1) You use XG Works to create different sounds. What wud you mix to create a different sound (for example)? Wud this work on a PSR550 (1 insert effect only)? How many insert effect does the PSR740/PSR2K have. How many effects can you use with XG works?
2) How does the style creator work?
Starkeeper

Can you find/create/buy additional backing tracks?
Starkeeper

If you import a MIDI file, will it display the chords?
Does XG Works support Windows 2000, XP?
Starkeeper

XGworks is a sequencer, roughly comparable to Cakewalk, but with an XG editor, a dedicated drum window, an Auto arranger and a style creator. To create different sounds you use the XG editor to send sysex to the keyboard. You are not aware of the sysex unless you need to send special sysex that the XG editor doesn't recognise - i.e. keyboard specific. (I would add that I think this is the best XG editor around). It would work just fine on a PSR550, particularly as I have just done the instrument definitions for that keyboard. With the 550 and 740 you can use all the effects. With the 2000 you can use almost all but there is a limitation due to internal tables which cannot be changed. The 740 and 2000 have five DSPs, four are insert and one is Variation/insert.
You can use all of them in spite of what the manual says.

The style creator works by opening a style block after you have inserted the chords in the right place. You then select a style from the internal styles. You can also load external styles into the style file as long as they are in the right format.

XGworks stores the chord symbols in XF format which is Yamaha sysex so standard midi files won't display.

XGworks supports 2000 and XP in its current version but if you have anearlier version you have to download a patch.

Bryan

WOW! Pilot, you did the instrument definitions for the PSR-550...???? Email me if you get a chance..

Thanks,
Squeak

Pilot,
1) You have done the instrument definitions for PSR550!!!!!!
Please email me as well. Double Wow!
2) Are the internal and external styles for the style creator regular Yamaha .sty files? What do you mean, "in the right format"?
3) Can you load/play standard MIDI files and display/print lead sheets?
Thank you for replying.
Squeak_D,
Do you have XG Works?
Starkeeper

Starkeeper,
Yes I have XG works. I like using it, but often I'd get frustrated because of the problems I ran into because I lacked the proper instrument definitions. Yamaha (those weenies) released the 550 (essentially the same thing as the 540), and still has not released any instrument definitions for the keyboard..

Squeak

What I need to know is, does the 550 use 0-127 or 1-128 for program changes. The manual says 1-128 but that makes it different from all other PSRs. Would one of you care to send some program changes to the 550 and see which voices are selected. I've set them to 0-127 so I would have to change the lot if otherwise.

Bryan

The internal style files are .stx and are totally different from .sty files. However, XGworks will use .sty files quite happily. Just one thing - if you use styles converted from other manufacturers, you have to make sure that the proper Yamaha sysex is in place. Best way to do this is to use CasmEdit on a genuine style file to see what the sysex is. You can find a link on Jorgen's web site.

Bryan

Squeak_D,
Can you test this for Pilot? My computer and Yamaha keyboard are 200 km away from each other.
Starkeeper

More questions about XG Works:
1) IMO the organ sounds are two bass(ey) in the middle C area. I play all organ voices 8va. Will XG Works allow me to eq the bass down a bit, so I can play them at middle C?
2) Can you give me an example of what you might do to change the voices?
3) Squeak_D, Can you add more then one effect using XG Works with PSR550, say rotary speaker and distortion?
Starkeeper

Yes, you can EQ the bass down - I do that on my 740 though I can do it from the keyboard as well. Changing the voices can be done two ways - using the multipart you can layer several voices on to one and apply some effects like vibrato. Also you can apply all the effects you can use from the keyboard but get to all the parameters, up to 16 per effect.

Bryan

Pilot,
Sounds great. I know from your posts that you really like the xg voices, once you've tweaked them with XG Works.
Thanks for responding.
Starkeeper

Hi Bryan,
you can also use Michael Beddeson's "Style Maker" program ( free) to create styles for psr's ( .sty format) which can then be used in xg works ( as a style block). Also found (with the few that I have tried) that if you load an emc converted style into the stylmaker program and resave it should also then work in xgworks. Must admit I haven't tried Casm Edit so I can't really comment on which is easier to use.

