DJX capture: Status - Sand, software and soundSand, software and sound

Just wanted to post something — anything! — about my on-going project to capture and convert Yamaha DJX (PSR-D1) MIDI styles.

There are 100 DJX styles covering fourteen dance/EDM genres. That’s a lot of material to swallow and I now realize the gargantuan size of this task! I’ve captured roughly 65 styles so far and have completed 10 conversions.

I’ve streamlined the capture process by using SONAR templates. My capture template has all of the basics pre-set: track names, channel assignments, and clock resolution (480 PPQ). Every track is RECORD-enabled. Templates really cut down repetitive monkey-work and mouse clicks.

I also like the template approach to jump-starting conversion. For conversion, I take a converted style and delete its MIDI note and controller data. Then I import RAW MIDI data into the “shell.” Since I’m capturing DJX styles in a particular section order, I sometimes don’t need to adjust the MIDI markers in the shell. As all of the tracks are pointing to legitimate PSR/Genos voices, I can play the shell into Genos and immediately start tweaking.

The biggest time sink is drum note re-mapping. The DJX-specific drum kits have different note to instrument layouts than modern-day PSR/Genos drum kits. It takes significant time to identify each source drum instrument and move it to an appropriate target.

DJX has four drum parts (tracks) which Yamaha called Kick, Snare, Hi-Hat, and Percussion. Each part is assigned to its own MIDI channel: 9, 10, 3 and 4, respectively. So far, I’m keeping the parts separate sending them to channels 9, 10, 15 and 16, respectively.

Having a drum kit on Genos style channels 15 and 16 reveals an important gotcha. Genos will load and play the chosen drum kit on 15 or 16, but Genos will not let you assign a different drum kit — the mixer displays a blank page for 15 and 16 when a drum kit is assigned. Channels 15 and 16 are normally Phrase 1 and Phrase 2 in PSR style lingo and are intended for melodic instruments. The Genos/PSR user interface tries to enforce this intention. It will not let you select a drum kit on any style channel other than 9 (Sub Rhythm) and 10 (Main Rhythm).

The purpose of separate drum tracks is to allow real-time remixing and muting. I’m trying separate tracks, but maybe, someday, I will need to redirect all drum notes to channels 9 and 10. Just something to keep in mind.

Meanwhile, I will forge ahead! As soon as I collect a few more DJX styles, I will post the RAW MIDI data here.