This describes what messages SpessaSynth can receive.

Here's a useful resource about the MIDI standard. It's in japanese, but all the PDFs are english fortunately

• MIDI Implementation
  • Table Of Contents
  • Supported MIDI Messages
  • Controllers
    • Default Supported Controllers
    • Default controller values
  • Parameter Numbers
    • Supported Registered Parameters
    • Supported Non-Registered Parameters
      • Custom Vibrato
      • SoundFont2 NRPN
      • AWE32 NRPN Compatibility Layer
  • System Exlusives
    • Supported System Exclusives
    • Supported Bank systems
      • GM
      • GM2
      • GS
      • XG
    • GS Parameters
    • XG Part Setup
    • MIDI Tuning Standard
    • Portamento Implementation

Message	Supported?	Notes
Note On	✔️
Note Off	✔️	Does not support note off velocity (Per SF2 specification)
Note Aftertouch	✔️	50 cents of vibrato ⚠️NON-STANDARD!⚠️
Controller Change	✔️	See below
Program Change	✔️	GM, GM2, GS, XG
Channel Pressure	✔️	50 cents of vibrato
Pitch Wheel	✔️	Controlled by Pitch Wheel range (both semitones and cents)
System exclusive	✔️	See below
Time Code	❌	Not Applicable
Song Position	❌	Not Applicable
Song Select	❌	Not Applicable
Tune Request	❌	Not Applicable
MIDI Clock	❌	Not Applicable
MIDI Start	❌	Not Applicable
MIDI Continue	❌	Not Applicable
MIDI Stop	❌	Not Applicable
Active Sense	❌	Not Applicable
System Reset	✔️	Can only be received via MIDI ports as 0xFF in MIDI files means a meta message

Below is the list of controllers supported by default.

CC	Controller name	Value	Explanation	Default value
0	Bank Select	The bank number (0 - 127)	Changes the bank number that is used in programChange. Note that it doesn't change the preset on its own. See this for more info	0
1	Modulation Wheel	The modulation depth (0 - 127) mapped to max 50 cents of detune	Controls the vibrato for the given patch.	0
5	Portamento Time	The portamento time (0 - 127)	Controls the portamento time. See portamento implementation A value of 0 effectively disables portamento.	0
6	Data Entry MSB	Data entry value (0 - 127)	This sets the selected RP or NRP to the given value. Note that the RPN and NRPN controllers only select the parameter, while this controller actually sets the values.	none
7	Main Volume	The volume (0 - 127) 0 is silent, 127 is normal volume	Changes the channel's volume.	100
10	Pan	0 is left, 64 is middle, 127 is right	Controls the channel's stereo balance	64
11	Expression controller	The expression (0 - 127) 0 is silent, 127 is normal volume	Works exactly like Main Volume, but it's independent.	127
32	Bank Select LSB	The bank number (0 - 127)	Changes the bank number that is used in programChange. Note that it doesn't change the preset on its own. See this for more info	0
33 - 64 excluding 38	Controller LSB values	The lower nibble of the value (0 - 127)	Allows precise control of values such as volume, expression, pan. Extends the precision from 0 - 127 to 0 - 16384 (!)	0
38	Data Entry LSB	Data entry value (0 - 127)	This sets the selected RP or NRP to the given value. Note that the RPN and NRPN controllers only select the parameter, while this controller actually sets the values.	none
64	Sustain Pedal	0 - 63 is off, 64 - 127 is on	Holds the noteOff messages until the pedal is off, then stops them all at once.	0 (off)
65	Portamento On/Off	0 - 63 is off, 64 - 127 is on	Controls if the portamento is enabled or not.	on
71	Filter Reasonance	The resonance (0 - 127) 0 is 25 dB less, 64 is unchanged, 127 is 25 dB more ⚠️NON-STANDARD!⚠️	Controls the filter resonance of the given patch.	64
72	Attack Time	The attack time (0- 127) 64 is normal, 0 is the fastest, 127 is the slowest ⚠️NON-STANDARD!⚠️	Controls the attack time for the given patch.	64
73	Release Time	The release time (0- 127) 64 is normal, 0 is the fastest, 127 is the slowest ⚠️NON-STANDARD!⚠️	Controls the release time for the given patch.	64
74	Brightness	The brightness (0 - 127) 0 is muffled, 64 is no additional filter, 127 is most clear ⚠️NON-STANDARD!⚠️	Controls the brightness (lowpass frequency) of the given patch.	64
84	Portamento Control	The key number glide should start from (0 - 127)	Controls the portamento target key. See portamento implementation	0
91	Effects 1 Depth (reverb)	The reverb depth (0 - 127) See important info	Controls the reverb effect send for the given channel.	0
92	Effects 2 Depth (tremolo)	The tremolo depth (0 - 127) mapped to 25dB of loudness variation ⚠️NON-STANDARD!⚠️	Controls the tremolo (trembling) effect for the given patch.	0
93	Effects 3 Depth (chorus)	The chorus depth (0 - 127) See important info	Controls the chorus effect for the given channel.	0
99	Non-Registered Parameter Number MSB	Parameter number (0 - 127)	Selects a Non-Registered Parameter's Coarse to the given value. Here are the currently supported values..	none
98	Non-Registered Parameter Number LSB	Parameter number (0 - 127)	Selects a Non-Registered Parameter's Fine to the given value. Here are the currently supported values..	none
100	Registered Parameter Number LSB	Parameter number (0 - 127)	Selects a Registered Parameter's Fine to the given value. Here are the currently supported values..	none
101	Registered Parameter Number MSB	Parameter number (0 - 127)	Selects a Registered Parameter's Coarse to the given value. Here are the currently supported values..	none
120 or 123	All Notes Off or All Sound Off	Not Applicable	Stops all the notes. Equivalent to MIDI "panic".	N.A.
121	Reset All Controllers	Not Applicable	Resets all controllers to their default values.	N.A.

