Yamaha SW1000XG Owner's Manual download pdf (Page 65)

KENTON PLUGSTATION USERS MANUAL

Notes on MSB, LSB and SYSEX

The mysteries surrounding MIDI in general normally put people off getting into the heart of what their synth

is capable of. In these days of simple to use computer software, we sometimes forget that under the hood so

to speak there is a lot going on, and this section aims to show you that it is not all techno “mumbo jumbo”,

and that once you get used to it, MIDI programming and understanding the data can be very rewarding.

So what are MSB and LSB? MSB or “most significant byte” in the context we are discussing here relates

primarily to bank selection messages. Yamaha PLG series devices don’t just have the standard 128

programs; they can have literally thousands of programs stored in each card. The problem is “how to get at

them?” The way that became standardised for many MIDI manufacturers was to use a combination of two

standard controller numbers, they being controller 0 for the BANK SELECT MSB and controller 32 for the

BANK SELECT LSB. These two controllers followed by the program change information and the actual bank

numbers will access any of the several thousand voices, which could be available on any Yamaha PLG 100

or 150 cards. This is how they work.

Say you wanted to call up a sound on the PLG150DX such as

PufOrgn1

. This sound is not in the basic 128

first program locations, it is in a much higher bank. The way to select it from the PLUGSTATION or via

software would be as follows

BANK SELECT MSB – 99

BANK SELECT LAB – 0

PROGRAM CHANGE – 21

Or if you are using a sequencer to enter data

CONTROLLER 0 (MSB) – VALUE 99

CONTROLLER 32 (LSB) – VALUE 0

PROGRAM CHANGE – 21

It really is that simple. Now how do you extract this information from the Yamaha PLG series owner’s

manuals, which can at times appear a little cryptic? Well this is how you do it

On page 67 we see a typical page from the Yamaha PLG150DX owner’s manual MIDI section. We can see

the voice list information, and the BANK MESSAGE information at the top.

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Yamaha SW1000XG Owner's Manual Page 65