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User Guide

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JSynthLib Overview

JSynthLib is a universal MIDI synthesizer librarian / editor. The project aims to eventually support all existing synthesizers.

Why write JSynthLib?

I have a lot of electronic music making equipment: synthesizers, midi controllers, effects processors, all kinds of fun stuff, almost all of which I bought used off the Internet. So why, after I've spend thousands of dollars on hardware, not just spend a couple of hundred
more and purchase one of the many available commercial universal patch editor/ librarians such as MIDIQuest or SoundDiver? I like Free Software. I like the control, the power, and the community. With Free Software / Open Source / Copyleft the user is a stakeholder not just a consumer. (Of course, I'm not a Free Software fanatic or I wouldn't be using Java). In 1997 had used GNU/Linux for several months exclusively, but finally gave in and set up a dual-boot with Windows 95 in order to do MIDI Sequencing. For the past several years I've used Cakewalk to sequence and a myriad of Shareware and Freeware editors for various
synths (some synths I have no editors for).

Since 1997 both GNU/Linux sequencers and GNU/Linux hardware support have improved dramatically, but leaving Windows behind would require leaving behind all of the Synth editors I used. So in June 1999, I set up to write a universal patch librarian for GNU/Linux. The problem with this is that I still do all of my music stuff in Windows, I merely hope to convert to GNU/Linux when the software is ready. So I require a program which can run under both Operating systems. I began writing in C++ using a cross platform GUI library but quickly got tangled in too many implementation details and caveats and gave up. Recently I realized that Java/Swing gives me the flexibility I need for my application. JSynthLib runs under Windows, GNU/Linux, and Mac OS X.

Features

  • Create / Load / Save heterogeneous collections of Patches in Libraries. Libraries can contain various types of patches and patches for multiple synths can be stored in a single library.
  • Attach comments and user defined attributes to patches. Can be used for Author, instrument, rating, etc.)
  • Sort Libraries by patch name or attributes
  • Automatically eliminate duplicates from libraries
  • Import / Export raw Sysex (MIDI System Exclusive Message) Data. JSynthLib automatically determines the patch type for sysex data if a suitable driver is loaded.
  • Import MIDI Files and extract containing Sysex Data. JSynthLib automatically determines the patch type for sysex data if a suitable driver is loaded.
  • Cut / Copy / Paste patches between Libraries and also banks of Patches
  • Easy Creation of Banks of Patches by Dragging Patches from other banks and Libraries
  • Automatically extract all patches from a bank
  • Automatically import all patches in a directory and optionally auto extract all patches from banks.
  • Search function to find patches in large libraries
  • Store Patches to any location on a Synth or to a temporary buffer (where supported) for previewing etc.
  • Receive sysex from Synths (max size 256k)
  • Request sysex dumps from Synths
  • Create new patches or banks
  • Cross Breed patches to create new patches by combining aspects of existing patches
  • Automatically patch master controller to proper synthesizer to preview patch
  • "Play" function with User selected Note, duration and velocity to preview without a MIDI controller

Editor Features

  • Edit patches graphically through on screen sliders, envelopes, check boxes, etc.
  • Send changes to synths in real time (on synths supporting this feature)
  • Automatically patch master controller to proper synthesizer to preview patch
  • "Play" function with User selected Note, duration and velocity to preview without a MIDI controller
  • Allow on screen controls to be manipulated with MIDI controllers. This allows you to use a MIDI fader box (such as a Peavey PC1600) to edit any synth.

Extensibility Features

  • New Drivers and Editors can be created relatively easily by extending given Java Classes
  • Widget set (sliders, checkboxes etc) which automatically send sysex and interface with patch data

Installing JSynthLib

Step 1: Java Runtime Environment

Make sure you have the J2SE JRE (Java Run Time Environment) or SDK
(Software Development Kit) which supports Java 1.4 or later. If you do
not have it, you can download it from http://java.sun.com/. If you develop a
Java program (for example a JSynthLib synth driver for your synth),
you need SDK. Otherwise you need JRE. It spends your disk space
less.

Mac OS X comes with java preinstalled. but you should be sure you have
the latest update installed.

Step 2: MIDI Provider

JSynthLib-0.19 and/or later uses MIDI Provider, a platform dependent
layer of the Java MIDI API. Depends on a version of your Java
Environment, you have to install a MIDI Provider.


