ONGOING TEST OF PA5X STYLE CREATOR BOT (SCB)

[♔Chello]

ONGOING TEST OF PA5X STYLE CREATOR BOT (SCB)

This is a very extensive test that will continue for a while, and I have chosen to post my 26 questions that I am seeking answers to.

These will be answered as I can reasonably be sure to give an answer; either with red or green text - negative or positive.

This also makes it easy to see what has been covered during the test.


1: Can both format 0 and 1 be used, or only one ?
It seems that both format 0 and 1 can be used, because the version for Pa4X kept giving messages about the wrong format, while this one has not done this so far, and I have tested several hundred midi files from different origins

2: Can all types of midi files be used, or only GM ?
All formats work

3: How well are the different formats such as GM, GM2, GS, NX and XG handled ?
GM2 and NX work OK, while GS is the closest to GM, which works best of all.
XG works poorly, and here it's interesting to mention DOO midi files, which are supposedly GM, but are actually XG converted to GM.
This results in a lot of missing parameters, which makes these the worst of all.
DOO gets paid well to fool people..!

4: Are there built-in copyright restrictions ?
YES - I have experienced this several times, but most midi files can be loaded.
When a midi file is restricted by Copyright, this causes the keyboard to restart when you try to convert.
This is a bad solution chosen by Korg - they could have simply stated that the file is Copy protected.

5: Are there (other) hidden limitations ?
It must be called a limitation when a file cannot be converted and the message Conversion failure! appears, without giving the reason, which is probably that the file is Copy Protected

6: Are there any editing options ?
No - automatic conversion only

7: To what extent is SCB able to make correct transpositions ?
Bad - most of the approximately 50 midi files I have tested get the wrong transposition in Intro 1 and Ending 1. Several styles have incorrect transposition in either Intro 1 or Ending 1 - or both.
These can usually be corrected on the keyboard, but not always.
Occasionally, incorrect transposition also occurs in a Variation track, but this cannot be corrected.

8: How well does SCB manage to exclude MEL tracks from Variations ?
This varies greatly - in many cases MEL tracks are included in Variations - sometimes this works well, others not

9: Is SCB capable of creating usable styles from very simple midi files that only have drums, bass and piano ?
No - the piano has a melody role (MEL), and SCB is not able to interpret this as Playback

10: Is SCB capable of handling complex midi files with 16 tracks ?
Yes; this seems to work without any problems

11: To what extent are complex midi files converted with a good result ?
This varies greatly - if the midi file contains many complex chords that change frequently, this goes very badly. The same happens with unusual time signatures, or if the time signature changes along the way - songs like Money by Pink Floyd crash completely. Nevertheless, SCB often surprises by managing to create working styles from complex midi files

12: How many bars are chosen for Variations - 4 or 8 or more ?
For the most part, 4 bars are used, which is to be expected, simply because most songs are in 4/4. Many have both 2 and 4 bars, but there are several examples where 8 bars are also used. In addition, I have noted that 2 bars are occasionally used in Fills

13: Does SCB create all parts (all intros, variations, fills/break and endings) or just some ?
Yamaha's version never does a complete job
Yes; all parts are created - without exception. Here SCB outclasses Yamaha's version

14: Is SCB able to vary the choice of active instruments for individual style elements ?
Yes; I have seen some examples of this being done

15: Do all parts start and stop at the correct bar ?
In the vast majority of cases, all Variations and Fills start correctly. However, it is very common for Intro 1 and Ending 2 to start and stop at the wrong bar, which is due to too few bars in these.

* In a few cases it happens that the style does not work at all - nothing happens when a part is pressed.
* It has also happened that everything hangs when a style is started, and the keyboard has to be restarted.
* Errors such as incorrect start and stop times can also occur, but this is due to natural causes such as complex time signatures or poor synchronization of the midi file, which is actually quite widespread.
SCB must be said to work very satisfactorily, after all

16: Are all levels optimized, or do they follow the midifile`s levels or a fixed value ?
Very surprisingly, SCB corrects all levels, and this is mostly done very well

17: Are the correct sounds selected ?
Yes; everyone I've checked has had identical sounds to the midi file

18: Are the correct Keyboard Sets selected, and are their levels correct ?
Keyboard Sets are generally very well composed, of the levels are generally well adapted to the style
Note:
Keyboard Sets work surprisingly well, but seem to follow a very limited layout, which repeats itself for almost every style.

