The Yamaha AN1x Synthesizer mailing list

Thank you very much for your response and time.Any sound card 
recommendations?Just a hobby for me so lower $$ range.I'm 58 years young 
and having fun.JD

Jon wrote:

> Here are some suggestions:
> 
> 1st, download and unzip the AN1x voices to a directory (folder.) Most 
> the Voices from
> the Files section *should* contain the *.an1 suffix identifying the file 
> type but not all
> do. If the file does not contain the *.an1 suffix, use the Open command 
> in AN1xEdit
> to open the file and then use the Save command. This will create the 
> correct file type
> bit which is sometime 'lost' going from Mac <> PC and/or Zip<>Sit.
> 
> 2nd, once you have the file type sorted out and have a working Voice 
> bank in
> AN1xEdit you can switch AN1xEdit into PLG150 Mode but it will _probably_ 
> close the
> currently open file and open an empty file - simply reopen the file you 
> intended to
> work with while in PLG150 Mode
> 
> If you receivet Buffer Full or Overrun messages the likely cause is your 
> MIDI Interface.
> Cheap sound card MIDI Interfaces, i.e., SoundBlaster type cards, are NOT 
> very robust
> and easily overrun by a data intensive files such as *.an1 files. Some 
> USB MIDI
> Interfaces suffer the same. I suggest you attempt to transfer only a a 
> few voices at a
> time or no more than the 1st 64 Voices in a bank to avoid the overload 
> error. For the
> record, AN1x SysEx dumps are considerably larger on average than most 
> synths. This
> is unavoidable and the the result of Yamaha's data structure design. 
> This has been
> discussed at length on this list - if you're interested in learning more 
> search the list
> archive for posts from Gary Gregson and you'll find this topic discussed 
> often.
> 
> Also, keep in mind the AN1x Voice structure allows for two Scenes per 
> Voice where as
> your AN200 does not - and the Effects structure is not as comprehensive. 
> This will
> likely result in some unavoidable discrepencies in sounds played back on 
> the AN200.
> It's not a big deal - just something to be aware of.
> 
> Post back if you need additional help.
> 
> Jon
> 
> 
> 
> --- In AN1x-list@yahoogroups.com, "leperajd" <lepera@c...> wrote:
>  > I should add that a few times when loading to the an200 I got the
>  > flashing error message 3 and 4.Buffer full etc.JD In
>  > AN1x-list@yahoogroups.com, "leperajd" <lepera@c...> wrote:
>  > > Hi,Using win 98.I tried loading voices to the an200 with the an1x
>  > > editor as
>  > > described below checking plg150an mode to load to an200 and it
>  > doesn't
>  > > work for me.I am downloading to desktop or floppy,then unzipping,no
>  > > go,an1x editor window pops up, says wrong file version.I tried this
>  > > with many patches to no avail.Am I downloading to wrong place or
>  > ?.I'm
>  > > a newbee to downloading patches.Maybe I need a primer on the steps
>  > to
>  > > downloading patches correctly.Thanks,Help appreciated JD LePera-- In
> 
> 
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--- In AN1x-list@yahoogroups.com, "J. D. Lepera" <lepera@c...> wrote:
> Thank you very much for your response and time.Any sound card 
> recommendations?Just a hobby for me so lower $$ range.I'm 58 years young 
> and having fun.JD
> 

The best advise would be to buy a dedicated, multi-port MIDI Interface from the likes 
of Emagic, MOTU, MIDIMAN, Steinberg, etc. If you're simply looking to upgrade your 
soundcard I would look at the Echo MIA or M-Audio 2496 Audiophile. Both these 
devices are cross platform capable.

I've been ready to blow off Echo, sell my now discontinued Echo GINA 20-bit audio 
interface anod move onwards but have since reconsidered since Echo released OS X 
CoreAudio drivers for the GINA 20-bit. I've installed the new drivers but have not 
tried them yet. The fact Echo decided to release drivers for a long since discontinued 
product made a positive impression on me. The MIA offers 2 balanced 1/4" Audio I/
O, an S/PDIF I/O and a MIDI I/O on a PCI card.
http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/MiaMIDI/index.php

The M-Audio 2496 offers 2 unbalanced RCA Audio I/O, an S/PDIF I/O and a MIDI I/O 
on a PCI card.
http://www.m-audio.com/products/m-audio/audiophile.php

HTH.

