General MIDI - General MIDI Level 2

General MIDI Level 2

In 1999, the official GM standard was updated to include more controllers, patches, RPNs and SysEx messages, in an attempt to reconcile the conflicting and proprietary Roland GS and Yamaha XG additions. Here's a quick overview of the GM2 changes in comparison to GM/GS:

  • Number of Notes - minimum 32 simultaneous notes
  • Simultaneous Percussion Kits - up to 2 (Channels 10/11)
  • Up to 16384 variation banks are allowed, each containing a version of the 128 Melodic Sounds (the exact use of these banks is up to the individual manufacturer.)
  • 9 GS Drum kits are included
  • Additional Control Change messages
    • Filter Resonance (Timbre/Harmonic Intensity) (cc#71)
    • Release Time (cc#72)
    • Attack time (cc#73)
    • Brightness/Cutoff Frequency (cc#74)
    • Decay Time (cc#75)
    • Vibrato Rate (cc#76)
    • Vibrato Depth (cc#77)
    • Vibrato Delay (cc#78)
  • Registered Parameter Numbers (RPNs)
    • Modulation Depth Range (Vibrato Depth Range)
  • Universal SysEx messages
    • Master Volume, Fine Tuning, Coarse Tuning
    • Reverb Type, Time
    • Chorus Type, Mod Rate, Mod Depth, Feedback, Send to Reverb
    • Controller Destination Setting
    • Scale/Octave Tuning Adjust
    • Key-Based Instrument Controllers
    • GM2 System On SysEx message

Additional melodic instruments can be accessed by setting CC#0 to 121 and then using CC#32 to select the bank before a Program Change.

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