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AlenK

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Files posted by AlenK

  1. Lead Tone from Main Title of Escape From New York

    The 1981 movie Escape From New York starring Kurt Russell features a synthesizer soundtrack composed and performed by director John Carpenter and the film's sound designer Alan Howarth. This is an attempt to recreate the lead sound from the main title of that film. You can hear it at about the 35s mark in this video of the movie's opening credits: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cfxpq5V7rjA
     
    There are three required components in the zip file: a Performance, a solo-synth tone (which provides the filtering action) and a modified (user) PCM tone. Load them where you want in your XW synth and edit the Performance to point to where you stored the two tones. This tone was created on the XW-P1 but should also work on the XW-G1. If for some reason it doesn't, then the user PCM tone may be the problem. It can be recreated on the XW-G1 by taking Saw Lead 1 (P269) and changing its attack value to +50.
     
    PS. A full description of how the emulation was crafted can be found in The XW-P1 Companion: Volume 2 - Emulation Examples.
     
    PPS. Apparently, the file formats for some of the components are different enough between the P1 and the G1 to make this download incompatible with the G1. However, if you follow the principles used in creating it as described in both of my documents, with enough effort it should be possible to do on a G1.
     

    111 downloads

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  2. Smooth Crossfading in a Hex Layer Tone

    The attached zip archive contains two examples of crossfading between two waves in a Hex Layer tone. Crossfading is a much smoother way to transition between two waves with playing force than velocity switching. 
     
    In these examples the crossfading occurs between two waves that are sampled from the same instrument and which are used for the velocity-switched "60's E.Piano" PCM melody tone (P2-0 in the PCM Piano category). One sample was presumably recorded from a low-velocity strike; the other from a high-velocity strike. A key feature of the crossfading is that the full dynamic range of the instrument is maintained over the velocity range. 
     
    One example—3-SEG_XF.ZLT—uses all six layers while the other—2-SEG_XF.ZLT—uses only four layers, leaving the final two layers available for introducing other waves. Two additional files are included in the zip archive: TESTVELO.ZSS and TESTVELO.ZPF. These can be useful to test for the smoothness of the transitions between each segment in the final tone. The first file is a sequence that repeats the same note at increasingly higher velocities over the total velocity range. The second file is a Performance that calls up the sequence and the tone. The Performance is required only because the single active track of the sequence needs to point to Part 1 not Part 14. That assignment can only be done from within a Performance. Load the Performance, the sequence and the tone wherever you want in your XW-P1 then edit the Performance to tell it where you put the sequence and the tone.
     
    A full description of how the crossfading is accomplished can be found here.

    112 downloads

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  3. Synth Bass from "Fade to Grey" by Visage

    Fans of 80's New Wave music will certainly know about the song "Fade to Grey," which was released in 1980 by Visage. That group inspired the "New Romantics" movement that later spawned Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet. Several members of Visage went on to greater fame as members of Ultravox. This bass tone was originally done on a Polymoog with studio effects added later in production. The original tone can be heard in the following video (which is the original video for the song) starting from about 9s in:
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vMPR6Ujop4k
      
    PS. A full description of how the emulation was crafted is provided in The XW-P1 Companion: Volume 2 - Emulation Examples.

    133 downloads

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  4. Duophonic Emulation

    Here is a simple patch to illustrate emulation of duophonic operation using the normally monophonic Solo Synth. It is able to play two pitches at once from the keyboard using oscillators Syn1 and Syn2. If you press one key both Syn1 and Syn2 play the key's pitch, as expected. If you press two keys the first one that is detected will play Syn1 and the second one will play Syn2. If you press additional keys Syn2 will play the pitch of the last key pressed while the pitch of Syn1 will not change.
     
    While the tones used in this example are very simple there is no reason they could not be more complex with different waveforms, envelopes, filtering, etc.
     
    This tone was created on a XW-P1 but there is no reason it should not also work on the XW-G1.

    106 downloads

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  5. Growl Saxophone Tones

    Here are some "growl" saxophone tones.  A growl-saxophone tone is the kind of tone you get out of a saxophone when you hum while blowing into the reed. The characteristic growl sound has been used often in rock, pop and jazz music; so much so, that it has become almost a cliche. Most ROMplers include such a tone based on samples of a real saxophone played that way. The XW-P1 doesn't, so such a tone must be synthesized instead. Fortunately, the DSP effects make it relatively easy to get reasonably close.
    The attached zip archive contains three solo synth tones and a PCM melody tone.  One of the solo synth tones is simply the ordinary tenor sax sound for comparison. Another, "TenorSaxGrwl," uses the solo-synth's ring-modulation DSP effect while the third solo-synth tone, "TenorSaxGwl2," uses the Autopan effect to create a very fast tremolo (an actual tremolo DSP effect is not available to the solo synth). The PCM melody tone uses the tremolo DSP effect. 

