Roland Clan Forums

Hi looking for some help with my new Fantom XR.
What I would like to do:
I use hundreds of midi sequences live & would like to save the performance data to the beginning of each individual song(so each track has its own setup).Can anyone suggest how this might be achieved.
Sysex dump & record to the song?If possible does anyone know the procedure for this.
Also anyone know what messages are used to select an individual performance in the user memory.
Im quite new to this device so any help would be appreciated.
Very experienced otherwise with midi etc.
My reason for doing this is the very limited user memory for this data being a total of 128 perfomances.

I don't know how to dump a performance in sysex form on the Fantom.

You can do the following thing, however.

1) put a "base" performance -- one that has a good set of defaults for volume, pan, channel part mapping, channel Rx, etc. -- into your USER area. Every time you want to call up a performance, you will call 0up this one, and then send additional messages to modify it to be the one you want. The base performance should have all EFFECTS set to THRU.

2) create a program change on each channel being received by the XR to select the patch used by that channel

3) in MENU / SYSTEM / MIDI, turn on Transmit Edit Data

4) go to the EFFECTS screen (push EFFECTS)

5) put your sequencer into record mode in an empty track

6) modify the EFFECTS settings to your liking

7) stop recording on your seequencer. the track is full of sysex data that transforms the base performance effects into your desired effects. You can scoot this to the beginning of the track using the editing features of your sequencer.

you can configure almost anything on the Fantom this way; it transmits almost everything you do to the controls as sysex when Transmit Edit is on. There is another thread(s) that describes how to do this to generate sysex messages that select parts during a live performance (either by mapping these sysex sequences to pads or else by embedding them in sequences).

--

how to select a performance in the user area:

bank select MSB 87, LSB 0, program change = performance #


-illiac

Many thanks, this was gonna be my solution also,I certainly did not know about the recording of sysex for the efx in this manor & will certainly be a good solution.Thanks again.

You have to use the software editor for transfering sysex data to an external sequencer. On the Fantom X6, as well as the mc909, use the editor and export as a standard midi file. Record or import into your sequencer. Works great.

hmm? you don't need a software editor to do this. just a sequencer that can RECORD and MOVE (there's not sequencer that doesn't have these operations). The Fantom produces the sysex data on its own.

-illiac

Thanks for the reply it certainly has helped, I have fallen prey to Roland changing terminolgy a few times over the years and this may have been another one of those instances.
I saw export as SMF & assummed it had nothing to do with perfomance data,Always read it all I guess is the lesson learned here!!Plus I was initially using the wrong Editor program which did'nt help, many thanks the penny has dropped with this machine now!Till the next thing ha ha .

illiac, I am talking about a sysex dump. The only way to do this (that I know of) on the Fantom X or the MC 909 is with the Fantom or 909 editor. When the machines are connected to the editor, and you press 'read', a sysex dump occurs. With the MC 505 you can dump directly from the machine by pressing dump, but this feature is not implemented in the Fanton or 909. The work around is to dump into the editor and then export from the editor into the external sequencer.
If there is another way, someone please let me know.

kailid,

[you're the kailid from mpc forums, yes? hi again.]

There's no need for a sysex dump here. A sysex dump captures a whole bunch of settings, up to the whole state of the machine. But here what you want is the specific sysex strings that do specific things, like turn on such-and-such an effect or increase the send volume of this part to that effect unit. The Fantom can do this thing using its "Transmit Edit" feature: you enable transmission of edits, then you simply do the editing and the sysex strings get transmitted out the MIDI outs of the Fantom in real time. You can catch them in an external sequencer or in the Fantom's own sequencer.

-illiac

hi illiac, Yeah thats me. Nice to see you here.
Sure sysex can be used for anything that you wish. In fact, anyone with a good grasp of how to use sysex data along with cc's will no doubt produce better music that someone that does not know.
I mainly use sysex for storing patches and recalling performance data on the X6. But of course there are many other uses since any parameter can be controlled with sysex data. When using an external sequencer such as an MPC4000 along with alot of outboard synths and effects units, knowing how to properly use system exclusive data really makes life easier when performing live.