Recording MIDI System-Exclusive Data
The MPC3000 can record patch data or any other MIDI system- exclusive messages from external synthesizers directly into tracks. To do this, simply send the system-exclusive message to the MPC3000 while in Record, Overdub, or Step Edit mode, and it will be recorded into the active track, just the same as any other MIDI data. The only limitation is that the message must be smaller than 1000 bytes. If an attempt is made to record a message that is larger than that, the entire message will be rejected. 1000 bytes is enough to accommodate a single voice patch data dump from virtually any synthesizer, but it is not large enough for many voice bank data dumps (large files containing an entire bank of synthesizer patches).
One way of using this feature is to insert a blank bar at the begin- ning of your sequence and record the voice data dumps for each track into that first bar. When the sequence is played from the start, each external synthesizer will immediately receive the voice data in the first bar, so it will be ready to play the note data starting in the second bar with the proper sound.
There is one problem with playing system-exclusive messages from sequences: there is no standard method for identifying the MIDI channel number within the message, and therefore the MPC3000 cannot assign the output MIDI channel over which the message will be sent. This means, for example, that a system-exclusive message received over MIDI channel 3 while recording into the MPC3000 will always be played out of the MPC3000 on MIDI channel 3, regardless of the track’s output MIDI channel. To overcome this problem, you must send the system-exclusive message on the desired MIDI channel while recording it into the MPC3000. Most synthesizers allow you to select the transmit channel. Note, how- ever, that some older synthesizers, such as the original Yamaha DX- 7, always transmit on MIDI channel 1.
However, there is a way to change the MIDI channel of a system- exclusive message while it is in the MPC3000—by using Step Edit. The MIDI channel is assigned to a single byte within the message and the Step Edit function allows you to change the contents of any byte within the message. If you know which byte a particular manufacturer uses for the channel number, you can change the contents of that byte to the desired MIDI channel number. For example, the Yamaha DX-7 system-exclusive messages contain the MIDI channel in byte number 3, so whatever number you put into byte number 3 of the message will be the new output MIDI channel number. To learn more about editing in Step Edit mode, read “The STEP EDIT Key” section in the “Editing Sequences” chapter of this manual.
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