MTG MIDI Patch Changer User manual

MTG
MIDI Patch Changer
User Guide
V4.00
January 2019
Subject to change without notice

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CONTENTS
1: Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 4
Understanding the Keypad ..................................................................................................... 5
Hooking Up ............................................................................................................................. 6
2: Manual Mode .............................................................................................................................. 8
MIDI Channel .......................................................................................................................... 8
Enable/Disable Banks Select(s) ............................................................................................. 9
To Change a Bank Value Without Sending ............................................................................ 9
To Change a Bank Value With Sending ................................................................................. 9
To Send the Bank and Patch Values .................................................................................... 10
Scrolling through Patches ..................................................................................................... 10
Using the Arrow Key on a Bank Select ................................................................................. 10
3: Preset Mode ............................................................................................................................. 11
Changing Presets By Number .............................................................................................. 12
The MIDI Channel Key .......................................................................................................... 12
Arbitrary MIDI Data ............................................................................................................... 12
4: Editing Presets (on the keypad)............................................................................................. 13
Modifying the Preset ............................................................................................................. 13
Editing the Preset Name ....................................................................................................... 14
Pre/Post-Patch Arbitrary MIDI Data ...................................................................................... 15
Saving ................................................................................................................................... 15
Abandon Changes ................................................................................................................ 15
5: Using Speed Dials ................................................................................................................... 16
Preset Mode Speed Dials ..................................................................................................... 16
Assigning Speed Dials (on the keypad) ................................................................................ 16
6: Chain Mode .............................................................................................................................. 17
Accessing Chain Mode ......................................................................................................... 17
Leaving Chain Mode ............................................................................................................. 17
Chain Select (Browsing) ....................................................................................................... 18
Chain Run ............................................................................................................................. 18
Chain View ............................................................................................................................ 19
7: Editing Chains (on the keypad).............................................................................................. 20
Modifying Chain Links ........................................................................................................... 20
Editing the Chain Name ........................................................................................................ 21
Saving ................................................................................................................................... 21
Abandon Changes ................................................................................................................ 21

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8: Utility Menu .............................................................................................................................. 22
Preset Mode Browsing .......................................................................................................... 23
Receive Program Changes ................................................................................................... 23
Edit Speed Dial ..................................................................................................................... 23
Send a Preset (via System Exclusive) .................................................................................. 24
Send a Chain (via System Exclusive) ................................................................................... 24
System Exclusive Mfg ID ...................................................................................................... 25
MIDI Pass-Thru (v3.20+) ...................................................................................................... 25
MIDI Monitor ......................................................................................................................... 26
Restore Factory Defaults ...................................................................................................... 26
Show Version ........................................................................................................................ 26
Download New Firmware ...................................................................................................... 26
Set Patch Range (v2.79, v3.30+) .......................................................................................... 26
9: Using the Windows Editor ...................................................................................................... 28
Installation ............................................................................................................................. 28
Editor Features ..................................................................................................................... 29
Preset Panel ......................................................................................................................... 30
Preset Panel: Edit MIDI Data ................................................................................................ 31
Chains Panel ......................................................................................................................... 33
Speed Dials Panel ................................................................................................................ 35
Settings Panel ....................................................................................................................... 36
Toolbar File Operations ........................................................................................................ 37
MIDI ....................................................................................................................................... 38
Uploading .............................................................................................................................. 41
Firmware Upgrade ................................................................................................................ 43
Appendix A: System Exclusive Implementation ...................................................................... 44
Command Types ................................................................................................................... 44
General Format ..................................................................................................................... 44
Restart Command ................................................................................................................. 45
Get Port Command ............................................................................................................... 45
Get/Set Global Parameter List .............................................................................................. 46
Get Global Parameter Command ......................................................................................... 47
Set Global Parameter Command .......................................................................................... 48
Get One Preset Command (old format) ................................................................................ 49
Set One Preset Command (old format) ................................................................................ 51
Get One Preset Command (NEW format) ............................................................................ 53
Set One Preset Command (NEW format) ............................................................................. 55
Get One Chain Command .................................................................................................... 57
Set One Chain Command ..................................................................................................... 59
Universal Device Inquiry ....................................................................................................... 60
Appendix B: Sys Ex Firmware Update via MIDIOX .................................................................. 61
Configure MIDIOX ................................................................................................................. 61
Prepare the Keypad for Download ........................................................................................ 62
Test the Communication ....................................................................................................... 62
Firmware Upgrade ................................................................................................................ 63

