Anyone know how to make GS Wavetable SW Synth appear?

Go to Control Panel | Sounds & Multimedia | Audio Tab | MIDI Music Playback device and pick the wavetable as your default playback device. Also click (only use default devices.)

ORIGINAL: billkath

Go to Control Panel | Sounds & Multimedia | Audio Tab | MIDI Music Playback device and pick the wavetable as your default playback device. Also click (only use default devices.)

Billy - Thanks for the quick reply

I've obviously not explained myself clearly enough. The problem is that the GS Wavetable SW Synth entry does not appear as an option when selecting MIDI Music Playback devices on my Windows XP system.

The question is what do I have to do to make it an option that I can select.

So Zbish-what options do come up? I mean on the control panel. Is it just MPU401? GS Wavetable is missing there? Are you using, or have you tried reinstalling the latest service pack for Windows?

When you say

Microsoft's GS Wavetable Synth is available on the system for selection and it works fine.

what do you mean? It shouldn't be available in Sonar/Midi devices if you are using WDM drivers-only if you are using MME, and you don't want to be using those drivers.
If you have correctly selected the WDM drivers there should only be the MPU401 ones available. GS Wavetable should only be available in Sonar if you are using MME.
If you have it selected (GS Wavetable) in Sonar then I'm not sure that Sonar will release it to Windows Media Player to do your previews-deselect it from midi input and output in Sonar, or try Options/Audio/ Share drivers with other programs. Make double sure that you are using WDM KS on options/audio/advanced/drivers.

I'm probably still misunderstanding you, so get back to me, if you can.

ORIGINAL: billkath

p.s.--that device-GS Wavetable-will appear in th Sonar midi devices if you are using ASIO instead of WDM drivers. Maybe that's yoiur mistake.

Billy - Both DAWs are linked to the same Moto 828 MkII. Both DAWs use Motu's WDM drivers.

I have one DAW with Win2000 SP4 (and Sonar 4) in which the Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth is available and all's well.

I have another new DAW with Win XP SP2 (and Sonar 5) in which there's no GS Wavetable SW Synth.

I've also checked the BIOS configurations of the two DAWs just to ensure that the XP DAW was not in some way disabling the existence of the GS Wavetable SW Synth. There's nothing that's obviously different between the two configurations.

This may be a simplistic suggestion, but often that's just what's overlooked... have you tried going into the Control Panel>Sounds and Audio Devices>Audio Tab and then selecting the GS Wavetable SW Synth as your default device under Midi music playback?

ORIGINAL: Zbish

ORIGINAL: billkath

Available where, though. Within Sonars MIDI devices, or on the Control panel/sounds etc.

Billy - I'd be happy if the GS Wavetable SW Synth would appear anywhere!

The reality is that it needs to be available, as I've said before, as an option when selecting MIDI Music Playback devices. I do not want it as a Sonar MIDI device.

You're missing my point.

you said

Microsoft's GS Wavetable Synth is available on the system for selection and it works fine.

Now you seem to be saying it is not available anywhere on the system.

Billy - I'd be happy if the GS Wavetable SW Synth would appear anywhere!

I'm unsure what you mean, or which one of those things are true. Can you clarify that for me?


1/If you can see GS wavetable as a device in Sonar then either-a/you are using MME or ASIO WDM drivers, not WDM/KS drivers or b/ If you can see it, and you definitely have WDM/KS selected as driver on audio/advanced then your WDM/KS drivers need reinstalling or updating, as they are not working correctly.

2/If you can not see GS wavetable Synth either in Sonar, or in Windows control panel it is one of a couple of problems- which may be Windows related. It would involve you running windows system file checker, to put back the missing file.

OK.
What I advise then is to run windows system file checker. you'll need your XP disk.

Go to Run and type
sfc /scannow (note the space after sfc)
Just make sure as well that you've downloaded the latest XP driver for the MOTU 3.6.7.0 which was released a few weeks ago in april. It's different than the win 2K/ME driver you'll be using on the old system running win2000.
http://downloads.motu.com/firewire/MOTU_Audio3.6.7.0.zip

Yep-thanks Zbish.
That sounds like a fault with XP-run system file checker, as I said above. It should replace the missing file for GS wavetable.
Before you do that though make sure you are using the latest driver for XP, which I've put the link up for. Just in case the MOTU drivers are corrupt or are the old Win 2K ones and are masking the windows file.

