Bill, I'm pretty sure Diki did offer to help Deane a few days ago, but on the Roland forum
DonM

I do not have an SD-2. But I'll be happy to work it out if someone donates one!

I need something more specific to be able to provide an 'answer' to a question. First of all, do you know you need to send sys-ex? Are you having problems yet? Have you ever hooked anything to anything else before?

But some basics, like what you want to do once they are hooked up, is a good place to start. And walking before you run is always a good place to start, too.

Some of the onus to make modules work well also falls on the shoulders of the manufacturer, and this is where many fall short. You have to design a module for its expected use, and one of the primary things is, most modules are used with different gear than the manufacturer makes. So using proprietary sys-ex codes to do something is a big mistake, IMO, as you never know WHAT the sending keyboard is actually capable of. Especially with arrangers (probably what Ketron are expecting this gets hooked to, mostly), who never seem to have as comprehensive a MIDI implementation as the best WS's or controller keyboards.

You never know if the keyboard you hook it to is even capable of sending specific codes, making the unit flexible in allowing the user to determine what codes control what functions allows a far wider use. Even something so simple as the codes for calling up a Voice... Many arrangers don't allow you to define what PC/32/00 get sent simply to call a voice up. So allowing you to define those yourself to match the sending keyboard's capabilities would strike me as highly practical. But very rare.

But the BK-9 can send PC/32/00 codes from the style section, so Style Parts ought to be able to call up correct Tones in the module. The problem that may arise (the G70 had this issue too) is that the RH can only send PC/32/00 codes that are used by internal sounds. Now, that is thousands of different codes, but there is no guarantee that a PC/32/00 code for a specific SD-2 sound is the same as one that calls up a BK-9 Tone.

This is where the module being able to remap PC/32/00 codes to internal voices would be of great use. Does the SD-2 allow this?

Thing is, back when the entire soundmap of a MIDI piece of gear was the 127 Capitol Tones, and a few well defined Variations, this problem didn't come up. But nowadays, there has been no more standardization between the manufacturers, and once again, it's the Wild West when it comes to getting one manufacturer's gear to talk nice with another's..! Drum kits are another area the manufacturers have drifted, and few SMF's or Styles that fully utilize a modern arranger's soundsets will play correctly on something else.

At least making modules more flexible would mitigate the problem trying to integrate them into less sophisticated MIDI environments. A module manufacturer shouldn't automatically assume that, no matter what strange codes or unique PC codes they use, whatever YOU have will work just great with it...

You can't remap anything in the SD 2, because you can't STORE anything in the SD 2 at all. It will be a wild goose chase to try to call up SD 2 sounds by having the BK-9 send its own internal PC midi commands. You won't be able to address the high-quality sounds outside the GM bank. As I wrote you need to send specific controllable PC/MSB/LSB commands to the SD2 for each song you play, which you can do with master functions such as the MOX or Motif has, with the iPAD app Set List Maker or by preparing midi files in this way.
I have been thinking about buying an SD 1000 myself, this is why I inquired about it.

Have you taken a look at the PC/32/00 codes for sounds on the SD-2 and BK-9? I would be very surprised if there isn't a fair amount of overlap...

At the very least, you'll be able to call up the Capitol Tone (which one HOPES is the best variation of the sound) and quite likely, some of the more established Variations (these have been standardized over a decade).

Will you be able to call up ANYTHING using existing Roland PC/32/00 codes? Doubtful, but you should still be able to call up quite a few...

OK... a quick look at the Tone table in the SD-2 reveals that only CC00 is used, so whatever CC32 gets sent by the BK-9 is ignored.

Bank A uses CC00=0, so that means the Capital sounds in the BK-9's bank send this code. So Bank A is 100% addressable.

Bank B uses CC00=1 which most BK-9 PC's have a version (but not all)

Bank C uses CC00=10 which is a lot rarer.

The Presets Bank uses CC00=2, which quite a lot of BK-9 PC's use.

If you compare the SD-2 codes ( http://www.ketron.com/pdf/SD2%20Manual%20English.pdf ) with the BK-9 MIDI implementation chart BK-9Tone&DrumKitList_e2_W.pdf (available at Roland http://www.rolandus.com/support/owners_manuals/ ) you should be able to pin down exactly how many you can address for the RH side of the BK-9.

You can insert PC/00/32 codes into BK-9 styles using the Style Creator software, so the total soundset should be available for style/smf use...

Hope this helps.

Here is Roland Support's Suggestions.

Roland Product Support (Roland Corporation U.S.)
Oct 28 03:38 pm (PDT)
Hello Deane,
We are not familiar with the Ketron unit, but it looks like a small sound module, correct? If so, do you want the styles in the BK-9 to drive / play sounds in the SD-2? Or are you more interested in playing the SD-2 sounds from the keyboard of the BK-9?
If both cases, you will need to use the MIDI settings in the BK-9 to accomplish this.
To set up the sounds to be played from the keyboard of the BK-9:
1. Press MENU.
2. Cursor to "MIDI" and press Enter.
3. Cursor to "Edit Tone Parts" and press Enter.
You can see here that the four keyboard parts (Upper 1, Upper 2, Lower, M. Bass) have several settings - you need to confirm that the Tx (transmit) switch is set to "On" for each and also check the MIDI Channels. By default, the channels are:
Upper 1 = MIDI channel 4
Upper 2 = MIDI channel 6
Lower = MIDI channel 11
M. Bass = MIDI channel 12
You may need to change these to match up with specific parts on the SD-2 if it does not have the same type of configuration.

To set up the sounds to be played by the Styles of the BK-9:
1. Press MENU.
2. Cursor to "MIDI" and press Enter.
3. Cursor to "Edit Rhythm Parts" and press Enter.
You can see here that the eight Style parts (ADrum, ABass, Acc 1 - 6) have several settings - you need to confirm that the Tx (transmit) switch is set to "On" for each and also check the MIDI Channels. By default, the channels are:
ADrum = MIDI channel 10
ABass = MIDI channel 2
Acc 1 = MIDI channel 1
Acc 2 = MIDI channel 3
Acc 3 = MIDI channel 5
Acc 4 = MIDI channel 7
Acc 5 = MIDI channel 8
Acc 6 = MIDI channel 9
You may need to change these to match up with specific parts on the SD-2 if it does not have the same type of configuration.

These settings should allow you to trigger an external MIDI Sound Module (such as the SD-2) with the BK-9.
Best Regards,
Product Support
Roland Corp. U.S.

Too damned complicated, Deane. Go back to the S-950 and enjoy life.

Gary

This answer by Roland only describes what BK-9 parts send on which midi channels and that you can change that, but that's not the problem here. They don't tell anything on how the BK could make the SD 2 select the desired sounds (as they obviously don't know that the sounds cannot be selected on the SD2 module directly). Diki's answer is much more helpful.

As addressing sounds via midi PC/bank commands is a bit complicated, have you thought about buying an SD 4 instead? Ketron seems to have stopped its production recently, but maybe it's still available somewhere. The sounds are exactly the same as those of the SD 2, and you can select sounds on the unit directly (at least one at a time).