FCC INFORMATION (U.S.A.) 1. IMPORTANT NOTICE: DO NOT MODIFY THIS UNIT! This product, when installed as indicated in the instructions contained in this manual, meets FCC requirements. Modifications not expressly approved by Yamaha may void your authority, granted by the FCC, to use the product. 2. IMPORTANT: When connecting this product to accessories and/or another product use only high quality shielded cables. Cable/s supplied with this product MUST be used. Follow all installation instructions.
PRECAUTIONS PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING * Please keep these precautions in a safe place for future reference. WARNING CAUTION Always follow the basic precautions listed below to avoid the possibility of serious injury or even death from electrical shock, short-circuiting, damages, fire or other hazards. These precautions include, but are not limited to, the following: • Do not open the instrument or attempt to disassemble the internal parts or modify them in any way.
PRECAUTIONS PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING * Please keep these precautions in a safe place for future reference. CAUTION Always follow the basic precautions listed below to avoid the possibility of physical injury to you or others, or damage to the instrument or other property. These precautions include, but are not limited to, the following: • If the instrument is not to be in use for a long time, remove the batteries from it, in order to prevent possible fluid leakage from the battery.
Handling the Floppy Disk Drive(FDD) and Floppy Disk Precautions • Be sure to handle floppy disks and treat the disk drive with care. Follow the important precautions below. Compatible Disk Type • 3.5” 2DD and 2HD type floppy disks can be used. A blank 2HD floppy disk has been included with your instrument for you to record your performances.
Handling the Floppy Disk Drive(FDD) and Floppy Disk ■ About the Floppy Disks To protect your data (Write-protect Tab): To handle floppy disks with care: • To prevent accidental erasure of important data, slide the disk’s writeprotect tab to the “protect” position (tab open). • Do not place heavy objects on a disk or bend or apply pressure to the disk in any way. Always keep floppy disks in their protective cases when they are not in use.
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CONGRATULATIONS! You are now the proud owner of a Yamaha MDF3 MIDI Data Filer. This compact data storage unit is capable of storing bulk data from nearly any MIDI-equipped synthesizer, tone generator, or sequencer on convenient 3.5" 2HD/2DD floppy disks. The MDF3 is also able to record and play back sequencer data in realtime, a feature which makes it handy for use as a portable sequencer. To put the MDF3 to work, you will need to connect it to at least one other MIDI device.
ABOUT THIS MANUAL This Owner’s Manual introduces the MDF3’s functions in an order close to that in which you are most likely to be using them. As you read through the manual, you will soon learn how the MDF3 works; and you will find, in addition, a number of hints on how you can put its features to use. Nearly every operation in this manual is described as a series of simple steps, often including diagrams that make the procedure easy to follow.
TABLE OF CONTENTS ABOUT THIS MANUAL ................................................ 8 INTRODUCING THE MDF3 ....................................... 12 THE STANDARD MIDI FILE AND ESEQ FORMATS .... 58 MDR MODE ................................................................ 23 Receiving Bulk Data ................................................ 24 Transmitting Bulk Data ............................................. 27 Notes on MDR Data Reception and Transmission ....
BASIC TERMS AND KEYWORDS MIDI-related terminology Here we define several basic terms used in this manual. These terms are frequently used in describing the functions of MIDI equipment. MIDI 10 An abbreviation for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, which is the name of an international standard providing for the communication of data between electronic musical instruments.
Keywords for MDF3 operation The terms defined below are used throughout the manual to describe functions peculiar to the MDF3. The same words are frequently used in describing other MIDI devices, as well; but keep in mind that in many cases the actual function in question may differ considerably from that performed by the MDF3. file A position on a disk where data is stored and assigned a name. The MDF3 is capable of managing up to 99 files on a single disk.
INTRODUCING THE MDF3 Front panel q w e r q MIDI LED 12 t y u i This LED lights when the MDF3 is receiving MIDI data. Note that it does not light when data is being transmitted, however. w LCD The LCD displays a variety of information to assist you in operating the MDF3. e Mode keys These keys allow you to switch between the MDF3’s four operating modes. The MDF3’s modes — MDR mode, SEQ mode, JOB mode, and UTILITY mode — are outlined in the MDF3 Mode Overview on page 20.
