As far as I can tell, all you can do with a SYX file is load it in to the SysEx editor, make changes, and then store it as a different (or new version of the same) SYX file. Is there a way to get the events into a MIDI track?
If you have the sysex in a MIDI file (SMF) you can just import it into a track. If you want to add a sysex event to an existing MIDI track, create a MIDI part or edit an existing one in the List Editor, insert a SysEx event and click the “Comment” column, and from there you can import a sysex file.
What I have is a SYX file, not a MIDI file.
In the List Editor, insert (“draw”) a SysEx event and click the “Comment” column, which opens the MIDI SysEx Editor, and from there you can import a sysex (“SYX”) file. See also: Importing and Exporting SysEx Data
Depending on the device you can manipulate it to send out SYSEX data and record this on a Cubase midi track. If you play back the track to the responding midi device/channel it will recognize it’s manufacturer/device code and accept the data and program it accordingly. However, you cannot import a SYX file in Cubase because this data is device specific? You can only read/write this data with a specific device editor.
Yes you can, exactly as per my step-by-step instructions:
I had figured that much out already. What I wanted was a way to get the SysEx MIDI events from the SYX file into a Cubase MIDI track.
To my knowledge you have to real time record the SYSEX file from the device onto a midi track
Create a MIDI track. Create a MIDI event on that track. Open the List Editor on that MIDI event and follow my step-by-step instructions.
Your instructions got me to this point. What do I do now to get the SysEx events from the SysEx Editor into the MIDI event on the MIDI track?
Referring to your screenshot, just click OK. When you play the track, the sysex will be sent.
Ah, I see. I had missed that step. Thanks!
The only problem now is that the entire contents of the SYX file have appeared in the LIst Editor as one giant SysEx message instead of separate SysEx messages. Is there a way to fix that?
The list editor will put the lot into the event – you’d have to tackle that either manually or at the file level.
Unfortunately there’s no standard for SysEx (*.syx) files … they’re just binary files and you’d have to use an external hex editor to split it into individual files. To do that, you’d need to understand a bit about the format (hex F0 is the start of a SysEx message, hex F7 is the end).
Perhaps whatever generated the file can be made to generate individual SysEx messages per file? For example, if it’s from a synth, dump individual voices rather than a complete voice bank. There are also big beasts like Sound Quest’s MIDI Quest but that might be overkill.
I found a nice little free utility that seems to do the conversion properly:
Nice find! Brings me back …