Manual for Space Toad MIDI Sequencer 1.2.3

Contents:

How to install

How to register

How to use the numerical controls

How to setup the VST engine (VST version only)

The Transport Window

The Track Window

The Piano Window

The List Window

Editing time signature events

Global edit commands

The Grid Quantize function

The Groove Quantize function

The Logical Filter & Logical Transform pages

Options

Other features

The VST Mixer Window (VST version only)

Complete List of Shortcuts

There is no special installation procedure needed. Just unzip the downloaded file into a folder of your choice and run 'SpacetoadMIDI.exe'. If you are using some external MIDI device, don't forget to specify it via the MIDI/MIDI Out Settings menu option. Since the 'A' port is considered as the standard output, it is advisable to choose this port for the MIDI device you are likely to use most. If you have an external MIDI keyboard attached to your PC, choose the it's device name from the list in MIDI/MIDI In Settings as well. On the top at the right side of the main window you will notice two displays with some yellow text inside. These are MIDI monitors you can use to check if your MIDI equipment is properly connected. The left display will always show the last MIDI in message that was received, the other one does the same for the MIDI out ports.

After having purchased the program, you will receive a license key. This key you must enter in the text box that will appear by choosing About/Unlock Full Version from the main menu. Be careful to enter the key as it is without any initial or trailing spaces. Then close the program, launch it again and all full version features will be accessible.

How to use the numerical controls

In case there is more than one sound card in your computer, you should first of all setup an audio output device with the VST/Audio Out Settings option.

Next you will have to choose the latency with which the audio engine will run. 'Latency' means the time interval that elapses between the moment the audio engine is told to produce a note and the moment when this note actually becomes audible through the loadspeakers. Digitally processed audio always has some latency, but that can range from a few hardly-to-be-noticed milliseconds to a clearly audible lagging behing of audio output, that will make it virtually impossible to play a piece of music on a keyboard and hear it rendered on a VST plug-in simultaneously. So one might be tempted to think that one should keep latency always as low as possible. But on the other hand a high latency always brings more stability to a performance. When CPU load becomes critical during a performance, audio drop-outs and similar undesirable effects resulting from CPU overload can much more easily creep in when latency is low.

'Rotary (DirectSound)' is the minimum-latency mode. This mode requires a fast CPU as well as a fast implementation of DirectX (so it probably won't run at all on Windows emulators as WINE). The downside of this method is that already an CPU overload of even one sequencer cycle (such a cycle lasts only 5 milliseconds) will bring the engine down to its knees. When this happens, sequencing is temporarily stopped and a 'Time Out' warning is issued. After you have received this warning, you should mute some tracks or take similar measures to make the CPU load less severe, before you press 'OK', otherwise you might immediately run into the next warning after the sequencer restarted. You can keep yourself informed about the current CPU load by consulting the CPU monitor, which is located on the far right of the main frame window. The number displayed there shows the percentage of CPU time used by the plug-ins (always taken form the last sequencer cycle). It very much depends on the quality of the plug-ins you use, but generally CPU load should be kept below 40 % to be on the safe side.

'Double (MME)' is the maximum-stability (but at the same time maximum-latency) mode. This uses the very safe, but also very slow native Windows driver, so most probably there are no restrictions concerning the machines on which it will run. In this mode the audible sound will always lag behind the sequencer for a considerable amount of time, so plug-ins have ample opportunity to mutually compensate fluctuations of their CPU time needs. Note that plug-ins that require host synchronization (as e.g. MIDI-producing plug-ins, that are expected to perform in sync with the sequencer tracks) may not work properly in this mode, since synchronization info might become outdated, before the plug-in even gets a chance to process it. Overloading the CPU will not result in playback termination using this method, but will produce distored audio output, which comes from unfinished sound data thrown out into loudspeakers (some people are afraid of these noises, thinking they would hear their computer melting down, but it's just data junk made audible und totally harmless). Also general performance of the computer might slow down, when there is too much work for the audio engine.

'Buffer Size' If you hear pops, crackles (Double Mode) or the whole audio sounds sounds as if chopped into tiny pieces (Rotary Mode) the buffer(s) may be too small. But having smaller buffers results in less latency, so keep this as low as possible.

