Find new ways to get the best out of your DR-5.  Dr5Edit uses a MIDI connection to provide you with a Windows interface to your BOSS Dr. Rhythm Section DR-5.  Imagine not being restricted by the limitations of the DR-5's front panel and keypad. Use your PC screen, mouse and keyboard to quickly get to every corner of the DR-5's memory.

In addition to full save and restore of the DR-5's memory for backup purposes Dr5Edit provides many features to allow easier use.

Kits

Download your existing kit settings, browse the user-defined and preset kits, print kit instrument settings and pad layouts, modify instrument parameters, audition drum patches, save and restore individual kits. You can quickly design new kits selecting from the full range of instruments available. Experiment safely with the knowledge that you can restore a backup should things go wrong. You can save and restore individual kits or the whole of the user-definable kit set. Kits can be copied and pasted using the Windows clipboard. You can also drag a user-defined kit definition to (copy it to) a new position.

Songs

Download Song data from your DR-5. Operations on songs include: saving and restoring individual songs (including user-definable patterns and kits), deleting a song, printing the song steps, editing song steps, editing song parameters (name, tempo, chain etc). Songs can be cut or copied to the clipboard and then pasted to new song positions. You can quickly duplicate songs by using drag and drop.

Patterns

Download Pattern data from your DR-5. Patterns can be saved and restored like songs, deleted, printed, and edited. Dr5Edit v 3.0 now includes a pattern sequencer to allow you to edit patterns directly as well as audition them; you are able to insert and delete notes, change the start time, duration and accent. Notes can be dragged to new positions within a pattern by varying the start times or transposing them. You can use the clipboard to copy notes within or between patterns. Pattern parameters can be edited i.e. changes to Name, time signature, swing, swing delay, VAR, FTV, FTO, SPC and Kit Assignment. Patterns can be "packed" - moving all user-defined patterns to the top of memory a bit like defragmenting your hard disk. You can delete patterns which are not referenced in a song. When deleting a song you are given the option to delete any user-defined patterns which are only used by that song. These options are provided to allow you to make the best use of the precious DR-5 memory. Patterns can be cut or copied to the clipboard and then pasted to new patterns positions.

Chords

Download Chord data from your DR-5. Chord data can be saved and restored. Currently there are no facilities to view or edit chord data.

Setup

Download Setup data from your DR-5. Setup data can be saved, restored and edited.  Setup data includes Master tune, Track/MIDI channel assigments, Track volume and various other switches and settings normally available from the UTIL and MIDI buttons on the DR-5. All Setup information can be saved to and restored from disk files. The same information can printed for a hard copy of your settings.

Memory

Memory usage can be displayed at any time. Dr5Edit keeps track of how much memory particular song & pattern combinations use and can tell you how much you are using at any time.

Upload Standard MIDI Files

Upload Standard MIDI files into your DR-5. Most Standard MIDI Files are designed for PC sound cards and instrument configurations with many tracks.  The DR-5 is basically a four track sequencer. Moving data from a Standard MIDI file into the DR-5's memory can be a bit like getting a quart into a pint pot. Often there are more than four tracks and you will have to decide which tracks are to be used and which, if any, are to be discarded. The whole process is very straightforward. You select the MIDI file to convert, select a kit for the song, map the MIDI file tracks to the kit instruments and click OK. Dr5Edit then converts all the note events to patterns which are strung together to form a song. Version 3 includes the ability to specify the target pattern time signature and the way velocities are converted to accents.

Dr5Edit is designed to ease the process, MIDI file tracks can be merged or ignored, they can be assigned to specific instruments within the selected kit. A map display helps you determine whether the track will play correctly within the range of the instrument assigned.

Want to try before you buy?

Download the evaluation version of Dr5Edit here. Dr5Edit EV is a fully functional freeware program. It includes many of the features found in the full Dr5Edit program. More importantly, it allows you to check out your MIDI connection. Since the program has been made available it has been found that a small number of computer configurations are not always able to sustain communication with MIDI devices during long SysEx transfers. Please download Dr5Edit EV first to ensure that your PC and cable will work correctly. If Dr5Edit EV doesn't work then Dr5Edit is unlikely to work - we don't want you to buy something that will not work correctly. Please note that Dr5Edit EV is at version 4 and the full program is at version 3. The difference in numbering is due to the fact that these are two separate programs and a bug fix which was only required in the evaluation version caused that to increment without requiring the same change in the full version. Click here to download the fully functional free evaluation version of Dr5Edit

What are the differences between the two versions?

Dr5Edit comes in two versions. The free evaluation version is a fully functional program. It is not crippled in any way nor does it contain any spyware or adware. You can upgrade to the full version which includes several additional features.

System Requirements

Dr5Edit will run under Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 are also supported where the MIDI interface has the correct driver software installed. In addition you will need a MIDI port with free connections for In and Out (Thru is not required), both connections are needed for the program to function.