Reviews

MIDI QUEST 8.0 REVIEWED IN ELECTRONIC MUSICIAN

The April 2001 edition of Electronic Musician features a review of Midi Quest 8.0. Reviewer Scott R. Garrigus covers many of the new features added to Midi Quest in its latest release.

You can read the review reproduced here by permission, or visit the EM Online website by clicking the Electronic Musician Logo above.

Sound Quest's Midi Quest universal editor/librarian for Windows has been around for quite some time, but with the introduction of version 8.0, it has clearly grown into a professional-quality application. In fact, it now includes almost everything you need to edit, store, and organize the data for all your studio's MIDI devices.

Midi Quest 8.0 supports nearly 500 MIDI devices and offers a collection of more than 67,000 public-domain patches for various instruments. In addition, there are a number of more advanced enhancements. For example, the program can now be used as a Cakewalk MIDI Effect (MFX) or VST plug-in, and it can automatically create Pro Audio Instrument Definition files.

With this new release, Sound Quest has provided tight integration between Midi Quest and Infinity, the company's object-oriented, graphic MIDI control language. Other improvements include automated Keyword assignments when building databases, one-button patch comparison, enhanced editing in the SysEx View, and support for all current Windows versions (including 2000 and ME). In fact, this Midi Quest version incorporates more than 50 new enhancements, many of which are subtle but welcome.

Despite the numerous modifications, Midi Quest retains its Librarian, Group, Bank Editor, Patch Editor, and DBase windows. As in earlier versions, Libraries are used to create a master list of all your MIDI devices' patches. Other features, such as the MIDI Controller, Sequencer, MIDI Monitor, File Converter, and Driver Creator, are also still available. But the program is now more flexible and refined in its data handling and editing capabilities.

EM did an extensive review of Midi Quest 7.0 in the July 1999 issue, so I'll focus on the new features in version 8.0. If you're unfamiliar with the program, check out the earlier review or drop by Sound Quest's Web site (www.squest.com) for more information and a demo download of the program.

The program's most obvious change is the Patch Editor's new look (see Fig. 1). Instead of the plain-looking older versions, Midi Quest 8.0 features Skins that can change the Patch Editor's appearance. There are several different Skins included with the program, and you can edit or create your own. The Skins feature lets you control color; background, slider, and knob graphics; and fonts, among other things. (You can't have different Skins for different windows, but that's not a serious limitation.) The feature's value is purely aesthetic — it doesn't alter the Editor's functionality in any way.

A more significant change is the addition of keyboard equivalents for most of the menu functions. Those are particularly handy when you use the Patch Editor because they let you easily jump from one work area to another. In addition, you can quickly select any of the Editor's four buffers to compare variations of your patches. Unfortunately, you can't customize the keyboard equivalents; you must learn the ones that are permanently etched into the program.

Another update worth mentioning is that all the program's dialog boxes conform to the Windows standard. They use the default Windows colors and fonts, and they can be closed, maximized, or minimized like normal Windows dialogs, which makes working with the program much more efficient. It is now easier to gain access to different Desktop configurations. As with earlier versions, you can save screen layouts for later recall, but when you right-click on the desktop in the new version, a pop-up menu provides access to all previously saved configurations. You no longer have to wade through various menus and dialog boxes to find what you want.

One minor gripe is that Midi Quest includes only one toolbar that can be docked or floating, and you can't customize it in any other manner. I would like to be able to create and customize toolbars for quick access to my favorite functions.

Perhaps the most significant change in Midi Quest 8.0 is the program's integration with other software products. They include Cakewalk's Pro Audio, Guitar Studio, and Home Studio; Steinberg's Cubase; and Sound Quest's Infinity real-time processing and MIDI control software. (For a review of Infinity, see the September 2000 issue of EM.)

Within the Cakewalk applications, Midi Quest can operate as an MFX plug-in. That lets you gain access to each of the five main Midi Quest display/editing windows (Group, Library, Bank, Patch, and DBase) from within these programs. To do so, simply open a Project in a Cakewalk application, right-click on an empty MIDI track's Effects Bin, and select Midi Quest MFX from the list. To open the Midi Quest plug-in, double-click on it. You can then open any Midi Quest file; depending on the type of file you choose, the appropriate window is displayed. For example, if you open a Bank file, the Bank window opens (see Fig. 2). You can also open more than one Midi Quest window by adding another instance of the plug-in to the Effects Bin.

Pro Audio users will also be happy to learn that Midi Quest 8.0 can automatically create Instrument Definition (ID) files. I don't know how many times I've been asked how to create ID files, but with Midi Quest 8.0, there's no longer any need for manual labor. You can quickly and easily export entire patch name banks from Midi Quest directly into the Pro Audio master.ins file or as a separate INS file for future importing or sharing among friends. This feature is a massive time-saver, and as a Pro Audio user, I love it.

Midi Quest can also operate as a VST 2.0 plug-in within Cubase. One advantage of running Midi Quest as a plug-in rather than a separate application is that the plug-in offers automation capabilities. Specifically, you can have the host application automatically send Midi Quest data, such as a new bank of sounds, to your devices at appropriate times within a project.