'Bit Depth' In case your soundcard does support it, you may increase the bit resolution of the audio output (but only when running 'Rotary Mode', as Windows drivers never support 32-bit). Having 32-bit results in better sound quality (negative effects on latency are there, but they are quite neglegible).

Loading and Unloading VST Plug-Ins

In order to make a VST plug-in known to the Space Toad it has to be copied into the VSTs folder that is located just where your copy of "SpacetoadMIDI.exe" resides. When the program starts all .dll files in this directory are searched and it is checked, if these are really VST plug-ins. If so, they are either moved to the list of possible VST instruments or the list of possible VST effects. The Space Toad possesses 16 virtual audio channels on which VSTi plug-ins can be mounted as well as 6 effect slots for VST effects. To load a VST instrument onto a channel use VST/Load / Unload VST Instrument, Having done so, the instument is ready for playback and you can make it the target of any sequencer track. Do so by choosing 'VST' as the output port together with the audio channel number as track channel in the Track Parameter dialog. For loading an effect similarily use the VST/Load / Unload VST Effect option. To unload an instrument or an effect proceed as with loading, but then select 'none' from the VST list.

Main windows

Starting and stopping the sequencer

• 'Play' (rectangle + triangle) starts playback from the very beginning.
• 'Record' (red circle) toggles the sequencer's record mode (for the different recording techniques see the Recording section of this manual). Note that - just like edit operations - recordings can be 'undone' via the 'Undo' menu option.
• 'Continue' (triangle) continues playback from the actual position.
• 'Stop' (rectangle) stops the sequencer. If record mode is on, it is now turned off. Pressing the button once more after the sequencer has stopped, causes the playback cursor to return to the beginning of the composition.

• 'Master': Determines if the current playback tempo is set by the tempo information stored in the master track or rather manually by the user. When it is off, the tempo display (located in the upper left corner of the transport bar) becomes a Numerical Control, too.
• 'Loop': When this is active, the sequencer will repeat the currently selected Locator Range (first there has to be some range selected, of course).
• 'Click': Causes the sequencer to produce a metrononome click during playback. For configuring the pitch, loudness and channel of the events, that the sequencer will send as clicks, use the Sequencer/Metronome Settings dialog.

Changing the play position

• Click & drag the bar display on the transport panel.
• Click into the time bar at the top of the Track Window (found also at the top of the piano roll).
• Left-click into the leftmost row of the List Window. The play position will be transported to the corresponding entry.
• The left arrow key will move the play position one bar back, the right one will move it one bar ahead. This is useful for fast scrolling.

• Record new MIDI data: Select the track which is going to receive the recording and bring the Transport Window to the forefront. If you are going to record your first track, you might like to hear a metronome click while you are recording, so choose the Click option in the Transport Window. Place the play position cursor to where you would like to start the recording, then first click on Rec or press NUM* and then click on Cont or press NUM2. Play on your external keyboard (or the virtual keyboard on the Piano Window). When you are finished, click on Stop or press NUM1.
• Step-record MIDI data: Proceed as with a normal recording, exept that you do not start the sequencer with Continue. Play the first note/chord on your keyboard, then set the play position to where the next note/chord is going to begin. Play that second note/chord also and so on. When you are finished, disable Rec by pressing it once more. All notes you have played will now become visible on the Arrange Window. Note that note lengths are calculated after each recording in such a way that all notes will be legato (one note tied to the other). Controllers/program change events etc can also be recorded this way, but with the difference, that only the last received event for one step is actually recorded.
• Record Tempo Information: Tempo information is only considered by the sequencer, when it resides on the first track (the so-called Master Track). Therefore select this track first. Then locate the Master option on the Transport Window and turn it off (as long as Master is active, the playback tempo is determined exclusively by the tempo events located in the master track and the tempo display cannot be manipulated). Start the recording and change the tempo by clicking and dragging the value of the tempo display on the Transport Window. This also works with the step-record technique for sudden tempo changes. When you are finished, turn Master on again.

