Grauw’s blog
Introducing a Roland GAIA SH-01 tool
A little while ago I bought a Roland GAIA SH-01 synthesizer. It’s got three oscillators, an effect section, and almost everything is directly accessible from the front panel. Fiddling around creating new sounds is a lot of fun, and it sounds good!
Now, Roland is also planning to release a software package to edit sounds on the GAIA from your PC, which provides some extra possibilities, however it isn’t out yet and won’t be free.
But I found that Roland has made available a MIDI implementation document for the GAIA, also documenting a protocol to access its internal memory. So what I did is I started working on a little tool that can talk to the GAIA. It’s still in its early stages, but already it exposes some very interesting information. For example, I was able to extract a list of preset patch names — should come in handy!
There are currently two menus to issue commands and a log to show results. The first menu lets you play some test notes and send GM on/off control messages (looks like they just reset the GM though). The second menu is more interesting, it allows you to dump the system settings, as well as the settings of the currently selected patch (including edits). So now you can retrieve the exact patch settings, share them, reposition the controls, whatever!
Some plans for the future are to show the parameters in a little more visually appealing and structured way, and to eventually allow you to edit the parameters. I also want to add the ability to set the tempo to a specific BPM. An editor for arpeggios is also on the wish-list, and also there’s a bunch of reserved memory locations that may have something good lurking in them.
The source code is available. Consider it Apache 2.0 licensed for now, although I didn’t add license headers yet. If you want to contribute please go ahead, but let me know if you do. If you make any changes please contribute them back!
Update: As of version 0.1 it is possible to edit arpeggios, and as of version 0.3 you can organise your patches in a library. A first for the GAIA!
Grauw
Comments
Thank you! by Jim Atwood at 2010-12-08 06:01
Developing this sort of software takes hard work and dedication. I really appreciate what you have accomplished thus far and look forward to how this project progresses. I have downloaded your Gaia Tool and will definitely give it a try. Thanks again! Jim
Thank you!!! by JensNieco at 2010-12-11 23:42
i have a dream... a gaia “vst editor” looks like virus ti :D
thx for work men!
New version by Grauw at 2010-12-13 00:06
Hey,
I just released a new version. You can now select the parameters to view in a more convenient manner. Also it now has the ability to view all user patch settings. For the download and more details about the changes, please visit the project page!
looking good by steve g at 2010-12-14 04:08
hi
really nice to see this editor being developed for the Gaia
i hope in the near future you get it all up n running as you hope and we can edit and get all the sliders to work over usb for creating and reviewing how patches are put together
New version by Grauw at 2010-12-19 20:56
I just released version 0.1.0 — it is now possible to edit arpeggios! In tracker-style :). That’s a first for the GAIA!
thank you Grauw by Stevez at 2010-12-27 00:07
...ty a lot Grauw...
I will follow you in your project for the Roland Gaia -SH01...
I think that the synth need of this work to program the different
parameters from a pc...
ty again and wishes ...Happy New Year
Stevez
Great stuff by Peanut at 2011-01-19 17:16
Thanks for posting this! I wish I were able to write programs like this! :-)
Keep up the good work!
love it! by s.L.k. at 2011-01-21 09:05
I just got a Gaia and have spent all my free time playing with it. I’m so happy about your program, especially the ability to edit arpeggiator patterns, that’s going to add so much more to this instrument. Keep up the good work, thank you so much for making the program!
Arpeggios by Peanut at 2011-02-03 01:11
I may be being an idiot but....how exactly does one go about editing the arpeggios?
Let’s say I’ve got the program set up with my keyboard, it’s receiving note info, I browse to user patch A-1 and click ‘arpeggios’ – I see a screen with several rows of input boxes but I don’t know what to type into each one..... I tried typing note names (like ‘A2 for instance) but it didn’t seem to accept it....
What am I doing wrong??
Re: Arpeggios by Grauw at 2011-02-03 22:15
Hey Peanut,
Firstly with the step control you configure the number of steps you can edit. Then, your arpeggio can be composed of at most 16 different notes. This you set in the first ‘Note’ column, just enter it like ‘c4’ or ‘off’. In the following columns, you can enter with what velocity it should play the note at that particular step, ranging from 127 (max velocity) to 0 (rest). Enter ‘tie’ in a step to lengthen the previous note.
How these notes are played exactly depends on the motif, and the other settings. There are tooltips if you hover your mouse over the labels of the settings at the top, explaining what each of them do.