  • Microsoft Windows

    If you have a J2SE version 1.4.2 or newer installed, you don't have to
    install a MIDI Provider.

    If you use older version of J2SE, download the binary package of WireProvider and put
    WireProvider.jar under $JAVA_HOME/jre/lib/ext/
    directory and put WireProvider.dll under
    $JAVA_HOME/jre/bin/ directory. ($JAVA_HOME is the root
    directory of J2SE installation.)

  • GNU/Linux If you have a J2SE version 1.5 or newer installed, you don't have to install a MIDI Provider. If you use older version of J2SE, download the latest LinuxCharDev.jar from JSynthLib SourceForge site and copy it under $JAVA_HOME/jre/lib/ext/ directory. Then create a file linuxdevices.conf under the main JSynthLib Directory to reflect your setup. Here is an example; 
    /dev/null
/dev/midi
    Each line in this file represents one device that you wish to have accessible in JSynthLib.
    With the LinuxCharDev MIDI Provider no concurrent access of the used devices is provided. The OSS/"ALSA rawmidi" interfaces are used.

    You may also use the Tritonus ALSA MIDI Provider instead of LinuxCharDev. Please see the Tritonus: Open Source Java Sound web site for further information.

  • Mac OS X At this point (June, 2004) you need to install a MIDI Provider. Download the latest CAProvider.jar from JSynthLib SourceForge site and copy it under /Library/Java/Extensions/ (~/Library/Java/Extensions/ should also work for a single user installation). You may use Plum Stone instead of CAProvider.

Step 3: Installing and Invoking JSynthLib

  • Download the latest JSynthLib-XXX.jar file from JSynthLib Home Page or JSynthLib SourceForge site and copy it to any directory (for example c:\Program Files\JSynthLib\ or ~/Applications/jsynthlib/).

    Application bundle may be provided for Mac OS X.

  • Invoke JSynthLib.
  • [MS Windows] Run JSynthLib.jar by typing java -jar JSynthLib-XXX.jar from the command prompt. You may create a shortcut on the desktop to JSynthLib.jar.
  • [GNU/Linux] Run JSynthLib.jar by typing java -jar JSynthLib-XXX.jar from the shell prompt.
  • [Mac OS X] Run JSynthLib.jar by typing java -Dapple.laf.useScreenMenuBar=true -jar JSynthLib-XXX.jar from the Terminal. You can also double click the jar file, but then each window will have it's own menu bar. Application bundle would remove this step.
  • Go to Window->Preferences and set preferences (such as look and feel, default file directories, default MIDI port, etc.) as you wish.
  • Go to Window->Synths and add and configure the synthesizers you want to use with JSynthLib.

Using JSynthLib

The Main Windows

There are four main types of windows which you will be working with
when using JSynthLib. Each provides access to a particular type of
data.

Library Window

A Library window holds patches. Different
types of patches can be stored in one library, or you can use a
library to hold only patches for a particular synthesizer.

A Library Window looks like a table where each row
represents one patch. The columns represent different pieces of
information about the patch.

The columns are:


  • Synth-- A shorthand identifier for the synthesizer to which the
    patch belongs. For example, if a patch is for a Yamaha TG33
    Synthesizer, this field might read "TG33". These identifiers merely
    help the user to see what patch goes with each synthesizer and are
    merely arbitrary identifiers. The identifier used for each synthesizer
    can be changed in the Window->synths menu.

  • Type-- This tells what kind of patch the patch is. The most common values for this field are "Single" which means the patch represents a single patch in the synthesizer or "Bank" which means this patch actually holds an entire bank (set) of patches. Other values are possible for particular types of synthesizers, for example, a drum machine would probably have a "DrumKit" type rather than a "Single" type. Words like "Single", "Multi", and "Bank" are standard synthesizer jargon. If you are unfamiliar with synthesizer terminology you should probably brush up in order to use this program.
  • PatchName-- Obviously, this is the name of the patch. Note that this is the name of the patch as it appears in the actual synthesizer data for the patch, so it suffers the same limitations as the synthesizer impresses upon its data. For example, if the synthesizer only allows for 6 characters in a patch name, so will JSynthLib. Some synthesizers do not support patch names at all, and most of the time "Bank" type patches will not support names.
  • field1 / field2-- These two fields hold data outside of the actual data used by the Synthesizer and can therefore hold values even for patches belonging to synthesizers which lack patch names. The meaning of these two fields is user defines, for example, you could set all of the field1 values in a library to be the name of the author of the patch and all of the field2 values to be the type of instrument that the patch is trying to emulate (Guitar/Piano/Drum, etc)
  • comment-- This is another field which holds data outside of the actual data used by the Synthesizer. The main difference between field1 / field2 and comment is that the comment field can hold longer strings and that you can not sort a library based on the comment field.


