akai Akai Professional S6000 Akai S5000-S6000 Manual

s6000

s5000

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 1

WELCOME.......................................................................................................... 1

USER INTERFACE................................................................................................ 3

ABOUT THIS MANUAL........................................................................................... 3

S6000 FRONT PANEL ........................................................................................... 5

MAIN PANEL ........................................................................................... 5

REMOVABLE PANEL ................................................................................ 6

S6000 REAR PANEL ............................................................................................. 8

S5000 FRONT PANEL ........................................................................................... 10

S5000 REAR PANEL ............................................................................................. 11

CONNECTING THE S6000...................................................................................... 12

MOUNTING THE S6000 ......................................................................................... 13

SWITCHING THE S6000 ON ................................................................................... 14

KEY CONVENTIONS............................................................................................. 15

POP-UP WINDOWS .............................................................................................. 18

TOOLS MENUS.................................................................................................... 20

NUMERIC KEYPAD............................................................................................... 21

CURSOR KEYS.................................................................................................... 21

NAMING ............................................................................................................. 21

MARK/JUMP KEYS............................................................................................... 22

USER KEYS (S6000 ONLY) .................................................................................... 22

STRUCTURE .................................................................................... 23

LOAD............................................................................................. 27

MULTI............................................................................................ 35

S6000 STRUCTURE .............................................................................................. 23

VOICE ARCHITECTURE ........................................................................................ 25

ASSIGNABLE PROGRAM MODULATION (APM) ......................................................... 26

LOAD FOLDER .................................................................................................... 28

LOADING MULTIS ................................................................................................ 29

LOADING PROGRAMS.......................................................................................... 29

LOADING SAMPLES............................................................................................. 30

GET INFO ........................................................................................................... 30

OPEN/CLOSE FOLDER ......................................................................................... 30

AUDITION SAMPLE .............................................................................................. 31

SELECTING DISKS .............................................................................................. 32

DISK TOOLS....................................................................................................... 33

DISK INFO .............................................................................................. 33

VIEW ITEMS ........................................................................................... 33

SELECTING PARTS.............................................................................................. 37

CREATING A MULTI.............................................................................................. 38

ASSIGNING SOUNDS IN MEMORY TO PARTS........................................................... 39

EDITING PARTS .................................................................................................. 40

WINDOW FUNCTIONS........................................................................................... 42

PART LEVEL WINDOW.............................................................................. 42

OUTPUT WINDOW.................................................................................... 42

EFFECTS SEND WINDOW.......................................................................... 43

FINE TUNE WINDOW ................................................................................ 43

EDIT PART.......................................................................................................... 44

MULTI TOOLS ..................................................................................................... 45

GET INFO ............................................................................................... 45

QUICKLOAD ........................................................................................... 45

QUICKSAVE ........................................................................................... 46

MULTI LIST ............................................................................................. 47

PART TOOLS MENU ............................................................................................. 49

GET INFO ............................................................................................... 49

QUICKLOAD ........................................................................................... 49

QUICKSAVE ........................................................................................... 55

PROGRAM LIST....................................................................................... 56

KNOWN PROBLEMS WITH MIDI PROGRAM CHANGE ..................................... 59

SELECTING MULTIS REMOTELY VIA MIDI ............................................................... 60

USING MULTIS .................................................................................................... 61

USING MULTI MODE TO PLAY SINGLE PROGRAMS ...................................... 61

USING MULTI MODE TO PLAY LAYERED PROGRAMS.................................... 61

USING MULTI MODE TO PLAY KEYSPLITS................................................... 62

USING MULTI MODE MULTI-TIMBRALLY ...................................................... 62

PLAYING LIVE OVER A SEQUENCED BACKING TRACK ................................. 63

USING THE S6000 AS TWO SAMPLERS ....................................................... 63

EDIT PROGRAM................................................................................ 65

EDIT PART.......................................................................................................... 65

OUTPUT ............................................................................................................. 67

MIDI/TUNE.......................................................................................................... 71

EDIT USER ............................................................................................. 72

PITCHBEND ........................................................................................................ 73

LFOS ................................................................................................................. 74

LFO 2..................................................................................................... 76

KEYGROUP ........................................................................................................ 77

SELECTING KEYGROUPS..................................................................................... 79

KEYGROUP ZONES ............................................................................................. 80

ZONE LEVEL WINDOW ............................................................................. 82

PAN/BALANCE WINDOW........................................................................... 82

FINE TUNE WINDOW ................................................................................ 83

PLAYBACK WINDOW................................................................................ 83

SELECTING AND EDITING ZONES .............................................................. 84

KEYSPAN........................................................................................................... 85

KEYGROUP CROSSFADE ..................................................................................... 86

KG PITCH/AMP.................................................................................................... 87

FILTER............................................................................................................... 88

AMP ENVELOPE.................................................................................................. 94

AMP ENVELOPE WINDOW FUNCTIONS ....................................................... 95

FILTER ENVELOPE .............................................................................................. 96

AUX ENVELOPE .................................................................................................. 97

AUX ENVELOPE WINDOWS....................................................................... 98

CREATING PROGRAMS ........................................................................................ 99

CREATING (COPYING) KEYGROUPS ...................................................................... 99

PROG TOOLS MENU ............................................................................................ 100

GET INFO ............................................................................................... 100

PROGRAM LIST....................................................................................... 100

QUICKLOAD ........................................................................................... 101

QUICKSAVE ........................................................................................... 101

WORKING WITH VIRTUAL SAMPLES IN A PROGRAM................................................. 102

EDIT SAMPLE .................................................................................. 105

MONITOR ........................................................................................................... 105

MASTER............................................................................................................. 106

TRIM.................................................................................................................. 108

CHOP ................................................................................................................ 111

LOOP ................................................................................................................ 114

SETTING A GOOD LOOP........................................................................... 117

JOIN.................................................................................................................. 119

MIX ................................................................................................................... 121

FADE UP/DOWN .................................................................................................. 122

TIMESTRETCH .................................................................................................... 123

PITCH SHIFT ....................................................................................................... 125

BPM MATCH........................................................................................................ 126

RE-SAMPLE........................................................................................................ 127

EQ.................................................................................................................... 128

COPY SAMPLE.................................................................................................... 129

SAMPLE TOOLS .................................................................................................. 130

GET INFO ............................................................................................... 130

QUICKLOAD ........................................................................................... 130

QUICKSAVE ........................................................................................... 131

SAMPLE LIST.......................................................................................... 131

STEREO AND MONO SAMPLES.............................................................................. 134

EDITING VIRTUAL SAMPLES ................................................................................. 135

RECORD......................................................................................... 137

FX ................................................................................................ 143

SETTING RECORD LEVELS ................................................................................... 139

MAKING A RECORDING ........................................................................................ 139

OVERWRITING AN EXISTING SAMPLE.................................................................... 141

RECORDING ÔVIRTUALÕ SAMPLES .......................................................................... 142

RING MOD/DISTORTION ....................................................................................... 147

EQ.................................................................................................................... 148

EQ TEMPLATES ...................................................................................... 149

EQ MODULATION .................................................................................... 150

MODULATION EFFECTS........................................................................................ 151

CHORUS ................................................................................................ 151

FLANGE ................................................................................................. 151

PHASE................................................................................................... 152

ROTARY SPEAKERS ................................................................................ 152

FREQ/AMP MOD ...................................................................................... 154

PITCH SHIFT ........................................................................................... 155

PITCH+FEEDBACK................................................................................... 156

MODULATION EFFECTS BYPASS ............................................................... 157

MODULATION EFFECTS TEMPLATES.......................................................... 157

DELAY FX........................................................................................................... 158

MONO LEFT ............................................................................................ 158

MONO L/R .............................................................................................. 159

XOVER L+R ............................................................................................ 160

STEREO DELAY ...................................................................................... 160

DELAY EFFECTS BYPASS......................................................................... 160

DELAY EFFECTS TEMPLATES ................................................................... 160

REVERB EFFECTS ............................................................................................... 161

OUTPUT MIX (MULTIFX1 AND 2 ONLY)..................................................................... 163

EFFECTS TOOLS ................................................................................................. 165

COPYING EFFECTS ............................................................................................. 166

SAVING AND LOADING EFFECTS ........................................................................... 168

SAVE............................................................................................. 169

UTILITIES....................................................................................... 173

NOTES REGARDING SAVE.................................................................................... 172

SYSTEM SETUP .................................................................................................. 173

PREFERENCES ................................................................................................... 175

MIDI SETUP ........................................................................................................ 176

MIDI FILTER............................................................................................ 177

FX IN/OUTS ........................................................................................................ 178

MIDI SONG FILE.................................................................................................. 179

LOADING MIDI SONG FILES.................................................................................. 180

DISK UTILS......................................................................................................... 181

RENAMING DISK ITEMS............................................................................ 181

DELETING DISK ITEMS............................................................................. 182

MEMORY TEST.................................................................................................... 183

SHOW HARDWARE .............................................................................................. 184

TEST TONE......................................................................................................... 185

SAVE SETTINGS ................................................................................................. 186

INTRODUCTION

WELCOME

The S5000 and S6000 represent the next generation of AkaiÕs already industry standard
samplers with brand new technology, a unique and innovative new user interface and new
functionality. Some of itÕs key features are:

¥ Unique removable panel allows you to place the S6000 functionality away from the rack

and into your work area.

¥ 128-voice polyphony on the S6000 1 and 64-voice polyphony (expandable to 128) on the

S5000.

¥ Expandable to 256Mbytes using SIMMs.

¥ 16 outputs configurable as 8 x stereo pairs or 16 individual mono outs (S5000 has 8

outputs expandable to 16).

¥ Optional ADATª digital audio interface giving 16 digital outputs

¥ 320 x 240 backlit LCD.

¥ 44.1kHz/48kHz sampling frequencies.

¥ 18-bit stereo ADCs with 64 x oversampling 5th order Delta Sigma

¥ 20-bit DACs with 128 x oversampling Delta Sigma with 8 x digital filter on all outputs.

¥ SPDIF or AES/EBU digital I/0 on balanced jacks or optical.

¥ EB20 4-channel 20-bit multi-effects processor (optional on S5000).

¥ PS2 QWERTY keyboard input for easy naming.

¥ 2 x MIDI IN/OUT/THRU for 32-channel multitimbral operation.

¥ 2 x SCSI ports for easy connection to disk drives.

¥ Wordclock input allows you to easily integrate the S5000 and S6000 into an all-digital

environment.

¥ Flash ROM programmable operating system.

¥ .WAV sample format allows access to a huge range of sounds from PCs or the Internet.

¥ DOS disk format allows easy connection of the samplerÕs disk drive to PCs.

¥ Icon based operating system and GUI (graphical user interface).

¥ Virtual Sample function allows you to play long samples direct from disk within a program for

easy integration of disk recordings in a multi timbral environment.

1 Some S6000 configurations in the USA may differ. Please consult your dealer for information.

Version 1.00 Page 1

INTRODUCTION

¥ 26 powerful resonant filter types.

¥ 2 x Low Frequency Oscillators (LFOs) each offering 9 control waveforms.

¥ 2 x hardware ADSR envelope generators allow ultra fast and accurate shaping of sounds.

¥ A multi-stage auxiliary envelope can be used to create more complex envelope shapes.

¥ Assignable Program Modulation allows you to route the LFOs, envelope generators, MIDI

controllers, etc., to up to 17 different destinations - you can even route controllers to
controllers!

¥ Stereo phase coherent timestretch sample processing.

¥ New off-line stereo pitch shift and BPM matching sample editing algorithms.

¥ 3-band offline digital EQ.

¥ New QUICKLOAD functions allow you to get sounds into the sampler quickly and easily.

¥ Icon based DISK system makes navigation simple. Sounds are stored in folders and folder

can contain further sub-folders for efficient organisation of sound library.

¥ Responds to channel or polyphonic aftertouch.

¥ Compatible with S1000 and S3000 series samplers

And much, much more....

2

2 Due to the radical new developments in the S5000 and S6000, some old sound library may need

ÔtweakingÕ.

Page 2 Version 1.00

INTRODUCTION

USER INTERFACE

Perhaps the most physically obvious feature of the S6000 is its large LCD and 16 soft keys
giving rise to a unique new user interface.

Using what we at Akai affectionately call ÒTouch and TweakÓ, parameter access is usually just
one button press away - simply touch the key alongside the parameter you wish to change and
tweak its value with the DATA wheel! Not only does this make operation fast, simple and
intuitive but in most circumstances, completely eliminates the need for awkward cursor
movement. It also has the directness of a touch screen but with the reliability and tactile
feedback of physical switches.

The user interface also makes much use of graphics and icons and pop-up windows and
prompts are used throughout making the user experience more like that of a Macª or
Windowsª computer.

ABOUT THIS MANUAL

This operatorÕs manual has been written to allow you to get the best out of your new sampler.
Please take the time to read it to gain a full understanding of its features, functions and
operations.

You will note that both the S5000 and the S6000 are described in this manual. In most
respects, the two samplers are functionally identical except that the S6000 comes with the full
complement of options3 already installed and has the extra USER KEYS. By producing just
one manual, we can make a small contribution to the environment by saving paper and also, of
course, it saves on printing costs allowing us to bring you the new samplers at the best
possible price.