Also, one important thing to note: the GAIA always plays the temporary patch. So if you’re editing patch A-1, you can’t actually hear it until you (re-)select the patch to load it into the temporary patch memory. (Mmh, maybe I should disallow directly editing the non-temporary patches…?)
Hope that helps!
New version by Grauw at 2011-02-06 14:51
by Peanut at 2011-02-06 19:15
Cool, thanks for explaining! I think we’ve talked over at the GaiaUsers site and it seems my Mac can’t run the Java program correctly... I will await some sort of fix! :)
Mac OS X compatibility by Grauw at 2011-02-09 21:05
@Peanut: It should work on Mac now, although there are some additional installation notes you need to follow.
Roland Tool Coming by kenkthulhu at 2011-02-12 08:34
I just received email from Roland Australia. The Roland Synth Editor will be released here in May 2011.
Grauw – you are doing a great job with the editor. Do you need any help with this? Please let me know!
~ken
Re: Roland Tool Coming by Grauw at 2011-02-14 21:41
Yeah I’ve seen others get the same date from Roland UK and Roland Germany.
Contributions are definitely appreciated! If you are familiar with Java programming, the source code is available here. You can get a copy using Mercurial: hg clone http://hg.grauw.nl/gaia-tool/. The build is done using Maven, just run mvn clean package to create the jar file in the target folder.
New version by Grauw at 2011-02-15 21:57
New version 0.2.1. Only two small changes: Patch tempo editing, and it now remembers the load/save dialog location. Numeric patch tempo editing is also a feature that has not been available for the GAIA before.
Great program by Amonhoteph at 2011-03-07 23:05
Thank you so much for this program, it makes the GAIA a whole new machine with the Arpeggio editing. Some say it is a bad synth, but it isn’t in fact I love working with it. Now I just have to get it out of that cheap plastic casing and into a metal case. Anyone seen any? :)
Amonhoteph
LFO tempo sync by dan at 2011-07-21 15:36
is there any way of editing the intervals of the synced LFO? for instance i only want 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16. . . .and not 5/8 or 1/3 or all the ones inbetween
Nice work by Tom at 2011-08-21 10:36
Ive wanted the official roland one for months but its way too expensive :) I hope your projects continues to improve, great work.
Gaia Tool on Desktop by verve92 at 2011-09-03 09:04
Picking up my Gaia on Friday and downloaded the tool and an icon has not appeared on my desktop and I’m afraid to close out of windows. The icon on the upper right of the window is what looks like a Java symbol. If I close this window, how do I ope the tool again as it also is not on my programs list.
Also, can this be uses with the Roland editor? Or instead of it?
Looks good, but I am an old school harware guy and have had bad experiences with midi, but want to tray it again.
Thanx
Jay
Re: Gaia Tool on Desktop by Grauw at 2011-09-03 10:33
Hi Jay,
To open it, just double-click on the file you downloaded. There is no installer or anything that puts icons anywhere.
Comparing with the Roland software, I tried to focus on features that are not accessible from the device’s front panel, like tempo settings, patch name editing, and arpeggios. Also I am currently working on adding a library function. Roland’s $99 software is basically an editing assistant, it lets you adjust all three tone parameters at once through a PC, has a wave form display, and an advanced undo and redo function with editing history. But (surprisingly) it does not have the ability to edit arpeggios or manage patches in a library.
Regarding MIDI, I don’t exactly understand what you mean by ‘hardware guy’ or what bad experiences you had, but the tool is only using MIDI as a communication protocol to sync the system and patch settings, it is not using it to play music. So it isn’t really affected by any possible lag in the MIDI interface.
Tool questions by verve92 at 2011-09-06 12:41
Thanks for your prompt response.
Ok I found the file and it opened right up.
Thanx for the midi explanation- understood.
When I get the synth, I will experiment.
I have a Moog Little Phatty and midi has been a nightmare as an interface to DAW- crashed the synth, but that’s partly Moogs fault they haven’t quite figured out the 21st century. Only the last few years have they even had a USB plug.
The Gaia is more modern and computer friendly which is why I got it, I can record into my DAW with ease.
Thank you for not charging for this you could if you wanted to.
I’m sure I will be asking many more questions.
What I meant by ‘hardware guy’ is I’m older. Haha. I plug instrument into mixing board and record to tape, but those days are long over and I have much to learn as I build my digital studio.
