Copyright: Jørgen Aase


Massiva X.01 overview

About Massiva

Massiva is a freeware MIDI sequencer for Windows 95/98 with SB AWE support

Getting started

Hints

Song edit

Part edit

Transporter

Play, record, stop, fast forward or fast rewind. Show locator positions and song position. Double click song position to toggle between time and position.

MIDI faders

The MIDI faders will send control change data using the MIDI channel and MIDI device of the selected track. Fader movement will may be recorded into the parts of the selected track. Clicking in one of the four boxes (Vol, Pan, Rev or Cho) will show a list of all control change messages available.

Keys

Overview of all the shortcuts for faster editing

Comments and suggestions

Jørgen Aase

jaase@c2i.net

http://home.c2i.net/jaase/massiva.htm

Copyright © 1998 Jørgen Aase


Song edit

Menu

File

New - Create a new song

Open - Open an existing song

Save - Save current song

Save as - Save current song with a new name

Browse - Show the browser window

Options - Show options

Virtual AWE - Show AWE window. (Only enabled if AWE is installed)

Exit - Exit Massiva

Edit

Undo - Undo last action

Select all parts - Selects all parts in song

Copy - Copy selected events

Paste - Paste events at song positions

Edit part - Show part editor

Track

Ch - Midi channel. Channel off does not redirect midi output to any specific channel. Usefull for MIDI files of format 1 where there may be 16 midi channels in one track

Output - MIDI output device. Select Soundcard, softsynth or external MIDI modules

Bank and program - Select bank and program

Rename - Rename track

Transpose input - Transpose MIDI input from external device

Mute - Mute track. All parts in track will be muted

Solo - Plays only un-muted parts of current track

Note: Track menu is also accessible by right-clicking on the tracks

Part

Insert - Inserts a new part using left and right locator as size and loaction

Delete - Delete selected parts

X-Ray - Show notes instead of name

Compose - Compose notes, controllers or AWE NRPN

Delete - Delete aftertouch, AWE NRPN, control change, notes, pitch bend, program change or double notes

Echo - Show Echo window

Grooves - Show Grooves window

Legato - Resize notes to eliminate space between them

Length - Set all notes to same length using editres

Overlap - Stretch notes so they overlap by length of editres

Quantize - Time corrects notes using editres

Transpose - Transpose notes up or down or all notes to a specified value

Velocity - Alter velocity of notes

Note: Most edit operations may be applied to one or more parts at the same time. However, some operations like compose may be applied to one part only. This menu is also accessible by right-clicking in the parts window

Sequence

Insert area - Inserts an empty area between left and right locator

Cut area - Cuts the area between left and right locator

Split selected parts - Splits selected parts at left and right locator

Group - Groups selected parts. Clicking on one of the parts in a group will select all parts in the group. Copying a group will create a new group of the copied parts

Ungroup - Turn grouping of on selected parts

Loop selected parts - Moves left locator to the left-most selected part and right locator to the right-most selected part and activate loop mode

Toolbar

Loop - Toggles loop between left and right locator on/off

Beep - Toggles metronom beep on/off. Beep properties are set in Options window

Thru - Toggles midi thru on/off. MIDI input is send thru output device. MIDI thru channel and device is set on each track

Auto Q - Toggles Auto quantize on/off. Recorded events are quantized by the value of editres

bmp - Playback/record tempo. Right click to select predefined tempo settings from menu. Double click to set top-most defined tempo setting

Editres - Edit resoultion. Used by quantize, length, overlap and grooves

Locators - User defined Left and right locator settings. Jump easely between different locations of your song (intro, verse etc). Click on "Locators" to restart current location

Store - Store current locator positions with a name

< - Go to prior location

> - Go to next location

Track info

Ch - Shows MIDI output channel for the selected track. Click on MIDI channel to change

Mute - Shows Mute on/off for the selected track. Click to toggle mute on/off for the selected track

Output - Shows MIDI output device for the selected track. Click to select MIDI output device for the selected track

Bank - Shows Bank number for the selected track. Double-click to show Bank/Program window

Prog - Shows Program number for the selected track. Double-click to show Bank/Program window

Tracks

Led - Midi output led, showing current "note on" output activity on each track

Name - track name

Ch - midi channel. If thru is active all MIDI output is send to the output device using this channel

M - toggles mute on/off

Output - midi output device. If thru is active all midi output is send thru on this device. Device may be a Soundcard, Softsynth or a midi port (external)

Prog - Bank and program settings for each track

Transp - Transpose midi input

Meter

Left click to set left locator. Right click to set right locator. Click with [Shift] down to set song position. Selection shows the area between left and right locator. This area indicates which part of the song is looped on playback/record if loop is activated.

