G-Force MIDI dump and SysEx file transfer

You can up- or download the whole User bank in the G-Force through the MIDI In/Out jacks as a SysEx (System Exclusive) file. That way you can use a personal computer as a backup, send the SysEx file by email or upload it to the web. You can also dump a bank or preset from a memory card to a PC, but then you must first put it into the G-Force User bank.

The two disadvantages with SysEx file transfers compared with memory cards are that

SysEx file transfers require a computer, a MIDI cable and a SysEx program
you can only transmit the whole user bank through MIDI (with a card you can transfer single presets).

What you need

Adapter cables

A MIDI dump to a computer is done with an adapter cable featuring MIDI In and Out connectors at one end and an USB or 15-pin D-sub plug at the other. The MIDI end is of course connected to the G-Force, while a D-sub plug is connected to the joystick port on the computer's soundcard.

SysEx software

You also need a SysEx program/librarian/editor in order to convert the MIDI signal from the G-Force into a SysEx file on your computer. Here are a few (I haven't tried most of them):

SysEx Solution 97 (for PC, shareware, simple)
MIDI-OX (for PC, freeware, advanced)
SysEx (for Mac System 7.0 through Mac OS 9.x, freeware)
SysEx Librarian (for Mac OS X, freeware)

Most SysEx programs feature lots of functions in addition to just sending and recieving SysEx files. Because of that they may be a bit hard to learn how to use.

Instructions

SysEx transfer from the G-Force User bank to a computer

Connect the MIDI In plug on the adapter cable to the MIDI Out socket on the G-Force. Attach the other end to an USB port, or the soundcard's joystick port if the cable has a D-sub connector.
Open the SysEx program on your computer. At least in SysEx Solution 97 it will automatically find the correct port, as well as recieve the MIDI data.
In the G-Force, go to Utility > User Bank to MIDI, and press Enter twice.
The whole dump may take up to a minute. In SysEx95/97 the displayed SysEx files will look like this:
```
  9 bytes [[?]]
137 bytes [[?]]
137 bytes [[?]]
137 bytes [[?]]
137 bytes [[?]]
137 bytes [[?]]
137 bytes [[?]]
137 bytes [[?]]
...
137 bytes [[?]]
```
...and so on, repeated a few hundred times. Should you get various other values, like sometimes 136 bytes instead of 137, the MIDI transfer probably failed and the SysEx file is corrupted.
If all went well, save the file in Standard format (other special formats in a SysEx program may or may not work).

SysEx transfer from a computer to the G-Force User bank

Connect the MIDI cable's Out plug to the G-Force's MIDI In jack.
On your computer, open the desired SysEx file in your SysEx program.
In the G-Force, go to Utility > MIDI to User Bank, and press Enter twice. WARNING! This will overwrite the existing User presets in your G-Force.
Choose Send in the SysEx program.

Transmitting single presets

You can only perform a bulk dump, that is dump all presets in the User bank at once. It's possible to dump single presets to a memory card, but not through MIDI. Here's one tedious way to work around this:

Create a backup of all the user presets on the computer or on a memory card.
Erase all User bank presets in the G-Force except the one you wish to transfer.
After transferring the single-preset User bank, reload the presets in the backup file into the G-Force again.

Problems

All soundcards, OS versions and SysEx programs may not be compatible.

If you get other figures than the ones shown in the example above, like a few 136 byte lines among the 137 byte lines, the SysEx file is corrupt and cannot be used. If you try to load a faulty SysEx file into the G-Force an error message will be shown, after which the G-Force will erase all its existing User presets. One way to protect yourself from this is to use a memory card as an additional backup.