LAYOUT: Yamaha TX81Zby michael-raleigh

Question

Gold

MIDI Target Manufacturer(s): Yamaha

I noticed that there were a lot of DX layouts out there, but not one for the quite popular (and cheap) TX81Z. So I modified Ibo Kai's DX27 (I think) layout since the sysex for each parameter is very similar. I gave Ibo credit for the layout on the third page (since I didn't come up with the original template - hopefully they are okay with that), however, I did do a significant of work making this function for the TX81Z. Here are a few things that I did:

1) Used the channel picker - now you can choose the channel you want to use (mine is set to channel 9. I would have had to convert each parameter just to make the original layout work - or switched my TX81Z to ch. 1, which would have been okay - if a little awkward).

2) Changed the coloring and theme of the overall layout to fit the TX81Z design.

3) Added Reverb (it previously was set to being a 'on/off' function, whereas it goes up to 7 I think on the TX81Z.

4) Added the waveforms that are missing on the DX synths that were used in the previous layout.

And a few other odds and ends.

Video of it in action:

I hope you enjoy!!!!

Downloads: 1161
Yamaha TX81Z V1.1 - Bug fix - D1rate, D1 Level, and D2 Rat for Operator 1 were not properly connected to the correct MIDI channel in their sysex string. I fixed this so it should be working for you now. I have no idea how I missed it the first time around!
Downloads: 1161

Images

Operators

Algorithms

Common

Comments

This is great and the video makes it very accessible. There are very few layouts (for now) that are "based on" other layouts in MD, but we're very happy to see Community members like yourself copping licks and appropriating for your own ends. Thanks!

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I know it´s been a while, but I didn't check recently. Glad to see my layout helped you in making yours! Didn't know that they are so similar. I always considered to buy a 81z, but I already have quite plenty of FM ;-)
Thanks for the credits!

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Also great video, wonderful stuff!

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Been enjoying this controller.  Dug deep this afternoon and found OPERATOR 1 - D1 Rate, D1 Level and D2 Rate did not transmit to my TX81z.  Fortunately all other OPERATORS were working as intended.  I couldn't find or decipher the original sysex format from the manual so I don't have a suggestion for what these should be.  Could you check the code for these?  The similar CTRLR TX81z panel outputs the correct code but I couldn't capture the midi output to compare.  Any clues what is going on with the code for these controls?

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Let’s hope Michael responds, but in the meantme: what platform does the CTRLR run on? There’s no way to route the MIDI through a MIDI montor (e.g., on a Mac, Snoize MIDI Monitor)? Thanks.

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modernair - I must apologize! For some reason I hadn't updated the sysex string from the layout I borrowed. I try to make my layouts function with all midi channels (many of the layouts in this community assume you're on MIDI channel 1, but I never am, so I set these up with a function to change the midi channel). Anyway, I forgot to set that up with those few parts and have since fixed it. Please download "Yamaha TX81Z v1.1" to start enjoying it properly. And PLEASE let me know if it works better after this!!! And let me know if you find any other errors :)

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Thanks Michael for your quick response!  Really incredible effort from you and the MIDI Designer team!  This is working perfectly now.  I went over everything.  The only discrepancies I could find were for Foot Sw and Sustain and Edit mode buttons.  These didn't appear to communicate anything to the TX81z, I'm not sure from manual diving if these are actually a feature.  The INIT button usually triggered a Buffer Full message on my unit, can't confirm if it is working as intended.  These are not essentials in my books and by no means a request for action, just feedback on what may be differences between this and the DX21 model you based this on.  Many thanks again, loving your work!

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Hi modernair. Thanks for the response.

I too noticed the issue with the INIT button. I'm not sure if the issue is related to the TX81Z or MIDI Designer. My guess is MDP2 sends the resets very quickly and the TX81Z can't handle that much data at once.

The original layout that I borrowed this from has some quirks I don't quite understand and I am trying to simplify it. There are a few more things I'd like to fix, but I spent over an hour trying to fix the INIT button last night with no good progress. I'm glad it's not essential to you!

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Hi, I don´t own a TX81z, but just a few explanations about the functions in the original DX21 editor: here the INIT button is a super control with 2 subs: one is the Init Layout button as a "Reset To Default" for all controls within the layout. The other sends the initialize command to the DX21 (just one single sysex command here). This way they are both in the same state when beginning to make a new sound. This might be handled differently in the TX81z though. At least I couldn't find such init command in the TX documentation.
Regarding the channel selector: valid point, however I own only one unit of each model, so I am fine with being tied to channel 1. Sorry for the selfish approach! And congrats again to Michael for his careful design!

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Hi,
Thanks for the great layout. Is there a way for it to receive settings from the tx81z and update to reflect these settings?

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Even though this is not my layout, I got the notification about your question. I think it is not possible, since it would require to break up an incoming MIDI stream (all parameters sent in a package as a voice dump) into single parameters and their values. This would theoretically be possible using the StreamByter plug-in, but I think that has not been programmed here yet. In fact it is quite some work and even for my own layouts I did not yet manage to make it work.

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Thanks for the response. Yeah, I know it's possible, but wasn't sure it was implemented on this. There's a couple of max 4 live devices that can do it, which is cool, but I prefer a hands on interface.

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Hello! I just got a TX81Z thus surfing the web like crazy to learn more about it and ran into your YouTube video about this MDP2 template. Great job on this effort!  Quick question: Can one Load/Store the presets modified by this template?  If not, is there way or possibility that it can be enabled within MDP2?  Thank you!

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Hello boricua,

I'm not sure you can load/store presets modified by this template within MDP2. I thought there was a way to save the panel settings within MDP2 - that's a good question for the developer. I just opened the app and when you go into the tools section you see "Presets" and it has about 10 presets. So you could in theory save those settings within MDP2, I believe.

Personally, I think it would just be easier to save it within the TX81z, but I'm not 100% sure.

Good luck! I no longer own the TX81z, so I'm unable to even test my panel anymore :(

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Hi Michael!  Thank you very much for getting back to me, much appreciated! And, thanks for contributing this great app.  What you outline makes sense, I will follow up on the presets within the App. I am assuming that once I use your template to change things around, I can then save that preset directly onto the TX81Z.  I will test that out since as you mentioned, should be easier. I am completely new to this device, yet, seems it should be easy to maneuver.