Ah, well.
I worked for ICL (now Fujitsu Services, or something like that, in the UK) for 20 years and you HAD to have a sense of humour to work for them, otherwise you wouldn't survive. The stories I could tell ... but won't, to protect the guilty. Suffice it to say that the company was managed into oblivion. But I'm happy to take their pension.

I used to be the horrid techie too. But learnt, under the tutorship of a really good presenter, how to get the message across. The trouble with most of us is that when people don't understand us we tend to go into more detail. Actually the total converse is what is needed.

His motto was "clarity before precision". One that I've tried to follow ever since, when designing a new course.

Best regards,
SysExJohn.

Hello again all,

Thanks again for enlightening advices!

Especially the bit with bank selection was very helpful.

I equipped my clairvoyance helmet and went ahead with your lessons on my own with the help of multi-bank ins file from my Korg N1R.

Here's what transpired:

• http://docs.google.com/View?id=dfkmwxtv_34fxqjwphg

Am I in right direction?

The product seems a lot of work, but actually I like to play with automation with spreadsheets and text editors, using "search and replace" functions and macros to make anything that contains repeatedly same action for me with minimal effort. So if I went to completely wrong direction at some point, there's no great harm as I can redo anything relatively easy and fast.

Here's how my .ins file is built at the moment:

1. Comment of the midi device in question
2. "Patch Names" section - Patches (with MSB DATA2 number from MIDI-OX) divided in banks (that correspond the PC DATA1 from MIDI-OX)
   
   • Example:
     [Bank101]
     0=450 FX6 (goblins)
     44=451 Choir Bell
3. "Instrument Definitions" section,with the name of the device, BankSelMethod and the list of banks (named strictly after banks in "Patch Names" section)
   
   • A sample:
     Patch[???]=Bank80
     Patch[???]=Bank81
     Patch[???]=Bank82
     Patch[???]=Bank83
     Patch[???]=Bank84

How can I find out which BankSelMethod I should use?
And how could I find out the Patch numbering system that SP-5500 uses?


Still missing from my .ins:

• .Note Names (I can probably copy information of the drum kits from existing .ins files)
• .Controller Names (same as above, unless there's some proper way to find out these)
• .RPN Names (no idea what this means, I just copied the section name it from N1R .ins)
• .NRPN Names (same as above)

I'm very grateful of every bit of help I've gotten from both of you, :)
Timi

Here's the MIDI-OX data of the drum kits (hopefully i did not strip away anything important):

PC (DATA1)     Bank MSB (DATA2)   Patch name from user's guide
0              11                 551 Standard Kit
8              11                 552 Room Kit
16             11                 553 Power Kit
24             11                 554 Electronic Kit
25             11                 555 Analog Kit
32             11                 556 Jazz Kit
40             11                 557 Brush Kit
48             11                 558 Orchestra Kit
50             11                 559 SFX Kit

How should I start working with these?

//Timi

Hi Timi,

A good try, but not quite there I'm afraid, although you are getting the idea! Don't be discouraged. It always takes a little work to make these files, but once you've done it put your details inside the file and make it widely available, then your name will live forever as the maker of the PS5500 instrument file! FAME! ;-)

First of all try using the following file http://www.4shared.com/file/MDDmrXqq/PSR540.html as the basis for your work.

First of all you'll have noticed in the ins file you've looked at, that anything on a line after a ";" (a semi-colon) is a comment. I suggest you alter the attached file to include your own details for the SP5500. And rename the file as you wish.

Next, in the first block under the section name ". Patch Names" titled "[Yamaha PSR-540 Panel 112]" are the complete set of GM standard instruments. These, if you look through the list you  have prepared from the MIDI-OX listings, map to all the instruments starting with "0" e.g. "0=012 Acoustic Grand Piano" and "0=014 Bright Piano 1" and so on.
They are selected using "Bank select MSB = 0" then the number at the beginning of the name in the PSR540 list. e.g. 0 = grand piano, 1 = Bright Piano and so on.

So the two commands "Bank Select MSB=0" then "Program Change=0" will select the Acoustic Grand Piano.

You could leave this first section exactly as it is and it will work fine for you I think as a quick browse through your list shows me the 128 standard MIDI instruments. Just change the name in square brackets to e.g. [Thomann/Medelli SP5500 GM Instrument Bank].

Now for the second bank of instruments.
Where, in the PSR540 ins file it says "[Yamaha PSR-540 Panel 113]" replace the name with e.g. "[PS5500 Bank 8]".

These will all be instruments that start with "8=" in your listings. This means that they are selected using a "bank select MSB =8" followed by the instrument number from the GM table. So, acoustic grand piano will be the first entry and will be "0=Stereo Grand Piano / W", next will be "1=Bright Piano 1 / W", then "3=Honky-Tonk 1 / W" and so on.

So "Bank Select MSB=8" then "Program Change=3" will select "Honky-Tonk 1 / W".

So, if you go through your MIDI-OX listing extracting all the different bank numbers, I see 0, 8, 10 ,11, 13, 14, 15 and so on, you'll build up the "Banks" of sounds. i.e. those selected by a "Bank select MSB=10" then "11" etc. This should be relatively easy to do with a little, macro I'd have thought.