Just got back from holidays. I've finished reading about 70% of the manual. Unfortunately the one really great feature that the program is capable of is not mentioned in the manual (the "how to" load psr styles and make them useable as style blocks) great feature, no mention ( at least, not to date.

With the 1000's of converted yamaha styles available (free, some good, some not so good) the program is a gem.

best wishes
Rikki

Hi Rikki

Hope you enjoyed Melbourne.I have StyleMaker and also Jorgen Sorensen's Midi2Style. Both good programs.

Starkeeper, if you just want to change the voices on the 550 you can use XGEdit. There's a free download available - just doesn't save. It's cheaper than XGworks but has no sequencer. There's a link to it in YamahaZone on SynthZone.

Bryan

More XGworks discoveries for those of a technical bent. As a result of a thread on Harmony Central, I did some investigating and solved the problem of getting XGworks to send standard .syx (sysex) files. XGworks puts a special header at the start of its own .syx files in the following format:

F0 43 00 7E 00 0A 58 47 20 20 30 33 30 33 20 20 0F F7

I inserted this at the start of a standard .syx file and XGworks recognised it and sent it down to the PSR740 where it worked perfectly.

Bryan

Hi Bryan,
yes, we had a great trip.
Finally finished reading the whole manual. All I have to do now is get some practical experience with the program.

best wishes
Rikki

Hi Bryan,
you mentioned that you did the definitions for the 740 & 550 ( and I know you sent them to me)
Just wondering how you did them? as I would like to do them for my 9000pro.
I may have missed something while reading the manual. Did you work out how to do it yourself or did you get the info elsewhere. If it's in the manual itself, could you please point me to which section.
I'd be most grateful.

best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Pilot:
It would work just fine on a PSR550, particularly as I have just done the instrument definitions for that keyboard. With the 550 and 740 you can use all the effects. With the 2000 you can use almost all but there is a limitation due to internal tables which cannot be changed.

Hi Rikki

What I sent you was the updates for the 740 and 2000. The 550 updates aren't finalised yet as I'm waiting for someone to tell if the program changes run from 0-127 or 1-128, not by looking in the manual but by using a real 550.

Look on page 192 of your manual (if it's the same as my copy). It gives all the banks and program changes for the 9000Pro. What it won't do is tell you how to do it. You need some experience in programming, MIDI, sysex, music and a lot of native cunning. I had to do it all myself. If you unzip the updates I sent and read the readme files you'll get some idea of what to do. You can compare the updates with the originals (which are included). They are all text files so you can view them with Notepad or Wordpad. You can always email me for further guidance.

Bryan

Thanks Bryan,
I'll study what you sent me ( only had a brief look before I went on holiday) and hopefully I'll make some sense of it. I USED to know a fair bit about midi and I used to fiddle round with sys ex messages (for my Roland synth modules). Haven't done anything like that for years, so hopefully I can get the old brain ticking again ( haahaa)

Hoped I had actually missed instructions in the manual " on how to", but obviously no such luck.

Most appreciative of your offer of help. I might also check with xg user group just in case someone has already done it and is willing to share.

thanks again
best wishes
Rikki

Pilot can you send those instrument definition files files for the PSR-740 and PSR-550 to me at nigelsp@synthzone.com and I'll make them available at all times from http://www.synthzone.com

Thanks for making these files available.

Hello... Anybody...
Can someone answer Pilot's question. I'm not able to do this.
"The 550 updates aren't finalised yet as I'm waiting for someone to tell if the program changes run from 0-127 or 1-128, not by looking in the manual but by using a real 550."
Please
Starkeeper

Pilot,
I sorry I haven't had the chance to test this for you yet. It would be easier if my keyboard was always hooked up to my computer, but it's not. We have one computer which is in our living room and my small studio set is in the corner of our bedroom.. So when I use XG works it takes a few minutes to hook everything up and so forth...

Squeak