My guesses about Casio AC7 rhythm files...(and hello to all fellas here!)

[Hello from East Asia]

Um, hi there. New comer here. Salutations! 🙂

I've been hooked with all these new Casio keyboards with AiX sound engine. Sounds are fresh and styles taste nice for me as a long time Yamaha user. I figured out it's probably a great time for me to learn something new since I've been fed with almost every voice and rhythm from Yamaha's product line. 

Casio's CT-X3000/5000 has totally shocked me, telling me there's more to enjoy keyboards. I've started digging into CT-X3000/5000's user manuals and data sheets currently. (And then I found this forum! ) At first I was thinking that Casio's AC7 files were just some tweaks about MIDI files like other manufactures do, however after downloading some rhythm files, ( It's amazing that Chandler Holloway has uploaded all those great style archives and tools! Thanks so much! ) I figured out that Casio is doing things a different way. From the user manual, the CT-X3000/5000 supports style midi output through MIDI channel 9-16 with the option selected, which is rarely seen from my experience using other keyboards, even their top models. But AC7 files cannot be read with DAWs or sequencers on computer. I tried opening them with VSCode, and it told me that those were binary files. 

However, Casio do support exporting and importing AC7 user style files. There are tools online that can implement MIDI files into AC7 files. (Like that Excel file, you know 🤪) What I'm thinking is if there's a 'way back', that is, to convert AC7 files to MIDI files on computer. From my guess, AC7 files are the output of putting MIDI files into a special process, and I believe that this process can be reversed. If not, there's no need for supporting style midi output on the instrument, or having the ability to create, load and share AC7 files on the instrument.

I'm really curious about this, and I'm willing to figure out whether it's possible.

Sorry for my long words. Anyway, I'm so glad to be here, and again, hello to everyone! 😄

 

[Akshansh - Alex]

4 hours ago, Hello from East Asia said:

Um, hi there. New comer here. Salutations! 🙂

I've been hooked with all these new Casio keyboards with AiX sound engine. Sounds are fresh and styles taste nice for me as a long time Yamaha user. I figured out it's probably a great time for me to learn something new since I've been fed with almost every voice and rhythm from Yamaha's product line. 

Casio's CT-X3000/5000 has totally shocked me, telling me there's more to enjoy keyboards. I've started digging into CT-X3000/5000's user manuals and data sheets currently. (And then I found this forum! ) At first I was thinking that Casio's AC7 files were just some tweaks about MIDI files like other manufactures do, however after downloading some rhythm files, ( It's amazing that Chandler Holloway has uploaded all those great style archives and tools! Thanks so much! ) I figured out that Casio is doing things a different way. From the user manual, the CT-X3000/5000 supports style midi output through MIDI channel 9-16 with the option selected, which is rarely seen from my experience using other keyboards, even their top models. But AC7 files cannot be read with DAWs or sequencers on computer. I tried opening them with VSCode, and it told me that those were binary files. 

However, Casio do support exporting and importing AC7 user style files. There are tools online that can implement MIDI files into AC7 files. (Like that Excel file, you know 🤪) What I'm thinking is if there's a 'way back', that is, to convert AC7 files to MIDI files on computer. From my guess, AC7 files are the output of putting MIDI files into a special process, and I believe that this process can be reversed. If not, there's no need for supporting style midi output on the instrument, or having the ability to create, load and share AC7 files on the instrument.

I'm really curious about this, and I'm willing to figure out whether it's possible.

Sorry for my long words. Anyway, I'm so glad to be here, and again, hello to everyone! 😄

 

Hello and welcome to the Casio Music Fourms!

 

Did you asked about "How to convert AC7 file to MID (midi) file?

 

There is one very simple and easiest way that I follows to convert AC7 to MID file is.: Record your Rhythm on keyboard using onboard midi recorder (you can record both, with accomp or without accomp... It's up to you)

 

After record you have to 'Export' that recorded file as "MltR SMF" (multi record Standard Midi File) to you USB.

 

It can shows the MID file in the MUSICDAT folder of USB, which you can edit and use it anywhere. But you cannot Load MID file to the keyboard.

 

That is one way how I convert my Rhythms AC7 files to MID files.

Edited January 13, 2022 by Akshansh

[vbdx66]

Well there is one other usage I can imagine to style MIDI output, and it is exporting style data from one Casio keyboard to another with a better sound engine.