Below are all the controller values which are not zero when the controllers are reset.

CC Number	Name	Reset Value
7	Main Volume	100
8	Balance	64
11	Expression Controller	127
10	Pan	64
71	Timbre Harmonic Content	64
72	Release Time	64
73	Attack Time	64
74	Brightness	64
75	Sound Controller 6	64
76	Sound Controller 7	64
77	Sound Controller 8	64
78	Sound Controller 9	64
81	General Purpose Controller 6	64
83	General Purpose Controller 8	64

Below is the list of currently implemented Registered Parameters.

RPN MSB	RPN LSB	Name	Explanation	Default
0	0	Pitch Wheel range	The range in semitones of the synth.pitchWheel() method.	2 semitones
0	2	Channel Coarse Tuning	The channel's tuning in semitones	No tuning (0 semitones)
0	3	Channel Fine Tuning	The channel's tuning, like a pitch bend message (precise tuning in 2 semitones)	No tuning (0 cents)
0	5	Channel Modulation Depth	The channel's modulation (vibrato) depth. Note that this doesn't set the cents directly, but rather scales the soundfont modulator value (for example if set to twice the MIDI default value, the modulator controlling vibrato depth will be multiplied by 2)	default sf2 depth (50 cents)
127	127	Reset parameters	Resets all parameters	N.A.

Below is the list of currently implemented Non-Registered Parameters. Note that all these are non-standard GM. These only apply for GS

NRPN MSB	NRPN LSB	Name	Explanation	Default
0x1	0x8	Vibrato rate	Controls the vibrato rate. The calculation to hertz is as follows: hz = (value / 64) * 8	0 (disabled)
0x1	0x9	Vibrato depth	Controls the vibrato depth. Depth in cents is as calculated as follows: cents = value / 2	0 (disabled)
0x1	0xA	Vibrato delay	Controls the vibrato delay. Calculation to seconds is as follows: s = (64 / value) / 3	0 (disabled)
0x1	0x20	TVF Filter Cutoff	Controls the filter cutoff using the CC 74 (brightness)	64 (no change)
0x01	0x66	EG Release Time	Controls the volume envelope release time using CC 72	64 (no change)
0x01	0x64	EG Attack Time	Controls the volume envelope attack time using CC 73	64 (no change)

The NPRN vibrato messages have special behavior. Any value other than 64 received for any of the states activates it with the default settings:

• depth = 50 cents
• rate = 8 Hz
• delay = 0.6s

After which any changes received through the NRPN (including the one that triggered it) are enabled. This behavior has existed since the beginning of this program as a way to enhance the TH MIDI files, the original target of SpessaSynth.

It can be disabled.