• Create a new track: In the Menu use Structure/New Track or press 'n'. The new track appears at the end of the list.
• Select a track: Left-click on a track name or use the up & down arrow keys. (Using the arrow keys will, in fact, change the actual track in any editor window)
• Delete a track: Select the track to be deleted and use Structure/Delete Track or press the 'Del'-Key. (The first track, the so-called 'master track', cannot be deleted, only its contents can)
• Reorder the track list: Grab a track by left-clicking on its name field and drag it up or down to make it swap places with the track above or below.
• Rename a track: Right-click on the track name. A dialog will open, where you select the name box and enter the new name. Then click OK.

The Track Parameters define real-time alterations of outgoing MIDI data.

The visibility of the respective panel is toggled by right-clicks on the VU display (that's where the bouncing bars appear during playback). On this panel you can edit the parameters through the Numerical Controls appearing there. The displayed values always refer to the currently selected track.

The first two parameters sets (those with a greenish colour) are static, but the last set (the reddish one) is dynamic and its members can be recorded just the way tempo you may record information.

Recorded Parameter Change Events can be edited via the List Window. It is also possible to produce these events directly there.

• Port chooses the output port of the track.
• Program, Volume, Pan, Chorus & Reverb: The default controller amount for each track (Chorus and Reverb controllers are not supported by every sound card). If these are specified, a corresponding event will be send at each start of the sequencer. The Channel parameter must not be set to 'all' in order for this to work.
• Channel: To which channel the events send by this track will belong. If set to 'all' the channel stored with the event will be used. (This channel information can be viewed and edited via the List Window)
• Delay: An amount in milliseconds, by which the events on this track will be send earlier or later in time. This is useful when you have to deal with MIDI devices, that react very slowly or with sounds, that have a long attack phase. Also MIDI delay effect can be achieved that way.
• Transpose, Velocity: An amount to add to or to subtract from the pitch and velocity (loudness) of notes.
• Dynamic Range: At 0 % all notes will have medium loudness, when higher than 100 % louder notes become even louder, quieter notes even quieter.
• Length: Note length is modified according to the given percentage.
• Key Map, Map Root: This is a kind of "auto-chord" feature. If this something different from 'none' every note on the outgoing track will be transposed to form a chord whose type is specified by Key Map and which is build on the note given by Map Root. This is a somewhat smart function, so results will not always be completely linear. The Transpose parameter is applied before this mapping, so different transposition levels will not transpose the chord, but rather invert it. Key Map and Map Root are maybe not too useful as static track parameters, but when used dynamically as Parameter Change Events they can be quite helpful, since you may create large rows of chordal progressions just by creating and modifying a very small number of events without having to transpose every note manually.

If you want to apply the modifications introduced by track parameters to the events in memory (so they become visible in the editors), use the Functions/Freeze Track Parameters option. This will permanently modify all MIDI events, reset the track parameters to their default values and delete all parameter change events on affected tracks. You may either do this globally, i.e. for all tracks (advisable before exporting to Standard MIDI File format) or locally, i.e. only for the selected track.

• Create a new part: In the Menu use Structure/New part or press 'Ctrl+Alt+N'. The new empty part will start at the current play position.
• Select a part: Choose Select (or Duplicate or Shift) as mouse mode, then left-click on the part, you wish to select. Another left-click will deselect the part again. Select multiple parts by left-clicking them one after the other. To deselect them all again left-click on an empty spot in the Arrange Window.
• Delete one or multiple parts: Select the parts to be deleted and use Structure/Delete part or press 'Ctrl+Alt+D'.
• Rename a part: Right-click on the part, select the name box, enter the new name and the click OK.
• Copy/move/combine parts: Choose Duplicate / Shift from the mouse mode menu and drag the part to its new location. This also works with many parts selected (in this case the start point of the part held by the mouse cursor is taken as a reference point for the others). If any parts from the selection come to overlap with other parts, source and destination contents are combined.
• Splice a part: Choose Split as mouse mode and left-click on a part. The exact position of the splicing is determined by the time division described by the snap value settings (if it is Bar the division will occur exactly at the start of the previous bar, if it is None it will be exactly where you clicked etc.)
• Merge part ranges: Choose Merge as mouse mode and left-click on a part to merge it with the next one (should there be a next part).
• Size parts: Choose Size and drag the part to its new size. Again the exact end point will be determined by the snap value settings. This affects the events contained in the part in two different ways: When the new size part becomes smaller, overshooting events are deleted. If it becomes larger, part content is repeated to fill up the gap between the old and the new stop point, i.e. a loop is formed.

