Yamaha DB50XGE User Manual
GENERAL
Owner’s Manual
Mode d’emploi
2
INTRODUCTION
Thank you for purchasing the Yamaha DB50XG Sound Daughter Board—a daughter board which attaches to any Creative
Labs SoundBlaster™ or any sound card which has a WaveBlaster™ expansion port, to upgrade its sound from FM to high
quality wavetable synthesis.
Featuring Yamaha’s professional quality AWM2 tone generation technology—which uses high fidelity samples, or waveforms, of musical instrument and other sounds—the DB50XG contains 676 Normal Voices and 21 Drum Voices (percussion
sets), features 16 Parts and maximum 32-note polyphony, and is fully compatible with Windows and DOS applications and
games software that support the GM (General MIDI) System Level 1 standard format.
The DB50XG also features Yamaha’s new XG-MIDI technology—an exciting breakthrough which not only provides considerably more Voices than the standard GM selection, but also lets you play more Voices at once, and features a variety of digital
effects (11 Reverb effects, 11 Chorus effects, and 42 Variation effects) to add unprecedented dimension to your computer’s
sound.
A special CD-ROM bundled with the daughter board includes songs (in both MIDI and audio formats) and SMF “MIDI clips”
which showcase the amazing sonic dimensions of XG, as well as a demo version of Yamaha Visual Arranger software.
This Owner’s Manual covers installation and use of the DB50XG, as well as all relevant MIDI information. To ensure proper
installation and use of the hardware and software, and in order to enjoy many years of great sound and performance from your
DB50XG, please read this manual carefully, and be sure to keep it in a safe place for future reference.
■ PACKAGE CONTENTS
The DB50XG package includes the items listed below, so before beginning, please take a moment to make sure you
have everything you need.
• DB50XG Sound Daughter Board
• Owner’s Manual
• CD-ROM (includes MIDI data as well as stereo audio tracks of XG demonstr ation songs plus “MIDI
clips”, and a demo version of Yamaha’s Visual Arranger software)
NOTICE
If you want to edit the existing MIDI files or create a MIDI song from scratch using various voices and effects from
the DB50XG, you are required to use an external sequencer which is capable of editing the system exclusive
messages and transmit the parameter changes such as XG System On to the DB50XG. See page 10 for more
information on the system exclusive messages.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Daughter Board Installation...........................2
Setting Up MIDI Mapper................................3
About the GM and XG................................... 3
DB50XG Overview and Features.................. 4
About MIDI ....................................................6
MIDI Data Format..........................................7
MIDI Data Tables ......................................... 27
XG Normal Voice List .................................. 32
TG300B Normal Voice List ..........................34
XG Drum Voice List..................................... 36
TG300B Drum Voice List.............................37
Effect Type List............................................ 38
Effect Parameter List................................... 39
Effect Data Value Assign Table ...................42
Specifications ..............................................43
1
Daughter Board Installation
The DB50XG plugs directly into the sound cards listed below, as well as any sound card with a WaveBlaster expansion port.
If your sound card is not on the list, please refer to the owner’s manual for your sound card to see if it contains a MIDI
expansion port.
Creative Labs
• SoundBlaster 16 Basic
• SoundBlaster 16
• SoundBlaster 16 ASP
• SoundBlaster 16 SCSI-2
• SoundBlaster 16 MULTICD
• SoundBlaster A WE 32
(NOTE: The DB50XG cannot be connected to the
SoundBlaster Value Edition sound card.)
* The sound cards listed above are compatible with the DB50XG; however, specifications are subject to change without
notice.
Aztech
• Sound Galaxy NX PRO 16
• Sound Galaxy NX PRO 16 Extra
Televideo
• TeleSound Pro 16
Reveal
• Sound FX 16
■ Installation Pr ocedure
1. Turn off the computer and unplug its AC power cord.
CAUTION: Do not attempt to install your daughter board while the computer is plugged in. This
can cause a serious shock hazard!