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1: Introduction
The MIDI Patch Changer is the perfect solution when you need to control MIDI
presets for one or more devices, but a giant keyboard controller or a MIDI
footswitch/pedalboard just won’t do.
The MIDI Patch Changer has all the features you'd expect in a full-featured
patch-changing controller.
o Manual Operation. Manual Mode is used to key-in or scroll-through
Program Change messages with or without MIDI Bank Select messages.
o Preset Operation. Preset mode is for live or studio performance
situations. The unit can send a complete set of 16 patch and bank select
changes for every Preset. Each Preset can contain up to 180 bytes of
other MIDI data too!
o Speed-Dials. Pick your 9 favourite Presets and access them at any time
using a hot-key
1
.
o Chain Operation. Chain Presets together into a list that you can navigate
through.
2
o Expandable and upgradeable. The MIDI Patch Changer is
programmable including re-flashing the firmware.
o Durable. Made with high-quality switches (50 million+ operations) on a
metal sub-frame.
o Stable. No PC operating system to worry about crashes, hang-ups or
viruses.
The standard unit includes:
o 20-key keypad with 16-character backlit liquid crystal display (LCD).
o Power adapter (110-240v AC input to 5v DC output).
o Rear-panel RJ connector supports multiple cable types.
o RJ-to-USB cable for USB-MIDI connection (using OS built-in driver).
o RJ (Cat-5) cable for 5-pin DIN MIDI In and Out (on small external box).
o System Exclusive implementation for reading/storing the Presets and
other settings.
1
v3.10 or later.
2
v3.10 or later.

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Understanding the Keypad
The Mode Keys:
The MIDI Patch Changer has three
major function groups (modes).
o Manual Mode is for sending patch
changes by hand “on-the-fly”.
o Preset Mode is for sending pre-
arranged patch changes and MIDI
data during live performance.
o Finally there is a Utility Menu for
changing the keypad preferences.
The three MODE keys indicated by the
arrows (see diagram left) are used to
change the operating mode of the
keypad.
The Numeric Key Section:
The numeric key section is used for manually entering Patch
Change and Bank Select numbers (in decimal). In each
case the number range can be 0 to 127 or 1 to 128 to match
the receiving MIDI device. Future updates may allow for
alphabetic patch numbers (some vintage synths collect
patch sets of 8 or 16 into “banks” called A, B, C, D, etc.).
In addition the ENTER keys serves as a yes/confirm key in
certain menus and likewise the CLEAR key serves as a
no/escape.
The Arrow Keys:
The up and down keys are active in all three operating modes. They are
used to manually scroll through banks and patches in Manual Mode, to
manually scroll through Presets or Chains in Preset or Chain Mode
(respectively), and to navigate the Utility Menus.

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The Other Keys
The MIDI Channel key is used to change the transmit
channel for patches in Manual Mode as well as to review the
settings for each MIDI channel in a Preset (or Chain).
The Bank MSB and Bank LSB are used to select/enable/disable the sending of
Banks Select messages in Manual Mode. In this mode they act like a mute
button.
Hooking Up
There are several ways to connect the MIDI Patch Changer to your gear and/or
PC.
5-Pin DIN MIDI Gear
RJ Cable
Keypad
MIDI IN MIDI OUT
5v DC
OPTIONAL
If you need to connect to
5-pin DIN MIDI
gear, then use the
supplied Cat5 cable and supplied MIDI adapter box.
o Plug the short Cat5 cable into the back of the keypad
and into the RS232 MIDI adapter box.
o Plug the supplied DC power adapter into the wall socket and
then into MIDI adapter box.
o Then hook your MIDI gear into the IN and OUT jacks on the
MIDI adapter box.

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USB to PC (Sequencer, Soft Synth, etc.)
USB Cable
If you are hooking the MIDI Patch Changer keypad to a
PC that has USB, then you can use the supplied RJ-
to-USB cable:
.
o Connect the RJ end into the back of the keypad
o Then connect the USB connector into your PC or USB hub
The PC (Mac or Windows) will use the basic class drivers supplied with the OS.
No additional driver is needed.
Alternate USB to PC (Firmware Upgrade, Configuration, etc.)
RJ Cable
Keypad
MIDI IN MIDI OUT
5v DC
PC MIDI INTERFACE
(Not Supplied)

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2: Manual Mode
In Manual Mode you can send one, two or all three of the following standard MIDI
messages on the MIDI channel of your choosing:
Program Change (always transmitted)
Bank Select MSB - Controller number 0 (optionally transmitted)
Bank Select LSB - Controller number 32 (optionally transmitted)
The LCD will show what the current patch value is and what components are
enabled or disabled. If one or both of the Bank Selects is disabled (muted), then
the LCD will show “
···
“
next to the name on the LCD. For instance, on the
LCD shown below, the Bank MSB is not enabled, the Bank LSB value is
25 and the Program Change value is 34
3
.
MIDI Channel
Once you have your cables hooked up, the first
thing you should do is set the MIDI channel used
for manual mode. This is done by pressing the
MIDI CH key and using the Up or Down arrow
keys to scroll to the channel you want (1 to 16).
Alternatively you can erase the displayed value
using the CLEAR key and then type in the
3
As per common convention, Bank numbers range from 0 to 127 and Patch Change numbers range from 1
to 128. In both cases the underlying MIDI messages use the number range 0 to 127.