In addition to the table of patches, a library window contains a
footer which tells the number of patches in the library.

Scene Window

A Scene window looks very much like the library window.
It is intended to gather all patches for different synths, which are
needed in a particular "scene". A "scene" can be a song or a set of
songs - that depends on you. The advantage of a scene is that
it contains the locations for the patches in the synth's memories in
addition to the patches themselves. You can transfer the patches all
together with the "Library->Transfer Scene" function to the synths.
Very practical for the recall of a specific sound setup.

The columns are:


  • Synth-- A shorthand identifier for the synthesizer to which the
    patch belongs. It's the same as in the library window
    above.

  • Type-- It's the same as in the library window above.
  • PatchName-- Obviously, this is the name of the patch. It's the same as in the library window above.
  • Bank Number-- This is the first difference to the library. This column contains the bank number for your patch, since patches are usually organized in banks in the synthesizers. You can select a bank with a drop-down menu. The actual content of the drop-down is determined by the patch type and the architecture of the synth.
  • Patch Number-- This column contains the patch number for your patch within the bank. Again, you can select a patch number with a drop-down menu. The actual content of the drop-down is determined by the patch type and the architecture of the synth.
  • comment-- This is another field which holds data outside of the actual data used by the Synthesizer.


In addition to the table of patches, a scene window contains a
footer which tells the number of patches in the scene.

Bank Editor Window

A Bank Editor Window looks like a two dimensional
table/array of patch names and numbers. This represents a bank of
patches for a particular synthesizer. The number of patches in the
bank and the numbering scheme used is dependent on the
synthesizer. For example,the Oberheim Matrix 1000 holds 100 patches in
a bank numbered 0-99, which the Kawai K4 holds 64 numbered 1-A to
16-D.

Single Editor Window

A Single Editor Window is by far the most complex window
in the program. This window holds implementation details for one
single patch. Here you can set various parameters that make the sound
of the patch using sliders, checkboxes, comboboxes, etc. The layout of
this window and the controls available depends on the synthesizer to
which the patch belongs.

Although, the exact layout and function of the controls shown in
the Single Editor will depend on the synthesizer to which the patch
belongs, all Single Editor Windows share much in common.

A Control is an element in the Editor Window which controls a
specific aspect of the patch, such as Filter Cutoff or
Resonance. There are four basic types of controls.

  1. a Slider Control consists of a label, a slider, and a numeric
    readout.. You can tell the current value of the control both
    graphically (by how far the slider is over) and by the value of
    the numeric readout. You can change the value of the control only
    by moving the slider. You can either click to the side of the
    pointer on the slider, drag the pointer, or click on it and then
    use the arrows on the keyboard. In any case, each time the value
    is changed, JSynthLib will send a real-time sysex message to the
    synthesizer (on synths which support real time sysex messages)
    telling it to update the value internally. Some synthesizers may
    take a few seconds to process all the incoming data before being
    available to play a note , making real-time 'tweaking' difficult.

  2. a ComboBox Control consists of a label and a text-field. The
    text-field tells you what the current value of the control is set
    for. Clicking on this text-field will produce a menu from which
    you can choose one of the other values for the control.

  3. a CheckBox Control consists of a label and a checkbox. Clicking
    the check box will turn the setting the control represents on or off.

  4. an Envelope Control consists of a graphical depiction of the
    envelope and a label and numeric display for each parameter the
    envelope controls. Commonly, these parameters will be the Attack,
    Delay, Sustain, and Release parameters for a particular DCA. To
    change a parameter, simply click and drag one of the nodes
    (rectangles) on the envelope. Some nodes control two parameters,
    one on the vertical axis and one on the horizontal. Others
    control only one parameter and are therefore fixed in position on
    one axis. There are also some nodes which do not control any
    parameters and are therefore fixed in position. JSynthLib will
    draw lines connecting all the nodes to show a graphical depiction
    of the envelope given the current settings.

