Creating A New Instrument Definition; Masks - Mackie C4 Commander Programming Manual

C4 Commander
4
Programmer's Guide

Creating a new Instrument Definition

Every instrument Definition has a header. If you
wish to create a definition for a new instrument,
you will need to create the following file, or edit
an existing file as a template. The header con-
sists of the following information:
<InstrumentDefinition> This is the tag that
defines the file as an instrument definition file
and as an element contains all data necessary to
communicate with and operate an instrument.
<InstrumentID> This is the specific instru-
ment's MIDI ID as assigned by and registered
in the MIDI Manufacturer's Association (MMA).
A unique ID assigned to each instrument and
stored in HEX.
<ManufacturerName> Name of instrument man-
ufacturer (e.g., Oberheim).
<ManufacturerID> This is the Manufacturer's
MIDI ID as assigned by and registered in the
MIDI Manufacturer's Association (MMA). A
unique ID assigned to each manufacturer and
stored in HEX.
<DeviceName> Name of the given instrument
(e.g., Matrix 6). This is displayed in various file
lists and menu trees on the C4 Commander
<DeviceID> This is the Manufacturer's Unique
MIDI Device ID as assigned by and registered
in the MIDI Manufacturer's Association (MMA).
This is unique for each instrument model and
stored in HEX.

Masks

Masks are used to enable the sending and re-
ceiving of complex MIDI messages. Since there
is no "standard" for a MIDI SYSEX message,
masks are the only way to ensure future com-
patibility with the C4 Commander and future
instruments and devices.
<MaskList> This tag defines the beginning of
the mask list section, and contains a list of all
masks defined for the instrument. An instru-
ment may have several different types of MIDI
SYSEX messages, therefore multiple masks
may be used. Masks are called on a per param-
eter basis, so an LFO message can have one
mask, while a filter message may use another.