MIDI file to AC7 Rhythm File Conversion (For Mac Users)

[TyphoonTom]

Anyone know how to convert Midi files to AC7.  I am using Casio Keyboard WK7600.  The keyboard does not recognize Midi files even though they are in the MUSICDAT folder that I created on the SD card.  Thank you.  

[- T -]

Here is a discussion of the Reference Manual for converting a MIDI file to the old CKF Rhythm file.  When you load an old CKF Rhythm file into a User Rhythm slot in the WK-7600, the WK-7600, itself, will convert the old CKF Rhythm into the new AC7 Rhythm.  Please post any further questions or discussion on this matter in the thread shown below.

 

https://www.casiomusicforums.com/index.php?/topic/16005-creating-ckf-user-rhythms-reference-manual/

 

If you just want to "play" the MIDI files on the card, insert the card into the slot, power the keyboard on, and press the CARD button.  The bottom line in the display will show the name of the currently selected MIDI file.  Use the data wheel or the PLUS/MINUS buttons to scroll through the file names.  When the name of the desired file is showing in the display, press the PLAY/STOP button.  Do not attempt to load MIDI files into the Song Sequencer.  That can not be done.  Do not attept to load MIDI files into User Rhythm slots.  That also can not be done.  The only thing the WK-7600 can do with MIDI files on the SD Card is either play them or delete them.

 

 

Also

 

It is better to create a new thread specific to your current question, rather than to resurrect a totally unrelated old thread with a title that has no relation, whatsoever, to your current question, comment, or topic.

[- T -]

You convert the MIDI file to an old CKF Rhythm.  When you load the old CKF Rhythm into the keyboard as a User Rhythm, the keyboard itself will convert the old CKF Rhythm to an AC7 Rhythm.

 

Here is a thread that discusses converting the MIDI file to a CKF Rhythm:

 

https://www.casiomusicforums.com/index.php?/topic/16005-creating-ckf-user-rhythms-reference-manual/

 

 

 

 

[TyphoonTom]

None of this helps me, support is only offered for Windows computers.  Where is the support for Apple Mac?

[TyphoonTom]

All this stuff is expired.  No help and no Mac/Apple support from Casio.  Should have bought a Yamaha.

[TyphoonTom]

If you own a Casio keyboard and a Mac/Apple computer, you are screwed I'm finding out.  No support!!  Should have bought a Yamaha or anything but Casio.

[TyphoonTom]

Is there no MAC support with Casio?

[TyphoonTom]

Does anyone know if Casio keyboards are any good with a Mac computer.  So far, I see zero support.  If you own a Casio keyboard and a Mac computer, you are SOL.  I can't do anything with my Casio since I have a Mac computer.  NO software for converting Midi to CKF so that I can play it on my Keyboard.  Really?  Someone tell me I'm wrong and please point me to the right direction.  

[TyphoonTom]

On 4/24/2020 at 6:28 AM, - T - said:

The required folder on the SD Card is MUSICDAT - not music.dat.  If you copied files into a folder music.dat that either you or your computer created on the Card, the WK-7600 will never recognize them.

 

Any MIDI files copied into the MUSICDAT folder must have an extension of .mid. If they have an extension of .smf or anything other than .mid, the Wk-7600 will not recognize them.

 

To play a MIDI file, use the instructions on Page E-142 only.  Do not attempt to load them into Song Sequencer memory per the instructions on Page E-79.  Those instructions are for Casio CMS Song Sequencer files only.  The MIDI file player and Song Sequencer are totally unrelated functions.

 

What size SD Card are you using?

 

Also, it is better to start a new thread than to hijack an old thread about a totally unrelated topic with a title that has nothing to do with your question.  I nearly skipped looking at this thread, as I have no experience with generating reggae drum tracks.

 

 

Yes, that is correct, that is how my music files reads.  Does not work.  Does not find my Midi files.  I'M told you have to convert it to CKF first, then it will convert in internally.  I'M confused and no Mac support at all.

[TyphoonTom]

Using 32MB and the right kind of SD card

[- T -]

We have a fair number of members that use their MACs successfully with their Casio keyboards.

