Q. Save a text file of the complete MIDI map for the current kit?

[jdmille2]

I’ve spent literally tens of hours mapping between SDX kits, Cubase drum maps, and my Yamaha DTX900++ (I’ve maxed it out with 4 toms and 6 cymbals), and it’s always a depressingly long time suck.  After much (much) trial and error, I’ve learned that it’s best to build up the SD3 kit you want, i.e., add any extra instruments and articulations you want, then set that up in the Cubase Drum Map, and then set it up in the Yamaha DTX900, mapping each instrument and articulation to the SD3 kit. This is a painstaking and time-sucking procedure.

Since adding an instrument *changes* the MIDI mapping (sometimes intelligently, sometimes not, (e.g., remapping notes already in use by other instruments/articulations!!) you really have to get extra instruments added *first*, or you’ll end up redoing the pieces that got re-mapped.  Grrrrr.

What would really help: a way to save a file from SD3 describing the kit’s MIDI map, in full. Just the 1-127 notes and what they’re mapped to would really help.  Just a text file. Please.

If I was going crazy and/or writing the code myself (same thing), I’d make it a CSV, with 3 columns: MIDI Note Number, Instrument, Articulation.  And me, I’d try to use sane names for the added instruments, not just “Instrument 1” and so on, but hey, that’s gravy.  This would really help sooooo much: with that file, you could load it into, say, Excel, and go through each instrument and map it to your e-kit’s instruments & articulations.  Heck, if that existed, I’d even contribute a script that turns it into a Cubase Drum Map.

Seriously, I own 8 add-on SDX, plus SD3’s built-in SDX, of course.  Today, after purchasing Legacy of Rock (which is *awesome*) it literally took me all friggin’ day to map it out, from SD3 to Cubase Drum Map to DTX e-kit. 9 friggin hours!!!  Just a simple dump of what SD3 already flippin’ knows about the loaded kit would have cut that down to an hour or two, at most.

merci,

— jdm

Superior Drummer 3 version: 3.2.3
Operating system: macOS Catalina (10.15)

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[Mark King]

Seems a bit odd that you have to map so much every time.

I create an drum map in the edrum page and save it. I find I have to tweak a bit for new expansions and save with a name for that sdx  but nothing like you are saying. When I get a new expansion I load what looks to be the closest edrum map and apply. I then tweak if I need to. When I got D&D I had nothing to do on most kits as they were already like I had for the core library. Rooms of Hansa took a bit more as octobahns and other things made it a bit more interesting. I’m using a td30 with all trigger inputs utilised.

Saying that I would appreciate a file with all the note mappings as it makes life much simpler. I do have all the notes I send from the td30 in a file though so I can manually add them which I find easier than the learn function. Especially on multizone pads and cymbals when you can easily trigger the wrong one.

SD3 with older sdx,s plus Rooms of Hansa and Death & Darkness. Cubase and wavelab current versions. Roland TD50x using all trigger inputs for triggering SD3 only. Windows 11 computer. Various keyboards and outboard gear as well as VST instruments. Acoustic drums: Yamaha 9000 natural wood and Pearl masters. Various snare drums. RME BabyFace Pro FS and Adam A7X monitors

• The post has been modified 2 times, last modified 4 years, 6 months ago by Mark King.

[jdmille2]

Now that I’ve (re)invested this time (I did something similar back with SD2 and then moving to SD3) I think that it *will* be faster next time – which for me means the next kit I make, out of the 8 SDX + SD3 content I have.

Here’s what one has to juggle:

1. Start with an SD3 kit, either a preset, or one you make.  Because of the odd way that SD3 maps additional Instruments (i.e., it reuses already-assigned notes, rather than picking empty ones!!!!) I HIGHLY RECOMMEND adding those additional instruments FIRST, if at all possible.  Of course, later, if you decide you want, say, a cowbell, tambourine, claps, sticks, whatever, because SD3 reuses assigned notes (even tho there are plenty unassigned notes available – grrrr) you may have to revisit the mapping then.  And it’s not like SD3 *tells* you that it’s remapped a note; you have to find it yourself.  Next time, I will try to start with a stock kit and then manually map the new instruments to something that doesn’t collide.  And that’s a PITA because you have to go find the ones that got stomped on and put them back to what they were before.
2. Create or modify a Cubase Drum Map (if you use Cubase, that is).  For me it’s critical to sort the instruments in some logical order, e.g., kick, snare, hat, cymbals, toms, extra, so when I’m editing in Cubase it’s easier to see what’s going on.  I’ve done these maps a few different ways – the one attached maps the entire SDX; I’ll whittle it down later to make it more compact.  I end up with a map with just the instruments I’m using.
3. Create a new preset on the DTX (copying a similar one, if you have one already) and map the instruments and articulations you want in the SD3 kit.  There’s a lot of variation in the SDXs re instruments and articulations, especially.  Rock Warehouse, for example, just has cymbal crashes, whereas Legacy of Rock has a few more articulations.

I would have attached files here, but xlsx files aren’t allowed.  So I put them on Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0y7exa0i7n59f61/AACxzjcKKpLgUqZsGaZigdNOa?dl=0  I used the MIDI map from the SDX kit and weeded out the “aliases” – I don’t need 5 ways to hit the same snare hit; it just clutters things.  Even still, there are a few things that appear in two places or more.  I initially picked one, but sometimes that one turned out to be one that SD3 remapped when adding other instruments.  (Have I said how frustrating that is?  There are 127 notes available, so no need to take a note that’s already mapped.)

Since the SD3 kit definitive, it’s easiest to start there, ala step #1.  I had to create this spreadsheet by hand, and this is why some sort of map export from SD3 would be very very welcome.  From there, I could easily write a Python script to generate the Cubase Drum Map (which is an XML file), as well as having the information I need to create the DTX preset, too.  And please, show *both* MIDI note and note number, as they each get used in different places. (Cubase Drum Maps and DTX both want MIDI note, e.g., C#3)

cheers,

— jdm

Superior Drummer 3 version: 3.2.4
Operating system: macOS Catalina (10.15)

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Thanked by: Bobby Campbell

[Mark King]

Nice work. I forgot about Cubase drum maps. I use these and create my own with just the relevant instruments and in the order I want them.

SD3 with older sdx,s plus Rooms of Hansa and Death & Darkness. Cubase and wavelab current versions. Roland TD50x using all trigger inputs for triggering SD3 only. Windows 11 computer. Various keyboards and outboard gear as well as VST instruments. Acoustic drums: Yamaha 9000 natural wood and Pearl masters. Various snare drums. RME BabyFace Pro FS and Adam A7X monitors

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