Sysex Send/Receive: backing up external MIDI devices

I’m trying to use Pyramid to record and backup sysex dumps from external MIDI devices. Backing up patterns on an old drum machine basically.

I figured out how to go to the Pyramid settings/MIDI IN and set TRANSMIT SYSEX to AB

When I send a sysex from the external MIDI device, I can see that the Pyramid sort of blinks a bit like it’s receiving data. I’m assuming I would pick a Pyramid track, enable record, and then record the sysex dump into one of the Pyramid tracks while it’s playing and recording. I’ve done this but I’m not sure if it works, I haven’t been able to play the sysex data successfully back into the external machine. I don’t see any blinking on the Pyramid when playing back what I believe was a track that should have sysex recorded onto it.

How do I look at the data in a Pyramid track to see if it did actually record any sysex data? Can’t figure this out. I can figure out how to look at musical notes in the STEP/DISP screen, but not sysex data.

Any tips or discussion on this topic greatly appreciated. It’s got to be an easy process?

Specifically, I have an old (and very cute) Yamaha RY9 Big Jam drum machine, which tends to lose its patterns when the six AA batteries wear down; I’d like to have sysex recording backups to reload it instead of spending a couple hours reprogramming patterns. The data dump from it is very short, super fast, not a lot of data.

I used to do sysex dumps all the time back in the 80s, using either a Yamaha 4" disc recorder, or a rackmount Alesis datadisk, or my MOTU Performer w/MIDI interface. All of that gear long gone. Need a refresher on how to do this again, but with Pyramid.

Have you read the manual? It’s possible that the Pyramid just doesn’t handle sysex in the way you’re describing.

have looked through the manual and not finding what I’m needing so asking here…

Transmit sysex
If OFF, received sysex messages are ignored. If Midi A (or Midi B, or Midi A+B), received sysex messages transmitted to MidiA (or Midi B, or Midi A+B).

Pyramid can ignore or just pass thru sysex.

Pretty sure the Pyramid just doesn’t record sysex at all. It can ignore it or pass it thru - that’s it.

The MPC Live & X won’t do it either. I’m not sure there’s any modern standalone hardware sequencer that does. Maybe the Kronos or the Motif - those are used as controllers in large touring rigs so if anything could, they could. In your shoes @TerboTed I’d use a laptop and something like Sysex Librarian (Mac), which is a free download.