted that Logic dropped somewhere like 20% - which is very significant. If there is a way to see how many MIDI notes are selected in S1 - that would be good to know.

If anyone else has experienced this "note" loss when converted MIDI to pattern - please chime in. Maybe this is by design - it would be good to know when using this function.

Cheers

VP

Re: Bug or Feature: Converting MIDI part to Pattern results in loss of data - XLN Audio XO

Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2023 11:54 am
by jazzundso
That's by design. Patterns have a resolution and a total amount of steps. So when converting parts to patterns, notes have to be quantized to match the pattern grid. So it's by design that notes that don't fit that grid (like triplets) get lost. The same applies to humanized note start positions. This information is not translated into pattern hits.

Re: Bug or Feature: Converting MIDI part to Pattern results in loss of data - XLN Audio XO

Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2023 12:38 pm
by Vocalpoint
jazzundso wroteThat's by design. Patterns have a resolution and a total amount of steps. So when converting parts to patterns, notes have to be quantized to match the pattern grid. So it's by design that notes that don't fit that grid (like triplets) get lost. The same applies to humanized note start positions. This information is not translated into pattern hits.


Good to know.

I also noticed after staring at this a bit that S1 only creates a 1 bar pattern (64 steps) out of a 2 bar MIDI part - which explains another anomaly that I noticed - a missing note (on D#1) at the start of bar 2 of the original part.

It appears that S1 simply takes the MIDI data from the first bar (regardless of the length coming in) and converts that to a pattern - which is due to the pattern container being only capable of a single bar - correct?

I was able to copy the first pattern to a second then add the note and playback is identical to the original MIDI part.

While there are a number of things to be aware of - this is an awesome workflow to break free of XO's bar limitations while still using it as a killer loop idea generator and then let Studio One take over to create limitless pattern options.

Cheers!

VP

Re: Bug or Feature: Converting MIDI part to Pattern results in loss of data - XLN Audio XO

Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 6:24 am
by Lokeyfly
I like the idea of when selecting notes in Logic, there's a count. That could also be beneficial with the occasional short and unwanted MIDI notes. Would be a great suggestion for the subject here with comparing a pattern as well. Something to think about as an FR.

Yeah, I like the pattern editor as clunky as it can be at times, and it's reduced resolution compared to an instrument event. Since a lot of my work has many miniscule timing changes in percussion, at times I'll treat a MIDI pattern part as an event. It's really pretty useful, when using it like a pattern editor. The trick is often at the edges where notes might possibly be outside. I end up dragging the beginning and end event boundaries out using snap until they grab like for example an eighth of a beat out. Then copying, pasting, dragging, and pattern altering is super fast and on the fly. Pattern creation using pattern is still quite creative, but just throwing this out for keeping those really (and when desired more life like) rhythms which can work similar to a pattern creator.

Not saying this isn't an unknown work-around, because many of us used it before there were pattern creators, but it's one that helps subtle variations while keeping to a pattern form. The loop feature still gives a pattern vibe, and can easily be advanced or returned on the fly with key commands.

Sort of eating your cake, too.