CONVERT YOUR TECHNICS ORGAN PRE-RECORDED SONGS

 INTO GENERAL MIDI FILES

By Armando Lozano

 Click here if you want to go directly to the GENERAL MIDI FILES ?

We Technics® organ owners are not able to use the Automatic Play Chord (APC) feature while recording in the General Midi mode. The APC includes the accompaniments, drums and bass parts. General Midi files allow our performances to be played by other Technics organ players, as well as anyone else who has a General Midi instrument or sound card.
I have been searching and studying the best way to achieve this target. You should have at least some experience on how to use the Cakewalk program.

I prefer to record my songs by using the internal sequencer producing a Technics format song rather going directly to a external sequencer to make a GM file. This is because I like to achieve the best sound quality and use all the great resources Technics organs have. Then, I can transfer my song performance to a CD and on the other hand and also produce a GM file because it is always useful to know how to convert songs into GM format so that we can share our music with many people who have any MIDI device such a computer or a MIDI instrument.

I will update this method each time I find some improvements.

So let's start. To convert your songs into General Midi format using the Cakewalk program:

1) Download this file GA2GM.ZIP, unzip it, save it in a floppy and load the 01GA2GM as "ALL" into the organ; this will set your organ with all necessary organ MIDI settings to make a song conversion to GM format.

3) Download this Cakewalk Template file GA3withAPC.ZIP and place it where your Cakewalk's template files are stored. Open your CW and go to Tools/Global Options/Folders", you will recognize it as GA3withAPC when you go to FILE/ NEW on your CW.

4) Press the "Midi" button located into your organ's "Program Section" (The "ashtray"), watch your screen and:

•     Select COMMON SETTINGS & PANEL MEMORY OUTPUT
•     Select SETTING 3  TRANSPONSE/DRUMS TYPE/SONG SELECT/SETUP LOAD
•     Select MIDI SETUP LOAD and press OFF button.
•     Press EXIT three times.

5) Load your beautiful pre-recorded Technics format song in the normal way using "Load All". Once the song  has been loaded, simply  prepare  the settings by following these simple steps:

6) Press the "Sequencer" button once on the Menu Display.

7) Press the "Track Assign" Button Once.

8) Assign to Each Track the same midi channel as the pictures shows, in order to have assigned same MIDI Channels for each part; make sure to set "Rhythm" and "KB. PERC." to channel 10. Press "Exit" twice.

Notes:
A) Notice that part 15 is assigned twice to OFF, this doesn't harm anything, leave it as it is.
B) If you are not going to record your APC BASS and use your pedal board, you'll have to assign a  midi channel that you won't use;  in this case, take one of the "PARTS" assigned channels like 8 or 9 and assign it to BASS voice.

9) Launch your Cakewalk® program

10) Go to Tools/Midi Devices and be sure that your midi device (organ) is selected in both input and output ports

12) Go to File/New and select our template file GA3&APC and click on OK button.

13) Go to Edit/Select/All and then to Track/Arm"( the recording lights will turn On)

14) Click "Insert" then "Tempo Change" or you can use the Tempo box on the toolbar - either one is okay and write the same tempo the organ's file.

15) Start your recording by pressing the "R" key (on your computer keyboard of course); a message will appear at the bottom of your screen saying "Waiting for midi sync.".

16) Press the "Start/Stop" button on the GA3 to start the song playing. Cakewalk will automatically start and record the song; at the end of the song the organ will stop the recording, if it doesn't like this press the "Start/Stop" organ button and it will stop the recording. At this point, you must see each recorded track filled with recorded MIDI events in the track view of Cakewalk.

17) Run the GM system exclusive file by going to View/Sysex/Load Bank, double click on gmsystem.syx, press "AUTO"; right after doing this, give a name to you midi file and save your new Standard Midi File (SMF) as "Normal" (*.wrk)

18) Unfortunately, Technics instruments do not automatically send patch changes. Therefore we have to assign the initial patches manually. I have assigned some initial patches in the CW template file but they are meant to be changed to suit your own arrangement. You will have to deduce which patch is the closest substitute to each organ sound you recorded. For example, if you used a "Mellow Piano", the closest General Midi patch is "Acoustic Piano". The fastest way to assign an initial patch is by right-clicking on the "Patch" cell in the track view on each track. Then select "Track Properties". A dialog box will appear; click on the folder with the magnifying glass icon and input the generic name of the patch (e.g. piano). All of the GM patches that contain that string will then appear so that you can then select the one you want.

19) Edit your file, by changing its Velocity, Key, Pan and Volume as you want with the time you will be an expert and will add even effects and controls to your songs.

^{20) Now it's time to convert drums into GM drums; go to Tools/Run CAL, select and run Larry Cohan's Technics Drums to GM20.CAL, it will automatically convert each "Technics drum patch" into a GM Drum patch until the last measure for your song.}

21) Save your file again as normal (*.wrk) and then as "Midi format 0"; This type of MIDI file it's more suitable by many GM instrument brands. CW will save it by default as *.mid, in case you don't change the file extension. Now close your General Midi file.

22) The final step; open your recently saved GM file, a new dialog box will appear saying that "Auto-Send-Sysex" will set  your organ automatically to GM mode, press the space bar and if you did everything as I said, your beautiful song will start immediately; play it, send it to your friends by e-mail, any one, they don't have to have an organ to ply your MIDI song
 

Please report any comments to this method to Armando Lozano

Here are some of my songs converted into the GM format; all of them are my performances and arrangements. Those with an "ALG" after their name means that they are my own compositions.

*The files appear in the chronological order I posted.

  

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