The Controls page appears in the Track Setup property window for the Melody, Riff, Rhythm, Bass and Drums tracks.  The controls are color-coded to suit each track.

It contain settings for several Midi controllers which affect the sound of events in the track, and some other options that are specific to Songtrix.

The Drums track does not use the Sustain Mode or Change Mode settings.

Controls

Level

Controls the volume level of the track relative to the other tracks.  This setting is also available on the mixer panel.

Track levels are displayed as a percentage, or as a Midi value, depending on your preference.

Track level is implemented used the Channel Volume Midi controller.

Pan

Controls the placement of the track's sound output in the stereo field from left to right.  This setting is also available on the mixer panel.

Pan is implemented using the Pan Position Midi controller.

Voice Bank
Custom Bank

Specifies which voice bank is to be used for selecting a voice for the track.

The Voice Bank option presents the list of voice banks that have been defined for the current Midi Output device.  Usually it will have a General MIDI bank and other banks, depending on the device.  Selecting a specific bank lists all of the voices defined for that bank (and any empty slots) in the Voice list.

At the top of the list is an (all banks) item.  If selected, the Voice list contains all defined voices for the device listed in order of voice number, then bank number.  The bank number is displayed after the voice name in square brackets, or omitted for bank 0.  For example, the two entries below appear in the Roland GS voice set.

57:  Trombone

57:  Trombone 2  [128]

At the bottom of the list is a (custom bank) item.  If selected, an extra Custom Bank option appears where any voice bank (from 0 to 16383) can be entered, regardless of whether it has been defined or not.

Voice

Specifies which voice is to be used for playing the events in the track.  The list of voice names appearing here depends on which Voice Bank is selected.

There is a voice number next to the voice name.  This can range from 0..127 or from 1..128 depending on your preference.

Reverb

Adds a specified level of reverb to the sounds played on the track, to add depth and realism.

It may not be available with some Midi devices, in particular those supplied with Windows.

Chorus

Adds a specified level of chorus to the sounds played on the track, to add a rich, shiny quality.

It may not be available with some Midi devices, in particular those supplied with Windows.

Auto Sustain

Songtrix can manage the Sustain Pedal controller automatically for you, by turning it on and off at each chord or scale change.

This is easy and usually works well with accompaniment parts, but you can also manage the sustain pedal manually with Sustain Note and Sustain Chord events.

This option specifies how the two mechanisms for generating Midi events should apply.

Off - do not generate automatic sustain events, only use manual events.

On - generate automatic sustain events and ignore manual events.

On + Events - generate automatic sustain events and also use manual events.

Change Mode

Specifies how dependent notes should be handled when they span across a chord or scale change.  This occurs in three situations:

• Where a rhythm event spans a chord change

• Where generated autostyle events span a chord or scale change

• Where linked melody tracks are reharmonized by a new scale selection

This situation is important because a note generated in the original harmonic context may clash with the new one.  It can be dealt with in the following ways:

Continue - leave the original note to sound for its full duration.  It may clash.

Truncate - stop the note at the change location.  It may sound weak.

Retrigger - replay the note to suit the new harmonic context.  Special processing works to avoid short fragments being generated by slight variations from exact timing.

Repeat Mode

Specifies whether virtual events in repeat segments should be automatically reharmonized to suit the chords or scales in the song at their new location.  This option applies only to the Melody, Riff and Bass tracks.

For reharmonization to occur, chords or scales must be defined across both the source and destination ranges.  The setting you choose affects how this process is managed, and can be one of:

Original - the events are repeated at their original pitch, without reharmonization.

Reharmonize - the events are reharmonized where source and destination harmonies are specified, otherwise no repeat events are generated.

Combined - the events are reharmonized where source and destination harmonies are specified, otherwise they are repeated at their original pitch.

Test Voice

Auditions what the track will sound like with the current settings.

Test Bar Solo

Auditions what the selected bar of the track will sound like with the current settings.  For best effect, choose the selected bar carefully before opening the Track Setup window.

Test Bar

Auditions what the selected bar of the track will sound like with the current settings, together with the other tracks of the song.  For best effect, choose the selected bar carefully before opening the Track Setup window.

Reset

Rests all settings on the page to their default values.  There is a different set of default values for each track.