SYSEX memory restore on Juno 2

Other Roland synthesizers, modules, keyboards, etc.
JunoJohn
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Joined: 08:29, 24 February 2008
Location: Washington DC

Re: SYSEX memory restore on Juno 2

Post by JunoJohn »

Thanks for trying those experiments. This is a strange problem.
blouis wrote:Get's me thinking there's is some hickup in my Juno, when it comes to the Bulk load routine?
Yes, but maybe (and this is a long shot) there is an issue with your MIDI interface.

Is there a different interface you could try?

If not, can you record the output of your interface back into a sequencer and look at the data? The idea is to see what your interface is actually transmitting to the Juno. If you like, post a MIDI file and I will check it out.
Mr_Mojo_Risin
Posts: 12
Joined: 18:47, 20 December 2014

Re: SYSEX memory restore on Juno 2

Post by Mr_Mojo_Risin »

Speaking of longshots...It might be worth replacing the battery if it's not been replaced in the last 10+ years. A scrambled display results from battery removal so it's worth mentioning that. The instructions shown for the MKS-50 should apply;
Internal Battery & Reset Resource Page http://bit.ly/1wX6zn5
Mr_Mojo_Risin
Posts: 12
Joined: 18:47, 20 December 2014

Re: Bulk load error on Juno 1

Post by Mr_Mojo_Risin »

blouis wrote:Hi!

I have a Roland alpha Juno-1 and I'm trying to send a sound bank to it, using the described method in this thread (with a Macbook and Sysex Librarian). Something strange happens though:

The Bulk Load process seems to be finished, because I get the ...END message on my Juno. But when I go through the tones it's like there's been errors. For starters, the patch names are all crazy, like "M-11 LOtooTgBCm". The programs seems to have random errors as well, with lots of noise on many of them.

Has anyone else experienced this issue?

Thanks!
This problem sparked some interest so I investigated it further.

While trying to load certain banks of Tone data into my MKS-50, I see the "exact" name listed on the display as T-11 LOtooTgBCm, just as blouis experienced. All Tones are noise and unusable. One of the *.SYX filenames displaying this behavior is called matt3jun.syx. After looking at this file with a Hex editor, I noticed that this Bulk Dump file contains extra SysEx data. There are extra grabage characters I don't recognize. I would guess that the problems you are experiencing are not related to faulty MIDI cables, hardware, your SysEx program or anything like that. It looks to me as if these files are corrupt. I have verified the same results using Mac and Windows SysEx loaders. Since the same behavior occurs on both a Juno-1 and an MKS-50, I would assume the problem has nothing to do with differences between synthesizers. The last way to verify would be to se if the same problems exist when trying load the same file(s) into a Juno-2. It would be nice to hear back from some others to see if anyone has successfully loaded the file called matt3jun.syx. If so, how? Thanks.

A *.zip file with the suspect SysEx files is available at this link;
http://bit.ly/160ovUt
JunoJohn
Posts: 815
Joined: 08:29, 24 February 2008
Location: Washington DC

Re: SYSEX memory restore on Juno 2

Post by JunoJohn »

None of my Alpha's are currently connected to a computer.

I believe the following is the uncorrupted version of the files you referenced, but I cannot check them right now:
alphajuno patches.zip
(36.13 KiB) Downloaded 245 times
blouis
Posts: 8
Joined: 13:42, 13 October 2014
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
Contact:

Re: Bulk load error on Juno 1

Post by blouis »

Mr_Mojo_Risin wrote: One of the *.SYX filenames displaying this behavior is called matt3jun.syx. After looking at this file with a Hex editor, I noticed that this Bulk Dump file contains extra SysEx data. There are extra grabage characters I don't recognize. I would guess that the problems you are experiencing are not related to faulty MIDI cables, hardware, your SysEx program or anything like that. It looks to me as if these files are corrupt. I have verified the same results using Mac and Windows SysEx loaders. Since the same behavior occurs on both a Juno-1 and an MKS-50, I would assume the problem has nothing to do with differences between synthesizers. The last way to verify would be to se if the same problems exist when trying load the same file(s) into a Juno-2. It would be nice to hear back from some others to see if anyone has successfully loaded the file called matt3jun.syx. If so, how? Thanks.

