Editing MIDI Files

[DaveMcM]

Hi Brad and Jokeyman 123,

 

I may have an answer to the issue with the file I sent not wanting to allow for tone edits. In the MIDI Implemtation Chart at the bottom of page 21, is the hex code to turn General MIDI System ON. Top of page 22 is the code to turn GM Sys OFF. I wonder if Brandy, which was a commercially available SMF, has this code imbedded in one of the tracks? I will take a look at that in software and if its there, I'll delete it, re-save the file and see if it makdes a difference.

[Jokeyman123]

Never knew that. I know some of my older keyboards could turn GM functionality on or off-for example the Ensoniq TS-12 has that capability I recall. Yep, if that sysex message is there, that would do it. I haven't had time, but I can look at the code for GM on/off and compare it to the midi imp. chart. Here is the sysex command to reset all controllers to general midi. I am studying the brandy /mid with a hex editor to see if I detect his message. I would guess that if i can't find it-it is not a part of this midi file

 

F0 7E 7F 09 01 F7  and 

 

 F0 7E 7F 09 02 F7 to disable GM from the Casio chart are the strings I'm looking for. even if i find these, I'm not sure if i can strip these messages out. 

 

Yeps-I found it, it's there, right at the beginning of the song. So every time you run this midi file-you are sending a GM on sysex command. 

[Brad Saucier]

Casio released a firmware update for the PX-560, version 1.15, that changed the GM system from OFF to ON by default.  

[Jokeyman123]

Brad-I just this minute posted an answer-I decoded the midi file with a hex editor-and yes this version of Brandy has the sysex string that turns GM commands on. I can edit it and send it if Dave wants, but I think it is easier just to follow the procedure I found to work. The sysex command is at the very beginning of the code, I have to guess that deleting the system track from the PX560 edit menu, and recording a new "dummy" system track after setting up all the settings from the mixer will be alot easier than having to open up a hex editor and changing the sysex commands-and i haven't tried that approach yet myself, so I'm not sure that will work. I can't read sysex all that well, so I'm not exactly sure what part of the midi file this is written to-or which track, but it is definitely there, at the beginning of the song-from following the txt going long with the hex codes-it appears somewhere in the same region as the title and tempo-so this probably means it will be in the "header" part of the midi file, I guess. EEesshh!!

[Jokeyman123]

I'm not at my PX560-isn't there a menu setting somewhere that turns this GM setting on and off? I'll have to look again. I don't need that since this solution works, at least for me . GM compatibility has definitely made composing and arranging alot less complex, even with some speedbumps.

[Brad Saucier]

8 minutes ago, Jokeyman123 said:

isn't there a menu setting somewhere that turns this GM setting on and off?

 

No, it's a hidden system setting.  It's automatically turned on at power up.  This was changed due to the issue several owners had with drum tracks on channel 10 in MIDI files playing piano sounds instead.  

[DaveMcM]

Hi guys. Thanks for the info and Jokeyman123, thanks for analyzing the file.

 

Brad, since you say that the PX-560 turns GM on automatically at startup, do you think if I remove the GM ‘ON’ command from the file and replace it with the GM ‘OFF’ command, will the PX-560 respond to that message?
 

Sorry for the lengthy thread, but I’m thinking about trying to get some solo/duo work and it would be a real time saver to be able to purchase some pre-done MIDI files as opposed to recording them myself.

 

Again, thanks for all the help.

 

Dave

[Brad Saucier]

I don't know.  It should. 

[Jokeyman123]

Dave-do you know how to edit a file in hex? I can and will send it to you to see if that works. I'll try to get to that later today-have a full schedule for now!  I use a hex editor called HxD which is free to download for Windows if you want to tackle this yourself. I have over one thousand midi files I 've saved over the years-if you give me a set list or two-I'd be willing to look over what i have and can send you a few or more here-varying quality but some are certainly as good as the Brandy example-and i can check to see if these were designed with the sysex code to turn on the GM wavetable. might take a little time, but I've had more than a few pro gigs in my lifetime-have a few resources I still use. and thanks for posting the performance-it is so nice to be in touch with someone who was so supportive of what still is one of my favorite keyboard brands from years back. I's swear Casio got some of the GEM engineering under their belt-based on the recent developments I've seen!

