User Manual

CHAPTER
673
54 System Exclusive
Digital Performer allows you to record, playback,
and edit MIDI System Exclusive (SysEx) messages.
Common types of System Exclusive messages
include patch dumps, preset selections, editing
parameters, etc. Digital Performer can thus store
patches, samples, and other important information
from your MIDI equipment in system exclusive
form. Patches, edit parameters, and other special
commands can be incorporated into musical
sequences, greatly expanding the resources of your
MIDI sound modules.
Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 673
Recording and playing SysEx messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 673
Viewing and editing SysEx data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674
Editing data in the system exclusive window . . . . . . . 675
Inserting SysEx data in the event List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676
Editing SysEx data with the Edit Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676
Transmitting a SysEx message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676
Recording SysEx into the Editor Window . . . . . . . . . . . 677
Recording SysEx into a track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 677
Hints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 678
Be Careful. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 679
BASICS
System Exclusive messages are a special type of
MIDI data. A System Exclusive message consists of
a header, body, and an ‘end of message’ byte. (A
byte is a unit of digital information, roughly
equivalent to a single character or letter.)
The header labels the following data as System
Exclusive information, and includes a code
identifying the manufacturer of the equipment
transmitting the data.
The body of the message contains the actual data
being sent. This data may take any form the
manufacturer desires. There are some standards
for the format of System Exclusive information, but
for the most part a System Exclusive message is only
understood by the type of equipment that generated
it. As a result, recording a patch dump from one
synthesizer and sending it to another will generally
not produce useful results. Digital Performer does
not respond to or interpret System Exclusive data;
any analysis or editing of the body of the message is
the user’s responsibility.
Finally, the end of message byte, F7, marks the end
of the System Exclusive data, and signals Digital
Performer to interpret subsequent information as
standard MIDI data.
As defined in the MIDI specification, a System
Exclusive message must begin and end with an F0
and F7 byte, respectively. In addition, only
hexadecimal values of 7F (127 in base ten) or less
are allowed. When you click the OK button after
inserting or editing the contents of a System
Exclusive event, Digital Performer will scroll to and
highlight any bytes that violate the conditions just
stated.
RECORDING AND PLAYING SYSEX
MESSAGES
System Exclusive messages are recorded and played
back like any other MIDI data. These messages
vary in size; information for a bank of patches, for
instance, may be 10-20K or more. No matter how
long a message is, it is treated as a single event by
Digital Performer. Note that a long System
Exclusive message can briefly halt recording or
playback as Digital Performer processes the data; it
is best to place larger System Exclusive events like
patch or bank dumps in separate sequences, or at
the start of a sequence before the actual music
begins.