STEREO DIGITAL SAMPLER
WARNING
To prevent fire or shock hazard, do not
expose this appliance to rain or moisture.
Operator’s Manual
WARNING
WARNING!!
To prevent fire or shock hazard, do not expose this appliance to rain or moisture.
CAUTION
RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
DO NOT OPEN
CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK
DO NOT REMOVE COVER (OR BACK).
NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE.
REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.
THE SYMBOLS ARE RULED BY UL STANDARDS (U.S.A.)
The lightning flash with the arrowhead symbol superimposed across a
graphical representation of a person, within an equilateral triangle, is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated “dangerous voltage”
within the product’s enclosure; that may be of sufficient magnitude to
constitute a risk of electric shock.
The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intented to alert the
user to the presence of important operating and maintenance (servicing)
instructions in the literature accompanying the appliance.
1-En
5A-En
CD3000XL Operator’s Manual i
WARNING
IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
SA VE THESE INSTRUCTIONS
WARNING - When using electric products, basic precautions should always be followed, including the
following;
1) Read all the instructions before using the product.
2) Do not use this product near water - for example, near a bath tub, washbowl, kitchen sink, in
a wet basement or near a swimming pool or the like.
3) This product should be used only with a cart or stand that is recommended by the manufacturer.
4) This product, either alone or in combination with an amplifier and headphones or speakers, may
be capable of producing sound levels that could cause permanent hearing loss. Do not operate
for a long period of time at a high volume level or at a level that is uncomfortable. If you
experience any hearing loss or ringing in the ears, you should consult an audiologist.
5) The product should be located so that its location or position does not interfere with its proper
ventilation.
6) The product should be located away from heat sources such as radiators, heat registers or other
products that produce heat.
7) The product should be connected to a power supply only of the type described in the operating
instructions or as marked on the products.
8) This product may be equipped with a polarized line plug (one blade wider than the other). This
is a safety feature. If you are unable to insert the plug into the outlet, contact an electrician to
replace your obsolete outlet. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the plug.
9) The power-supply cord of the product should be unplugged from the outlet, when left unused
for long period of time.
10) Care should be taken so that objects do not fall and liquids are not spilled into the enclosure
through openings.
11) The product should be serviced by qualified service personnel when;
a) The power-supply cord or the plug has been damaged; or
b) Objects have fallen, or liquid has been spilled onto the product; or
c) The product has been exposed to rain; or
d) The product does not appear to operate normally or exhibits a marked change in perfor-
mance; or
e) The product has been dropped, or the enclosure damaged.
12) Do not attempt to service the product beyond that described in the user-maintenance
instructions. All other servicing should be referred to qualified service personnel.
ii CD3000XL Operator’s Manual
WARNING
GROUNDING INSTRUCTIONS
This product must be grounded. If it should malfunction or breakdown, grounding provides a path of
least resistance for electric current to reduce the risk of electric shock. This product is equipped with
a cord having an equipment-grounding conductor and a grounding plug. The plug must be plugged
into an appropriate outlet that is properly installed and grounded in accordance with all local codes
and ordinances.
DANGER - Improper connection of the equipment-grounding conductor can result in a risk of electric
shock. Check with a qualified electrician or serviceman if you are in doubt as to whether the product
is properly grounded. Do not modify the plug provided with the product - if it will not fit the outlet, have
a proper outlet installed by a qualified electrician.
CD3000XL Operator’s Manual iii
WARNING
WARNING
THIS APPARATUS MUST BE EARTHED
IMPORTANT
This equipment is fitted with an approved non-rewireable UK mains plug.
To change the fuse in this type of plug proceed as follows:
1) Remove the fuse cover and old fuse.
2) Fit a new fuse which should be a BS1362 5 Amp A.S.T.A or BSI approved type.
3) Refit the fuse cover.
If the AC mains plug fitted to the lead supplied with this equipment is not suitable for your type of AC outlet
sockets, it should be changed to an AC mains lead, complete with moulded plug, to the appropriate type. If
this is not possible, the plug should be cut off and a correct one fitted to suit the AC outlet. This should be
fused at 5 Amps.
If a plug without a fuse is used, the fuse at the distribution board should NOT BE GREATER than 5 Amp.
PLEASE NOTE: THE SEVERED PLUG MUST BE DESTROYED TO AVOID A POSSIBLE SHOCK
HAZARD SHOULD IT BE INSERTED INTO A 13 AMP SOCKET ELSEWHERE.
The wires in this mains lead are coloured in accordance with the following code:
GREEN AND YELLOW — EARTH
BLUE — NEUTRAL
BROWN — LIVE
As the colours of the wires in the mains lead of this apparatus may not correspond with the coloured markings
identifying the terminals in your plug, please proceed as follows:
The wire which is coloured GREEN and YELLOW must be connected to the terminal which is marked
with the letter E or with the safety earth symbol
YELLOW.
The wire which is coloured BLUE must be connected to the terminal which is marked with the letter N
or coloured BLACK.
The wire which is coloured BROWN must be connected to the terminal which is marked with the letter
L or coloured RED.
or coloured GREEN or coloured GREEN and
THIS APPARATUS MUST BE EARTHED
Ensure that all the terminals are securely tightened and no loose strands of wire exist.
Before replacing the plug cover, make certain the cord grip is clamped over the outer sheath of the lead and
not simply over the wires.
6D-En
VENTILATION
Do not prevent the unit's ventilation, especially by placing the unit on the soft carpet, in a narrow space, or
by placing objects on the unit's chassis—top, side, or rear panels. Always keep the unit's chassis at least
10 centimeters from any other objects.
31C-En
CHANGES OR MODIFICATIONS NOT EXPRESSLY APPROYED BY THE MANUFACTURER FOR
COMPLIANCE COULD VOID THE USER’S AUTHORITY TO OPERATE THE EQUIPMENT.
32-En
iv CD3000XL Operator’s Manual
WARNING
FCC WARNING
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device pursuant to
Part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful
interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency
energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to
radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular
installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be
determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by
one or more of the following measures:
• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
21B-En
AVIS POUR LES ACHETEURS CANADIENS DU CD3000XL
Le présent appareil numérique n’ément pas de bruits radioélectriques dépassant les limites applicables aux
appareils numériques de la Class B prescrites dans le Règlement sur le brouillage radioélectrique édicté par
le ministère des Communications du Canada.
This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class B limits for radio noise emissions from digital apparatus set
out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the Canadian Department of Communications.
27-F
27-En
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
The AKAI CD3000XL is a computer-based device, and as such contains and uses software in ROMs.
This software, and all related documentation, including this Operator’s Manual, contain proprietary
information which is protected by copyright laws. All rights are reserved. No part of the software or
its documentation may be copied, transferred or modified. You may not modify, adapt, translate,
lease, distribute, resell for profit or create derivative works based on the software and its related
documentation or any part there of without prior written consent from AKAI Electric Co. Ltd, Tokyo,
Japan.
CERTIFICATION: PRODUCT COMPLIES WITH DHHS RULES 21 CFR, CHAPTER I, SUBCHAPTER J.
CAUTION
USE OF CONTROLS OR ADJUSTMENTS OR PERFORMANCE OF PROCEDURES OTHER THAN THOSE
SPECIFIED HEREIN MAY RESULT IN HAZARDOUS RADIATION EXPOSURE.
CLASS 1 LASER PRODUCT
This product contains a low power laser device. To ensure continued safety, do not remove any covers or
attempt to gain access to the inside of the product. Refer any servicing to qualified personnel.
DANGER-INVISIBLE LASER RADIATION
WHEN OPEN AND INTERLOCK
FAILED OR DEFEATED.
AVOID DIRECT EXPOSURE TO BEAM.
19-En
20-En
CAUTION
; INVISIBLE LASER RADIATION WHEN OPEN
AND INTERLOCKS DEFEATED. AVOID EXPOSURE TO BEAM.
CLASS 1
KLASSE 1
LUOKAN 1
KLASS 1
LASER PRODUCT
LASER PRODUKT
LASER LAITE
LASER APPARAT
ADVARSEL
NING NÅR SIKKERHEDSAFBRYDERE ER UDE AF FUNKTION.
