Multiple Software Synths

It doesn't work!

It is possible to run more than one software synth on one PC, controlled by a sequencer, alongside other MIDI controlled devices and audio tracks. If you've tried using more than one soft synth simultaneously you may have encountered an annoying problem where each synth will work fine with audio and so on, but not when other synths are loaded.

An Easy Mistake To Make

Only use other channels if the synth supports them and you have them activated.

You may have attributed each synth to its own loopback port (LB1, LB2 and so on), and its internal MIDI and audio settings may also be correct, but take a look at the MIDI channel you have chosen in the sequencer. It is likely that one synth will be on channel one, another on channel two with perhaps your sound card providing drums on channel 10. The problem is that, because each soft synth is a separate instrument, each should be running on channel one or, in Cubase, you could use the 'any' option.

Channel Flannel

Three synths, three different channel ones.

In the example to the right, we have the Vaz+ synth running on channel one, Generator running on channel one and the SB Live! card using channel one too. They don't conflict because they are different synths. Channel one on the Vaz+ synth is entirely different to channel one on the Generator synth.

Change the channel setting in Vaz+'s Device Settings to change the channel it operates on.

If this really bothers you, and you want to use different channels for each synth, try looking at each one's MIDI options. Here, we have changed Vaz+'s MIDI channel to "2", so it will work with a sequencer setting of channel two.

Do Try This At Home

Try creating two tracks using the SB Live! and assign them both to channel one. Now change the instrument type on the first track. Your sequencer might show that each track is using a different instrument but playback will tell a different story. Both tracks use the same instrument because each channel on the synth can only play one instrument at any one time. This idea is worth absorbing, because it's pretty fundamental to using MIDI instruments.

Author: Simon PG Edwards 12 December 1999

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