 

The conversion programs you asked about were written by private individuals (Casio keyboard OWNERS) not by Casio employees.  If they wrote them for the Windows environment instead of MAC, that would indicate the type of computer equipment they had available to them, and was THEIR choosing, not Casio's.  What this actually indicates is the lack of MAC owners interested in porting these capabilities to  the MAC environment,

 

Converting MIDI files to CKF files has absolutely NOTHING to do with PLAYING the MIDI files.  It has to do with converting them to Casio User Rhythms, which is an enormous amount of very tedious work, and usually provides less than desired results.  I think I have already posted in another thread, if you want to PLAY MIDI files from the SD Card:

 

Copy the MIDI files into the MUSICDAT (not MUSIC.DAT) folder on the SD Card. (Files must have a ".mid" extension)

 

Insert the SD Card into its slot in the keyboard

 

Press the CARD button on the keyboard's front panel (DO NOT PRESS any buttons to do with the Song Sequencer)

 

The bottom line of the display will be showing the name of the currently selected MIDI file

 

Use the Data Wheel or the plus/minus buttons to scroll through the list of songs

 

When the desired song is showing in the bottom line of the display. press the PLAY/STOP button in the transport controls

 

 

 

 

 

[- T -]

 

https://support.casio.com/en/support/osdevicePage.php?cid=008001007

https://support.casio.com/en/support/osdevicePage.php?cid=008001008

https://support.casio.com/en/support/osdevicePage.php?cid=008001009

https://support.casio.com/en/support/osdevicePage.php?cid=008001010

https://support.casio.com/en/support/osdevicePage.php?cid=008001011

https://support.casio.com/en/support/osdevicePage.php?cid=008001012

https://support.casio.com/en/support/osdevicePage.php?cid=008001012

https://support.casio.com/en/support/osdevicePage.php?cid=008001014

https://support.casio.com/en/support/osdevicePage.php?cid=008001015

https://support.casio.com/en/support/osdevicePage.php?cid=008002001

 

 

 

[- T -]

Tom, with all due respect, please go back and read my responses to your unfounded accusations in other threads, before you spread any more.

 

If you would bother to go back and read my responses to your other posts, you would see that I have already stated that this expired "stuff" was written by private individuals, not Casio employees.  Casio never sanctioned any of this.  If those individual chose to write it for Windows, it indicates the type of equipment they had, also their choice, not Casio's, and saying this for the third time now, if it indicates anything, it indicatess the lack of interest on the part of MAC owners, like yourself, to get involved and port this "stuff" to the MAC environment.  Agin, again, again . . . perhaps you would like to roll up your sleeves and volunteer ! ! !

 

[- T -]

What is here for the Windows environment is the result of a lot of hardwork by private individuals - not Casio employees.  If there is a lack of support for the MAC environment, it is because MAC owners, like yourself, have not bothered to get involved.  So, for the fourth time now, perhaps you would like to stop your complaininng and roll up your sleeves and volunteer.

 

 

[Joe Muscara]

3 hours ago, TyphoonTom said:

Is there no MAC support with Casio?

 

You've complained about this in several threads, but I'll address this here.

 

I'm a pretty hardcore Mac* user and have been since long before I started using Casio keyboards in earnest. Modern Casio keyboards work great with Macs, it's all plug and play. Lots of Casio owners are Mac users, including Mike Martin himself, though he is cross-platform and I don't know what he does with each. I regularly answer questions here about connectivity with Macs and using apps like GarageBand and Logic. I am perfectly happy with both Casio and Macs and have never lamented something being available for PCs that wasn't available for Macs.

 

That being said, some of these threads you've jumped in on are about specific things like file transfer or format conversion and the answers were probably about PCs because that's what the person who was asking was using. If you have a specific question about something like that for the Mac, have you asked? Personally, I've never needed nor wanted to do that so I haven't looked into how it could be done on a Mac, and I haven't delved into those threads.

 

Don't feel persecuted. There are plenty of Mac users here and using Casio keyboards everywhere. Casio is not ignoring us, not by a long shot.

 

* In computing, "MAC" is an abbreviation for media access control and is part of the phrase MAC address. "Mac" is the computer and computing platform formerly known as Macintosh.

[Jokeyman123]

There are MACintush references all over these posts. Chordana is designed for Apple ipads primarily-Midi Designer works on a variety of Casios and was developed for an iPad. I work both platforms, Mike Martin does, as do many others who have posted here. There is plenty of info here if you look. and if you check the Casio website for downloads-you will see installs for windows and MAC operating systems.  For example, this shows that the PX5s editor software is compatible with many different Mac operating systems. 

 

https://support.casio.com/en/support/osdevicePage.php?cid=008001011

[Brad Saucier]

Okay, I think I finally managed to organize this conversation into this one thread.  It was very difficult to follow this when so many different threads were involved.  @TyphoonTom 

[TyphoonTom]

On 4/27/2020 at 3:31 AM, - T - said:

We have a fair number of members that use their MACs successfully with their Casio keyboards.