As of 3.26.15, spessasynth supports the standard SF2 NRPN implementation.

As of 3.26.11, spessasynth supports emulation of the AWE32 NRPN generator modification. The parameter interpretation is similar to fluidsynth's emulation, as it has been tested and found relatively accurate to the sound cards. Here are some useful resources about this:

• AWE32 Frequently Asked Questions
• AWE32 Developer's Information Pack
• S. Christian Collins's AWE32 MIDI Conversion Repository
• S. Christian Collins's AWE32 NRPN Filter Tests
• Fluidsynth AWE32 NPRN implementation

There are a few differences from fluidsynth's implementation:

• LSB 16 overrides the fineTune generator instead of emitting a pitch-wheel event
• Effect generators get overriden directly rather than passing through the modulator
• Filter cutoff and Q have been tuned slightly differently

Below is the list of currently implemented System Exclusive messages.

Name	Description
GM on	Turns the GM mode on. Ignores all the Bank Select controllers.
GM off	Turns the GM mode off. Defaults to GS
GM2 on	Turns the GM2 mode on.
GS Reset	Turns on the Roland GS mode.
XG Reset	Turns on the Yamaha XG mode. Changes the bank selection system to XG.
Roland Master Volume	Controls the overall synth's volume.
GS Parameters	See this for more info
MIDI Master Volume	Controls the overall synth's volume.
MIDI Master Balance	Controls the overall synth's stereo panning.
Roland SC Display Text	The text that SC-88 MIDIs display on the device. synthdisplay will be called.
Roland SC Dot Matrix	A dot matrix display for the Sound Canvas devices. synthdisplay will be called.
XG Display Letters	The text that XG MIDIs display on the device. synthdisplay will be called.
XG Master Volume	Controls the overall synth's volume.
XG Master Transpose	Controls the overall synth's transposition.
XG Part Setup	See this for more info
MIDI Tuning Standard	See this for more info

Ignores all bank-selects.

Same as XG, except bank select defaults to 121.

Default. Bank MSB processed directly, LSB is ignored. For GS drum channels, only bank 128 is allowed.

If bank MSB is 120, 126 or 127, the channel is set to drums. If MSB is 64, it is used. Otherwise, LSB is used as the bank number.

The bank will be classified as an XG bank if it only contains valid drum programs on banks 120, 126 and 127. If not, the bank will be forced to 128. Note that XG Drums (on bank 127 instead of 128) are used if available.

Below are the supported GS SysEx Parameters.

Name	Description
Use for drums part	Can turn the desired channel into a drum channel.
Master Pan	Controls the overall synth's stereo panning.
Master Volume	Controls the overall synth's volume.
Master Reverb	Controls the overall synth's reverb level.
Master Chorus	Controls the overall synth's chorus level.
Key Shift	Transposes the keys by a given amount.
Reverb Level	Same as CC 91 (reverb depth)
Chorus Level	Same as CC 92 (chorus depth)
Pan Position	Same as CC 10 (pan position) except 0 mean random pan for every voice.
Scale Tuning	Similar to MTS Scale Octave Tuning.
Controller to Parameter	Defines how a controller affects the sound. See page 198 of the SC-88Pro Manual.

Below are the supported part setup messages for XG.

Number (hex)	Name
01	Bank Select MSB
02	Bank Select LSB
03	Program change
0B	Volume
0E	Pan (0 is random for every voice)
13	Reverb
12	Chorus

Below are the supported sysExes of the MTS. RT means realtime and NRT means non-realtime.

• Bulk Tuning Dump
• Scale Octave Tuning (1 byte) (RT/NRT)
• Scale Octave Tuning (2 bytes) (RT/NRT)
• Single Note Tuning change (RT)
• Single Note Tuning Change (RT/NRT)

SpessaSynth attempts to mimick the old SC-55 Portamento behavior.

That is:

• Portamento Time is only 7-bit.
• Portamento Control gets overriden with the last portamento key.
• Portamento Time uses the following table by John Novak and linearly interpolates it.
• Portamento Time depends on the distance of the keys. The final calculation is portamentoSeconds = linearInterpolateTable(portamentoTime) * keyDistance / 30 for now. If you know a more accurate algortihm, please let me know!
• Portamento is experimental. It can be disabled, and it may not work correctly as I do not own an actual SC-55 to test it with.