A *.zip file with the suspect SysEx files is available at this link;
http://bit.ly/160ovUt
That's it, you're right! I can confirm that after trying to load the matt3jun.syx to my Juno-1, from the link you provided, I get scrambled tones. BUT trying MATT3JUN.SYX from JunoJohn's zip file works like a charm!
Mr_Mojo_Risin
Posts: 12
Joined: 18:47, 20 December 2014

Re: SYSEX memory restore on Juno 2

Post by Mr_Mojo_Risin »

JunoJohn wrote:None of my Alpha's are currently connected to a computer.

I believe the following is the uncorrupted version of the files you referenced, but I cannot check them right now:
alphajuno patches.zip
Thanks JunoJohn for this new download link and thanks blouis for verifying these.
Yes... I was also able to load these banks into my MKS-50 without any problems. Mystery solved.
Mr_Mojo_Risin
Posts: 12
Joined: 18:47, 20 December 2014

Re: SYSEX memory restore on Juno 2

Post by Mr_Mojo_Risin »

Digging into this problem with the garbled Tone name and corrupted SysEx file opened a can of worms. Because of this, I decided to build a new webpage for the MKS-50, Alpha Juno-1 and Alpha Juno-2 synths.

The website just went live this evening.

Tons of stuff here! It's a one-stop resource for MKS-50 and Alpha Juno Tones, Utilities, Info, DIY's, Reference Materials, Accessories, Links and Trends... everything you need.

The most important link is at the Tones page. I have attempted to sort out all the Tone bank files available on the Internet and categorized everything including;
  • Descriptions of every *.SYX file
    Credits to the original programmers
    A list of all Tones in every *.SYX file
    Supply the original MKS-50 Patch Parameters and Chord Memory file, if available
    Placing all known *.SYX files in one place for easy downloading
    For standardization, used original filenames for files according to the date they were originally uploaded to the Internet
    Documented any previous loading issues and fixed the problem(s)
1300+ Tones / Twenty-seven Tone Bank Collections

Get Your MKS-50, Alpha Juno-1 and Alpha Juno-2 Library Organized!

http://www.llamamusic.com/mks50/mks-50.html
. .. ... .... ..... ...... ..... .... ... .. .
blouis
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Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
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Re: SYSEX memory restore on Juno 2

Post by blouis »

Fantastic! Thank you!
JunoJohn
Posts: 815
Joined: 08:29, 24 February 2008
Location: Washington DC

Re: SYSEX memory restore on Juno 2

Post by JunoJohn »

Cool! Thanks Mr_Mojo_Risin!

P.S. I've sent you an email at the site regarding a ROM version.
Mr_Mojo_Risin
Posts: 12
Joined: 18:47, 20 December 2014

Re: SYSEX memory restore on Juno 2

Post by Mr_Mojo_Risin »

JunoJohn wrote:Sorry to here about the P-11 Brass 1 , my JU-2 has the same issue. I haven't given up looking for the original Memory Group sounds.
Can you dump the memory bank to cartridge from one unit and load to another?
Sure. You can also connect any two Alpha Juno's with a pair of MIDI cables and transfer the sounds that way. It's all in the manual. Here's a link to download the manual if you don't already have it.

Your JU-2 can load either of the two groups in the MKS50RIG.MID file. They won't be the correct sounds, but they are Roland's.

To clarify a little bit : Roland produced Alpha Juno's with two different, original sets of 128 Tones. The earlier (I think) set starts with P-11 Brass 1 while the later (I think) set starts with P-11 PolySynth1. The HS-10, HS-80, and MKS-50 seem to all come with the later set. The JU-1 and JU-2 seem to be mixed between the two. There is considerable overlap between the sets.
I have been searching years for that "Mythical" Tone bank which starts out with P-11 Brass. It turns out this was only shipped on early production Alpha Juno-1 and Alpha Juno-2 synths. I finally located that original Tone bank this morning. Matthias at the Yahoo alphajuno-mks50 group has supplied the *.SYX file in question. I uploaded that file to the Files section there at Yahoo. Filename: MYTHICAL.zip. I have also placed it at the MKS-50 Homepage for downloading: http://www.llamamusic.com/mks50/mks-50_patches.html
blouis
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Joined: 13:42, 13 October 2014
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
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Re: SYSEX memory restore on Juno 2

Post by blouis »

Cool! Apparently my Juno-1 must be old then, because it has the Mythical Tone Bank as preset bank.
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