All references will be to the S6000 except where specified.

3 Except for the ADATª digital interface board

Version 1.00 Page 3

S6000 FRONT PANEL

MIDI STEREO DIGITAL SAMPLER

F1

F2

F3

F4

F5

F6

F7

F8

INTRODUCTION

CONTRAST

USER KEYS

CONTRAST

CURSOR

8

9

3

2

+

0

MARK JUMP

DATA

F9

F10

F11

F12

F13

F14

F15

F16

7

456

1

-

123

WINDOW

UNDO

EXIT

ENT/PLAY

MAIN VOLUME

PHONES LEVEL

PHONES

L/MONO IN

POWER

ASCII
KEYBOARD

MULTI FX SAMPLE

EDIT

PROGRAM

RECORD UTILITIES SAVE LOAD

$

RIGHT IN

MAIN PANEL

POWER Turns power on and off to the S6000.

FLOPPY DISK This accepts 3.5Ó floppy disks. It may be used to load sound library but

may also be used to boot operating systems.

DISK OPTION SLOT This allows you to install a 3.5Ó removable hard disk such as Zip, Jaz,

Syquest, etc.. Please consult your dealer or Akai distributor for details
of compatible drives. If you plan to install a drive here, this should be
done by an Akai approved engineer.

MAIN VOLUME This sets the level of the main L/R outputs (outputs 1/2). Outputs

3/4~15/16 are not affected by this control.

PHONES LEVEL This sets the level of the main L/R outputs (outputs 1/2) on the

headphone output.

The level of the headphone output is not affected by the MAIN
VOLUME setting.

PHONES This allows you to insert a pair of stereo headphones to monitor the

main L/R output (outputs 1/2).

NOTE: Sounds assigned to outputs 3/4 - 15/16 will not be heard at the headphone output.

L/MONO IN This accepts a 1/4-inch mono jack plug and is used when recording in

mono. This overrides the rear panel equivalent input.

RIGHT IN This accepts a 1/4 inch mono jack plug and, together with the

L/MONO IN jack, is used for recording stereo. This overrides the rear
panel equivalent input.

Version 1.00 Page 5

INTRODUCTION

REMOVABLE PANEL

ASCII KEYBOARD This will accept a PS2 QWERTY keyboard which can be used for

Underneath the LCD are the samplerÕs operating modes.

MULTI This is where you play programs either singly, layered or multi-timbrally.

FX This is where you select and edit the effects you want to use in the

EDIT SAMPLE This is where you edit samples, the raw sound data used in programs.

EDIT PROGRAM This is where you edit programs, mapping samples out across the

RECORD This is where you record your own samples. These are subsequently

UTILITIES This is where you can set certain parameters that affect the S6000 as a

naming.

currently selected MULTI.

keyboard range as appropriate. Programs are the basic sounds used
in a MULTI.

edited in EDIT SAMPLE and then mapped out across the keyboard in
EDIT PROGRAM.

whole.

SAVE Here, you may save the data in memory to a storage device such as

floppy or hard disk.

LOAD This is used to load data into the samplerÕs memory.

These keys illuminate when selected to indicate which mode you are in. Furthermore, they
flash upon reception of MIDI note-on and MIDI note-off.

F1-F16 Function keys down either side of the LCD give direct access to

parameters. Their actual function varies according to the selected
page.

DATA WHEEL This is used to enter data.

CURSOR </> KEYS These are used to move the cursor left or right in parameter fields. This

is particularly useful when editing parameters with long numeric values
such as samples.

These keys are also used in conjunction with the DATA wheel for
naming.

NUMERIC KEYPAD These are used to enter numeric data.

WINDOW This is used to open the ÔwindowÕ function.

UNDO This has no function in Version 1.00 of the operating system.

EXIT This takes you out of the currently selected function and back to the

screen you were in previously.

ENT/PLAY This allows you to audition the currently selected sound.

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INTRODUCTION

MARK/JUMP These allow you to mark a page, go to another page and then jump

back and forth between them.

USER KEYS These allow you to assign the pages and functions you use most

often for quick, convenient access. For example, if you find yourself
always going to the FILTER, AMPLITUDE ENVELOPE and REVERB
1 pages, these may be assigned to each of the USER KEYS.

DISPLAY CONTRAST This ÔthumbwheelÕ control, found on the top/rear of the panel sets the

viewing angle for the LCD.

A screen saver function in UTILITIES allows you to turn the backlight
off at timed intervals to help preserve the LCD.

Version 1.00 Page 7

INTRODUCTION

S6000 REAR PANEL

PUSHPUSH

9 10111213141516

( L R ) ( L R ) ( L R ) ( L R )

12345678MAIN

( L R ) ( L R ) ( L R ) ( L R )

OUTPUT

OUTPUT

DIGITAL I/O

AES/EBU OPTICAL

OUTIN

WORDCLOCK

IN

OUTIN

TERMINATOR

SCSI
TERMINATOR

ONOFF

SCSI

ONOFF

MIDI

AB

IN

IN

OUT

OUT

THRU

THRU

OUTPUTS 1-16 These are the S6000Õs outputs. They can be used as 8 x stereo pairs

or as 16 individual outputs or any combination of the two (e.g. you
could have stereo sounds appearing at outputs 1/2 and 3/4 with, say,
bass appearing at output 5 and kick drum, snare drum and hi-hat
appearing at outputs 6, 7 and 8 respectively).

Output 1/2 is regarded as the ÔmainÕ stereo output for the S6000.

All outputs are polyphonic.

DIGITAL I/O This offers two balanced jacks for AES/EBU digital audio in and out

(this can be switched to SPDIF in the UTILITIES mode if you prefer).
An optical i/o is also provided.

Either digital input can be used to record digitally and both outputs
carry a stereo mix of the main L/R outputs (outputs 1/2). Sounds
assigned to outputs 3-8 (or 3-16 if the optional output expander is
installed) do not appear at the digital outputs.

WORDCLOCK This BNC connector is used to synchronise the sampler to a studioÕs

Ôhouse syncÕ. This would be used in a predominantly digital studio to
ensure that all digital devices (mixer, hard disk recorder, effects, etc.)
are running at a common sampling frequency.

The terminator switch should be ON when the S6000 is the last digital
device in the wordclock chain. Otherwise, it should be OFF. Failure to
observe the correct switching of wordclock termination may result in
unpredictable results.

SCSI Two 50-pin half-pitch SCSI connectors are provided. One is simply a

ÔthruÕ of the other and is used when connecting the S6000 to a SCSI
chain.

SCSI TERMINATOR This should be switched ON when the S6000 is the last device in a

SCSI chain. If the S6000 sits somewhere in the middle of a SCSI
chain, it should be switched off. Failure to observe the correct
switching of SCSI termination may result in unpredictable results.

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INTRODUCTION

OPTION SLOTS These are provided to allow future expansion.

One such board is the optional ADAT digital I/O which offers 16 digital
outputs, ideal for interfacing with suitably equipped digital mixing
consoles. The ADAT I/O also allows you to record from a digital source
equipped with an ADAT output.

Other option boards are yet to be finalised at the time of writing this
operatorÕs manual.

MIDI IN/OUT/THRU Two completely separate MIDI busses A and B are provided offering

32-channel operation (1-16A and 1-16B).

It is possible to drive external modules from the MIDI SONG FILE
PLAYER via the 2 x MIDI OUTs.

Each MIDI THRU passes on the data received at their respective MIDI
inputs.

MAINS INPUT This should be connected to a suitable mains outlet using the

supplied cable.

GROUND This can be used to reduce ground loops by connecting it to a

common earthing point.

Version 1.00 Page 9

INTRODUCTION

S5000 FRONT PANEL

DISPLAY

CONTRAST

ASCII

KEYBOARD

MULTI FX

EDIT

SAMPLE PROGRAM

RECORD UTILITIES

SAVE LOAD

MARK JUMP

MIDI STEREO DIGITAL SAMPLER

F 1

F 2

F 3

F 4

F 5

F 6

F 7

F 8

F 9

F 10

F 11

F 12

F 13

F 14

F 15

F 16

DATA

CURSOR

789

456

123

-0+

WINDOW

UNDO

EXIT

ENT/PLAY

MAIN VOLUME

PHONES LEVEL

PHONES

L/MONO IN

RIGHT IN

Although laid out differently to accommodate the ergonomics of the S5000Õs 3U panel, the
keys and controls on the S5000 are almost identical to the S6000Õs except that the S5000
omits the USER KEYS.

Another difference is that the S5000 does not have rear panel analogue audio inputs so the
ones found on the front of the S5000 are the main analogue record inputs.

It is also not possible to install an optional removable drive on the S5000Õs front panel.

Page 10 Version 1.00

S5000 REAR PANEL

9 10111213141516

( L R ) ( L R ) ( L R ) ( L R )

12345678MAIN

( L R )

OUTPUT

OUTPUT

( L R ) ( L R ) ( L R )

INTRODUCTION

MIDI

SCSI

AB

IN

IN

OUT

OUT

THRU

THRU

DIGITAL I/O

AES/EBU OPTICAL

OUTIN

WORDCLOCK

IN

OUTIN

TERMINATOR

SCSI
TERMINATOR

ONOFF

ONOFF

Again, the S5000Õs rear panel is almost identical except that there are no balanced XLR inputs
or outputs and outputs 9-16 are optional.

Version 1.00 Page 11

INTRODUCTION

CONNECTING THE S6000

HARD DISK,
CD-ROM,
MO, Jaz, Zip, etc..

Main L/R outputs

(Outputs 1/2)

SCSI

Outputs 3-16

MIDI IN

DIGI I/O

MIDI OUT

%

mx1000

Connect the MIDI output of your MIDI controller (in this example, an Akai MX1000 master
keyboard) to MIDI IN A of the S6000. Connect outputs 1/2 to a stereo amplifier, a stereo input
channel on a mixer (or to two mono channels of a mixer remembering to pan each channel hard
left and right to take full advantage of the S6000Õs stereo outputs). Outputs 3-8 (or 3-16 if the
optional output expander is installed) should be connected to channels of your mixer.

The digital i/o can be connected to any similarly equipped digital audio device such as DAT,
recordable CD, MiniDisk or the channels of a digital mixer.

The above diagram shows a fairly simple setup. When used with a sequencer, assuming it has
two or more MIDI outputs, connect one to MIDI IN A and the other to MIDI IN B. In this way, you
can achieve 32-channel multi-timbral sequencing.

Another option may be to connect one output from your sequencer to MIDI IN A and the output
of your MIDI keyboard to MIDI IN B. This way, you can have some sounds being sequenced
whilst you play certain other sounds from the keyboard. This might be a good setup for live
applications where the sequencer provides the backing tracks and you play live over the top of
that.

There are many permutations and no doubt you will find your own according to your set-up
and/or application.

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INTRODUCTION

MOUNTING THE S6000

If you plan to rack mount the S6000, try to leave some Ôbreathing spaceÕ around it to prevent
overheating. It is recommended you leave 1U of rack space above and below the sampler.

If you are placing the sampler on a table, make sure that the table is sturdy and that the sampler
is not positioned precariously.

If you are using the S6000 with a hard disk device of any kind, the disk drive MUST be mounted
horizontally. If the disk drive is at an angle, even a slight one, you may have unreliability
problems and even data corruption.

If you are planning to rack mount the hard disk with the sampler, it is recommended you use the
ÔpaddedÕ type of rack mount adapter available from most manufacturers of rack and flight cases
especially if you are likely to be travelling a lot with the set-up. The padding will help protect the
disk driveÕs delicate head mechanism against shock and excessive vibration.

It goes without saying that the S6000 and the disk drive are delicate pieces of precision
electronics and they donÕt take kindly to being thrown around however sturdy your flight case
might be!

Version 1.00 Page 13

INTRODUCTION

SWITCHING THE S6000 ON

Before turning on the sampler, itÕs a good idea to turn its volume down or to turn the volume
down on the amplifier or the mixer channels as the power up ÔthumpÕ, although very slight,
could damage sensitive speakers, especially if the amp is turned up loud (this is good practice
when turning the S6000 off as well).

Now turn on the S6000. You will see the following LCD screen as it boots up:

The icons appearing at the bottom of the screen indicate what hardware is installed. Those
items

NOT

installed will be shown with a ÔXÕ through them.

The S6000 then scans its SCSI buss to see what storage devices are connected and after
about 5 seconds, you will see something like this screen:

Connected drives will be shown (in the above example, the floppy drive is present as is a CD­ROM drive, a hard disk and a removable drive of some form).

Your S6000 is now ready to use. Press any of the mode keys to continue.

You can check that the S6000 is receiving MIDI data by looking at the front panel - the selected
modeÕs key will flash on and off whenever a note-on/off is received.

Page 14 Version 1.00

KEY CONVENTIONS

The following are the different types of keys and parameters:

This is a parameter down the left of the screen.

This is a parameter down the right of the screen.

To select them, simply touch the key to their left or right.

