Midi Sysex - The black arts? | Introduction and tutorial

Midi System Exclusive messages. Sysex.
Midi sysex can be so much fun, it can be very complicated and cumbersome to come to grips with as well. Parameter change, loading/saving patches, firmware update and more. It 's all done with sysex.
I'm only trying to spur a bit of interest for the topic in this video as midi sysex is something everyone comes across working with vintage synthesizers and gear.
I also get a lot of questions about it, especially when I release new patch banks.

The Event Processor from Midi Solutions which I show in the video is truly a fantastic little thing and it can do so much. Mapping one midi event to another is extremely useful and it doesn't have to involve sysex at all.

I realize this video won't necessarily be for everyone, but I hope it can be useful trying to get your head around what sysex is, and why it can be useful to understand the basics of how it works, what it is and what it's not.

I've taken great inspiration and I paraphrase and quote some lines from this article/blog here:

Support this channel on Patreon:

Find my music here:

Find my patches and sample packs through these links:

[punk]

Sysex being there from day 1 just showed how well planned out MIDI was.

[telantas]

@Espen Kraft this tutorial is nothing short of a masterpiece in clarity as well as an endearing demonstration of unconditional love for vintage digital music technology. Thank you!

[KairoosProducties]

Thank you. I have been looking for a clear explanation of Sysex for years. Now I understand!

[meilstone]

I always wonder who wrote all these wonderful manuals and midi implementation charts back in the 80s and 90s. The authors should be given a special award for each one of their documents! 👍👏❤️

[HaydnMowbray]

Thank you for taking the time to produce this clear and concise overview of Sysex. I've not needed to use it in over 30 years of MIDI use but now have an appreciation of how to navigate it if I come across a piece of gear that requires it.

[SpikesStudio]

Loving the focus on midi of late... really LOVE the flow if information and discussion between fellow enthusiasts. See Espen, you bring more to the world than you think.

[Jan-S-Simonsen]

SysEx is amazing. I've been using it since my Atari ST days to set up my rack modules. I just love it. Great video Espen.

[lundsweden]

Cool stuff Espen, really well explained, you've made a very dry subject entertaining and useful!

[workingorder]

What a wonderful video! I was always wondering what the MIDI implementation chart was for. Thank you for clearing that up, and I hope you make more vids on MIDI Sysex.

[eureitz]

Very well done here. The rife misunderstanding of SysEx is unfortunate and thus the lack of YT vids on the subject. Starting off with the well written and simple Korg manual is a smart first lesson. I didn't know about the Event Processor box, thanks for that tip! I'm looking to convert 14-bit decimal to Lexicon LSB first 4 variable byte SysEx and require a translation device and that Event Processor might well do the job. I think the main thing that SysEx has over GM is the much, much higher resolution possibilities.

[waynestanley]

Ì am glad i found this video.
I have been working with midi since the late 80s and did some cool programs.

It was good to see you mention the midi implementation chart.

I think you could do an entire video on how to read those things

[dudfaz]

This video is a great public service to the synth community.
Really well explained - thank you!

[jackpisso]

Great overview of how older gear communicated. Very informative and entertaining. Cheers

[Rompler_Rocco]

Brilliant! How I wish this was up when I first embarked...

[mthomas]

I’m only 2/3 through the vid but THANK YOU much for this! Every time I search forums I end up reading discussions of people already familiar with the terminology….and all the web’s informative “explanations” pages spend all their time on those first device-ID digits, then continue making utilization references that aren’t explained.. (so frustrating!) This moves me forward a few steps 😘😘😘😘😘😘

[jakobole]

I remember my dad and I had a sync-module (Midi In, audio out) for our Fostex 4 track. We were using Cubase 2.0 on the Atari. Problem was, that when the sync-track was laid, the Fostex became the master-machine which was cumbersome. I found out it was possible to control it via sysex, so I programmed a Midi-module inside Cubase 2.0 that would let me remote-control the tape-machine from Cubase. Problem solved! (I was around 17, and to say that the old man was a bit blown-away is and understatement. Worked beatifully :) )

[LFOVCF]

30+ years ago, a friend back then made his Atari ST change parameters on my TG33.
Until now, I wondered how he knew what sysex to use.
Great explanation Espen, cheers!

[stefanmarinescu]

Amazing.... This brings unexpected memories from late 90's. Had a Yamaha sw60xg sound card and used sysex to configure sounds and parameters unknown before... Seems unbelievable to me now how far i got back then with The very poor internet resources available for me at that moment... Memories... Thank you :)

[davidryle]

Another outstanding video tutorial. My head was bobbing up and down like a dash figurine. I did learn some new stuff. The Midi Solutions event processor is really cool. I use their midi splitter. Also, you reminded me to get the Retroaktiv MPG-8 controller on order for the JX-8P. I kept forgetting to do that and now it is on its way. Thanks Espen!

[Luigi]

I was able to make a custom controller using an Arduino I programmed and 16 faders that sent sysex messages to my Roland Alpha Juno 2 to change parameters! I configured it so it was similar to the Juno 106 too