midi-musique.com
midi-musique.com
We deliver the same song in seven formats. They all contain exactly the same music — what separates them is one message.
We compared one catalogue song present in all seven variants: same notes, same channels, same tempo, same length. Choosing a format rearranges nothing and changes no instrument. It changes what the file announces to your machine the moment it loads.
| Format | SMF | Tracks | Added message | Useful for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIDI GM-0 | 0 | 1 | — | Simple playback, anywhere. Everything sits on one track. |
| MIDI GM-1 · MIDITRX | 1 | 13 | — | Editing: one instrument per track, to mute or extract. |
| GM2 | 1 | 13 | GM2 System On | Instruments that recognise the GM2 standard. |
| XG | 1 | 13 | Yamaha XG | The Yamaha XG extension. |
| GS | 1 | 13 | Roland GS | The Roland GS extension. |
| Korg Pa | 1 | 13 | Korg | Korg arrangers of the Pa series. |
| XF / Motif | 1 | 13 | Yamaha XF ×2 | The Yamaha XF extension, used by the Motif among others. |
We compared our GM-1 and GM2 files across 300 songs, byte by byte. The difference is always the same, and there is only one: the universal "GM System On" message becomes "GM2 System On".
Everything else — notes, instruments, tempo, length — is strictly identical. If your instrument reads the GM-1 without trouble, the GM2 will bring it nothing more.
This is the only difference that truly changes the file. GM-0 puts everything on a single track: it loads anywhere, but edits badly. GM-1 gives each instrument its own track: you can mute the melody, isolate the bass, extract a part. Same music, two ways of storing it.
Start with the GM-1: it is the standard multitrack format, and the one we produce first. If your instrument refuses it or plays it poorly, GM-0 is the most universal version. Brand formats only add an initialisation message: they will not repair a file that fails to load.
Figures measured on 10 August 2026 in our own files, on a song present in all seven variants. We describe what our files contain; how an instrument behaves also depends on its firmware version.