3.0

CUBASE SE
3 – 44 Working with System Exclusive messages
Introduction
System Exclusive (SysEx) is a special type of MIDI message used to
send things that only make sense to a unit of a certain make and type.
Every major MIDI manufacturer has its own SysEx identity code. Sys-
tem Exclusive messages are typically used for transmitting patch data,
i.e. the numbers that make up the settings of one or more sounds in a
MIDI instrument.
Cubase SE allows you to record and manipulate System Exclusive
data in various ways. This chapter points to various features that help
you manage and create System Exclusive data.
Bulk dumps
Recording a bulk dump in Cubase SE
In any programmable device, all settings are stored as numbers in
computer memory. Change those numbers, and you will change the
settings.
Normally, MIDI devices allow you to dump (transmit) all or some set-
tings in the device's memory, in the form of MIDI System Exclusive
messages. Return these messages, and you get the settings back.
This is (among other things) a way of making backup copies of the
settings of any instrument.
If your instrument allows the dumping of a few or all of its settings via
MIDI by activating some function on the front panel, this dump will
most probably be recordable in Cubase SE.