When a parameter is selected, it becomes highlighted:

INTRODUCTION

The parameter is immediately available for editing and the whole range of the parameter (0-100)
can be set in about three complete turns of the DATA wheel.

However, if you wish to make larger changes to the value more quickly, you can use the
CURSOR </> keys to move the cursor to the ÔtensÕ or ÔhundredsÕ field:

Whilst this not may save a lot of time with two or three digit numbers, moving the cursor around
the parameter is useful when the value is a long number such as when editing samples:

On ÔsignedÕ fields such as shown below:

The numeric keypadÕs +/- keys can be used to quickly change the sign from + to - or

Version 1.00 Page 15

vice versa

.

INTRODUCTION

Other parameter conventions are:

The downward pointing arrow indicates that the parameter has a WINDOW function.

When you land on the parameter for the first time, the parameter is selected and is immediately
available for editing as described above. However, pressing the WINDOW key (or pressing the
selected parameterÕs key again - i.e. Ôdouble clickingÕ on it) pops up a window revealing further
Ôsub-functionsÕ associated with the selected parameter. In this way, screens are clear and
uncluttered with only the most commonly used functions immediately available but with further
functionality hidden away by way of the WINDOW function.

For example, the PART LEVEL window looks like this:

The parameters shown in the window may be edited in much the same way simply by touching
the key alongside them and tweaking the DATA wheel. The window may be closed by pressing
CLOSE WINDOW.

Another type of parameter is this:

This is a modulation input. When you land on this type of parameter for the first time, the
modulation depth is selected and is immediately available for editing as described above.

However, pressing the key again selects the modulation source:

You may select another modulation source using the DATA wheel. This is common for all such
parameters displaying the indicator.

Page 16 Version 1.00

The various function key types are shown below:

This is a typical Ôgo to pageÕ key characterised by the border
within the key.

This is a typical Ôdo itÕ key and usually generates a
YES/NO/CANCEL type prompt.

This is a function ÔtoggleÕ ON/OFF key. The Ö indicates ON. X
indicates the function is switched OFF.

This highlighted key is a Ôselected functionÕ or ÔradioÕ key. The
key (i.e. the function) will highlight when selected.

This is a typical Ôscroll upÕ key. This is used to move up through
a list.

This is a typical Ôscroll downÕ key. This is used to move down
through a list.

INTRODUCTION

This is a typical Ôselect upÕ key. This is used to move up
through a list

This is a typical Ôselect downÕ key. This is used to move down
through a list

SELECT and SCROLL UP/DOWN keys are Ôcontext sensitiveÕ
in that when you are at the top of a list, the ÔupÕ arrow isnÕt
shown and at the bottom of a list, the ÔdownÕ arrow isnÕt shown.

They are also ÔrepeaterÕ keys in that if you press and hold
them, you will scroll through the list automatically without
having to press them each time.

and

select the currently highlighted item.

and

select the currently highlighted item.

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INTRODUCTION

POP-UP WINDOWS

Throughout the user interface, you will encounter various Ôpop-upÕ windows and prompts.
These override the current pageÕs functions (which become Ôgreyed outÕ in the background)
and use further function keys to decide the outcome. There are ÔalertÕ and ÔwarningÕ prompts.
For example...

And there are ÔdialogueÕ prompts:

Progress bars are also used throughout the user interface to indicate status. For example,
during off-line sample editing functions or during record (in fact, any process that takes time),

you would see these progress displays....

Some progress displays (such as the sample processing window above) also show animated
icons as a further indicator of activity.

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INTRODUCTION

All off-line processing screens have an ABORT key so that you can cancel the process at any
time if you want. Also, all off-line processing displays end with this screen:

This allows you to audition the new processed version and the original so that you can compare
the two. You are also offered the opportunity to keep the new one and discard the original or
keep the original and discard the new one or you can choose to keep both.

The recording progress display ends with this screen:

Here you may audition the recording you have just made and, if you are happy with it, you can
keep it otherwise you can discard it and try again.

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INTRODUCTION

TOOLS MENUS

In most of the pages, you will find a ÔtoolsÕ key on F9 that offers a drop down menu with further
functionality.

For example, in MULTI mode with a part selected, you have a PART TOOLS menu. Pressing
this would cause this drop down menu to appear:

In all cases, you will see that there is a certain consistency.

¥ F9 is always CLOSE TOOLS.

¥ F10 is always GET INFO and will show details of the selected item.

¥ F12 will always take you to a list of the selected item type (multi, program, sample).

¥ F13 is always QUICKLOAD which allows you to quickly load items relevant to the selected

mode (i.e. load multis, programs, samples).

¥ F14 is always QUICKSAVE which allows you to quickly save items relevant to the selected

mode (i.e. save multis, programs samples).

¥ F15 and F16Õs functions change according to context.

NOTE: The LOAD and SAVE modes differ slightly in this respect. Please refer to those
sections for more details.

We will see these tools menus in each modesÕ respective sections.

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INTRODUCTION

NUMERIC KEYPAD

This is used to enter numeric data as an alternative to the DATA wheel. It can also be used to
enter numbers into a name.

CURSOR KEYS

Whilst cursor movement is kept to a minimum with the unique Ôtouch and tweakÕ user interface,
there are times when you need to move a cursor, particularly in long numeric fields such as
sample start and end times, loop parameters, etc.. These keys allow you to move the cursor
around numeric parameters.

NAMING

Naming is also done by way of a pop-up prompt. Naming is done when copying and/or creating
a new item (i.e. a multi, program or sample) and when creating a new sample through any of the
off-line DSP functions such as timestretch, EQ, etc.. You may also name samples at the time of
recording.

A typical naming prompt looks like this:

This pops up when creating a new multi. Pretty much the same pop-up would be seen when
creating or copying a program and/or sample.

An autonaming process is used throughout the operating system and you may be happy to
stick with the autonamed version of the name. However, if you do choose to rename the item,
use the CURSOR </> keys to move the cursor around the name field and use the DATA wheel
to select the letter, symbol or number. The full range of upper case and lower case characters
are available to you as are all the commonly used symbols (!, @, £, $, %, ^, &, *, (, ), +, -, _, =, {, },
[, ], |, \, /, <, >, ?).

A name can consist of up to 20 characters.

Of course, a much easier and quicker way to enter a name is to connect a standard PS2
QWERTY keyboard to the ASCII KEYBOARD input on the front panel and type a name in from
that. Use the keyboardÕs cursor left/right keys to move around the name and press RETURN to
finish the name (or ESC to cancel the process).

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INTRODUCTION

MARK/JUMP KEYS

The MARK and JUMP keys can be used to make navigation around the screens much easier
and faster.

For example, imagine you were constantly toggling between MULTI MODE and the
ENVELOPE 1 page in EDIT PROGRAM. Whilst this is only two or three keypresses, it can be
made instant by first going to the ENVELOPE 1 page and pressing MARK, then going back to
MULTI. Now, pressing JUMP will take you straight back to ENVELOPE 1 and pressing JUMP
again would return you immediately to MULTI. And so on. In this way, you can ÔtoggleÕ between
two pages with a single key press.

The MARK and JUMP keys can be used to switch between any two pages in any mode.

USER KEYS (S6000 ONLY)

These allow you to assign the pages and functions you use most often for quick, convenient
access. For example, if you find yourself always going to the FILTER, AMPLITUDE
ENVELOPE and REVERB 1 pages, these may be assigned to each of the USER KEYS.

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S6000 STRUCTURE

Before we go on to look at the samplerÕs various operating modes, it would be a good idea to
have a basic understanding of how sounds are made up on the S6000.

The raw audio data used in any sound is a SAMPLE. This is denoted by this icon:

Samples may be extensively edited in the S6000 using a variety of different editing tools and
functions such as TRIM, LOOP, NORMALISE, FADE UP/DOWN and DSP processes such as
TIMESTRETCH, PITCH SHIFT, BPM MATCH and DIGITAL EQ.

Samples are then assigned to PROGRAMS denoted by this icon:

Programs are made up of keygroups and each keygroup can contain up to four stereo
samples. Keygroups allow you to map out a collection of samples across the keyboard range (a
technique known as Ômulti-samplingÕ). A keygroup has its own keyspan and a program can
contain as many as 99 keygroups mapped out across the keyboard range as you want or, at the
other extreme, can have just one keygroup spanning the entire keyboard range. Some typical
examples would be as follows:

KEYGROUP 1

A simple program with one keygroup covering the entire keyboard range

KEYGROUP 1 KEYGROUP 2

A program with two keygroups - a typical keysplit

KG1 KG2 KG3 KG4 KG5

A typical multi-sample program with each keygroup covering an octave range

A typical drums program with a collection of keygroups each assigned to their own notes.

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STRUCTURE

As well as mapping samples/keygroups across the keyboard range, programs also allow you to
apply envelope shaping, filtering, LFO modulation (vibrato, etc.) and much more and such is
the flexibility of the programÕs sound shaping functions that the S6000 can be used as a very
powerful synthesiser as well.

Each keygroup has four ZONES where samples may be layered on top of each other and/or
switched between using velocity.

Different programs may share samples (for example, you could use the same kick and snare
drum in a variety of different drum programs).

Once you have one or more programs in memory, these are then assigned to a MULTI where
they can be played either singly or in combination with other programs. The multi mode allows
32 programs to be played simultaneously.

In the MULTI mode, the individual programs that go to make up a multi may be mixed, tuned,
routed to individual outputs and/or the internal effects processor (if installed on the S5000).

Up to 128 multis may reside in memory at any one time, each one containing a different
combination of programs. Different multis may share programs (for example, several multis may
use the same drum program or piano sound, whatever).

The overall structure of a multi, therefore, might look something like this:

DRUM KIT 1 (Multi Part 1) has ten keygroups/samples, each assigned to their own separate
notes whilst the program GRAND PIANO (Multi Part 2) has seven keygroups/samples mapped
out across the keyboard range, one sample per octave. BASS GUITAR (Multi Part 3) has four
keygroups/samples whilst SYNTHBASS #2 (Multi Part 4 has just one. STRING SYNTH (Multi
Part 5) has four keygroups/samples mapped out across C1-C6 whilst PERCUSSION 1 (Multi
Part 6) , like DRUM KIT 1 has a lot of keygroups/samples, each assigned to their own note. In
this example, each sound is being played on its own MIDI channel and shows a typical multi­timbral setup. The same, of course, would be true of other parts (7-32).

There are no hard and fast rules about how samples are assigned to keygroups (and hence
programs) and likewise, there are no rules on how programs are assigned to a multi - each
situation will vary according to the sound and the application.

Multis, samples and programs are saved to disk and can be subsequently loaded back into
memory at any time.

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VOICE ARCHITECTURE

A single voice on the S6000 is not unlike any typical synthesiser and a simplified block diagram
of one voice looks something like this:

PROGRAM

KEYGROUP

Keygroup

Zones

APM

APM

Aux

Envelope

Keygroup Pitch Mod

APM APM

LFO 1 LFO 2

Rate

Mod

Delay

Mod

Filter Amplifier

Filter Mod Amp Mod

APM

Filter

Envelope

Depth

Mod

Rate

Mod

Delay

Mod

Amplitude

Envelope

Depth

Mod

APM

APM

APM

APM

APM

APM

OUTPUT PAN

Output

Mod

Pan
Mod

Modwheel

Pitch Bend

Aftertouch

Keyboard

Velocity

External

Whereas on a synthesiser, you have oscillators with preset waveforms (or preset samples
contained in Read Only Memory - ROM) which you cannot change, the S6000 allows you to
assign any sample you want to any of the four keygroup zones for an almost unlimited range of
sounds. These are then mixed, tuned and fed through a multi-mode resonant filter and then
through an amplifier. The keygroups are then mixed and fed through a final output section that
controls overall level and pan/balance.

The keygroup, filter, keygroup amplifier and final output section all have modulation inputs and
the filter and amplifier have their own dedicated ADSR envelope generator.

Two Low Frequency Oscillators (LFOs) and a multi-stage auxiliary envelope are also available
and using the S6000Õs Assignable Program Modulation (APM) function, these can be freely
assigned to pitch, filter, amplitude, LFO 1 and LFO 2 where their control signals may be mixed
and inverted for a wide range of effects. The filter envelope and amplitude envelope can also
be used in the APM matrix.

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STRUCTURE

MIDI controllers such as modwheel, pitchbend, aftertouch, velocity and a user definable
external MIDI controller may also be freely routed to any of the pitch, filter, amplitude and/or
LFO modulation inputs.

Each of the 64 voices on the S6000 is identical.

ASSIGNABLE PROGRAM MODULATION (APM)

Assignable Program Modulation is a concept that was introduced by Akai in 1993 with the
release of the S3000 series samplers and subsequently in the S2000 and S3000XL range and
now, of course, in the S6000 and S6000.

Basically, APM allows you to route any of the controllers (128 MIDI controllers, LFO1, LFO2
and envelopes) to pitch, filter, amplitude and panning - even back to the LFOs themselves.
This flexibility of modulation routing allows you to use your sampler as an extremely powerful
synthesiser as well.

