Midi File message

[Bouncingogre]

I have recently got hold of an old Technics SXPR900 Digital Ensemble Piano. It's like brand new and apparently was never used by the original purchaser.

I have a pretty large collection of Midi files for a variety of instruments that I've owned and played over many years, but I seem to have encountered an issue when attempting to load some of them into the Technics. It has a floppy drive.

I get this message. ERROR. This is a FORMAT 1 MIDI FILE disk and cannot be played back.

Is this a DISC or an incompatible FILE problem?? Anyone have any ideas...

Thanks.

 

[SeaGtGruff]

I suggest converting the file from format 1 to format 0 and trying it again to see if that fixes it.

Format 0 has one and only one "Mtrk" (or MIDI track) data chunk in it, which means that the events for all of the MIDI channels used by the file are contained within a single track.

Format 1 has two or more "Mtrk" data chunks in it, with each track containing zero, one, or more than one MIDI channel. (Sometimes the first track is limited to the System messages, so that's what I mean by "zero" channels.)

The SXPR900 may have trouble processing multiple track chunks at once. There are utility programs that can read a MIDI file and convert it from one format to another.

 

[Biggles]

What is the file size and extension type of file you are trying to load?

The manual says it will load .MID files but no more than 310kB of data can be loaded.

The manual says it will load type 0 & type 1 MIDI files but that it will not save type 1.

 

[SeaGtGruff]

I know that most recent makes and models of keyboards can read both format 0 and format 1 MIDI files, but I wasn't sure about the SX-PR900.

But if the file size is the issue, it's odd that the message specifically mentions the file format as the problem.

If it turns out that the file is larger than 310 kB, converting it from format 1 to format 0 might help reduce the size a bit-- assuming it actually is a format 1 file and this isn't just a faulty or misleading error message for whatever reason. It might not make much difference in the file size, but it could potentially shave off at least a few bytes.

But it might also be necessary to edit the file in a MIDI editor to remove or reduce any unnecessary MIDI events.

For instance, Pitch Bend messages in particular can be problematic as far as how many bytes they add to a MIDI file, but it might be possible to reduce the number of Pitch Bend messages.

Or there might be some CC messages of types that the keyboard can't respond to, so they could be removed.

 

[Bouncingogre]

Thanks for this. I'm going to have a good look at the files over the next few days and see what I can discover.
I transferred a random 20 files from the PC onto a floppy.... Some play, some don't so I'll see if there's a common reason for it. All play fine on the PC and on my Tyros, so I know the files are good.

Do you know a good conversion programme? I use Windows 10pro and also an older PC with Windows 2000pro.
I wonder if there's anything like the josoft. dk Yamaha conversion site for Technics?

Having plenty of time during our enforced lockdown means music has become so important to many of us.
Keep safe all. Thank you.

 

[SeaGtGruff]

As far as utilities to convert the MIDI file format, there are a few out there, but I'm not actively familiar with them:

MIDI-file Format Converter - FREE Download MIDI-file Format Converter 1.0 MIDI Audio

www.winsite.com

!Sweet MIDI Converter for Mac and Windows

!Sweet MIDI Converter for Mac and Windows - Convert MIDI files into wave/aiff or mp3! - convert between different MIDI formata - 0 and 1

www.ronimusic.com

GNMIDFMT 2.6 MIDI format 0, 1, 2 converter for Windows

GNMIDFMT is a commercial Windows software for converting MIDI format between 0 and 1 and 2. It can batch convert many files at once.

www.gnmidi.com

You can also import a MIDI file into most DAWs regardless of whether it's in format 0 or format 1, then export the data to a new MIDI file in either format.

As far as MIDI editors for inspecting and editing the events in a MIDI file, a lot of DAWs have an event list view, and just about any DAW should have a piano roll view and automation lanes for adding, changing, or deleting events. But if you don't have a DAW and are looking for a free editor to use, following are a couple I'm familiar with:

SynthFont1 news

SynthFont1 news. All about the latest release.

www.synthfont.com

Bedesem/Volbragt - MixMaster

 

[Bouncingogre]

Thank you. I'll have a look at these later. I very much appreciate your help.

Been up pretty well all night...I'll return soon.