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channel you want and then press ENTER.
Press ENTER to save your new MIDI channel number. You can abandon your
changes by pressing MIDI CH a second time. The MIDI Channel value will be
retained even if power is lost.
Enable/Disable Banks Select(s)
The Bank Select MSB and Bank Select LSB can be enabled and disabled by
repeated depressing of their respective keys.
When the Bank Select is disabled (muted), the three dots appear: “
···
“. When the
value is being editing the cursor is flashing over the value being edited. When the
value is solid then the value is enabled for transmitting. Normally, when not
editing a bank value, the cursor is flashing over the program change value at the
far right of the LCD since this is the value you will be changing most often.
To Change a Bank Value Without Sending
This allows you to establish what patch you want to send, but not send it yet.
Press one of the Bank Select keys until you are in the edit mode (cursor flashing
on the bank value). Enter the new value for the Bank Select using the number
keys. Press the same Bank Select key again (do NOT press Enter). This
changes the value on the display but does not transmit anything.
To Change a Bank Value With Sending
To Edit a Bank Select and send it immediately (along with the current Patch
value), press one of the Bank Select keys until you are in the edit mode (cursor
flashing on the bank value). Enter the new value for the Bank Select using the
number keys. Press Enter.

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To Send the Bank and Patch Values
While in Manual Mode, pressing Enter at any time causes all of the displayed
(enabled) data to be transmitted.
Scrolling through Patches
With the cursor flashing on the Patch value, pressing an Up or Down arrow key
causes the displayed patch value to be incremented or decremented by one, and
the new displayed (enabled) data to be transmitted.
If the Patch value overflows or underflows, then the Bank Value (if enabled), is
modified by one also. This allows you to scroll seamlessly over bank boundaries
in both the forward or reverse direction.
Using the Arrow Key on a Bank Select
To quickly change to the next or previous bank, put one of the Bank Select value
in edit mode and press the desired Up or Down arrow key. This will cause the
Bank Select value to change by one, followed by transmission of enabled data.

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3: Preset Mode
Preset mode allows you to pre-configure the keypad for performance situations
where you need to change patches on a lot of gear with minimum fuss. In this
mode you can set up to 16 patch/bank changes per Preset (one per MIDI
channel). Of course you will need to set these values up ahead of time. This is
normally accomplished by using the Librarian Software or by manually sending
System Exclusive dumps (see Appendix A for a description of the System
Exclusive implementation).
There are 200 Presets (1-200) and you can move
through them using the number pad or with the
arrow keys (either “browsing” or “live” depending
on user preference).
4
The number on the left indicates the Preset number. The user name for the patch
is shown on the right. It consists of (up to) thirteen ASCII characters. Each time a
new Preset is selected the keypad can transmit any or all of the following
information:
Blank Preset Sheet
Pre-Patch Arbitrary MIDI Data:
MIDI
Channel
Bank Select
MSB (0-127)
Bank Select
LSB (0-127)
Program Change
(1-128)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Post-Patch Arbitrary MIDI Data:
4
As of v0.76 Preset browse mode allows for scrolling through the presets with the arrow keys without
transmitting. Use Enter to transmit the preset you browsed to. This is defined in a UTIL setup menu.

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Changing Presets By Number
When you begin to type in a number on the number pad, the display briefly
changes to show only the number being entered in.
When you have completed typing in the Preset number you want, press the
ENTER key. The complete Preset will be transmitted and the display will return
to the standard screen. While entering the number, you can also edit the value
using the CLEAR key.
The MIDI Channel Key
In this mode, the MIDI Channel key is used to browse through the table values
shown on the previous page. Select a Preset using the number pad or the arrow
keys. Press MIDI CH. The display will show, for each MIDI channel, what
elements are being transmitted. Again, values that are disabled are shown with
three dots: “
···
“.
The LCD elements shown from left to right are:
o The C: indicates that you are browsing the data for each MIDI channel.
o MIDI channel (1 to 16).
o Bank Select MSB (user settable).
o Bank Select LSB (user settable).
o Program Change (user settable).
You can then use MIDI CH or the arrow keys to scroll through the MIDI channels
and see what you have previously programmed into the device. Any other key
exits this browse mode (acts as an Escape key).
Arbitrary MIDI Data
Each Preset can also send up to 90 bytes of arbitrary MIDI data before and up to
90 bytes of arbitrary MIDI data after the patch change data. This data cannot be
edited on the device at this time. Use the Librarian Software (PC Editor) to
configure this data.

