Comparison of MIDI standards
This table provides summary of comparison of various MIDI enhancement standards by various parameters.
| MPU | MT-32 | GM | GS | XG level 1 | XG level 2 | XG level 3 | GM level 2 | XGlite | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry date | 1984 | 1987 | 1991 | 1991 | 1994 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2002 |
| Organization | Roland | JMSC (AMEI) MMA |
Roland | Yamaha | MMA | Yamaha | |||
| Minimum equipment requirements | |||||||||
| Simultaneous melodic voices | 8+ combined (up to 32 partials) |
16 | 16 | 32 combined | 64 combined | 128 combined | 16 | 32 combined | |
| Simultaneous percussion voices | 8 | 8 | 16 | ||||||
| MIDI melodic channels | 8 | 15 | 15 | 16 combined | 32 combined (on 2 ports) |
64 combined (on 4 ports) |
14 | 16 combined | |
| Rhythm/percussion channels | 1 | 1 (#10) | 1 | 2 (#10 & #11) | |||||
| Channel recommendations | #10: drums | #1: melody; #2: melody (duet); #3: bass; #4: pad; #5: riff; #10: drums |
|||||||
| Sounds banks available | |||||||||
| Melodic instruments | 128 | 128 | 226 | 480 | 1074 | 1149 | 256 | 360 | |
| Drum kits | 1 | 1 | 8 + 1 SFX kit |
9 + 2 SFX kits | 34 + 2 SFX kits | 35 + 2 SFX kits | 9 | 12 kits | |
| Drum sounds per kit | 30 | 47 | 61 | 72 | 61 | 53 | |||
| Controls available | |||||||||
| Special CC | 2 | 6 (MT32+4) | 6 (GM) | ||||||
| Parametric effect CC | 4 | 5 | 16 (GM+11) | 51 (GM+46) | 12 (GM+7) | ||||
| RPNs | 0 | 5 | 6 (GM+1) | ||||||
| SysEx messages | 2 | 14 | |||||||