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Using EWItool
None!
Unlike the original Java version of this tool, you do not need to install anything else to run EWItool. The released packaged contains an embedded JRE and all dependencies.
The first time you run EWItool you will need to tell it where you keep your Patch Set Library. This will be where EWItool stores your patch libraries, so you should probably start off by specifying an empty directory. Go to the Patch Set Library tab and select a directory using the Change button. Version 2 of EWItool uses the same format files as previous versions, so you can specify the same directory as for previous versions if you wish, or you could copy the old directory to a new location and specify that. The Scratchpad will not work until you have specified the Library location.
The next thing to do is to choose the MIDI ports you are going to use to connect to the EWI; go to the EWI menu and select MIDI Connections - that should be self-explanatory, but if you are on OS X you must choose the Core4Midi4J prefixed ports - using any others will prevent EWItool from communicating with your EWI.
Now you are ready to get going.
A few things you might like to know before using the tool...
This holds any number of patches ready for (individual) insertion into the active EWI Patch Set, renaming, swapping with other via viewing in hex. The Scratchpad is held on disk and saved every time it changes so you can resume work wherever you left off last session. Typical usage would be to copy patches from several of your patch sets or the EWI Patch Set into the Scratchpad, then paste them into the EWI patch set when you are happy with the collection.
The library contains your collection of Patch Sets.
Each patch set contains a number (usually 100) of patches and is stored on disk in the location you specified. The sets are stored in raw SysEx format (.syx) which I believe some other EWI software can use(!). Using the Import you can convert patch collections (a.k.a. 'soundbanks') in the EWI-specific .bnk or .sqs formats as a new Patch Set to work with in EWItool.
This represents the entire contents of your EWI. Because it lives in the EWI there is no concept of a name for this set. It is loaded by going to the EWI menu and selecting Fetch All Patches.
Generally, the first thing you will do is go to the EWI menu and select Fetch All Patches. EWItool will attempt to load all patches from your EWI and you should see a progress indicator to show how things are going. On the author's system it takes about 11 seconds - this is mainly limited by the standard MIDI bandwidth so your transfer should take about the same time.
Now the EWI Patch Set is loaded EWItool will automatically switch to the Current Patch Set tab, click on the patch you are going to work on and choose Edit from the pop-up menu. At this point EWItool loads the patch into the EWI's (transient) edit buffer and switches to the the Current Patch Set tab. The Patch menu is now enabled. You can drag and drop the patch buttons on the Current Patch Set tab to reorder them (currently only swapping position is possible).
Changes you make on the editor will now be sent to the EWI as you make them, and most take immediate effect - some will require you to retrigger (i.e. tongue) a note.
At any point during the editing you can use Revert Edits to go back to the original settings.
Similarly, at any stage you can Copy to Scratchpad your patch onto the Scratchpad - where it will stay in its current state until you delete it.
Patches in the Scratchpad can be copied into the Current Patch Set by clicking on a button in the Current Patch Set and choosing from the Scratchpad drop-down and then hitting the Replace from Scratchpad button.
Finally - once you are happy with your altered sound, you can use Store to EWI to store it in the EWI. This overwrites the stored patch in the EWI with your new sound.
Once you have built up a new set of patches on the Current Patch Set tab you can create a new patch set with them by hitting the Save to Library button at the bottom of the tab. You will be prompted to provide a name for the new patch set which will then be stored on disk.
- File
- MIDI
- Ports - This shows a panel where you can specify the MIDI ports to which your EWI4000s is connected. You must specify (and connect) both an In and Out port.
- EWI
- Fetch All Patches - This connects to the EWI and copies all the patches from the instrument into EWItool.
- Patch - This menu is only available when you have a patch loaded into the EWI for editing.
- Store to EWI - This will save the current (edited) patch into the EWI and into the EWI Patch Set. It doesn't get written to disk unless you export it, put it on the Scratchpad, or save the entire EWI Patch Set.
- Revert Edits - Cancel all edits and go back to the patch as it was when loaded from the EWI.
- Copy To Scratchpad - Put the current (edited) patch onto the Scratchpad.
- Generate - Make a new sound...
- Default Patch - a very simple tone
- Random Patch - a very random sound. (Some sounds may not be playable or make any audible sound.)
- Process - Apply operations to the current patch...
- Make Dry - remove all chorus, delay and reverb
- Maximize Volume - increase the output level of the patch as far as possible maintaining the relative amplitudes within the patch
- Remove Noise - remove all white noise
- Randomize by 10% - randomly adjust most parameters by up to 10%
- Merge With... - mix the current patch 50:50 with another patch you select from the EWI Patch Set
- Help
- Online Help - Choosing this item will cause your computer to try to load this help page in your default web browser.
- About EWItool - Here you will find the exact version number of the application - be sure to include this information in any issue reports.