G1 mixer bug workaround

[BrettM]

It's taken a while, but a few of us have determined that the G1's mixer has a bug which inhibits mixing http://www.casiomusicforums.com/index.php?/topic/12564-how-to-play-all-16-parts-from-the-keyboard/ In that thread, Ted gave the best description of this behaviour: 'when you move the slider, it "selects" that channel, and that is all it allows you to hear - the "selected" channel.  As though moving the slider "solos" that channel.' It's like being stuck in “solo mode” (as in page E-79 of the G1 manual, nothing to do with the solo synth). By the way, Ted also suggests that mixer quirkiness is shared by a number of other Casio keyboards so it's not simply a G1 problem.

 

I've been trying to figure out a solution to this issue and the best I've come up with is to simply move the MASTER slider slightly whenever you want to hear the total mix. This switches the mixer to the master “channel” in which all parts are sounded. So you can mix individual parts using their relevant slider and then twiddle the Master slider to hear the final mix. Not as good as being able to hear all parts while mixing, but manageable.

 

In the above link I suggested using the Key Shift key to put the mixer in “All” mode, but I now think this is not as good as simply twiddling the MASTER slider. Using “All” mode has very bad ergonomics, because, if you're like me, you will inevitably move a slider while in “All” mode and change the volume of all channels, thus undoing your mix; most infuriating.

[BrettM]

I forgot to mention that this problem only arises when mixing the keyboard, either via the usual zones 1-4 or channels 1-16 via midi as per the above link. When mixing channels 8-16 in the step sequencer, the mixer behaves as expected.