LOADING SOUNDS [ under construction. started 28/4/07]
There are thousands and thousands of sounds, or 'patches' available online for the DX7, and the easiest way to get access to them is to use what's called a Patch Librarian running on a PC. You'll also need a PC MIDI cable - probably the easiest system to use nowadays is a USB to MIDI adapter, costing from around £20/$40.
Below, I have put together some brief instructions on how to load sound banks to and from unmodified DX7 mark 1's ( the dark brown one with flat green buttons), using the MIDILIB Patch Librarian, which is very straight forward, and can be downloaded for free ( see here). The procedure will be different for non-standard DX7's such as those with the Grey Matter e! upgrade, and the DX7S, DX7IID and IIFD.
MIDILIB supports the ubiquitous .syx file extension.
(MAC users can find help on another website, here. ATARI users can find help here).
After you have installed MIDILIB, you should backup the 32 sounds which are in your DX7, providing you want to keep them for a later date - remember, loading new sounds into your DX7 will erase what is in there now. There is no such thing as a 'reset' procedure to get them back again!
SAVING SOUNDS FROM YOUR DX7 TO A PC
First, connect your MIDI adapter to your PC as per the instructions which came with it. You may need to install a specific driver for the MIDI adapter, as they tend not to be Plug and Play. Again, follow the instructions it came with.
- Switch on your Yamaha DX7.
- Connect the DX7's MIDI OUT port to your USB Midi device's MIDI IN using a 5-pin MIDI Cable.
- On the DX7, press the brown FUNCTION button just to the left of the red LED display.
- Press the green button 8, scrolling through the following MIDI menus:
- Make sure the MIDI channel is set to 1.
- Make sure the SYS INFO screen is set to 'AVAIL'
- Press button 8 again until the display reads 'MIDI TRANSMIT?' Leave the DX7 alone and move onto the next step.
- Locate where you installed the MIDILIB program and start it by clicking on the icon which looks like a 5-pin din plug. You should then be presented with the option as shown above, and select YAMAHA DX7.
- You'll then get the screen above.
- Select the MIDI drop down menu and select MIDI CHANNEL 1 (default).
- Then select MIDI DEVICES and you'll get a screen similar, but not necessarily the same as the screen below.
- Select your USB Midi Input and Output devices. On my computer, they are called IN USB MIDI 1x1 and OUT USB MIDI 1x1 but on your computer it may be something different ( my USB device is made by MIDIMAN). Press OK to get the screen below.
- NOTE - if you can't see your MIDI adapter as an option in the drop down menus, then it is possible that the driver file has not been installed correctly - consult the MIDI adapters manual.
- You see the icon with the yellow arrow pointing AWAY FROM the keyboard? Click on that to 'GET BANK' from your DX7.
- Within a second or two of doing this, go back to your DX7 which should say MIDI TRANSMIT on the screen and press the +1 Yes button to the right of the data entry slider.
If everything has gone to plan, the sounds that are in your DX7 are now also shown on a screen similar to the one above. Click on FILE, then SAVE AS to save this bank of sounds somewhere on your PC. What you have just saved is a bank of the 32 DX7 sounds that are in your DX7, to the PC. Assuming you know how to navigate using windows explorer, go and find that file and check that it's size is 4104 bytes - if it is, then it should be a successful transfer from your DX7. If it's not, then try from the beginning again.
LOADING SOUNDS FROM A PC TO THE DX7
Once you are happy that you have saved your DX7's internal sounds to your PC, now it's time to start accessing some of the 1000's of sound banks which can be downloaded for free from the internet. You can find a fair few here.
- Take the MIDI cable out of the DX7's MIDI OUT port and connect it to the DX7's MIDI IN port.
- Do the same thing with your PC's MIDI adapter, ensuring now that the cable coming from the DX7 is connected to the MIDI OUT port of the PC adapter.
- Press the DX7's MEMORY SELECT INTERNAL button, which is just to right of the orange coloured STORE button. Select MEMORY PROTECT OFF using the -1 button next to the data entry slider.
- Press the brown FUNCTION button again, then repeatedly press green button 8 until the LCD reaches the SYS INFO screen - you want it to say 'AVAIL'
- Using MIDILIB, load a bank of DX7 sounds. You should get a screen like the one below ( the names of the sounds will be different though).
- Now press the icon with the yellow arrow pointing TOWARDS the keyboard and check your DX7's LCD.
- If all goes to plan, it should now read MIDI RECEIVED and voila, your new sounds are in the DX7.
- If it didn't work, re-check all your connections and try again - make sure that MIDILIB has selected your MIDI adapter on it's MIDI OUTPUT DEVICE menu.
Enjoy.