In addition to these controls, there are a number of interface
elements which do not interact with the synthesizer or patch data and
only serve to make the presentation of the data more clear.

  1. frames which surround groups of related controls. For
    example a frame labeled "Filter" might surround a group of sliders
    labeled "Cutoff", "Resonance", and "Envelope Bias" to show you that
    these three parameters are a part of the synth's filter section.

  2. tables which are simply grid-like structures used to
    hold parameters. As of version 0.12, only the Oberheim Matrix Editor
    makes use of tables. Note that you can click and drag on the table's
    headings to change the order in which parameters are displayed.

  3. tabs. By clicking on a tab, you are taken to a
    different set of parameters to edit. Sometimes the tabs surround
    entire editor screens, but usually they surround only a group of
    parameters. For example, In the Yamaha TX81z editor, there are four
    tabs, one for each Operator, by clicking on one of them, the section
    of controls related to the Operator is set to control the operator you
    have chosen.

Although Editing on-screen using a mouse or keyboard is efficient
and all editing functions can be realized this way, JSynthLib also
provides another, optional, method to edit controls-- Faders. A Fader
is simply a knob or a slider you might have on a synthesizer or fader
box which sends a MIDI control message, when moved. Almost all
synthesizers have at least one or two, and some advanced ones such as
the Kawai K5000S have as many as sixteen or more. In addition, there
are "Controller Surfaces" you can buy which consist only of Faders
(either as knobs or slider).

These faders are generally used to edit parameters on synthesizers,
but have two major drawbacks. First, they are often designed to work
only on a certain, hardwired parameter or only for a particular
synthesizer. Second, its difficult to picture what's happening when
editing this way, because you don't get any visual feedback. You can't
simply look at a Controller Surface and tell what the current settings
are for the parameters (unless you have a motorized controller
surface).

JSynthLib allows you to overcome these limitations. If you have a
Controller Surface or other source of MIDI Controller Messages which
has at least 16 Faders, you can edit any synthesizer supported by
JSynthLib and see visual feedback on your computer screen.

To set up your controller surface, look under
Window->Preferences->MIDI. Look at that section in this documentation
for help on setting these up.
Once set up, when you move a fader, the corresponding control in
the active Editor Window will move.

As you probably realize, however,
there are usually more than 16 controls in an editor window. This is
where the concept of fader banks come in. A fader bank is a group of
16 controls which respond to faders. You can choose which bank your
fader movements are sent to either by using the 15th and 16th buttons
on you Controller Surface (if your controller surface supplies buttons
and well has faders) or by using the "Next Fader Bank" Option on the
toolbar. Note that the labels for the controls in the currently
selected fader bank are darkened slightly. To determine which fader
bank and fader number will move a particular control, simply let the
mouse cursor hover over the label for that control and a tool-tip will
pop up with this information.

When you close an editor window, a dialog box will pop up asking
what you wish to do with any changes to the patch. If you choose to
"Revert to Original", then any changes you have made in the editing
session will be lost. If you choose to "Keep Changes", the changes are
stored over the original patch in the library and the original version
is lost. The third option "Revert and send Changes to Clipboard" is
the best of both worlds. The Original patch is kept as in the "Revert
to Original" setting,but the changed version of the patch is placed on
the clipboard. You can then use the Patch->Paste command to place it
into a patch library of bank of your choosing. This is useful if you
like the new edits you have created, but also like the original patch.