2. Remove the top cover of the computer. (For details,
please refer to your computer’s owner’s manual.)
6. Reinsert the sound card into the computer’s expansion
slot.
7. Replace the top cover of the computer.
3. Remove your existing sound card from the computer’s
expansion slot.
4. Carefully remove the DB50XG daughter board from
the anti-static bag.
IMPORTANT: Before touching the daughter
board, first touch a metal surface to discharge
any static electricity which may be in your body,
since such static electricity can cause serious
damage to your DB50XG. Also, do not touch
the inside surfaces of your daughter board in
order to prevent possible interference with or
damage to the circuitry.
5. Carefully line up the DB50XG daughter board with the
sound card and slowly but steadily guide it into the sound
card’s expansion port, also inserting the DB50XG’ s plastic spacers into the corresponding holes to affix the
daughter board to the sound card. To prevent breaking
or damaging the daughter board during installation, do
not use excessive force when attaching it to the sound
card.
DB50XG
Plastic spacers
Daughter board
Expansion port
Sound card
2
Setting Up MIDI Mapper
MIDI Mapper lets you select the DB50XG to play MIDI data.
■ Procedure
1. Double click the [MIDI Mapper] icon in the Control Panel window. The MIDI Mapper window appears.
2. Select [Setups], and click the [ ] button in the dialog box. A list appears. Choose [(All) MIDI OUT]* from the list.
* The actual name of the MIDI map may be different depending on which sound card you are using.
(NOTE: For DOS users, select the “WaveBlaster” or the one which corresponds to the WaveBlaster.)
About the GM and XG
GENERAL
GM
GM (General MIDI) is an addition to the MIDI standard which ensures that any GM-compatible music
data can be accurately played by any GM-compatible tone generator, regardless of maker. The GM
mark is affixed to all software and hardware products that support the General MIDI standard. The
DB50XG supports “GM System Level 1”.
XG
XG is a new MIDI format created by Yamaha which significantly improves and expands upon the
General MIDI standard by providing a greater variety of high-quality Voices plus considerably enhanced effect operation—while being fully compatible with GM.
3
DB50XG Overview and Features
The DB50XG has 32-note polyphony and is 16-Part
multitimbral, which means it can play up to 16 different
instrument Parts (one Part per each of the 16 MIDI channels), each Part having its own Voice. Up to 16 different
Voices can be sounded simultaneously.
The DB50XG features both XG and TG300B performance
modes. Normally the DB50XG plays in XG mode. However, since it automatically recognizes which mode to select based on incoming MIDI data, you can easily change
the mode by MIDI System Exclusive messages that you
program in sequencer data, at the head of your composition.
Please note the following:
• Starting up your computer will automatically initialize
all DB50XG settings, or parameter values.
• Since the DB50XG requires about half a second to
change modes when it receives a mode change message, be sure to insert at least one blank measure at the
top in order to allow enough time for the mode to change
before your actual music data begins.
● XG Mode
In XG mode the DB50XG will play XG-compatible
multitimbral data, as well as multitimbral data created for
the GM System Level 1 format.
In XG mode the DB50XG can:
• Play up to 16 Parts.
• Choose from 480 Normal Voices and 11 Drum Voices.
● TG300B Mode
In TG300B mode the DB50XG will play multitimbral
music data created for TG300B-compatible tone generators. TG300B mode also provides compatibility with the
GM System Level 1 format.
In TG300B mode the DB50XG can:
• Play up to 16 Parts.
• Choose from 579 Normal Voices and 10 Drum Voices.
■ Voices and Elements
A DB50XG Voice can be made up of one or two elements
(i.e., sounds), depending on the complexity of the Voice.
Many Voices are made up of only one element. Two-element Voices are made up of two one-element Voices, and
may be configured in a variety of ways.
The number of elements in use determines the maximum
number of simultaneous notes (polyphony) which the
DB50XG can play at any given time, depending on the
amount of incoming MIDI Note data. For details about the
number of elements used in each Voice, see the XG Normal Voice List on page 32.