However, these techniques are not limited to synth sounds - you could, for example, use
aftertouch routed to the filter to introduce swells and growls on brass samples or you could use
velocity to control detune to create a more ensemble sound in a layered strings sound. The
modwheel could be used to control the rate of amplitude, panning and/or pitch modulation to
recreate a rotary speaker effect on an organ sound or the auxiliary envelope could be used to
control the feedback element in a heavy metal guitar sound. The possibilities are enormous.

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LOAD

Probably the first thing you will want to do after booting up your sampler is to load some
sounds. When you press LOAD, you will see something like this screen:

Here, you see a list of folders (or ÔdirectoriesÕ). These contain sounds or can contain further
sub-folders containing more sounds, etc.. Folders are selected using the SELECT keys on
F15/F16 or via the DATA wheel. Once you have selected a folder, if you know whatÕs in it, you
can load its entire contents into memory by pressing F14 - LOAD FOLDER.

LOAD

Folders are opened using F11- OPEN FOLDER. If the folder contains sub-folders, you will see
something like this:

Here, there are nested folders within the selected folder. The operation described above
applies equally to loading and opening sub-folders .

NOTE: These sub-folders could equally contain further sub-folders. For example, the
WOODWIND folder could contain further sub-folders FLUTE, CLARINET, OBOE, BASSOON
and PICCOLO. The same process applies to all nested sub-folders.

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LOAD

LOAD FOLDER

When you press LOAD FOLDER, you will see this pop-up prompt window:

The Ôcheck boxesÕ on F6, F7 and F14 allow you to disable certain items from loading. For
example, you may just wish to load only the programs and samples from a folder in which case,
you could disable the loading of multis by pressing F6.

You should press EXECUTE or CANCEL LOAD as appropriate.

Back in the main LOAD page, if a folder contains actual sounds, pressing OPEN FOLDER may
show something like this:

Here we see actual ÔsoundsÕ - multis, programs and samples. The icons are:

Multi

Program

Sample

You will note that the LOAD key on F14 is Ôcontext sensitiveÕ and as you select different items,
so the label changes on F14. With the cursor on a multi, F14 is labelled LOAD MULTI. Move the
cursor to a program and the key is labelled LOAD PROGRAM. Move the cursor to a sample and
the key is labelled LOAD SAMPLE. In this way, the type of load you wish to perform is
automatically taken care of.

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LOADING MULTIS

It is possible to load a multi complete with all the programs and samples associated with it.
Simply select a multi and press LOAD MULTI. You will receive this pop-up prompt window:

Again, a series of Ôcheck boxesÕ appear and you can, if you wish, select all multis in the current
folder if you wish and/or you may choose to load the multi(s) with or without the associated
programs and samples.

LOAD

LOADING PROGRAMS

When a program is selected, F14 changes to LOAD PROGRAM and if you press this, you will
receive this pop-up prompt window:

You may choose to load just the selected program or all programs in the current folder. You may
also choose whether or not to load the samples associated with the program(s).

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LOAD

LOADING SAMPLES

When a sample is selected, F14 changes to LOAD SAMPLE and if you press this, you will
receive this pop-up prompt window:

Using the check boxes, you may choose to load just the selected sample or all the samples in
the current folder.

Whichever load type is used, you will see the program and sample names appear in a pop-up as
they are loaded and you can use F8 to cancel the load process if you wish.

GET INFO

In the LOAD page you can use the GET INFO key to find out more about a selected item be it a
folder, multi, program, whatever. Pressing GET INFO will show this screen:

You can see what it is, where it is, how big it is and, if itÕs a folder, what it contains. Press CLOSE
INFO to close the window.

OPEN/CLOSE FOLDER

These keys allow you to open and close folders.

In the event of you trying to open or close an item on disk that is not a folder, you will receive
the following prompt:

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LOAD

AUDITION SAMPLE

The AUDITION SAMPLE key in the main LOAD page allows you to audition a sample to check it
prior to loading. This function is only available when a sample is selected (you cannot audition
programs or multis).

NOTE: When you press AUDITION SAMPLE, there will be a small delay as the sample is found
on disk and played out.

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LOAD

SELECTING DISKS

If you have more than one disk drive attached, you may select the one you want to load from
using the DISK LIST. This is accessed by pressing F8 in the main LOAD page and you will
something like this screen:

Disks and their partitions are shown as ÔvirtualÕ drives giving you direct access not only to the
drives themselves but also to their partitions thus making access to sounds very quick.

The disk you want to use is selected simply by touching the key to its left (or using the
SCROLL KEYS on F15/16) and pressing SELECT DISK (F8). This will select the disk and
automatically return you to the LOAD page where you will see its contents.

If you have removable disks of any kind and change the disk whilst in the DISK LIST page, use
UPDATE on F11 to refresh the list.

If you need to find out about the selected disk, use GET INFO (this is described on the next
page).

If you do not wish to select another disk, simply press CLOSE LIST (F9).

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DISK TOOLS

Back in the main LOAD page, there are other functions you may use. The DISK TOOLS drop
down menu on F9 shows this:

DISK INFO

This will display a pop-up giving information on the currently selected drive. For example:

LOAD

VIEW ITEMS

These keys allow you to view file sizes or the date and time they were saved in the file list. To
keep clutter on the screen to a minimum however, you may prefer to view NAME ONLY.

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MULTI

Once you have some sounds in memory, you will want to play them. This is done in the MULTI
mode.

Programs may be played singly or in combination and the MULTI mode has 32 ÔpartsÕ - slots into
which up to 32 programs may be assigned and typically, this is used to sequence several
sounds multi-timbrally by setting each part to be on a different MIDI channel.

MULTI

However, you donÕt
program to it if you want and just play that from your keyboard or whatever. In a similar way, it is
also possible to assign several programs to a multi and set them to the same MIDI channel so
that you can layer two or more programs on top of each other for a rich, expansive (expensive?)
sound. Furthermore, you may set low and high keyboard ranges for each part so that
sophisticated keyboard splits may be created.

Each part may be routed to one of the four effects channels and you have a total of four effects
that can be applied to the parts in the multi4. More than one part may be routed to any one of
the effects channels so that parts may share effects and each part has its own effects send
level. Effects settings are stored with each multi so that as you select different multis, so the
correct effects are recalled.

However, you may prefer to use your sampler with external effects processors using a mixing
console. To accommodate this, each part may be routed to the individual outputs. By doing
this, each part may have its own mixer channel where it can be EQÕd, mixed, panned and
effected using your favourite outboard effects processors. The individual outputs may be
configured as stereo pairs and/or as individual mono outputs.

Of course, a combination of these is possible and some parts may be on unique MIDI channels
whilst others share the same channels for layering and/or key splits. Some parts may be routed
to the internal effects processor in the S6000 whilst others are sent out via the individual
outputs for processing on the mixing console.

As you can see, the MULTI mode is very flexible.

Furthermore, you may load up 128 multis into memory allowing you to switch from one setup of
sounds to another very quickly.

have

to use the multi mode multi-timbrally - you can assign just one

4 On the S5000, the EB20 is optional.

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MULTI

Assuming you have loaded a multi and its associated programs, pressing MULTI will show
something like this:

If you have more than one multi loaded, they are selected using F1 and the DATA wheel (or
can be selected in the MULTI LIST).

Down the left hand side in a large, easily read font are the programs assigned to the first six
parts. However, you may select to view more parts if you wish by pressing VIEW 12 PARTS
(F8):

Or you may view 18 parts:

And you may revert back to 6 parts.

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SELECTING PARTS

Parts are selected for editing simply by pressing one of the function keys F2-F7 alongside it.
For example, pressing F2 would select Part 1 - DRUM KIT 1:

Its parameters appear down the right hand side of the screen where you may set level, output
assign, FX send level, etc..

Pressing F6 would select STRING SYNTH:

MULTI

In this way, parts can be selected very quickly and easily.

NOTE: When viewing 12 parts, the function keys select the parts in pairs. Press the function
key once to select the first part of the pair, then again to select the second.

When viewing 18 parts, the function keys select the parts in ‘threes’. Press the function key to
select the first of the three parts, again to select the second and again to select the third.

Parts can also be selected using the SCROLL UP/DOWN keys found on F15 and F16. These
allow you to scroll up and down the list of 32 parts. Once you have scrolled up or down to parts
that are Ôoff-screenÕ, they can selected in the usual way simply by touching the key to their left.

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MULTI

CREATING A MULTI

If you have just switched the S6000 on (or you loaded only programs and samples in the LOAD
mode) and no multis are loaded, pressing MULTI will show this screen:

To create a multi, you must first press CREATE MULTI (F16). You will receive this prompt:

A default name is provided by the S6000Õs autoname function. You can use this name (simply
press YES - F16) or you may enter a name of your choosing either from the front panel using
the cursor </> keys in conjunction with the DATA wheel or, more conveniently, using an
external QWERTY keyboard. Once you have entered a name of your choice (for example,
BACKING TRACK 1), pressing YES (F16) will create the new multi:

The new multi is initialised and Parts 1-16 are assigned to MIDI channels 1A-16A and Parts 17­32 are assigned to MIDI channels 1B-16B. You may now fill those parts with sounds to play.
There are several ways to do this.

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ASSIGNING SOUNDS IN MEMORY TO PARTS

If you already have some programs loaded into memory, these may be assigned to parts very
quickly and easily.

First, touch the key to the left of the part you wish to assign the sound to - e.g. Part 1:

Now simply rotate the DATA wheel to scroll through the programs that are in memory until the
one you wish to assign to the part is selected.

MULTI

It could be that you only want to play the one sound in isolation and so this may be all you need
to do. However, to add more sounds to the multi, simply select another part and repeat the
process. And so on.

In this way, it is possible to build a multi up very quickly and easily. It also allows you to edit a
multi very easily enabling you to assign different sounds to the parts at any time.

NOTE: You may ‘cancel’ a part’s program assignment at any time by turning the DATA wheel
fully counter clockwise (it may take a few turns depending on how many programs are in
memory). Fully CCW, the part is effectively ‘emptied’ with no program assigned to it. This is a
useful way of initialising a part in the even of a mistake.

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MULTI

EDITING PARTS

Once you have one or more programs assigned to parts, you may want to edit them.

MULTI mode allows you to edit parameters such as part level, pan/balance, output assignment,
tuning, effects send, MIDI channel, etc.. We will use the following multi as our example:

LetÕs imagine we want to edit Part 1. First select Part 1 by pressing the key to its left. It will
become highlighted:

As you can see, down the right hand side of the screen are the most commonly used
parameters you may want to edit. These are selected and edited simply by touching the key to
its right and turning the DATA wheel. For example, to set the partÕs level, simply press PART
LEVEL (F10):

The parameter highlights and is immediately available for editing.

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MULTI

Other parameters are selected and edited in exactly the same way. The parameters are:

PART LEVEL Sets the level of the selected part.

OUTPUT Allows you to route the selected part to any pair of outputs or

individual output. The range is 1/2~15/16 in pairs and then 1,
2, 3...~16 as individual mono outputs.

NOTE: On the S5000, unless the optional output expander is installed, the range is 1/2 ~
7/86 in pairs and then 1, 2, 3,...~8 individual outputs. You may install the optional output
expander to have 16 outputs.

EFFECTS SEND This sets the effects send level of the part.

NOTE: On the S5000, the EB20 effects processor needs to be installed.

FINE TUNE This allows you to tune the part +/-50 ÔcentsÕ or +/-1 semitone.

MIDI CHANNEL This allows you to set the selected partÕs MIDI channel. You

may set 1-16A and 1-16B.

Those, then, are the key parameters for the parts. To edit them, simply select the part you want
to edit, then select the parameter and turn the DATA wheel.

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MULTI

WINDOW FUNCTIONS

There are times when you will want access to further functions. These are available using the
WINDOW function.

Any part parameters have the ÔwindowÕ icon ( ) in them indicating that further functions are
available and these can be accessed by pressing the yellow WINDOW key. The window
functions are as follows.

PART LEVEL WINDOW

The parameters are:

PART LEVEL A duplication of the main PART LEVEL parameter.

OUTPUT This is a duplication of the main OUTPUT parameter described

on the previous page and is included here for convenience.

PAN/BALANCE This allows you set the pan position of mono programs or the

stereo balance of stereo programs. If an individual output is
select (e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), this parameter has no effect.

MUTE PART This allows you to mute a part without having to disrupt mix

settings.

SOLO PART This will mute all other parts so that you may hear the selected

part in isolation.

OUTPUT WINDOW

This is actually identical to the PART WINDOW. Please see above for a description of the
parameters.

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MULTI

EFFECTS SEND WINDOW

The parameters are:

EFFECTS CHANNEL You may select OFF, FX 1, FX 2 (the two multiFX channels),

RV3 or RV4 (the two reverb only channels).

EFFECTS SEND This is a duplication of the main EFFECTS SEND parameter.

NOTE: On the S5000, even if the EB20 is not installed, you still have access to these
parameters even though they have no function.

FINE TUNE WINDOW

FINE TUNE This is a duplication of the main FINE TUNE function.

TRANSPOSE This allows you to tune the part in semi-tone steps.

