Python GUI program to copy selective patches from one Roland JD-08/JX-08 .svd file to another.
With the JD-08/JX-08 synthesizers, Roland has decided not to allow saving of separate patches, nor to implement SysEx dump functionality to achieve the same. This means that it is virtually impossible to share newly created patches with others.
At the time of writing (October 2023), the only way to make a backup of one's own patches is an elaborate procedure described in e.g.
https://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/articles/roland-jd-08-factory-reset/
The problem with this procedure, besides it being tedious, is that all patches are grouped in one binary .svd file. So it is hard to merge/sort patch edits made by oneself or others at various times.
That's where this tool comes in. One can open two .svd files and copy patches from one to the other.
IMPORTANT: while the tool can be used to manage .svd files of both JD-08 and JX-08 models, currently it has no knowledge of the internal structure of the patches, nor does it check for which synth the file is meant. So in theory it is possible to copy JD-08 patches into a JX-08 backup file and vice versa. This is probably a recipe for disaster, so DON'T do it!
Patches are copied from one list/file to the other by selecting the position where the patch should be copied to (in the target list), selecting the patch to be copied (in the source list), and then clicking the appropriate button to copy the patch left to right or vice versa.
After the patch has been copied, the selection on the target list will automatically move to the next item for your convenience. At the end of the list, it will wrap around to the first item.
Patches can be renamed by clicking the button of pressing F2 while the patch list has the focus.
Double-clicking an item in the source list also copies the patch, just like using the space bar (while focus is on the source list and a slot is selected in the destination list).
Edits will be in memory only unless Save is clicked explicitly.
CTRL-click on Save provides "Save as" functionality.
While the file hasn't been saved, one can revert the selected patch or all patches to the state in which the .svd file was loaded. No other undo functionality is provided, so make sure you want to save the file as edited.
One or two .svd file names can be passed on the command line so they get opened at startup.
Disclaimer: I'm developing on Windows, so Mac/Linux users, forgive me (and report!) if any OS specific issues are encountered.
This application was developed on Python 3, so I'm not sure if if will work on older versions. The libraries sys, os, and tkinter should come bundled with the Python install, so a requirements.txt file is currently not present.
If you are running Windows and you don't have Python installed, you may use the binary release attached to the GitHub project page.
On Linux (tested on Mint 21.1 Cinnamon) the commands to run the application are:
sudo apt install git-core python3-tk
git clone https://github.com/NilsKr/JD08PatchManager.git
cd JD08PatchManager/
python3 patchmanager.py
To be described. Procedure will be similar to the Linux one.
Drop me a line if you want to contribute code or if you want to report a but or you have ideas for useful features.
You can reach me at: nkronert at hotmail dot com
Copyright (C) 2023 Nils Kronert
This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program. If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
https://github.com/NilsKr/JD08PatchManager
As the licensing information mentions, this software comes WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY. In the unlikely case where the Roland JD-08 or JX-08 considers a file edited by this software to be corrupt and bricks itself, I cannot be held responsible.
On that positive note, have fun! Cheers, Nils
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