[DaveMcM]

6 hours ago, Jokeyman123 said:

Dave-do you know how to edit a file in hex? I can and will send it to you to see if that works. I'll try to get to that later today-have a full schedule for now!  I use a hex editor called HxD which is free to download for Windows if you want to tackle this yourself. I have over one thousand midi files I 've saved over the years-if you give me a set list or two-I'd be willing to look over what i have and can send you a few or more here-varying quality but some are certainly as good as the Brandy example-and i can check to see if these were designed with the sysex code to turn on the GM wavetable. might take a little time, but I've had more than a few pro gigs in my lifetime-have a few resources I still use. and thanks for posting the performance-it is so nice to be in touch with someone who was so supportive of what still is one of my favorite keyboard brands from years back. I's swear Casio got some of the GEM engineering under their belt-based on the recent developments I've seen!

 

The sequencer program on my PC allows for SysEx editing. I inserted the GM OFF command and re-saved Brandy. I also inserted Program and Bank Change messages in each track corresponding to the sound chart that came with the PX-560 and saved that as well. I will try them out in the PX-560 tonight to see what happens.

[guanche]

Been investigating this problem of the immutable GM voicings,  which I had a feeling were being exacerbated by the SMF0 midi file format, which basically stores data from all tracks into one single super-track, unlike the SMF1 format, which stores each track's data separately.     I discovered that if you load an SMF1 format version of your third-party General Midi files, the PX 560M handles matters in a much more civilized fashion - changes to tracks in the Mixer - at least on the 1.16 firmware -  are persisted as they should be when you hit the STORE/Midi play button combination.  (For background on this header rewrite feature added in October 2016, check out https://www.casiomusicforums.com/index.php?/topic/8147-mixing-with-the-mixer/).  To save changes in tempo, however, you'll have to record at least a couple of measures of the System track,  (or perhaps a new empty track will do the trick if you've got an unrepeatably brilliant performance captured on your System track)

 

So how can you convert an SMF0 format file to an SMF1 file?   Dissection of a few modern SMF0 and SMF1 midi files were sufficient to persuade me that my days of hacking raw midi files are happily and hopefully behind me, but I did find, after testing a load of trial versions of Windows 10 DAW solutions, few of which provide flexible export options, that the best solution turns out to be free!   Bandlab.com's Cakewalk (find it under the Apps menu header) does the job in a minute:  create a new empty project, import your midi file, and immediately save your project as a simple SMF1 midi file.  That's it - you can exit Cakewalk, and  find your converted midi file in whatever folder you specified on project save.  Copy it to your Casio USB media, and if my dozen or so tests constitute a representative sample, then you should be in business to tweak - and persist - your midi imports in the Mixer to your heart's content.  

 

 

 

 

       

 

[guanche]

Here's a demo of the method just described in my previous post with Dave's uploaded files:  atrainF1.mid and brandyF1.mid are SMF1 versions of his files as converted by Cakewalk.  ATRNF1M.MID and BRNDYF1M.MID are files saved from the PX560M onto USB media after tweaking a few parameters and selecting internal PX 560M tones for each part/track. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

atrainF1.mid ATRNF1M.MID BrandyF1.mid BRNDYF1M.MID

[DaveMcM]

Hello guanche. Thanks a lot for working on this. I was thinking about downloading Cakewalk but then remembered I had an old version of PG Music PowerTracks Pro Audio so installed that.  When opening a file into PowerTracks, you are given the option of opening as a SMF0 or SMF1 format so I chose SMF1. Using the SysEx editor, I edited the HEX command contained in the file from GM ON to GM OFF. Then re-saved the file and that took care of the issue. However it sounds like your suggestion of using Cakewalk will save a step.

 

Thanks again,

 

Dave

[guanche]

Glad to hear you've found another way to skin the Casio cat.  It certainly seems to be the case that the Px560m handles SMF1 files differently.  Though I was initially concerned by Brad Saucier's announcement of the new default GM-on policy,  in practice I haven't had to bother with switching GM mode off in the midi file - with an SMF1 file the header rewrite operation just saves Mixer changes as it should. 

 

Thanks for the heads-up.  I still miss those old lean and mean pre-DAW sequencers with their full sysEx editing features.  Does your old PowerTracks Pro still work on Windows 10?     