NOTE: You will note that the TRANSPOSE parameter is not a pitch shift function but a MIDI
transpose function - this overcomes the problem of playing back samples out of their range.
What this function does is introduce an offset so that with a +12 setting, if you play C3 on the
keyboard, this is offset to play the samples on C4 - it is not playing the samples on C3 an octave
higher and hence introducing transposition distortion of any kind.

LOW NOTE/HIGH NOTE This sets the low and notes for a part allowing you to create

keysplits. To create a keysplit, you would normally assign two
programs to two parts, assign them to the same MIDI channel
and then set an appropriate keysplit (i.e. Part 1: C0-B2 and
Part 2: C3-G8).

All windows are closed either by pressing CLOSE WINDOW (F9) or by pressing the WINDOW
key again.

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MULTI

EDIT PART

Whilst it is possible to edit level, pan, effects send, tuning and other ÔsuperficialÕ program
parameters within a part, sometimes you need to delve further into a sound. Maybe a string
partÕs attack is too slow and itÕs not sitting well in the track or maybe its release is too long
causing it to ÔblurÕ the part. Maybe a piano is too bright or a synth bass has too much (or not
enough) resonance. This level of editing is done at the program level.

However, in cases like this, you may need to hear the other parts playing as you adjust program
parameters - in the example of the string attack, you will want to hear the track playing so as to
adjust the attack time in context until the part is sitting correctly in the track.

This is done using EDIT PART.

This is slightly different to EDIT PROGRAM in that all editing is done

current multi

in isolation and out of context making adjustment potentially difficult.

To edit a part at the program level, first select the part you want to edit and press EDIT PART
(F8). You will be taken to a variation of the EDIT PROGRAM screens where you may edit the
sound at the program level. Functionally, EDIT PART and EDIT PROGRAM are almost identical
except for the following points:

¥ In EDIT PART, you hear and edit the program in the context of the current multi (in EDIT

PROGRAM you hear it in isolation and out of context).

¥ In EDIT PART, you cannot select another program for editing (in EDIT PROGRAM, any

program can be selected and edited).

Please see the section EDIT PROGRAM for more details on program editing.

. You could use EDIT PROGRAM if you wanted to but the program would be heard

within the context of the

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MULTI TOOLS

With the cursor on the multi name (i.e. press F1), pressing MULTI TOOLS on F9 shows this:

The functions are:

GET INFO

Shows how many multis and programs are currently in memory and how memory is
used/available. The current operating system version number is also shown as the time and
date.

MULTI

QUICKLOAD

In the MULTI TOOLS menu or in MULTI LIST, QUICKLOAD allows you to load multis quickly
and easily. Pressing QUICKLOAD would show something like this:

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This is showing you the multis in a folder called ÒGIG FOLDERÓ which is on a removable hard
disk called ÒLIBRARY #1Ó. You may close the currently active folder and open a new one and
you may also select another disk to load from using DISK LIST on F8.

In QUICKLOAD, you only see the items that are appropriate to load and so, in this case, you
only see multis. To load them, simply select them and press LOAD MULTI. You will receive this
prompt:

Using the ÔcheckboxesÕ on F6 and F7, you may select whether you want to load just the
selected multi or all the multis in the current folder. You may also select whether you want to
load the programs and samples associated with the multi(s). The default for this is ÔcheckedÕ
however, you may override this if you want to load an empty multi to maybe use as a template
for a new one.

The multis will be stored in memory in the order in which they are loaded. If ALL MULTIS is
selected as the load option, the multis will be loaded in the order in which they appear on disk.

If you change your mind, press CANCEL LOAD to abort and press EXIT to leave QUICKLOAD.

QUICKSAVE

Pressing QUICKSAVE will show this screen:

The currently active multi is selected to save. You see its name and the folder it will be saved to.
You also have the option to save all the multis in memory if you prefer (or just the currently
selected one) with or without the associated programs and samples. You may also use this
opportunity to save the entire contents of memory.

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The defaults are sensibly chosen to save just the selected multi and all its programs and
samples (though to save time, if you are happy that the programs and samples or ok and
havenÕt been edited or changed in any way, you can disable PROGS/SAMPS and just save the
multi which will be very quick).

Press EXECUTE to save; CANCEL SAVE to abort.

NOTE: The folder the multi(s) will be saved to is shown. If this is not the right one, you should
press CANCEL SAVE and use the actual SAVE function to navigate your way to the folder
where you want the multi to be saved. The ‘full’ SAVE function is described in a separate
chapter.

MULTI LIST

Once you have some multis loaded, you may view them in MULTI LIST:

The currently active multi is highlighted.

You may select multis to play from this page. Simply scroll down to the multi you want using
F15/F16 and either press CLOSE LIST or press the main MULTI mode key. The multi you have
highlighted in the MULTI LIST page will become the currently active multi.

You may also rename, copy, delete, create and renumber multis in this page.

RENAME MULTI Pressing RENAME will pop-up this prompt:

You may enter a new name in the usual manner using the cursor </>
keys and the DATA wheel or more conveniently from an external
QWERTY keyboard.

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COPY MULTI Pressing COPY MULTI will pop-up this prompt:

The multi is given a default ÔautonameÕ but you may enter a new name
if you prefer in the normal way.

DELETE MULTI Pressing DELETE MULTI will pop-up this prompt:

DELETE will delete the selected multi
associated with it (you have the option of disabling the deletion of the
multiÕs associated programs and their associated samples using the
check boxes on F14 and F16).

CREATE MULTI This allows you to create multis. The function is identical to CREATE

MULTI in the main multi page.

The GET INFO, QUICKLOAD and QUICKSAVE keys duplicate those found in the MULTI
TOOLS menu.

and

the programs and samples

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PART TOOLS MENU

When a part is selected, F9 is labelled PART TOOLS and, like MULTI TOOLS, it is a drop down
menu which offers further functionality. Pressing it displays this:

The functions are

GET INFO

This displays information about the current status of the sampler:

MULTI

QUICKLOAD

This is another way to assign programs to parts and QUICKLOAD allows you to load sounds
from disk directly into parts. First, select the part you want to load into (for example - Part 1):

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The part is highlighted. Pressing PART TOOLS on F9 will show this drop down menu:

Pressing QUICKLOAD will show something like this screen:

Here you are taken to a variation of the main LOAD mode. In this example, we are in the Ôroot
directoryÕ of a CD-ROM called S3000 CD-ROM where you can see the various folders or
directories on the disk.

LetÕs imagine we want to load in some drums to Part 1. First, press SELECT DOWN (F16) to
select the ÔDRUMS AND PERCÕ folder:

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Now press OPEN FOLDER (F12). You might see something like this:

The QUICKLOAD screen is much like the normal load page except that, because you cannot
load samples or multis into a part, you only see the programs in the selected folder.

LetÕs say you want to load the selected program, DRUM KIT 1, into Part 1 - press LOAD INTO
PART (F14). You will receive this prompt:

If you change your mind, press F8 - CANCEL LOAD but, assuming you wish to proceed, press
EXECUTE.

As the program and its samples are being loaded, you will see a progress display:

You will see the program and its associated samples being loaded in turn.

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At the end of the load process, you will see this screen display:

As you can see, the program DRUM KIT 1 is now loaded into Part 1. If you return to the main
MULTI page (either by pressing EXIT - F13 - followed by CLOSE TOOLS or more directly by
pressing the MULTI mode key), you would see this:

It could be that you only want to play one sound so this may be all you need to do.

However, if you want to build up more parts into your multi, you can repeat the above
procedure. First select the next part you want to assign a sound to, press PART TOOLS and
QUICKLOAD. For example, to add a sound to Part 2, first select Part 2:

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Now press PART TOOLS followed by QUICKLOAD:

Of course, in this example, weÕre back in the DRUMS AND PERC folder so, to select another
sound from another folder, first press CLOSE FOLDER (F12):

You will be taken back to the root directories where you may select and open other folders and
select sounds to load into Part 2 in much the same way as described above. To load the
sound, press F14 - you will receive the usual prompts and progress windows. Once the
program (and its samples) has been loaded, its name will be shown in the Ôpart fieldÕ of the
QUICKLOAD page. You may return to the main MULTI page.

However, one feature of QUICKLOAD is that you do not necessarily have to return to the main
MULTI page to select another part to load into. By pressing F2 when in the QUICKLOAD page,
you may select another part. For example, letÕs imagine you loaded a bass into Part 2. You
would see something like this screen after the QUICKLOAD:

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You may immediately audition the sound by sending MIDI data on the appropriate MIDI channel
(in this case, set your keyboard/sequencer/whatever to MIDI channel 2 to audition the sound).
If it is not the right sound, you may load another sound into the selected part (for example, if
SYNTHBASS #2 is not the bass sound you want, simply select another and press LOAD INTO
PART again - this will replace the original sound with the new one).

However, assuming youÕre happy with the sound you have loaded, you may now want to load
something into Part 3. Simply press F2 - it will become highlighted thus:

You may now select Part 3 (or another part) using the DATA wheel. To move the cursor back to
the list of programs to load (or folders to open), press SELECT DOWN (F16) to return you to
the list then proceed as described above. This process can be repeated until you have loaded
all the sounds (programs) you want into the various parts. In this way, you can build up complex
multis quickly and easily without having to leave QUICKLOAD. When you have loaded all the
parts you want, you can return to the main MULTI page.

When using QUICKLOAD, it could be that sounds you want are contained on another disk, To
select another disk, press DISK LIST (F8). You will see something like this screen display:

The disk you want to use is selected simply by touching the key to its left and pressing
SELECT DISK (F8). This will select the disk and automatically return you to the QUICKLOAD
page where you will see its contents. You may proceed as above to load sounds into the
selected part.

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NOTE REGARDING QUICKLOAD:

It is possible to use QUICK LOAD even if you have not created a multi first. In the blank multi
page, select the part you wish to QUICKLOAD into. Now press PART TOOLS followed by
QUICKLOAD. Select the sound you want to load and press LOAD INTO PART. Because you
have not yet created the multi, you will receive this prompt first:

Pressing CREATE NEW will pop-up the name prompt:

You should create the multi after which you can proceed with QUICKLOAD as described .

QUICKSAVE

This will pop-up this prompt:

You may select to save just the selected program and its associated samples, all programs (with
or without the samples) or the entire memory. The procedure is identical to the multi
QUICKSAVE described earlier.

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PROGRAM LIST

This takes you to a page where you may see the programs currently loaded into memory:

This is not unlike MULTI LIST and you may rename, copy, delete and create programs.

RENAME PROGRAM This pops up a prompt and you may rename the program.

COPY PROGRAM This pops up a prompt and you may copy the selected program. You

may use the name automatically generated by the copy process or you
may enter your own.

DELETE PROGRAM You may delete the selected program.

CREATE PROGRAM You may create a new program.

PURGE PROGRAMS This useful function deletes all programs and samples not currently

being used by any multis that may be loaded (these programs are
referred to as ÔorphansÕ). This allows you clear out any redundant
programs and samples in order to make more memory available.

Whilst the PURGE function is useful for clearing redundant programs and their samples from
memory, it could be that you have programs ‘outside’ the multis that are selected via program
change within the parts. Be careful with your use of PURGE as you may accidentally delete
these.

The GET INFO, QUICKLOAD and QUICKSAVE keys duplicate those found in the MULTI
TOOLS menu.

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RENUMBER This takes you to a new page where you may change the MIDI program

number of the programs. Pressing RENUMBER will show something
like this screen:

Programs may be given a number 1-128 or OFF.

MIDI program numbers are used in order to select programs within a
part remotely via MIDI. For example, you may have a stereo acoustic
piano sound in Part 2/MIDI channel 2 that you want to use in the
verses of a song but which you want to change to an electric piano
sound in the chorus. By issuing an appropriate MIDI program change
command on channel 2, you can achieve this and the two will swap
over when you want them to. For example, if STEREO PIANO is MIDI
program number #5 and ELECTRIC PIANO is MIDI program #12 - by
issuing program change commands #5 and #12 on MIDI channel 2 at
the appropriate moments in the song, you can switch between these
sounds.

However, a problem exists when you load these sounds into memory
in that, for example, the STEREO PIANO sound you loaded could
have MIDI program number #1 and the ELECTRIC PIANO sound could
be program #6 (or they could be both program #1 or whatever
depending on where they were loaded from). In other words, in order
for them to be selected correctly via MIDI program change, you need
to renumber them to the correct MIDI program numbers.

However, another potential problem exists. You may renumber the
stereo piano and electric piano correctly but may find that other
programs with these numbers exist in memory. To prevent a conflict in
these circumstances, other programs may need to be renumbered.

There is another problem too! The range of MIDI program numbers is
1-128. However, it is possible to load many more programs than this
into the S6000Õs memory and, theoretically, you may have hundreds
of programs loaded. However, there may only be a handful of
programs you need to change within a multi using MIDI program
change.

The RENUMBER screen allows you to renumber those programs that
will be required to be changed via MIDI program change whilst
switching those that donÕt to ignore such changes.

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To renumber a program (or programs), move the cursor to the program
you want to renumber and use the DATA wheel to set the appropriate
number (or switch it to OFF).

