Ion/Micron Program Decoder v1.

00 August 19, 2004

(c) 2004 Alesis Studio Electronics

WHAT THIS IS -----------This is a command line utility to convert Ion and Micron programs from sysex files to editable text files, and vice versa. The utility runs under Microsoft Windows, as well as on any operating system with Perl installed, such as Mac OS X and most Linux installations. Source code is included. WHAT THIS IS NOT ---------------This is not a "patch editor" or "sysex librarian". It was designed to serve as a backend for third parties interested in developing their own editors. Think of it as a sysex specification in program form. Although it is possible to use this utility to edit programs by hand, Alesis cannot offer technical support for enduser editing. PACKAGE CONTENTS ---------------This package contains the following files: readme.txt ion_program_decoder.exe ion_program_decoder.pl : This file. : Windows executable. : Perl source code, and Mac/Linux executable.

INSTALLATION -----------On Windows, no installation is required. The program may be run by typing its name at the command prompt. Alternatively, you can drag-n-drop files onto the program icon. On Mac/Linux, you may need to set executable permissions for the script. At the command line, type this: chmod 755 ion_program_decoder.pl For Mac/Linux, substitute "ion_program_decoder.pl" for "ion_program_decoder" in the command line examples below. USAGE ----Send a program from the synth to your PC, and capture and save the sysex file with a sequencer or MIDI utility. To send a program from the Ion, press [store], [page right], and [store] again. To send a program from the Micron, push the control knob, turn it right until you see "Send MIDI sysex?" (third-to-last option), and push the control knob again. Drag-n-drop the sysex file onto the ion_program_decoder.exe icon, or type either of the following at the command line: ion_program_decoder my_program.syx ion_program_decoder -b my_program.syx The utility will create a correspondingly-named text file (in this case, named "my_program.txt"). This file lists all of the parameters of the program. The file normally documents all possible values for each parameter as well. For a briefer listing, use the -b option. This text file may be edited directly. To create a new sysex file from

the edited text file, drag-n-drop the text file onto the icon, or type the following at the command line: ion_program_decoder my_program.txt This will create "my_program.syx", overwriting it if it already exists. The new sysex file can then be sent to the synth. On the Ion, it will be written to the bank/location indicated by the "ion location" parameter. On the Micron, if no program already exists with the same name, a new program will be created. If a program does exist with the same name, it will be overwritten, and any pattern, rhythms, and setups that used the old program will use the new one.