By Craig Anderton | Tue, 01 Feb 2005

Objective: Send sys ex data to external devices by playing back data stored in Sonar’s Sysx View.

Background: If System Exclusive is checked under Options > Global > MIDI, Sonar can record sys ex data into a track in real time, then play it back. However, this technique is limited to 255 byte messages. Fortunately, there is a way to “embed” triggers in a track that will play back sys ex banks (stored in Sonar’s Sysx View) of virtually unlimited length — yes, set up all your outboard MIDI gear with the click of a mouse.

1. Place the Now time where you want Pro Tracks Plus to send the data, then open up the MIDI track’s Event List view by going View > Event List or typing Alt-4

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2. Hit the computer keyboard’s Insert key. This inserts an Event into the Event List at the Now time position
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3. Double-click in the Event’s “Kind” field. When the “Kind of Event” window appears, check “Sysx Bank” under Special, then click on “OK.”

4. Go View > Sysx to call up the Sysx view, and determine which number represents the sys ex bank you want to send.

5. Double-click on the Event List’s Data field, enter the number of the Sysx View bank you want sent at the current Now time, then hit Return

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6. Repeat steps 2 and 5 until you’ve entered all the sys ex banks you want to send, then close the Sysx and Event List views. Done!