 

Vinciane

[Akshansh - Alex]

10 hours ago, vbdx66 said:

Well there is one other usage I can imagine to style MIDI output, and it is exporting style data from one Casio keyboard to another with a better sound engine.

 

Vinciane

To use AC7 rhythm on another CASIO keyboard, just rhythm will be copy and pasted in that keyboard which I wanted to be played same rhythm(s) on another Casio keyboard.

 

However, it may be not compatible with other keyboard except Casio keyboards.

 

For using it on other keyboard, firstly I have to make sure that the event of the rhythm is not delaying on time to start "on" beat. So it have to edit the event and move it slightly forward on starting and cut it from end by correct timing for perfect loop....

 

Then there may me choses to do changes in Sets and Tones and Samples-of-events. And the Rhythm ready to be played! 

[Hello from East Asia]

Thanks pals, I was just thinking about figuring out the relationship between AC7 files and standard MIDI information... Since there are tools available on the computer to encode MIDI into AC7 files, I think there should be a reversed way to translate AC7 into MIDI info on the computer, too. 😄 Although it might take a bit of analyzing the codec (Maybe?) of AC7 files, I tried using a Hex Editor and figured out something interesting... Perhaps I'm gonna go through the MIDI implementation manual. 😃

 

BTW, my CT-X3000 is coming on the way! Gosh, I'm thrilled!

[Hello from East Asia]

On 1/15/2022 at 5:53 PM, Akshansh said:

To use AC7 rhythm on another CASIO keyboard, just rhythm will be copy and pasted in that keyboard which I wanted to be played same rhythm(s) on another Casio keyboard.

 

However, it may be not compatible with other keyboard except Casio keyboards.

 

For using it on other keyboard, firstly I have to make sure that the event of the rhythm is not delaying on time to start "on" beat. So it have to edit the event and move it slightly forward on starting and cut it from end by correct timing for perfect loop....

 

Then there may me choses to do changes in Sets and Tones and Samples-of-events. And the Rhythm ready to be played! 

 

I'm trying to figure out how to record style playback via USB cable (MIDI), using Cakewalk on my PC. I tried using the on-board multi-track recorder, and I have to use a thumb drive to export SMF. It takes so long to convert the multi-track record to SMF in the instrument, so that's why I'm going to try using computer.😀

[Silvano Silva]

On 1/13/2022 at 12:42 PM, Hello from East Asia said:

Um, hi there. New comer here. Salutations! 🙂

I've been hooked with all these new Casio keyboards with AiX sound engine. Sounds are fresh and styles taste nice for me as a long time Yamaha user. I figured out it's probably a great time for me to learn something new since I've been fed with almost every voice and rhythm from Yamaha's product line. 

Casio's CT-X3000/5000 has totally shocked me, telling me there's more to enjoy keyboards. I've started digging into CT-X3000/5000's user manuals and data sheets currently. (And then I found this forum! ) At first I was thinking that Casio's AC7 files were just some tweaks about MIDI files like other manufactures do, however after downloading some rhythm files, ( It's amazing that Chandler Holloway has uploaded all those great style archives and tools! Thanks so much! ) I figured out that Casio is doing things a different way. From the user manual, the CT-X3000/5000 supports style midi output through MIDI channel 9-16 with the option selected, which is rarely seen from my experience using other keyboards, even their top models. But AC7 files cannot be read with DAWs or sequencers on computer. I tried opening them with VSCode, and it told me that those were binary files. 

However, Casio do support exporting and importing AC7 user style files. There are tools online that can implement MIDI files into AC7 files. (Like that Excel file, you know 🤪) What I'm thinking is if there's a 'way back', that is, to convert AC7 files to MIDI files on computer. From my guess, AC7 files are the output of putting MIDI files into a special process, and I believe that this process can be reversed. If not, there's no need for supporting style midi output on the instrument, or having the ability to create, load and share AC7 files on the instrument.

I'm really curious about this, and I'm willing to figure out whether it's possible.

Sorry for my long words. Anyway, I'm so glad to be here, and again, hello to everyone! 😄

 

The curious thing is that in a Rhythms conversion program there are options to convert files from different brands but the AC7 extension is not present.

Casio has locked the Extension because it is in these files that the chord variations should be.

And to think that a detail like this could release Guitar Loop in the MZ-X simply by routing through chord chains.

The Forum Friends ReStyle program unlocks rhythm editing but it is not possible to unlock Intros with different chords

 

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