olw-player guide

Getting started in 10 steps

A simple checklist to hear olw-player at its best right away. After that you can try the options one at a time and get the most out of it.

1. Download olw-player for your operating system (Windows, macOS or Linux) from the download page and install it.
2. Download the SoundFont airfont_380_final.sf2: it is the one recommended to start with. Look for it on Musical Artifacts (or search the internet) and check the licence of the file you download.
3. Put it in a folder you will always use, for example Music.
4. Download a few MIDI files, if you do not already have any.
5. Select the SoundFont: click Choose SF2 and pick airfont_380_final.sf2.
6. Drag one or more MIDI files onto the main window: they form the playlist.
7. Save the playlist (Save button) giving it a name: the .pli file goes in the Music folder.
8. Open Options and, to start, set the checkboxes as in the first image; then press Apply.
9. In the main window set the controls as in the second image.
10. Double-click one of the MIDI files in the playlist: playback starts.

That is all. From this starting point try the options one at a time and compare the results: every song has its own balance.

Where to start: MIDI performance and audio processing

First improve notes and instrument expression, then shape the synthesised sound. The two stages have separate controls.

• Instrument-family corrections.
• Wind phrasing.
• Protect vocals.
• Real-time audio chain.
• Harmonic brightness.
• Drums: kits and “No reverb”.
• Playlist: from a folder or USB stick, search.

The original MIDI stays intact. MIDI export retains musical changes; reverb, equalisation and other audio effects process the synthesiser’s sound.

Protect vocals

This option compares the guide melody with parts in the same register and can lower those masking it during sections where the guide is active. The program uses the selected guide or attempts to recognise one; protection is not applied if no suitable line is found. It processes MIDI prepared for playback and leaves the original file intact.

Compensated stereo widening: when enabled, a separate worker measures mid and side energy after the other effects. The audio filter reduces the unwanted frequency-dependent gain of 1.5 widening, preserving average spectral balance. Measurement adapts over roughly three seconds of audio and the filter changes gradually; this is not full-song analysis before Play. The callback never waits for the worker or reads files; compensation adds a 64-sample delay (about 1.45 ms at 44.1 kHz). With the option off, the previous path is used. No fixed cymbal cut or changes to manual volumes or MIDI notes.

Humanization and pedal: added note-release extensions cannot cross sustain, sostenuto, reset or note-stop events. This prevents an already released note from being captured by a later pedal press. Original pitches, onsets, controllers and authored overlaps are preserved; controllers on other tracks of the same channel are included.

M-Live lyrics: MIDI files with M-Live SysEx lines and dedicated karaoke progress controllers are recognized automatically. Original syllable timing is used in all three lyric modes and the mirror, with standard lyric events taking priority. Ordinary NRPN controllers alone are never treated as lyrics. Files whose karaoke clock has already been lost do not receive invented timing: use the original MIDI or regenerate the corrected file with a version that preserves its clock.

Singing notice and player windows

Notice before singing resumes

Next line notice, initially enabled, shows Next line in N s during the initial wait and long breaks without singing. It applies to Word by word, Line by line and Vertical scroll, on both the main display and mirror. It does not appear during normal line changes while singing. Uncheck it to keep the lyrics preview without the message. The choice is saved per song; with no active song it is saved in the defaults.

Karaoke chords encoded with a % prefix (such as %D7/ and %G/C) are excluded from the lyrics. For MIDI files containing only complete lines, individual word timings are reconstructed and should be checked while listening.

M-Live lyrics: MIDI files with M-Live SysEx lines and dedicated karaoke progress controllers are recognized automatically. Original syllable timing is used in all three lyric modes and the mirror, with standard lyric events taking priority. Ordinary NRPN controllers alone are never treated as lyrics. Files whose karaoke clock has already been lost do not receive invented timing: use the original MIDI or regenerate the corrected file with a version that preserves its clock.

The main display and mirror stay above the player window while visible, including when using the app controls. The existing buttons let you hide and reopen them.

Mute guide / backing

Two sliders (0-16) to silence up to two MIDI channels, typically the guide vocal and an instrument you want to replace live. 0 = no channel, n = MIDI channel n is excluded.

• Defaults: guide on channel 4, backing none (editable and saved per song).
• Mute changes immediately during playback without restarting from the beginning. If Protect the vocal, Styles or Touch-up are active, processing is realigned about 1.5 seconds after the last slider movement, resuming from the current position.
• It only concerns MIDI/KAR; on video, MP3 and CD+G the status says so.

Hover over the guide slider to see the probable melody channel and its instrument. This is a suggestion and never changes your channel selection automatically. On macOS control hints are shown in the status line at the bottom.

Main monitor and Mirror

Two separate windows show lyrics or video; the buttons at the top open and close them:

• Main monitor: opens automatically when playback starts; it uses the second monitor when available, or sits beside the controls on a single monitor.
• Mirror: compact window placed in the available space, down to 260 pixels wide. When needed the player moves left and returns to its previous position when the mirror is closed.

With video and CD+G both windows show the same image, decoded once. The windows are borderless: drag inside to move them, or drag edges and corners to resize them; double-click to switch between full screen and the previous size. Use the Main monitor and Mirror buttons in the player to hide them.

The main display and mirror stay above the player window while visible, including when using the app controls. The existing buttons let you hide and reopen them.

The main window adapts its height to the monitor work area when opened. Options uses the wide layout: MIDI processing on the left, sound and mix on the right, buttons at the bottom. Layout is set when opening the window and does not automatically change when moving it to another monitor.

Video, MP3 and CD+G

• The video is shown fitted to the window, with black bars if the proportions differ.
• For CD+G the time comes from the audio: pause, jumps and key stay in sync. If the audio file of the same name is not found, the program says so.
• MP3s play without an image. If the MP3 contains synchronized lyrics (ID3 SYLT tag, as in Winlive files, or a Lyrics3 block at the end of the file with [mm:ss] lines, as in M-Live and Song Service exports) they are shown on the two windows with the same three modes as MIDI; unsynchronized lyrics (USLT) are not shown.
• The MIDI options and DSP effects of the Options window do not apply to these formats.

MP3 files containing M-Live SYLT lyrics with the Sincro by M-live descriptor and a recognizable nonstandard header are also supported. Timing remains in milliseconds and works in all three lyrics modes and the mirror. This does not imply support for every malformed SYLT tag.