UNDGÅ UDSÆTTELSE FOR STRÅLING.
VARO
TAESSA OLET ALTTINA NÄKYMÄTTÖMÄLLE LASERSÄTEILYLLE.
ÄLÄ KATSO SÄTESSEN !
VARNING
DEL ÄR ÖPPAND OCH SPÄRREN ÄR URKOPPLAD.
BETRAKTA EJ STRÅRLEN !
; USYNLIG LASERSTRÅLNING VED ÅB-
; AVATAESSA JA SUOJALUKITUS OHITET-
; OSYNLIG LASERSTRÅLNING NÄR DENNA
23-En
CD3000XL Operator’s Manual v
WARNING
WARNING
The CD3000XL is designed to be used in a standard household environment.
Power requirements for electrical equipment vary from area to area. Please ensure that your
CD3000XL meets the power requirements in your area. If in doubt, consult a qualified electrician or
Akai Professional dealer.
120 VAC @ 60 Hz for USA and Canada
220~230/240 VAC @ 50 Hz for Europe
240 VAC @ 50 Hz for Australia
PROTECTING YOURSELF AND THE CD3000XL
• Never touch the AC plug with wet hands.
• Always disconnect the CD3000XL from the power supply by pulling on the plug, not the cord.
• Allow only an Akai Professional dealer or qualified professional engineer to repair or reassemble the CD3000XL. Apart from voiding the warranty, unauthorized engineers might touch
live internal parts and receive a serious electrical shock.
• Do not put, or allow anyone to put any object, especially metal objects, into the CD3000XL.
• Use only a household AC power supply. Never use a DC power supply.
• If water or any other liquid is spilled into or onto the CD3000XL, disconnect the power, and call
your dealer.
• Make sure that the unit is well-ventilated, and away from direct sunlight.
• To avoid damage to internal circuitry, as well as the external finish, keep the CD3000XL away
from sources of direct heat (stoves, radiators, etc.).
• Avoid using aerosol insecticides, etc. near the CD3000XL. They may damage the surface, and
may ignite.
• Do not use denaturated alcohol, thinner or similar chemicals to clean the CD3000XL. They will
damage the finish.
• Modification of this equipment is dangerous, and can result in the functions of the CD3000XL
being impaired. Never attempt to modify the equipment in any way.
• Make sure that the CD3000XL is always well-supported when in use (either in a speciallydesigned equipment rack, or a firm level surface).
• When installing the CD3000XL in a 19" rack system, always allow 1U of ventilated free space
above it to allow for cooling. Make sure that the back of the rack is unobstructed to allow a clear
airflow.
• In order to assure optimum performance of your CD3000XL, select the setup location carefully,
and make sure the equipment is used properly. Avoid setting up the CD3000XL in the following
locations:
1. In a humid or dusty environment
2. In a room with poor ventilation
3. On a surface which is not horizontal
4. Inside a vehicle such as a car, where it will be subject to vibration
5. In an extremely hot or cold environment
vi CD3000XL Operator’s Manual
WARNING
WARRANTY
AKAI Electric Co. Ltd. warrants its products, when purchased from an authorized “AKAI professional”
dealer, to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 12 (twelve) months from
the date of purchase. Warranty service is effective and available to the original purchase only, and
only on completion and return of the AKAI Warranty Registration Card within 14 days of purchase.
Warranty coverage is valid for factory-authorized updates to AKAI instruments and their software,
when their installation is performed by an authorized AKAI Service Center, and a properly completed
Warranty Registration has been returned to your “AKAI professional” dealer.
To obtain service under this warranty, the product must, on discovery of the detect, be properly
packed and shipped to the nearest AKAI Service Center. The party requesting warranty service must
provide proof of original ownership and date of purchase of the product.
If the warranty is valid, AKAI will, without charge for parts or labor, either repair or replace the defective
part(s). Without a valid warranty, the entire cost of the repair (parts and labor) is the responsibility
of the product's owner.
AKAI warrants that it will make all necessary adjustments, repairs and replacements at no cost to the
original owner within 12 (twelve) months of the purchase date if:
1) The product fails to perform its specified functions due to failure of one or more of its components.
2) The product fails to perform its specified functions due to defects in workmanship.
3) The product has been maintained and operated by the owner in strict accordance with the written
instructions for proper maintenance and use as specified in this Operator's Manual.
Before purchase and use, owners should determine the suitability of the product for their intended
use, and owner assumes all risk and liability whatsoever in connection therewith. AKAI shall not be
liable for any injury, loss or damage, direct or consequential, arising out of use, or inability to use the
product.
The warranty provides only those benefits specified, and does not cover defects or repairs needed
as a result of acts beyond the control of AKAI, including but not limited to:
1) Damage caused by abuse, accident, negligence. AKAI will not cover under warranty any original
factory disk damaged or destroyed as a result of the owner's mishandling.
2) Damage caused by any tampering, alteration or modification of the product: operating software,
mechanical or electronic components.
3) Damage caused by failure to maintain and operate the product in strict accordance with the written
instructions for proper maintenance and use as specified in this Operator's Manual.
4) Damage caused by repairs or attempted repairs by unauthorized persons.
5) Damage caused by fire, smoke, falling objects, water or other liquids, or natural events such as rain,
floods, earthquakes, lightning, tornadoes, storms, etc.
6) Damage caused by operation on improper voltages.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This warranty becomes void if the product or its software is
electronically modified, altered or tampered with in any way.
AKAI shall not be liable for costs involved in packing or preparing the product for shipping, with regard
to time, labor, or materials, shipping or freight costs, or time or expense involved in transporting the
product to and from AKAI Authorized Service Center or Authorized Dealer.
AKAI will not cover under warranty an apparent malfunction that is determined to be user error, or
owner's inability to use the product.
THE DURATION OF ANY OTHER WARRANTIES, WHETHER IMPLIED OR EXPRESS, INCLUDING
BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED CONDITION OF MERCHANTABILITY, IS LIMITED TO THE
DURATION OF THE EXPRESS WARRANTY HEREIN.
AKAI hereby excludes incidental or consequential damages, including but not limited to:
1) Loss of time.
2) Inconvenience
3) Delay in performance of the Warranty.
4) The loss of use of the product.
5) Commercial loss.
6) Breach of any express or implied warranty, including the Implied Warranty of Merchantability,
applicable to this product.
CD3000XL Operator’s Manual vii
WARNING
CD-ROM care
Dust, dirt, scratches or warps on the CD-ROM may lead to faulty CD-ROM playback. In order to take
full advantage of the CD-ROM player’s performance capabilities, follow the precautions outlined on
this page.
Removing the disc from its case
After opening the CD-ROM case, depress the centre section of the case with the forefinger of one
hand and use you other hand to lift the disc up by its edge.
Disc handling
Hold the CD-ROM by the outer edge only, supporting it at the center with your index finger if
necessary.
Avoid touching the unprinted side of the disc.
Do not glue any labels or stickers etc., on the disc.
Disc storage
Do not store the CD-ROM in a location which is subject to direct sunlight, high humidity, or hot air from
heating appliances.
Always return the CD-ROM to their plastic cases for storage.
Disc cleaning
It is recommended that you periodically wipe the recorded side of your CD-ROM with a commercially
available silicone cloth (such as that used for cleaning camera lenses or glasses) in order to remove
dust, dirt or fingerprints. Wipe the disc gently, being careful not to scratch its surface.
When wiping the disc, refer to the illustrations below. Unlike records, CD-ROM should always be
wiped in a straight line from the center to the edge.
