Hi,
I am gonna buy an Mz2000 from GC. Can I import PSR styles onto the MZ? Have seen many free styles for the PSR in svpworld.com but they are in some other format and not mid. Will they do? And also voices.. Any way to import voices to the MZ2000?
Thanx guys

Not directly. The MZ2000 has a direct conversion feature for Technics and Roland styles, but not Yamaha's. It can still be done however. The MZ also has a midi file to style conversion feature built in. Yamaha styles are basically midifiles that have additonal sysex info and are then saved in .sty (SFF) format. These .sty files must be converted back to .mid files before it can be done. .Sty files will open up as midi sequences in a few software sequencers, most notably Yamaha Xg works and maybe the better versions of Cakewalk? . I have XG works, so I would simply mark the places where the data changed ( went from one vaeriation or fill ..etc to the next ) and save the whole thing as a standard midi file. ( It's been too long so I can't remember if it was SMF 0 or 1, but the manual will tell you.

I know there are plenty of freeware programs for the PSR at Simon Williams SVP world site, and I am guessing that there is one that will allow you to change .sty files to .mid files ( or at least play .sty files as in real time which can be simultaneously recorded into a software sequencer. You might need also to download Hubis loopback device or Midi Thruway to allow for multiple midi paths in order to do this ( freeware )though.


The bottom line is, it's a lot more work than a simple conversion, but it's doable. Because I had XG works and a ton of Yamaha styles, the conversion was a bit easier. Once the new "SMF" is introduced into the MZ, you'll be able to slice it up by sections of up to 16 ? bars and save the pieces as new style elements for the MZ. You could also slice up your favorite midifiles in this way and make patterns out of them. There are other good pieces of softawre that will help you make your own patterns that can be saved as midifiles. Midibrainz and Pump beta are very basic freeware programs, but can do the job. Also, unlike making Yamaha styles, no need to worry about converting to Cmaj7. The MZ does it for you no matter what key the midifile is in. Be forewarned though, most converted styles are going to need some tweaking afterwards to get them to sound good.

Cheers and Good Luck,

Korg AJ

Thanx for the reply .. Are Roland and Technics styles available anywhere on the net as Yamaha is? And I have one other doubt ... Can I import voices onto the MZ? The basic thing is .. I am an Indian and would love to have traditional indian instrument sounds on my KB. For example the "Tabla" is available on the i-30 and Iwould love to have it so that I can use it on my styles. Does PSR 740 allow any voice imports?

I traded in my MZ last May, so I'm not certain anymore about where to look for styles for Technichs or Roland, although I was able to download some from the net. I'll have to check because I have a new computer since then too, but If I still have thjem somewhere on disk, you are welcome to them.I think Gunnar Jonny ( who posts here often ) had some Technics styles on his site.

You cannot import voices or samples into either the 740 or the MZ2000. On the MZ2000, you can edit several synth parameters, envelopes, Lfos, etc on the MZ, but I don't think that would be all that useful for creating a tabla sound. You can't modify the 740 voices at all, except to assign the mod wheel to either one or two very basic synth functions.

best regards,

Krog AJ

Thanx..

Gunnar has many many technics files at http://home.c2i.net/gjgotaas/

Hi swamiji,

I checked all of my disks and i'm sorry to report that I no longer have any of the Technics and Roland styles I once downloaded. It appears that I didn't save them and they were lost when the hard drive on my old computer went down. On the previous post above is the link to Gunnar Jonny's KN5000 site, which has tons of styles that are converted from Yamaha, Roland, Solton and Korg to Technics type. You'll have plenty to work with. Hope you don't mind GJ, and thanks for putting them there. I got a lot of good use out of them when I had the MZ2000.

You'll be able to convert them inside of the MZ from technics to Casio format styles in one easy step. because they were converted for the technics boards, they may not all sound great on the MZ, so you'll probably want to tweak a lot of them afterward.

Good Luck

Korg AJ



[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 03-15-2002).]

Thanx Korg A J AAfter reading bout all the procedures involved in tweaking the MZ I have decided to buy a PSR 740 for the time being. At least, it has tons of styles available for download on the net. I'll get it day after I'll have loads of doubts once I get it. I am relying on you ppl here in sytnhzone Thanx for everything

swamiji,
Don't let the tweeking of converted styles on the MZ put you off..... It's that way with any board that converts styles from other makers. Regardless you'll most likely have to tweek them just a bit to get them to sound the way you want. The conversion is just a base for getting the style onto your board. If you use a Technics style you have to remember that the style was composed for the technics keyboard, which used that boards effects and so forth. So it will sound a little different converted on another board. Being able to convert them is nice because you can adjust the style to your liking as well. Tweeking the style isn't hard and doesn't take much work. A little more reverb here, maybe up the volumer there... It's really simple. I think the PSR-740 is a good board, but if you want a good sequencer, the MZ wins hands down.. More user space for styles, and extensive song editing as well.. Also the MZ has a synth engine, and you can really get in there and twist the sounds up....

Squeak

Swamiji..
WAIT.... if you want to use the tons of styles available out there... don't overlook the PSR2000. It's a whole lot easier to load styles into the 2K than the 740. The 740 only has 3 slots for user styles. With the 2K you can load any style quickly from a disk...or save to the user file area which is only limited by how many other things are saved in the overall memory.

Eddie

Hi ppl ,

One other factor that made me dump the idea of the MZ is that it is not available here ( India ). I almost made arrangements to get it from Dan ( GC Maryland ) and then backed out due to the fear that it might be damaged enroute. So the best arranger option before me now is the PSR 740 . I understand that it is not as good a KB as the MZ, butI have no other go. There is one real solace though .. I am flying to US next year and first thing I am gonna do once I get there is buy a workstation. Hope the 740 isnt that bad .....