Don't do the drums yet, they work in a slightly different way, by note number, so we'll do them when we've got the main instrument list done. As you say, you'll be able to use a lot from existing files, and the PSR540 one will give you a good idea how it works.

Again don't worry about RPNs (Registered Parameter Numbers) or NRPNs (Non-Registered Parameter Numbers) yet. It's too much for me to explain all at once.

You'll find the MIDI standard name of the controllers in table 3 of the second MMA link I sent earlier, and the list of RPNs in table 3a.

You'll find the name of the controllers that the SP5500 responds to in Appendix 6 of your manual listed under "Control Change". If they have a "0" next to them they are recognised, or sent, and if an "x" then they are not recognised or sent.

Hope this helps?
More to come.
Best regards,
SysExJohn.

P.S. I've just noticed I keep getting my "PS" and "SP" transposed. ;-)
Make allowances please for the creeping on of decrepitude!

Hi again,

You know, I think I understood it right, but got some wires crossed inside my head with MSB and PC so it seems to me that I just sorted the data according wrong column. That's what I get when I wake in the middle of the night and start doing things that need even a little brain activity. :P

Here's latest draft which I built upon PSR-540 ins file structure:

• http://docs.google.com/View?id=dfkmwxtv_37fzwnf9gq

The Bank names seem a bit dull atm, because I just named them after the corresponding patch number (except the 1st bank, General Midi). I'll do the dull bit of renaming them when everything else seems to be about right. :)

On the bank 0, the GM instruments, I inserted in the patch name field both SP-5500 name and  the GM name from PSR-540, so it might seem somewhat redundant.

I'll try to look at the structure of the PSR-540 drum kit definition after I get the other instruments right.

Controllers and RPN's I will copy from the link you sent and from the User's guide.

This helped a lot! Again thanks so much from all the effort explaining it all.

//timi

PS.  In the .Instrument Definitions section, there's "BankSelMethod" attribute, is it important or should I ignore it for now?

I found this information about the matter:

There are 4 bank select methods defined in Sonar

1. Normal
2. Controller 0 Only
3.Controller 32 only
4. Patch 100-127

As you told earlier that SP-5500 seems to use CC#0 for bank selection, does it mean that I should use "BankSelMethod=2"?
Ah solved it: I just spotted that the "Control Change" of the "Bank Select" seems to be 0 in the User's guide, so I assume I should use "BankSelMethod=2".

Well done Timi, you just became an Instrument File creator!

Now, I haven't checked all your fields in detail but a quick scan through what you've done looks good.

Yep, bank select method 2 is the preferred one for this instrument. You learn fast!

I'll post the next bit tomorrow (with any luck and a tail wind) concerning drum kits. I've been out teaching again and I'm a bit weary.

At a quick glance it seems you got the controllers right too. Check your RPNs against the MMA table 3a, they should match. These are standard definitions in the MIDI specification. Another lesson will tell you about them if you want to know.

As for NRPNs I'd have to check the manual again to see what it says, but I rather suspect it says nothing. Many manufacturers also publish a separate MIDI specification manual usually in pdf form. But I haven't found one for this instrument. My searches haven't been exhaustive though, you might keep looking. Not every manufacturer defines NRPNs though.

You've made huge progress in just a few days. Well done.

Best regards,
SysExJohn.

Hi again,

Without patient help from both of you I would not have gotten anywhere!

Guess what, I just impatiently loaded the draft2 of my ins file to Cakewalk LE4 and even the ins file is not yet complete I can finally choose any of the 559 (minus the 9 drum kits) sounds via Cakewalk UI. :D

Of course it's still like finding the famous needle from a haystack before I get the banks named properly. I found only a one or two sounds that seem incorrect according to attached name, but I'll make a note of them and check them later properly one by one.

I could not find "RPN" with Acrobat's search within the whole User's guide (except from example pictures featuring instrument called StGrPn), so perhaps they are hopefully supported but undocumented. I did minimal reading about RPN's already and I think I can work out something after bit more reading.

//timi

Here's the (nearly) raw MIDI-OX data of the drum kits.

• http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=t7hHoVkYddJOYE2-atzro0g&output=html
  (I use Google Docs again as I cannot find out how to maintain the formatting of the tables here)

I'm absolutely in no hurry, so take all the time you might need to tell more about the kits etc.

//timi

Guess what, I just impatiently loaded the draft2 of my ins file to Cakewalk LE4 and even the ins file is not yet complete I can finally choose any of the 559 (minus the 9 drum kits) sounds via Cakewalk UI. :D

That's excellent! You're almost there, but I have no doubt you're happier about working with this digital piano now!

You guys are just knocking this out! You'll be done in no time. I wish I could help more, but you're already beyond what I know about MIDI--though I'm certainly learning a lot.

Thanks again for the experience!

Hi Timi,

The drum list was just what I needed thanks. It identifies the unit as using the GM2 drum banks, but not the GM2 bank select. I'm creating a GM2 .ins file for you at the moment, in between other things, and hope you can hang on until I've completed it? You can then copy over and edit the bits you need.

I might then post a general overview about how to create an Instrument File on the list.

Glad you've found the posts useful PlanetEarth. I see the thread's been read more than a thousand times! Perhaps there's a need for a general tutorial?

Back soon I hope,
SysExJohn.