Rear Panel Side Panel !4 !6 o !0 !1 !2 !3 o MIDI OUT This jack outputs MIDI data. !0 MIDI IN Received MIDI data is input via this jack. !1 FOOT SW This jack enables START/STOP control by pressing the foot switch (optional Yamaha FC4, FC5, etc.) if it is connected. !22 DC IN The DC plug of an optional AC power adapter (Yamaha PA-3B) can be connected here. !3 POWER This switch turns the power to the MDF3 on and off. !5 !4 Disk Drive This 3.
PREPARING TO USE THE MDF3 Supplying Power Using an Optional AC adaptor Using Batteries If you use the MDF3 often, you will probably want to power it with an AC power adaptor. The MDF3 can be powered by the Yamaha PA-3B power adaptor, which is available for purchase separately. Under normal operating conditions, the MDF3 can be operated continuously for approximately three hours using a fresh set of batteries.
Connecting a MIDI Device Turning the Power On You need only one MIDI cable to connect the MDF3 to another MIDI device. To turn on the MDF3, simply press the POWER switch on the rear panel. When you will be using the MDF3 to receive or record data, plug one end of the cable into the MIDI IN jack on the MDF3 back panel, and the other end into the MIDI OUT jack of the other device. The message “YAMAHA MDF3” will appear in the LCD for a few moments.
Formatting a Floppy Disk Before the MDF3 can create files on a new disk, it must prepare the disk to accept the data using a procedure known as “formatting”. Follow the steps below to format the floppy disk that came with your MDF3. 1. Enter the UTILITY mode. 2. Select ”05: Format” Press the UTIL key. The LED above the key will light. Press the FILE DATA [+] key four times. The following message will appear in the LCD. 05:~~~~~~~Format ~å 3. Press the START/STOP key.
5. Press the START/STOP key. 6. Format another disk. 7. Exit the function. The LED above the key will light steadily, and the LCD will display a message telling you what percentage of the disk has been formatted. If you wish to format another disk at this point, eject the disk and insert a new one. Then press the START/STOP key to begin formatting once more. When you’re done formatting disks, press any mode key (MDR, SEQ, JOB, or UTIL) to exit the “Format” function.
Handling Floppy Disks The 3.5" 2HD/2DD floppy disk is a reliable and convenient medium for data storage, capable of holding large amounts of data in a small package. The disk itself is a delicate piece of magnetic film, which is protected from dust and dirt by a hard plastic cover and a shutter. This design is capable of preserving your data against most contingencies. However, for the greatest reliability, you should observe a few basic cautions when handling your disks. • Use 2HD/2DD disks.
Protecting the data on a disk If you turn a disk face down, you will find a small plastic tab in the lower right corner. This tab is a write-protect switch that you can use to prevent the accidental loss of valuable data. When this tab is in the up position (so the window is closed), the MDF3 will be able to read and write data to the disk normally. To protect the data on a disk, push the tab down so that the window is open. The MDF3 will be able to read the data on the disk as usual.
MDF3 MODE OVERVIEW Now that you’ve formatted a floppy disk, you’re ready to start using the MDF3. The overview below summarizes the use of each of the MDF3’s four modes, and shows you how to access the JOB and UTILITY mode functions. 20 MDR mode (page 23) SEQ mode (page 31) This mode lets you receive bulk data from a MIDI device and save it to disk as an MDR data file.
JOB mode functions 01:~~Repeat~play 02:~~~~Prog~play 03:~Record~tempo 04:~~~~Sync~mode 05:~MIDI~control UTILITY mode functions This function lets you repeatedly play back one or more SEQ data files in an endless loop. (page 40) This function lets you create a program of SEQ data files to be played back in a specified order. (page 41) This function allows you to change the playback tempo that is recorded for a sequence data file.
MDR MODE MDR In its MIDI data recorder (MDR) mode, the MDF3 is capable of receiving MIDI bulk data from nearly any MIDI device and saving it to disk as an MDR data file. It can then transmit this data back to the device that originated it, or to any other device capable of accepting the data, at any time. Receiving bulk data The bulk data reception function is used to receive bulk data sent from another MIDI device.
Receiving Bulk Data 1. Check your MIDI connections. 2. Enter MDR mode. 3. Select an empty file. The MIDI IN jack of the MDF3 should be connected to the MIDI OUT jack of the sending device. Press the MDR key. The LED above the key will light, and the name of the currently selected MDR data file will appear in the LCD. Using the FILE DATA keys, select the number of the empty file where you want to save the data. (The names of empty files will be blank.