Do not use volatile chemical substances such as denatured alcohol, cleaning fluid intended for analog
records, or antistatic fluids, as these may damage the CD-ROM.
viii CD3000XL Operator’s Manual
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 1
FEATURES ......................................................................................................... 2
ABOUT THIS MANUAL........................................................................................... 5
FRONT PANEL..................................................................................................... 6
TAKING CARE OF YOUR DISKS.............................................................................. 10
REAR PANEL ...................................................................................................... 11
SETTING UP THE CD3000XL.................................................................................. 13
CONNECTIONS ................................................................................................... 13
LOADING THE DEMO FLOPPY DISKS...................................................................... 14
MOUNTING THE CD3000XL.................................................................................... 15
GETTING AROUND THE CD3000XL ......................................................................... 16
OPERATING MODES................................................................................ 16
SOFT KEYS ............................................................................................ 17
SELECTING PARAMETERS AND ENTERING DATA......................................... 17
MARK AND JUMP KEYS ............................................................................ 18
NAMING FILES - THE NAME KEY ................................................................ 19
THE ENT/PLAY KEY ................................................................................. 19
LCD CONTRAST................................................................................................... 19
RECORD LEVEL, MAIN VOLUME, HEADPHONE OUTPUT............................................ 20
HOW THE CD3000XL WORKS................................................................................. 21
CD3000XL FLOWCHART........................................................................................ 22
SINGLE MODE.................................................................................. 25
MULTI MODE - COMBINING SEVERAL PROGRAMS...................................... 43
SELECTING PROGRAMS ...................................................................................... 25
VIEWING PROGRAMS.......................................................................................... 26
SETTING UP THE CD-ROM..................................................................................... 26
MARKING FILES.................................................................................................. 28
SEARCHING FOR FILES ON THE CD-ROM................................................................ 29
LOADING SETUPS FROM FLOPPY.......................................................................... 29
SCROLLING THROUGH MARKED FILES................................................................... 30
USING SETUPS................................................................................................... 30
SETTING PROGRAM LEVELS, PAN, FX SENDS......................................................... 31
SETTING PROGRAMS’ MIDI PARAMETERS.............................................................. 32
SETTING PROGRAM LOUDNESS AND VELOCITY...................................................... 33
LOADING FROM FLOPPY DISK .............................................................................. 34
LOADING FROM HARD DISK.................................................................................. 35
DELETING PROGRAMS ........................................................................................ 36
RENUMBERING PROGRAMS ................................................................................. 38
USING THE CD3000XL IN ‘OLD AKAI’ MODE! ............................................................ 39
USING SELECT PROG - PROGRAMS WITH THE SAME NUMBER ...................... 39
LAYERING PROGRAMS............................................................................ 39
CREATING KEYBOARD SPLITS.................................................................. 39
USING RENUMBERING TO CREATE MULTI-TIMBRAL SETUPS......................... 40
SINGLE VS MULTI.................................................................................... 41
ASSIGNING PROGRAMS TO PARTS ....................................................................... 44
SETTING A PART’S MIDI CHANNEL......................................................................... 44
MIXING THE PARTS ............................................................................................. 44
SENDING PARTS TO THE INTERNAL EFFECTS ......................................................... 44
ASSIGNING PARTS TO THE INDIVIDUAL OUTPUTS................................................... 45
TUNING AND TRANSPOSING PARTS....................................................................... 45
SETTING A PART’S LOW AND HIGH KEYRANGES ..................................................... 45
SETTING A PART’S PRIORITY................................................................................ 46
INITIALISING A PART........................................................................................... 46
SETTING UP A MULTI ........................................................................................... 47
MODIFYING THE MULTI ........................................................................................ 48
NAMING A MULTI................................................................................................. 49
SAVING A MULTI ................................................................................................. 49
LOADING A MULTI ............................................................................................... 49
RENUMBERING PROGRAMS ................................................................................. 50
USING MULTI MODE FOR LAYERING PROGRAMS..................................................... 53
USING MULTI MODE TO SET KEYBOARD SPLITS...................................................... 54
PROGRAM EDITING........................................................................... 56
WHAT IS A KEYGROUP?....................................................................................... 57
KEYGROUP ZONES ............................................................................................. 58
OVERLAPPING AND CROSSFADING KEYGROUPS ................................................... 59
ASSIGNABLE PROGRAM MODULATION.................................................................. 60
EDIT SINGLE ...................................................................................................... 64
NAMING PROGRAMS - COPYING AND RENAMING .................................................... 65
DELETING PROGRAMS ........................................................................................ 66
MIDI PAGE ......................................................................................................... 69
OUTPUT LEVELS PAGE........................................................................................ 71
PAN PAGE.......................................................................................................... 74
THE TUNE PAGE.................................................................................................. 76
MODULATION PAGES .......................................................................................... 77
PITCH BEND ........................................................................................... 78
LFO1 ..................................................................................................... 79
SETTING LFO1 MODULATION DEPTH.......................................................... 82
LFO2 ..................................................................................................... 83
SETTING UP THE SOFT PEDAL .................................................................. 86
PORTAMENTO ........................................................................................ 87
KEYGROUP PARAMETERS - CREATING KEYGROUPS............................................... 90
MAPPING OUT YOUR KEYGROUPS - SETTING KEYSPAN .............................. 93
ASSIGNING SAMPLES TO KEYGROUPS AND ZONES - SMP1...................................... 95
SMP2..................................................................................................... 98
SMP3..................................................................................................... 100
THE FILTERS ...................................................................................................... 101
ENV1 - SHAPING AMPLITUDE................................................................................ 104
ENV2 - SHAPING THE FILTER ................................................................................ 106
USING THE FILTER AND ENVELOPE GENERATORS...................................... 107
THE SECOND FILTERS ......................................................................................... 108
CREATING 24db/8ve 4-POLE LOWPASS FILTER........................................... 112
THE TONE PAGE ..................................................................................... 114
ENV3................................................................................................................. 116
KEYGROUP PITCH/AMPLITUDE MODULATION......................................................... 117
EDIT MULTI..................................................................................... 119
SAMPLE MODE................................................................................. 121
EDIT SAMPLE .................................................................................. 132
SCREEN DIFFERENCES IN EDIT MULTI ................................................................... 120
WHAT IS SAMPLING?........................................................................................... 122
RECORD MODE................................................................................................... 124
THE MAIN RECORD PAGE..................................................................................... 126
RECORDING FROM AUDIO CDs.............................................................................. 126
NAMING SAMPLES IN THE RECORD PAGE .............................................................. 127
ADJUSTING THE RECORDING AND THRESHOLD LEVELS .......................................... 128
RECORDING ON THE CD3000XL............................................................................. 129
DIGITAL RECORDING........................................................................................... 130
NAMING SAMPLES - COPYING AND RENAMING ....................................................... 134
DELETING SAMPLES ........................................................................................... 135
TRIMMING SAMPLES ........................................................................................... 136
LOOPING........................................................................................................... 140
LOOP AUTO FIND AND CROSSFADE LOOPING......................................................... 141
MAKING A GOOD LOOP............................................................................ 142
LEVEL NORMALISATION ...................................................................................... 144
DSP FUNCTIONS - TIMESTRETCH, RE-SAMPLING AND EQ......................................... 145
TIMESTRETCH ........................................................................................ 145
PERFORMING A TIMESTRETCH ................................................................. 148
RE-SAMPLING ........................................................................................ 149
PERFORMING A RE-SAMPLE..................................................................... 150
EQ........................................................................................................ 151
EQ’ING A SAMPLE................................................................................... 153
USING THE EQ........................................................................................ 153
FURTHER EDITING FUNCTIONS ............................................................................. 154
THE PARAMETER PAGE ........................................................................... 154
REVERSING SAMPLES............................................................................. 156
SECTIONAL EDITING ............................................................................... 157
THE JOIN PAGE ...................................................................................... 160
SPLICING SAMPLES................................................................................ 161
CROSSFADING ....................................................................................... 162
MIXING AND LAYERING SAMPLES............................................................. 163
SETTING DIGITAL FADES ......................................................................... 164
EFFECTS MODE................................................................................ 165
