sonic cell help for Simmo

[simmo123]

Hi folks,not sure how many members own or have used sonic cell,i have had mine for a little while now but the area where i am having a problem with is when i try to get to use the huge collection of instruments,drumkits etc that are built into the module,i have studied the manual over & over but just cant seem to crack it & get to use any of them.At the moment i am doing all editing on my computer using the cakewalk sonar le programme that was supplied with the sonic cell, i then run the edited midi into the sonic cell via usb cable thus picking up the better quality instrument sounds, from there i bring them back into the computer passing through my pa mixer which i use to control the overall volume of the track while recording it as an audio track back onto cakewalk,all of these functions happen at the same time,ie midi is playing while at the same time the audio is recording on the opened audio track underneath the midifile.The next step is to make an mp3 of the wav file which i have a programme to do this,i then use the mp3s as backing.Getting back to my original problem of not being able to access all of the different instruments etc on sonic cell,i have loaded the disc which came with sonic cell which carries the sonic editor programme onto my computer & i can open the editor up everytime i go on to my computer,this is obviously where i am in need of help, it gives you all of the information that you need to be able to make any changes, so what i have is a screen loaded with everything from mixers ,various modes,patches seq templates,effects a huge range of drumkits, hundreds of different instruments etc,but unless someone has actual experience on how to operate it all or can understand the manual better than this old struggling crusty downunder it may be never used to its full potential, as it is now i am committed to staying with the normal collection of midi instruments which sonar carries until i can learn to utilise the sonic cell as it should be used, i have had too many bleary eyed nights trying to make a breakthrough so any assistance would be most welcome,your's wearily,Simmo

[Tubbs]

You are not alone Terry....im still trying to crack it, i am pretty much doing what you are, as a novice i am finding some of the terminology baffling...if we could get the manual in pdf format to JohnG somehow, maybe he could help us out somehow, how about it John???

It is an amazing piece of equipment and i would like to get full benefit from it...but like simmo...im struggling.

[thingyy]

That is because the Manual, as in most midi equipment ,is written by a Tech and not a musco.
Always a pain with new gear.

[JohnG]

Hi Guys and Gals,
Just back from a weeks break in Weimar. Wonderful!
Yea I'm willing to give it a go. I think I may have downloaded the manual myself a while back, so don't send it yet. Let me get my feet back under the table and I'll come back to you.
In haste,
JohnG

[Tubbs]

Aug 21, 2008 13:17:16 GMT JohnG said:

Hi Guys and Gals,
Just back from a weeks break in Weimar. Wonderful!
Yea I'm willing to give it a go. I think I may have downloaded the manual myself a while back, so don't send it yet. Let me get my feet back under the table and I'll come back to you.
In haste,
JohnG

Nice one John!!

[JohnG]

Okay guys,
Feet back under table, SonicCell manual found (wow, that's a BIG ONE ), ready to rock'n roll!

Just where do you want me to start?

JohnG.

[simmo123]

Hi John,glad you had a great holiday break if anyone deserves one its your goodself, but its good to have you back on board,where would we all be without yourself & Jazzcat,solving all our to hard tech problems.(Ok i've done the appropiate grovelling thing, )but seriously Re sonic cell, i guess i must put my hand up for dumping this one on the forum but hopefully if other members own or are considering getting one of these beasts any further insight into the workings of them would be a huge bonus for them.I myself always save any kind of advice on these subjects so at any time i can go back & refresh myself with them & sometimes a second look pays dividends & i begin to understand them a little better.Getting back to my personal problems it seems to evolve around the sonic editor that i loaded on to my computer,maybe i should be doing the editing directly on the module while the usb stick carrying the edited midis is inserted in the module,however John i wont speculate on various idea's at this stage,i know you have always got a pretty heavy schedule (do you actually have a private life) so i will understand if it gets in the way of all of your other stuff,if you lived just a little closer i would whizz the thing around to you pay for one on one tuition with the best in the field on this sort of stuff,unfortunately Perth W Australia holds the dubious title of being the worlds most isolated city so thats not an option.Well John i will leave it at that for now but many thanks for your interest,kind regards to you & your's,Simmo ;D ;D

[Tubbs]

Hi again John, after importing a midi file to sonar and then editing the file with sonic cells instruments...how do i save the edited file (with the changes made) as a .mid.

