Extracting certain patterns from squarp midi file

Hello,

I have an intro version of Ableton that only allows a certain number of tracks

On my squarp I have most tracks filled up or exceeding the amount allowed inableton.

Is there a way to extract only certain patterns from each track?

is there something iā€™m missing? I guess I could make less patterns per track or to just copy the ones i want to a different project and use those, but if there is another way i would like to know.

I havenā€™t tried this myself, but as I understand the files are fairly standard midi files - you might be able to find some free midi editing software that you can use to extract the tracks/information you want and copy/paste to another file to limit the overall number of tracks and then import them individually into Ableton?

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The .mid files produced by the Pyramid are perfectly standard MIDI files on the format level, so any tool that understands MIDI Type-0 and Type-1 files can be used to extract whatever data is necessary.

The gotcha is with how Pyramid stores patterns: tracks without patterns are saved as Type-0 files which is plain and simple one track per file mapping. However tracks with patterns are stored as separate tracks inside Type-1 files, which are normally used to hold all tracks of a song in a neat single package and what all software out there expects. And because they expect a different layout, importing a Pyramid Type-1 midi file is not going to produce meaningful results without further manual work.

This is kinda opposite of what youā€™re trying to do but nevertheless contains further details on the topic, including tools and scripts here:

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Wow, okay thereā€™s alot more to it than I thought. Iā€™ll definitely do some reading and plan something out, I appreciate both your answers.

It probably sounds a whole lot more complicated than it actually is. Basically you just import the per-track .mid into a DAW, delete what you donā€™t need and move it into place. Knowing about the Type-1 usage difference between the Pyramid and the rest of the world just helps locating your stuff after the import and avoids unnecessary ā€œwhy on earth did it do that?ā€ moments.

As for getting around the Ableton track limit, I donā€™t know. Iā€™m spoiled by the amount of free open-source tools on Linux :slight_smile:

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Ya the track limit is the real issue.

thats kind of the point, Ableton trying to make you upgrade it :wink:

these days there are many daws that are either free or low cost, (even on windows/mac os )
Iā€™d probably suggesting testing a few of those, and seeing if they support midi type-1 files.
(just type to load a pyramid mid file that has patterns on it)

even if you just use that daw to do the initial ā€˜pruningā€™ and then export them out for Ableton. i think this process would be much faster than any other route.

note: whilst Ableton can import type-1 midi files, it has no way to export them.
(bare this in mind, if you plan to take patterns to Ableton to edit, then take them back to the pyramid)

also, iirc , when you import patterns into ableton (and bitwig) they appear as separate tracks NOT as clips which is what you might be expecting/hoping for - so this means you end up dragging them around anyway (into clips)

Edit : corrected thanks to @CreepyPants for pointing out Iā€™d flipped types around.

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Just for clarity:

Thats reversed, no?
Ableton can Import/Export Type 0 (one Track) but can only Import Type 1 (all separate Channels on multiple Tracks)

Or am i just not awake yet?

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Sorry your right got my type 0 and 1 flipped!

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I realize now I could break into reason and do it that way.
I like what both daws have to offer but Iā€™m just digging live right now.

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