Jon

Hi J.D.,

>The best advise would be to buy a dedicated, multi-port MIDI Interface from the likes 
>of Emagic, MOTU, MIDIMAN, Steinberg, etc. If you're simply looking to upgrade your 
>soundcard I would look at the Echo MIA or M-Audio 2496 Audiophile. Both these 
>devices are cross platform capable.
>
>I've been ready to blow off Echo, sell my now discontinued Echo GINA 20-bit audio 
>interface anod move onwards but have since reconsidered since Echo released OS X 
>CoreAudio drivers for the GINA 20-bit. I've installed the new drivers but have not 
>tried them yet. The fact Echo decided to release drivers for a long since discontinued 
>product made a positive impression on me. The MIA offers 2 balanced 1/4" Audio I/
>O, an S/PDIF I/O and a MIDI I/O on a PCI card.
><http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/MiaMIDI/index.php>http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/MiaMIDI/index.php
>
>The M-Audio 2496 offers 2 unbalanced RCA Audio I/O, an S/PDIF I/O and a MIDI I/O 
>on a PCI card.
><http://www.m-audio.com/products/m-audio/audiophile.php>http://www.m-audio.com/products/m-audio/audiophile.php

I own an Echo Mia, and it's a great little sound card.  It has a feature called "virtual outputs" that allow the Mia to look like a 2-in 8-out sound card, it has real 1/4" inputs and outputs (rather than RCA jacks), its digital ins and outs are stable and quiet, and the mixer utility looks and acts like a regular mixer, complete with VU meters (as opposed to some of the cryptic mixing "consoles" I've seen on other sound cards.   I can't speak for the Mac drivers, but the ASIO-compatible Windows drivers are quite stable under Win2K.  You're also supposed to be able to put more than one Mia in a computer, and gang them together.  

The only down sides that I've seen are:  1) it costs about $175 (US street); and 2) it has no built-in MIDI interface.

Regards,

-BW
--
Bruce Wahler
Ashby Solutions\ufffd   http://music.ashbysolutions.com
978.386.7389  voice/fax
bruce@...

--- In AN1x-list@yahoogroups.com, Bruce Wahler <bruce@a...> wrote:
> 
> The only down sides that I've seen are:  1) it costs about $175 (US street); and 2) it 
has no built-in MIDI interface.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> -BW


There's now a MIA | MIDI with a 1-in/1-out MIDI Port :-)

Jon

Jon.My downloads from this and Yamahas site don't end in .an1.[I find 
this very strange]Most end in .mid[Clicking on properties] for their 
data filer or a sequencer.They also want to open in Winamp.I thing most 
people must be opening these in a sequencer program,Cakewalk,Cubase 
etc......In window that opens after hitting open under file,no choices 
come up for .an1  etc.[Can't do this:[[If the file does not contain the 
*.an1 suffix, use the Open command in AN1xEdit
to open the file and then use the Save command. This will create the 
correct file type
bit which is sometime 'lost' going from Mac <> PC and/or Zip<>Sit.]]If I 
do pick one when set to all files it says [Wrong file version] in an1x 
editor pop up window.All files are unzipped.I couldn't even load them to 
an AN1X Synth if I had one.....Can't get that far.....I followed your 
advise below sending to the AN200 when I had a program loaded.Looked 
kind of strange loaded.I send 1 voice/sound and it erased that program 
number.no sound at all.I did load a sound from the opening list that all 
sounds say [? InitNormal]Same sounds on all of these.It seems I am not 
downloading correctly or am losing information in process.I have saved 
to floppy and desktop and unzipped and tried all files avaliable.Should 
I get a Cakewalk Pro program?Midi-ox doesn't work,buffer error 
problems]Could someone send me a patch that ends in .an1?Have been 
fooling with this all day,frustrating.Thanks again for your time,JD

Jon wrote:

