Display MIDI PC for the current slot in perf-mode

    With a lot of performance/slots in use it would be nice to be able to read the MIDI program-change parameters for the current slot from the screen. Calculating the numbers (([performance-id]-1)*5 + [slot-id]-1) gets complex when overflow on 7-bits into the LSB-field has to be taken into account.

    Background: I use a songbook/setlist-manager with MIDI-capabilities to select my performance/slots on stage to eliminate the stepping exercise involved in jumping between performances far apart in the KPA. For "jamming" I do have performances set up to cover the required tonality of each instrument, but I still often use specific rigs/slots for each song. The software is currently able to send either a PC-triplet or a single CC/attribute-pair. To choose first performance then slot would require two consecutive CC/attribute-pairs which the software can not do, so I'm stuck with the PC-method for now. Performances 1-24 that fit within the 7-bit limitation are not too bad, but consider for example calculating the parameters required to select performance 109, slot 4:

    (109-1)*5 + (4 - 1) = 543

    ...which then must be split due to the 7-bit (127) limit.

    543 divided by 128 is 4 with a rest of 31

    So the MIDI PC-attributes are 4:31 Sigh :/

    Quote from Kemper Support #1

    the program change number and bank select number for each slot are shown in the lower left corner of the PROFILER display in perform mode when no remote is connected.

    Didn't notice that because I always use the remote. Even with MIDI selecting the initial perf/slot for a song I still need the remote to toggle effects and use exp-pedals along the way. Why not display the parameters when the remote is connected too?

    The displayed MIDI PRG and BANK seem to be displayed +1 compared to what actually has to be transmitted. Is there a setting somewhere to choose to display values 0-127 instead of 1-128? Not really important because my external software is able to make that distinction so I can do it there.

    Edited 2 times, last by heldal (April 25, 2019 at 8:43 AM).

    We don't display bank nor programs change numbers, while a Remote is connected, because it allows Remote users to focus on the relevant information. If you want to know which MIDI numbers are associated with a particular Slot, check out the chapter MIDI in the Main Manual or disconnect the Remote while you are setting up Bandhelper, Setlistmaker, …

    This is basic MIDI practice. Some companies refer to the logical range 1-128, others refer to the values behind 0-127. The first program change and the first bank have the value "0". We consistently refer to the logical range.

    Quote from Burkhard

    We don't display bank nor programs change numbers, while a Remote is connected, because it allows Remote users to focus on the relevant information.

    Honestly, these are tiny numbers within a field that simply is black containing no information whatsoever when the remote is connected. Remote users don't loose anything by having the numbers there all the time, nor does it prevent anyone from focusing on their remotes. I'm a remote user myself, but accessing the digits would have me disconnecting and reconnecting the remote frequently during practise which is both inconvenient and causes unnecessary wear on connectors. The boot+connect-time of the remote makes this approach even more awkward.

    The choice to display MIDI-values in the range 1-128 rather than the actual 0-127 is reasonable.

    Edited once, last by heldal (April 25, 2019 at 12:40 PM).

    Using Bandhelper plus Remote myself I don't understand your workflow. In Bandhelper I need to set up a MIDI preset per song. This MIDI preset is even shared amongst all the bandmates. So, it's not something I do while playing anyhow and the effort it takes to get the MIDI numbers either from the display (while the Remote is disconnected), or from the manual or do the calculation in my head is minor. Normally, you don't jump from Performance 7 Slot 2 to Performance 113 Slot 4, do you? I only load the first Slots of any Performance via MIDI, which is always my start sound for a song. However, doing the math to load other Slots within the Performance is easy.

    Quote from Burkhard

    Normally, you don't jump from Performance 7 Slot 2 to Performance 113 Slot 4, do you?

    That depends on my mode of playing. In "jam-mode" I've got one performance per guitar that cover everything from clean to saturated with a reasonable selection of effects set up. In "per-song-mode", typically when playing in a cover-band, there are individual slots, or maybe two or three neighbouring slots, for each song. Then it is the order of the songs that dictate the jumps. If there are specific slots set up for 100+ songs one often have to jump between slots that are 30-40 performances apart. To re-organise performances and slots in the Kemper each time to match the order of songs on the setlist of the day is both tedious and prone to error.

    Again, I fail to see how displaying the MIDI-parameters on the front-panel of the KPA could make remote-users loose focus. Myself and the few other Kemper-users that I know hardly look at the display on the head or rack-unit during a performance because everything we need to see while playing is displayed on the remote. Am I missing something important? Please educate me! Someone obviously put in some effort to modify the code to remove MIDI-info from the panel when adding support for the remote, but in my mind that seems like a waste of time.

    Edited once, last by heldal (April 26, 2019 at 9:08 PM).

    I still don't understand your work-flow and its implications for MIDI assignments. In "jam-mode" you have your fixed Performances per guitar - no need to change, right? In "song-mode" the order of songs can change. So, then you change the order of Performances and MIDI assignments accordingly? We manage our setlists in Bandhelper. You can even have multiple setlists simultaneously for various concerts. I don't touch the setup of the songs and their MIDI presets in Bandhelper anymore. The Performances structure in the PROFILER stays untouched. Therefor I don't need to know their MIDI addresses all the time. I do this once, when I set up a new song. I could even prepare spare MDI presets in Bandhelper corresponding to the next new songs. I wouldn't want to do that during a rehearsal.

    We don't even want to bother the majority of users with a Remote with this "MIDI algebra". The Remote itself doesn't need that. We introduced this years ago and have not seen complaints. Three users raised the question, why the MIDI addresses sometimes disappear. We provided the explanation and it was fine.