[A6] Soundbanks etc.

[Geoff Moehrke]

I've got a copy of the A6 sysex document from Alesis - shoot me an
e-mail if you'd like me to forward it to you.  

Be advised that A6 sysex data is "packed" in order to optimize data
transfer (according to the doc).  8 bytes of sysex data contains 7 bytes
of A6 patch data which needs to be "unpacked" before you can make any
sense of it.  This is not that difficult to do, but it does require some
bitwise arithmetic.  I've got code that does it which I'd be happy to
share - just let me know.

-Geoff Moehrke

>-----Original Message-----
>From: a6-bounces at code404.com [mailto:a6-bounces at code404.com] 
>On Behalf Of Leary, John
>Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2003 2:43 PM
>To: A6 (E-mail)
>Subject: RE: [A6] Soundbanks etc.
>
>
>Me:
>>> Which computer platform (and OS version) are you collecting these 
>>> files on? I might be able to write some utilities to help with 
>>> sorting/weeding.
>...
>>> I might even be able to customize the double weeder to identify 
>>> certain byte positions within the files as "less important" when 
>>> comparing.
>
>Boele:
>> I am on Mac OS 9.
>...
>> Well, I really appreciate your help but i am an non-sysex guru, so i 
>> can't help you on deciding which bytes are what :-)
>...
>> Then again, it is "only" for one time that I could use such 
>a utility, 
>> so give me a week to find out how big my problem is. Unless it is 
>> really a breeze to port that utility of course.
>
>I've never programmed on a Mac before, and I'm looking for 
>something to force me to start!  OS X ships with some great 
>developer tools (which can do Carbon for OS 9 compatibility), 
>and I imagine it'll be "challenging" -- neither "a breeze" nor 
>"impossible".
>
>Of course, if you're in a hurry and have Virtual PC...  ;)
>
>Regarding the "which bytes are what" issue, I'd ask you to 
>send me two files which are nearly identical, and I'd identify 
>the "insignificant bytes" myself.
>
>
>> What *could* be VERY usefull though would be a utility that makes 
>> single sysex files out of bank! Is that possible? So when having a 
>> sysexfile with 128 sounds the ulity makes 128 single soundfiles, 
>> having the slotnumber and soundname in the filename.
>
>I imagine that should be quite possible.  I can't seem to find 
>the A6 SysEx format anywhere online.  Any help?
>
>Alternatively, you could send me a full bank dump, along with 
>dumps of the first two or three individual programs in the 
>same bank.  I'm pretty good at reverse engineering.
>
>Best,
>John
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