The locators are also used when inserting new parts, cuttting an area of the song, inserting an area into the song or splitting selected parts. Left and right locator may be stored for in the Locators windows

Parts

A red mark in the lower left corner of the parts indicates that the part is empty. Double-click part to show part editor

Scrolling

Left click mouse with [Alt] down on an empty area and drag mouse to scroll in any direction

Selecting parts

Left click mouse to select a single part. Left click with [Shift] down to select multiple parts. Use [left] and [right] in combination with [shift] to select parts in current track

Moving/copying parts

Drag selected part(s) to move them to different location. Drag with [Ctrl] down to copy the parts to a new location.

Resizing a part

Drag with [Alt] down to resize part (NB! Events in part are deleted if the new size is smaller). Use [left] and [right] with [alt] down to resize selected part

Zoom

Click on one of the zoom buttons to zoom in, out or set default part size

Browser

The browser is for opening and navigating songs. Select directory and double-click on a song to open it. The default directory is set in the Options window. Click on >> to toggle between songs and stored locators.


Part edit

Menu

File

New - Create a new song

Open - Open an exsisting song

Save - Save current song

Save as - Save current song with a new name

Browse - Show the browser window

Options - Show options

Exit - Exit Massiva

Edit

Undo - Undo last action

Undo all editing - Undo all actions since editor was shown

Select all events - Selects all events in part

Copy - Copy selected notes

Paste - Paste notes starting at song position. Song position must be inside part

Edit song - Close part editor and go back to song edit

Part

Compose - Compose events or controllers

Delete - Delete aftertouch, control change, notes, pitch bend, program change or double notes

Legato - Resize selected or all notes  to eliminate space between them

Length - Sets selected or all events to a same length using editres

Overlap - Stretch notes so they overlap by length of editres

Quantize - Time corrects selected or all notes in part using editres

Transpose - Transpose selected or all notes up or down or all notes to a spesified value

Velocity - Alter velocity of selected or all events

Event

Insert - Insert new event (program change or control change)

Delete - Delete selected notes

Keep - Keep selected notes. All other notes will be deleted.

Delete same as selected - All notes with an identical note value as any of the selected notes will be deleted. If C1 and G2 notes weher selected then only C1 and G2 notes are deleted

Keep same as selected - Only notes with an identical note value as any of the selected notes will be kept. All other notes will be deleted

List

View - View events in list as text or numbers

Edit events - Edit midi channel, time and data of selected or all events

Toolbar

Loop - Toogles loop on/off. With loop on the song loops between left and right locator

Edit modes - Default, Insert or Step record. Insert mode: Left click to insert note at mouse position. Left click with [Shift] down to insert notes repeating while mouse is dragging using editres as interval. Left click with [Alt] down to insert and drag size of event. Step mode: Play midi keyboard to insert notes at song position. Use [Left] and [Right] to move song position.

Snap - Used when inserting new events with mouse, moving or copying of events. Editres is used  as interval

bmp - Set playback/record tempo. Right click to select predefined tempo from menu. Double click to set top defined tempo item

Editres - Edit resolution

Editbar

Vel - Set velovity of selected notes. If no notes are selected then velocity of all notes are set. NOTE: this field is changed according to what is shown in the controller window

Move - Move events left or right (using editres as interval) or transpose events up or down easily

Length - Set length of selected or all events

Note - Set note value of selected or all events

Meter

Left click to set left locator. Right click to set right locator. Click with [Shift] down to set song position. Selection shows the area between left and right locator. This area indicates which part of the song is looped on playback/record if loop is active

