Aargh - yes, NOT very helpful, in fact. This would almost certainly have been the single byte &HFA, which is the 'start message', but there should be no need or point in 'translating' this for you, it would be FAR more helpful to merely give you the data. Are you sure there isn't an option there to present the raw midi data?

Geoff

I’d have to write this single byte into the cubase listing at the appropriate point on the timescale and there’s not a facility for the “&” plus I still don’t know if the &HFC is just part of a longer message.
To be honest Geoff when I came up with this idea I assumed a simple ( very simple ) start / stop command wouldn’t take all this fathoming out, I mean really all we’re wanting to do is start and stop a drum machine as and when we want, whilst the main sequence, Cubase is running continuously in the background.

........... thinking of taking up fishing ? !

Martin

Would you need to use the &H at this point? The &H is merely a prefix to indicate a hex number. In some circumstances the number would be entered merely as the hex digits, i.e. FA, or it might need to be entered in a decimal form, i.e. 250.

Geoff

Won't let me enter any number higher than 127 Geoff !

Martin

Hi Norman, Geoff, etc.,

Here goes!

Open the EMX1 manual at page 84, refer to the right hand side and the section "About the MIDI messages used for synchronisation".

Read "Realtime Messages" used ... (it should really say that these are MIDI System RealTime messages as found towards the end of Table 1 in the MIDI specification.)
MIDI timing clock = F8 (that's Hexadecimal so should be written F8H)
Start = FAH
Continue = FBH
Stop = FCH.
That's it for the basic control.
So Cubase should be set to send out the MIDI timing clock so that it controls the timing, and the drum machine set to synchronise to the Cubase clocks, (as detailed in the EMX1 manual.)

So, we need to insert the appropriate realtime control message within the MIDI file at the beginning of measure 20 using Cubase.
Well, Cubase I don't have any more, but using the freebie Anvil Studio, I open track 1 (assigned to MIDI channel 1) and Edit, Insert MIDI event.
I need to select the option to "show all controller events" then I can select - "Start".from the drop down list.
Adjust the Measure, Beat, Tick to the position required, i.e. "020.01,000 ", hit Enter ... job done.

So, attached you'll find a zippped file "MCI-Commands".
Unzip it and you'll find a format 1 MIDI file.
Within it at measure 20 is a start command
Followed by a stop then a continue ... or something like that !

It's just possible that Cubase calls this event type an "MCI" event (Machine Control Instruction).

The next page of the manual goes into Song Selection and Song Position Pointers, but you didn't ask about that!
"About Synchronisation in Song mode."

Now, that wasn't rocket science, was it? 😉

Hope that helps?
JohnG.

Welcome John,

Many thanks for your most valued input regarding this current topic.

In order to paint a clearer picture of my, well not quite a problem, but an easier way of arriving at the same conclusion, let me try to explain what the situation is at this end !

I play in a band, or at least I hope I do after this terrible pandemic has been defeated, and we use backing tracks as we don't have a bass player or a drummer. The audio backing track
contains the Drummer and Bass player obviously and strings or horns as and when required.

We do rely heavily on Midi though as all the Lighting, PA effects, both guitarists GT8 pedals and my 2 keyboards depend on it to change programs run the lighting, in real time not pattern based, and a TV teleprompter etc etc.

Recently one of the lads came up with the idea of using some samples like a church bell or a crack of thunder, you know the idea but very small samples, one shot type things. He had a Korg Electribe ESX-1 lying about so put all these samples into that.

I have a Kenton Control Freak ( 16ch ) so we elected to use that to trigger the samples which at the touch of a button, in this case Function button F3, the sample player plays the sample and function button F2 stops it.
The plan is, whilst the show moves on, the next required sample is loaded ready by a simple program change command from cubase to the Electribe. Other than the Program Change command, all this is accomplished with just 2 button presses on the Kenton.

Now all I'm wanting to achieve is to do that very procedure but via Cubase NOT the Kenton !!!

Try as I may, I cannot find what the message is that is sent from the Kenton out to the Electribe ( thru Cubase ) yes its a Midi Machine Control command 0xFA & 0xFC ( thats around 250 decimal I think ) but Cubase only lets you input up to decimal 127.

Now the third member of our band came up with a solution. ............... Put these samples on the backing track as well !!!!!!!!!!!! Mmmmmmm

Yes this is possible but now I've gone down this road I really want to achieve the objective of getting cubase to do it !

Many thanks to both of you for your much valued input .......... the saga continues

Martin

Hello,

If Cubase thinks you want to enter normal midi, then it's prob quite right to restrict the data to the range of 0 to 127 (although I wonder if there might be 'exceptions' to that rule).

But I would have expected Cubase to allow the entry of SYSEX, and that should allow up to FF, and include the values you want. BUT, is Cubase being 'clever' and/or 'helpful' and allowing SYSEX to be entered within the preset F0 and F7 bytes, or does it complain at a single byte SYSEX instruction? How does entering SYSEX work? Are there other options at that stage? Are you entering data into a midi file that is going to be 'played', or is there some way to SAVE and LOAD the midi data that you are trying to use, whereby the SAVEd file could be accessed and manually edited?

Geoff

In Cubase look up the following, it may help?

"Getting Into the Details/Synchronization/The Project/ Synchronization Setup dialog/MIDI Clock Destinations"

This may be the section for setting up Start and stop messages.

JohnG.

And if you're still struggling to find out how to enter a "Start" command into the MIDI file using Cubase,
then why not download the freebie Anvil Studio, load your MIDI file into it, and do the edit there and resave.
See the attached pictures.
It took me less than a minute to do the edit there!

Thanks for that info John, the only drawback is this isn’t a midi file, it’s a Cubase Project File ( .cpr )
Once again syncing Cubase to the Electribe isn’t the issue. Starting and stopping the Electribe is, but via a Start/Stop command from Cubase. I can’t fathom out how to input any code above decimal 127 from Cubase but Kenton does it, thru Cubase, no problem !