VSC-MP1

I finally took delivery of the Edirol (Roland) VSC-MP1
softsynth that I ordered back in January. It's a nice
piece of software, and despite what Edirol's dismal
salesmen (2 of them) said, it seems to support some type
of tuning control. But alas, the MTS MIDI files I made
with Scala don't seem to be doing the trick. Maybe
Manuel et al can make sense of this:

http://lumma.org/tuning/vsc-mp1-midi.html

I'll be on vacation for the next week or so, and I'll
be checking my e-mail sporadically, but I probably won't
have time to do any further tests on this until I get
back.

Gene, didn't you buy something around the same time
that you were going to report back on?

-Carl

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Carl Lumma <ekin@l...> wrote:

> I finally took delivery of the Edirol (Roland) VSC-MP1
> softsynth that I ordered back in January. It's a nice
> piece of software, and despite what Edirol's dismal
> salesmen (2 of them) said, it seems to support some type
> of tuning control. But alas, the MTS MIDI files I made
> with Scala don't seem to be doing the trick.

The presumtion is that it won't support MTS. It does seem likely you
could get it to recognize a pitch bend--it has an "o", and a *1 which
seems to be a footnote; which says "*1 o x is selectable" below. This
might mean it defaults to not implementing pitch bend but you can get
it to do so. Whatever "o *1" means, it is the same for a whole slew of
control messages, including basic ones such as volume and pan.

> Gene, didn't you buy something around the same time
> that you were going to report back on?

Wavmaker.

>> I finally took delivery of the Edirol (Roland) VSC-MP1
>> softsynth that I ordered back in January. It's a nice
>> piece of software, and despite what Edirol's dismal
>> salesmen (2 of them) said, it seems to support some type
>> of tuning control. But alas, the MTS MIDI files I made
>> with Scala don't seem to be doing the trick.
>
>The presumtion is that it won't support MTS. It does seem
>likely you could get it to recognize a pitch bend

It works with pitch bend.

>--it has an "o", and a *1 which
>seems to be a footnote; which says "*1 o x is selectable" below.
>This might mean it defaults to not implementing pitch bend but
>you can get it to do so. Whatever "o *1" means, it is the same
>for a whole slew of control messages, including basic ones such
>as volume and pan.

I haven't researched this stuff as well as you, but what of...

Address.....Size....Data.......Parameter........Description
40 1x 2A....00 00...00 00-40...PITCH FINE TUNE..-100 - 0 - +100[cent]
40 1x 2B#...02......00-7F 7F...(=RPN#1)

...and...

40 1x 40 00 00 0C 00-7F SCALE TUNING C -64 - +63[cent] 40 0[cent]
40 1x 41#.........00-7F SCALE TUNING C# -64 - +63[cent] 40 0[cent]
40 1x 42#.........00-7F SCALE TUNING D -64 - +63[cent] 40 0[cent]
40 1x 43#.........00-7F SCALE TUNING D# -64 - +63[cent] 40 0[cent]
40 1x 44#.........00-7F SCALE TUNING E -64 - +63[cent] 40 0[cent]
40 1x 45#.........00-7F SCALE TUNING F -64 - +63[cent] 40 0[cent]
40 1x 46#.........00-7F SCALE TUNING F# -64 - +63[cent] 40 0[cent]
40 1x 47#.........00-7F SCALE TUNING G -64 - +63[cent] 40 0[cent]
40 1x 48#.........00-7F SCALE TUNING G# -64 - +63[cent] 40 0[cent]
40 1x 49#.........00-7F SCALE TUNING A -64 - +63[cent] 40 0[cent]
40 1x 4A#.........00-7F SCALE TUNING A# -64 - +63[cent] 40 0[cent]
40 1x 4B#.........00-7F SCALE TUNING B -64 - +63[cent] 40 0[cent]

And as a slightly unrelated troll, I suspect those who poo-poo
MIDI have not studied the GM2, GS, XG, MIDI-over-USB or MIDI-over-
IEEE1394 specs. There are apparently ample controllers for even
the most far-fetched musical experiments.

>> Gene, didn't you buy something around the same time
>> that you were going to report back on?
>
>Wavmaker.

And what's the scoop?

-Carl

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Carl Lumma <ekin@l...> wrote:

> I haven't researched this stuff as well as you, but what of...

Fine and coarse pitch "wheels", really bytes; but read down the page
to <Example 3>. The pitch sensitivity is controllable; you should set
this to two semitones, which is the standard, and probably the default
it is already set to. Pitch bend messages in a standard midi file
should then work, with the usual sensitivity of four mus (because of
the setting for pitch sensitivity.)

