Disklavier

Good morning, everyone.


On Oct 14, 2008, at 10:40 AM, driller010165 wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Someone is asking me what format my Disklavier Mark III can play and I
> had no idea what it meant. Which one has the best quality for Mark III
> with record function? I have a Yamaha DGC1-B. His choices were:
>
> GM
> GM2
> GM-XG
> XG
>
> The GS did not play on my Mark III.
>
> TIA
>

Just to be clear:

There are MIDI file formats and then there are MIDI protocols for  
setting the correct sounds.

Modern Disklaviers read MIDI file formats called:

--Standard MIDI File Type 0
--Standard MIDI File Type 1
--E-SEQ

SMF 0 and 1 are industry standard formats. E-SEQ is an older,  
proprietary format pioneered by Yamaha before SMF was defined.  
Natively, modern Disklaviers record in SMF. However, Yamaha has  
typically published song files in E-SEQ in order to maintain backward  
compatibility with older instruments.

GM, GM2, XG, and GS are names for sets of sounds, not file formats. In  
the old days, each manufacturer had a proprietary set of sounds that  
were uniquely numbered. For example, Sound #7 might be flute in one  
case on bass in another.

In order to make it possible for MIDI file authors to create files  
that played back a broad range of devices from different  
manufacturers, the industry adopted a set of sounds called General  
MIDI (GM).

The quality of GM sounds varies from one instrument to another. But  
when you hear a GM file played on any GM device, you can be confident  
that you are hearing the correct sounds.

There are 128 sounds in the GM set plus a drum kit. Of course, MIDI  
file authors want even more choices. Accordingly, Yamaha came up with  
a superset of GM called XG. Roland came up with a different superset  
called GS. A couple of years ago, there was an attempt to make an  
industry-standard superset of GM called GM2.

I don't know of any professionally authored files that use GM2, and  
GM2 does not seem to have caught the public's imagination. There are  
lots of XG and GS MIDI files, however.

If you play an XG, GM2, or GS file on a device that only knows about  
GM, the file should play reasonably accurately, with appropriate voice  
substitutions.

Since the Mark II, Disklaviers have had a GM and XG tone set. Some  
Disklaviers have also included a tone set called TG300B, which is  
really a GS voice set in disguise. I don't think that Mark IVs include  
that set.

Regards,
PianoBench