Upgrading the Yamaha TG500 Tone Generator | Part 1: Waveform RAM Install 

Excellent point. There were hardware solutions to accomplish sysex dump/loads back in those days to eliminate the then-expensive computer setups. Sector 101 is freakin' awesome.

I used the notorius KRZ K2000s for SCSIMIDI dumps.

Excellent! Glad the video was helpful, Arthur. Appreciate the feedback - it really helps me fine-tune my channel. I was a teen in the 80s as well and I have, over the years, reviewed old KEYBOARD mags and numerous forums to gather info for my purchasing decisions of vintage synths. Late 80s through the 90s was a prime time period for expandability of synths and samplers. My goal has been to look for opportunities to fill gaps in the knowledgebase of gear we grew up with so that all enthusiasts can learn and enjoy these amazing tech creations. Always more to come, so stay tuned; suggestions always welcomed!

Thoughtful Clips I did grab a TG500 in mint condition this week on eBay as well as the two chips to expand it... can’t wait to get that done. Again... THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

@@arthurlevinson5744 Very cool, Arthur! I'm excited for you to dive in and utilize the power of this classic underrated synth. I'd be curious to know what software version is installed in your unit. I think 1.20 is the last known revision. Appreciate your interactions on the channel. I'd be interested to hear your creations with the TG500, if you're so inclined.

Thanks: Next up..... stunt doubles!

Hi Brian, That's a good point regarding packet delays; I hadn't considered that. I'll take a look at SysEx Librarian's preference panel and make another run at it. Appreciate the feedback.

I do a System Exclusive dump and load from a program called SysEx Librarian. www.snoize.com/sysexlibrarian/

.wav files are audio files (think .mp3 kind of file); .syx files are data files that store information. Pre-MIDI synths could record data audio onto cassette. Today you could record such data with a digital recorder in mp3/wav/aiff, etc. Still, that data in a digital audio file would only be good for restoring program/settings data back to the same synth.

Yes. At least one memory chip has to be installed to load wave forms. I found a good deal on a pair at: www.sector101.com/syemb06.html I don't know of any other current 3rd party that sells these.

@Amal Gamoth I noticed that your question could be interpreted in two different ways, so I thought that I would chime in with a clarification, just in case there was a misunderstanding. You do not need the non-volatile memory to use the Yamaha wave cards like those shown at 1:48 with the TG500. The synth can access the wave data directly from the ROM card as long as the card is plugged into one of the two waveform slots on the front panel. Thoughtful Clip's reply to your question is relevant to a case where you want to use a waveform on a wave card -- or multiple waves from different wave cards -- after the wave card(s) have been removed from a front-panel waveform slot. With the non-volatile memory installed, you can load waveforms from the wave cards into the non-volatile memory and use those waves even when the cards are no longer inserted. In this way you could select waves from several cards and have the collected waves available on board the TG500 for as long as you need them without needing to reinsert the wave ROM card(s).

​​@@jem2017I didn't know that feature of the unit. Now comes the 1M dollar question. When you load a sample from a rom card into the waveform memory, is it some kind of locked or protected against transmitting it via MIDI to the rest of the world?

@@KONNECTORAS I've never tried to transmit waveforms out of the TG500 via MIDI once they were loaded into the nonvolatile memory expansion, so I didn't know the answer to your question offhand. Looking up the "sample transmit" function in the TG500 manual, I find that the card waveforms are indeed copy-protected and blocked from being transmitted, as you suspected: "A key symbol will appear next to the sample number if the sample is a protected sample that has been loaded from a waveform card. Protected samples cannot be transmitted" (page 247). If I needed to export those waves, I would resample them through the audio outputs.