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#3138 - 03/14/02 10:27 PM SysEx in Midi Question
JimC Offline
Junior Member

Registered: 12/11/01
Posts: 8
Loc: Portland, Oregon
I know what a system exclusive message is, but can someone please explain to me...

What's the difference is between a "raw" sysex message and one "embedded" in a MIDI message?

What's the advantage or uses of one over the other?

How does one go about changing one to the other?

Puzzled in Portland,
JimC

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#3139 - 03/15/02 04:49 PM Re: SysEx in Midi Question
Equalizer Offline
Member

Registered: 02/12/01
Posts: 525
Loc: Scotland
I don't see how knowing the answer to this is going to make anyone a better musician, but, for a laugh, here's my attempt at an answer...

System exclusive messeges are midi messeges which allow non-standardised communication between midi devices. What does this mean? Well, your average, every day normal midi signal will tell your midi device to (for example) play an F# with such and such a velocity and for x amount of seconds. Now, it doesn't matter whether you're triggering a Korg, a Roland, a Casio, a VSTi or anything else you can think think of that can be controlled by midi- no matter what midi instrument you're using, then the instruction will always be the same.

A system exclusive midi message on the other hand is, again, just a package of information BUT this time, what the midi signal means depends 100% on the midi device that's receiving the midi signal.

So, if I have a song that contains a bunch of SysEx messages then if play my song in Cubase, then the SysEx information may be interpretted as instructions which are all to do with (for example) controlling the mixer.

If I take that very same song and direct the SysEx midi messages to, let's say, a Korg synth, then that same information may now be interpretted as instructions which are all to do with (again, for example) filters.

So, all I've really tried to do so far is clarify the definition of SysEx, as I understand it.

This pretty much gives a clue to the answer to your question- I hope. I could be wrong, but I'm guessing that maybe what you're talking about is the difference between raw SysEx messages (i.e.- they've yet to be assigned to any particular function on a midi device) and midi SysEx messages which are already assigned to a specific device and are carrying out a very specific function (eg- controlling the fader on your sampler, or something like that).

Does that help?

T. Equalizer
_________________________
David

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#3140 - 03/15/02 05:08 PM Re: SysEx in Midi Question
JimC Offline
Junior Member

Registered: 12/11/01
Posts: 8
Loc: Portland, Oregon
To be honest, that really didn't say anything I didn't already know (or what I think I know). Maybe I didn't word the question very clearly.

Here's what I'm asking...
Say I want to send a message to my MIDI device that says "go to GM mode" and I'm going to use a utility like Midi-Ox. What's the advantage between using a "raw" sysex message that I load from a file (.syx), versus the same sysex message "embedded" in a midi file (.mid)? Both tell the device to do the same thing. How is one useful over the other?

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#3141 - 03/15/02 07:25 PM Re: SysEx in Midi Question
djboomstick Offline
Member

Registered: 08/31/01
Posts: 88
Loc: newyork
Quote:
Originally posted by JimC:
To be honest, that really didn't say anything I didn't already know (or what I think I know). Maybe I didn't word the question very clearly.

Here's what I'm asking...
Say I want to send a message to my MIDI device that says "go to GM mode" and I'm going to use a utility like Midi-Ox. What's the advantage between using a "raw" sysex message that I load from a file (.syx), versus the same sysex message "embedded" in a midi file (.mid)? Both tell the device to do the same thing. How is one useful over the other?


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#3142 - 03/15/02 07:35 PM Re: SysEx in Midi Question
djboomstick Offline
Member

Registered: 08/31/01
Posts: 88
Loc: newyork
ok , lemme try that 1 more time with some info filled in here
a raw sysex is used if your just working around the studio and you need to get a message to a particular divice. raw sysex is written in hexidecimal.
sysex that is embedded in a midi file would be sent during song playback simmilar to control change info. say at messure 27 you want that GM mode thing to happen. rather than sending a standard CC message and haveing every thing listening on that channel change to GM mode you send a sysex to the 1 piece of gear that you want to have change modes.

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#3143 - 03/15/02 07:45 PM Re: SysEx in Midi Question
djboomstick Offline
Member

Registered: 08/31/01
Posts: 88
Loc: newyork
oh another example : my korg ES1 sampler will only do a sysex dump for saveing patterns and songs and whatnot if i send it a sysex message asking it to do the dump. i can send it a raw sysex when i want to save the stuff and BAAMMM ! ! it does it, and i don't have to play a song to get it to do it and its not really something i would really want it to do in the middle of a song.

thats at least 4 or 5 sentance in that big run on i got going there but i hope between that and the other post it clears it up a little bit

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