Is there any risk with buying 3rd party (unknown) Styles/MIDI songs?

[Tommarr]

Is there any risk (corrupting Genos)  when loading 3rd party files?
Thanks!

[pedro_pedroc]

Hello, Tommarr.

Well, I don't think your keyboard is in dangerous when you add some third party stuff, like new styles or midi files. I don't think there are virus to delete and brick all your keyboard, or something like that.
If the file is corrupted, the keyboard will not load it - simple as that. In theory, it's possible to create a virus to do that, but I don't think anyone did it yet. For what reason?

I create and sell my custom styles at www.styles4k.com, and I can tell you it's safe and super easy to load to your keyboard.

Regards from Brazil,
Pedro Eleuterio

[Toril S]

No. The keyboard will either refuse to play the style or, in some rare instances freeze up. There is a protocol in the OS preventing files from messing up the keyboard. Many third party styles are good, but there is also much trash out there!!

[pjd]

Genos and SX arrangers are pretty robust about handling MIDI files. I think I have had one or two system freeze ups, but they were due to some esoteric MIDI experiments (really eccentric stuff). If the system ever freezes, just switch off and on again. No lasting harm done.

-- pj

[Amwilburn]

There actually is a danger, but it's probably not what you think: I've come across styles where the drum programming was too loud (expression 127, vol 127, all note velocities approaching 127) and it blew out a speaker :p Luckily it was still under warranty.
Those are freebie/ homegrown custom styles. There is no way anybody selling them wouldn't have tested them before selling them.

But that's about it; if you listen to a new with headphones, or simply with speakers at low volume, you're fine.

There is a *huge* variance it the relative volumes of midi songs, and subsequently, in styles.

Mark

[mikf]

Biggest risk is they turn out to be not worth the money or the effort!  In that regard the people who sell large packages for relatively little are the biggest risk, they have typically just gathered them willy nilly from other sites with no quality control. And then you become the quality control, sifting through dozens or even hundreds to find the gems. Many of us have found that just isn't worth the effort.
Buy from reputable sites, should be fine. But they are normally made by them, sold individually and much more expensive.
Mike