I could use some help connecting my Millenium HD-120 e-drum kit to MIDI in Ardour. I just build myself a little all Digital Studio (viewtopic.php?p=135679#p135679), I did work with MIDI before, but on the level plugging in a keyboard or studio interface somewhere appropriate. I'm used working within a analog studio inverment.
When I connect the HD-120 with USB to my Computer, and open up Hydrogen I can connect to it:
And I can hear playback, but it's not all set-up like I want. There is for instance a Cowbell (through you just can't have enough of it!) on the drum pad where I want a some sort of tom.
I don't even know where to start to get things mapped the way I want, and preferably inside the Ardour interface.
Hi-hat works (open and close with paddle, I can hear the open/close difference when hitting the hi-hat "cymbal" pad), don't want to change that.
I have set up an Ardour template (as I call it) for just recording. Most of the time I record acoustic things, so being able to just open a file and have all my interface (UMC202HD, UMC404HD, KATANA 100 mkii, system audio) already set-up, would be very nice.
I want to integrate my e-drum-kit into that template. It would be neat to have the individual e-drum pads on their own midi track. I want to set up a "good" sounding traditional drum-kit within that "template". Would like it to be usable within a live recording setting (if that is possible). After recording I want to be able to save the template file as a dedicated session to work on, or do a stem export (can you export MIDI tracks to audible stem tracks?)
Is there an easy way of doing this?
I have a document with the MIDI implementation of the e-drum kit.
Is there an Ardour plugin to see what is happening on the MIDI input? How does velocity pass through?
So many question, and I can't really find a tutorial or video on it for Ardour. Any help would be appreciated.
Connect Millenium HD-120 e-drum kit to MIDI in Ardour
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Re: Connect Millenium HD-120 e-drum kit to MIDI in Ardour
I tried AVL Drum kit. I see it installed on my system, it's in the proper place, I see it show up in Ardour 6, but no luck
https://i.imgur.com/D1Yqx7W.png
https://i.imgur.com/skEjVNP.png
I can't see anything related in the log window, Last view entries show some latency issues with my audio interfaces, from hours before trying AVL drumkit:
What could be wrong?
https://i.imgur.com/D1Yqx7W.png
https://i.imgur.com/skEjVNP.png
I can't see anything related in the log window, Last view entries show some latency issues with my audio interfaces, from hours before trying AVL drumkit:
Code: Select all
2021-08-14T20:38:43 [WARNING]: Ambiguous latency for port 'UMC202HD 1/audio_out 1' (255, 272)
2021-08-14T20:38:43 [WARNING]: Ambiguous latency for port 'UMC202HD 1/audio_out 2' (255, 272)
2021-08-14T20:38:43 [WARNING]: Ambiguous latency for port 'UMC202HD 2/audio_out 1' (255, 272)
2021-08-14T20:38:43 [WARNING]: Ambiguous latency for port 'UMC202HD 2/audio_out 2' (255, 272)
2021-08-14T20:38:43 [WARNING]: Ambiguous latency for port 'UMC404HD 1/audio_out 1' (255, 272)
2021-08-14T20:38:43 [WARNING]: Ambiguous latency for port 'UMC404HD 1/audio_out 2' (255, 272)
2021-08-14T20:38:43 [WARNING]: Ambiguous latency for port 'UMC404HD 2/audio_out 1' (255, 272)
2021-08-14T20:38:43 [WARNING]: Ambiguous latency for port 'UMC404HD 2/audio_out 2' (255, 272)
2021-08-14T20:38:43 [WARNING]: Ambiguous latency for port 'UMC404HD 3/audio_out 1' (255, 272)
2021-08-14T20:38:43 [WARNING]: Ambiguous latency for port 'UMC404HD 3/audio_out 2' (255, 272)
2021-08-14T20:38:43 [WARNING]: Ambiguous latency for port 'UMC404HD 4/audio_out 1' (255, 272)
2021-08-14T20:38:43 [WARNING]: Ambiguous latency for port 'UMC404HD 4/audio_out 2' (255, 272)
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Re: Connect Millenium HD-120 e-drum kit to MIDI in Ardour
About why the plugin doesn't load, no clue, can be broken plugin, broken ardour.
Bear in mind that avl kit is developed by one of the ardour devs, so for them not working together you'd have to be doing something very special indeed.
