Requirements:
- Tempest Final OS (Main 1.5.0.2 and Voice 1.5)
- A browser that supports the Web MIDI API (e.g. Google Chrome)
- Make sure you back up your Tempest before proceeding!
This is an unofficial editor for the Dave Smith Instruments Tempest. The Tempest never shipped with a documented sysex spec, so every parameter location, encoding, and container format this editor understands was reverse-engineered from scratch by capturing MIDI dumps, changing one thing at a time on a real unit, and comparing the results. I'd started this work on my own, and when fadeddata shared the results of his own manual work, that inspired me to keep going.
TempestEdit works with three specific sysex message types: a single Sound patch (a collection of synth voice parameters), a Beat (32 pads, each holding a full embedded Sound, plus per-beat tempo/swing/tuning and the Real Time FX slider assignments), a Project (16 Beats plus up to 4 Playlists). These can be imported and exported as either directly to RAM on the Tempest, and the equivalent “File” export of each, for saving to a named location on the Tempest.
The editor works in-browser - no files are sent to the server. The editor is as-is, I am not responsible for any effects it has on your machine; again, back up your Tempest before sending it SysEx messages.
To get started, load a .syx file or use
“Enable MIDI…” above to receive a dump directly
from your Tempest over USB or a MIDI interface.
Encounter a bug? Send me the Sysex file and a description of the error, my gmail address is leviathant, and I'll put it in the queue.
Support my work: I've made this editor freely available, but it wasn't free to make. If you find it useful, consider sending $10 my way. Thanks!
TempestEdit version 20260809, created by Matt Dunphy