Pressing RENUMBER 1-XXX will renumber all programs sequentially 1­128 (or whatever the upper limit is of the number of programs in
memory). The programs will be renumbered in the order in which they
appear in the list. If there are more than 128 programs in memory, any
above will 128 will be renumbered 128.

When you press RENUMBER 1-XXX, you will receive a prompt asking
you to confirm that you wish to proceed. Respond accordingly.

Pressing SET ALL TO OFF will (not surprisingly!) turn all programs
numbers off. This way, you can clear all program numbers so that it is
easier and clearer to renumber just those that will be affected by MIDI
program change.

When you press SET ALL TO OFF, you will receive a prompt asking
you to confirm that you wish to proceed. Respond accordingly.

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KNOWN PROBLEMS WITH MIDI PROGRAM CHANGE

This scheme is far from foolproof and there are some problems associated with program
change. Some are unique to samplers whilst others are common to all sound modules. These
are listed here:

¥ If two programs share the same program number and you select that program number via a

MIDI program change command, the first program found will be selected.

¥ If several parts share the same MIDI channel and a program change command is sent on

that channel, all parts will select the one sound which will appear in all four parts.

¥ If a program is renumbered (perhaps because another program has that program number),

you will need to change the program change number on the sequencer.

¥ If SAVE MULTI+PROGS+SAMPS is used, programs ÔoutsideÕ the multi that are intended

for remote selection via MIDI will not be saved and so it will be necessary to save these
separately (or to load them in separately next time you load the multi).

MULTI

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SELECTING MULTIS REMOTELY VIA MIDI

It is possible to use MIDI program change to select multis remotely via MIDI.

Multis are numbered according to the order they appear in memory. For example, if you had
five multis in memory thus:

MULTI 1
BACKING TRACK 1
STRING ENSEMBLE
JAZZ SPLIT
BIG LAYER

They would be numbered 1-5 respectively:

1 MULTI 1
2 BACKING TRACK 1
3 STRING ENSEMBLE
4 JAZZ SPLIT
5 BIG LAYER

Etc..

Thus, sending MIDI program #3 would select STRING ENSEMBLE.

The MIDI channel for receiving program change commands for multis is specified in the
UTILITIES mode in the MIDI page:

First it is necessary to enable remote selection of multis by switching MULTI SELECT (F3) to
ON and then selecting the MIDI channel you want the multi select MIDI program change
commands to be received on. Once set, any MIDI program change commands received on that
channel will be cause the appropriate multi to be selected.

NOTE: The MIDI channel designated for receiving MIDI program change commands for
remote multi selection cannot be used for selecting programs via MIDI program change
commands. Therefore, be sure to set a MIDI channel that you know won’t be required for
selecting programs.

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USING MULTIS

As mentioned, it is possible to have up to 128 multis in memory at any one time. Each multi may
contain as many as 32 programs or as little as one and each multi may contain a different
combination of programs.

Basically, the MULTI mode is basically the S6000Õs ÔplayÕ mode and is where you can play
programs singly or in combination and is designed to be flexible enough to cover a wide range
of applications. Whereas on most synthesisers, sound modules, samplers, etc., you have
various playback modes (single, multi, combi, performance, whatever), the S6000 has just one
versatile and consistent play mode to cover all applications.

USING MULTI MODE TO PLAY SINGLE PROGRAMS

A multi may contain just one program:

MULTI

The MULTI mode can be used to play single programs simply by assigning just one program to
a part. In this way (especially with 128 multis available), the S6000 can be used a simple
playback module for playing single sounds.

USING MULTI MODE TO PLAY LAYERED PROGRAMS

An extension of ÔsingleÕ playback - by assigning several programs to a multi with each part set to
the same MIDI channel, you may play layered programs:

Here, several sounds are played simultaneously for greater texture. DonÕt forget that each of
the layers may be mixed, panned, tuned/detuned, routed to separate outputs and/or the
internal effects for even greater flexibility.

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USING MULTI MODE TO PLAY KEYSPLITS

Using the LOW NOTE/HIGH NOTE function in the FINE TUNE ÔwindowÕ, you may set key splits:

In this example, UPRIGHT BASS could be set to cover C1-B2 with JAZZ ROADS PNO set to
cover C3-E5 with a handful of BRASS STABS on F5-C6. The same technique could be used
in a string section setup to have cellos in the bottom octaves and violas/violins in the top
octaves.

Again, each ÔelementÕ in the keysplit may be routed to separate outputs and/or the optional
effects for greater flexibility.

USING MULTI MODE MULTI-TIMBRALLY

Multi mode can also be used to play up to 32 sounds simultaneously on 32 MIDI channels:

Here you can see each part has its own MIDI channel (VIEW 18 PARTS is shown here to make
the example clearer).

Each sound may be mixed and panned and routed to different outputs (either as pairs or to
individual outputs). They may also be tuned and transposed and if the optional EB20 is
installed, may be routed to any one of the four effects channels.

However, when using the S6000 in this way, certain parts may be set to the same MIDI channel
so that some parts will be layered (for example, in the above screen shot, Parts 10 and 11 both
play SLAP BASS #1, presumably detuned for a rich, chorus bass sound) whilst other parts just
play single programs. You could also use keysplits within such a multi.

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PLAYING LIVE OVER A SEQUENCED BACKING TRACK

As well as 32-channel multi-timbral operation, the two MIDI inputs also allow you to play one or
more sounds ÔliveÕ from a keyboard or other MIDI controller through one MIDI input whilst the
other input is fed by a sequencer to provide a 16-channel multi-timbral backing track. Such a
multi may look something like this:

In this example, the GRAND PIANO is the part you would play live through MIDI input A whilst
the other parts are sequenced via MIDI input B.

MULTI

USING THE S6000 AS TWO SAMPLERS

Sometimes (especially in live situations), it is useful to have two keyboards on stage. This
allows you to play two sounds simultaneously and/or allows you to quickly switch between
sounds without having to mess around with program changes. By connecting one keyboard to
MIDI input A and the other to MIDI input B, you may effectively use your S6000 as two
samplers! For example:

In this example, one keyboard would play the GRAND PIANO sound whilst the other plays the
huge layered pad combination. In such a situation, you might benefit from a weighted keyboard
to play the grand piano sound and a synth action keyboard for other sounds.

DonÕt forget that to further enhance the S6000Õs capabilities in this application, the sounds
played by each keyboard could be routed to their own sets of outputs.

A further variation on this would be to have two musicians playing the S6000 simultaneously.
For example, you could be vamping away on piano, clav - whatever - whilst the bandÕs drummer
triggers drum and percussion sounds from MIDI pads!

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These are just a handful of examples of the flexibility of the S6000Õs MULTI mode. No doubt
you will find your own applications.

NOTES FOR EXISTING AKAI SAMPLER USERS.

The S6000’s MULTI mode replaces all other playback modes of Akai’s previous samplers.
Previously, on the S1000, S1000 and S3000, S3200, multi-timbral operation, layers and

keysplits were achieved by renumbering several programs to the same program number and
then setting MIDI channels, levels, etc., for each program accordingly. This had the advantage
that whilst being a bit cumbersome to use, it did allow you to have up to 128 multi-timbral
setups loaded simultaneously and these could be selected from the front panel or via MIDI
program change very quickly and easily. This way of working was good for live work, because,
with some pre-production work, you could program your entire live set and have all the sounds
for each song loaded into memory (notwithstanding the old samplers’ memory limits, of course)
and ready for action with a turn of the DATA wheel or by sending out a MIDI program change
command from your keyboard to recall either a single sound, a set of layered or keysplit sounds
or an entire multi-timbral setup.

Then, in the S2000 and XL range, Akai introduced the MULTI mode. This had the advantage of
being quick and easy to use plus had the benefit that you could use MIDI program change on
specific MIDI channels to change sounds within individual parts. However, having only one
multi in memory at any one time restricted the MULTI mode’s ability to be used live.
Furthermore, there was a limit of 16 parts (and 16 MIDI channels).

The S6000’s new MULTI mode embraces the benefits of both ways or working (as well as
overcoming each one’s restrictions!) and offers the best of all worlds as well as many
improvements and advantages:

• It is quick and easy to use.

• Up to 32 programs can be played simultaneously without the need for awkward
renumbering.

• Single program playback, layered programs, keysplits and multi-timbral operation can all be
achieved within one convenient and consistent user interface.

• 32-channel multi-timbral operation.

• Up to 128 multis may be loaded into memory at any one time and can be selected from the
front panel or via MIDI program change thus allowing you to switch between single program
playback, layered sounds, keysplits and/or multi-timbral operation quickly and conveniently
(much like the ‘old’ Akai SINGLE mode, in fact!).

• The programs in each part may be changed via MIDI program change on specific MIDI
channels.

Akai’s designers are well aware that for some ‘die-hard’ Akai users who may be used to using
the ‘old’ Akai way of working, the new regime may require some adaptation but it is felt that the
overwhelming benefits the new MULTI mode offers outweigh the temporary inconvenience of
‘converting’ to this new method of operation.

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EDIT PROGRAM

EDIT PROGRAM

Pressing EDIT PROGRAM will show this screen:

This is ÔmainÕ EDIT PROGRAM page where you may select whatever it is you want to work on.
Pressing any of the keys takes you directly to that ÔsectionÕ. We will look at these in turn.

The program you wish to edit is selected by pressing F1 and turning the DATA wheel.

EDIT PART

It is also possible to edit a program within the context of a multi by pressing EDIT PART (F8) in
the multi mode. First select a part to edit - you will see something like this:

Then press EDIT PART. You will see this screen:

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EDIT PROGRAM

As you can see, the Ôentry pagesÕ for EDIT PROGRAM and EDIT PART are essentially very
similar except...

¥ In EDIT PART, you hear the selected program within the context of the selected multi (in

EDIT PROGRAM, you hear it in isolation).

¥ In EDIT PART, you cannot select other programs to edit via F1 (in EDIT PROGRAM, you

can select

¥ In EDIT PART, PROG TOOLS is replaced by SOLO PART. This allows you to solo the

selected sound so that you may hear it in isolation if you need to. You may toggle between
SOLO on and off very quickly simply by pressing F9.

¥ You cannot create a new program in EDIT PART (in EDIT PROGRAM, F16 allows you to

create a new program if you want to build up a program from scratch).

¥ In EDIT PART, the program in the selected part is automatically selected for editing (if you

press EDIT PROGRAM, the correct program may not necessarily be selected and you will
have to select the program separately).

any

program to edit).

EDIT PROGRAM, therefore, is where you can edit and create
where you edit a particular program within the context of the currently selected multi.

any

program whilst EDIT PART is

NOTE: If a program is shared between multis (i.e. in this example, if STRING SYNTH is
assigned to other multis), if you edit it using EDIT PART, those edits will be reflected in any
other multi the program may be used.

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OUTPUT

Pressing this key (F2) will take you to the main OUTPUT page:

This page sets parameters that affect the final output level and pan position of the program.
The parameters are:

LOUDNESS This sets the basic working level of the program. 100 is maximum. For

some degree of velocity sensitivity, this should be set to less than 100
(a value of 80 is about ÔaverageÕ but this may be varied (in conjunction
with the VELOCITY SENSITIVITY parameter) according to your playing
technique.

VELOCITY SENS This sets the amount of effect velocity will have over the overall output

level of the program. +030 is about average but you may set this to any
value you like according to your playing technique. You may also invert
this for special effects where harder velocity makes loudness

AMP MOD 1/2 These two parameters allow you to set the level for the controllers

assigned to these inputs. It is also possible assign any of the samplerÕs
controllers (MIDI controllers, LFOs, envelopes, etc.) to the two
amplitude modulation inputs.

To set the modulation amount, simply touch the key to the right of the
parameter you want to adjust and use the DATA wheel to set the
value. The controller is selected by ÔdoubleÕ clicking the key alongside
the parameter. For example, pressing it once will show this:

quieter

!

Here, you may set the modulation level.

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Pressing the key again will move the cursor to the controller field and
will show this:

Here you may use the DATA wheel to scroll through the various
controllers.

This principle applies to all modulation inputs throughout EDIT
PROGRAM - press once to set level, press again to select the
controller. This type of operation is signified by the icon in the
corner of the parameter field.

To do the same for the other AMP MOD input, repeat the above.

PAN MOD 1/2/3 The same as AMP MOD except that these parameters allow you to

create ÔautopanÕ effects. The most common of these would be to
assign a slow LFO to one of the PAN MOD inputs so that the sound
moves backwards and forwards across the stereo image. However,
you could use velocity or aftertouch or you could use an envelope so
that the sound pans with every note.

Operation is identical to the AMP MOD inputs - press once to set level,
press again to select the controller.

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EDIT PROGRAM

GOTO SOURCE When the cursor is on either mod input field (controller or level) of any

of the modulation inputs - for example:

Pressing GOTO SOURCE will take you directly to that controllers
page. In the above example, you would go straight to LFO2:

Here, you may tweak and edit the LFO 2 parameters.

GOTO DEST Pressing GOTO DEST in this page will pop up this window:

You may return to the OUTPUT page (or any other destination)
immediately.

