backing up the timefactor

[JimiB]

is the only way to do this a midi dump?

[DGillespie]

Yes,

But it should be fairly easy to do using free tools like either Midi-Ox on a PC or SysEx Librarian on a Mac.

[JimiB]

yes but I don't have a midi interface for any computer except the one in the studio and I dont put excess programs on it. Wouldn't it be easy to set it up to save patches via the USB? Aren't we going to be able to do this in the near future – share patches ect?

[DGillespie]

Sorry,

I could've been more specific.  If you plug the Time or ModFactor into your PC or Mac it will show up as a Midi device.  This will allow you to use either of those programs to do a Midi dump, just choose Time or ModFactor as your midi device.

Dan

[Roobin]

You can kind of 'save patches' already. Connect the TF to PC via USB A to B. If you take a SysEx dump of the Current Patch, you can save that SysEx data as a patch, and then reload it into the TF at a later date in any slot. (At least, I think this is how it works.) I've successfully used MidiOx on XP and Ubuntu to save patches.

One question though (sorry for hijacking the thread!) – how do you upload to the TF in a specific patch slot? There's no 'easy way' in the manual (compared to dumping patches).  

[achaput]

If you load a single patch back into TimeFactor or ModFactor from a computer you must then perform a save operation to store to a Preset slot. Otherwise it will be lost if you change Presets on the stompbox.

Alan

[Roobin]

Oh ok, so it loads the patch as the new 'current' patch? That seems very simple. What about a total system load?

[Trazan]

A little PC/Mac editor that could save patches would be very nice! 

[JimiB]

"A little PC/Mac editor that could save patches would be very nice!" I totally agree – also is there plans for an editor of sorts? I loved the line6 one – I just couldnt ever agree with the way the stuff sounded.

[mcalldp]

 Yes, we need a nice editor for this and I think there will be a time in the future when all devices like this have an editor available as soon as they ship. However, to the dump thing, I opened a seperate post but if anyone can help, I can do a full dump and it's fine but when I load it back I get a BAD LOAD error on the TimeFactor- any thoughts?

[achaput]

What program are you using for dumping/What kind of computer/how is the TimeFactor connected? 

[mcalldp]

Midi Software = MidiOX and SendSx

System = Windows XP

Connection = USB

It seems that most people are using MidiOX which I have gotten to work. SendSx is a much simpler program as far as layout but I have only gotten the dump to work with it, I get a bad load error when I send the file back to the TimeFactor.

I think that it's the future for products like this to have editors available for download. The editors should allow for the midi dump/send as well as changing patches, placing where they are saved etc…

I've seen this done well for many units but usually it's after a long time when the user community has grown to the point that their own programers take on the task rather than an official software. I hope Eventide lives on the edge and makes official editors available now and in the future.

[Roobin]

I personally find MidiOx find for downloading/uploading patches. I tried SendSx, but preferred MidiOx. I agree thought that a complete bit of software for uploading/downloading patches would be very nice. Here are a few ideas about possible features:

– Save patches from TF 

– Load patches to TF

– System dumps & uploads

– Make a 'playlist' or patches organising them into banks, etc for a complete upload to TF

– A 'database' of patches on your pc so that you can just click and drag, not fumble around finding stuff

– Integrate the update program into this program  

-Work in different OS – i.e. Mac and Linux, even if under Wine. 

The more daring bits:

– An 'audition patch' button, so that when you select a patch, you can here a sample of what it does. You record a little piece, then 'attach' it to the patch

– There was talk of some online patch-sharing area – maybe a repository which links into the software, so that you can download other people's patches that they've upload to the repository, and upload your patches to share. Tie this in with the 'audition' idea and it sounds quite cool. 

[mcalldp]

Yes, I mentioned hte patch sharring idea and I like your ides for the program. The patch sharring ideas and the dedicated program are things I mentioned straight from having them with other processors in the past. The last one I uses was for the T.C. Electroni G_Major and it was made by a user. This kind of thing should be packaged as part of the product in my opinion. Plus, Eventide has put themself in a perfect postition for showing this off as they already have a USB port on the TF and already press the fact that updates are given via download and the product is meant to stay cutting edge because of this.

These programs are not hard to create with a little dedicated programming time. The few I've used that I liked the best did a few basic thing:

Loaded up/down backups

Allowed changing of patches

Allowed change of the order of patches (This would really be nice with the TF as organizing the ten patches without overwriting any is impossible)

I love your additional ideas! Maybe Eventide is the company to do this…..we'll see. 

[Roobin]

I have to agree, such a bit of software would be absolutely amazing. I looked into programming, but it was waaay over my head. Thanks by the way. These were just a few quick ones I came up with… maybe I'll have a few more. 

By the way, I just saw something really funny at Harmony Central:

Lanefair"]

[quote user="int.parascope:

Is there anything the DL4 can do that the Timefactor can't? 

