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About the PC-70
The Roland PC-70 is a MIDI keyboard controller. It does not contain any sound-generating
circuitry, since it is designed to provide for the convenient transmission of Program Change
and Bank Select messages, as well as a variety of other MIDI messages (such as reverb and
chorus information) to an external sound module. It is particularly suited for controlling
sound modules that comply with the GS Format. (Called simply “GS sound modules” in the
following.)
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What is the General MIDI?
General MIDI is a set of recommendations which seeks to provide a way to go beyond the
limitations of proprietary designs, and standardize the MIDI capabilities of sound generating
devices. Sound generating devices and music files that meet the General MIDI standard bear
the General MIDI logo ( ).
Music files bearing the General MIDI logo can be played back using any General MIDI sound
generating unit to produce essentially the same musical performance.
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What is the General MIDI 2?
The upwardly compatible General MIDI 2 ( ) recommendations pick up where the
original General MIDI left off, offering enhanced expressive capabilities, and even greater
compatibility.
Issues that were not covered by the original General MIDI recommendations, such as how
sounds are to be edited, and how effects should be handled, have now been precisely
defined. Moreover, the available sounds have been expanded.
General MIDI 2 compliant sound generators are capable of reliably playing back music files
that carry either the General MIDI or General MIDI 2 logo.
In some cases, the conventional form of General MIDI, which does not include the new
enhancements, is referred to as “General MIDI 1” as a way of distinguishing it from General
MIDI 2.
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What is the GS Format?
The GS Format ( ) is Roland’s set of specifications for standardizing the performance of
sound generating devices. In addition to including support for everything defined by the
General MIDI, the highly compatible GS Format additionally offers an expanded number of
sounds, provides for the editing of sounds, and spells out many details for a wide range of
extra features, including effects such as reverb and chorus. Designed with the future in mind,
the GS Format can readily include new sounds and support new hardware features when
they arrive.
About the Sounds Contained in a GS Sound Module
A GS sound module contains 128 basic sounds (Capital Tones) and a number of Variation
Tones. The mapping for the Capital Tones is compatible with Level 1 of the General MIDI
System. Capital Tones are stored in Bank 0, while the Variations are stored in Banks 1
through 127. The selection of Variation Tones that are made available will be different
depending on the sound module. You should check the manual for any module you are
going to use, and familiarize yourself with the sound collection it contains.