EFFECTS EDIT ................................................................................. 179
ORGANISATION OF EFFECTS FILES....................................................................... 168
ASSIGNING EFFECTS TO SINGLE PROGRAMS ........................................................ 169
ASSIGNING EFFECTS TO MULTI PARTS.................................................................. 171
ASSIGNING EFFECTS TO INDIVIDUAL KEYGROUPS................................................. 173
PROCESSING EXTERNAL SOUND SOURCES THROUGH THE EFFECTS........................ 174
ROUTING EXTERNAL SOUNDS THROUGH THE EFFECTS ........................................... 175
SELECTING THE EFFECTS OUTPUT........................................................................ 175
CHAINING EFFECTS............................................................................................. 176
MUTING EFFECTS................................................................................................ 178
DISTORTION/RING MODULATION .......................................................................... 180
EQ.................................................................................................................... 181
MODULATION EFFECTS........................................................................................ 183
CHORUS, PHASE SHIFT AND FLANGING EFFECTS........................................ 183
ROTARY SPEAKER EFFECTS .................................................................... 185
AUTOPAN AND FREQUENCY MODULATION EFFECTS.................................... 187
STEREO PITCH SHIFT EFFECTS................................................................. 188
BYPASSING THE MODULATION EFFECTS ................................................... 190
DELAY AND ECHO EFFECTS.................................................................................. 191
MONO DELAY/ECHO EFFECTS .................................................................. 193
PING PONG ECHO EFFECTS ..................................................................... 194
CROSSOVER DELAY................................................................................ 195
STEREO DELAY/ECHO EFFECTS ............................................................... 196
REVERB EFFECTS............................................................................................... 197
REVERSE REVERB.................................................................................. 200
GATED REVERB...................................................................................... 201
EFFECTS OUTPUT SECTION.................................................................................. 203
EFFECTS DIRECTION........................................................................................... 204
SOLOING THE CURRENT EFFECT........................................................................... 206
COPYING EFFECTS ............................................................................................. 207
SAVE MODE .................................................................................... 209
LOAD MODE .................................................................................... 221
SELECTING FLOPPY OR HARD DISK ...................................................................... 209
SELECTING THE HARD DISK PARTITION................................................................. 209
SELECTING THE HARD DISK VOLUME .................................................................... 209
SELECTING THE TYPE OF SAVE............................................................................ 209
SAVING TO FLOPPY DISK..................................................................................... 211
SAVING TO HARD DISK ........................................................................................ 212
RENAMING FILES................................................................................................ 214
DELETING ITEMS FROM DISK................................................................................ 215
HARD DISK CONTROL .......................................................................................... 216
FORMATTING A FLOPPY DISK............................................................................... 217
FORMATTING A HARD DISK................................................................................... 219
NOTES ON USING EXISTING S1000/S1100 SOUND LIBRARY...................................... 220
SELECTING FLOPPY OR CD-ROM .......................................................................... 221
SELECTING THE HARD DISK OR CD-ROM PARTITION................................................ 221
SELECTING THE HARD DISK OR CD-ROM VOLUME................................................... 222
SELECTING THE TYPE OF LOAD............................................................................ 222
LOADING FROM FLOPPY DISK .............................................................................. 223
LOADING FROM HARD DISK OR CD-ROM................................................................. 224
LOADING S900/S950 SAMPLES AND PROGRAMS..................................................... 226
LOADING S1000/S1100 DATA................................................................................ 226
AUTO LOADING FROM DISK.................................................................................. 226
SEARCHING FOR FILES - USING THE FIND FUNCTION............................................... 227
USING THE TAG DIRECTORY SYSTEM.................................................................... 229
HARD DISK CONTROL .......................................................................................... 232
IMPORTING SOUNDS FROM OTHER MANUFACTURER’S CD-ROMS.............................. 233
NAMING TAGS ........................................................................................ 231
NOTES ON USING THE TAGGING SYSTEM .................................................. 231
GLOBAL MODE................................................................................. 235
TUNING THE CD3000XL ........................................................................................ 235
SETTING THE MASTER OUTPUT LEVEL................................................................... 235
MIDI FUNCTIONS................................................................................................. 236
MIDI FILTER............................................................................................ 236
PPM PAGE - MONITORING MIDI................................................................. 237
MIDI RECEIVE PAGE - ANALYSING MIDI ..................................................... 238
TRANSMIT TEST PAGE - SETTING THE ENT/PLAY KEY.................................. 238
MIDI SAMPLE DUMPS............................................................................... 239
PERFORMING A MIDI SAMPLE DUMP.......................................................... 240
MIDI VIA SCSI......................................................................................... 241
ME35T DRUM SETTINGS....................................................................................... 242
DAT BACK-UP AND RESTORE................................................................................ 244
PERFORMING A DAT BACK UP................................................................... 245
PERFORMING A DAT RESTORE ................................................................. 245
STANDARD MIDI FILE - MIDI SONG FILE PLAY.......................................................... 246
LOADING STANDARD MIDI FILES............................................................... 247
USING THE SMF FUNCTION....................................................................... 248
HARD DISK RECORDING....................................................................................... 249
APPLICATIONS....................................................................................... 249
FORMATTING THE HARD DISK FOR DISK RECORDING .................................. 250
CREATING NEW TAKES............................................................................ 255
COPYING TAKES..................................................................................... 255
RENAMING TAKES................................................................................... 255
DELETING TAKES FROM DISK................................................................... 255
RECORDING A TAKE................................................................................ 259
EDITING A RECORDING............................................................................ 262
PLAYING A TAKE IN THE EDIT PAGE .......................................................... 263
USING THE EDITING FUNCTIONS............................................................... 264
PLAYING TAKES ..................................................................................... 265
USING THE PLAY PAGE............................................................................ 267
EDITING A TAKE FOR SYNCHRONISED PLAYBACK....................................... 268
NOTES ABOUT SYNCHRONISING TO EXTERNAL AUDIO................................ 268
USING THE SONG MODE .......................................................................... 269
CREATING A SONG.................................................................................. 269
TRIGGERING TAKES FROM MIDI................................................................ 272
USING MIDI TRIGGERING......................................................................... 272
USING THE SONG MODE TO CHAIN TAKES.................................................. 275
BLOCK EDITING IN SONG MODE................................................................ 276
NAMING SONGS...................................................................................... 278
SAVING A SONG ..................................................................................... 278
LOADING A SONG ................................................................................... 278
BACKING UP TAKES TO DAT ..................................................................... 279
RESTORING TAKES BACK FROM DAT TO DISK............................................. 280
FLASHROM...................................................................................... 282
HOW THE FLASHROM WORKS............................................................................... 282
FORMATTING THE FLASHROM............................................................................... 283
ARRANGING THE FLASHROM................................................................................ 284
SAVING DATA TO THE FLASHROM ......................................................................... 285
USING THE FLASHROM AS A FAST HARD DISK......................................................... 288
EDITING SOUNDS ON THE FLASHROM.................................................................... 288
COPYING A FLASHROM SAMPLE TO RAM ............................................................... 289
SAVING FLASHROM DATA BACK TO DISK ............................................................... 290
BACKUP/RESTORE OF THE FLASHROM TO/FROM DAT.............................................. 290
APPENDIX 1.................................................................................... 291
CONNECTING AN EXTERNAL HARD DISK DRIVE....................................................... 291
NOTES ON USING HARD DISK DRIVES.................................................................... 291
SCSI CABLES ......................................................................................... 291
TERMINATION......................................................................................... 292
SCSI CABLE LENGTH............................................................................... 292
APPENDIX 2.................................................................................... 293
APPENDIX 3.................................................................................... 295
APPENDIX 4.................................................................................... 299
APPENDIX 5.................................................................................... 300
DATA COMPATIBILITY ISSUES.............................................................................. 293
SOUND DATA.......................................................................................... 293
EFFECTS FILES....................................................................................... 294
MULTIS.................................................................................................. 294
ME-35T DRUM SETTINGS.......................................................................... 294
SONGS AND QLISTS................................................................................ 294
INSTALLING OPTIONS ......................................................................................... 295
INSTALLING MEMORY EXPANSION........................................................................ 296
INSTALLING THE FLASHROM ................................................................................ 297
S3000XL SYNTHESISER PANEL............................................................................. 299
MIDI CONTROLLER LIST....................................................................................... 300
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Akai CD3000XL stereo digital sampler and thank you for buying it!
