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#65 Portamento in Windows MM

v1.0_(example)
open
nobody
None
5
2024-06-29
2024-06-28
No

Does Windows MM support portamento messages?
I can't find any documentation that says yes or no.
thanks

Discussion

  • Pedro Lopez-Cabanillas

    This question is off-topic for VMPK. If you ask it here may be because:
    1. You do not understand how MIDI works.
    2. You do not understand what is VMPK, or what is Windows MM.

    Anyway, I can easily verify that WinMM works perfectly well with the Portamento messages.

    I assume that you know the MIDI controllers related to the Portamento effect:
    * Portamento switch, CC 65.
    * Portamento time, CC 5 (MSB), CC 37 (LSB).
    * Portamento control, CC 84.

    Here is a screenshot of several Windows programs, including:
    * VMPK
    * MIDI-OX
    * LoopMIDI

    VMPK is connected using "Windows MM" to LoopMIDI which in turn is opened by MIDI-OX to monitor MIDI events. The "Portamento" (2) and "Portamento time" (1) events sent by VMPK are received by MIDI-OX without any problems.

    screenshot

     

    Last edit: Pedro Lopez-Cabanillas 2024-06-30
  • Pedro Lopez-Cabanillas

    To create the Portamento switch shown in the screenshot above, you need to press the "Edit" button in the "Extra" toolbar, and fill the appropriate values

    screenshot

     

    Last edit: Pedro Lopez-Cabanillas 2024-06-29
  • Pedro Lopez-Cabanillas

    If you are unable to use the Portamento effect, is not because "Windows MM" supports Portamento messages or not, but because the synthesizers do not implement the effect, or do it in different ways. For instance, the "Microsoft GS wavetable software synthesizer" ignores Portamento messages. Another popular alternative, the "CoolSoft VirtualMIDISynth" implements portamento in its own way.

    Edit: VirtualMIDISynth uses BASS MIDI, which implements portamento. CC 5 (portamento time) has a resolution of 128 values only, and does not cancel portamento on note off messages.

    One synth (which is included in VMPK by the way) that implements Portamento (among many other cool features) is FluidSynth.

     

    Last edit: Pedro Lopez-Cabanillas 2024-06-30

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