When 'Display all Tracks' option is selected, notes of other tracks are shown, too. But you still cannot edit these notes until you have selected the track, that contains them. To find the track that contains a note, scroll through the tracks using the arrow keys until the note turns from pale to deep green (or blue).

Possible mouse actions in this window are:

• Select / Shift / Transpose notes: After having chosen this mode, left-click on a note, wait a short moment, until a selection frame appears around it and then drag it to the new position. This also works with many notes selected. If the zoom level is large enough, you can watch the note's name change while you're dragging it. You will find, that this is very useful for locating the correct pitches, so always consider the zoom level before you're going to transpose anything.
• Delete notes: Select the notes to be deleted with 'Select mode', then open the context menu by right-clicking anywhere on the display and choose Delete Selected Notes.
• Change note length & velocity (loudness): Select Velocity/Length Mode, select the target notes and then start dragging one of them. Moving the mouse upwards will make the note quieter, moving it downwards will make it louder, horizontal movement will at the same time change the note length.
• Create new notes: Select Draw Mode and specify the intended length with the Length drop-down menu. Then use the mouse as a pen to insert notes at the desired pitches and positions. Also remember to check the Snap Value' before drawing.

• Select/deselect events: Left-click on the name field of one or more events.
• Insert events: Hitting the panel's Insert button will create an event of the specified Edit type at the current play position.
• Deleting events: Choose one or more events by selecting them via their name field and hit the panel's Delete button.
• Editing events: Simple events can be modified by left-clicking on the respective values and dragging them, while the left mouse button is kept down. If more precision is needed, right-click on the events list entry, which will make a special dialog box appear (each event type has its own special dialog - but they're pretty self-explanatory, so there's no need to describe them separately). Same applies to events consisting of text and SysEx messages - right-click the entries, enter the new text and press 'OK'. Note that you cannot modify the time position of events by click-and-drag. It can only be changed via the event dialog that is accessible through the time bar located at the top of the Arrange Window.

• Global Cut: This cuts through all parts right at the two locator positions (in the same ways as multiple split operations would do).
• Global Insert: This shifts all material inside the selected range backwards to the end of the range (useful e.g. to create space for bridges etc).
• Global Delete: Does what is says.
• Duplicate Range: Inserts the replica of all material inside the selected range at the actual play position (play position must be located outside the range for this to work).
• Shift Range: Same as above, but deletes the source range after copying.

During this operation all notes get aligned on a specific time grid.

• Quant Value defines the grid to be used
• Range defines which notes will be affected by quantization and which will not. A range value of 50% in combination with a quarter note value set as 'Quant Value' e.g. means that only notes will be quantized, wich reside in the first 1/16 part after or in the last 1/16 part before a grid point (this can be very useful to avoid that ornamental notes like appoggiaturas, trills etc are cluttered by the quantization).
• Strength means the strength of the attraction the grid points exert on the quantized notes, with 10 % there will be only a slight correction, with 60 % a stronger one, with 100 % there will be full correction (giving the quantized passages a kind of 'machine-like' feel).
• Swing signifies a certain amount of delay applied only to notes on even beats to create a swing rhythm.

The Quantize operation is a virtual operation. This means that the program does not forget about the original position of the note, so it can be restored at any time. This is done by the Functions/Undo Quantize command (note has to be selected). The opposite of this command is the Functions/Freeze Quantize command, that will make the program forget about the original position of all selected notes and replace it by the quantized position. Standard MIDI files do not support virtual attributes, so "freezing" is a prerequisite before exporting into a Standard MIDI files. Note that a virtual operation cannot be accumulative, which means that the results of virtual operations don't add up, but rather replace each other. If you want to apply different forms of quantization successively, already present quantization effects must first be "freezed".