The Menu Functions

File Menu

  • Open-- This prompts you for a file name and then loads the previously saved library under that name from disk and displays it on the screen. Note that if the library is very large, the program might take several seconds to read it from disk. The filename of the loaded library is placed on the top frame of the Library Window. This function is also available from the Toolbar.
  • Save-- This saves a library window to disk. The library window which you wish to save must be the currently focused (active) window when you choose this option. If the library does not have a file name, then the program will pop up a save as dialog box just as if you had chosen the Save As Option instead. This function is also available from the Toolbar.
  • Save As-- this function pops up a file dialog box to ask you for a new name and then saves the currently focused Library Window under that name.
  • Import-- This function will load raw Sysex data and/or MIDI files from disk into the currently focused Library Window or Bank Editor Window. If a driver is installed (under Window->Synths) which recognizes the format of this data, then it will be turned into a patch of the proper type, otherwise it will be listed as "unknown". This function is also available from the toolbar.
  • Export-- This function will save the raw Sysex data from the currently selected patch (in a Library Window or Bank Editor Window) to disk, stripping away field1, field2, and comment. The data will be in the raw form suitable for sending to the synthesizer of importing into another editor for that type of data.
  • Import All-- This is a powerful function that is very useful when you first start using JSynthLib. It is designed to quickly import a large amount of data into a Library Window. If you've been using other editor or librarian programs to manipulate your synthesizer data or if you have downloaded patches for your synthesizer from the Internet, you might have a large patch library that you will want accessible from JSynthLib. If your patch Library is stored in the proprietary format of some other Synthesizer Librarian program, you will have to get that program to export it to the industry standard .SYX format (raw Sysex Data). The Import All command will take all the files in a directory and attempt to import them into JSynthLib.
    You will be prompted for several options when you choose this function. First you must choose a directory to import from The Java Standard for choosing directories from a file dialog is to single-click on it so the directory name is highlighted, but do not enter the directory you wish to import from. If you accidental enter the directory you wish to import from, back up one level before hitting the OK button on the file dialog.
    Next, you must choose which types of patches you wish to import at this time. You will be given a list of each Synthesizer driver you have installed in your system, each with a checkbox next to it. Check the box to include that type of patch in your import. If you check the box for "unknown" then even data that the program does not understand will be imported. For example, you can use this to create one big library of all your patches for all your synths, or you can import only the singles patches for a particular synth in order to create a library of all your patches for that synth.
    You are also given the option to place the filename from which each patch came from either in field1 or field2. This is useful if the patch does not have a name of if you've grown accustomed to referring to it by its file name. You are also given the option of automatically extracting patches from banks. When you import patches, you might get full banks of patches in addition to singles. To access these patches, you must choose to edit the Bank Data. Sometimes this is desirable, but often you'll want to see all of your Single Patches at the top level of your library. If this option is checked, any banks that are imported will be automatically extracted and the patches taken out and placed in the library (you can do this yourself with the Patch->Extract option. If both this option and the option to place the filename in field1 or field2 are checked, each of the extracted patches will get the filename followed by their location in the bank placed in their field. For example " MYSOUNDS1.SYX 34 ".
  • Exit-- Basically this command just exits the program. It will not warn you about unsaved data!

Library Menu

The Library menu on the menu bar allows you to access a number of functions to Library and Scene. These functions act on a library or act on all of the patches in the library. Functions which manipulate a single patch
within a library are located under the Patch Menu. The available functions in the Library Menu are:


  • Transfer Scene-- This transfers all patches of the selected Scene
    to their configured places in the synths.

  • Sort-- This function will sort all of the patches in a library by either the type, patch name, field1 or field2 field (the program will prompt you for the sort field) The sort algorithm used is stable, so you can for example sort by patch name and then sort by synth in order to get a library that is sorted by synth type and then sorted by patch name within each synth type.
  • Search-- This function allows you to search for patches within a library. You enter the text to search for, and where you want the text to be located, whether in the patch name, field1, field2, comment, or any of the fields. Then you use the "Find First" button to locate the first patch matching the search criteria, or the "Find Next" button to locate the next one.
  • Crossbreed-- Crossbreeding patches is a cool way to make new 'random' patches. Rather than simply sending random data to a synthesizer (which would likely end up sending it lots of garbage and out-of-range values), the crossbreed command generates random combinations of the patches in a library. To use it to best affect, you need an as-large-as-possible library full of patches for the synthesizer you wish to create patches for. If the library contains patches of more than one type,the command will randomly choose which synthesizer it is creating patches for. When you use the crossbreeder, you are shown a dialog with four buttons. The "Close" button quits the crossbreeder. The "Generate" button creates a new random patch and plays it for you. The "Play" button replays the patch in case you want to hear it again. You can also use the master keyboard controller to play with your random patch. If you don't like a patch, simply hit generate to create a new one. If you find something you like, hit the "Keep" button and your patch will be appended to the current library. Note that as a random patch, it will have a random name, so you'll probably want to go in and give it a more useful name later.
  • Delete Dups-- This function will search through a library for identical patches and delete all but one copy. This is most useful immediately after you have imported all your patches in to JSynthLib. Many times copies of the same patch are sitting around in different places on a hard drive. This only deletes patches that are perfect duplicates, so if as much as one byte is different, they will not be considered duplicates and will not be deleted. Therefore two identical patches with different names will not be considered duplicates by this function.
  • New Library-- This creates a new Library which contains no patches and displays it on the screen. This function is also available from the toolbar.
  • New Scene-- This creates a new Scene which contains no patches and displays it on the screen.

