Maxwell Posted July 9, 2017 Share Posted July 9, 2017 Hello, I'm not sure if this forum is still active(I hope it is) and I'm glad I found it, so here I go. I recently purchased both P1 & G1 as I was impressed at their capabilities and I must say that for the price, these are both really good sounding synths. Anyhow, I was wondering if someone knows how to create kind kind of a bubbly, laser gun sound. I don't know how its made or its real name and if its even possible but you can hear it on Angel's Tower song intro. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYOQ2FeCET8. please let me know thank you all 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlenK Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 After listening to the video I would hazard a guess that the solo-synth engine could probably do it. You'd need to use a pitch envelope to get the downward swooping effect. This would be a monophonic sound (although duophonic is actually possible!) but if you enable a delay effect (it's one of the options in the solo-synth DSP effects block) it should sound similar. If I had time I'd take it as a programming challenge but I don't. Perhaps someone else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrettM Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 The classic way to produce a laser zap, heard in countless sci-fi movies and computer games and occasionally in electronic music, is with a rapidly closing self-resonating filter. Unfortunately the XW solo synth filter does not self resonate. But we can synthesize it because most filters produce sine waves when self resonating. Start with a basic “Untitled” patch in the solo synth with Syn1 already set to a sine. The pitch sweep is easy: set Edit->Osc Block->Oscillator->Env. Depth to +63 and the pitch envelope (Envelope immediately below Env. Depth) Atk. Level to +63. Use Dcy. Time to set the desired timing of your pitch drop, maybe somewhere around 20. The only tricky thing is shutting off the sound once the pitch drop reaches its minimum which is probably best done via an amp envelope. In Edit->Osc Block->Amp->Envelope, start with all values zero, then set Init Level to 126 and Atk. Level to 127. Adjust Atk. Time to hold the amp open just long enough for the pitch sweep to complete, maybe around 25. You may want to set Dcy. Time to 2 or 3 if you hear any clicks or pops. There are other ways to produce a pitch sweep of course, using the pitch bend wheel or portamento from a high note to a low note, but they involve a carefully timed real-time performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxwell Posted July 13, 2017 Author Share Posted July 13, 2017 Thanks guys. I realize I'm trying to recreate the effect of either an Arp or Moog, not sure which one he used to create it but I will give it a go as soon as my new studio is setup. I'm new at these XW synths so still don't know much about them. Question for Alen, I printed/read the XW-P1 companion manual and learned a lot from it, do you think you'll be writing a companion manual for the XW-G1 as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Display Name Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 2 hours ago, Maxwell said: I realize I'm trying to recreate the effect of either an Arp or Moog, The XW's have really nice samples Arp and Moog synths. Makes for an easy start point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxwell Posted July 14, 2017 Author Share Posted July 14, 2017 Indeed Scott, I think I've watched all the clinic vids by Mike particularly the one he shows all the synth samples, very interesting. I usually get bored of synths after a month or two and sell them off but not these two. I'm hoping to do some nice things. I appreciate the guidance, thanks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chas Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 On 7/13/2017 at 8:50 AM, BrettM said: Unfortunately the XW solo synth filter does not self resonate. I thought they did? When you crank the resonance close to maximum (approx. 110 and above) and then sweep the cut off, at sweet spots you get that classic "sine wave" resonance sound added. Certainly the XW's solo synth filter is in reality a digital simulation of a real analogue filter, though it can sound and work similar (if a little harsh at times). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxwell Posted July 14, 2017 Author Share Posted July 14, 2017 You discover new things everyday about these synths.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlenK Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 On July 13, 2017 at 4:36 PM, Maxwell said: Question for Alen, I printed/read the XW-P1 companion manual and learned a lot from it, do you think you'll be writing a companion manual for the XW-G1 as well? Unfortunately, the answer is "No." For one thing I don't have an XW-G1; you can't write a guide like that without actually using the instrument it's about. Second, even if an XW-G1 were to magically appear at my door, writing a similar guide at this late date for a five-year-old product is probably not a productive use of my time. Writing the Companion took uncounted hours over a couple of years in my spare time. (I chose to work on that instead of actually making music .) That said, I'm in the process of writing Volume 2 of the Companion which is all about emulating vintage synthesizer sounds and acoustic (and electromechanical) instruments. While Volume 1 is a guide to the XW-P1's synthesis capabilities, Volume 2 is more of a tutorial about using those capabilities. The sounds that I'm coming up with that use the solo synth and those that use the Performance mode without Hex Layers, should be usable on the G1 as well as on the P1, perhaps requiring some wave substitutions since the two instruments have different wave lists. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlenK Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 On July 14, 2017 at 0:19 PM, Chas said: I thought they did? When you crank the resonance close to maximum (approx. 110 and above) and then sweep the cut off, at sweet spots you get that classic "sine wave" resonance sound added. Certainly the XW's solo synth filter is in reality a digital simulation of a real analogue filter, though it can sound and work similar (if a little harsh at times). I think it is TRYING to break into oscillation, which is why it sounds so "narly." But if it actually did self-oscillate it would output a sine wave (or something reasonably close) that would never stop (unless you turn down the resonance), since there is no equivalent of a VCA after the filter. The fact that Casio designed the solo synth that way actually proves the filter can't self-oscillate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrettM Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 One way to demonstrate that the XW filter does not self-resonate is to, again starting with a fresh "Untitled" patch, turn down the volume of Syn1 (found in its Amp submenu). No oscillators are sounding at this point. Now turn up the total filter resonance to full and sweep the cutoff. What do you hear? Nothing. If the filter was self-resonating it would be screaming. I don't see the lack of self-resonance as any great problem because Casio have done an excellent job of emulating a filter at the point of break-out, making it very "narly" and usable as Alen just said. Self-resonance is most useful for creating another oscillator but it's usually so loud it drowns everything else out. The XWs already have four in any case so there is less of a need here. For effects, you can always emulate it as I suggested above. I have thought of an improvement to the laser zap patch mentioned above in post 3. (Why do I never get them right first time?) When setting the envelope for the pitch sweep, as well as setting Atk. Level to +63, you can also set the Sus. Level to -64, thereby doubling the range of the sweep. The timings would also need to be tweaked to accommodate this broader sweep. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxwell Posted July 16, 2017 Author Share Posted July 16, 2017 Thank you AlenK, your contribution is well received / appreciated already. Can't wait for volume 2 so I can learn and discover more about the synth. I'm glad that I was able to find knowledgeable people like yourselves in this forum that know these synths well and make my life easier learning about them. Too bad I only found out about them years later. BrettM, I'm almost finished setting up my studio and will get into trying this out soon. thank you for your assistance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chas Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 AlenK and BrettM, thanks for putting me straight with regards to "self oscillating" filters. I feel stupid now, getting "resonance" and "self oscillating" confused - duh! In my defence, I was thinking of those synths that have rather tame filters i.e. Casio HT series, Roland AlphaJuno and even my own Roland JX-3P. They all have "resonant" filters, but even at extreme resonance they barely produce that high pitched sine wave sound when sweeping the filter. In comparison, the XW's Solo Synth filter is quite a beast, on the point of breaking up and producing that high pitched sound at extremes of resonance. Of course, you are both right in that though it sounds as if it might be self resonant, it's not and is still a digital emulation of a classic filter. Oh, and to my knowledge the Roland AlphaJuno's filter resonance cannot be changed, but good news for me, the Roland JX-3P and the Casio HT's CAN be made to self oscillate (I have a JX-3P and a few Casio HT's in my collection). The JX-3P has resonance trim pots for each of its six filters, and these can be adjusted (they were set to be quite tame from the factory) to push the filters into self oscillation. The Casio HT's need a few simple mods to modify and take control of their filter's cut off and resonance, and to fit external potentiometers that allow adjustment way beyond the onboard settings. Still, despite not being self oscillating, the XW's Solo Synth filter does have quite a character Also Maxwell, I'm sure you probably already know, the XW-P1 Companion covers a lot of the G1 too. Other than the sampling and looping features obviously, the G1 has much of what the P1 has (obviously exempting the Hex Layers and the Drawbar Organ section). As much as I'd love to have a G1 Companion too, the fact that AlenK wrote the P1 Companion purely in his own time and for free means that we've already been incredibly lucky that he was prepared to research and write that for us. But I do agree, for those of us with G1's it would be wonderful to have a Companion as good as the P1 version, especially as the official Casio Manual left a lot to be desired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diallady Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 Guess this is directed to Allen. How would I be able to get a hold of this companion manual for the x w p 1? Am very new to this synth and anything I can get my hands on is welcome. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Saucier Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 2 minutes ago, Diallady said: Guess this is directed to Allen. How would I be able to get a hold of this companion manual for the x w p 1? Am very new to this synth and anything I can get my hands on is welcome. Thanks Go to your original post and read my response to you. Click on the link which takes you to Alen's post where the PDF file is downloadable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diallady Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 Followed your instructions and was able to download. I take it Re v 4 is the latest of volume 1. Thank you for assistance. Look forward to digesting it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diallady Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 Another newbie question: Am I correct to make the assumption that just about ANYTHING can be edited on the XWP1 and saved as a user setting? After dissecting all the features on the surface it seems like anything or any mode can be edited. Correct me if I am wrong. Blew my mind when I figured out you could alter the step sequences by the push of buttons, not including the 8 patterns. Every session is revealing new things. 2nd question: Can someone explain about the zones with key range letter references? Trying to figure where they are getting numbers from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Saucier Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 Oh yes, virtually everything can be edited on the XW synths. As far as zone key range letters, can you be more specific? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diallady Posted March 20, 2021 Share Posted March 20, 2021 Looking at diagram for key range in manual they talk about C-1 to G-9. The diagram shows C-2 on left side of keyboard and C-7 on right side. And the breakouts for zones are shown. Are these in stone or can those areas also be changed. Maybe there is something I just don't understand. Can you enlighten? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diallady Posted March 20, 2021 Share Posted March 20, 2021 Are those zones going to always be in the same place occupying those specific key ranges? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Saucier Posted March 20, 2021 Share Posted March 20, 2021 The 4 zones for performances are not fixed. They can be whatever range of keys you select in the zone key range edit menu. As far as C-1 to C-7, that is a musical term naming the note and octave number. It just tells you which octave the note is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diallady Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 Alright now I understand. They are referencing an 88 key and since this is only 61 that would explain. And about the zones that is good news to be able to choose. Thank you for clarifying. Spent some time with using the user portion of phrase sequencer. Discovered once you record a phrase you can also change tone setting during playback and play in different tone even if you haven't saved. Also discovered tempo could be changed too. Was experimenting with custom arpeggio. Been making all these discoveries and know I haven't scratched surface yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diallady Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 Ok I was thinking about the numerical key reference in relation to number of octaves but I was wrong. Get it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diallady Posted April 6, 2021 Share Posted April 6, 2021 More questions coming forth! After studying the Appendix can someone give me an explanation about program change and bank select? What do they mean and where do those numbers come from. What is their significance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Saucier Posted April 7, 2021 Share Posted April 7, 2021 It is MIDI data, for selecting tones. Here is a tutorial I found online. http://midi.teragonaudio.com/tutr/bank.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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