■ Normal Voices and Drum Voices
The DB50XG has two types of Voices—Normal Voices
and Drum Voices. (In this Owner’s Manual, in general the
word Voice refers to a Normal Voice.)
The distinction between a Normal Voice and a Drum Voice
is as follows:
• A Normal Voice is simply a pitched Voice which can be
played on a musical scale from low to high, such as a
piano or trumpet. The DB50XG has 676 Normal Voices.
• A Drum Voice is a complete set of drum and other percussion sounds, each sound having a fixed pitch. Each
sound is assigned to a specific MIDI Note number
(which also corresponds to a key on a MIDI keyboard).
The DB50XG has 21 Drum Voices.
■ Maximum Polyphony
The DB50XG can play a maximum of 32 notes polyphony
at once. However, the actual number of notes that will play
at any given time is determined by the number of elements
in use across the 16 Parts.
For example, if you use only one-element Voices, you can
achieve the full 32 notes maximum polyphony. If you use
one or more two-element Voices, however, maximum polyphony will be reduced accordingly.
The DB50XG is a last-note-priority tone generator, which
means that if it receives more than 32 notes of MIDI Note
data at any time, earlier (first) notes will automatically cut
off to accommodate the most recent (last) incoming notes.
■ Part Priority
Each of the DB50XG’s 16 Parts corresponds to each of the
16 MIDI channels (1 – 16). If incoming Note data exceeds
the maximum polyphony, the DB50XG will prioritize
which Parts are played first, in the following order, from
higher priority to lower:
• Channel 10 (Drum Part), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11,
12, 13, 14,15, 16.
Therefore, if you are creating your own music data using
sequencer software, you should assign your most important Parts (such as melody and bass) to higher priority MIDI
channels (i.e., lower MIDI channel numbers) in order to
preserve the integrity of your composition. Note that with
the GM System Level 1, the Drum Part is always assigned
to MIDI channel 10.
4
DB50XG Overview and Features
■ Element Reserve
The DB50XG has an Element Reserve feature that lets you
reserve a specified number of notes for certain Parts, in
order to keep notes from being “stolen” from those Parts
by other Parts if incoming MIDI Note data exceeds maximum available polyphony.
For example, if you specify an Element Reserve value of
“10” for Part 1, then Part 1 will always keep 10 elements
for itself. You can set Element Reserve values with MIDI
System Exclusive messages (see XG Native Parameter
Change on page 11, and <Table 1 - 4> on page 28).
■ Selecting Voices
The DB50XG not only contains the 128 basic GM Voices
and GM drum set, but many variation Voices as well—to
give you access to a total of 676 Normal Voices and 21
Drum Voices.
In XG mode, the basic 128 GM Voices can be accessed by
selecting Program numbers 1 – 128. Other Voices can be
accessed by selecting both bank numbers and Program
Change numbers. The Voice bank can be selected via MIDI
Control Change Bank Select (MSB and LSB) messages.
In XG mode, the MSB value determines the Voice type
(Normal, Drum), while the LSB value actually selects the
bank (excluding the SFX bank).
When the DB50XG is in TG300B mode, the Voice banks
can be selected with appropriate MSB numbers, as LSB is
fixed.
Lists of all available Voices along with bank and program
numbers are provided on pages 32 – 37.
Note that the 128 MIDI Program Change numbers consist
of 0 through 127, whereas the 128 DB50XG program numbers consist of 1 through 128. Depending on the sequencing hardware and software you use, you may have to convert the DB50XG program numbers to the appropriate Program Change numbers.
* For more information about Bank Select and Program
Change messages, see About MIDI, page 6.
■ Effect Types
The DB50XG features dozens of extremely versatile digital effects generated by Yamaha’ s advanced Digital Signal
Processing (DSP) technology—which add a completely
new dimension to your computer’s sound.