Events

Scrolling

Left click mouse with [Alt] down on an empty area and drag mouse to scroll in any direction

Left click to select single events. Left click with [Shift] down to select multiple events. Drag selected events to move to different location. Drag with [Ctrl] down to copy to a new location. Drag with [Alt] down to resize event

Keyboard

Blue rectangle shows position of mouse relative to note position of midi keyboard. Gray rectangle shows midi input note

Controllers/Velocity/Pitch bend

This window displays velocity, pitch bend or any control change messages. Left click to change velocity or controller. Left click with [Shift] down and drag mouse to set velocity or controller with a line

This window shows that note vel is currently viewd. Click on the vel text to view another controller, or pitch bend.

List

Shows all events in part in a list. You may select, edit, insert or delete events in the list. Double click a line in the list will show that event in the controllers window

This is a list of available controllers to view. A yellow line means that the part contains event if this kind. Ex. the list shows that the part contains at least one bank select message


Options

File

Autosave every 5 min

Open last saved song on start-up - Last saved song is automatically opened

Beep

Active on/off

Internal beep on/off

Midi beep on/off. Set output device, midi channel and midi note

Precount - Number of beats to count before recording

Midi

Select midi input device.

Select default output device. This device is used when a new song is created

Set all tracks outputs to selected device - Use this to change all track outputs to a specified device

Layout

Set background bitmap - Select bitmap from file to use as background in song edit

Set part and event color

Select flat or 3d buttons on toolbars


Editres

Edit resolution is used by quantize, length, overlap, when moving position in step edit, snap in step edit etc. Values are 64, 32, 16, 8, 4 and 2. If editres is 16 and quantize is applied then notes are time corrected to an interval of a 16th.


Event edit
Event list


Compose

Notes

Pattern

Select or input pattern to be repeated in part. Use 1 as note and 0 as rest. If editres is 16 and pattern is 1100 then to 16th will be inserted, 2 16th rests will be inserted and then repeated to end of part.

Length

Select length of events to be inserted

Reoslution

Select interval of events to be inserted. If resolution is 16 and pattern is 1110 then three 16th will be inserted and then one rest with duration of one 16th will be inserted before pattern is repeated

Velocity

Select velocity of events to be inserted

Overwrite

Overwrite on/off wether existing events in part will be ereased or not before pattern is inserted into part

Notes

Show notes to be inserted. Input notes with midi keyboard

Controllers

Set

Insert selected controller value at start of part. All existing controller values will be overwritten

Fade

Insert controller values fading from "from" value to "to" value. Ex. insert Main volum fading from 0 to 127. Interval of inserted controller events are set by editres

Random

Insert random conreoller values using editres as interval

Pattern

Draw a pattern and insert controller values with editres as interval. May be used to turn volum on/off in sync with tempo

AWE None registered parameter number

...


Locators

Store current locator positions with a user defined name.

Select stored locator positions from the list. Makes it easy to go to different locations of your song. When selecting a location the song pos will jump to the defined left locator


Keys

Global

[Return] - Play

[Return + shift] Play selected parts in loop

[Pgup] Forward

[PdDown] Reverse

[0 os space] Stop

[*] Record

Song edit

[Up] Select prior track

[Down] Select next track

[Right ] Select next part

[Right + shift] Select next part also

[Left] Select prior part

[Left + shift] Select prior part also

[Home] Start of song

[End] End of song

Part edit

[Right] Select next note

[Right + shift] Select next note also

[Left] Select prior note

[Left + shift] Select prior note also

[Ctrl + right] Move selected or all events forward using editres

[Ctrl + left] Move selected or all events backwards using editres

[Ctrl + up] Move selected or all events up on note

[Ctrl + down] Move selected or all events down on note

[Ctrl + shift + up] Move selected or all events up on octave

[Ctrl + shift + down] Move selected or all events down on octave

[Alt + right] Strecth note by editres

[Alt + left] Shrink note by editres

[F2] Default mode for selecting, moving and copying notes

[F3] Insert mode. Insert notes with mouse. Use [shift] and drag to insert notes repeatedly. Use [Alt] and drag to insert and drag size of note

