Help with Registration Banks and USB Stick Usage on SX900

[fantasyvn]

Hi everyone,

I need some help with creating registration banks on my Yamaha SX900. I have a USB stick attached to the keyboard, which contains many styles. I want to create new registration banks from those styles and save the registration banks to the SX900.

However, I'm concerned about what happens if I disconnect the USB stick. If the registration banks are saved on the SX900, will they still work without the USB stick? Do I need to save the styles to the SX900 first before creating and saving the registration banks to ensure they work independently of the USB stick?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Fred Smith]

Once your registration is loaded, it will work without the USB stick. However, if it needs a file from the USB, it won't find it.

If your styles are on the USB, you're best to leave it plugged in. I don't see why that's a problem anyways. Most everyone simply leave it in all the time.

Cheers,
Fred

[fantasyvn]

Thank you so much for your kind reply.

Regarding the usb stick attached to the SX900, I'm just afraid if it may someday not function anymore. Meanwhile, having to copy the styles that you want to use to the arranger before doing anything may be a bit of a hassle, as you don't want to copy hundreds of styles to the arranger at once.

But it seems fine to leave the usb stick to my arranger for now.

Thanks again.

[Fred Smith]

Thank you so much for your kind reply.

Regarding the usb stick attached to the SX900, I'm just afraid if it may someday not function anymore. Meanwhile, having to copy the styles that you want to use to the arranger before doing anything may be a bit of a hassle, as you don't want to copy hundreds of styles to the arranger at once.

But it seems fine to leave the usb stick to my arranger for now.

Just copy your USB stick occasionally. Then you'll have a backup.

Your other option is to copy your styles and registrations to the User drive. These files are tiny, and will easily fit in User memory. The downside is you will need to re-memorize the registrations with the new location of the style.

Cheers,
Fred

[Lacko]

Meanwhile, having to copy the styles that you want to use to the arranger before doing anything may be a bit of a hassle, as you don't want to copy hundreds of styles to the arranger at once.

Depends on how many hundreds of styles you want to copy at once. But you don't need to copy all of them at once. Just copy to User drive only those styles you want to have in registrations. Make your registrations in User drive and you'll have everything you need for playing in your keyboard. You can use USB as source of other styles and backup of used styles and registrations from keyboard.

Lacko

[overover]

Hi fantasyvn,

You don't need to copy anything into the internal User drive. You can load/play everything (e.g. registration bank files, styles, MIDI files, multi pad bank files, audio files, TXT files) directly from the USB stick and also save it there. The User drive then only contains the files (e.g. styles) that belong to expansion packs.

The advantage of this method is that to create a backup you just need to connect the USB stick to the computer and copy all the data there into a folder and/or onto other USB sticks.

Backing up all the files in the internal User drive is much more complicated, especially because SX models do not have the "USB Storage Mode" (which allows you to access the internal User drive from the computer on Genos models and the internal hard drive on Tyros models). When working with registrations, you should also remember that the internal user drive has a special file structure (fixed main folders for the various file types). In addition, the user drive is accessed by a different drive letter than the USB stick.

If you have registrations and the user styles used in them in the internal User drive and copy everything to the USB stick, these registrations will no longer work (because the styles can no longer be found). The same applies in the opposite case, of course.


P.S.
I recommend using a well-considered folder structure on the USB stick. These main folders should not be renamed later. For example, you could use the folder hierarchy suggested by our forum member Heidun, which you can download here:
>>> https://soundwonderland.de/pages/en/service/help/folder-hierarchy-for-your-keyboard-usb-stick.php


Best regards,
Chris

[richkeys]

What Lacko described above is how I work. All my registrations, about a hundred or so modified or external styles, modified voice edits that I play from are all in User memory and USB stick is only used to backup to.