Happy mixing!

[DaveMcM]

Yes, PowerTracks Pro (for WIn 98) installed and launched no problem on Windows 10 Pro. Surprised me actually. My PC/Sequencer experience started with Dr. T's Keyboard controlled Sequencer on a Commodore 64. Then moved to an Atari 1040 ST, Apple IIe, Mac SE and then a PC. But for the past 10+ years, when I needed to sequence a tune, I would just do it on whatever workstation I had at the time. I really am enjoying the PX560 but the sequencer section is a bit cumbersome compared to past instruments I've owned. I have been contemplating doing some duo/trio gigs which is why I was hoping to use some pre-made smf files figuring it would take less time than recording my own. But the reality is by the time I load/edit/re-save in an external sequencer, load it into the PX-560 and re-assign tones, adjust balance, etc. I could just sequence what I want right from the PX-560.

[guanche]

 Yes, immediacy is key for a good sequencing work-flow.   Still miss my Ensoniq ESQ1 for precisely that reason, using on-board tones in conjunction with external synth modules - Yamaha, Roland.   Back then only used external sequencers like the Yahama C1 with  pre-Cakewalk Voyetra for post-production,  or Atari for collaboration with other musicians, there was less of a dependency on the computer for the basic sound libraries.    PX 560M still seems a good compromise.   I'm not fully convinced by what I've read so far on the sequencing capabilities of Novation's LS mk iii, or its Ableton lock-in  - though I'd love to get my hands back on the after-touch I used to have on my old Roland keyboard -  and Novation seem to have made a conscious decision to do away with their user forum, which is not a good sign.   Using an extra pedal for expressivity is not a bad substitute for after-touch,  and Casio has come through with the goods on a number of key issues in response to user feed-back - long may it continue that way! 

 

[Jokeyman123]

Dave-there is a used SK76 on e***-but priced a little high-very tempting as this had one of the best built-in sequencers I've ever used.

 

There are a few omissions in the PX560 midi/song recorder, which I have mentioned here already last year or so-and requested a possible firmware update to add these features, which does make it a bit cumbersome to use. There is no cut/copy/paste of a particular section of a track for one. Punch-in and loop playing works but I'd like to be able to edit a bit more at the track level. I can work around some of the usual sequence editing features which I take for granted with software and most other hardware keyboard sequencers that are not there with the PX560. I don't mind missing some advanced sequencer editing functions, but just a few simple added features (apparently the MZ-X500 included these sequencer editing features) would make work alot easier without off-loading to software, as you are finding out.

 

I always have to remember-there are 3 separate divisions of 16 midi channels allocated as A, B and C- C represents  the midi/song recorder channels, B is for external midi devices or computer connected to the 560-this is the "tone module" section-and A represents the allocation of channels for the upper/lower or splits when playing live from the keys, and the accompaniment tracks I recall. If I don't remember to switch the mixer screen to A, B or C-I will not be correctly monitoring what is happening as I record or play. Forgetting this has tripped me up a few times, especially before i got used to switching screens around.

 

You've probably noticed that map at the end of the manual for how the 560 allocates 48 midi channels. And with 256 voices-pretty nice I think. Never tried to push it that far-but it's there.

 

 

[DaveMcM]

19 hours ago, guanche said:

 Yes, immediacy is key for a good sequencing work-flow.   Still miss my Ensoniq ESQ1 for precisely that reason,...

 

That was the first on-board sequencer that I used as well. It was even better in the later VFX-SD and SD-1 by Ensoniq. Korg also did a fine job with Trinity and beyond. My favorite sequencers though are the Generalmusic workstations. The SK series mentioned by Jokeyman123 as well as the later PS and Genesys series. 32 tracks, great editing, etc. and very easy and quick to navigate. Currently I also have a Roland BK-9 that I purchased to do quick in/quick out retirement home gigs. Although if I do more of those gigs I'll probably use the PX-560 due to the 88 note keyboard which I really like the feel of as well as better piano, etc. One thing I do miss in the accompaniment section of the PX-560 is only having two variations (normal and variation). Generalmusic and Roland both have 4 variations and also a 1 measure break and fade in/out. But all in all I am very happy with the PX-560.