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Solo Synth is Strange


MAXWP1Guy

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I realize I'm very new to this so please bear with me and I apologize in advance for sounding so dim, but is there any way to determine if my solo synth is working properly?

There are several things about the way the adjustment knobs work that just really don't make sense.  For example if I turn the synth. on and just select "tone" mode and Solo Synth, why do I have the numbers 1,9,15 and 13 lights lit up on the Step Sequencer buttons?

Let's ignore that for a minute and go straight to playing a sound.   Here is exactly what is on the display:

"TONE   SOL: P-0-0
XW SoloSynth
K1: CUTOF K2: RESO
K3: A.ATK. K4: A.REL

The "TAP" light is flashing.  I guess is never stops flashing (it never has in the entire time I've had the board).

All my knobs are on the middle detent position, the modulation wheel is all the way DOWN and the bender wheel is centered.  I'll call this the DEFAULT.

OK I hit middle C:

I get a nice sharp tone with some echo (I can hear it echo 4 times as it fades out).

Now I turn the K1 ("CUTOF") knob so the diplay shows "CUTOFF: 90". 

 

However I do not play a note, I just turn the knob back to center so that it reads:  "CUTOFF 64".

 

Hit Middle C again.

VERY DIFFERENT sound, much softer, like it's being played through a fog.  All I did was turn the Cutoff to 90 and then back again, but the sound is not the same at all.

To get the original sound back, I have to hit the + and - button (or turn the rotary knob) to the next synth voice and back again.

Is this normal?  Also, on many of the Solo Synth sounds, turning the various adjustment knobs causes the sound to disappear entirely or diminish to a tiny note that sounds like it's being played 1000 miles away - even if you turn the knobs back to center, you have to manually reset the voice to get the original sound back.

And I'm not sure my "original sounds" are correct as a result of this, either.

Help!  All assistance is appreciated.  None of this is covered in the manual and it's very confusing to turn a knob, see a number, turn it back to where it originally was, and not be able to get the same tone back.

Also, this guy does a demo of his XW-P1 and his solo synth sounds a lot better than mine, or at least it seems to.  I can't get sounds like the ones he seems to have at all.  His "native" solo synth sounds just seem to be much better than mine.  Any ideas?



 
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The initial  knob position has nothing to do with the initial value of the parameter - that value is preset in the tone.

Thanks at least that partially clears it up.  I feel like a dolt asking these questions, but because I've not had the opportunity to try a reference sample of this synthesizer before I purchased mine (online) I'm doing a little of that "freaking myself out" thing.  I appreciate the answers and I'll do my best to help others once I learn more about this instrument.  What I don't get, I guess, is that if I turn a parameter to an arbitrary value and then back to the originally displayed value, it's perplexing that the instrument doesn't sound the same. 

It's like: "Ok, well it was 64 then you turned it to 90 but when you turn it back to 64, that's no longer 64, it's 80."

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The tap tempo light is always active (flashing) I guess to avoid having to switch it on/off when you switch around from tone mode to sequencer mode to performance mode, so that you can activate any tempo you want with the sequencer running  in sequencer or performance mode by using the tap function more quickly-alot of the functions in the XW series are designed for quick switching around for live playing.

 

As far as numbers appearing in the sequencer section, this means there is note data already stored in whatever preset sequencer setting was used last before you switched to tone mode or even if you have never switched to sequencer mode, this will always occur.  Each number represents a sequencer "track" and the light on means that track has note data stored in it. The XW has many sequences already created from the factory. if you switch to sequencer mode, and go to an empty "user" sequence slot, no lights will be on since there is no recorded data stored in the sequencer yet.

 

Hang in, this keyboard is based on at least 3 "old school" concepts of synthesis-1) a stand-alone step sequencer 2) a stand-alone monophonic and polyphonic synthesizer and 3) a simple drawbar organ..........but also has the ability to have at least 4 completely different musical passages playing simultaneously (an arpeggio, a phrase, an entire sequencer arrangement with multiple percussion and melody parts and of course you playing live! Has taken many of us awhile to figure this all out.....i still haven't!

 

As far as the control knobs, I'll have to check this. Understand that the 4 knobs will not retain their settings when you switch sounds around as Scott has already said. You can alter the sound with the knobs and store that to an empty user sound slot then the sound will always sound the same as the way you set it with the knobs but the knobs are always "live". When you select a tone, you are also selecting preset values that over-ride whatever positions the knobs may be at regardless. Every tone already has settings stored in it for attack, decay, reverb amount and cutoff. The knobs must be moved or "zeroed out" in order to respond to their accurate "relative" values, to change the preset values already stored in each tone. Hope I helped!

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MAXWP1Guy:

 

A synthesizer is very different and complex than a piano by the amount of functions. You need to read about types of waves (square, sine, sawtooth...), ADSR, cutoff, oscillator, LFO, low-pass filter, high-pass filter, etc., etc. The theory is too extensive. But it is necessary to understand the use of the synthesizer.

I leave links, but you inquire about the wonderful world of synthesizer:
 

 

Patience, perseverance and fun.

 

The Force is with you.

Edited by David
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Thanks everone.  I'm sure I've just got a bit of "new thing paranoia" going on.  I spent some more time with it and it's beginning to come together.  I have an engineering background so I have some understanding of the basic meanings of the terms, but as I said I haven't touched a piano (which is what I played, for the most part) or keyboard in almost 30 years -- so this is quite a trip.  It's "Back to the Future" and "Beyond Tomorrow" meet "Dr. Who" all in one jam session, as it were, with "You Can Call Me Al..." playing in the background...

I'll parse all the help everyone has given and post again tomorrow.

Thank you mightily for your help and good will.  This was a christmas present to myself - I was once a pretty good amateur player but it's a perishable skill and I've neglected it for a long time.  I'm having a lot of fun with this Casio, though. 

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There are many great videos on Youtube, about the basics of sound synthesis. Unfortunately, the XW-P1 is not the greatest learning tool for those things due to poor hands on control. A little better solution is to use the PC editor software to edit the sounds, but it can get very intimidating (for synth newbies) due to large number of parameters. 

 

My advice is to try this: 

 

http://www.audiosauna.com/studio/

 

That is music program which gives you a virtual analog synthesizer. It is very simple, and it is excellent for learning sound synthesis and getting familiar with things like filters, amplifiers, envelopes, LFOs... And the solosynth from the XW-P1 works on the same principles as the synth in the link, only the P1 is way more complex than that. 

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I'm beginning to see the light.  Thanks for the links I am going to try them and the programs, and I'm getting there.

Now I know the synthesizer really works and I'm not sitting here with a defective or damaged piece of equipment.  It took a little work but I just successfully took the basic XW synth sound, (0-0) modified it pretty extensively through the edit/menu/write system, including the effects and oscillator, saved it to a user preset and then applied it to a phrase, which I also modified. I created a totally new, very impressive and unique sound and it works perfectly.

Now I have a slightly more Beatnik version of the opening from the Beach Boys' "California Girls."  It's bitchin! Now that I see there are a *lot* more rooms in the castle than I thought, it's fairly well amazing.  And I modified several of the PCM sounds as well and saved them off. 

Thanks to everyone for the help!  You're all extraordinary.  I've learned more in 5 hours than I thought I would in several days.  The relieving thing is that I am now sure the entire unit is functioning the way it should.  For a while there I thought it was more than the loose nut in front of the keyboard.  ;)

 

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