Apart from normal quantization you can also use Functions/Length Quantize to make the length of all selected note events a multiple of the quantization value specified in the Quantize Settings Dialog, Functions/Fixed Length to replace all lengths with that value and Functions/Convert To Legato, which makes each selected note stop right at the start of the next one. These are non-virtual and behave just like normal edit commands.

The Groove Quantize function basically performs the same operation as Grid Quantization does. The difference is, that the quantization points that will attract the notes do not have to be equally distributed in time. Rather they can be placed individually and as an extra can be associated with indivdual accents, either added to or subtracted from the loudness of affected notes, when quantization is applied.

When you open the Groove Quantize dialog, you will see four rectangles arranged in clockwise fashion, each enclosing four smaller rectangles. This is a representation of how a bar will be divided by the Groove Quantize function. The small rectangles represent single beats, the larger ones stand for beat groups. You can change the number of beats contained within a single beat group (2-4 are possible) by right-clicking into the respective rectangle. The number of beat groups (again 2-4 are possible) can be altered by right-clicking somewhere at the edge of the diagram (outside the white rectangles representing beat groups). So you may work with simple as well as composite meters (as e.g. 3+3+2) with a total number of beats ranging from 4 to 16. Note that this function will ignore the division given by the current meter context of any event, i.e. that of the preceeding Time Signature event - it will always use its own.

Setting up the Groove structure

Now in each of the smaller rectangles there is a little knob, which can be dragged horizontally as well as vertically. By moving these knobs you achieve something similar to raising the Swing level with Grid Quantization: Notes are put before or after their "proper" positions. Similarily the heaviness of a beat can be controlled by the vertical placement of the knob. The exact translation of the coordinates is:

The four coloured lines, which link the sixteen knobs with each other, can provide a first-glance impression of the internal symetry (or lack of symetry) inside the Groove structure.

• Apply: Applies the current pattern.
• Reset: Reverts to 4 x 4 bar division and brings back all knobs to the center.

• Reduce deviation: Makes the rhythmic deviation of all beats uniformly smaller (resulting in a straighter overall timing).
• Reduce accents: Makes the differences in accentuation less pronounced.
• Equalize Group Deviation Interpolates between individual deviation and the average deviation of all beats at corresponding positions. This increases the internal symetry of all beat groups (visualized by the coloured rectangles), but reduces the symetry of neighboring beats (which results in a more "swing"-like phrasing).
• Equalize Beat Deviation Interpolates between individual deviation and the average deviation of neighboring beats. This increases the symetry among neighboring beats within a group, but reduces the symetry among beats at corresponding positions (results in a phrasing, that has more of an "internal rubato" rather than being a "swing").
• Equalize Group Accentuation Same a "Equalize Group Deviation", but with regard to accents.
• Equalize Beat Accentuation Same a "Equalize Beat Deviation", but with regard to accents.

The "Range" & "Attraction" controls do the same thing they do with Grid Quantization.

Loading and Saving of Groove Structures

• New: Create a groove file with a new name
• Load: Load the selected groove file (choose one from the list first)
• Save: Update the selected groove file
• Delete: Delete the selected groove file

As with Grid Quantization, Groove Quantization is virtual, too. So you must "freeze" it before exporting to a MIDI File etc.

These two pages allow complex edits and manipulations of MIDI events.

The Logical Filter searches through all selected MIDI data and (depending on the mode it is set to) deletes all events, which fullfill certain conditions or (if set to 'select') deselects all events, which do not fullfill them.

• Beat: the beat to which the event belongs (with simply flooring, not with rounding as it is the case with quantization). Should the time signature change at some point in your composition, the number of beats for the considered event is determined by the last time signature that preceeded it.
• Tick: the distance between event position and the previous beat measured in ticks (an internal format, 480 ticks correspond to one quarter note).
• Status: the type of event.
• Channel: one of the 16 possible MIDI channels.
• Type: in the case of notes or key pressure events this designates the pitch, in the case of controller data it is the controller type.
• Value: in the case of notes this is the velocity.
• Length; only notes have lengths.

The Logical Transformer searches through all selected MIDI data, marks those events, that match the specified conditions, and (depending on the mode it is set to) either alters them in some way or adds new altered versions of these events to the MIDI data store.