[Home] Start of part

[End] End of part

Part edit - Step mode

[Left] Move cursor left by length of  EditRes

[Left + shift] Move cursor left by length of  EditRes x 4

[Right] Move cursor right by length of EditRes

[Right + shift] Move cursor right by length of  EditRes x 4

[Up] Move cursor up one note

[Up + Shift] Move cursor up one oct

[Down] Move cursor down one note

[Down + Shift] Move cursor down one oct

[Ins] Insert note at cursor

[Ins + shift] "Preview" note at cursor

[Del] Delete note(s) inside cursor


Transpose

Change

Input amount to change the pitch of notes in selected parts. You can Apply while song is playing without leaving this window.

Set

Input note by midi keyboard. All notes in selected parts will be transposed to this note. Ex: Use this to change a snare drum part to another midi key (C2 to C1 etc)


Velocity

Set

All notes get same velocity

Fade

Velocity is faded thru start of part to end of part

Change

Velocity is changed by a speified amount

Random

All notes are given a random velocity in a specified range


Song edit

Menu

File

New - Create a new song

Open - open an exsisting song

Save - Save current song

Save as... - Save current song with a new name

Options - Show options

AWE... - Show AWE window

Exit

Edit

Undo - Undo last action

Select all parts - Selectes all parts in arrangement

Edit part - Show part editor

Event list - Show event editor

Part

Insert - Inserts a new part using left and right locator as size

Delete - Delete selected parts

Compose - Compose events or controllers

Delete - Delete aftertouch, control change, notes, pitch bend, program change or double notes

Legato - Resize notes  to eliminate space between them

Length - Sets all events to a same length using editres

Quantize - Time corrects notes in selected parts using editres

Transpose - Transpose notes up or down or all notes to a spesified value

Velocity - Alter velocity of events in selected parst

Sequence

Insert area - Inserts area between left and right locator

Cut area - Cuts the area between left and right locator

Split selected parts - Splits selected parts at left and right locator

Group - Groups selected parts. Clicking on one of the parts in a group will select all parts in the group. Copying a group will create a new group of the copyed påarts

Ungroup - Turn grouping of on selected parts

Loop selected parts - Moves left locator to lftmost selected part and right locator to rightmost selected part and activeate loop mode

Toolbar

Loop - Toggles loop between left and right locator on/off

Beep - Toggles metronom beep on/off. Beep properties are set in Options window

Thru - Toggles midi thru on/off. Midi input is send thru output device. Midi thru channel is set on each track

Auto Q - Toggles Auto quantize on/off. Recorded events are quantized using editres

bmp - Set playback/record Tempo of song

Editres - Edit resoultion

Locators - Left and right locator settings. Jump easely between different locations of your song (intro, verse etc)

Store - Store current locator positions. Song position jumps to left locator

Tracks

Name - track name

Ch - midi channel. If thru is active all midi output is send thru using this channel

M - toggles mute on/off on each track

Output - midi output device. If thru is active all midi output is send thru using this device. Device may be internal or external

Prog - Bank and program settings for each track

Transp - Transpose midi input

Meter

Left click to set left loctor. Right click to set right locator. Click with [Shift] down to set song position. Selection shows the area between left and right locator. This area indicates which part of the song is looped on playback/record if loop is active

Parts

Left click to select single part. Left click with [Shift] down to select multiple parts. Drag selected part to move to different location. Drag with [Ctrl] down to copy to a new location. Drag with [Alt] down to resize part

Zoom

Click on zoom buttons to zoom in, out or set default part size


AWE

Sond Fonts

Load bank. Select program and push Load

Clear bank. Select program and push clear

Effects

Reverb, Chorus, Bass, Treble. Effects will be saved with song.


Getting started

Midi setup

Connect Midi out from your master keyboard to the PC. Connect Midi out from your PC to all Midi instruments and modules which will be played back. Turn "local off" on your master keyboard if is to be played back. Activate the Thru button. Midi is now sent from your midi keyboard thru Massiva and out to your midi equipment.

Giving each track a specific Midi channel redirects Midi input to this output. If track one has midi channel 1 and track two has midi channel 2, then selecting track one will redirect Midi input to midi channel 1 and selecteing track two will redirect Midi input to midi cahnnel 2.