Patch Menu

The Patch menu allows you to access a number of functions which
manipulate individual patches which are located either in a Library
Window, a Bank Edit Window, or (for some functions) in a Single Patch
Editor Window. The available functions in the Patch Menu are:


  • Copy-- This function copies the currently selected patch to
    the clipboard. It will copy the currently highlighted patch from the
    currently focused Library Window or Bank Edit Window. If the current
    Window is a Single Patch Editor window, then the patch represented by
    the current position of the editing controls is copied to the
    clipboard. This function is also available from the toolbar and from
    the right-click pop up menu.

  • Cut-- This command simply performs a Copy command followed by a Delete command. It is also available from the toolbar and from the right-click pop up menu.
  • Paste-- This copies a patch from the clipboard to the currently selected location in a Library Window or Bank Editor Window. If the currently focused window is a Library Window but no patch is selected, then the patch will be appended, otherwise it will be inserted before the selected patch. If the currently focused window is a Bank Editor Window, then the patch on the clipboard will replace the currently highlighted patch. Note also that while a Library Window can hold any type of sysex data, a Bank Editor Window is designed to hold only one particular type of data. If the data type is invalid, the paste will not work. The same is true for the Import command. This command is also available from the toolbar and from the right-click pop up menu.
  • Delete-- This deletes the currently selected patch in the currently focused Library Window or Bank Editor Window. If the current window is a Single Editor Window then this command has no function.
  • Send-- This option will send the currently highlighted patch in the currently focused Library Window or Bank Edit Window to the proper synthesizer. The idea is to send the data so that you can test it out. On synths which support it, the data will be sent to a temporary edit buffer so that no other data in the synthesizer is overwritten. Unfortunately, not all synths support temporary edit buffers, so on these synths a set patch (usually the first non-preset) will be overwritten with the sent data. In order for the send command to work, the synthesizer corresponding to the patch must be correctly set up from Window->synths.
  • Send to-- Like Send, this function also sends the currently selected patch to the synthesizer specified. This function is also available from the toolbar.
  • Store-- Like Send, this function also sends the currently selected patch to the correct synthesizer. This option however, will prompt you for a patch location (bank and patch numbers) on the synthesizer to store the patch to. It will then store it to the synthesizer, overwriting whatever patch may already be at that location. This function is also available from the toolbar.
  • Get-- This function will receive sysex data from a synthesizer. When you choose this command, a dialog box will appear, giving you several options. First, choose which kind of patch you wish to get from any of the installed synthesizer drivers. Where applicable, you must also chose a bank and patch number for the patch to get. Once this is all set, press the 'Get' button. If JSynthLib knows the correct code to automatically start the sysex dump for your chosen driver, it will do so. Otherwise, you will be prompted to manually start the patch dump from the front panel of the synthesizer. Once JSynthLib receives data from the synth, it will tell you how many bytes have been received. When the entire sysex dump has been received, you must decide what to do with it. If you press the 'paste' button, the received patch will be pasted in the currently focused library. If you wish to discard the received patch, you can simply press 'get' again to get a different patch or press 'Cancel' to quit the dialog. When your done press 'done'.
  • Edit-- Using the Editing command on a Patch for the driver contains editing support will bring up an Editor Window. This window will consist of various sliders, checkboxes, and other controls which can be manipulated to change the patch. The layout and function of these controls is dependent on the architecture of the synthesizer you are working with. Your synthesizer manual should give you the information you need in order to understand how it generates sound and what the various parameters do. This command is also available from the right-click menu. See the section under 'Editing Patches' for more information
  • Play-- This command will send the currently selected patch to the proper synths followed by a MIDI command to play a note. This is useful for checking a patch out quickly or without a master controller keyboard. The specifics on which note is played, how hard it it hit, and how long it is held can be set in the Note Chooser Dialog Box, which is accessible from Window->Preferences->Play Note. The play function is also available from the toolbar and from the right-click menu.
  • Reassign-- Each patch is corresponding to a particular synth Driver. A patch can be used by more than one kind of synths. This command select a synth driver.
  • Extract-- You run the extract command on patches which represent entire banks of patches rather than singles. Make sure the bank patch you wish to extract is highlighted in the currently focused library window. When you choose this option, the bank will be deleted and replaced with all the single patches which were inside of the bank. The same effect can be achieved when importing patches by using an option to the "Import All" command. See that part of the documentation for more details.
  • New Patch-- This command creates a new (blank or default) patch. When you choose this option you will be given a list of the types of patches you are able to create. (Which patch types are available depends on which synth drivers you have loaded). The patch will be added to the currently focused patch library window.
  • Upload-- Upload a patch to JSynthLib Patch Archive.