Thanx again,
Jay
Re: Tool questions by Grauw at 2011-09-09 14:03
Actually the Gaia’s USB port can be a bit flaky, when it’s connected sometimes it crashes when turning on, or when I turn my computer off. But it’s not so bad that it gets annoying, and doesn’t happen randomly. Maybe they fixed it in the latest firmware though, I didn’t notice it crashing on me recently.
So oldschool hardware I see hehe, but that’s nice, to know that side of things is important too. I started programming on old slow Z80 home computers, programming in low-level assembly and also sometimes taking out the soldering iron... Once I created a home-made DAC using just a bunch of diodes and resistors, a printer port connector and some wire :).
That’s pretty much impossible on computers nowadays, if only because computers don’t come with a simple parallel port anymore, and USB ports are too complex. But I think it’s important background information for understanding how things work. I think the same applies to audio processing.
New version! by Grauw at 2011-09-21 22:38
New version 0.3! Now you can organise your patches in the brand new library! Also the temporary patch synchronisation is much more reliable, no control change should be missed anymore :). Finally, it now better integrates with Mac OS X.
How Do I Update to .3 by jarret at 2011-09-22 07:44
Hey,
I have the prior version of the Tool, how do I update it with new version and features. Pardon the ignorance, not a big computer guy.
Patch library by Rydeen at 2011-09-23 15:44
Do not understand how is the procedure to add the patches to the “library”
Is there a folder “GAIA” or need to create it? (I have not found)
On the route suggested in Gaia Tool says:
C:\Documents and Settings\**USER**\My Documents\GAIA\Library folder
Any help?
Thanks Grauw, for this tool and your work!
Re: Patch library by Grauw at 2011-09-24 01:04
@Jarret: Just download and run it, and throw away the old version!
@Rydeen: Yeah, create a GAIA folder in your My Documents folder, and a Library folder inside it. Save your patches in there and they will show up, use Windows Explorer if you want to copy/move them (you may have to right-click on the library in the tool and select refresh).
I should probably add a ‘create folder and take me there’ button to the panel, and also write some additional instructions…
p.s. I have a nice MSX SCC chiptune version of the Rydeen theme by YMO :).
New version by Grauw at 2011-10-06 23:22
Just released version 0.3.1, it’s a bugfix release. See the release notes for details.
Change patch name by Rydeen at 2011-10-21 22:24
Houston! I have a problem! XD
Your previous advice was great and I definitely resolved, but here again...LoL!
I created 64 presets and I have unlocked in user patch.
My intention is to put a name to each one of them as they are called “INIT PATCH” for a complete list and then share them with you all.
Okay, all right here.
I start your fantastic tool, right click on a patch user, for example A1 and “send” as a temporary patch...
My question (if you’re so kind) is...that when I put the name:
- When in temporary patch?
The problem here is that the save button in temporary patch does nothing, does not seem to react.
- In user patch and then sent him to temporary patch?
Here, in contrast, when you rename within USER PATCH, a popup window warns you may need to save manually, the front panel of GAIA.
- Do I have to save previously, each of them individually and then rename them?
Security that can help me, no doubt, you’re a crack!
I have wanted to share with all my patches and with an indicative description (in the name) of how it will sound the patch.
As a suggestion for your great work (again) it may be possible in the future, export to a svd, the set of 64 patches, housed in user patch zone.
Very grateful in advance and what you say about YMO:
Long live the Japanese Kraftwerk!
Never miss a great version of Technopolis Live on YouTube (Technopolis Live-4:09)
Great picture of the guy smoking and playing one of the beautiful “tools”.
A hug!
Works by Xtof Calis at 2011-11-04 19:15
the gaia tool works perfect on my macbook, osx 10.6
thanks for the good work
good vibes,
xtof
Suggestions by MelGhoul at 2012-02-17 23:46
First off i’d like to say great tool.
Here are some suggestions.
1:the ability to save arpeggio templates.
2:a print option(for reference)
3:a radomizer button(the ability to find some good patches/arpeggios by luck)
Just some things i was thinking about that may be usefull.
Thank you so much for this great tool.
Re: Suggestions by Grauw at 2012-02-20 19:03
Hey MelGhoul, nice suggestions! I’ll keep them in mind. Especially like the randomizer one :).
Thanks! by Ray at 2010-12-07 02:58
Hey, I find this a very interesting synth as well as it marks the beginning of a more PC friendly (and obviously available) Roland SH keyboard. Thank you and I look forward to your updates!