Anyway, I'm not 100% sure what you want to do and I can't really 'read' your screenshots but ..
lLook at this image from the manual @ https://manual.ardour.org/ardours-inter ... er-strips/
Yes, I know it's an audio track but for midi it's almost the same ..
Check these points
(3) Inputs : make sure that the track listens to the correct midi device
(7) Recording Box : enable the [IN] button in order to listen to the synth
If you really want the individual e-drum kit pieces on a midi channel you'd need to filter out all unwanted midi notes during recording (or playback, that could work too)
Have a look at these plugins that can 'mangle' midi for you https://x42-plugins.com/x42/x42-midifilter
check your package manager for x42-plugins (or something similar)
Ardour doesn't 'touch' the recorded midi (or audio) in any special way.
hope this helps
Bear in mind that avl kit is developed by one of the ardour devs, so for them not working together you'd have to be doing something very special indeed.
Anyway, I'm not 100% sure what you want to do and I can't really 'read' your screenshots but ..
lLook at this image from the manual @ https://manual.ardour.org/ardours-inter ... er-strips/
Yes, I know it's an audio track but for midi it's almost the same ..
Check these points
(3) Inputs : make sure that the track listens to the correct midi device
(7) Recording Box : enable the [IN] button in order to listen to the synth
Normally with avl-drumkit, you record/edit/play all midi on one single midi track and the outputs are fanned out to several audio buses where you can process the individual sounds.It would be neat to have the individual e-drum pads on their own midi track.
If you really want the individual e-drum kit pieces on a midi channel you'd need to filter out all unwanted midi notes during recording (or playback, that could work too)
Have a look at these plugins that can 'mangle' midi for you https://x42-plugins.com/x42/x42-midifilter
check your package manager for x42-plugins (or something similar)
Ardour has a built in midi monitor plugin, called ACE-Midi Monitor.Is there an Ardour plugin to see what is happening on the MIDI input? How does velocity pass through?
Ardour doesn't 'touch' the recorded midi (or audio) in any special way.
hope this helps
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Re: Connect Millenium HD-120 e-drum kit to MIDI in Ardour
"About why the plugin doesn't load, no clue"
I think I do now. I try to install everything Ardour and Music production related on the fastest Disk (M.2 NVME on my system (together with the OS and most Programs). My home folder is on a different less fast Disk (also M.2 but bigger and slower).
I tried to install to install AVL into a plug in folder I created on the fast disk specially for plugins I want to install. That folder was outside my home directory, so probably it was a permission problem. I now install plugins into a $ home/.lv2 directory.
Lesson learned (for the time being) don't come up with to complicated constructions.
After a few hours puzzling, I think I have things working I wanted.
"Normally with avl-drumkit, you record/edit/play all midi on one single midi track and the outputs are fanned out to several audio buses where you can process the individual sounds." - I should have know that before I set up almost the same thing manually. Also found this video far to late:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUSdXmlu8UQ
Anyway, maybe some folk would like to know how I did it (for now).
Specifics for the Millenium HD120 Drum kit:
* I connected the drum kit to my system via USB.
Created 8 MIDI track in Ardour, the number of interfaces (pedals, pads and "cymbals") on the drumkit. And named them.
* Connected every track I created to the a2j bridge item "HD-DRUM [40} (capture): HD-DRUM MIDI 1" in Carla:
* Mapped the MIDI notes coming from the drum kit with the, I think by default installed plugin "ACE MIDI Monitor" (handy thing to know).
Drumkit has little white tags on the cables.
Tag on cable to Hi Hat cymbal looks like:
Kick Drum (Bass Drum)
I mapped the MIDI notes. Sometimes I got two notes coming when hitting a pad (Maybe a center and edge note??). I used the following MIDI notes to get things working consistent (so just one MIDI note per channel, except the Hi Hat trak):
Tag name: | MIDI note: | Used for:
RD | (0)59 | Ride Cymbal Tip
SD | (0)38 | Snare Center
CR | (0)49 | Crash Cymbal 2 (right)
T1 | (0)50 | Snare Side Stick
T2 | (0)47 | Tom Center
T3 | (0)43 | Floor Tom Center
BD | (0)36 | Kick Drum
HH | (0)46 | Semi-Open HiHat
HHP | (0)44 | Hi Hat pedal
When Hi Hat pedal (HHP) is hold down than HH gives a different MIDI note
HH | (0)42 | Closed HiHat
* Then I inserted the plugin "AVL Drumkit MIDI Map" on every MIDI channel, and mapped it all the best I could figure out.
Kick Drum setup in "AVL Drumkit MIDI Map" looks like this:
Hi Hat setup I did like this:
* I was not happy with how hard I needed to hit the drums to get the maximum volume, so I went on the search how to tweak the velocity setting a bit. Couldn't find a preinstalled plugin in Ardour (probalbly there is one). I found https://github.com/x42/midifilter.lv2.
MIDI plugin collection with a "Velocity Scale" plugin.
I used Git clone, but first install LV2 SDK to be able to build.
After that I copied and pasted the whole midifilter.lv2 directory into
Still in the process of tweaking things and finding out how it all works
* I inserted the "Black Pearl drumkit" plugin from AVL into the track. Mixer strips looks like:
So Drum kit works, just needs to be set-up and tweaking. Not a drummer myself, but some sort of percussion instrument is always handy in a studio.
Hope some of the notes above may help some people with a Millenium HD120 Drumkit.
I think I do now. I try to install everything Ardour and Music production related on the fastest Disk (M.2 NVME on my system (together with the OS and most Programs). My home folder is on a different less fast Disk (also M.2 but bigger and slower).
I tried to install to install AVL into a plug in folder I created on the fast disk specially for plugins I want to install. That folder was outside my home directory, so probably it was a permission problem. I now install plugins into a $ home/.lv2 directory.
Lesson learned (for the time being) don't come up with to complicated constructions.
After a few hours puzzling, I think I have things working I wanted.
"Normally with avl-drumkit, you record/edit/play all midi on one single midi track and the outputs are fanned out to several audio buses where you can process the individual sounds." - I should have know that before I set up almost the same thing manually. Also found this video far to late:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUSdXmlu8UQ
Anyway, maybe some folk would like to know how I did it (for now).
Specifics for the Millenium HD120 Drum kit:
* I connected the drum kit to my system via USB.
Created 8 MIDI track in Ardour, the number of interfaces (pedals, pads and "cymbals") on the drumkit. And named them.
* Connected every track I created to the a2j bridge item "HD-DRUM [40} (capture): HD-DRUM MIDI 1" in Carla:
* Mapped the MIDI notes coming from the drum kit with the, I think by default installed plugin "ACE MIDI Monitor" (handy thing to know).
Drumkit has little white tags on the cables.
Tag on cable to Hi Hat cymbal looks like:
Kick Drum (Bass Drum)
I mapped the MIDI notes. Sometimes I got two notes coming when hitting a pad (Maybe a center and edge note??). I used the following MIDI notes to get things working consistent (so just one MIDI note per channel, except the Hi Hat trak):
Tag name: | MIDI note: | Used for:
RD | (0)59 | Ride Cymbal Tip
SD | (0)38 | Snare Center
CR | (0)49 | Crash Cymbal 2 (right)
T1 | (0)50 | Snare Side Stick
T2 | (0)47 | Tom Center
T3 | (0)43 | Floor Tom Center
BD | (0)36 | Kick Drum
HH | (0)46 | Semi-Open HiHat
HHP | (0)44 | Hi Hat pedal
When Hi Hat pedal (HHP) is hold down than HH gives a different MIDI note
HH | (0)42 | Closed HiHat
* Then I inserted the plugin "AVL Drumkit MIDI Map" on every MIDI channel, and mapped it all the best I could figure out.
Kick Drum setup in "AVL Drumkit MIDI Map" looks like this:
Hi Hat setup I did like this:
* I was not happy with how hard I needed to hit the drums to get the maximum volume, so I went on the search how to tweak the velocity setting a bit. Couldn't find a preinstalled plugin in Ardour (probalbly there is one). I found https://github.com/x42/midifilter.lv2.
MIDI plugin collection with a "Velocity Scale" plugin.
I used Git clone, but first install LV2 SDK to be able to build.
Code: Select all
sudo apt-get install lv2-dev
Code: Select all
git clone git://github.com/x42/midifilter.lv2.git
cd midifilter.lv2
make
sudo make install PREFIX=/usr
Code: Select all
/home/usr/.lv2
Still in the process of tweaking things and finding out how it all works
* I inserted the "Black Pearl drumkit" plugin from AVL into the track. Mixer strips looks like:
So Drum kit works, just needs to be set-up and tweaking. Not a drummer myself, but some sort of percussion instrument is always handy in a studio.
Hope some of the notes above may help some people with a Millenium HD120 Drumkit.