There are three distinct effect types, or effect sections, each
of which include a variety of individual effects. There are
11 Reverb type effects, 1 1 Chorus type effects, and 42 Variation type effects. For a complete list of effects, see the Effect Type List on page 38.
Reverb, Chorus and Variation effect types are configured,
or routed, in one of two ways—to be either a System Effect or an Insertion Effect. The difference is as follows:
• SYSTEM EFFECT
- Applies the designated effect to all 16 Parts.
• INSERTION EFFECT
- Applies the designated ef fect to only one specific Part.
Reverb and Chorus effect types are dedicated System Effects, and therefore are applied to the overall “mix”. The
V ariation ef fect type, however , can be configured as either
a System Effect or an Insertion Effect. To designate effect
types and parameter values via MIDI messages, see XG
Native Parameter Change, page 11.
5
About MIDI
■ What is MIDI?
MIDI is an acronym that stands for Musical Instrument
Digital Interface, which allows electronic musical instruments to “communicate” with each other, by sending and
■ MIDI Messages Received by the DB50XG
receiving compatible Note, Control Change, Program
Change and various other types of MIDI data, or messages.
The DB50XG is controlled by various types of incoming
MIDI messages which automatically determine play mode,
select MIDI channels, Voices and effects, change parameter values, and of course play the Voices specified for the
various Parts—complete with all the subtle nuances and
powerful dynamics of expression that the composer originally intended. Below is an explanation of the various types
of MIDI messages which the DB50XG can receive.
● Key On/Key Off
Key On/Key Off messages, also called Note messages, tell
the DB50XG which notes to play, the Velocity value (depending on how hard the keys are struck) at which to play
them, and how long to play them—i.e., when to start (On)
and stop (Off) playing each note.
● Control Change
Control Change messages let you select a Voice bank, control volume, panning, modulation, portamento time, brightness and various other controller parameters, through specific Control Change numbers which correspond to each
of the various parameters.
● Program Change
Program Change messages tell the DB50XG which Voice
to select for each Part. You can insert Program Change
messages at any desired location in a song. Combining Bank
Select numbers let you select various Voices from the hundreds of Voices available in the DB50XG.
● Pitch Bend
Pitch Bend messages are continuous controller messages
that allow the pitch of designated notes to be raised or lowered by a specified amount over a specified duration.
● Channel Aftertouch
Channel Aftertouch is a pressure sensing function which
lets you control various functions by how hard you press
the keys, over the entire channel.
● Polyphonic Aftertouch
Polyphonic Aftertouch is a pressure sensing function which
lets you control various functions by how hard you press
the keys, for each individual key.
● System Exclusive
System Exclusive messages control various functions of
the DB50XG, including master volume and master tuning,
play mode (XG or TG300B), effect type and various other
parameters specifically related to the DB50XG.
■ Decimal - Hexadecimal Conversion Chart
Many MIDI messages listed in the MIDI Data Format section, beginning on page 7, are expressed in hexadecimal numbers. The chart below lists the corresponding decimal number for each hexadecimal number. (Hexadecimal numbers may include the letter “H” as a suffix.)
Dec Hex Dec Hex Dec Hex Dec Hex Dec Hex Dec Hex Dec Hex Dec Hex
0
00
1
01
2
02
3
03
4
04
5
05
06
6
7
07
8
08
09
9
10
0A
11
0B
12
0C
13
0D
14
0E
15
0F
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
30311E
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
1A
1B
1C
1D29
1F
20
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
2A
2B
2C
2D
2E
2F
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
3A
3B
3C
3D
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
3E
79
3F
4B
4C
4D
4E
4F
80
40
81
41
82
42
83
43
84
44
85
45
86
46
87
47
48
88
49
89
4A
90
91
92
93
94
95
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
5A
5B
5C
5D
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
5E
111
5F
6D
112
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
6A
6B
6C
6E
6F
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
7A
7B
7C
7D
7E
7F
6
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