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EDIT PROGRAM

NOTE: The GOTO SOURCE/DEST operation is common for all mod input functions in all
pages that have them.

If the cursor is not on a modulation input (for example, if the
LOUDNESS parameter is selected) and you press GOTO SOURCE,
you will receive this pop-up dialogue prompt:

Similarly, if the mod source is one of the MIDI controllers (pitchbend,
modwheel, keyboard, etc. - in other words, a controller that has no
parameters associated with it), you will receive the same prompt.

MAIN This key takes you back to the main EDIT PROGRAM page.

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EDIT PROGRAM

MIDI/TUNE

Pressing MIDI/TUNE in the main EDIT PROGRAM page will show this screen:

The parameters are:

PROGRAM NUMBER Sets the MIDI program number for the selected program. This allows

you to select programs remotely via MIDI within a part in a multi.

SEMITONE TUNE Allows you to tune the program in semitones.

FINE TUNE Allows you to fine tune the program.

TUNE TEMPLATE This allows you select from a variety of different tuning templates such

as EVEN-TEMPERED, ORCHESTRAL, WERKMEISTER, etc..

You may also set your own tuning template by selecting USER which
you may freely edit in the EDIT USER page.

KEY Sets the key signature for the tuning template. The normal Western

EQUAL TEMPERAMENT allows you play in any key you like (which is
why it was developed!) but the other tunings can only be used in
certain key signatures. So, for example, if you want to use the
WERKMEISTER tuning on a piano sound and the piece you want play
is D#, select D# in the KEY parameter.

COPY TO USER This key allows you to copy one of the preset templates to the USER

template so that you may edit it. To edit one of the templates, first
select it in the TUNE TEMPLATE field and press COPY TO USER.
Now select USER as the TUNE TEMPLATE. You may now use EDIT
USER to modify it.

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EDIT PROGRAM

EDIT USER

Pressing EDIT USER shows this screen:

Here you may tune each semitone. To return to the MIDI/TUNE page, press F16. To return to
the main EDIT PROGRAM page, press MAIN (F8).

If you edit the tuning of each semitone in this page, you will see the changes in the graphic
representation of the keyboard in the MIDI/TUNE page.

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EDIT PROGRAM

PITCHBEND

here you may set pitchbend and other related parameter. Pressing PITCHBEND in the main
EDIT PROGRAM page will show this:

The parameters are:

PITCHBEND UP This sets the limit for pitchbend up - the range is 24 semitones

PITCHBEND DOWN This sets the limit for pitchbend down - the range is 24 semitones.

BEND MODE You may select NORMAL or HELD.

NORMAL is the common type of pitchbend where all notes are bent as
you move the pitchbend wheel/lever regardless of whether you are
actually holding any notes down (i.e. they may be fading through their
release stage).

By selecting the HELD mode of pitchbend, ONLY THE KEY(S) YOU
ARE CURRENTLY HOLDING DOWN WILL BEND and all those notes
you are not playing but which may be fading through their release
stage will remain unchanged. If you release your finger from the key
with the pitchbend up (or down), as the note dies away, if you let the
pitchbend return to zero, that last noteÕs pitch will not change. If you
release just one note of a chord with pitchbend up or down, if you let
the wheel or lever settle at zero, only the notes you are holding will
bend.

AFTERTOUCH As well as using the pitchbend wheel or lever, you may also use

aftertouch to bend notes. The range is -12 to +12. You may only bend
up or down depending on the selection made - unlike the bend
wheel/lever, you cannot pitchbend both ways.

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LFOS

Pressing LFOs shows something like this screen:

The parameters are:

RATE Sets the speed of the LFO. The range is very slow (at a setting of 0, it

DELAY This sets the time it takes for the modulation to fade in.

takes over a minute to complete a full cycle) to very fast (around
100Hz). An average vibrato rate setting is around 45.

DEPTH Sets the initial depth of the modulation. This should be set to a value if

you want LFO1 modulation permanently on the sound (if you only
want to introduce vibrato or other modulation effects via the modwheel
however, this parameter should be set to 0 and the MODWHEEL
parameter - see below - should be set to a suitable value).

WAVEFORM Nine modulation waveforms are available. These are

SINE

A smooth waveform suitable for vibrato. Also
useful for slow, smooth panning and filter
sweeps.

TRIANGLE

Another waveform suitable for vibrato and
slow sweep effects.

SQUARE

A Ôbi-polarÕ square wave that moves above
and below the note you are playing.

SQUARE +

This square wave only moves above the note
you are playing. It is suitable for trills and
octave jumps, etc..

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SQUARE -

SAW BI

SAW UP

SAW DOWN

RANDOM

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This square wave only moves down from the
note you are playing.

A Ôbi-polarÕ rising sawtooth wave that moves
above and below the note you are playing.

This sawtooth rises up to the note you are
playing.

This sawtooth falls down from the note you
are playing.

Gives out completely random control signals.

LFO SYNC When set to ON, all 128 LFOs (one per voice) run together at the

same rate. When switched to OFF, they each run at a slightly different
speed to create a more ÔensembleÕ effect on sounds such as strings,
brass, pads, etc..

RATE MOD You may modulate LFO 1Õs rate with this parameter and here you may

select a controller and set the amount of rate modulation - press the
key once to set the mod amount; press again to select the controller.

DELAY MOD You may modulate the delay time. Press once to set the amount of

delay modulation; press again to select the controller.

DEPTH MOD You may modulate the LFOÕs output level here. The same principle

applies - press once to set the depth mod amount; press again to
select the controller.

MODWHEEL Sets the amount of modulation that will be introduced by the

modwheel.

AFTER TOUCH This allows you to introduce vibrato using aftertouch.

GOTO DEST This pops up a list of destinations the LFO may be assigned to for

quick and easy access to their pages.

GOTO SOURCE When any of the mod input parameters are selected, pressing this key

will take you directly to the controllerÕs page.

NOTE: If a mod parameter is not selected, you will receive a dialogue prompt advising you of
this. Similarly, if the mod source is one of the MIDI controllers, you will receive the same pop-up
prompt.

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LFO 2

LFO 1 gives you access the LFO 2 via F7. Pressing this will show this screen:

Functionally, the two LFOs are almost identical except for LFO RE-TRIGGER. Here, you can set
whether or not LFO2 will re-trigger with every new note-on or not. With RETRIGGER set to ON,
each note you play will reset the cycle of the selected waveform to its leading edge. For
example, with the triangle wave selected, you would get this result:

MIDI NOTE ON

This is useful for certain types of modulation effects where you want the effect to start at the
same point in the modulation waveform for every note you play. For example, if you are using
the square wave, you may want it to always start on the rising edge with each note you play.
The same may apply for the sawtooth and random waveforms.

However, there are occasions when you want the LFO to be free running in the background.
For example, on filter or panning sweeps where you want the effect to be gradual as you play,
you will want to switch RETRIGGER to OFF to get this result:

MIDI NOTE ON

Here, the modulation waveform will ignore incoming note-on messages and will be rising and
falling giving you a gradual sweep through whatever it is applied to. This is particularly useful
when triangle is selected and applied to the filter(s) as you can re-create the old filter sweep
effects of analogue synths.

You will also note that the MOD WHEEL and AFTERTOUCH parameters are not included.
However, if you wish to control the output level of LFO2 using these controllers, assign them
to the DEPTH MOD input on F12.

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KEYGROUP

So far we have seen functions that affect the program as a whole. The KEYGROUP pages allow
access to edit the individual keygroups. Pressing KEYGROUP shows this screen display:

The parameters are:

MUTE GROUP This allows you to group several keygroups together so that they are

essentially monophonic. The main reason for this is for drums where
sometimes you want a sample to stop playing when another is played.

For example:

For example, you would want a closed hi-hat to stop an open hi-hat. To
do this, simply assign all the relevant keygroups to the same Mute
Group. For example, if all your hi-hats are in keygroups 3-6, assign
those keygroups to, say, Mute Group 1. All other keygroups will be
unaffected but all those in mute group 1 will be mutually exclusive ­that is, if one is sounding when another is played, it will be cut.

OPEN HI-HAT

(or triangle, etc)

OPEN AND CLOSED HI-HAT WITH MUTE GROUP OFF

CLOSED HI-HAT

(or triangle, etc)

Here, you can see that the open hi-hat continues to play even though
the closed hi-hat is triggered.

OPEN HI-HAT

(or triangle, etc)

CLOSED HI-HAT

(or triangle, etc)

OPEN AND CLOSED HI-HAT WITH MUTE GROUP ON

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In this example, however, the open hi-hat is shut off by the closed hi­hat thereby creating a more natural effect.

This function may also be used to emulate the characteristics of older
drum machines. On these early drum machines, whilst they offered
maybe 8 voice polyphony, each individual drum sound was sometimes
monophonic. This only became apparent when you tried to perform a
snare roll or something similar. Instead of the snareÕs natural decay
being allowed to sound, the next hit would cut the previous one dead
resulting in a rather unnatural staccato effect. Of course, at the time,
this was undesirable but the dictates of musical fashion now say that
this effect is quite popular in some music styles!! By assigning your
snare drum into a mute group, you may re-create this effect. For
example:

SNARE DRUM ROLL WITH MUTE GROUP OFF

In this example, each snare hit is allowed to decay naturally.

SNARE DRUM ROLL WITH MUTE GROUP ON

In this example, each hit is cut short by the next one.

On the S1000 and S1000 and in early versions of S2800, S3000 and
S3200 software, you needed to create a separate program, make it 1
voice polyphonic and assign it the same program number as the rest of
your drums. Now, you may do all this within one program which you
may find more convenient.

OVERRIDE FX This allows you to send individual keygroups to the effects by

overriding the main programÕs effects routing. The default will be
MULTI (i.e. the routing uses the effects buss selection set when the
program is placed in a MULTI) but you may also select OFF (i.e. the
selected keygroup is not routed to the effects) or FX1, FX2, RV3 or
RV4.

FX SEND LEVEL This allows you to set the amount of effect for each keygroup. In this

way, you can, for example, send individual drums in different amounts
to the effects. Furthermore, each drum could be routed to a different
effect (i.e. bass drum to a tight gated reverb, snare to a large hall, toms
to a medium hall, etc.).

The keys on this page give access to keygroup functions.

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SELECTING KEYGROUPS

In the top right hand corner of every keygroup page is the keygroup selector. Touch F9 and
use the DATA wheel to select the keygroup you wish to edit.

This key also has a drop down menu that allows you to switch between editing just single
individual keygroups or ALL keygroups. The selection is shown clearly in the keygroup select
key:

You may still select individual keygroups using the DATA wheel but any edits you make will
affect all keygroups in the program.

TIP: A quick way of selecting keygroups is to press AND HOLD F1 and play a note on your
MIDI keyboard (or other controller). This will select that note’s keygroup. For example, in a
program with five keygroups spanning C0-B1, C2-B2, C3-B3, C4-B4, C5-G8, playing G3 will
select keygroup 3 - i.e. the one spanning C3-B3.

In the case where keygroups are layered or overlap, pressing and holding EDIT and repeatedly
playing the note will select each keygroup in turn.

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KEYGROUP ZONES

Pressing KEYGROUP ZONES shows something like this display:

The parameters are as follows:

ZONE 1/2/3/4 Samples are assigned here. To assign a sample, simply press F2, F3,

F4 or F5 and use the DATA wheel to scroll through the samples in
memory. A zone can contain a mono or a stereo sample5 and samples
assigned here can be normal RAM samples or ÔvirtualÕ samples. Having
ÔvirtualÕ samples in a program means that they can be processed by the
envelopes, filters, LFOs, etc., just like any normal sample and no
distinction is made between them. This opens up many exciting
possibilities for playing disk recordings alongside ordinary RAM
samples.

NOTE: Keygroups that have ‘virtual’ samples assigned to them have a polyphony of 1 voice
and you cannot play chords with ‘virtual’ samples. However, apart from this restriction, they can
be transposed and played much like normal RAM samples.

ZONE LEVEL This sets the level for the selected zone. As well as allowing you to

balance the level of keygroups, this parameter can also be used in the
event of distortion occurring with high resonance settings in the filters
and turning the level down (setting a negative value here) will reduce
the level going to the filters and so will prevent distortion occurring.

PAN/BALANCE If the sample in the selected zone is mono, this parameter controls pan

to move the sound around the stereo image. If the sample in the
selected zone is stereo, this parameter works as a balance control.

FINE TUNE This allows you to fine tune the selected zone.

5 Previous Akai samplers required the left and right channels to be assigned to Zones 1 and 2

separately with pan and other parameters set manually for each ÔlegÕ of the stereo sample in
each zone. This restriction no longer applies. However, please note that ÔoldÕ Akai sound library
will transfer directly when loaded into the S6000 with the -L and -R ÔlegsÕ of the stereo sample
appearing in their respective zones exactly as they were saved on the older model sampler.
Please bear this in mind when editing older Akai sound library material.

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PLAYBACK This allows to select how the sample plays back This overides the

sampleÕs own playback parameters. The options are:

AS SAMPLE The sample will play according to the PLAY

MODE set in EDIT SAMPLE.

