Using the XW's Resonant Filter with Polyphonic Tones

[Chas]

HOW TO INCORPORATE A POLYPHONIC RESONANT FILTER WITH THE XW-P1 and G1

 

Many people like me seem to have struggled to understand how to use the XW's resonant filter outside of the Solo Synth section i.e. with polyphonic tones. With a bit of experimenting, I believe I now know how to achieve this.

 

First of all, what confused some people (like me) with a P1, is that you CANNOT use the the Resonant Filter with Hex Layers or the Draw Bar organ. It ONLY works with PCM tones, samples or via sound input into the XW from external sources (i.e. the 6th oscillator). The reason for this is, from what I understand, is that with the P1 you can only have the Solo Synth OR the Hex Layers OR the Drawbar organ at any one time. To be able to use the filter with resonance, you HAVE to have a solo synth tone selected as well as a PCM or sample. This is less of an issue with the G1 as it does not have Hex Layers or Drawbar sections, therefore it can filter any of its sound sources.

 

The instructions below show what I did on my G1, though the same principle applies to the P1. There may be better ways of achieving this, so I don't expect my little guide to be taken as total gospel. This is just how I figured it out.

 

 

To get a nice filter sweep with a PCM polyphonic tone(s):

 

1. Select a solo synth tone with some nice sounding filter resonance. For this I chose solo synth tone P004 (MM raw lead). This tone needs to be edited, so you need to save (write) a copy of it to a user tone slot. I used the U023 slot and left the name as it was. Now, the next bit is important depending on whether you want to mix the solo synth tone with the polyphonic tone. If you don't, then you need to press 'Edit', scroll down to 'Volume' and change the level to '0'. Now 'Write' this tone back into the slot and exit back to the main screen/ front page of the XW.

 

2. Now you need to select the 'Performance' mode, and press 'Edit'. Select 'Zone Parameters', which should take you to Zone 1 (you can have up to four zones). In Zone 1, you need to select the solo synth tone that we edited above for the 'Tone' (select U023 if you saved it into this slot.) Now scroll down to 'Key Range', and select Keyrange Low as the bottom note and Keyrange High as the top note - you just press the corresponding Hi and Low 'C' on the keyboard to do this.

 

3. Next you need to select your second tone (the polyphonic PCM, or a sample). While still in the Zone 1 menu, just press the 'Part +' button (just below the master volume knob), which will take you nicely into 'Zone 2'. Make sure the first setting (Zone) is set to 'ON'. Select the PCM or sample tone you wish to use - I used P157 (syn-strings1). Now scroll down the menu to get to the 'Key Range' setting like you did above, and select Keyrange High and Low to cover the whole keyboard again. While still in the Zone 2 menu, scroll down until you get to 'DSP Line' and select 'On'.

 

4. Now hit the 'Exit' button, which will take you back the 'Performance' main menu. Scroll down and select 'Controllers', and for 'K1' select CC74 (Cut off), and for 'K2 select CC71 (Resonance). Exit back to the front screen of the XW

 

5. If you are happy with these selections, you need to write them into a 'Performance' slot. Hit 'write' and select one of the user slots (I used U-93). All the settings are now stored, and you can instantly recall all the above selections by selecting 'Performance U-93' (or whichever Performance User slot you saved them to).

 

 

Now it's time for the fun part! Adjust the 'K2' knob to around '114' (don't go too high as the resonance can get a bit overwhelming at higher values), hold down a chord, then sweep the 'K1' knob and listen to the results. You should now have that classic polyphonic resonant filter sweep! On the G1 you can of course select the 'Total Filter' section and use the sliders for the same effect. Furthermore, you can even add a further two tones as there are four possible Zones in total available per 'Performance' . It is possible to have 1 x solo synth tone and 3 x PCM/ sample tones giving you in effect a 'Quad' layer! If you silence the solo synth sound you can have a triple layer, which is still impressive.

 

Additionally, you can also set the filter up so that it does/ does not retrigger with each key press, and also add in the LFO to sweep the cut-off. Some very odd sounds can be achieved by doing this!

 

Important things to remember:

 

• On the P1, you cannot use the Solo Synth resonant filter with the Hex Layers or Drawbar sections
• There is only one global (paraphonic) filter, not 6 or 8 like the higher end classic analogues such as the Jupiter 6/ 8, or Oberheim OBX.
• You can select the filter to re-trigger for each key press, or to cycle/ stay in its current state for all subsequent key presses. You don't get an individual filter per key.
• By adjusting settings in the 'Mixer' section, you can also get the filter applied to the step sequencer (and I assume Looper) as well. You can filter everything playing, or select which sections you want to go to the filter (this is a very flexible and powerful feature).
• You can set the zones up so that you have a solo synth bass sound at the bottom part of the keyboard, and polyphonic PCM tones on the upper. When you start adding the arpeggio function as well for the solo synth bass section, you get some great choppy synth sounds when you play a chord in the PCM section and sweep the cut off.
• Don't expect it to sound quite as smooth or as pleasant as an genuine analogue filter - this is a fully digital synth with a digital filter emulating an analogue filter. It's good, but it's no Jupiter!
• Be careful with the resonance at high levels - it can be somewhat harsh and can split your ears when you sweep the cut -off.

 

Most importantly, HAVE FUN with your XW and get creating with these new sounds and total filter control.

[Brad Saucier]

Very good write up Chas!!   

[Jokeyman123]

Very nice! Most digital filters tend to be "choppy". I'll check out the XW. I also studied the post about using the LFOs within a tone to create filter sweeps like an auto-wah effect, also looks very interesting. Thanks for the info.

[Brad Saucier]

The PX-5s filters are smooth as silk no matter how hard you push them.          The XW filters sound pretty good too IF you sweep the filter slow.  

[Peter]

I maybe mentioned this, but when I want more resonance in my HexLayer tones, select DSP, go to "Wah" effect, waveform set to NONE, and then I can manually adjust the cutoff and resonance with the DPS parameter sliders.  

[Michael Anders]

Thank you very much for that post Chas. :-)

[Chas]

Very nice! Most digital filters tend to be "choppy". I'll check out the XW. I also studied the post about using the LFOs within a tone to create filter sweeps like an auto-wah effect, also looks very interesting. Thanks for the info.

 

Belated response!

 

Just to clarify what I meant about "choppy", I should have perhaps used "stutter" as a description. The effect I achieved was done by routing a solo synth arpeggiated bass line through the filter along with a PCM chord (using the "hold" function for the chord). The chord was continually playing, and the arpeggiated bass line was doing its thing. As you sweep the resonant filter closed, the chord starts to "stutter" in time with the bass line. I assume that somehow the filter is being re-triggered by each bass note (a result of having a single global filter) hence causing the "stutter" like effect. All I know is it sounds good and worked very well on one of the songs I wrote!

 

It's one of the many idiosyncrasies/ gems that the XW series have