The CD3000XL features 32-voice polyphony, expandable memory, DSP functions, etc., and
using the CD3000XL’s resonant lowpass filters, multiple LFOs, envelope generators and
extensive modulation possibilities, your new sampler can double as a first class synthesiser as
well.
Certain new functions are introduced in the CD3000XL In software, the new MULTI mode of
operation simplifies multi-timbral sequencing and layering whilst hardware options include a
multi-effects processor that offers no less than four channels that include two multi-effects
channels with distortion, EQ, ring modulation, modulation effects such as chorus, flanging,
pitch shifting, auto panning and rotary speaker effects plus delay and reverb. Two ‘spare’
channels of reverb are also available providing a total of four reverbs. Add to this the second
bank of optional resonant multi-mode filters and you can see that the CD3000XL is a sampler
that can grow with your needs.
Bundled with the CD3000XL is a software application for the Macintosh™ computer that allows
you to operate the sampler from your Macintosh allowing large screen operation of waveform
and program editing, sophisticated organisation of your sound library on the Macintosh as well
as the ability to integrate your sampler more conveniently with your computer sequencer.
The CD3000XL also has an internal quad speed CD-ROM drive, allowing the sampler to read
CD-ROMs without needing to connect any external drives.
Naturally, all sound library developed for the Akai S900, S950, S1000, S1100, S2000 and the
S3000 range of samplers is compatible in the CD3000XL giving you access to thousands of
sounds on floppy disk, hard disk, removable cartridges, MO disks and CD-ROM. The ability to
read CD ROMs made for other manufacturer’s samplers gives access to an even further range
of sounds.
All this adds up to a price breakthrough in sampling technology - the new Akai CD3000XL.
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 1
INTRODUCTION
FEATURES
• Polyphony 32 voices
• A-D Conversion 16-bit stereo with 64-times oversampling
• Internal processing 28-bit accumulation
• D-A Conversion 18-bit with 8-times oversampling
• Sampling rates 44.1kHz/22.050kHz
• Phase locked stereo sampling and playback
• Internal memory 8Mbytes standard, expandable to 32Mbytes using SIMMs
• Sampling times 8Mbytes 92.13 seconds mono @ 44.1kHz
• Inputs L/Mono and R jack inputs
• Outputs L/R stereo jack outputs
32Mbytes 5.92 minutes mono @ 44.1kHz
(Halve these times for stereo sampling)
8 assignable individual outputs
Stereo headphone jack output
• Display 40 x 6 character backlit LCD with graphic waveform editing.
• Digital I/O SPDIF digital audio input/output on RCA phonos.
• Effects Optional EB-16 4-channel multi-effects processor offering two
channels of simultaneous distortion, four-band EQ, ring
modulation, modulation (chorus, phase shift, flanging, pitch
shift, autopan or rotary speaker), stereo delay and reverb plus
two ‘spare’ channels of reverb (four reverb processors in total).
• DSP Functions Timestretch, re-sampling and digital EQ.
• Filters 2-pole (12dB/Octave) resonant lowpass per voice.
Optional IB-304F offers a 2nd bank of 2-pole resonant multi-
mode (HP, BP, LP, EQ) filters and tone control.
• Envelopes 1 x ADSR and 1 x multi-stage envelope generator (an extra
multi-stage envelope is added with the installation of the IB304F).
• LFOs 2 x multi-wave low frequency oscillators (triangle, square,
sawtooth and random waves).
• Legato mode Single trigger playback to emulate old monophonic synths
and solo instruments’ playing styles.
• Portamento Polyphonic and monophonic portamento.
• Sound library Fully compatible with Akai S900, S950, S1000, S1100,
S2800, S3000, S3200, S2000 and S3200XL samplers.
Page 2 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
INTRODUCTION
The CD3000XL can also read CD-ROMs made for other
manufacturer’s samplers1.
• Data storage A variety of storage devices may be used to store data
including floppy disk, hard disk, Syquest™ removable
cartridges and Magneto Optical (MO) disks. Hard disk data may
be backed up to a normal DAT tape using the digital i/o.
• Flash ROM You may install up to 16Mbytes of FLASH ROM over and
above the 32Mbytes of ordinary RAM giving you a total of
48Mbytes of memory. FLASH ROM allows you to keep your
favourite sounds in memory even when the sampler is
switched off.
• Disk recording Capable of stereo recording and editing on hard disk.
• SMF capability The CD3000XL an play Standard MIDI files (sequences) from
the floppy disk drive. This allows you, for example, to play
sequenced backing tracks directly from the CD3000XL.
• DAT Backup You can backup the hard disk (sound data and/or disk
recordings) to an ordinary DAT recorder.
• Real-time digital output This digital audio output can be used to mix down digitally to
DAT or any other digital recorder such as DCC, MiniDisk or a
hard disk recorder such as the Akai DR4d, DR8 or even the
CD3000XL’s disk recorder. With the optional EB16 multieffects processor installed, you may add four channels of
effects processing to the mixdown.
• OPERATING MODES
SINGLE For playing single programs.
MULTI For playing up to 16 programs together for multi-timbral
sequencing, layering and key splits.
SAMPLE For making recordings.
EFFECTS For selecting effects.
EDIT For editing programs, samples and effects.
GLOBAL For setting parameters that affect the sampler as a whole plus
access to utilities such as DAT backup, MIDI song file play and
hard disk recording
SAVE For saving programs, samples, multis, effects and operating
systems, etc., to floppy or hard disk.
LOAD For loading programs, samples, multis, effects, operating
systems, etc., from floppy or hard disk and CD-ROM.
1 Some sounds may need adjustment and ÔtweakingÕ depending on the sampler they were
originally created on.
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 3
INTRODUCTION
• EDITING FEATURES
EDIT SAMPLE Trim, Loop (with FIND and CROSSFADE functions), Join,
EDIT PROGRAM Resonant lowpass filters, ADSR envelope generator (with
MULTI Part select, program select, MIDI channel, level, pan,
EFFECTS In the two multi-effects channels (with the EB16 effects
Merge, Splice, Chop, Extract, Reverse, Gain normalisation,
Timestretch, Re-sample.
templates), multi-stage envelope generator (with templates), 2
x multi-wave LFOs, sample layering, 4-way velocity crossfade
and switching, keygroup crossfade, portamento (rate and time
modes), monophonic legato triggering, mute group function,
panning and autopanning, held pitchbend mode, separate
pitchbend up/down ranges, output selection. (With 2nd filter
bank installed, a further set of multi-mode filters and a third
multi-stage envelope generator are added).
transpose, fine tune, output routing, FX routing, FX send, low
key range, high key range, note priority.
processor installed):
DISTORTION - distortion, level
EQ - low gain, mid1 gain, mid2 gain, high gain,
RING MODULATION - frequency, depth
MODULATION EFFECTS - chorus, flange, phase shift, rotary
speakers, autopan/frequency mod, pitch shift with parameters
as appropriate.
DELAY - effect select (mono, stereo, ping pong), delay times,
feedback.
REVERB - effect select (large hall, small hall, large room, small
room, gated, reverse, etc.), size, decay time, HF damping, LF
damping, pre-delay.
FX DIRECTION:
dist/EQ/ring mod > mod/delay + reverb (parallel)
dist/EQ/ring mod > mod/delay > reverb (series)
dist/EQ/ring mod > reverb > mod/delay (series)
In the two reverb channels:
Effect select (large hall, small hall, large room, small room,
reverse, gated, etc.), decay time, HF damping, LF damping,
pre-delay, diffusion.
A multi-effects channel may also be routed to its
‘neighbouring’ reverb channel for dual reverb multi-effects.
Page 4 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
INTRODUCTION
ABOUT THIS MANUAL
This manual has been written to allow you to get the most out of your new sampler. Please take
the time to read it as a fuller understanding of the instrument will enable you to use the
CD3000XL’s remarkable facilities to the full. Not only are the controls and screens explained in
detail but you will find hints and tips to help you with your sampling and programming. If you are
new to sampling or synthesisers, some of the sections explain the basic principles behind the
techniques employed in the CD3000XL so if words like “bandpass”, “modulation”, “diffusion”,
“multi-timbral” and “sample rates”, etc., are unfamiliar to you, we hope that this manual is not
just a boring explanation of functions but something you can refer to for information beyond
the scope of the CD3000XL. Even if you’re a seasoned programmer, we hope that there is
information in this manual that you find useful..
