Importing SYX and MID files

Midi Quest and Midi Quest Pro are both capable of directly importing the SysEx from .syx and .mid files.

To begin the process, choose File / Open from the main menus and select a file. Alternately, drag and drop one or more .syx and .mid files from Explorer (Windows) or File Manager (mac) and drop them in the Studio window.

Once Midi Quest receives the file, it is analyzed to determine the contents. For SysEx that is recognized, a Set (where possible) or individual editor is created and the SysEx is stored in the newly created editor.

Please note that Midi Quest will only process a particular SysEx message once. If you have two or more instruments that use the same SysEx, for example a DX7 and TX7, Midi Quest will only import the SysEx into the first instrument module where there is a match.

In order for this process to work, the SysEx stored in the .syx or .mid file must match the SysEx expected by installed Midi Quest instruments. If you have Midi Quest process a file containing Korg 01/W SysEx and the 01/W module is not in the Studio window, the program will not be able to do anything with the file contents.

In order to import SysEx, Midi Quest relies on an analysis of an instrument's SysEx. This works for most instruments because a given type of SysEx is dumped only one way. Roland SysEx is different from most other manufacturers where the same information can be transmitted many different ways and manual SysEx dumps can vary based in the instrument's firmware release. As a result, Midi Quest is not always able to directly import SysEx from a .syx or .mid file. In these cases, use Midi Quest's MIDIX Transmit feature to transmit the SysEx to the instrument and then retrieve the SysEx from the instrument using a standard SysEx request.

This import process currently does not work with variable length SysEx. While most SysEx is of fixed length, there are some types of SysEx which have a variable length. For example, MIDI Devices that record and playback songs will usually have song and track SysEx dumps that are as large or small as necessary to transfer the recording. This type of SysEx will need to be sent to the instrument using Midi Quest's MIDIX Transmit feature and then retrieved from the instrument using the standard component drivers.

Midi Quest's normal import process is to take the contents of a .syx or .mid file and, where ever possible, place the SysEx in an appropriate Set. The works well when the SysEx file contains entire banks of SysEx, a complete instrument setup, or even a single patch. The exception to this is when you have tens, hundreds, or even thousands of individual files where each file contains a single patch. The process to convert this SysEx would be difficult because each individual .syx file would create is own window in Midi Quest.

1/ Copy all the individual .syx files that need to be imported into Midi Quest to a folder on the hard drive. Midi Quest can handle different types of SysEx but it is probably best if all the files held the same type of SysEx (for example an Kronos Program or a DX7 Voice)

2/ Select all of the .syx or .mid files to convert, hold down the ALT key then drag and drop all of the files on the Studio window

3/ Instead of importing the SysEx and placing it in a Set window, Midi Quest will convert it into Midi Quest data and save it back to disk using the same source folder and file name but with Midi Quest's file extension

4/ Once all of the .syx files have been converted, create or open a library with the same type as the newly created Midi Quest SysEx files

5/ Select the newly created Midi Quest files then in the folder then drag and drop them on Midi Quest's Library window

7/ When Midi Quest is finished, from the menus choose "Library / Disk / Resolve Links". This will store the new patches in the library instead of a link to the file

9/ Once the library is saved, all of the individual files that were created in step 2 can be deleted from the drive or placed in a backup location in case they are ever required again.

This procedure allows an entire patch collection to be saved in a single file for easy access. If desired, a Collection could be used instead of a Library.

There are specific situations where it might be preferable to use the File Conversion window found in Midi Quest Pro such as the need to convert large numbers of files from another file format into Midi Quest's format. If you are considering this and have Midi Quest Pro, please keep in mind that converting SysEx files requires a knowledge of the following details:

If if there are a large number of .syx files, by the time you have sufficient knowledge to create a conversion macro, it may have been more time efficient to use Midi Quest's native file import capabilities and process the files one by one.

Midi Quest Pro
Midi Quest
Midi Quest Essentials
Midi Quest one