Break a lot

 

[mcalldp]

Arg, and doesn't it tick you all of these requests for information regarding the TF vs The TC Nova? I've owned both at the same time (Just sold the Nova) it's comparing two different things. One has more features and is more expensive, one is simpler and less expensive. Do you need the features, and what's your price range, the only two questions between these two but everyone is comparing them down to minute detail as if they are the same thing from two different companies or something. BLEH

[Roobin]

Yeah, it's quite often you see DD20 vs DL4 vs Nova vs TF…when infact they are aimed at sligthly different markets (well, maybe not the DL4 and DD20). The Nova doesn't even have dual delays, only stereo. I think the programmable the nature and USB functionality, as you said, needs to be used to the max. I'm sure we're not going to see any software in the near future, considering the work being done on the new firmware (exciting!), but I think it's still important to consider future projects. 

I don't know if it got mentioned before, but I thought of another feature for the software: modifying the system settings and being able to upload them – in essence editing the system patch. This could allow say different setups for different rigs & bands, without having to manually change lots of things. As far as patch editing goes, I'd say that it would be fairly limited given that you really need to be 'on the ground' so to speak to hear what you are changing – something you can't really do in software. I dunno – maybe there are other uses I haven't considered?

[achaput]

mcalldp:

SendSx is a much simpler program as far as layout but I have only gotten the dump to work with it, I get a bad load error when I send the file back to the TimeFactor.

 

From the SendSx Installation Notes:

"Use with Windows XP at your own risk: people have reported failures with sending large bulk dumps. "

MIDI-OX is a better choice.

[mcalldp]

Doh, I didn't see that- stupid monkey error. Midiox is working perfect 🙂 I've also given up on the Roland EV-5 in favor of the Boss FV500. It seems musch beter for this unit as the sweep range makes the TimeFactor easier to control in a live situation.

[mcalldp]

Roobin, you da man.

Yes, the TF and Nova are for different markets in my mind as well:

1) Needs a simpler, smaller, cheaper unit

2) Wants extra features, can afford these features and have the room for it.

The comparisons end there for me though. I had both at the same time and sold the Nova. 

I was looking into what it takes to create software. I not only have exp in programming but have a large group of programers as friends (work in IT center supporting medical software)

So I was kind of interested in what it would take to write a program ourselves…..

Problem is, I know next to nothing about midi and how it works. If I can do enough research to figure out HOW to do it, I have the time and man power to get it done….. just looking at the midi dump I'd have to start by figuring out what each param matches to what settings etc….but it would be nice software to have.

Of course if Eventide wanted to hire it out I could make sure it got done really soon

 😉

[JimiB]

Are you using the FV500L or the FV500H?

[mcalldp]

 The Boss FV500L. The Roland didn't have enough sweep. In a live situation it changed the parameters too fast. The Boss unit is great. I tightened it up and it's perfect BUT it's really big so people have to keep that in mind when buying.

[Roobin]

Thanks mcalldp! Wow, it seems that you've got the programming expertise covered. But do you mean Eventide or TC?  For MIDI, perhaps look at how Midi Ox operates – Id on't know how useful it'd be, but it's a start. Something like python might have a MIDI related module? You probably know loads more about that sort of stuff than me, so if I talkingrubbish, just ignore me! I was also looking into Visual Basic, see if that has anything useful.

[mcalldp]

Sorry, I meant Eventide! I said TC because I am looking at a couple of software editors that users of the tc g-major wrote in order to get ideas on how to do it. The enterface is easy, having knobs etc to turn and all that pretty stuff. Both of the ones I 've seen were done with java….. It also seems that they write to a file that you then download with a seperate program like midiox, they didn't include that in their stand-along editing app. I think this was because of the the details that can go into the transfer like buffering etc and it was a lot of work when there is already a good application to do that part. So, the editor probably just saves down to a sysex file. I still have not sourced any information on the mapping for what numbers correspond to what withing TF though, so the hard part isn't even touched yet. I'm still interested enough to keep checking on it a bit more tho'

[Roobin]

I was just browsing the MidiOx forums, and one of the admins there wrote a program utilising MidiOx for a drum kit: http://sourceforge.net/projects/trapkat-editor. Also, I came up with yet another feature (I'm also sharing my excitement about somehtign I read in the manual, which you may already knwo of, but I got totally excited by it…blah):

– Since the TF can be used as a midi controller sending CC messages, perhaps some interface to easily assign knobs to the relevent numbers (not sure what they're called). I suppose this comes under my idea earlier of modifying the system settings. Still, it would be another cool thing to shout out about the TF. Similarly with setting CC numbers for knobs to send messages to the TF from your PC or another MIDI input e.g. hooking it up to a digital piano, so that when you press the 'Organ' button, it loads the patch for, say, deep delay. This is just an idea. I think I've come up with too many ideas now! Sorry!

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