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 5
INTRODUCTION
FRONT PANEL
CD-ROMDRIVE
POWER
ON
OFF
EJECT
POWERSWITCH FLOPPYDISKDRIVE
EMERGENCY
LCDDISPLAY DATAENCODER MAINVOLUME
-
STEREO CD ROM SAMPLER
F 1 F 2 F 3 F 4 F 5 F 6 F 7 F 8
SCREEN FUNCTION
F 1 F 2 F 3
SINGLE MULTI SAMPLE EFFECT EDIT GLOBAL SAVE LOAD
F 4
F 5 F 6 F 7 F 8
MODEKEYS CURSORKEYS
SOFTKEYS
＋/−/
,
RECORDLEVEL
DATA
REC GAIN
MIN MAX
CURSOR
+/–/
ENT/PLAY
KEYS
MAIN
VOLUME
MIN MAX
DISPLAY
CONTRAST
MARK
JUMP
PUSH ON/OFF
PHONES
NAME
HEADPHONE
DISPLAYCONTRAST
MODE KEYS Selects the operating mode for the sampler.
‘SOFT’ KEYS These select functions displayed on the LCD above. They
have no fixed function but change according to the page
currently displayed on the screen.
LCD The 40 x 8 character display shows parameters and values and
displays the ‘soft’ keys’ function and graphic display of
waveforms for sample editing, etc..
CURSOR KEYS This block of keys moves the cursor up, down and left and
right around the screen.
DATA ENCODER Allows you to enter data values and for scrolling through lists,
etc..
-/<, +/> keys These keys are used to move the ‘digit’ cursor within long
number fields (i.e samples).
MARK/JUMP These keys allow you to mark two functions and switch
between them using the JUMP key. In this way, it is quick and
easy to enter data even across two different screens.
NAME KEY This takes you the ‘naming mode’ where you may name
samples, programs, effects, etc..
ENT/PLAY KEY Allows you to play a sound without the need for a MIDI
controller to be connected.
RECORD LEVEL Sets the record level for the analogue inputs.
MAIN VOLUME The MAIN VOLUME control sets the main output level of the
L/R stereo outputs (this control does not affect the level of the
signal appearing at the individual outputs or digital output).
POWER SWITCH Applies power to the CD3000XL.
Page 6 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
INTRODUCTION
PHONES This stereo jack socket allows you to monitor the L/R (stereo)
output of the CD3000XL through stereo headphones. The
level is regulated using the MAIN VOLUME control (see
below).
DISPLAY CONTRAST Sets the viewing angle for the LCD. You will note that pressing
this control in switches off the LCD’ backlight thus preserving
the LCD (think of it like a ‘screen saver’ on a computer).
CD-ROM DRIVE The CD3000XL’s CD-ROM drive is a quad speed drive
capable of reading digital data from CD-ROM disks four times
faster than standard CD-ROM drives.
Disks are available in 12 cm for 600MByte and 8 cm for
200MByte. (1MByte = 230Byte).
The drive has a long life and high durability due to non-contact
read-out operation using laser beam.
The CD3000XL’s CD-ROM drive is a high performance device
with an average random seek time of150ms. Maximum
continuous transfer rate is 600 KByte (1KByte=210 Byte) and
average malfunction interval (MTBF) is 80,000 hours.
CD ROM DRIVE FEATURES
• Fast random access time of 190 ms
• Fast random access seek time of 150 ms
• Maximum continuous data transfer rate of 600 KByte/s (1KByte=2 10 Byte)
• Emergency eject function
• LED Indicator for dirt on the optical system
• BUSY LED indicator
Access times:
Average random access time 190ms Typ. (4x)
230ms Typ. (4x)
320ms Typ. (4x)
Average random seek time 150ms Typ. (4x)
180ms Typ. (4x)
210ms Typ. (4x)
Average full stroke access time 340ms Typ. (4x)
380ms Typ. (4x)
470ms Typ. (4x)
The ‘BUSY’ LEDon the front panel will show the condition of the drive and operates as follows:
1 The LED is off when the tray is open.
2 When you close the tray, the indicator will flash for 0.8 seconds, and will be in one of
the following modes:
The indicator will be off when the drive is in “stand-by” mode.
The indicator will be off when a disk is not installed on the tray.
The indicator will flash every 3.2 seconds if the disk or the pick-up head is dirty.
3 During audio track playback, the indicator will flash at intervals of 1.6 seconds.
4 The indicator will remain lit during data access or data transfer.
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 7
INTRODUCTION
MAINTAINANCE
You need to perform maintenance if the BUSY LED indicator flashes at an interval of 2-3
seconds, indicating that the pick-up or the disk is dirty.
* Dirty disk
Do not touch the disk reading area (bottom surface of the disk), since dirt or a stain on
the surface may slow down the access speed. To clean a disk, simply wipe the bottom
of it with a clean, soft cloth.
* Dirty optical head
A dirty or dusty pick-up may lengthen access time. If you suspect a dirty optical head,
consult your Akai dealer or service department.
EMERGENCY EJECT
Follow the procedure below if the tray does not eject when you press the eject button:
1. Turn off the power to the CD3000XL and wait about a minute.
2. Insert a something like a paper clip into the emergency eject hole and push it in. The tray
will be ejected.
If you try to eject a disk using the emergency eject procedure while the power is on (or just after
you have turned the power off), the disk inside may be spinning when the tray ejects which
may cause scratches on the disk.
Akai cannot be held responsible for any damage to the disk under these circumstances.
You may find that a ‘rattling’ sound is heard when the tray is ejected. This is not a mechanical
malfunction but is caused by one of the following:
1 You pulled the tray with force after you performed the emergency eject procedure.
2 You tried to block the movement of the tray while the tray was loading the disk.
Under these circumstances, the internal clutch that is linked to the tray will be disconnected.
The drive will then try to re-connect the clutch, which will cause the mechanical noise. Once the
clutch is connected, the sound will not be heard any more, and normal operation will be
restored.
Page 8 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
INTRODUCTION
FLOPPY DISK DRIVE The 3.5 inch floppy disk drive will accept high density and low
density disks. Disks are inserted into the drive thus:
DISK EJECT BUTTONDISK ACTIVITY LED
WRITE PROTECT TAB
HIGH DENSITY
DETECTION TAB
The label should be facing upwards when it is inserted
(actually, it is physically impossible to insert disks the wrong
way round without using an extreme amount of brute force!).
To eject the disk, simply press the DISK EJECT button. When
a disk is loading, saving or formatting, the DISK ACTIVITY LED
will be lit.
It is important to remember that, unlike a synthesiser, the
CD3000XL has no means of storing sounds in an internal
memory. As a result, it is vital that you save your work to disk
before turning the power off otherwise you will lose your work
and, unless previously saved, it will be gone for ever. In fact, it
is a good idea to regularly save your work as you are working.
All good computer users do this and it prevents the accidental
loss of data should power be accidentally removed from the
instrument. This also serves as a form of ‘undo’ - if you make
some kind of mistake in your programming and editing and
can’t fix it, you can load the last level of editing back into the
sampler. It may be a bit tedious to keep stopping every now
and then to save your work but it is better than losing some
valuable sounds. The data will be stored after the power is
turned off if you have installed an optional FMX008 flash ROM.
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 9
INTRODUCTION
TAKING CARE OF YOUR DISKS
These floppy disks contain valuable sound data and, as such, should be treated with extreme
care. Please observe the following points, therefore:
1 Never slide the metal cover back and touch the disk. Finger marks may render the disk
unreadable.
2 Don’t leave the disk in the drive wherever possible. When the disk is in the drive, the metal
protective cover slides back exposing the actual disk inside - this makes the disk
susceptible to picking up dust which may cause read errors.
