SGX2000E Editor for ART SGX2000 Express


The SGX2000E utility is a sysex editor/librarian with extended functionality for ART's SGX2000 Express MIDI controlled pre-amp. The core design of this utility promotes easy management of large libraries of sysex files. It also functions as a MIDI monitor as well.

While many features could be used with any MIDI capable device, the basic functions are supplemented with additional capabilities specific to the SGX2000 Express. The menu contains a separate SGX Requests section to issue the standard requests to receive patches, MPT files, etc. One of the primary goals of creating this application was to provide an automated backup for the 475 presets shipped with the SGX2000. By capturing and organizing them intelligently, you can very easily browse through your preset library and "audition" them with the click of a mouse. This sure beats the tedious task of switching banks, twisting the encoder, watching the display, and fumbling around with the preset list. Plus you have an elegant safety net protecting you from the inevitable day when you lose everything to a drained battery, power glitch, or perhaps your own error (not you of course).

Effective with version 3.0, the older pre-express units are also supported by this program. These units do not have the four banks of presets, just one. There are still the 200 preset slots, however the MPT table only addresses up to preset 128. Some of the request codes are different as well, specifically the requests (and responses) for retrieving the MPT, the bulk dump requests, etc. You can choose the pre-express options from the SGX Requests menu

The program also features a visual preset editor and a simple MPT editor. The editors are driven by the main window which can "auto-detect" if a sysex file is a valid preset or MPT file and bring it up in the appropriate editor. The main window functions as a data management tool, allowing you to get your data from the file system or directly from the SGX2000.

The main editor window consists of two resizable vertical panes.

To resize the vertical panes, move your cursor over the divider bar. When you see the pointer change to the cursor that looks like "<-||->" then click, and drag to the desired size. This lets you focus on the particular task you're trying to accomplish while keeping everything close at hand. You can also resize the window (assuming it's not maximized) and the containers will grow and shrink accordingly. Note that the window size and location and the vertical pane sizes will be stored in the Windows System Registry upon exiting so that your last configuration will be automatically reestablished the next time you run SGX2000E. So set it once and forget it.

SGX2000E's main menu provides access to much of the functionality. Some operations are also available thru context sensitive pop-up menus (right/alternate click) or double clicking on objects. The menu is arranged as follows: In addition to the above major components, SGX2000E also features a status/message bar at the bottom of the window. It provides many informational as well error messages (in the unlikely event you should ever encounter one that is).
I hope you enjoy using the SGX2000E utility. This started out with my simple desires to more easily work with the unit, make backups, and maybe experiment more with making some neat presets. My own unit was purchased in 1992 and by today's standards is a dinosaur. I later did the Express upgrade, but this vision existed for all these years. I had a simple batch utility which I used with a primitive script to try to take backups of each preset. It was quite comical selecting and sending a preset from the front of the unit and then switching back and forth to the PC to save the file. Since then, the tools have gotten better and my knowledge of them as well. So things are much better today.

With that, please bear in mind that you have obtained this software for free. I have done my best to ensure error free operation and it works well for me. But you use it at your own risk. You are highly advised to make your own manual backups using whatever method you have used previously (you have made backups before, right?) before putting all your faith into this utility. I will do what I can to resolve any issues and answer any questions you may have via e-mail, but neither I nor ART will be obligated to provide support. You may feel free to distribute this software to other SGX2000 users, but you may not charge for it and it must remain intact with all the help (*.htm) files included. If you like it, please do at least drop me a line. I worked my uhhh... tail off on this, so a little feedback would be great.

In the meantime, please visit my web site if you haven't already. Or even if you have.

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Acknowledgements:
These editors were developed using Borland's Delphi. I've coded in just about every language you can name. They all have their particular strengths. But with such a great base of helpful users and many quality components out on the web, I highly recommend Delphi for developing applications such as these.

I'd like to give extra special thanks to David Churcher for his MIDI components (written in Delphi btw) which I have used extensively. They very nicely encapsulate all the Windows MIDI API calls and have allowed me to focus on making these applications what they are today. I've updated them a bit over time, but without them this software may never have evolved. Please visit David's home page and try them yourself.