Bc2000 (for the BCF2000 & BCR2000)

--- In bc2000@yahoogroups.com, "namesys02" <namesys02@...> wrote:
(...)Is there a way to use a sysex message (type get a parameter 
value) to show the current value from synth on the display of BRC ? 
or lit an appropriate LED ?(...)
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This is tweak part of all midi controllers : when you switch the 
patch on the controlled synth, how does the controller know the 
current values for its knobs ?

The question that should come before is, how does the controller asks 
for current values ? Then, the first question is how does it even 
knows the values have changed ?

The easy path would be to have the synth send automatically all CC 
values for its current patch settings  when you switch patch, but 
that does not exist on the market (i believe...).

The first thing would be to initiate the patch change of the synth 
from the BCR, this way the BCR knows something has changed.

Then you could have the BCR send a sysex of type 'request' (not all 
synth have such a message in their protocol :( ).

But at the end, the synth would send a single sysex message for the 
current patch data... Unfortunately, the BCR does not have a function 
to EXTRACT a data from a sysex, even less it does not have a way to 
extract SEVERAL data from a sysex, and worst is it does not have a 
function to CONVERT binary data from manufacturers formats... wich 
are always weird or exotic at best. If you collate what is in 
uppercase above, the problem can shortens to:
 extract + several + convert

If you think of using Bome's Midi Translater on the PC to 
automatically translate a Sysex to a collection of CC recognized by 
the BCR, then no luck : BMT does not handle sysex in input, only in 
output...

I have come up with a workaround solution for my own case where a 
Novation DrumStation was to be controlled from the BCR:

First of all the DrumStation does not recognize sysex request... to 
bad. So to update the BCR values i have to initiate the sysex sending 
directly on the DrumStation by pressing three buttons. 

From there the DrumStation is plugged to the computer where a small 
home made VB program (using MidiOx in background) receives the sysex 
patch, extracts all data and converts everything to a collection of 
CC change. Then it sends the CC collection to the BCR. It is magic ! 
All lights show the current value.

Note: the decoding of the DrumStation sysex message wasn't the easy 
part without any available document from Novation...

As you can see there is a good new and bad one: the good news is that 
there is a way to set current values of the BCR, the bad new is you 
have to develop your own software to do it !