Ableton Forum

Gentlemen! Help us understand the logic of the developers: in each midi clip there are commands for changing the timbres of the instrument, in the fields of which Bank, Sub and Pgm, as a rule, there are dashes, since the timbres of the track instrument have already been selected and configured manually (Live, is it intended for live performances?!). If we want to temporarily change the timbre of one of the clips to another, after launching this clip, all other clips of the track will sound using the new timbre...
That is, now, instead of manually selecting the desired timbre, you will need to register it IN ALL the clips of the track (and there may be several hundred of them)!
I understand that the program change command has already been sent to the synthesizer's tone generator, but isn't it the task of the DAW developers to find an opportunity after changing the clip to automatically return the timbre of the instrument to its original one (if the Bank, Sub and Pgm fields of the next clip are not filled in by the user)?

Valkon wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 28, 2025 9:14 am

I understand that the program change command has already been sent to the synthesizer's tone generator, but isn't it the task of the DAW developers to find an opportunity after changing the clip to automatically return the timbre of the instrument to its original one (if the Bank, Sub and Pgm fields of the next clip are not filled in by the user)?

It could be argued that just as many users would want the timbre to stay the same as there are users who would want it to revert.

For Live to do what you ask, the code would have to keep track of all program change messages on a track in a undo/redo buffer. The code would need to understand that if the next clip lacks program change information that it should look into the buffer for the second to last program change message and retransmit it. When the next clip without program change information is selected, what should it do if the buffer isn't empty and there have been multiple program changes sent on that track?

You actually described the algorithm of actions that developers should use! ))
Fortunately, all the required information is already being monitored (as we can see by looking at the cancellation history).
It's a small matter: in the DAW interface or in a file options.txt provide for the choice of a mode that suits all users (the current one, when the latest activated Pgm is applied to all clips, or adaptive, when there is information about a program change in the clip, it is used, and if the buffer is empty, then the original program)...

And how is the DAW supposed to know which program is selected on the instrument ?

Valkon wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 28, 2025 9:14 am

That is, now, instead of manually selecting the desired timbre, you will need to register it IN ALL the clips of the track (and there may be several hundred of them)!

You basically described how midi works. Fortunately, default value can be set by changing a value for all selected clips at once. Also, if you modulate some midi cc, you need to reset it in the rest of the clips, and this part cannot be done in batch afaik (is there a trick to do this?)