So, suppose I have an old synth (let's say a JV-1080) and I can find an ins file for it.  Cool.  But if I have four expansion cards, how do I add those to the file?  I have the papers somewhere with the list of instruments.
 
Same question about Kurzweil PC2R.
 
I used to understand ins files but I seem to have forgotten and somehow they are no longer in Sonar.
 
(I also need to add one for the Tyros 2 but there are no expansion cards involved.)
 
Basically, I know nothing except the general concept.
 
Thanks.

You can create your own INS file definitions. There is a video here that explains how to do that. It is number 8 in the playlist.
 
HTH

Thanks, Biker Dude.  So, I watched the video which is great, but I am still a bit unclear on a few points.  Maybe I should work with it a bit before asking questions, but here are my confusion points.
 
1-The part about importing a file v creating an instrument was not clear to me.  Wouldn't you need to do both?
2-Rather than adding patches one by one in Sonar (127x8 for the JV), would it make more sense to take an existing ins file and edit it in notepad to create the new file?
3-I have never been clear whether the synths I have are "Normal," "Controller 0," or "Controller 32."  The ones I need to do are Roland JV-1080, Kurzweil PC2R (same as PC2 but rack-mount), and Yamaha Tyros 2.
4-Let's say I found a file that appears to be correct for the four factory banks in the Roland JV-1080, how would I know how to label the new sections of the file?  It looks like the existing file has headers like PR-A, PR-B, etc.  I could guess that the new sections need EXP-A, EXP-B or something, but I might try a lot of things before I got it right.  Same questions on the PC2R (although it uses different nomenclature)?
 
Of course if someone had a file with all the expansion cards and knew the header format, I could swap them around to match the slots where I have installed my cards.
 
Sorry to be an idiot, but this is quite frustrating.
 

konradh
Thanks, Biker Dude.  So, I watched the video which is great, but I am still a bit unclear on a few points.  Maybe I should work with it a bit before asking questions, but here are my confusion points.
 

 
That's a good idea, it does help get the concept across easier and once you've "got it" it will seem much easier.
 

1-The part about importing a file v creating an instrument was not clear to me.  Wouldn't you need to do both?
 

 
Yes & No. You generally import existing INS files and create new ones from within the Sonar interface. Having said that there's nothing to stop you creating one in Notepad or other text editor and then importing that.
 
I tend to use the Sonar interface for creating new ones. It can become a little tedious though especially if there's a lot of crossover between ins files. In that case it's probably easier and quicker to do it in a text editor and then import them.
 

2-Rather than adding patches one by one in Sonar (127x8 for the JV), would it make more sense to take an existing ins file and edit it in notepad to create the new file?

 
It can do, it depends on the patch names and frankly personal preference for editing. The advantage that the Sonar interface has it that it makes more logical sense (to me anyway). It doesn't matter though notepad will do the job.
 

3-I have never been clear whether the synths I have are "Normal," "Controller 0," or "Controller 32."  The ones I need to do are Roland JV-1080, Kurzweil PC2R (same as PC2 but rack-mount), and Yamaha Tyros 2.

 
That info should be in the synth's manual somewhere. In reality I use normal for all of mine and it works fine. I have a Roland Sonic Cell and some older Casio keyboards/synth. I also use them for patch changing my BOSS GT-6 and Digitech Quad FX processor in a live situation. Normal works on all of them.
 

4-Let's say I found a file that appears to be correct for the four factory banks in the Roland JV-1080, how would I know how to label the new sections of the file?  It looks like the existing file has headers like PR-A, PR-B, etc.  I could guess that the new sections need EXP-A, EXP-B or something, but I might try a lot of things before I got it right.  Same questions on the PC2R (although it uses different nomenclature)?
 

 
Not sure what you mean by the file headers but if they relate to the Bank names seen from within Sonar, they are created when you add the "Bank Change" number which is either in your synth manual or calculated using the method shown in the video.
 

Of course if someone had a file with all the expansion cards and knew the header format, I could swap them around to match the slots where I have installed my cards.
 

 
I'm not sure for reasons mentioned above. I have never created those bank names manually they are created by the process of assigning the bank change number.
 

 
Sorry to be an idiot, but this is quite frustrating.
 

 
Definitely not an idiot. It took me a while to get my head around them as well. If you need more help or have any more questions just ask. 

My Roland JV80 "works" with the Normal setting or with the Controller 0 setting, but the manual says it uses only controller 0. The bank numbers are a little weird: the card bank number in the manual is 80, internal is 81. The numbers Sonar needs are 10240 and 10368, so bank number times 128.
 
You can set the bank names as you wish, but the numbers need to follow the synth rules. Unfortunately, Sonar displays the bank number and name together in the widget, in Sonarese.
 
Edit: I see that the Sonar help has an example for the JV1080 and it resembles the JV80, as might be expected.

Thanks, Bill (bvideo).
 

So, I have found the standard JV patch list.  I can type in (or really cut/paste/format) the patch lists for the expansion cards.  What I don't understand is 1-what the headers should be for each section and 2-how to tell Sonar "OK, this group is EXP A, this one is EXP B, etc."
 
Same situation for the PC2R.  It's like there is a lot of information for some of the detailed steps, but I'm missing the big picture.
 
PS, I tried to start my old machine that has Sonar 2 and the old INS files so I could export them, but, of course, Windows just decides "Oh, this machine is too old--I won't let it start anymore."

The section ".Instrument Definitions" in the .ins file defines what bank change messages select a given bank. The names after the "=" sign there point to the bank name in [ ]'s above the list of patch names in the ".Patch Names" section.

Which cards do you have?

I have used the InsMaker utility to create ins file from my Kurz K2500XS which is fully loaded with expansions as well as samples. Maybe it will work for your synths.
 
http://www.fumph.com/?page_id=13