• none: leave value as it is
• replace by: replace by another value
• add, sub: add or subtract a certain value
• mul, div: multiply with or divide by the specified factor
• max: compare with the specified value and retain the higher number
• min: compare with the specified value and retain the lower number
• quantize: replace with a multiple of the specified value (an euclidian division followed by multiplication with the same number, to be exact)
• mirror: invert values around a certain number
• add random: add a positive or negative random amount between 0 and the specified number
• clip: keep value limited to the specified range
• invert: all values inside a certain range are inverted
• random: replace value by a random number from the range specified

The Logical Interpolator does quite the same as the Transformer, with the exception that it does not operate with static values but with dynamic ones. These are interpolated from a given start and stop value in reference to the currently set Locator Range. Accordingly the Interpolator has two double-rows of numbers instead of one, the upper one for the start values and the lower one for the end values. If e.g. the operation is to multiply note velocities with a given multiplicator and this is set to a start value of 1.0 and a stop value of 2.0, there will be no modification before and at the beginning of the selected range, then a gradual increase of the loudness of notes within the range itself, until note velocities end up being doubled at the end of the range and beyond - a crescendo has been created.

• Follow Play Cursor: When this option is checked, the editor windows will always keep their cursor in view, which means that all editor windows will turn around their pages automatically, asm soon as the cursor leaves the display. Note that the Windows scroll bars at the side of the editor windows are not really functional, as long as this option is turned on (every time you change the display using the scroll bars, they will immediatly snap back to where the play cursor is - don't let yourself get confused by this).
• Use Program Names: Determines if program numbers are interpreted as General MIDI Standard names or not.
• Channel 10 Is Drum Channel: When this is checked, the program will assume, that tracks set to channel 10 play back on a General MIDI-compatible drum instrument and will accordingly use General MIDI drum names rather than note names for note events located on such tracks.
• Chase Events: When this option is checked, the application inquires the state of important continuous control data like Tempo or Pitch Bend and sends the gathered information to the respective MIDI Out Device, before it commences playback from somewhere in the middle of the composition.

• Mixdown / Remix: Some MIDI files you may come across will store all their information within a single track. Use Remix to automatically create tracks for each channel and Mixdown to restore the one-track state by mixing everything down into one single track.
• Remove Overlaps: Some MIDI devices do not like the idea of two notes of the same pitch sounding at the same time. This operation will shorten notes in such a way, that in case of repeating notes none will overlap its successor. This is a global function and doesn't require that anything is selected.

The Mixer Window consists of the following regions:

• The Instrument Column: Here the names of all loaded VST instruments are displayed. Press the 'Page 1' button to see the first eight and the 'Page 2' button to see the last eight instruments. A right-click on a name will open the respective VST editor. When VST/Native Editors is checked, the editor of the plug-in programmer will be used (in case one is provided), if unchecked (or not provided) the Space Toad will use an automatically constructed editor. The parameters in these editors (whether native or auto-created) are recordable the same way as Track Parameters are. Furthermore you can rename the instruments and you can choose between build-in programs (should the instrument provide such). To access these options, open the editors system menu (by clicking on the toad's eye).
• The Effect Column is just like the one for the instruments.
• The Main Control lets you determine loudness as well as pan position of the final master mix.

• The Instrument Control enables you to control the individual gain amd the pan position of each instrument as well as the relative strength with which it will be send to different effects. When an effect slot is empty, it is considered as 'dry' which means that output is identical with intput.
• The Routing Control determines the path the audio stream will take through the effects up to the final output. The default routing (also the one shown above) is an all-parallel routing, i.e. the effects calculate their input, process it and then their output is mixed together to form the final (audible) output. One left-click on the Routing Control changes this routing to a 5-parallel-one-serial routing. Here the output of the first five effects is mixed together first, whereafter the result is thown into the 6th effect, whose output is identical with the final (audible) output (this last effect might e.g. be a sound recorder plug-in, a multiband-compressor or a similar device concerning which it is useful to feed with a final mix). This much info should be sufficient to easily guess the functionality of the remaining routings from their respective diagrams. Use left-clicks to proceed forwards and right-clicks to proceed backwards through the list of all possible routings.