Emulator Composite.book - Creative

12 - Synthesizer Basics
MIDI Program Change Commands
MIDI Program Change Commands
Emulator X receives MIDI Program Change commands on each of its 64 MIDI
channels. MIDI program changes select Emulator X presets. The “Receive Program
Changes” button must be turned on (depressed) in the Preferences dialog box in order
to receive program changes or bank select commands.
MIDI Bank Select Commands
Emulator X accepts MIDI bank select commands using MIDI continuous controller
numbers. Continuous Controller (CC) 0 is the MSB (most significant byte) and CC 64
is the LSB (least significant byte). Normally you send both the MSB and LSB controllers
to implement a bank change.
Emulator X remembers the MSB and the LSB that were last sent (or last changed from
the front panel). For example, if you have already set the Bank MSB to 04, you need
only send the LSB to change banks within the bank.
The selected bank remains selected until you change it (either via MIDI or by changing
the bank from the front panel). Standard MIDI Program Change commands select
from 128 presets within the selected bank.
Background: Bank Select Commands
When the original MIDI specification was developed, no commercially available
synthesizer had more than about 100 preset locations. At that time being able to select
up to 128 presets didn’t seem like much of a limitation. So it was that the original MIDI
specification provided for the selection of up to 128 presets.
As synthesizers came to have even more presets the MIDI specification was later
amended to include Bank Select Commands. It was decided that Bank Select Commands
would use Continuous Controllers 0 and 32 to allow the selection of up to 16,384
banks of 128 presets (over two million presets).
Because Bank Selects are implemented using Continuous Controllers, the Bank Selections
can be made per channel. (This is getting better and better.) For each MIDI
channel, you can select any of 16,384 banks and then one of the 128 presets in the
bank. Of course no synthesizer has 16,384 banks (yet), but hey, it’s nice to know it’s
possible (for that really BIG project).
MIDI Modes
There are three MIDI modes used by Emulator X. Multi Mode is the default mode.
Select MIDI Modes from the toolbar buttons or from the Taskbar, Options menu.
• Omni Mode: Voice messages are received on any and all MIDI channels and
played on the basic channel. This mode is the lowest common denominator of
MIDI. It is designed so that you always hear something. Also called “Mode 1”.
• Poly Mode: Voice messages are received only on one MIDI channel (the basic
MIDI channel). Also called “Mode 3”.
• Multi Mode: Voice messages on each MIDI channel play on the preset
assigned to that channel. Emulator X has the ability to play a different preset
on each of 64 MIDI channels (using two MIDI ports of 16 channels each).
The Basic MIDI Channel can be identified by the red channel number in the Multi
page. Click on any channel number to make it the basic channel.
Tip: Select “Show
Bank and Program
Numbers” in the toolbar
to view program and
bank numbers in the
preset list.
Bank and Program
numbers are displayed in
Single Preset mode
screen.
The general term for
“Preset” in MIDI-speak is
“Program”. Same thing.
Multi Poly Omni
294 Emulator X2 Operation Manual