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4: Editing Presets (on the keypad)
You can edit the individual Presets on the device or by sending new values using
System Exclusive. To edit a Preset on the device, while in Preset Mode, press
PRE MODE (again). You will asked to verify that you want to edit the current
Preset:
Press ENTER to confirm or CLEAR to go back to the previous Preset. In Edit
Preset mode the LCD screen information starts with E:.
You can cycle through the various edit screens using the PRE MODE key.
Sub-menu
Navigation
PRE Mode Key
Edit Patch Change Data
Edit Name
View Pre-Patch MIDI Data
View Post-Patch MIDI Data
Save Preset Confirm
Modifying the Preset
In Preset Edit mode, the editing is similar to the Manual Mode.
5
MIDI CH lets you scroll through the list of 16 MIDI channels and on each one you
can assign a Bank Select MSB and/or a Bank Select LSB and/or a Patch Change
value.
Bank MSB moves the cursor to the Bank Select MSB if the cursor is not there
already. If it is, then it enables/disables it. If the Bank Select MSB is enabled and
the cursor is flashing on it’s position, then you can modify the value using either
the arrow keys or typing a new value on the keypad.
Bank LSB moves the cursor to the Bank Select LSB if the cursor is not there
already. If it is, then it enables/disables it. If the Bank Select LSB is enabled and
5
There is no method currently to modify the pre and post arbitrary MIDI data fields on the keypad.

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the cursor is flashing on it’s position, then you can modify the value using either
the arrow keys or typing a new value on the keypad.
MAN MODE takes on the role of PATCH CHANGE. It moves the cursor to the
Patch Change value if the cursor is not there already. If it is, then MAN MODE
enables/disables it. If the Patch Change is enabled and the cursor is flashing on
it’s position, then you can modify the value using either the arrow keys or typing a
new value on the keypad.
Editing the Preset Name
Press PRE MODE again and you will be prompted for
the name you wish to assign to the Preset. The LCD
screen shows N?: to indicate that it is in name editing
mode.
Use the UP and DOWN arrow keys to change each
character value (see table). ENTER moves the cursor
to the right and CLEAR moves it to the left.
You can also use the 0 to 9 keys to enter numbers
directly.
If you wish to blank out the name in order to start
editing with a blank slate, press CLEAR until the
cursor is at the far left. Press it one more time and the
display shows "Clear Name?". At this point you can
press ENTER to confirm or CLEAR to abandon name
clearing.
6
LCD character table
6
v3.10 and later.

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Pre/Post-Patch Arbitrary MIDI Data
Press PRE MODE one more time to take you to the screen that shows the first 6
bytes of Arbitrary MIDI Data (if used). The LCD shows Pre: followed by the data,
if any. One more press and the LCD shows Pst: followed by the data, if any.
Saving
To save the Preset, press PRE MODE one more time and you will be prompted
to save the changes. Here you can also edit the Preset number. This allows you
to save the Preset to the same location or you can copy the Preset to a new
location. Once you set the number of the Preset location you want to save to,
Press ENTER to confirm the save.
Alternatively, pressing PRE MODE again takes you back to editing without
saving.
Abandon Changes
If you want to abandon the changes, press the UTIL MENU button to switch out
of editing.

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5: Using Speed Dials
Preset Mode Speed Dials
You can select any 9 Presets and assign them to be Speed Dials (favourites).
Once they are assigned, you can launch a Speed Dial from the Preset screen by
pressing and holding CLEAR and then tapping on one of the speed dial numbers
1 to 9.
When you press and hold CLEAR, you will see
Speed Dial #?
As soon as you tap on the number key, the Preset you have assigned will be
fired off and the screen will reflect that you have sent that Preset:
MIDI Sending . . .
The new Preset will now become the active Preset and the LCD will reflect that:
A Speed Dial can contain any valid Preset number from 1 to 200. If the number is
out of range (say 0 or above 200), then the Speed Dial is considered “empty” and
you will see “
…
“ when you look at the value from the edit menu.
Assigning Speed Dials (on the keypad)
Speed Dials (favourites) as assigned using the Utility Menu or by sending Set
Parameter MIDI commands using System Exclusive.
See Section 8: Utility Menu on how to configure your keypad using the setup
menus.

