Reference Guide

817
Troubleshooting
System Exclusive Data
You can also add a DRM for any unlisted instrument. For more information about how to do this,
read the section “More about Dump Request Macros” on page 810 earlier in this chapter.
Synthesizers Reporting MIDI Data Errors
Some synthesizers will report data errors when you try to send Sysx information to them. This
usually happens when SONAR sends data at a rate too fast for the synthesizer to keep up. You can
use the SysxSendPacketSize=number setting in TTSseq.ini to make SONAR transmit Sysx
data more slowly, as described in Sysx .ini File Settings.
Try setting the number to 64. If that does not solve the problem, try successively smaller values. If 64
works, you may try larger values until it stops working; go back to the largest value that worked and
you will have the fastest transmission rate that the problematic synthesizer can keep up with.
My Equipment Is Not receiving Sysx from SONAR
Make sure the instrument is set up to receive System Exclusive messages. In the Sysx View, make
sure the right output is selected. Verify that the Sysx message originally transmitted from the same
kind of instrument. An instrument will not recognize Sysx messages from a different make or model
of instrument.
Finally, try adjusting the parameters in the TTSseq.ini file, as described Sysx .ini File Settings .
Timing Requirements When Receiving Sysx
Some MIDI devices have special timing requirements when receiving System Exclusive
transmissions. If your equipment has problems receiving System Exclusive data from SONAR, you
might need to introduce some small delays to allow the equipment to digest the information it is
receiving.
The line in TTSseq.ini that reads SysxDelayAfterF7=n enables SONAR to introduce a delay
between each Sysx message so that the instrument has some time to respond to the message.
Setting n to be 1 enables the delay. The line SysxSendDelayMsecs=n lets you control how many
milliseconds the delay is, where n is the number of milliseconds that the delay lasts.
Roland Equipment
Some Roland equipment—notably, the GR-1 and GR-50 Guitar Synthesizers—have problems
receiving Sysx packets in fast succession. You must use the setting SysxDelayAfterF7 = 1 with
these devices.
Ensoniq Instruments
Successfully sending Sysx messages to most Ensoniq instruments requires that you add the
following three lines to the [Options] section of TTSseq.ini:
SysxDelayAfterF7=1 Enables delay
SysxSendDelayMsecs=200 Sets delay time to 200 milliseconds
SysxSendPacketSize=65535 Increases packet size to 64k
See: