Instruction Manual

791
Creating Instrument Definitions
Instrument Definitions
The Define Instruments and Names dialog box contains two trees:
• The Instruments tree in the left half of the dialog box lists all defined
instruments and their characteristics
• The Names tree in the right half of the dialog box shows all the
resources you use to define an instrument
You expand or collapse the folders and lists in each tree by clicking on the +
or – key shown to the left of each item. You can also right-click on an item
and choose Expand or Collapse from the menu, or double-click on an item
to expand or collapse it.
To define an instrument, you drag resources from the Names tree to the
name of an instrument on the Instruments tree. Each resource is color-
coded—you can only drag a Names list to an Instrument tree branch of the
same color. For example, you can only drag a list from the Patch Names
folder in the Names tree to a Patch Names for Banks folder in the
Instruments tree.
There are six components to an instrument definition:
• Method for bank selection
• Patch names, such as Piano and Bass
• Note names, which are most frequently used to name drum notes, such
as kick or snare
• Controller names, like volume and pan
• Names for Registered Parameter Numbers (RPNs)
• Names for Non-Registered Parameter Numbers (NRPNs)
The instrument definitions organize all names (patches, notes, controllers,
RPNs, and NRPNs) into lists. You may be able to define a new instrument
using existing name lists. For example, two models of synthesizers made by
a particular manufacturer may have identical patch name lists but use
different NRPNs. In this case, you can use the same patch name lists for
both instruments, but you would need to use a different NRPN list (or
perhaps create a new NRPN list) for the second synth.
If you want your changes to be remembered the next time you run SONAR,
make sure the Save Changes For Next Session option in the Assign
Instruments dialog box is checked before clicking OK. Otherwise, to make
only temporary changes, be sure to remove the check from that option.