Chris, I'm not sure I understand why you are saying storing and playing registrations/styles only from USB sticks is advantageous. I don't connect my SX to the computer. Backing up User registrations and User styles to USB stick is easy using the Copy function. Are you saying if I ever have to reload those backed up registrations and styles from USB stick back to the User they won't work because of different file structures? Or are you saying they won't work if I try to play them off the stick? Thanks

Rich

[overover]

What Lacko described above is how I work. All my registrations, about a hundred or so modified or external styles, modified voice edits that I play from are all in User memory and USB stick is only used to backup to.

Chris, I'm not sure I understand why you are saying storing and playing registrations/styles only from USB sticks is advantageous. I don't connect my SX to the computer. Backing up User registrations and User styles to USB stick is easy using the Copy function. Are you saying if I ever have to reload those backed up registrations and styles from USB stick back to the User they won't work because of different file structures? Or are you saying they won't work if I try to play them off the stick? Thanks

Rich

Hi Rich,

You should decide: Either you always save everything in the internal User drive (as you obviously do), OR save everything on the USB stick. If you use the internal Copy function to copy files from the User drive to the USB stick, you have to do this separately for each file type (e.g. registration files, styles, multi pad files, MIDI files). Backups of USB sticks can be created much faster on the computer because, as mentioned, you can simply copy the entire content in one go.

If you only use USB sticks as a backup for the files on the User drive, registrations will of course work again if you later copy all the files back to the User drive (with the subfolder structure unchanged for each file type). But registrations that do not exclusively use Preset styles will not work FROM THE STICK if the styles in question are no longer in the User drive for some reason.

A big advantage of the method I recommend of saving everything on the USB stick is that you can simply connect the stick to another keyboard and everything works immediately (apart from registrations that use the contents of expansion packs).

Every user has a different way of working and can of course do it however they want. But there is definitely no disadvantage to saving all user data on the USB stick. When working with registrations, however, you should make sure that you do not have multiple sticks connected to the keyboard at the same time. This is the only way to ensure that the stick is always recognized as "USB1" (drive letter I:/).


Best regards,
Chris

[Lacko]

Hi Rich,

If you use the internal Copy function to copy files from the User drive to the USB stick, you have to do this separately for each file type (e.g. registration files, styles, multi pad files, MIDI files). Backups of USB sticks can be created much faster on the computer because, as mentioned, you can simply copy the entire content in one go.

Best regards,
Chris

Hi Chris,

I never needed to copy/backup entire content of User drive. When I modify some style, then I backup only that style. When registration is edited, then I copy/backup only that registration. Very simple. But as you mentioned above, everybody can choose how to work with these keyboards, because there are more options.

Lacko

P. S.
Registration copied from User drive works also from USB, if styles, songs and other files are still on the same place as when that registration was created.

[richkeys]

Chris,
Thanks for clarifying.

This OS is fairly new for me but I've learned a lot here. I'll continue working my way. The SX900's internal memory seems sufficient for me and I feel I have control over my files without worrying if I have the correct USB stick in with the necessary files I need to play. But that's just me, I know many do play off USB sticks.

Rich

[fantasyvn]

Hi everyone,

I want to switch to using Chris's method, where all my files are stored on a USB stick rather than the internal storage of my SX900. However, I currently have several registration banks saved in the SX900's internal memory. Can I copy these registration banks to the USB stick and then delete them from the SX900? If I do this, will my SX900 recognize and properly load the registration banks from the USB stick?

Thanks for your help!

[Lacko]

Hi fantasyvn,

the easiest way is to copy (not move) one registration bank to USB and try if it works from USB.

Lacko

[TiasDad]

I work the way Chris mentions. I have folders (My Registrations, My Styles, My Multipads etc), all on my Usb stick and files go into these and are then associated with the relevant Registrations. I find it invaluable for backing up Everything to do with the music to be played, plus If I want to take my music to a friends house who also has an sx900, I can just take the Usb stick and everything will work

[Fred Smith]

You can move a registration anywhere and it will still work.

The same does not hold true for files a registration looks for, like style files.

Cheers,
Fred