SysEx interface for softsynths [was Re: [linux-audio-dev] LADSPA and TiMidity++]

[John Lazzaro]

> Richard Bown <bownie at bownie.com>
>
> Perhaps we could either approach a small company that has an ID already or
> reuse one that's pretty old and likely close to defunct (again with the
> owner's consent).  I wonder who controls their use or if it's a case of
> suck-it-and-see?

http://www.midi.org/about-mma/mfr_id_app.pdf

Don't even need to join the MMA, just send in your yearly check
for $200 and the ID is yours.        

There is another route, though -- if:                             

http://www.borg.com/~jglatt/tech/midispec/id.htm

Is to be believed, its consider OK for one manufacturer to clone
the SysEx commands of another -- as long as the cloners don't   
extend the space in any way. So, if there's an existing MIDI
device out there that has an acceptable SysEx command space for
your project, you're free to clone it.

Actually, I have a hard time believing that is true in this age
of intellectual-property restrictions, but MIDI does predate that
era by 20 years or so, so maybe its just a part of the culture ...
I do know all sorts of devices advertise "JL Cooper compatibility",
but I don't know if this means that they really return the JL
Cooper SysEx bytes when you do an identity request ...

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John Lazzaro -- Research Specialist -- CS Division -- EECS -- UC Berkeley
lazzaro [at] cs [dot] berkeley [dot] edu     www.cs.berkeley.edu/~lazzaro
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