[linux-audio-user] silly midi volume stuff :)

[cliffw at easystreet.com]

> 

> Hi,
> 
> I have a MIDI card (Yamaha DB50XG) that I use as a performer for my old
> Ensoniq controller.  It works fine.  However, it seems that the Ensoniq
> keyboard sends the velocity information at only half what it should be
> -- if I pound on the keyboard, the volume is increased from normal
> playing, but still rather quiet.  If I play a midi file through tse3play
> or something similar, the volume is full.

Non-linux solution here, oh well...
Funny  velocity send information was a 'feature' of some early MIDI kbds,
the early DX7 for example was known for sending less that full velocity range,
due to some brainstorm on the part of it's designers... 
 There exist several tiny hardware boxes that give you a proper velocity curve 
out.
If your keyboard is not malfunctioning, you might look for a Midi Solutions
Velocity Converter, (http://www.midisolutions.com)
the Anatek people made a box also, but the company has gone the Way Of the 
Buffalo,
you might find one used.
cliffw

> 
> To get around this problem, I have two sysex files; I cat
> volume_high.syx > /dev/midi when I want to use the keyboard, and cat
> volume_low.syx > /dev/midi when I want to play midi files.  The sysex's
> each set the midi master volume to a level which is comfortable to use
> with either.
> 
> However, this feels like a kludge.  In addition, sometimes annoying
> things happen like after I've been playing the keyboard at its
> comfortable volume, I visit a web page with a MIDI on it, and it plays
> at 250% volume and blasts my ear out.  Or I play a game like DOOM which
> has hardware MIDI support and have to lunge for the volume on my mixer
> to keep from disturbing the neighbours. :)
> 
> The keyboard is a Ensoniq SDP-1 from 1986 or so.  I tried the volume
> setting on the keyboard in the hopes that it would modify the volume of
> the notes sent to the midi card, but it seems to have no effect.  (Is it
> broken possibly?)
> 
> I was thinking about hacking the mpu401 driver so that when midi data is
> received externally, it rewrites the velocity somehow before it reaches
> the midi device.  Or if that isnt possible, when a file is played to
> /dev/midi, after the file sets master volume, reset it to a lower value.
> 
> Thoughts?  Suggestions?  This has been annoying me for a while now. :)
> 
> Thanks,
> -- 
> Ryan Underwood, <nemesis at icequake.net>, icq=10317253
>