    185 downloads

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  6. "Synth" Tone from "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who

    This is certainly not the first time an emulation of the "synth" tone from "Won't Get Fooled Again" (1971) by the Who has been presented here. "Synth" is in quotes because the main sound originally came from an organ, which was merely processed through the filter of an early British synthesizer, the EMS VCS 3. This version combines ideas from both Brett Myor and "Bigmark" who released multiple versions of this emulation to the site some time ago. I haven't downloaded or tried them; hopefully this one is not just repeating what someone else has already done.
     
    The zip file contains two required components: a Performance and a user effect. Store the effect where you like in your XW and edit the Performance to point to it.
     
    This was created on an XW-P1. However, the only thing stopping it from working on an XW-G1 is the location of the required preset PCM tone Full Drawbar (P6-0 in the PCM Piano Category). The XW-G1 has the same tone in its presets but stored in a different location, namely P140. (PCM presets are organized differently on the two keyboards.) Hence, if you edit the Performance to use P140 it should work on the G1.
     
    PS. A full description of how the emulation was crafted is provided in The XW-P1 Companion: Volume 2 - Emulation Examples.

    168 downloads

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  7. A Minimoog Lead Tone

    Here's a brassy Minimoog lead tone inspired by a song called "Journey" by the brilliant Canadian progressive-rock band FM from their seminal album "Black Noise" released in 1977. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VigL6jN3vY, with the lead sound being emulated here starting  about 2m21s into the song. The amount of portamento in the patch fits that song but should be adjusted for faster or slower tempos. This patch should work on both the XW-P1 and XW-G1 models.    
     
    PS. A full description of how the emulation was crafted can be found in The XW-P1 Companion: Volume 2 - Emulation Examples.

    125 downloads

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  8. Hard Sync Lead from "Let's Go"

    This is not the first patch for the XW synths released here that emulates the hard-sync lead from "Let's Go" by the Cars on their 1979 album "Candy O." It's just my personal take on it. The original was done on a polyphonic Prophet 5 synthesizer. However, this emulation is monophonic because on the XW synths, the solo synth is the only synthesis mode that supports hard sync. Note that this tone exhibits noticeable aliasing above about middle F. It should work on both the XW-P1 and the XW-G1 models.  
     
    PS. A full description of how the emulation was crafted can be found in The XW-P1 Companion: Volume 2 - Emulation Examples.

    112 downloads

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  9. String Section

    The XW-P1 seems to have plenty of PCM tones that emulate the sound of a string section of an orchestra but they evidently are all based on a single set of samples. The resulting sound is somewhat strident. While that fits well with some types of music it doesn't fit well with others. This is an attempt to create a more lush, "Hollywood" kind of string sound. The result is far from perfect - the XW-P1 just doesn't have the required samples - but it is somewhat better than the default string-section sounds.
     
    Note that when the tone is first called up, it is necessary to jog the modulation wheel in order to hear the tone at its proper volume. The modulation wheel is used here as a real-time expression control much like how sample libraries use it rather than for vibrato.
     
    Note that the softer string-section sound is accessed with velocities from 000 to 090. A slightly more marcato sound is triggered with velocities from 091 to 110, and the P1's "standard" string-section sound with a marcato attack is triggered above velocity 110. If your playing style differs from mine, you might have to customize those velocities. 
     
    PS. I initially uploaded a version of the file with wrong velocities. I am not sure I successfully corrected that so be sure to compare what is in the file with the velocity ranges described above, which should also match those listed in The XW-P1 Companion: Volume 2 - Emulation Examples, where you can also read about how the tone was crafted. 

    210 downloads

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  10. Phrase Selection Using Pattern Buttons

    Here is an example of a technique for selecting phrases for playback using the XW synth's pattern buttons. It should work on both the XW-P1 and the XW-G1. There are two required components in the zip file: a Performance and a step sequence. Load them where you want to in your XW synth. Now edit the Performance to point to the step sequence. If you want to use your own phrases rather than the presets in the example you will have to edit the step sequence accordingly. Before editing be sure to read this post and section 5.2.2 of The XW-Companion, Volume 1 (Rev 4 or later) to understand how it all works.
    To use the Performance hit the STEP SEQ button. Now press a pattern button and hit START/STOP or the optional foot pedal configured to do the same thing to start playback of the selected phrase. Most of the phrases in the example are programmed to play Part/Zone 1. However, several play a different part chosen from parts 8 to 16. Also, most of the phrases play just once but one of them is programmed to loop endlessly. Hit START/STOP or the foot pedal again to stop it.
     
    NOTE: In order for phrases to play only once rather than repeat endlessly it is necessary to set "S.Seq NRPN" to "On" in the MIDI Settings menu; see page E-70 in the XW-P1 User's Guide or page E-82 in the XW-G1's User's Guide. This is a global setting that is not stored in a Performance hence must be enabled manually. 

    65 downloads

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  11. Pseudo-Envelope Controlled Filter Sweep of Hex Layer Tone

    Here's an example of a filter sweep for a Hex Layer polyphonic tone. This is accomplished using a "pseudo-envelope" created using the step sequencer, which is used within a Performance to modulate the center frequency of the bandpass filter in the Wah DSP effect within a custom Hex Layer tone. The tone is based on the preset tone "Analogued" (P2-8) but modified with a different attack and to turn off the LFO in the Wah effect. A so-called "Null" arpeggio is used only in zone 2 (which consequently becomes silent) in order to trigger the pseudo-envelope on every keypress to emulate a real filter envelope. You can read more about the technique here.
     