Window Menu


  • Synths-- This is where you tell JSynthLib what synthesizers
    you have and how they are configured. When you open this window, you
    will see a list of the "Synth Drivers" which you have installed. Note
    that many synths have more than one Synth Driver, all of which are
    installed in order to use all functionality on that synth. The
    left-most parameter is a shorthand "ID" for the synthesizer.
    JSynthLib doesn't care what this is set to, its simply short name
    given to the synth that JSynthLib will use to refer to that
    synth. Generally, you will keep the defaults. You might change this,
    for example, If you've become accustomed to calling your Yamaha TX81z,
    "Yamaha" or "Bob" rather than "TX81z" (the default). The middle
    parameter is the name of the driver. To the right are two parameters
    which tell JSynthLib how to access the synthesizer. You must correctly
    set the MIDI port and channel (Device ID) for your synthesizer.

    Three buttons at the bottom allow more functionality. You can only add or remove drivers if no Library or Editor windows are currently opened. The add button pops up a list of all the synthesizers supported by your version of JSynthLib. You choose one from the list in order to install it and then configure it as explained above. When you choose a synthesizer, all the drivers associated with that synthesizer will be installed. There is also a button to remove, or uninstall a synthesizer driver, for example if you no longer own a particular synth. The third button closes the Synth dialog.

    As of version 0.15, there is an additional button called "Auto-Scan". When you chose this option, JSynthLib will attempt to scan your MIDI ports for supported Synthesizers and correctly add and configure them for you. It is not able to detect certain synths (such as Yamaha and Roland) and you should double check the settings it determines for accuracy, but it can still be more convenient then having to add and configure them all by hand.

