The Settings Page
The Virtual Sampler Settings page is
used to specify settings for the Virtual Sampler. These are MIDI settings as well as
general sound settings. Some of the settings are stored within the Virtual Sampler bank,
others are stored in the Windows registry and are available to all banks.

The Settings page consists of:
- Controls for assigning the desired
MIDI IN and MIDI THRU ports
- Controls to specify a filter for the
MIDI events that Virtual Sampler receives
- Controls to set general sound settings
- Controls for changing the timer
resolution for Virtual Sampler
- Controls to specify environment
settings
Specifying MIDI options
The "MIDI Panic" button is
used to kill all voices on each channel that Virtual Sampler currently uses. This is
useful if you have hanging notes or MIDI short circuit.
The "Visualize MIDI
activity" checkbox displays activity on the MIDI IN and MIDI THRU ports in the
taskbar of Virtual Sampler. This can be used to view MIDI activity or to check proper MIDI
configuration for your system. This option is enabled by default. If you work with
sequencer programs or you know that your system is correctly configured, it is recommended
to disable this function because it consumes processor time. This is especially important
when using the Virtual Sampler DirectSound interface.
The "Visualize MIDI keys"
option visualizes incoming MIDI keys on the onscreen keyboard. This is especially usefull
for editing splits. All split functions (like "Set Split Range", "Set Root
Key" and "Split/Key") can also be controlled by MIDI messages if this
option is enabled. If you work with sequencer programs, it is recommended to disable this
function because it consumes processor time. This is especially important when using the
Virtual Sampler DirectSound interface.
Defining MIDI filters
Virtual Sampler allows you to define
filters for incoming MIDI messages. This allows you to specify messages that you are
interested to receive. Note that for some messages (like the Channel Velocity, Pitch and
AfterTouch) you will not be able to use the associated Virtual Sampler parameters if you
disable them. The following filters are available:
- Bank and Program Change - These are
the MIDI message Cxh and the MIDI controller 0. The MIDI message Cxh is followed by one
MIDI data byte and is used to switch the program for the current bank for the
channels 1-16 (messages C0h-CFh followed by the program numbers from 1-64). The MIDI
controller 0 is used to select the Virtual Sampler bank for the channels 1-16 (messages
B0h 00 xx - BFh 00 xx where xx is the bank number 0-31). Note:These settings take only
effect in Virtual Sampler multi mode.
- Control Change - If this switch is
enabled, Virtual Sampler will receive Control Change messages (MIDI messages B0h-BFh)
- System Exclusive Data - If this switch
is enabled, Virtual Sampler will receive MIDI System Exclusive Data. This switch is
currently not used but future Versions of the Virtual Sampler will also support
programming through System Exclusive messages.
- Channel Velocity - If this switch is
enabled, Virtual Sampler will receive velocity data for each MIDI channel. Note that
velocity sensitivity and other velocity related features are disabled when you deselect
this option.
- Channel AfterTouch - If this switch is
enabled, Virtual Sampler will receive aftertouch data for each MIDI channel. Note that
aftertouch related features are disabled when you deselect this option.
- Pitch Bend Data - If this switch is
enabled, Virtual Sampler will receive pitch bend data for each MIDI channel. Note that
pitch bend related features are disabled when you deselect this option.
For details on the MIDI
implementation and a list of recognized MIDI messages see "MIDI
implementation chart".
Defining General Sound Settings
The following settings are available:
- Master Volume - This defines the
master volume for all Virtual Sampler outputs. This parameter limits output of each split
to the specified value.
- Master Pan - This defines the master
pan for all Virtual Sampler outputs. This parameter changes the pan position of each split
by the specified value.
Changing Environment Settings
Virtual Sampler Environment Settings
affect behaviour of the Virtual Sampler application as well as defaults for the sample
recorder. The following options are available:
- Temp Drive - This is the drive that
Virtual Sampler uses for storing temporary data when recording samples with the sample
recorder inside the Samples page. Temporary files will be
stored in the root directory of that drive and are erased automatically after usage. Note
that when recording large samples, the temporary drive must have enough free space to hold
the sample data.
- Show Hints - This option enables or
disables the hint function of Virtual Sampler. When enabled, Virtual Sampler will display
a hint for a specific control. when you hold the mouse over it and wait a few seconds.
Otherwise hints are not displayed.
- Visualize MIDI keys - This option
visualizes incoming MIDI keys on the onscreen keyboard. This is especially usefull for
editing splits. All split functions (like "Set Split Range", "Set Root
Key" and "Split/Key") can also be controlled by MIDI messages if this
option is enabled. If you work with sequencer programs, it is recommended to disable this
function because it consumes processor time. This is especially important when using the
Virtual Sampler DirectSound interface.
- "Visualize MIDI activity" -
This checkbox displays activity on the MIDI IN and MIDI THRU ports in the taskbar of
Virtual Sampler. This can be used to view MIDI activity or to check proper MIDI
configuration for your system. This option is enabled by default. If you work with
sequencer programs or you know that your system is correctly configured, it is recommended
to disable this function because it consumes processor time. This is especially important
when using the Virtual Sampler DirectSound interface.
Changing the Virtual Sampler timer
resolution
Virtual Sampler uses a periodic timer
to apply realtime effects (like envelopes and filters) to the output of each split. The
resolution for that timer can be set with the "Timer Resolution (Latency)"
controls. This also affects Virtual Sampler latency and timing behaviour. A higher timer
resolution (shorter intervals) means faster operation of the Virtual Sampler. Note: It is not
recommended to change this value below 10ms because this will affect both system handling
and stability. Do only change this value if you encounter latency problems or other
difficulties or if you want very accurate timing and you don't care about system overhead.