Help for the ignorant.... A good friend and I are helping my Daughter get a little extra cash playing live music and he is using a Yamaha Motif XS.  We recently were told about Trantracks to purchase sequenced music and save some time doing it himself.  We purchased one track to see if it would be as simple as it seemed to simply upload it and be able to use it in the XS… the answer seems to be no.  We called Tran at Trantracks and he felt it was an issue with the Motif XS and we needed to contact Yamaha. 

Is there anyone out there that can help a newbie out a bit and let me know if there is anyway possible to upload the Trantrack file into the Motif without having to first put it into pro tools… save each track… load each track into the Motif and re adjust everything.  Seems with the level of advances in this sort of thing it should be easier.  Maybe I am just too old.  Maybe there is a video that walks us through it out there?  Someone who has had to learn this already willing to share?

Thanks so much in advance for any assistance you can provide

Rodney

Is it a standard .mid file, GM standard etc?
What’s the acctual result after loading it in the XS?

There might be midi events in the first measure that needs to be edited…

/M

In order to use MIDI files that you purchase here is a guide to what you need to know:

1) You want to be in SONG MIXING or PATTERN MIXING mode in order to have the Motif XS play multiple parts simultaneously.

2) The quality of the programming will vary. Most files are in Standard MIDI File format (SMF) and the file will have the extension .MID

These type of MIDI files can be loaded into and played back by the Motif-series easily. When correctly formatted by the author, there is nothing you need to do. However, many authors assume that the user will be playing the file back on a tone generator that is General MIDI (GM) compatible. This can cause a problem… particularly if your synthesizer has more than just GM sounds available.

Standard MIDI Files that are GM compatible will start with a GM RESET command, followed by 200ms of silence to allow the receiving tone module to reset to the GM protocol defaults.

After this message and pause, each track will contain ‘setup’ information that includes a BANK SELECT and PROGRAM CHANGE command that tells the track what sound to select. If the author is good about following the protocol, they will include both the BANK SELECT and PROGRAM CHANGE, unfortunately, many, many (far too many) authors are lazy, they only include the Program Change event.

And why this is a catastrophe is - what if you have a keyboard sound module that more sounds than just the GM bank selections (as is the case with your Motif XS)? Well changing Track 3 to Program Change #33 does not always mean you get an Acoustic Bass - as you would on a GM only module, on the Motif XS if PRESET 1 bank happens to be used, #33 will get you an electric piano sound, not the GM Bass.

So, we have prepared a tutorial on how properly pepared GM files should be made: A Short Tutorial: Proper GM Files - this tutorial includes a short test file, with a properly prepared .MID file to show you how when done right it will automatically take a MIXING setup and reset it correctly. 

You can reverse engineer - if you must go in and manually change the authors data. Most often you should not have to ....

Here is a shortcut you can use that will not have you having to correct or reprogram what is perhaps sloppy or incomplete programming on the part of the author:

Press [SONG] or [PATTERN]
Select an empty location to use.
Press [MIXING]
Press [JOB]
Press [F1] INIT
Here you will see a MIX JOB - INITIALIZE, you can initialize “All Parameters” move the cursor down to highligh “Initializes selected Parts to GM”
Press [INC/YES] to mark this selection
Press [ENTER] to execute

This is exactly what the GM RESET command should do at the start of every properly prepared GM file. It sets all PARTS to GM Bank sound 001 (Concert Grand) except PART 10 which is set to the GM Drum Kit. It sets all volumes to 100, all pan positions to Center, etc., etc., etc.

Now when you playback the MIDI file you will find that the correct instruments will be selected.

Thanks for the quick responses… I will check it out when I get home and follow up incase anyone else has the same question.  I hope it works as it would make life way easier.

Hi, I have a mo 8 and I have been reading and trying to find a simple way to play my more then 100 midi files.  I recently bought an inexpensive Yamaha keyboard (DGX 640, $799) for my church and read that it was easy to play midi files from a thumb drive so I put all my files on one and tried it and they played perfectly and I can also easily change volume of the midi file AND keyboard separately.  Isn’t there any way that I can easily do this on my Mo 8?? There HAS to be a way to dumb down my MO 8 if that cheap DGX keyboard can do it.

David

You will want to post your question is in the MO6/MO8 forum as that is the forum for question on this.
But yes, there is a way. Your “cheap” (very insulting, by the way) DGX is GM compatible so all of its sounds are listed by their GM Program Change number and are accessible via GM Bank Select and Program Change protocol.

Your MO keyboard is not a “GM-only” product, but you know this, and yes while it is more expensive that has little to do with whether or not it automatically recalls your GM files correctly. It often comes down to whether the files your purchased were prepared properly. Many authors are lazy and just assume that the receiving device is GM only, your MO has other banks that are not going to follow the GM protocol.

If your file has a proper GM reset command it will automatically switch the MO to the Bank that conforms to the Program Change numbers of the GM protocol. But if your file does not have that command or if the author did not use Bank Select numbers (in too much of a hurry), then you can manually set your MO to GM reset defaults: (exactly the same as outlined in my post in this thread above)

From SONG or PATTERN mode
Press [MIXING]
Press [JOB]
Press [F1] INIT
Check the box for GM
Press [ENTER] to execute.
This sends a GM RESET command to the internal tone generator - places Concert Grand in all PARTS, except 10 where it places the GM Drum Kit. All Volumes to 100, all Pan to Center, etc., etc., etc.

Start your File from this setup - and all will be okay… Also send a note to your GM file manufacturer that they should include proper protocols _ particularly if you paid for the files. If you did not, then you have no complaint, but now you know how to make them work on your MO (even though it is not a strictly a GM product).

Dear Bad Mister, thank you so much, I got it to work!  And I certainly didn’t mean to put down the other Yamaha keyboard; I bought it for my church because I love it.  I have one more question if you would be so kind, I use a percussion sound with brushes on some of my midis but haven’t been able to get the brush sound on my MO.  On my cakewalk I put in the number 40 to get the brush kit from my general midi module.  Any suggestion as to how I can get it on the MO?  Thanks very much for your help, I am 95% there!

David Shoff

Dear Bad Mister, after a lot of searching, I found the answer to my brushes question.  I’ve read many of your posts and you are a very helpful person, thank you!!

David Shoff