Just one thing occurs to me John and that is on those occasions where your fingers need a short break the ability of the KN7000 via SD Jukebox to play tracks from CDs is invaluable, but simply slotting the CDs into a CD player designed into the machine would have been simpler.
Rog

"when I had the KN-7000, I was led to believe I could load KN2600 files into the 7000. Nope can't do it AT ALL!"

Perhaps, if that is so, can you answer me this question.
I have about 45 x kn2600 styles on an SD card on my KN7000 and they work perfectly?

Regards
Peter B

Yup - at some stage in the past Technics or was it Technicsplayer - can't remember now - very kindly converted those KN2600 styles back down for use in the KN7000...they must have needed some behind the scenes coding alteration. They were available for some time to download but for the life of me I can't remember where that was...

Hi Roger
I downloaded them from Bill Norries site

Peter B

The KN2400/2600 styles which you mention, are included in the Total download here : http://www.willumspages.co.uk/page8.html I believe they were converted by Alec, to KN7000 format.

All 'KN' files have unique identifier bytes at the start of the file, which determines on which instrument they can be used. I seem to remember Alec posting some time ago on this forum, that by using a Hex Editor, you could change these bytes and allow some files, not specifically intended for a particular 'KN' 'board, to become usable.....
Perhaps this was how the KN2400/2600 styles were 'converted' to make them compatible with the KN7000 ??

I tried a search for that topic on this forum, but drew a blank

I did try to work with an hex editor and KN7000 files in the past and couldn't figure it out. It's more than just changing the heading of the file I think.

I've always wondered why some programmers who have created very good KN7000 applications like the "SD-TechManager" for instance, never thought of a "KN7000 or KN2600 to lower KN keyboards" file converter.

maybe Alec could help us on this. . .

Serge

E M C Styleworks Universal is the answer Serge if you can afford it...about £200 here in the U.K.

Well Larry, we just have to agree to disagree (as the saying goes) though I don't understand your comment about not being "backward compatible". Over the years, I've had the KN5000,6000,6500 and all my sets play on the KN7 with no problem, no messing about with styles, regits, voices etc. as with Yamaha, just a simple loading of the floppy disk or SD card and within seconds, the keyboard is ready to play.

The top of my 'wish list' for any new Keyboard (and Yamaha in particular), would be a User Friendly operating system, plus a decent 'plain English' Manual covering ALL topics (no referring to websites) and backed up with a DVD demonstrating all the lovely facilities provided many of which, are never used because people just do not realise they are there or don't know how to use them.

When I was in Milton Keynes recently, I asked why there wasn't a Demonstration DVD in the box, particularly with regard to Beginners.
The answer was "We don't really have the time" I thought it was a feeble excuse considering the cost of their keyboards. After all, isn't that what they're paid to do - make sure everyone understands and buys their keyboards. I don't think they realise how many sales are lost because most people just want to play and when confronted with all the technology find it a big 'turn off'

Anyway, I'm off to the Organ & Keyboard Cavalcade music week at Pakefield next Friday and am looking forward to seeing what's available now. By all accounts the new Korg is excellent and will give the Yamaha keyboards 'a run for their money' as the saying goes. Watch this space!

Audrey

Audry,
When I stated backward compatible I meant files from newer Technics keyboards will not play on older Technics keyboards.
Example: You cannot play songs from a KN-7000 on a KN-6000 on down. In fact you cannot play any files from a KN-7000 on ANY keyboard in the World other than a KN-7000 and a KN-2600, unless you go through the tedious task of converting a Technics file to a midi.

Can you explain exactly what you find so difficult about the Yamaha OS? I'm sure someone can help. I agree with you on the videos, I had a KN-3000 and 2 VHS tapes explaining the OS in plain English...learned a lot from those videos that I still have.

Anyway, you are correct, to each his own, and everyone is different, and that's what makes the World go round. The KN-7000 was and still is a great keyboard.
Have a good time in Pakefield

Anyway, after some soul searching, and a SZ search, I found an old post by Alec explaining why Technics is not backward compatible.

Alec's comment in yellow
---------------------------------------------------------------
Re: KN2400 and KN2600 compatibility
technicsplayer

If you release a product a year after another product it will have a new feature or two. If you load a file from the new into the previous there will be the occasion where you get anomalies because of different samples or different controllers. So all you will achieve is some peculiarly unrealistic sounds and sub-standard styles with bits missing that the designer did not intend, and could not envisage due to the inability to see into the future, which is exactly the case on some 2600 styles loaded straight into the 7000 just as in previous generations of keyboard the situation has been precisely the same. In the case of the styles on www.technicskn7000.com for the 7000 these anomalies have been taken care of by some clever editing beyond the capabilities of most owners, so it's all really quite unremarkable if you appreciate the facts and the history
end---------------------------------------------------------------

Come to think of it, Yamaha isn't truly backward compatible either, in that many files from the new to old just sound plain awful. That said, I've changed my mind about Technics OS and the backward compatibility issue... now that I've read the above post by Alec.

FYI If you want to review any of Alec's posts, that goes way back just click on Users List (at the top of the page) and type in " technicsplayer " It's fun and informative to read his past posts.