3 Do not leave your disks in a hot car.
4 Do not place your disks next to any magnetic sources such as speakers, amplifiers,
televisions, etc.. Also, try to avoid X-ray machines. At airports, it is sometimes possible to
ask for your disks to be inspected by hand at security desks but, with the added security at
airports these days, this may not be possible. Always check with the security officer
though, just in case. Security X-ray machines are generally safe with disks, though. If in
doubt, make backup copies which should be left at home.
NOTE: Some checked-in luggage is X-rayed by quite powerful machines that are not as safe
as those that check hand luggage. It is probably best to take your disks as hand luggage.
5 Do not leave your disks around when drinking liquids - one accidental spillage could ruin a
lot of work!
6 Always use high quality disks. Whilst cheap ones may be appealing, they are prone to
errors more than good ones.
7 Try to ensure that the write protect tab is switched on (i.e. the tab does not block the hole).
This will prevent accidental erasure, formatting and loss of data. It may be a nuisance to try
to write to the disk and find it write protected but it is less of a nuisance than accidentally
over-writing a set of your favourite samples and programs!
8 Try to get into the habit of labelling your disks - it will pay dividends in the end when you are
searching for something.
9 Invest in a sturdy carrying case for your floppies especially if you are a gigging musician.
Heavy duty metal camera cases are ideal and some flight case manufacturers now make
special heavy duty disk flightcases.
1 0 Even if you are using a hard disk of any sort, please make sure you have backed up your
work to floppy disks. It can be time consuming but it will be worth it if you ever have a
problem with your hard disk!
Page 10 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
REAR PANEL
INTRODUCTION
ANALOGUE AUDIO
INPUTS
INPUT
L/ MONO R
STEREO OUT
LR
L/R STEREO
OUTPUTS
INDIVIDUAL AUDIO
OUTPUTS
12345678
OUTPUT
MIDI
OUT
IN
THRU
MIDI IN/OUT/THRU
DIGITAL IN/OUT
SCSI
SCSI
CONNECTION
DIGITAL
IN
MODEL NUMBER CD3000XL
12-14, HIGASHI-KOJIYA 2-CHOME,
OHTA-KU, TOKYO, JAPAN
MADE IN JAPAN
CLASS 1LASER PRODUCT
OUT
CERTIFICATION: PRODUCT
COMPLIES WITH DHHS
RULES 21 CFR, CHAPTER I,
SUBCHAPTER J.
POWER CONNECTION
ANALOGUE AUDIO INPUTS You make recordings through these two inputs. You can
record in mono by connecting the audio source to only the
L/MONO input.
INDIVIDUAL OUTPUTS The CD3000XL has a total of ten analogue audio outputs.
There are the stereo L/R outputs which take a mix output of all
programs. If the optional EB16 multi-effects processor is
installed, the outputs of the four effects channels are also
mixed here. You may also use the eight assignable individual
outputs. Programs (or groups of programs) may be assigned
to these outputs for mixing on a mixing console. Furthermore,
individual keygroups may be assigned to these outputs so
that, for example, individual drums could have a separate
channel on the mixer for EQ’ing, adding effects, etc..
NOTE: In the case of you only connecting the L/MONO outpput, the CD3000XL only outputs
the left channel signal and the left/right stereo signals are not mixed at this output. The old
S3000 series carried a mixed output of the left/right channels. In the case of wanting to play
some existing sound library in mono using only the L/MONO output, some ‘tweaking’ may be
necessary to ‘monofy’ the program.
DIGITAL I/O The digital input can be used to record digitally from CD or
DAT or any other audio source that has a digital output.
The digital output carries a digital clone of the main stereo
outputs so you may also mixdown digitally from the CD3000XL
to any digital audio recorder such as DAT or a hard disk
recorder/editor such as the Akai DR4 or DR8 thereby ensuring
the highest quality audio during mixdown.
The digital i/o is also used to back data up to a normal DAT
tape.
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 11
INTRODUCTION
SCSI This 25-way connector is used to attach hard disks, CD-ROMs,
MIDI Your MIDI controller (keyboard, drum pads, EWI, etc.) should
POWER CONNECTION This should be connected to an AC power source.
BEFORE CONNECTING ANY AC POWER, PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOUR UNIT
IS DESIGNED FOR YOUR AREA’S POWER SUPPLY. A MISTAKE NOW COULD
RUIN YOUR WHOLE DAY NOT TO MENTION YOUR CD3000XL!!!
Magneto Optical (MO) disks and removable cartridges to the
CD3000XL for data storage and retrieval. You may also
connect the CD3000XL to a Macintosh™ computer for use
with the editing software that is bundled with the CD3000XL.
be connected to the MIDI IN. The THRU socket carries a
duplicate of the MIDI IN signal ‘thru’ to other modules or MIDI
devices that may be connected. The OUT is normally only
used to transmit MIDI System Exclusive data to another Akai
sampler or to a computer.
** IMPORTANT NOTE **
Page 12 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
INTRODUCTION
SETTING UP THE CD3000XL
This short section tells you how to get ‘up and running’ fast. For full details of operation, please
refer to the appropriate section in this manual.
CONNECTIONS
Don’t switch the CD3000XL on for the moment.
L/R OUTPUTS
SCSI
HARD DISK,
CD-ROM,
MO DRIVE, etc...
AKAI
cd3000xl
MIDI IN
MIDI OUT
IND OUTS - to mixer
DIGI I/O
DAT
mx1000
Connect the MIDI output of your MIDI controller (in this example, an Akai MX1000 master
keyboard) to the MIDI input of the CD3000XL. Connect the L/R audio output to a stereo
amplifier (or use the L/MONO output of the sampler if you only have a mono amp) or to two
channels of a mixer (remembering to pan each channel hard left and right accordingly to take
full advantage of the CD3000XL’s stereo outputs). The digital i/o can be connected to a DAT
machine (or any other digital recording device) or you could leave the digital outputs of a CD
player connected to the CD3000XL’s digital input for sampling from the many special sampling
CDs that are currently available..
Before turning on the sampler, it’s 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 ‘thump’, although very slight,
could damage sensitive speakers, especially if the amp is turned up loud. Now turn on the
CD3000XL. You will see a message in the LCD informing you of what is going on.
After 15 seconds or so, your CD3000XL is ready for use. Turn the volume up on the sampler,
amplifier and/or mixer.
Making sure that the MIDI controller is sending data on MIDI channel 1, play a few notes. You will
hear the oh so impressive test tone! Hardly inspiring is it? We want something a bit more
interesting than that.
NOTE: If no sound appears, check your MIDI connections and check that your MIDI controller
is sending MIDI channel 1. If, after this, you still hear no sound, try pressing the ENT/PLAY key
on the CD3000XL’s front panel. If you hear a sound, then at least your audio connections are
o.k. and it’s the MIDI that needs attention. If you still don’t hear a sound when you press the
ENT/PLAY key, check your audio connections, volume controls, etc..
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 13
INTRODUCTION
LOADING THE DEMO FLOPPY DISKS
To get you started, some sounds are provided on floppy disk.
To load the sound library disk, insert it into the drive and press the LOAD key. Now simply press
F7 - CLR. You will receive a prompt asking you if you want to clear the entire memory. Respond
by pressing F8 - YES
The library disk supplied comes with several programs. In SINGLE mode, these may be
selected from the CD3000XL’s front panel using the DATA wheel or alternatively, you may use
MIDI PROGRAM CHANGE commands from your MIDI controller to select new programs.
You will also note that they are laid out in a MULTI for multi-timbral sequencing. You may use
this to play the demo sequence that is also supplied on floppy disk with the CD3000XL.
To play the demo sequence on the CD3000XL, assuming the sound data disk has been
loaded, follow the procedure below.
1 Insert the DEMO SEQUENCE floppy disk into the disk drive.
2 In GLOBAL mode, press (F5) to get to the MIDI SONG PLAY page and press
(F2) to get to the LOAD page for song files.
3 Select and load a MIDI song file from the file list. You can load as many files as you like as
long as there is enough memory space.
