This is one of those I'm surprised I haven't posted this yet posts. Someone wrote in on the Xpander email list asking for a software editor for his Xpander. Someone else pointed him to Sound Quest's Midi Quest. Midi quest is an editor/librarian for a number of hardware synths, new and old. You can see the full list of supported instruments here. You can click any instrument listed and you will see the details and some screenshots for it's editor. Pictured here is one of the screens for the Xpander. I'm curious how MIDI Quest performs. Years back I used to use Emagic's Sound Diver. For the most part it was ok, but at times it was a little clunky and had issues with my hardware synths. If you use MIDI Quest, I'd love to hear what you think of it. Right now I use MIDI OX to save patches and the thought of a full boar editor/librarian is appealing.
Hi!
ReplyDeleteI've tried Mac&Pc versions and it's VERY buggy. Unhsable most of time. Try SoundDiver on a virtual machine. Regards.
You can still download Sounddiver here:
ReplyDeletehttp://download.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/emagic/Legacy_SW/
No idea if it works with latest versions of OSes.
My experience is positive, but it does take a while to get your head around its concepts lke libraries, etc
ReplyDeleteIt's a great way to saveyour custom patches, organize them and recall them, especially for older 80s and early 90s synths with layers on layers of embedded menus and a small LCD screen and only two or three buttons and a stupid RAM card or Floppy ..
get the XL version because you can load it as a VST
also if you have a lot of synths in a rack it can be tricky routing all those MIDI Outs from each synth back to the MIDI in on your computer ....they are required because it is a two way sysex exchange ...me?, I now just use one cable and plug it in to whatever synth I want to use MIDI Quest on, i tried several MIDI Patch bays, but those never worked out right.
tech support form Syquest is pretty good, they are small and can take a day or two to respond, but you can get on the phone right to the developer
overall a B/B+
Ive been using midiquest pretty much since sounddiver was abandoned after apple swallowed Emagic.
ReplyDeleteGood things:
-lots of instrument definitions that help me breathe new life even into my synths that have the WORST interfaces on them (like my DW8000)
-patch name extractor that exports directly into cubase/sonar/logic/whatever
-they actually support oddball stuff like the Encore MoogSource midi retrofit kit.
-also runs as vst plugin
-runs on current hardware and OS'es
-completely open, if you have enough spare time you can write your own instrument definitions.
Bad things:
-SUPPORT!!! this company is really small and sometimes take weeks to respond to a tech support issue.
-still no ION/Micron support, they have apparently subcontracted this piece to psicraft who were supposed to release it 2 years ago.
How about that nifty java editor/librarian?
ReplyDeletetotal piece of crap. does _not_ work properly as a vsti on mac or pc, despite claims of doing so since version 9.
ReplyDeleteMidiQuest has been great for me for years. I look for synths that MQ supports. Whenever I had a problem, an E-mail to Michael Lambie got fast attention and revised panels were made. They are always updating and supporting new and vintage synths. The Panels are beautiful and show you things you sometimes didn't know on the face of the synth or deep in a menu. You gotta have this if you buy Rack synths. Real Time control and auditioning.
ReplyDeleteYou can also assign midi controls to a panel object. Get this; I use my modular to send an LFO to a CV-Midi Converter (ASys RS-300)and that moves the filter slider on my MKS-80 editor and that controls the MKS-80's filter in real time (not ultra fast but good enough for sweeps). Synths that are Sysex only can be controlled with midi devices by routing them through Midi Quest.
I don't think any other editor is in current full release and with active updated support.
I've just recently decided to give this a shot since
ReplyDeleteI use my outboard gear often in my production.
While My Synths were there
Unfortunately it just did not equate to a usable application for me.
My XV-5080 has 6 cards in it and NONE can be loaded into the app.
I also have a Triton which constantly has SYSEX crashes from MidiQuest.
The Studio interface is perdy with the synth rack but I need a 99-100% communication with my instruments and MidiQuestXL just doesn't do that.
It did work for my Virus-C and JV-2080 pretty much spot on but the XV-5080 is my most used and when I'm recording I can't spend time on an app that is buggy.
Now, this may just be MY situation. I'd still recommend you try it before you buy it and see if your setup is do-able.
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ReplyDelete