Problems exporting midi files with Cubase
- The Cubase *.all format does not by default contain true midi messages for program change, volume or panning etc. These must be
inserted manually (or recorded) before exporting a file to midi.
- I had to remove the "system exclusive messages" for my Roland JV-30 synth, which are useless for most soundcards
and dangerous for Roland JV-30 users, since such messages like "performance dumps" and "part dumps" are capable of
overwriting user-defined presets.
- Note lengths are often converted incorrectly. I noticed this only happens in overdubbed parts and
when a note is immediately repeated. This is what happens:
When recording the overdub I started playing a certain note before that very same note from the first take had ended,
thus creating an overlap which could not have happened in a one-take recording (have you ever tried playing the same note
twice without lifting your finger?). The resulting order of the midi messages in this case would be
"note on-----note on note off
-----note off" whereas it should have been
"note on-----note off note on-----note off" obviously.
Now the first note on cannot find its companion note off and the note length becomes zero. The second note on responds to
the first note off it finds, which actually belonged to the first note on. This note will become very short.
The last note off, finally, will be ignored. All notes that are shortened this way have to be manually corrected.