  • Preferences-- Preferences dialog is used to configure various settings that determine how JSynthLib functions. There are six tabs "General", "Directories", "MIDI", "Fader Box", "Play Note", and "Repository".
    • Under General, you can set the look-and-feel which JSynthLib will use. You can also change the GUI style, MDI (Multiple Document Interface: everything in single window) or SDI (Single Document Interface: each frame has its own window).
    • In the Directory tab, you can set the default directory from which JSynthLib will attempt to load and save files. The library path determines where the .patchlib files are loaded and saved. The sysex path is used by the import and export commands.
    • The MIDI tab holds MIDI settings. The parameter called Run Initialization on MIDI ports only needs to be played with if JSynthLib tells you to on startup or if you want to free the ports for another program. Basically, it needs to grab a couple of MIDI ports on your system when it starts up to initialize itself. Normally it just grabs the first ones it sees and thats fine. On some systems though, the first MIDI ports will be in use by some other program, or you'll want them left alone for some other program to use. Most MIDI port drivers allow more than one program to use the port, but not all. These parameters just give you the most control possible. MIDI Loopback Test button brings up a dialog to do diagnostic test of your MIDI port. The Master Controller Port determines which MIDI port JSynthLib will watch for Notes being played. If notes are played (for example from a MIDI keyboard or MIDI sequencer) on this port, JSynthLib will echo them to whatever Synthesizer you are currently working with. (Either by having an editor open in the foreground or having a library open in the foreground and having a patch selected). This allows you more controlling auditioning patches than just using the "play" command. If you have no master controller or don't want to use one, disable Enable Master Controller check box.
    • The Fader Box tab allows you to configure your fader box if you want to use one. A fader box can be useful when editing patches, see the section of this documentation on editing patches for details of what they do. If you want to enable faders, you just check the enable box and set the fader port to the port on which you want to receive faders. Note that due to a bug in the MIDI routines used, JSynthLib will also receive faders on the master controller port. JSynthLib recognizes up to 16 Sliders/Knobs and up to 16 Buttons. You can configure which MIDI controller number and channel number will recognized as each button and slider. You can either do this by hand, or use one of the preset buttons. The Kawai K5000 is set to respond to the 16 knobs on your Kawai as the 16 sliders and ignore the buttons. The Peavey PC1600 preset simply responds to controller 24 on channels 1-16 as sliders 1 through 16 and controllers 25 on channels 1-16 as buttons 1-16. Its up to you to configure your PC1600 to send these values (its very easy). Note that if you are using buttons, buttons 15 and 16 are special purpose, they increment or decrement your fader bank by one. There is also a variable for most recent fader (Active Slider). If this controller is received it is patched to whatever fader has been accessed most recently. For example you could set your mod wheel to send to whichever fader you've used most recently.
    • When you choose the 'play' command to hear a sound, the patch is played at a particular note, velocity and duration. The Play Note tab allows you to determine what note, velocity and duration are used.
    • Repository tab set up settings for uploading patch.


  • MIDI Monitor-- Open MIDI Monitor window. This is useful for
    trouble shooting.

Pop-up Menu

If you right-click on a patch in a Library Window or a Bank Editor
Window, a menu will appear which allows you to manipulate the patch in
various ways. All of the functions on this menu are also available
from the menu bar and a description of what they do can be found under
their menu bar entries in this documentation.

Notes about Particular Synths

Windows -> Synths -> Show Details -> Information shows you
issues relating only to the use of JSynthLib with particular
synthesizers.

Troubleshooting

[General]MIDI Loopback Test works fine. But JSynthLib
cannot send to MIDI data to my synth and/or cannot receive MIDI data
from my synth.

Make sure "MIDI In Port" and "MIDI Out Port" in Windows -> Synths
dialog is setup correctly. Note that MIDI port setting in Windows ->
Preferences -> MIDI is not used for data transfer between JSynthLib
and your synth.

[Windows]Where is the JSynthLib setting is saved?

It is saved in Windows Repository,
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JavaSoft\Prefs.

[GNU/Linux]Where is the JSynthLib setting is saved?

It is saved in ~/.java/.

[GNU/Linux]All the fonts have way to much space between
the letters and look awful!

This is a Java issue under GNU/Linux. Supposedly it can be fixed by
tweaking your fonts.properties file, but I haven't been able to get it
to look right. Anyone have a fix for this?

[General]What information should I give when I report a
bug?

If you run JSynthLib with the parameter '2' as in java JSynthLib 2
> outputfile, JSynthLib will place debug information regarding any errors
that occur in the file 'outputfile'. Sending this file with your bug
report would be useful. Also, make sure to include all relevant
information about what you were doing when the bug occurred and what
your system setup is like.

Contributing

If you like JSynthLib and want to contribute, you can do this in many ways:


  • bug reports
  • suggestions how to improve the usability or functionality
  • providing wanted documentation of synthesizers or others
  • writing/improving JSynthLib's documentation
  • writing bugfixes
  • writing own drivers and editors
  • adding support of other platforms/OS (JavaSound MidiProvider)
  • improving the JSynthLib core
  • JSynthLib
    SourceForge site     maintenance
  • ...

The common place to address your notes should be the Tracker on JSynthLib
SourceForge site or
jsynthlib-devel mailing list.

If you want write bug fixes, additional drivers/editor or core elements please take
a look at the JSynthLib Programmer's Guide.

Acknowledgement

...a large number of contributors. Currently the list is not included here,
because we would forget one or two for sure. So we left them out complete.


But we would like to say "thank you" to the people outside of the JSynthLib development team
who gave us some time saving code examples and ideas:


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