> >> Gene, didn't you buy something around the same time
> >> that you were going to report back on?
> >
> >Wavmaker.
>
> And what's the scoop?

I'm not ready to give one; I'm afraid I've been sucked into Csound again.

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Carl Lumma <ekin@l...> wrote:

> >The presumtion is that it won't support MTS. It does seem
> >likely you could get it to recognize a pitch bend
>
> It works with pitch bend.

Reading down even farther, you will find that although it doesn't
support MTS it *does* support a one-byte sysex tuning "Master Tune".
It seems like this ought to be 12*128=1536-et; which is a resolution
of 128 mus or 0.078125 cents; they are claiming 0.1 cent.

So what can you tell us about this thing? When I asked, they said it
couldn't render a midi file, and I now wonder if this is true, given
this conversation.

>> >The presumtion is that it won't support MTS. It does seem
>> >likely you could get it to recognize a pitch bend
>>
>> It works with pitch bend.
>
>Reading down even farther,

You mean like, even farther down in the message to which you're
replying?

>So what can you tell us about this thing? When I asked, they said it
>couldn't render a midi file,

It does render MIDI files, though I haven't tested it yet.

As I said, more info when I get back from vacation. Or didn't
you read that either?

Hoping Manuel can chime in...

-Carl

Hi Carl,

Probably this synth supports the Roland company specific
data format:
*Roland MIDI Master Scale Tuning*.
I will send you the information directly.

Werner
> -----Urspr�ngliche Nachricht-----
> Von: Carl Lumma [mailto:ekin@lumma.org]
> Gesendet: Freitag, 12. M�rz 2004 01:32
> An: tuning@yahoogroups.com
> Betreff: [tuning] VSC-MP1
>

> I finally took delivery of the Edirol (Roland) VSC-MP1
> softsynth that I ordered back in January. It's a nice
> piece of software, and despite what Edirol's dismal
> salesmen (2 of them) said, it seems to support some type
> of tuning control. But alas, the MTS MIDI files I made
> with Scala don't seem to be doing the trick. Maybe
> Manuel et al can make sense of this:
>
> http://lumma.org/tuning/vsc-mp1-midi.html
>
> I'll be on vacation for the next week or so, and I'll
> be checking my e-mail sporadically, but I probably won't
> have time to do any further tests on this until I get
> back.
>
> Gene, didn't you buy something around the same time
> that you were going to report back on?
>
> -Carl

--- In tuning@yahoogroups.com, Carl Lumma <ekin@l...> wrote:
> >> >The presumtion is that it won't support MTS. It does seem
> >> >likely you could get it to recognize a pitch bend
> >>
> >> It works with pitch bend.
> >
> >Reading down even farther,
>
> You mean like, even farther down in the message to which you're
> replying?

No, I mean farther down your web page.

> As I said, more info when I get back from vacation. Or didn't
> you read that either?

If your response to people who try to help you is consistently rude,
they will probably quit trying, so I suggest a little inconsistency.

> Hoping Manuel can chime in...

Manuel is a softie. He probably will.

Carl & Gene wrote
>> Hoping Manuel can chime in...

>Manuel is a softie. He probably will.

Yes, quite.

Looking at the sysex codes at the bottom of the page confirms that
it's a Roland GS implementation as Werner said, so that means you
can tune it (within limits) with SET SYNTH 109 in Scala.
So if you want to play a midi file, first play the file with the
tuning dump, and then the original (unretuned) midi file.

>Reading down even farther, you will find that although it doesn't
>support MTS it *does* support a one-byte sysex tuning "Master Tune".
>It seems like this ought to be 12*128=1536-et; which is a resolution
>of 128 mus or 0.078125 cents; they are claiming 0.1 cent.

That for the absolute pitch, so no use for tuning scales.

Manuel

Manuel wrote...

>Looking at the sysex codes at the bottom of the page confirms that
>it's a Roland GS implementation as Werner said, so that means you
>can tune it (within limits) with SET SYNTH 109 in Scala.
>So if you want to play a midi file, first play the file with the
>tuning dump, and then the original (unretuned) midi file.

Can a dump be built into each MIDI file containing music?

-Carl

Carl wrote:
>Can a dump be built into each MIDI file containing music?

Certainly, but Scala can only include a Midi Tuning
Standard bulk dump. However with t2mf and mf2t you can
insert a dump made with Scala using a text editor.

Manuel