Reference Guide

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Instrument Definition Tutorial
Instrument Definitions
Next topic: What Can They Do and Not Do?
What Can They Do and Not Do?
Instrument definitions don’t increase the number of sounds or the capabilities of your modules, they
just make it easier to find and remember the sounds and/or MIDI controllers you want to use, if
they’re not all generic General MIDI items. After you define an instrument, SONAR displays the
names that you choose for the sounds in each of that instrument’s banks, rather than displaying the
same 128 General MIDI names over and over for each bank of sounds.
Next topic: Where Do Instrument Definitions Come From?
Where Do Instrument Definitions Come From?
The patch names and other characteristics of each particular MIDI module are supplied by the
manufacturer, and are contained in an instrument definition file, which is a text file written in a format
SONAR can read. Many of these files come with SONAR, and many more are available at
Cakewalk’s website, and also at lilchips.com. Instrument definition files have the extension .ins and
can contain a definition for only one instrument, or definitions for several instruments. For example,
the file Roland.ins contains definitions for many Roland modules. The file Misc.ins contains
miscellaneous definitions that might include your instrument if you don’t see a specific file for it. You
can find these files in your SONAR folder. The file Master.ins contains all the instrument
definitions currently loaded into SONAR, and determines the list of instruments that appears in the
Assign Instruments dialog box.
Next topic: Start of Tutorial
Start of Tutorial
Let’s say you have a Roland XP-10 and you want SONAR to display all of its patch names from all of
its banks, including any self-created sounds you add to it.
Let’s start by importing the names of the built-in banks and patches that the XP-10 has.
To Import a Roland Instrument Definition
1. Choose Options > Instruments to display the Assign Instruments dialog box.
2. Click Define to display the Define Instruments and Names dialog box.
3. Click Import to display the Import Instrument Definitions dialog box.
4. Choose the file that contains instrument definitions for your manufacturer, which in this case is the
Roland.ins file, and click Open. SONAR displays a list of all the instrument definitions in the
file.
5. Scroll down the list, select Roland XP-10, and click OK.
6. Click Close to close the Define Instruments and Names dialog box.
The instrument definition you imported should now appear in the Uses Instrument list in the Assign
Instruments dialog box.