PC's usually have both internal and external MIDI output (drivers) devices. Selecting an internal ouput device will send MIDI messages to a soundcard or a virtual (software) synth. Selecting an external device will send MIDI messages out thru the PC's Midi port .

Each track has a selection for output so that track one can play back on your Soundcard, and track 2 can play back on an external Midi instrument etc.

Recording a part

Set left and right locators to include the area to record into. Recording a 2 measure long part at the beginng of the song means setting the left locator to 1 (by clicking the mouse in the meter with left mouse button) and the right locator to 3 (by clicking the right mouse button).

Pressing record ([*] or rec-button in the transporter window) will start the recording of MIDI messages (events), starting at the left locator. If precount is active  in the options window a precount is generated before the recording starts. No MIDI messages will be recorded until precount is done.

Recording is done in loop if the loop button is down. This way multiple layers of events may be recorded in one go. Otherwise Massiva will record until you click stop ([0 or space] or stop-button in the transporter window)

It is always possible to record on top of previously recorded events. Select area to record into, start recording and events will be added to the previously recorded part(s).

Playing the song

To play the song hit [Return] on your PC-keyboard or push the Play-button in the transporter window. If loop is active the song will jump from the right locator and back to the left locator when the right locator is reached. Note: All editing may be done while playing.

Stop playing or recording

Hit [Space] or numpad zero to stop playback or recording.

Editing parts

Recorded parts may be transposed up, down or to a specific note. Velocity can be fixed to a value, may be faded from one value to another, set randomly thru the part or changed by a specific amount. Events may be time corrected into different intervals with quantize, and the length of the notes may be adjusted. All part operations are accessible from the Part menu

Using the composers

You can fill up a part with a bass drum in the Compose notes window by hitting the bass drum on your midi keyboard, selecting a pattern (ex each beat = "1000" when editres = 16) to be repeated and then push the OK button. Is is also possible to enter the notes dierectly ex:  "C3 D#3 G3" in the notes field.

Control change may be inserted, faded, randomized or repeated in a part in the Compose controllers window. Here you can insert pan or main volum changes in sync with music. Simply select editres (edit resolution), control change number and click the OK button.

Arranging your song

Parts may be moved and copied with drag and drop operations. Dragging and dropping with [ctrl] down will make a copy of the selected parts at the new location. A part may be resized by dragging it with the [Alt] key down. Parts may be grouped for making arranging easier. Clicking on one of the parts in the group will select all parts in the group. This way you can move or copy a group of parts with one or two mouse click.

Saving your song

Your song may be saved as a Massiva song (.seq) or a Standard MIDI file (.mid) format 1 which can be imported/read by other sequencer applications. Massiva reads Standard MIDI files format 0 and 1. SMF format 0 is automatically split onup to  MIDI channels.


Hints

Record music without a Midi keyboard

You can record music with your PC keyboard in Part edit using "Step mode". Select step mode from menu, press [F4] or click on step mode button. When step mode is active a red rectangle will be visible. This rectangle shows note position and time. Pressing [Ins] will insert a note inside the rectangle. Pressing delete will delete notes inside rectangle. The width (length of inserted notes) is set by Editres. You can move the rectangle by [Left], [Right, [Up] and [Down]. Holding [Shift] down while pressing [Up] or [Down] will move rectangle up or down one octave. To preview the note at current position hit [Ins] with [Shift] down.

You can insert notes with mouse in Part edit using "Insert mode". When insert mode is active the mouse cursor looks like a pencil. To insert a note click in grid. A note will be inserted with length of Editres. To insert notes with different lengths, hold [Alt] down while clicking and dragging note to any length. You may insert repeated notes by holding [Shift] down while clicking and dragging. The notes will get the length of  Editres. You can insert notes at any poisition by unactivating "Snap". When snap is avtive, all notes are time corrected to the nearest Editres. Ex. Snapping to 16th etc.

You may insert patterns of a note or chords in Compose notes window. Select Compose notes from part menu. Select pattern, input notes with PC keyboard or Midi keyboard and click on OK/Apply.

