heres a quick patch to get you started (and yes you can use [midiin] for sysx).

http://www.pdpatchrepo.info/hurleur/sysx-patch-linux.pd

Got stuck trying to use the input of a Digitech gnx4 midi foot controller. All midi messages it sends are sysex, and i'm on Win XP.

I can see the sysex data coming in via usb in midi-ox, but i can't get it into puredata, since sysex is not supported yet for xp.

The hid object doesn't work either, its not in the Pd version 0.40.3-extended i've got here. Are there any versions where i could find it or separate downloads of this, so i can read usb input on win xp? Maybe that way i can get the foot controller to work.

I too have thought long and hard about this, only with a TX81z. the DX7 is a six sine operator FM. The sysex is very very similar to the TX81z. I'm sure you could find a manual out there (google), I found one for my TX81z.

Sysex is tricky stuff though, you'd have to probably utilize [midiout] which seems shaky and is undocumented.

You could also possibly use [comport] since midi is a serial buss; although, I have no idea how it works.

I would suggest the very free and slightly wonky Jsynthlib. This is a JAVA .jar, so you'd need the java runtime environment. I've just installed it myself, it's got environments for many many synths, including the whole range of yamaha FM.

Again, not much activity here because of problems in sysex/midi.
What would be nice here for people building external synth editors is a working
raw midi on all platforms and a set of abstractions to dump, store and examine
sys-ex messages. Have you looked through all of extended/grdiflow/etc and still
not found something to do it?

Manufacturers sysex charts, different for each synth but basically assign controllers to
internal parameters that just arent realtime controller messages, and you fill out the
variable field, usually at least two midi bytes (14 bits) or longer variable length
parts.

They're all published so setting up new synths is no worry. I would actually canibalise the
old sound diver data files I reckon. )

Patco did something with the idea of a "universal synth editor" not too long ago...

IIRC the expander is TWO matrix12's in a box, which is a beast of a synth with hundreds of
parameters... so yikes!, best to start with data in a form that is machine readable that you
can inject your variables into.

> it scares me to use it in case it wipes out all my patches forever!!

Do a sysex dump of your setup and restore it once to feel confident about hacking
the Oberheim via sysex.

What is the current status of sysex support on Mac OS X?

When I try to create "sysexin", I get the message "sysexin: works under Linux only".

(The same for "midiin")

However it looks like it is supported in the code ( pmmacosxcm.c ).

What about sysex out? Has the status changed from connecting message boxes to "midiout" (see http://puredata.hurleur.com/sujet-417-sysex)

I'd like to develop a control structure to edit/control my Oberheim Xpander using Pd, so that I can avoid splashing out a whopping $399 for such universal editors as Midiquest or Unisyn.

It seems that sysex is required to control the parameters, and I have come across various files with info about what sysex numbers control what parameters, but nothing about how to actually implement it. I don't really know anything about sysex, so could anyone point me in the right direction for tutorials on this?

Better still, if anyone knows of any freeware editor for Xpander on the mac that would be great. I have tried to use Soundiver but the version I downloaded did not come with a manual and it scares me to use it in case it wipes out all my patches forever!!

Well you need to be specifying them as ints like 127, 205, 209 etc. But I just been reading through the list archives and it doesn't look good. Hope I'm wrong but my gut instinct is "Gordon! Get out of there!" It looks like mess. Posts from Nov 2005 on the subject of broken [midiout], I get the same stuff so I can't test it for you but under linux/Alsa you can't seem to send raw bytes. I just get a "putbyte not implemented" I found some other posts on MacOSX saying similar bad things about [midiin] The searchable archs only go up to 3 months ago so maybe someones hacked it, but yu'll have to find an external for yourself that works.

One thought though.. since timing isn't critical for sysex it opens the door to all sorts of possible hacks, like using a pipe and external script to poke btyes at the midi port.

I'll have another browse about tomorrow. good luck.

wow

ok

so

...

maybe some hex conversion is in order?

here's what i've tried

messages with 1st hex values then decimal values (which i think obviously won't do the trick since the module is expecting hex values_?) to midiout.

no dice.

then some attempts at caturing incoming sysex data.
again, no luck using inlet (midiin is unfortunately not supported on os x) or ctrlin.

one little interesting thing, when i have set up messages and banged them to midiout, i get an error: midiout: no method for 'F7' which i think proves that PD doesn't natively understand hexadecimals.

any ideas for capturing sysex data using PD with os 10.3.9 would be extremely well appreciated.

i'll have another go ...

_j.

http://home.worldoptions.com.au/jonescnt/jonescnt/sysexman.htm

What Illdas says sounds about right. Remember sysex can be quite long. I would try catching it in a textfile or qlist (see that debugger I was playing about with juliolucio -
http://puredata.hurleur.com/message-1595.html#p1595 ). Get the capture right first - you might want to convert to ints 0-255 , when that's working try squirting it back out a [midiout] raw stylee.

http://www.obiwannabe.co.uk/

I'm not a Sysex expert but I woudl expect you could create your Sysex messages using 'message' boxes and connect them to a 'midiout'...

Maybe try sending Sysex messages to it that you can then keep and use connected to 'midiout' ?