ORIGINAL: Zbish

I'm been trying to use Sonar 5.2's File | Import | Midi file audition feature. It's the "Play" button in that window. My system uses Win XP Home (SP2). Spoke to Cakewalk's Tech Support. Apparently this feature is implemented not within Sonar. Sonar simply uses the Windows sound system and requires the existence of the Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth within Control Panel | Sounds & Multimedia | Audio Tab | MIDI Music Playback device.

How do I make Microsoft's GS Wavetable SW synth appear within my system?

Does any Windows Guru understand how Microsoft's GS Wavetable SW Synth works within XP?

Is it just one object, and, if so, what's its name and folder location?

I've been having the same problem on my laptop. I'm pretty sure i was able to use the xp synth to play midi files. Sometime after that i had to install a ( turned out to be defective ) edirol um 550, and after that a uno 1x1 midi interface.
Now, when i go back and try to use sonar (pro 5.00) on my lap, no midi devices are available.
in control panel gs wavetable is available, but not in sonar.

ORIGINAL: Zbish

The answer's: yes, yes, yes. The problem is that the GS Wavetable SW Synth isn't there as a choice that i can make.

D'oh! I dash-answered your thead question this morning without reading the original post very carefully at all. Very embarassing, and my apologies!

Anyway, the GS Wavetable is a small dls file, called "GM.dls." IIRC, it's a component of DirectX. Perhaps you may try reinstalling and/or updating your DirectX to see if that helps out.

ORIGINAL: Robomusic

I have tried every driver mode in the book and i can never get MS synth GS to work in any other mode than MME

Not as an input/output device, no. It's not supposed to-the latency would be terrible.
But what we're talking about is that Sonar uses the MS GS Synth and Microsofts default audio and midi device to Preview midi and audio for import. And that's missing from the options on control panel for Zbish.

ORIGINAL: Robomusic

Ah i gottcha, but then again why not just use VSC?

Because you haven't imported yet, so you won't be able to use anything in Sonar.
Sonar uses Windows sound systems to preview midi clips before they come into Sonar-on the import tab.

ORIGINAL: steve_B

One of my main reasons for using P5 is that you can preview midi clips against the softsynth of your choice.

Previewing midi clips in GS Wavetable, even if you can get it to work, is pretty useless. At best it just identifies the clip without giving any idea of how it will actually sound in the project - anyone tried previewing midi drum clips? Very useful.

Sonar really needs to implement a midi clip preview explorer type thing that enables you to preview against any softsynth you have loaded in the project.

Steve - I couldn't agree more.

Following up a conversation I had with Cakewalk Tech Support, a feature request was raised by me for exactly what you've just suggested. If you'd like to support this issue, can I suggest you independently raise another feature request to Cakewalk. It might help. Sonar definitely needs a proper preview/audition feature for midi clips.

As far as I'm concerned, I'm trying to resolve, at best, a workaround solution.

ORIGINAL: billkath

ORIGINAL: Zbish

ORIGINAL: billkath

Yep-thanks Zbish.
That sounds like a fault with XP-run system file checker, as I said above. It should replace the missing file for GS wavetable.
Before you do that though make sure you are using the latest driver for XP, which I've put the link up for. Just in case the MOTU drivers are corrupt or are the old Win 2K ones and are masking the windows file.

Billy - The problem's got nothing to do with the Motu driver.

Maybe. But how are you so sure? You have to take out the variables to diagnose any problem.
I'm running XP and a MOTU 24 i/o, and am not myself encountering this problem. That would indicate that it's not a problem with all MOTU gear, and XP.

So-you have 2 things that might be happening-either the Windows system file (the driver for gswave--swmidi.sys)controlling the wave table is missing-run SFC to fix that,

or the motu driver has corrupted the registry, not letting windows find it. That could have happened if you've installed, uninstalled and old drivers were not removed before new ones were put in. Or if you ran a registry cleaner, and it took that file out of it.


I presume that you have reinstalled this latest MOTU driver just now, and that is why you are so sure?
If so Have you run SFC yet?

Billy - I've managed to solve the mystery of the missing GS Wavetable SW Synth file. It turned out that I needed to enable in the motherboard's BIOS the AC97 sound feature. I only stumbled on this by chance.

Anyway, thanks for all your input and suggestions.