Instruction Manual

786 Instrument Definitions
Assigning Instruments
Creating and Editing Patch Name and Other Lists
Copying Name Lists
Assigning the Bank Select Method
Assigning Patch Names
Assigning Note Names
Assigning Controller, RPN, and NRPN Names
Assigning Instruments
SONAR lets you assign a MIDI instrument definition to each available MIDI
output and channel. The assignments you make determine the MIDI bank
names, patch names, note names, and controller names that you see
during your SONAR session.
Suppose that you have a Roland GS-compatible synthesizer attached to
MIDI output 1. By assigning all 16 channels of MIDI output 1 to the Roland
GS instrument definition, you ensure that the bank, patch, note, and
controller name lists you see displayed in SONAR are the same ones that
you see on the display screen of your synthesizer.
Often, you want to assign a different instrument to channel 10, which is
usually used for percussion. For example, you might assign the Roland GS
instrument definition to channels 1 through 9 and 11 through 16, but you
would most likely want to assign the Roland GS Drumsets instrument
definition to channel 10. That way, any SONAR tracks you assign to
channel 10 on that output use the names of drum sets for patch names, and
drum notation in the Piano Roll view. If you have several MIDI outputs, with
a different MIDI module attached to each one, you would normally assign a
different instrument definition to each MIDI output.
For convenience, you can assign a block of channels to one instrument and
then change the assignment of one or more of those channels without
changing the others. For example, you can highlight all 16 channels of the
first MIDI output and assign them to the Roland GS instrument definition.
Then, you can highlight channel 10 of that same MIDI output and assign it
to the Roland GS Drumset instrument definition. Channels 1 through 9 and
11 through 16 on the first MIDI output will stay assigned to Roland GS.
If you only have one MIDI output, but have several MIDI modules attached
to it, you can assign a few channels to each module. For example, you
might have a Roland synth receiving on MIDI channels 1 through 9, a
Roland drum machine receiving on channel 10, and a basic GM-compatible