> Here are some suggestions:
> 
> 1st, download and unzip the AN1x voices to a directory (folder.) Most 
> the Voices from
> the Files section *should* contain the *.an1 suffix identifying the file 
> type but not all
> do. If the file does not contain the *.an1 suffix, use the Open command 
> in AN1xEdit
> to open the file and then use the Save command. This will create the 
> correct file type
> bit which is sometime 'lost' going from Mac <> PC and/or Zip<>Sit.
> 
> 2nd, once you have the file type sorted out and have a working Voice 
> bank in
> AN1xEdit you can switch AN1xEdit into PLG150 Mode but it will _probably_ 
> close the
> currently open file and open an empty file - simply reopen the file you 
> intended to
> work with while in PLG150 Mode
> 
> If you receivet Buffer Full or Overrun messages the likely cause is your 
> MIDI Interface.
> Cheap sound card MIDI Interfaces, i.e., SoundBlaster type cards, are NOT 
> very robust
> and easily overrun by a data intensive files such as *.an1 files. Some 
> USB MIDI
> Interfaces suffer the same. I suggest you attempt to transfer only a a 
> few voices at a
> time or no more than the 1st 64 Voices in a bank to avoid the overload 
> error. For the
> record, AN1x SysEx dumps are considerably larger on average than most 
> synths. This
> is unavoidable and the the result of Yamaha's data structure design. 
> This has been
> discussed at length on this list - if you're interested in learning more 
> search the list
> archive for posts from Gary Gregson and you'll find this topic discussed 
> often.
> 
> Also, keep in mind the AN1x Voice structure allows for two Scenes per 
> Voice where as
> your AN200 does not - and the Effects structure is not as comprehensive. 
> This will
> likely result in some unavoidable discrepencies in sounds played back on 
> the AN200.
> It's not a big deal - just something to be aware of.
> 
> Post back if you need additional help.
> 
> Jon
> 
> 
> 
> --- In AN1x-list@yahoogroups.com, "leperajd" <lepera@c...> wrote:
>  > I should add that a few times when loading to the an200 I got the
>  > flashing error message 3 and 4.Buffer full etc.JD In
>  > AN1x-list@yahoogroups.com, "leperajd" <lepera@c...> wrote:
>  > > Hi,Using win 98.I tried loading voices to the an200 with the an1x
>  > > editor as
>  > > described below checking plg150an mode to load to an200 and it
>  > doesn't
>  > > work for me.I am downloading to desktop or floppy,then unzipping,no
>  > > go,an1x editor window pops up, says wrong file version.I tried this
>  > > with many patches to no avail.Am I downloading to wrong place or
>  > ?.I'm
>  > > a newbee to downloading patches.Maybe I need a primer on the steps
>  > to
>  > > downloading patches correctly.Thanks,Help appreciated JD LePera-- In
> 
> 
> 
> Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
> ADVERTISEMENT
> Click Here! 
> <http://rd.yahoo.com/M=244522.3707890.4968055.1261774/D=egroupweb/S=1705032144:HM/A=1595055/R=0/SIG=124j83ehr/*http://ashnin.com/clk/muryutaitakenattogyo?YH=3707890&yhad=1595055>
> 
> 
> Community email addresses:
>   Post message: AN1x-list@yahoogroups.com
>   Subscribe:    AN1x-list-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
>   Unsubscribe:  AN1x-list-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
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> 
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>    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AN1x-list
> 
> 
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service 
> <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/>.

--- In AN1x-list@yahoogroups.com, "J. D. Lepera" <lepera@c...> wrote:
> Jon.My downloads from this and Yamahas site don't end in .an1.[I find 
> this very strange]Most end in .mid[Clicking on properties] for their 
> data filer or a sequencer.They also want to open in Winamp.I thing most 
> people must be opening these in a sequencer program,Cakewalk,Cubase 
> etc......In window that opens after hitting open under file,no choices 
> come up for .an1  etc.[Can't do this:[[If the file does not contain the 
> *.an1 suffix, use the Open command in AN1xEdit
> to open the file and then use the Save command. This will create the 
> correct file type
> bit which is sometime 'lost' going from Mac <> PC and/or Zip<>Sit.]


The three letter suffix .mid indicates the file is a Standard MIDI File (SMF for short.) 
This file type can played back from a MIDI Sequencer such as Logic Audio, Cubase, 
Sonar, Performer, etc. It cannot be opened by AN1xEdit. Many of the Yamaha supplied 
voices are in either .mid or .syx (SysEx format) - very few if any were in .an1 format. 
However, most all of the user voices on this list are indeed .an1 This has been our 
standard since waaaay back on the Teklab list.


]If I 
> do pick one when set to all files it says [Wrong file version] in an1x 
> editor pop up window.All files are unzipped.I couldn't even load them to 
> an AN1X Synth if I had one.....Can't get that far.....I followed your 
> advise below sending to the AN200 when I had a program loaded.Looked 
> kind of strange loaded.I send 1 voice/sound and it erased that program 
> number.

Once you've opened a proper .an1 file in AN1xEdit you should see a list in the 
Librarian window of all the Voice names in that sounds bank. If you've made it this far 
then select (highlight) one voice to begin with and use the Send command to transmit 
to your AN200. It's entirely possibel you will need to use the Refresh command from 
AN1xEdit to update the edit buffer in your AN200 - it should now reflect the correct 
name. And yes, it will indeed overwrite the previous voice in your AN200. It's a good 
idea to back-up your AN200 first...


no sound at all.I did load a sound from the opening list that all 
> sounds say [? InitNormal]Same sounds on all of these.

InitNormal indicates a blank, or empty voice.

It seems I am not 
> downloading correctly or am losing information in process.I have saved 
> to floppy and desktop and unzipped and tried all files avaliable.Should 
> I get a Cakewalk Pro program?

That's up to you but I would concentrate on establishing a stable set-up with 
AN1xEdit and your AN200 first.

Midi-ox doesn't work,buffer error 
> problems]Could someone send me a patch that ends in .an1?Have been 
> fooling with this all day,frustrating.Thanks again for your time,JD
> 

Check the Files section - most all Voices are in .an1 format.

Jon