 

The conversion programs you asked about were written by private individuals (Casio keyboard OWNERS) not by Casio employees.  If they wrote them for the Windows environment instead of MAC, that would indicate the type of computer equipment they had available to them, and was THEIR choosing, not Casio's.  What this actually indicates is the lack of MAC owners interested in porting these capabilities to  the MAC environment,

 

Converting MIDI files to CKF files has absolutely NOTHING to do with PLAYING the MIDI files.  It has to do with converting them to Casio User Rhythms, which is an enormous amount of very tedious work, and usually provides less than desired results.  I think I have already posted in another thread, if you want to PLAY MIDI files from the SD Card:

 

Copy the MIDI files into the MUSICDAT (not MUSIC.DAT) folder on the SD Card. (Files must have a ".mid" extension)

 

Insert the SD Card into its slot in the keyboard

 

Press the CARD button on the keyboard's front panel (DO NOT PRESS any buttons to do with the Song Sequencer)

 

The bottom line of the display will be showing the name of the currently selected MIDI file

 

Use the Data Wheel or the plus/minus buttons to scroll through the list of songs

 

When the desired song is showing in the bottom line of the display. press the PLAY/STOP button in the transport controls

  

 

 

Thank you.  It finally worked.  The trick was not to change the name of the  SD card.  Well, now that it works...as stated earlier in this feed, all the Casi does is play the midi file.  You can't interact with it.  I wanted to do this with a rhythm:  If you have any advice on how I can do what you see in this YouTube video, please let me know.  Thank you so much.

 

 

Edited April 29, 2020 by Brad Saucier
Moved reply outside of quote box

[Chandler Holloway]

On 4/29/2020 at 1:33 AM, TyphoonTom said:

I wanted to do this with a rhythm:  If you have any advice on how I can do what you see in this YouTube video, please let me know.  Thank you so much.

You will need to convert the MIDI file into a .CKF Rhythm File, a process I have detailed in this reference manual here on the forums.

 

The IDES Software Suite discussed in that reference manual is very old, as evidenced by the fact that it outputs the outdated (but still backwards compatible) .CKF format instead of the new .AC7 format natively supported by more modern Casio instruments like your WK-7600. There was not as much demand for Mac software back then, and as such, the IDES software suite was only given a Windows release. Modern Casio software utilities are always released on both Windows and Mac to reflect the larger portion of Casio users running OSX these days. This includes the Data Manager librarian utility that was released for your WK-7600, which you can always use as an alternative to transferring files with an SD card.
 

The fact that the old software still works on Windows 10 and that the new .AC7 format is backwards compatible with .CKF is a blessing in and of itself. If you want to use this software on a Mac, you can run a virtual machine simulating a Windows OS and use the program inside of that. This is a common solution for Mac users who need to run Windows-only programs. An unexpected advantage of the IDES suite being so old is that it supports older and less demanding Windows operating systems, so your Mac doesn’t have to be that powerful to handle, say, a Windows XP virtual machine with IDES running inside of it.

You will also need to find a program to edit your MIDI files to prepare them for conversion using the IDES software. In the reference manual, I used Anvil Studio (a Windows only MIDI Editor) to prepare my MIDI files, but since you’re a Mac owner, you’ll need to find some other program. OSX musicians usually have a full blown DAW like Logic, Ableton, or Cubase, all of which are more than capable of handling basic MIDI editing functions. The licensing fees for software packages like those are a high price to pay just for simple tweaks like reassigning channels and copy/pasting measures here and there, though, so if you can find something simpler and cheaper that works, go with that.

 

If you don’t want to set up a virtual machine, your other option is to listen to the MIDI file very carefully and use it as a reference to create an .AC7 Rhythm from scratch using the WK-7600’s built-in Rhythm Editor. This will require you to master the onboard Rhythm Editor to do it properly, but building up those skills can be useful if you want to make a lot of Rhythm files in the future. It can be helpful to mute and solo tracks in the source MIDI file one at a time so that you can clearly hear each part in isolation when it comes time to record that track in the Rhythm Editor later.

 

The only Casio keyboard in the current line-up that supports directly converting a MIDI file to the .AC7 Rhythm format is the MZ-X500, an arranger workstation aimed at high level users and meant to compete with similar pro workstations like the Yamaha Tyros model shown in that video you linked above. For all other models, you must convert MIDI to .CKF using the old IDES software, or make new Rhythms from scratch using the onboard Rhythm editor.
 

Of course, you can always look for ready made expansion packs of Rhythms released on the forums here, like the CT-X Expansion pack I released a while back. Note that the voice assignments in those Rhythms were programmed with the CT-X models in mind, so in some rare cases, you might have to open one of them in the WK-7600’s Rhythm Editor and change the tone assignments manually if the instrumentation sounds wonky.

 

Best of luck with your continued efforts in making Rhythms, and if you have any questions when you’re reading my reference manual, you are welcome to ask them over in the pinned thread at the top of the general section. I encourage you to share the finished Rhythm(s) you eventually end up creating; it’s always nice to have lots of content to share here on the forums, and it sets a good example for newer users who might be inspired to share their creations as well.