And do i need to use Sonar with sonic cell to do this or can i do it through sonic cell alone?? I thought that i would be able to import a midi to sonic cell, and export the same file but with the sonic cells instruments...am i making sense mate??

[rainbow]

Not sure if this is much help Tubbs & Simmo ... I'm very much a novice with midi files, but I've been playing around with my newly purchased Sonic Cell (good chance to say thanks to Tubbs for setting me onto to this one) ... I don't find the manual very helpful and I've jumped in and just tried things. After failing to get midis to play at all (no sample rate showing up in playlist) and aifs and mp3s not playing either (because I had an asterisk in front of the file name ... my way of distinguishing an edited midi/mp3!!) ... finally got mp3s to play but they don't automatically pick up the Sonic Cells' onboard instrument sounds. I'm assuming there must be a way of bypassing the GM soundbank and instead getting the superior onboard Roland Fantom soundbank to kick in. As I'm also trying to learn how to use Garageband (Mac only sequencer programme) I am currently able to improve the the sound of my midis( to just jam along to) by importing the midi into Garageband and assigning this programme's instrument sounds in place of what I assume are GM sounds and then I take this saved file into iTunes as an m4a file (which won't play on the Sonic Cell) and convert that to an mp3 file (which will play on the Sonic Cell) ... this final file sounds pretty good ... but the sounds are those of the instrument sounds in Garageband not the quite excellent Fantom sounds onboard the Sonic Cell. I cannot use Sonar which comes as a seperate disc with Sonic Cell, as I'm not running Windows but Mac OSX, so I probably need to experiment with Sonic Cell Editor for Mac users ... will try this out this week. But reading your posts above (Tubbs and Simmo) ... if you've got the original midi file edited in Sonar (I assume connected to the Sonic Cell) and you are able to hear this file with the Fantom sounds onboard the Sonic Cell, playing on your computer, then you should be able to save the edited file as an mp3 or wav and store this on a USB memory stick and play the files from that and you will be hearing the Fantom sounds being played ... as it is an audio file not a midi file.
Like I say ... not sure if this is a great help ... will post again on this thread if I make any further progress with this issue though.
Best regards ... Rainbow:)

[simmo123]

Just a quick hi Rainbow,just got in from doing a couple of senior gigs its 8.30 pm Perth time & iv'e got a couple of things to fix up around the house which are pressing ( according to the war office) ;D so i will have a chat as soon as i can re sonic cell,best wishes,Simmo

[Tubbs]

Hi Graham...and thanks for thinking of us mate!! I am now, (after a lot of head scratching) able to edit midi files through sonar and sonic cell, put them in my key, convert to mp3, stick it on my usb stick, into the sonic cell and off to the gig..phew!!

I have still only mastered about 25% of its capabilities so any advancements you make Graham will be warmly welcomed..it is an amazing gadget!! Cheers mate.

[simmo123]

Hi Gerry,well done mate,you must be a bl##dy genious,excellent,regards Simmo ;D ;D ;D

[rainbow]

Good on yer Gerry. I'm glad you are making progress Will post further on the sonic cell when I've had a chance to delve a bit deeper with it.
Cheers for now ... Graham:)

[simmo123]

Hi Gerry,re.sonic cell breakthrough,i can't believe that you have actually cracked the code to edit the midi using the sonar le programme that came with the sonic cell,as i said earlier you are a genious. next question; is it a very complex operation to do & would it be possible for a senile old bloke like Simmo to master, if so a breakdown on the process of how to do it would make one extremely frail old man very happy ;D,Regards, Simmo
Ps.my good lady & myself have just booked our fares to arrive in the UK in May 2009 for a 3 month visit which we are really looking forward to so it would great to be able to catch up with some of my fellow MM friends,having never been to Ireland ,Scotland or many parts of England even though we lived there up to 1968 prior to paying our 10 pounds to go to Aussie we would love to see all of those places,