Add new comment

+be able to edit these three midi tracks in ONE midi editor window
-this is where Qtractor falls short to the intended requirement: currently, there can only be one MIDI editor instance per MIDI clip; it is the MIDI clip the object of editing, not tracks, not less nor more.

+in midi editor, have the ability to switch display to fixed note length (sort of drum-view)
- that might be possible soon, yes.

Remember that MIDI tracks are mapped to one and only one MIDI channel in Qtractor. And so are MIDI clips. You can have several tracks and clips mapped to the same MIDI channel, though.

Looking to the GM standard, drums are usually set to the MIDI channel number 10. You might choose another but it all depends on your sound module (soft/hard-synth, sampler, whatever) whether it can comply with a GM standard or one of their extensions, GS from Roland, and XG from Yamaha. I'm referring to these because it's one way I know of doing things--call me a nineties old bastard :)

If you remember, the GM/GS/XG standards allocate one MIDI channel for drums and each note/pitch is there mapped to different percussion sound instruments (ie. non-chromatic percussion). All that to say that there's probably little purpose in splitting drums over several tracks, at least in Qtractor and give its current one-track-one-channel model.

Another issue worth mentioning is that MIDI volume and panning refers to MIDI channel instead of MIDI track only. If you happen to have several tracks mapped on the same MIDI channel, you'll notice that moving the vol/pan slider on one will affect the others as well, although it might not be visually evident on the mixer.

Of course, there's more to it...

Cheers.