5. Send the bulk data. While pressing the REC key, press the START/STOP key. Execute the sending device’s bulk dump procedure to begin sending data. Refer to the appropriate operation manual for a description of the correct procedure. The LEDs above these keys will light, and the following display will appear in the LCD.
6. Send additional data, if any. 7. End MDF3 reception. You can create MDR data files containing two or more sets of bulk data by executing consecutive bulk dumps. Just repeat step 5 as needed. All of the data you send will be recorded in sequence to the file you selected in step 3. When you’ve finished sending data to the MDF3, make sure that all the data you sent has been received, then press the START/STOP key.
Transmitting Bulk Data 2. Enter MDR mode. 3. Select a file to transmit. The MIDI OUT jack of the MDF3 should be connected to the MIDI IN jack of the receiving device. Press the MDR key. The LED above the key will light, and the name of the currently selected MDR data file will appear in the LCD. Using the FILE DATA keys, select the file to be transmitted. MDR 1. Check your MIDI connectoins. MIDI cable MIDI OUT MIDI IN external MIDI device (keyboard, sequencer, etc.
4. Prepare the receiving device. 5. Transmit the MDR data. Prepare the receiving device to receive the bulk data. The preparations to be made vary from device to device. Refer to the appropriate operation manual to check the correct procedure. Press the START/STOP key to begin transmitting. While the bulk data is being transmitted, the LCD will display the amount of data that has been sent.
Reception Transmission MDR file size: On a newly formatted 2HD disk, a single MDR file formats: In addition to its own files, the MDF3 MDR data file can hold up to about 1,200 kilobytes of data. When using a disk that already contains several files, check the amount of available space on the disk (page 57) before you try to receive the bulk data. Bulk data blocks: The MDF3 recognizes bulk data blocks by their header (System Exclusive status: F0H) and footer (End of Exclusive: F7H) values.
SEQ MODE The following descriptions of the sequence data recording and playback procedures assume that you will be recording data output by a MIDI keyboard. Of course, you can use the same procedures to record sequence data played back by a sequencer, a personal computer, or the like. Recording Sequence Data SEQ When you record data in SEQ mode, the MDF3 automatically writes this data to disk as a SEQ data file using Standard MIDI File format 0. You can save up to 99 SEQ data files on a single disk.
Recording Sequence Data 1. Check your MIDI connections. 2. Enter SEQ mode. 3. Select an empty file. The MIDI IN jack of the MDF3 should be connected to the MIDI OUT jack of the sending device. Press the SEQ key. The LED above the key will light, and the name of the currently selected SEQ data file will appear in the LCD. Using the FILE DATA keys, select the number of the empty file where you want to record the data. (The names of empty files will be blank.
4. Prepare the MDF3 for recording. 5. Start playing. While pressing the REC key, press the PAUSE key. Begin playing music on your MIDI keyboard. As soon as the MDF3 receives MIDI data from the keyboard, it will cancel the pause and start recording the data. The LEDs above the REC, PAUSE, and START/STOP keys will light, and the following display will appear in the LCD. SEQ SONGå03~~~~00:00 default file name time Hint: To pause during recording, simply press The MDF3 is now in record standby mode.
6. End the recording. When you have finished recording data, press the START/STOP key again. The data you sent will be saved to the SEQ data file you selected, using the default file name “SONG_” followed by the file number. 03~SONGå03 Hint: If you would like to give the file another name, you can do so using the “Rename” function (page 49).
Playing Back Sequence Data 1. Check your MIDI connections. 2. Enter SEQ mode. 3. Select a file to transmit. The MIDI OUT jack of the MDF3 should be connected to the MIDI IN jack of the receiving device. Press the SEQ key. The LED above the key will light, and the name of the currently selected SEQ data file will appear in the LCD. Using the FILE DATA keys, select the file to be played back.
4. Prepare the receiving device. 5. Start the playback. 6. Change the tempo. Prepare your keyboard or tone generator to receive the sequence data. The preparations to be made vary depending on the instrument, but may include the selection of MIDI channels and sound programs, the adjustment of pitch bend and modulation ranges, and so on. Refer to the appropriate operation manual to check the correct procedure. Press the START/STOP key.