Unfortunately, the Midi Quest plug-in doesn't provide the same individual parameter automation that you get with the standalone version (in which any parameter can be automated using MIDI controller data). But if you use Midi Quest with Infinity, you have access to parameter automation and lots of other types of automated processes. Infinity lets you construct various types of MIDI processing programs by assembling modules on a graphic “workbench.” For example, you can create your own MIDI delays, transposers, arpeggiators, rechannelizers, and much more.

Infinity's Midi Quest Edit object provides access to any Midi Quest window and lets you manipulate just about all Midi Quest parameters (see Fig. 3). By opening the Patch Editor window using the Midi Quest Edit object, you can automate any patch parameter in real time. Imagine the possibilities! (See the Sound Quest Web site for special pricing if you own one of its products and wish to purchase another.)

One of an editor/librarian's most important functions is to keep track of all the patches in your collection. Midi Quest is well equipped for the task, especially with the latest version's expanded Keyword features.

You use Keywords to find a patch within your collection, and version 8.0 automates Keyword assignments. Every time you add a patch to the library, its name is analyzed for matches with existing Keywords. If a match is found, the Keyword is associated with the new patch. For example, if you add a patch called “Soft Piano” to a library and you already defined the word “Piano” as a Keyword, “Piano” is automatically assigned as a Keyword to the new patch. (Up to eight Keywords can be linked to a patch.) Also, when a Keyword is renamed in one library, you have the choice of making the same change in all your libraries.

You can also create a list of shortened names for use with the automatic Keywords feature. For example, you can use the short form “Pno” in place of “Piano,” so that any patch name containing “Pno” will automatically be assigned “Piano” as a Keyword. This comes in very handy with synths that provide limited space for their patch names.

Finally, Keywords can be used with Midi Quest's Sequencer feature. Specifically, you can now assign a sequence to a Keyword. That is great for auditioning patches with music that's suited to the specific sound type. For example, you might have a piano-music sequence assigned to the Keyword “Piano.” Then when you want to audition a piano patch with that Keyword, the sequence automatically loads and plays music that's appropriate to the sound.

Midi Quest supports more than 465 instruments with more coming all the time, so there was no way I could test all the modules. However, I did test Midi Quest with a number of the synths I own, such as the Roland Sound Canvas (SC-55) and the E-mu Proteus/2.

Of course, editor/librarians give you complete access to all parameters in a synth, and Midi Quest 8.0 definitely delivers in that respect. I really enjoy tinkering with the individual drum panning and volume parameters on the Sound Canvas without having to wade through a slew of unwieldy menus. I love the fact that I can view and manipulate all the main parameters for each of the 16 Sound Canvas Parts on a single screen as well. I was tweakin' like a madman.

I also like the flexibility with which you can view and enter parameter values. If you prefer to use numeric values instead of graphic sliders, you can enable Numeric Display in the Patch Edit tab, and all the editors will display precise numeric values for their settings.

One thing I'd like to see is an easier way to input a key range for each Part. It would be nice to have a little graphic keyboard pop up so that you could choose notes by sight rather than just by name.

Working with the Proteus module is similar to using the Sound Canvas. It's great having access to the unit's many “buried” parameters so easily. However, editing envelopes graphically is somewhat limiting in the default display because the parameters only change in increments of 2. (Proteus envelopes use a range of nonspecific units from 0 to 99.) Luckily, you can adjust the parameters more precisely by typing numeric values. Another option is to use Midi Quest's customization features to change the envelope display size on the screen, giving the envelope controls higher resolution and letting you step through the values in increments of 1.

Finally, I have one big wish, which no editor/librarian software that I know of provides. I'd like to see more documentation for the various parameters in different instrument modules. I realize that users are expected to read their synth manuals, but the names of onscreen parameters are often just as cryptic as their LCD counterparts. It would be wonderful to right-click on a parameter and have a full description, complete with a few usage tips, pop up in a separate window. No doubt the cost of this detailed help would be somewhat prohibitive, though.

There are a number of less significant updates in version 8.0 that still enhance the Midi Quest experience. These include a revised SysEx View (which lets you edit any byte of data), the ability to list sequences by name instead of number, and a one-click Patch-comparison feature.

I would also like to commend Sound Quest for its decision to remove copy protection from Midi Quest. The control disk included with older versions is no longer required. Another important plus is the program's excellent documentation. Not only does Midi Quest include a whopping 5 MB help file, but there's a very nice printed manual as well. In addition, there are more than 300 MB of video-based tutorials on the CD. This is clearly a well-documented product.

There are a few improvements I'd like to see (for example, custom toolbars and key commands), but those shortcomings pale in comparison to the wide array of additions to the program. Being able to run Midi Quest within Pro Audio and create ID files automatically is especially useful. Also, the new Keyword features really make categorizing and searching for patches a breeze. Longtime users will find this new version very welcome, and new users will discover the great joys of controlling all their gear from a single software application.

PROS: Integration with other applications including Pro Audio, Cubase, and Infinity. Excellent documentation including help file, printed manual, and videos. Library Keyword enhancements. No copy protection.

CONS: Keyboard shortcuts and toolbars not customizable.