LOOP IN REL The sound will continue to loop during the

release phase of the envelopes.

LOOP TIL REL The sound will loop as you hold a note down

but will play the rest of the sample after the
loop end during the release phase of the
envelopes.

NO LOOPING The sound will play for its duration or until you

release the note, whichever is the shorter.

ONE-SHOT The sample will play to the end regardless of

how long you play the note.

HIGH/LOW VELOCITY These parameters set the high and low velocity for the zone.

For normal playback, you would normally set a zone to have a velocity
range of 0-127. However, by assigning different samples to the zones
and setting high and low velocity as appropriate, you can achieve
velocity crossfade and switching. For example:

In the first example, there are four distinctly different bass samples
played with different styles and these can be switched between using
MIDI velocity. Play soft and youÕll hear the sample SOFTBASS; play a
bit harder and youÕll hear THUMBBASS but really hit your keyboard
hard and youÕll hear PULL BASS.

If the velocity ranges overlap as shown in the second example, you
can use ZONE XFADE so that the zones will crossfade giving a
smoother transition.

ZONE XFADE This ÔcheckboxÕ switches velocity crossfade on and off. With it set to

off, the zones will switch; when set to ON, zones with overlapping
velocity ranges will crossfade for a smoother transition.

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Like MULTI mode, the parameters down the right hand side of the screen have windows:

ZONE LEVEL WINDOW

The parameters are:

ZONE LEVEL This duplicates the main ZONE LEVEL parameter seen in the ZONES

PAN/BALANCE This duplicates the PAN/BALANCE parameter found in the main

page and is included here for convenience.

ZONES page.

OUTPUT Here you may route zones to individual outputs.

When set to MULTI, when the program is placed in a multi part, the
keygroup(s) will be assigned to the outputs set in that part. If the
program is not associated with a multi, this setting routes the
keygroup(s) to outputs 1/2.

FILTER This parameter allows you to set the filter cutoff to maintain a

consistent tone between keygroups. The range is ±100.

PAN/BALANCE WINDOW

This is actually identical to the ZONE LEVEL window.

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FINE TUNE WINDOW

The parameters are:

KEYBOARD TRACK Allows you to switch the keyboard off so that the zone plays at a

constant pitch of C3.

USEFUL TIP TO DRUM SAMPLISTS! Sample all your drums on C3 and assign them to
any key you like in the program and simply switch KEYBOARD TRACK to OFF for all
keygroups. They will now play back at exactly the pitch they were sampled at. In this way, you
don’t have to worry about setting notes when sampling and then trying to match them up in
EDIT PROGRAM. Other non-pitched samples such as sound effects, breakbeats, drum loops,
etc., can be treated the same way.

SEMITONE TUNE This allows you to tune the zone in semitone increments.

FINE TUNE This duplicates the FINE TUNE parameter in the main ZONES page

and allows you to fine tune the selected zone.

PLAYBACK WINDOW

The parameters are:

VELOCITY START This parameter allows you to determine the way in which velocity

affects the playback starting point for each sample in a keygroup. The
higher the positive number, the earlier in the sample playback will start
relative to the key velocity (i.e. a high key velocity will start playback
earlier in the sample). A negative number has the opposite effect (a

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high key velocity will start playback later in the sample than a low key
velocity). This effect is particularly useful for simulating percussion
instruments (try it with a bass drum). It can also be very effective with
such instruments as a heavily bowed cello - by setting a high positive
value, hard keystrokes will play the aggressive bowing whilst soft
keystrokes will not. The same could be done with overblown saxes or
flutes, even synth sounds that have a pronounced attack.

PLAYBACK As per the main ZONES page.

SELECTING AND EDITING ZONES

This is not unlike the MULTI mode where you first select a part using the soft keys on the left
and then editing them using the parameter keys on the right, opening windows if necessary.
So, for example, to transpose Zone 2 by an octave, press F3, press FINE TUNE (F12) and then
press the WINDOW key (or press F12 again) to open the window where you can set the
SEMITONE TUNE. Close the window when youÕve finished.

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KEYSPAN

This is where you set the note ranges of the keygroups to map them out across the keyboard
as you want. Pressing KEYSPAN shows something like this screen display:

A more complex program such as an intricately multi-sampled piano would look like this:

You may set note ranges in two ways - manually or via MIDI. Via MIDI is by far the easiest.

First, select the keygroup you want to set using F9. Now press SET HIGH NOTE or SET LOW
NOTE as appropriate and switch SET VIA MIDI to ON. Now play the notes on your keyboard to
set the ranges. The cursor will jump to each low and high note in the list. This is a very fast way
to set up keygroup note spans and a whole program can be set up in seconds!

The other way to set note ranges is manually. First select the keygroup you want to set using
F9. Now press SET HIGH/LOW NOTE to select the low or high note and use the DATA wheel
to enter a note. Now press SET HIGH/LOW NOTE again to select the low or high note and use
the DATA wheel to set the note. Repeat the process for all keygroups you want to set.

It is also possible to assign samples to Zone 1 of the keygroups in this page. In this way, it is
possible to set up entire programs within the KEYSPAN page without needing to jump
between pages (however, please note that if you want to assign samples to the other three
zones, this should be done in the KEYGROUP ZONES page as normal).

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KEYGROUP CROSSFADE

As well as ÔbuttingÕ keygroups end to end, you may also set keyspan overlaps.

Sometimes, when mapping samples out across the keyboard range, there can be abrupt tonal
changes from one sample/keygroup to another. In such circumstances, you may overlap
adjacent keyspan ranges. The S6000 will automatically crossfade the the two keygroups for a
smooth transition between the keygroups. E.g.:

In this simple example, two keygroups have been set to overlap. When played, the region
between D#3 and C4 will crossfade.

NOTE: If there is a tuning discrepancy between the keygroups’ samples, you may experience
a ‘chorus’ effect in the overlap/crossfade region. Be sure to tune the samples precisely to
overcome this.

C0 - C4 D#3-G8

KEYGROUP 1 KEYGROUP 2

Also, please note that in the overlap region, two voices are used (four if they are stereo
samples) and so you will find that polyphony is reduced in the overlap/crossfade region.

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KG PITCH/AMP

Pressing KG PITCH/AMP in either the MAIN or KEYGROUP pages will show something like
this:

The parameters are:

SEMITONE TUNE This allows you to tune the keygroup in semitone steps.

FINE TUNE This allows you to fine tune the selected keygroup.

PITCH MOD 1/2 Here you may set pitch modulation levels for the selected keygroup

and also select a controller for the two pitch mod inputs. The process
is exactly as described on Page 58.

AMP MOD Here you may set amplitude modulation levels for the selected

keygroup and also select a controller (as described on Page 58).

GOTO SOURCE This will take you directly to the selected controllerÕs page. Of course,

a mod input needs to be selected for this.

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FILTER

The filter page looks something like this:

The parameters on the filter page are:

FILTER MODE Here you can select from one of the 26 different resonant filter types.

These are:

2-POLE LP

4-POLE LP

2-POLE LP+

2-POLE BP

A 12dB/Octave lowpass filter with resonance.

A 24dB/Octave lowpass filter with resonance.

A 12dB/Octave lowpass filter with enhanced
resonance.

A resonant bandpass filter with a 6dB/Octave
roll-off slope either side of the band.

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4-POLE BP

2-POLE BP

1-POLE HP

EDIT PROGRAM

A resonant bandpass filter with a 12dB roll-off
slope either side of the band.

A bandpass filter with a 6dB/Octave roll-off
slope either side of the band with enhanced
resonance.

A 6dB/Octave highpass with resonance.

2-POLE HP

A 12dB/Octave resonant highpass filter .

1-POLE HP+

A 12dB/Octave highpass filter with enhanced
resonance.

LO<>HI A resonant filter that is lowpass at the lower

end of the frequency spectrum and highpass
at the upper end.

LO<>BAND A resonant filter that is lowpass at the lower

end of the frequency spectrum and bandpass
at the upper end.

BAND<>HI A resonant filter that is band pass at the lower

end of the frequency range and highpass at
the top end.

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NOTCH 1

A notch filter with a single notch. Resonance
increases the depth of the notch.

NOTCH 2

A notch filter with a two notches spaced two
octaves apart. Resonance increases the
depth of the notches.

NOTCH 3

A notch filter with a two notches spaced three
octaves apart. Resonance increases the
depth of the notches.

WIDE NOTCH

Another dual notch filter with one notch in the
upper frequencies and the other in the lower
frequencies.

BI-NOTCH A dual notch filter based on NOTCH 1 in

which modulation sweeps the notches in
opposite directions. As one moves up
through the frequency range, the other
moves down and

vice versa

.

NOTE: The differences between the five notch filters are subtle, it must be said but with
different cutoff frequency and resonance settings and depending on the modulation settings
and the sound being processed, you will hear quite distinct differences.

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PEAK 1

PEAK 2

PEAK 3

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A peak filter with a single peak. Resonance
increases the intensity of the peak.

A peak filter with a two peaks spaced two
octaves apart. Resonance increases the
intensity of the peaks.

A peak filter with a two peaks spaced three
octaves apart. Resonance increases the
intensity of the peaks.

WIDE PEAK

Another dual peak filter with one peak in the
upper frequencies and the other in the lower
frequencies.

BI-PEAK A dual peak filter based on PEAK 1 in which

modulation sweeps the peaks in opposite
directions - as one moves up through the
frequency range, the other moves down and

vice versa

.

NOTE: The differences between the five peak filters are subtle, it must be said but with
different cutoff frequency and resonance settings and depending on the modulation settings
and the sound being processed, you will hear quite distinct differences.

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PHASER 1

A phase shifter created with a notch and peak
filter at around the same frequency.
Resonance increases the intensity of the
peak and the depth of the notch.

PHASER 2

A phase shifter created with a notch and peak
filter with offset frequencies that has a slightly
ÔswirlierÕ sound as the frequency is
modulated. Resonance increases the
intensity of the peak and the depth of the
notch.

BI-PHASE A phase shifter based on PHASER 1 in which

modulation sweeps the peaks in opposite
directions - as one moves up through the
frequency range, the other moves down and

vice versa

VOWELISER This is a special filter configuration that is able

to produce certain vowel sounds and
articulations (EE-OO, EE-OR, EE-AH and
OO-AA, OO-EH, OO-OW) with certain
settings. The quality of the results depends
very much on the filterÕs settings and also on
the sound being filtered.

The ÔchartÕ shown in the centre of the
VOWELISERÕs screen display guides you to
certain optimum settings (for example, a
cutoff of 70 and a mod amount of +005 will
give something approaching an EE-OO vowel
articulation).

.

NOTE: Because of the way that the FILTER ENVELOPE interacts with the filter and the
special way the VOWELISER works, it is recommended to set FILT ENV DEPTH (see below) to
+000 for optimum ‘vowel’ effects.

CUTOFF FREQ Sets the initial cutoff frequency for the selected filter type.

RESONANCE This sets the resonance for the selected filter types. Extreme settings

can cause distortion. If this happens, either back off the ZONE LEVEL
parameter in the KEYGROUP ZONES page or reduce the overall
LOUDNESS in the main OUTPUT page.

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KEYBOARD TRACK Allows the filterÕs cutoff frequency to track the keyboard for a uniform

tone across the keyboard range.

MOD INPUT 1/2/3 Here you may set the depth of the selected filter modulation

controllers. Pressing the key twice allows you to change the controller.

FILT ENVELOPE Takes you to the filterÕs dedicated envelope page.

FILT ENV DEPTH Sets the amount of sweep by the filterÕs envelope. Note that this is a

duplication of the same parameter in the FILTER ENVELOPE page - it
is included here for convenience.

NOTE: When using the VOWELISER filter, because of the way the filter envelope controls
the filter, it is recommended that this parameter is set to +000

GOTO SOURCE This will take you directly to the selected controllerÕs page. Of course,

a mod input needs to be selected for this.

NOTE: This has no function when the FILT ENV DEPTH parameter is selected.

Because each of the filter types have their own very distinctive characteristics, you may have to
adjust CUTOFF, RESONANCE and MOD INPUT settings as you switch from filter to filter to get
the best results. When switching between certain filter types, you may hear no difference at all
between them whilst switching between others will yield very distinct differences.
Experimentation is the name of the game here!

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AMP ENVELOPE

This is an ADSR envelope that is used to control overall amplitude:

The parameters are:

ATTACK This sets the attack time of the envelope. High values produce a long

DECAY This sets the time it takes for the amplitude to fall to the SUSTAIN level

attack time (several seconds).

(see below).

SUSTAIN This sets the level the sound will sustain at when holding a note down.

RELEASE This sets the time it takes for the sound to die away after the note is

released.

The graphic representation of the envelope shape is animated and updates in real-time as you
change these four parameters.

KEYSCALE This allows you to vary the envelope shape according to key position

(i.e. higher notes can have a faster, shorter envelope than lower notes
in order to simulate the natural characteristics of certain sounds such
as piano, for example).

ENV TEMPLATE This allows you to choose from a variety of preset envelope shapes.

GOTO DEST This pops up a window and allows you to go directly to any places

where the AMP ENVELOPE may be routed.

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