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6: Chain Mode
If Presets can be likened to parts in a song (verse, chorus, etc.), then Chains can
be likened to songs. You can link 18 Preset “parts” into a Chain “song” that can
be navigated through quickly and easily. The device will store 99 Chains.
Chains can be created and edited on the keypad or they may be created using a
PC editor and downloaded to the keypad using System Exclusive MIDI
commands.
Accessing Chain Mode
Chain mode is a variation on Preset mode, so it is accessed using a special key
combination. From within Preset mode, press and hold the CLEAR key. While
the key is held down you will see the following message on the LCD:
Speed Dial #?
Now tap the PRE MODE key. The unit will switch to Chain Select mode and you
should see something like:
The display is very similar to the Preset one. In this case the first element is the
Chain number (1 to 99) followed by an arrow, followed by the Chain name.
Leaving Chain Mode
You can leave Chain mode in several ways, depending on what you want to do.
MAN MODE will take you to Manual mode and UTIL MENU takes you to the
setup menus. If you want to go from Chain mode directly to Preset mode then
you need to make use of the CLEAR key again. In this case, press and hold
the CLEAR key. While the key is held down you should see the following
message on the LCD:
PRE exits Chain
Now tap the PRE MODE key to return to regular Preset mode.

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Chain Select (Browsing)
While in Chain Select mode you can see the Chain number followed by the
Chain name. At this point you are browsing through the Chains and nothing is
being sent over MIDI. You can browse by using the Up and Down arrow keys.
Chain Run
As you are browsing through the Chains using the arrow keys, you can launch
the Chain using the ENTER key once you have located the Chain you are
interested in. Alternatively, while browsing, you can simply enter the number of
the Chain you want using the 0 to 9 keys and then press ENTER. Using either
method, once you launch the Chain, the first link in the Chain (the first Preset) is
immediately transmitted over MIDI. You will also see the LCD change to reflect
that you are now in Chain Run mode.
The C:01 indicates that Chain #1 is running. The first number (001) is the current
Preset. This will be one of the Preset numbers from 1 to 200. This data has
already been sent over MIDI. Then we see the Chain mode “arrow” again.
Finally we see the second number (002). This is the next link (next Preset) in the
chain. Again it will be another Preset number from 1 to 200.
You move forward and backward in the Chain using the Up and Down arrow
keys. Each time you press an arrow key, the new current Preset is transmitted.
At any time if you press the ENTER key, the current Preset will be re-transmitted.
The end of the Chain is denoted by the “
…
“ symbol. This symbol means that the
link has no Preset defined for it (it is empty).
Whether you are in Chain Run or Chain Select, if you type in a number and press
ENTER, that particular Chain will be launched immediately.
To exit Chain Run mode, press the CLEAR button to return back to Chain Select
mode.

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Chain View
If you recall Preset mode, pressing MIDI CH allowed you to view (but not edit)
the contents of a Preset. Similarly, while in Chain Select mode if you press MIDI
CH you can view, but not edit, the links in the current Chain.
In this view you can see the Chain #, the link # and the Preset stored in that link:
Chain.22 [01] = 123
The format of the LCD is
Chain.chain#[link#]=preset#
Use the Up and Down arrow keys to scroll through the 18 links in the Chain to
see what Presets are assigned to the links in the Chain. Press CLEAR to return
to Chain Select mode.

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7: Editing Chains (on the keypad)
To edit a Chain on the device, while in Chain Select mode, press PRE MODE.
You will asked to verify that you want to edit the current Chain:
Edit Chain 01 ?
Press ENTER to confirm or CLEAR to go back to the previous screen. In Edit
Chain mode the LCD screen looks like this:
Link [ 01 ] = Pre : 001
You can cycle through the various edit screens using the PRE MODE key.
Sub-menu
Navigation
PRE Mode Key
Edit Chain Links
Edit Chain Name
Save Chain Confirm
Modifying Chain Links
Editing Chain links is simple:
 The Up and Down arrow keys allow you to move through the 18 links that
make up a Chain.
 The 0-9 number keys are used to enter the Preset number that you would
like to associate with that Chain link.
 The CLEAR key is used to remove (delete) a Chain link. In all cases, after
removing a link, the last link in the Chain (#18) will be “empty”.
 The ENTER key is used to insert a Chain link. In all cases, after inserting
a new link, whatever was in link #18 will be pushed off then end and lost.