Navigate your music

You may define song locations (left and right locator positions)  and store them with user defined names. While song is playing you may select one of the defined locations and the song position will jump to the left locator position of the location. The left and right locators are restored to previously defined positions. Restart current location be clicking on the "Locators" label. Select prior and next

loaction by clicking on the "<" and ">" buttons, or select a location from the location list. Ex: you may define a break location and an intro location. Then move from break to intro and back by clicking on "<", ">" buttons while song is playing.

Edit all or only some of the notes/events of a part

In Part edit all operations depends on wether notes/events are selected or not. This means if some notes/events are selected then only these notes/events will be affected by quantize, legato, length or any other operation. If no notes/events are selected then they all will be affected. This way it is possible to quantize only some of the notes using 32 tripples and the others by 16th.

Select, insert, delete, move, copy, append and resize parts in song edit

Select a single part by clicking on it. Select mulptiple parts by holding [shift] down, click mouse and drag over parts to be selected.

Insert a new part by selecting insert from part menu, press [ins] key or double click inside left and right locator.

Delete parts by selecting delete from part menu or press [Del] key. The delete command only deletes selected parts.

Move parts by click and drag selected parts

Copy parts by click and drag selected parts while holding the [ctrl] key down

Append selected part by selecting append from part menu. Append will add a copy of all the selected parts with the first copy positioned after the last selected part

Resize a part by holding the [alt] key down and then click on part and drag to set new length

Create your own MIDI files

Songs in Massiva may be saved as standard MIDI files. Select "save as", go to "save as type" and select MIDI file and click OK button.

Make notes in a part pan gradually from left to right

To make notes in a part pan gradually from left to right you first select the part, then select "compose controllers" from the part menu. Select the Fade tab. Set Controller to pan. Set From to 0 and To to 127. Click on OK. Note: if Editres is 16 then a pan mesage is inserted every 16th, if Editres is 4 then a new pan message will be inserted on each beat in the part.

To see what you have just inserted, double click on part to show part editor. Right click in control window and select controller. Select pan from the controller list (it should be highlighted since the part contains pan). Now you can see the pan visually relative to the notes in the part. You may edit the pan values by clicking in the control window or clicking and dragging with the [Shift] key down.

Note: not all midi instruments "understand" pan messages.

Inserting a simple bass drum pattern into a part

Select part to insert bass drum into. Select "compose notes" from part menu. Select pattern "1000". Go to notes and type "C1" (or wherever your bass drum is) or simply hit the bass drum on your MIDI keyboard. Click the OK button. To see the inserted notes double click on part

Inserting a simple chord pattern into a part

Select part to insert chord into. Select "compose notes" from part menu. Select pattern "1011". Go to notes and type "C1 D#1 G1" (or whatever) or simply hit the chord on your MIDI keyboard. Click the OK button. To see the inserted notes double click on part

Scrolling

You can scroll in on song edit or part edit in any direction by clicking left mouse button in an empty area while holding [Alt] down and drag mouse

Play selected part(s) in loop without setting locators and song position

To playback selected parts in loop without setting left and right locator push [Shift] + [Return]. Massiva will automaticly set left locator (to start of leftmost selected part), right locator (to end of rightmost selected part) and activate loop. Pushing [Shift] + [Return] always starts from the leftmost selected part.

When you are in part edit the part you edit is of course selected, pushing [Shift] + [Return] will then play this part from left and in loop no matter where song position and left/right locator location were previously

Select a part and push [Shift] + [Return] instead of setting left + right + song position and the press [Return]

Changing MIDI output device on all tracks at once

Select options from file menu. Select the MIDI page. Select MIDI output device in Use this output on all tracks-list and push apply.

Real time editing

All editing i Massiva may be done in real time. So you don't have to stop the song to adjust velocity etc. Select parts to edit. Start playback of selected parts with [Shift] + [Return]. Select Velocity from part menu. Apply velocity changes while song is playing.


Grooves

Time (+/-)

Set time offset in %. If editres is 16 and a value is set to  50 (%) then this note will be moved to the right by length of a 16th note devided by 2

Velocity

Set velocity on each quantized note