The Set Window

Purpose:

(If you are reading this with HTML based help and would prefer to watch a video, just skip to the next page.)

A "Set", by default, holds a complete dump of one instrument's permanent memory. In the case above,the instrument is Korg's 01/W. Each instrument's permanent memory is usually made up of Patch Banks, Combi Banks, Sequences, Global, and other SysEx. When a Set is loaded or a new Set created, it will hold all of this SysEx. The purpose of the Set is to allow you to treat each instrument as a whole rather than as a collection of individual parts.

Sets are extremely important because they link the individual SysEx elements of an instrument together. and treat them as a whole. In a Set, Midi Quest can provide intelligent Bank editing and organizing features when compared with individual Bank SysEx.

For example, assume you are editing two 01/W Combi Banks, one from each of two Sets. If you copy Combis from one Bank to the other, Midi Quest will automatically copy the Combi's Patches as well. (There must be empty locations in the bank for the Patches to be copied!). This is impossible with individual SysEx files.The Combis are considered "Parents" because they call, or make use of, other types of SysEx in the instrument, in this case Patches. The Patches are considered "Children" since they are lower in the hierarchy. Additionally, swapping "Child" patches within a bank will automatically adjust the Parent Multi/Combi patches above to reflect the changes.

An instrument's Set is completely defined in the Studio. Each component for an instrument which has "Set Member" set is considered part of the Set. If you wish to add or remove SysEx from the Set definition, simply select the component to change in the Studio and choose Studio/Settings/Set Member to toggle membership. The next Set created will have only the SysEx you have selected. For more information, see the Studio chapter.

The other notable feature which is controlled from the Studio is Auto Load. By default, Auto Load is active for each component that is a Set member. However, there may be circumstances where you do not want to load specific SysEx at the same time as the other SysEx in the Set. If you turn Auto Load off, memory for the component is allocated in the Set but it is not activated until SysEx is loaded into the Set from the instrument at some future time.

For standard Midi Quest editors, the Set window is permanently split with the left column use to choose a component and the space on the right edits the selected SysEx. If a component is selected for which there is no editor, the editing side of the split window remains empty. Only the Set's editing menu appears Midi Quest's main menu so when editing a patch or bank within a Set, right (cmd) click the mouse in the window to access the appropriate menu.

In situations where there are so many components that they can't all be listed within the space of the editor (Kurzweil K2000 and K2500 for example as displayed above), Midi Quest has two options, selected in Preferences, as to how the left column is displayed. By default, every component is displayed creating a very long list. The mouse scroll wheel is used to navigate through the list. Alternately the components can be grouped by type. Performance type SysEx will be located under one tab, Patch SysEx under another, Drum SysEx under another and so on. Each selector will then have a drop icon in the lower right. Click on this icon and a pop-up menu will appear to select and display the editor for a different type of SysEx. Following is the aforementioned K2500 editor showing that there are multiple editors available for Setup, Program, Effect, Key Map, and so on. The list of Key Map editors is displayed as a drop down so an alternate editor can be selected.

In addition, right double clicking or single left button clicking on the instrument icon in the upper left corner will display a pop-up menu listing all of the available SysEx. This allows for the selection of any editor regardless of which selection tab it is found under. Following is an example of this, again for the K2500.

In Midi Quest it is also possible to create custom editors which do not include the component list on the left and the patch and bank editors on the right. These editors will include their own custom navigation to allow you display and edit the MIDI devices different types of SysEx. Examples of these editors would be the Korg Kronos and the majority of editors created by Psicraft. The following graphic shows the Kronos editor which was custom designed for Korg. It has navigation bars across both the top and bottom of the editor and is laid out very similarly to the instrument.

Librarian only Instrument Modules

Roughly 5% of the instrument modules included with Midi Quest are librarian only. This means that Midi Quest is capable of storing and returning SysEx to an instrument and possibly, but not always, provide bank editing. However, there are no parameter editors. When Midi Quest doesn't have an editor for a particular type of SysEx, a blank window is displayed instead of an editor. This is normal operation.

This can occur for two main reasons. In some cases, the manufacturer intentionally chooses not to define the internal contents of a SysEx dump. Without this definition it is often impossible to create an editor because the storage location of each parameter and any special rules around value storage are unknown. As a result, the SysEx can't be reliably displayed or edited. The second reason is that a small number of instrument modules were created by Midi Quest owners and provided to Sound Quest for distribution. In this case, the module provided to Sound Quest usually has no editors and is just used for storage. Sound Quest typically doesn't have access to instrument so it is not possible for us to add an editor. As a result, and as previously stated, when the SysEx is selected, a blank screen is displayed because there is no editor. An example of this would be the Roland R-70. Instruments that have librarian only support are indicated as such on the specific instrument support page of the web site.

It is possible to have as many Sets as desired displayed simultaneously on the screen (limited only by available RAM).

To send all of a Set's SysEx to the instruments, see Sending a Set.

To send specific SysEx in a Set, see Sending SysEx.

For information on Set Window Preferences see: Preferences

Key Commands

Shift+Esc cancels any drag from a Set window to another window currently in progress

Set Menu

The Set contains menu functions with which to organize the SysEx in the Set. These functions are all contained in the Set menu. The Set window must be activated before you can see and access the Set menu.

Additional menu options will be available from the Set menu when right clicking in the Set window.

Available in: