How to ‘arrange’ the SD-card with composer and/or songfiles?

Tips & Tricks
K7

G1

1. The facts

2. What do you see in e.g. windows explorer?

3. What do you see in the display of your KN7000?

4. I did it my way.... Structure in folder- and or song-names on card

5. What do you see if you look at the *.inf-file with a ´hex-editor´?

6. How many files could be saved on a SD-card?

7. A helpfull program 'KN7000 SD-card Tool' free to downlaod!

On this page I’ve written down my experiences with the KN7000 and the SD-card, which is a new feature in this magnificent keyboard. I hope that it helps you to understand  this new dimensions of keyboardplaying and the interaction with the computer.

• Hardware: 128 SD-card and Cruzer cardreader; Technics KN7000, both with USB connection.

• Software : Windows Explorerr, Technics Song Manager, (have no SD-Jukebox!), a Hex-editor, a File-managing-program (incl. file-renaming).

 Before the SD-feature most KN-players worked with floppies. A lot of floppies. Sometime hundreds of disks with  thousands of styles. If you wanted good structure you wrote on the disk labels what was on it and put them in order in a diskbox. Other made backups and put them on the fixed disk of their computer or saved the files on a CD-rom (or DVD). But it was growing and growing..

1. The facts.

In fact the SD-card is nothing else than a large floppy, a external hard disk. So you have to arrange the many, many styles and songs on the SD in an effective way to find the file you’re looking for. Nevertheless you have to handle them with the Technics keyboard structure!! So you’re not free to make your own folder structure as on an ordinary fixed disk.

• Once you have formatted the SD-card in the Technics KN7000 the keyboard makes his own technics-structure on the SD-card.

• This means: 99 folders with each 20 songs. The folder- and song-names are maximally 16 characters.

• Besides the 'KN7000'-folder, the K7 makes 2 other folders: SD-sound-folder (for midi-files) and the SD-audio-folder (for e.g. MP3 and WAV-files). This page only handles the Technics-files.

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2. What do you see in e.g. windows explorer?

Schematically:

• PRIVATE

• TECHNICS

• CUSTOM

• KN7000

  • TFLD001

• 01001K7 (or e.g.: 01beat16.pmt (+01beat16.seq + 01 etc.))

• 02001K7 (or e.g..: 02foxtrt.seq)

• 0……….....

• 20001K7

• TFLD0020

• 01002K7

• 02002K7

• 0………………

• 20002K7

• T……….

• T……….

• TFLD099

• 01099K7

• 02099K7

• 0………………

• 20099K7

• SD_SOUND

• Note: if you have copied the ‘original file’ from a floppy to the SD-card by using for example Windows Explorer, you will see them with the same song-name as you’ve copied them to that folder  (e.g.: 01beat16.pmt).

• But, when you load this file into the KN7000 and saves it in an folder on the SD-card, the name has changed to e.g. 01002K7.pmt

3. What do you see in the display of your KN7000?

The next structure:

Folder-name 01 t/m 99 and Song-name 01 t/m 20 (both max.16 digits large). In the display you will see the full folder- and/or song-names.

The features are:

• Scrolling per folder. In the display you see a max. of 8 rules per folder, cq. song  (So, we do a lot of scrolling for the 99 folders and 20 songs)
• Searching on alphabet. There has been make a difference by using capitals or normal figures/characters. Also 8 rules are visible on the display. Within the possibilities this feature can be most helpful.
• Searching for a number. You have to enter a folder-number and a song-number. I think this feature does not help a lot.

4. I did it my way ……! (structure in folder and/or song-names)

A. Song- and/or composerstyle-names:

I give the song-/style-files an unique and recognizable name, with a certain structure…. All with the intension, ‘why’ do I call them so. Think before you leap……

For instance:

• wals01-slow-k2gj or

• bossa14-k5-tc or

• Foxtr19-slow-k3

My explanation:

• I’ve made an difference by using capitals and normal (small) letters. ( Fxxx means a better, more beautiful composition; and fxxx means a good, nice composition). Especially because you can search in the load/menu with capitals or small letters…

• In this example is my structure: stylename + number (there are many other waltzes on the card); followed by the keyboardtype and after that the two/three characters of the maker/purveyor and when necessairly I can fill the last digit-places.

• Note: the maximum range of characters is 16!

B. Folder-names:

I use the next structure  (with an 128 Mb memorycard.):

• Folder 00 – 10: My repertoire or My tophits

• Folder 11 – 40: composerstyles, The foldername is named to an rhythm (f.e. Latin1 and Latin2, Pop1 and Pop2, Jazz ….) Even you can decide to fit this structure to the structure of the K7 rhythmgroup.

• Folder 41 – 60: songs (which includes composerstyles) with full songnames

• Folder 61- 80: songs (songs without composerstylen) with full songnames

• Folder 81- 90: my own compositions

• Folder 91:        sounds and effects

• Folder 92:        homepages and favorites

• Folder 93:        panel memories

• Folder 94:        performance pads

• Folder 95:        midisettings

• Folder 96 - 98: reserv or garbage..

• Folder 99:        System files (e.g. initial disks)

Note: the folders certainly are not completely filled, because there is no larger cardspace as 128 MB! You have to consider what structure you will use when you have 2 or more SD cards.

If you do not know exactly where to save a file, don’t worry. Save it somewhere you like the most, if only the song-name is right written. The search-feature on alphabet will help you out….

I'v decided to give the composerfolders (11-40) the name of the kind of rhythm (e.g. Walz or Bossa) because when I'm looking for the accompanying of a certain song I mostly search for a  suitable rhythm(name). So, this structure allows me to store a rhythm in the good folder. The searchfeature on alphabet make it very easy to find the walzes, the bossa's, the jazz etc.

5. What do you see if you look at the *.inf-file with a ´hex-editor´?

Underneath you see the ‘hexadecimal’ reproduction of the structure on the SD card. This structure comes into sight when you use a so-called hex-editor. The KN7000 makes, when you formatted the SD-card a file called:  <KN7000MN.INF> in the KN7000 folder.

Those who are know with this program can much easier change the names on the SD card on the computer instead of with the KN7000-buttons.

I recognised the following structure in the *.inf-file:

• 00-16 The ID: KN7 SDDIR INF (To me it seemes that this is the 'database'-file for the technics-structure of the SD-card)

• 16-512 Folder01

• In here every song has 16 digits followed with OO1KN7

• followed with the digits*: e.g. 7F 20 (these hex-digits changes and are related to which files have been saved; see the save-menu; options on page 2)

• and so on till song 20.

• 512-1008 Folder02

• and so on, with blocks of 496.

* The 2 pair of hex-digits after '001KN7'

I'v also noticed the next:

• if 2 or more file(formats) have been saved (e.g. you save the panelmemory & the sequencer & composer) the 2 digits changes in the sum of the hex-value of the single hex-value. (in this case 'pmt+sqt+cmp'; hex: 02 + 04 + 08 = 0E)

• So, with a hex-editor the changes could be made, accordingly to this formula

• I mostly do not change the 2-digit-value, but keep it on 7F 20 (the sum of the hex-value of all files that has been saved). When I load the 'edited' song, the Technics gives an error-statement (for it cannot find all the files to be loaded). However it loads the choosen song. Thereafter I save the song with the desired options in the save-menu (page 2). Then the K7 'replaces' the 'wrong' digits by itself..

I also uses the *.inf-file for making a hardcopy (print out). It gives me a quick overview on what is saved where on my SD. That is sometimes easier and quicker than scrolling throught all display's on the K7.

5. How many files could be saved on a SD-card?

To my opinion it is a better statement: how many files wanted to be saved on a SD-card. Nevertheless, that is really not to tell. It depends on the way files are saved and the character of the song. (did you saved the files with all options, or with only sequencer or only the panel memories? How long was the composition? etc.). So, when you save a file, pay attention that you only save the needful options/setting  to the SD-card. Otherwise you waste a lot of space on the SD-card. (See page 2 of the save-menu).

Also here it's important to wonder: what files are really needed to save on the SD-card? I don't use my SD-card as a storage for all my styles. That would be an very expensive solution. Those styles remain on the fixed disk and CD-roms as my style- and songcollection. When I search for a new style I look in my computer. I can simply copy them, if needed, via the SD-cardreader on the SD-card etc.

6. A helpfull program 'KN7000 SD-card Tool' free to download!

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