    There are four components in the zip file: a Performance, a custom Hex Layer tone, a step sequence and an arpeggio. Load them where you want to in your XW synth. Now edit the Performance to point to all of the other components.
     
    NOTE: The control of the step sequencer necessary to create the pseudo-envelope requires that "S.Seq NRPN" be "On" in the MIDI settings menu; see page E-70 in the User's Guide. This is a global setting that is not saved in each Performance, hence you must enable this as a separate step. 

    128 downloads

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  12. Generating Random Values

    Here’s an example of a technique to generate a single random value within the solo synth that holds for the length of a note and that can be used to modify parameters of the solo synth such as filter cutoff. How it works is fully described here. This example merely modifies the pitch of a single oscillator in order to allow you to clearly hear the effect. The file should work on both the XW-P1 and XW-G1.

    58 downloads

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  13. What??

    Here’s an interesting sound I discovered by accident. I named it after the reaction I had when I first heard it.
     
    The basis for this Hex Layer tone is a mix of two waveforms: Sy_MM Ramp (658) and Sy_MM Saw (659). They are perfectly complementary; the same waveforms with opposite phases. If they are mixed together with the same amplitudes and at the same pitch they exactly cancel and you hear silence.
     
    If, on the other hand, the pitch of one is offset a little bit, as they are here they will cancel only at the start of the note and then drift out of phase as the note progresses. The result is a thin pulse tone that changes to a square wave, the rate of change depending on the pitch offset as well as on the pitch of the note you play. If the note is held long enough the waveform will change back to a pulse and cancel out briefly again cyclically. It’s essentially a controlled form of pulse-width modulation.
     
    Another tone that layers this one with additional elements to achieve something a lot more powerful can be found here. 

    120 downloads

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  14. Adding Functions to the Foot Pedal

    This is an example of using the step sequencer within a Performance to allow the optional foot pedal to do things beyond the standard functions supported directly by the XW synths. You can read about how it works in section 5.2.3 of The XW-P1 Companion, Volume 1 (Rev 4 or later). This example merely switches between tones in two zones but you can use it as a template to do something more useful. It should work on both XW models: P1 and G1.
    There are two required components in the zip file: a Performance and a step sequence. Load them where you want to in your XW synth. Now edit the Performance to point to the step sequence.
    NOTE: Control of the step sequencer for this application requires the "S.Seq NRPN" parameter in the MIDI Settings menu to be set to "On"; see page E-70 in the XW-P1 User's Guide or page E-82 in the XW-G1's User's Guide. This is a global setting that is not stored in a Performance hence must be enabled manually. 

    46 downloads

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  15. Power!

    Here's a Hex Layer tone based on the same idea described here but layered with other waves to make something far more useful. 

    140 downloads

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  16. Lead Electric Guitar (Solo Synth)

    My attempt at some lead guitar sounds using the solo synth. All three use the modulation wheel for something other than vibrato.
     
    (1) Lead Guitar.ZSY is based on an overdrive guitar PCM wave (0312) with some mild distortion added. It uses the mod wheel to increase release time.
     
    (2) LeadGuitrHrm.ZSY uses the same base sound but the mod wheel crossfades it with a detuned guitar harmonic PCM (0328). Rolling the wheel up after a sustained note introduces what hopefully sounds like feedback.
     
    (3) LdGtrAutoHrm,ZSY uses the same PCMs as (2) but adds an envelope to the harmonic sound that automatically fades it in if a note is held for a few seconds. The mod wheel determines how much of the harmonic sound is heard.

    299 downloads

       (1 review)

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  17. Simulated Sample-and-Hold

    This is an example of a little trick to simulate a sample-and-hold effect. It uses both of the solo-synth LFOs to turn a continuously changing waveform from one of the LFOs (LFO2) into a discretely stepped version. This works on both the XW-P1 and the XW-G1. How the technique works is described here.
     
    This example starts with a triangle (Tri) wave for LFO2. Change it to Sin, SawUp or SawDown to hear different effects. While here the stepped LFO modulates the pitch of a simple sawtooth wave it could be used to modulate anything.

    66 downloads

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  18. Simulated Stepped Glissando

    This is an example of a cool special effect that modifies a smooth portamento pitch glide between two notes into a series of discrete steps. It should work equally well on both the XW-P1 and XW-G1.  A full description of the technique can be found here.
    Note that this example uses just a single oscillator with a simple sawtooth waveform. The technique can be used with any of the pitched oscillators (Syn1, Syn2, PCM1, PCM2) configured with any waveforms and with any envelopes. You can also extend the technique to the external input oscillator using an additional virtual controller.  

    57 downloads

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  19. Mildly Distorted Organs

    A couple of mildly distorted organs modified from melody tone presets.

    238 downloads

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