19: Are the correct MultiPads selected, and are their levels correct ?
No, this varies a lot - many times pads are chosen that don't fit the style at all, and sometimes they aren't synchronized correctly

20: Is the Chord Sequence created correctly ?
No; in fact, not a single Chord Sequence has been created correctly, and all of them are, to put it mildly, chaotically composed and completely useless

21: Are all parts created so that the harmonization is correct ?
This varies depending on the quality of the midi file and the complexity of the harmonies - many have incorrect harmonization, but there are several examples where this works brilliantly and without any errors

22: Are Intro 2 and Ending 2 made neutral, like Pa internal styles ?
Yes; all styles have neutral Intro 2 and Ending 2, and these work very well

23: How well does SCB convert DOO midi files ?
These are some of the worst I've tested - they all sound terrible no matter what instruments are changed, and they are full of flaws.
DOO midi files are definitely not recommended, because they are below average quality

24: Does SCB keep the original key of the midi file, or does it change it to C ?
The original key is retained, which should probably be changed, because this causes errors during the process.

25: Does SCB recreate effects that are present in the midi file ?
Values are translated to Master Effects FX1 and FX2 for each file, but the effect itself is most often omitted

26: Does SCB create effects for style parts, Keyboard Sets or MultiPads ?
Yes - SCB creates effects for both style parts, Keyboard Sets and MultiPads when these are present in the midi file, as well as values for these.

[♔Chello]

TEST COMPLETED

      
 
   

[⚖whitecolin1]

TEST COMPLETED

      
 
         Thanks Chello excellant incite

[✪aprilla]

TEST COMPLETED

      
 
   

Very interesting 

4 & 5 It is strange that copyright alone would result in two different results or behaviours. It would make me curious.

[♔Chello]

Very interesting 

4 & 5 It is strange that copyright alone would result in two different results or behaviours. It would make me curious.

✪aprilla


I see your point - it's strange that copyright can result in two different results or behaviors.
This could be due to different levels of copyright and different times the files were produced.

I've tested many of these copyrighted files with Style Works, which always opens them without problems, and allows all edits.

If I save them in Pa4X format, they can't be imported into Pa5X, but if I save them in Pa3X format, they can all be imported - the copyright is not transferred.

This is because the Pa3X's system probably doesn't have built-in functions to detect copyright, while the Pa5 does.

Whether the same files could have been loaded into Pa4X I don't know, but I know that Pa5X has added newer technology to prevent the use of copyrighted files.

Many midi files that have more than 8 active channels and EQ and effects added are copy protected.

I guess older files give the message Conversion error, while newer ones restart the keyboard.

All keyboards before the Pa5X have given the message Conversion error.


And to all Yammies:
I have used many of these midi files and created styles for the Tyros 4 without the copyright being registered..!

[♔Chello]

FINAL EVALUATION OF CREATOR BOT

After testing SCB for almost 1 month and converting about 1500 midi/karaoke files, my impression has changed, and there are especially the following 2 points I would like to note:

7: To what extent is SCB able to make correct transpositions ?

The vast majority of conversions contain extensive errors when it comes to transposition - intro 1 and ending 1 are most often wrong, and what is worse: This can often not be corrected with Pa5X, because no key works for unknown reasons.

I can convert the same file with Style Works and correct transpositions without any problems, while SCB seems to do something incomprehensible, because what is correct with Style Works and works on Pa5X, does not with SCB - the transpositions are different, and many tracks have different transpositions..?.


15: Do all parts start and stop at the correct bar ?

Very many (most) styles have too short intro 1/ending 1, and start in the wrong place.
This can only be corrected in some cases with Pa5X, because these are so defective that nothing complete can be created.


CONCLUSION:
Style Creator Bot is fully capable of creating very good styles that are without errors, but most contain extensive errors and cannot be corrected - only a few can.

The software is still a useful tool, and can be used to create style parts that can be pasted into existing internal styles.

I will use Style Works to create styles in the future, because this works as it should, and the result is almost always as it should.

My idea was to use both for a long time, and fix intros/endings with Style Works, but this does not work out of the box, because SCB and Style Works use different addresses for tracks, which means that the ones I create with Style Works are placed differently and create chaos.

I need to try to find the correct placement of tracks in Style Works, so that they have identical placement in styles created with SCB.

If I can get this to work, SCB could become a very useful tool, but otherwise not.

[♔Chello]

It seems I found a way to create the correct order for tracks in intros/endings with Style Works, so that the order is the same as in SCB.

Quite strange - the order that is created automatically in Style Works is different from the one created in SCB, and is different from the one I have always used in Style Works, which has also always been identical on the Pa5X.

So I have to write down each track in a style created with SCB, and use the same order in Style Works.

A little extra work, because Style Works and SCB do not always use the same name for all tracks.

But I have found the solution - it worked on the one style I tested 100%, so SCB can be used the way I want - TOGETHER with Style Works.