dfahrner Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 I've been able to use Sample Manager to set up a new multisample and download it to the MZ-X500. I'm using some Deagan vibraharp samples that I made years ago on an Ensoniq ESI-32, that I've used on a number of synths since, Yamaha Motifs, Korg KRONOS, etc., and they sound just as good on the MZ-X. It took a few tries (of course) to figure out how Sample Manager works, and now I also have several early attempts - useless user samples - on the MZ-X. How do I delete user samples on the instrument? Can I rename user samples? And how do I reload them into Sample Manager to tweak things? - I try to reload the .ZTN file but it doesn't seem to load correctly. The documentation is not very detailed or helpful, either...??? df Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Saucier Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 There is no delete or intialize function for user sample splits or tones. Everything is done by overwriting. From what I can tell so far, overwriting the tones eventually overwrites the sample splits as well. As far as renaming splits, that is not possible. (Edit 2019, a firmware update now allows split renaming) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfahrner Posted September 13, 2016 Author Share Posted September 13, 2016 That's good info, Brad...but what exactly is a "sample split"? I can't find that phrase in any of the manuals. The multisamples I created with Sample Manager are saved in the MZ-X under "Wave Number" as "UserSplit(nnn)" - is that the Casio terminology for a user multisample? And can I have my selected name for the "multisample" used instead of this (not very useful) "UserSplit" terminology? Am I doing something wrong in saving things from Sample Manager? And maybe most important of all, how can I get Sample Manager to reload my ZTN files for tweaking? Sorry for all the ???s, but Casio really needs to upgrade the manual(s) to answer these kind of questions, which will always come up when using complicated software and instruments... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Saucier Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Yes. A "split" is a multisample. A user split is a multisample wave created by the sample manager. There is no way to rename them. As far as reloading tones in the sample manager, that has been hit and miss for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfahrner Posted September 13, 2016 Author Share Posted September 13, 2016 (edited) When I try to reload the ZTN file into Sample Manager for editing, only one group of samples is loaded: several samples that have the same original key. They are shown with the correct (different) velocity settings; but all are incorrectly mapped to the full key range (C-1 to G9) instead the correct range (the original key + and - 1/2 step); and none of the other samples are loaded. This has not been hit or miss for me, it does this all of the time, and with different ZTN files. Clearing a tone that had used one of the original (incorrect) user splits did clear a couple of the UserSplit files; I'll continue to see if rewriting / clearing tone cleans up the others. We ought to be able to rename and relocate user splits on the MZ-X, just to make it easier to keep track of things. It sounds like you're kind of in the same situation, trying to get early release software to do what (we think) it's supposed to do, with only preliminary documentation. I guess we'll just have to wait for updates (hopefully?). But as I say, once I was able to get the samples set up in Sample Manager and into the MZ-X, they sound right. Edit: Clearing the tones that use user splits does seem to clear the splits, but at some point a newer user split that I wanted to keep got cleared too, even though it was still used by a tone (actually, all the user splits got cleared!). It seems like the "automatic" user split management isn't working correctly all of the time - the user should be the one who determines where s user split is to be stored, what the name will be, and when user splits are to be deleted, moved, or renamed. Edited September 14, 2016 by dfahrner Additional information Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfahrner Posted September 25, 2016 Author Share Posted September 25, 2016 (edited) After more work with Sample Manager, it looks like the problems I've been having are related to velocity layers. If I use only a single velocity layer 0-127 (for all 8 samples that have different key range assignments) things seem to work - I can reload the files into Sample Manager for editing, etc. The new tones can be loaded into the MZ-X (as single tones, not hex layer) and then I can create a new hex layer tone on the MZ-X that uses those newly loaded User Splits (one for each single tone) and then assign a velocity range to each. (When a Sample Manager ZTN file with multiple velocity layers is loaded in the MZ-X, it looks like each velocity layer is assigned to a separate User Split anyway.) I've tried loading a multi-velocity-layer ZTN file as a Hex Layer tone, but that doesn't work - it loads as a single tone that uses the highest velocity layer for the full velocity range. Information about this should be in the Sample Manager manual. I've also had trouble with individual samples within a user split not sounding, or user splits not working at all, after deleting unused or replaced tones to clean up earlier attempts, to try to get rid of unused user splits. I've also had sample and User Split problems after deleting old unused files from the USB flash disk that I've been using (and I leave installed in the MZ-X). It doesn't seem like disk files should affect anything after they've been loaded into the MZ-X (???). The Tone section of Sample Manager doesn't relate very closely to the MZ-X sound engine architecture - for example, the envelopes are very different, parameter ranges are different, there's only a single Tone section, etc. It looks like Sample Manager was adapted from a program written for another synth, and maybe this explains some of the problems. Hopefully Casio is working on this, and/or they should at least update the manual with recommended procedures and workarounds. df More info: In Silvano Silva's post "Delay in loading Sample ZTN", he quotes a report that in Sample Manager ZTN files "some keys are muted within a tone" after loading into the MZ-X - this sounds like (one of) the same problems that I describe above. Edited September 26, 2016 by dfahrner More info... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvano Silva Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 The solution is a new version of the sample manager and a new update for the keyboard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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