X-Fi Midi Synth Reverb and Chorus Controller Is

Question

I bought an X-Fi a couple of weeks ago, and I soon realized that midi effects controllers cc9 and cc93 (reverb and chorus) didn't work with the X-Fi hardware synths. I called CL Technical support about this and this is the response I got:
"I have spoken with our testers who say that the CC9-Reverb and CC93-Chorus amounts are set in theSF2 file. That value is typically set to hit 20% at maximum CC data entry (27). To work aroundthis, you will need to use NRPNs to set the amount to a greater level, or edit the SF2 contentitself. Please let me know if this information hel
ps.
No, it doesn't help, reverb and chorus effects in midi files are set with midi controllers #9 and #93, this is true of virtually every midi file available on the internet, including commercial midi files. CL's testers are wrong. SF2 files have embedded minimum amounts of reverb and chorus for certain patches, midi song files customize the amounts of reverb and chorus with controllers cc9 and cc93 to suit each particular song, and even change it during the song. Adding NRPN's involves editing the midi file by calculating the MSB and LSB for each desired value and adding four controllers for every channel of every song every time you want a change in the effects. Controller cc9 and cc93 have control sliders or knobs in every major audio/midi multitrack program and these require no editing. A midi synth that ignores this loses much of its realism, and this just isn't acceptable for those of us who make serious use of midi song files. I have several thousand midi files and it would take months or even years to edit them all. This is a bug that may only affect a small percentage of X-Fi users, but for those it affects, it's a major bug. From the response I received from tech support, it appears that they aren't planning to do anything about it, so I thought I would publicize the issue here and see if I can't change their minds. I drove a 20 mile round trip and paid $40 for my X-Fi and I've had to pull it out of my computer and put my Audigy back in. I'm not a happy camper at this point, but if CL is going to fix the issue, I'm willing to wait for a while because I think thye X-Fi is worth it.

Answer 1

mriev wrote:
Maxing everything was the first thing I tried, and no go. Still so little reverb it was hard to tell if it was working, and no detectable chorus. I even went back with Vienna 2.4 and checked my soundfont again, and all was as it should be.
Putting together a brand new sound card is a major undertaking and it's understandable if something gets missed here and there, especially as most of the designers and testers probably aren't serious musicians. It's easy to see how this one could slip past, especially if they were using Soundfonts that have reverb and chorus programmed in to some of the instruments. Everything works fine until you start varying cc9 and cc92 and nothing happens. I haven't checked because I removed the X-Fi and put my Audigy back in, but it's a good bet that none of the midi effect controllers work properly. This is a relati'vely minor issue for most users, but for serious musicians who use midi, it's major. However, I'm sure CL will fix the problem as soon as possible. I just hope it doesn't take too long because the X-Fi is a really, really good sounding card, except for this one problem.
Gi've the X-Fi another try. I had these same issues at first but now cc9 and cc92 work in Sonar4.
These controls work, its just that the reverb is very low and the chorus has to be activated. In the effect editor choose the amphitheater preset as oppose to the default for reverb as it is the most audible.
follow these steps:
. choose creation mode
2. enable EAX effects and set to max
3. select amphitheater preset for reverb
4. activate the 5 bus buttons for chorus in master aux effects box (Front L\R, ect)
step 4 should work best for stereo setup
This should do it.