4 Once the files are loaded, press (F1) to return to the MIDI SONG PLAY page. Select
the file you wish to play and press (F7) to play the selected MIDI song file. Press
(F8) to stop playback.
If you have owned an Akai sampler before, you may also have other sounds on CD-ROM or
hard disk. Operation is virtually identical to the S3000 series and the S1000/S1100. To load
sounds from hard disk, press the LOAD key and select HARD at the top of the screen. Move
the cursor to the volume name field and select the volume you wish to load. Press F7 - CLR followed by F8 - YES - to clear the current contents of memory and load the entire hard disk
volume. If you have not used an Akai sampler before and you need more detailed information
on loading from hard disk or CD-ROM, please see the section LOAD MODE.
However you load sounds, whether it’s from floppy disk, hard disk, cartridge or CD-ROM, just
load them and enjoy playing with your new sampler. Although we suggest you read the
operator’s manual thoroughly, of course, at this stage, you don’t want be bothered with that so
just experiment and get a feel for the CD3000XL. As long as you don’t press the SAVE key
and accidentally overwrite your floppy disk or hard disk volume, you can’t damage your sounds
permanently or come to any harm (you can’t damage a CD-ROM as it’s a read only device). If you
do start messing with the samples and programs and don’t like the results, simply re-load the
sounds in or load another bunch of sounds to play with.
Page 14 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
INTRODUCTION
MOUNTING THE CD3000XL
If you plan to rack mount the CD3000XL, try to leave some ‘breathing space’ 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 CD3000XL 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
‘padded’ 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 drive’s delicate head mechanism against shock and excessive vibration.
It goes without saying that the CD3000XL and the disk drive are delicate pieces of precision
electronics and they don’t take kindly to being thrown around however sturdy your flight case
might be!
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 15
INTRODUCTION
GETTING AROUND THE CD3000XL
The CD3000XL is pretty straightforward to use. Basically, it operates in different ‘modes’ which
are selected according to what it is you want to do. In these modes, you navigate your way
around the functions using the soft keys. You move around the screens using the CURSOR
keys and data is entered using the DATA wheel .
OPERATING MODES
The CD3000XL has various modes in which it works and these are selected using the eight
large mode keys found beneath the floppy disk drive. Each key is illuminated to indicate the
sampler’s current status.
SINGLE MULTI SAMPLE EFFECT EDIT GLOBAL SAVE LOAD
These modes are:
SINGLE For playing single programs. This mode is best suited for ‘playing’ the sampler
(i.e. performing a piano solo or whatever) although it can also be used when
sequencing a single sound from the CD3000XL.
MULTI For playing up to sixteen programs together. Typically, this mode would be
used for multi-timbral sequencing by setting each ‘part’ to a different MIDI
channel but it can also be used for layering and creating key splits by setting
two or more parts to the same MIDI channel.
SAMPLE For making recordings. It is also useful for CD playback.
EFFECTS For selecting effects to assign to single programs or to parts in a multi if the
optional EB16 multi-effects processor board is installed.
EDIT Puts the sampler into edit mode for any of the four modes described above.
For example, EDIT SINGLE allows you to edit single programs; EDIT MULTI
allows you to edit the program in the currently selected part; EDIT SAMPLE
allows you to edit the recording you have just made (or samples currently in
memory, of course); EDIT EFFECTS allows you to edit the parameters of the
optional effects processor (if fitted).
GLOBAL Allows you to set certain ‘global’ settings that affect the CD3000XL as a whole
such as MIDI channel, SCSI ID, output level, overall tuning, etc.. It also gives
access to utilities such as disk recording, MIDI song file playback, importing
‘foreign’ CD-ROMs from other manufacturers, etc..
SAVE For saving data to floppy or hard disk.
LOAD For loading data into the sampler.
Page 16 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
INTRODUCTION
SOFT KEYS
The SOFT KEYS directly under the LCD call up various functions and pages within each mode
- these vary from mode to mode and have no pre-defined function. As such, they cannot be
easily explained here!
F 1 F 2 F 3
F 4
F 5 F 6 F 7 F 8
There are many common keys in many of the functions, however, such as, for example, COPY,
RENAME and DELETE which are always on F6, F7 and F8 in those pages where they appear.
Commands such as GO, and ABORT always appear on F7 and F8. There is also a convention
to the type of functions available which is worth noting.
If a key has this highlighted type of display: then this signifies that pressing this key will
take you to another page. If the key has this type of display: (i.e. the function simply has
a box around it and is unhighlighted) then this signifies that the key is an ‘do it’ key and will
instigate some kind action such as SAVE, LOAD, DELETE, GO, ABORT, etc..
If the key has no form of box around it and is not highlighted - i.e: , then this indicates the
page you are currently in although this is always shown in the top left corner of the display as
well. This type of key switches between two types of display - pressing it once displays note
names, pressing it again displays notes as MIDI note numbers.
SELECTING PARAMETERS AND ENTERING DATA
You move around the screen using the CURSOR KEYS and data is input from the DATA
ENTRY ENCODER. You may move around within digit fields using the -/< and +/>.
DATA
CURSOR
+/–/
Turning it clockwise increases numeric values, and turning it counter-clockwise decreases
these values. You may also use the -/< and +/> keys to position the cursor on the ‘tens’ or
‘hundreds’ field to make more rapid changes. For non-numeric values (i.e. sample rates,
sample type, loop type, etc.), turning the encoder will display all the options in order. Normally,
there is no other entry procedure required; simply displaying the correct value of a parameter
using the DATA encoder selects and stores it into the CD3000XL’s memory.
When editing numeric parameters, some of the values can be quite large, and it would be
necessary to turn the DATA WHEEL thousands of times (literally!) in order to go through the
whole range if the value was only changed by 1 for every click of the DATA control. There is an
alternative to turning the control thousands of times, though. When you press the CURSOR
keys, you move from one parameter to another and, using the -/< and +/> keys, you may move
around within a large numeric field.
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 17
INTRODUCTION
If a number such as 123456.78 is displayed, and the -/< key is pressed so that only the first
three digits are highlighted thus:
Turning the DATA ENTRY ENCODER clockwise by one step now will increase the value of the
last highlighted digit, so:
Now if the +/> key is pressed once, the first four digits will be highlighted:
and turning the DATA ENTRY ENCODER one click clockwise will produce:
If you turn the DATA control more than ten clicks, of course, the value of the whole parameter
will be incremented or decremented by the number of clicks. In this way, with very little effort,
fast accurate editing of numbers can be achieved using only the -/< and +/> keys and the
DATA ENTRY ENCODER. The best way to learn how this works is to practise; after a short
time, it should become second nature.
On ‘signed’ fields (that is, fields that have a + or a - before them), the -/< and +/> will do two
things. Pressing the -/< key will move the cursor left within the field and, when it reaches the
furthermost left digit, you may use it to switch between + and - depending on the selection you
wish to make. The +/> key will move the cursor right and, when it reaches the furthermost right
digit you may toggle between + and - again.
NOTE: The cursor always stays on the last currently selected field in any screen. For example,
if you are in, say, the filter pages and are setting envelope 2’s depth and then go to the ENV2
page to make an adjustment there, when you return to the filter page, the cursor will still be on
envelope 2’s depth parameter.
MARK AND JUMP KEYS
These two grey buttons are used in conjunction with each other.
MARK
JUMP
If you are carrying out editing operations which require changing display pages a lot, these can
save a lot of time and effort. Pressing the MARK/# button when the cursor is on a field will
cause the CD3000XL to remember the position of the cursor. You may now go to any other
page and pressing JUMP/. will take the cursor back to the MARK(ed) position. Pressing JUMP/.
again will take you back to the page and function you were at before you JUMP(ed).
You can reset the MARK position at any time. This position is lost when the power is turned off.
At power-on, this position defaults to the program select field in the initial SINGLE mode.
Page 18 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
INTRODUCTION
NAMING FILES - THE NAME KEY
When samples, programs, effects or drum input settings are changed, they should be given a
name for easy reference.
NAME
Pressing the NAME button in certain pages enables you to name data. To name something,
simply press NAME and use the cursor keys to move around the name field and use the DATA
wheel to select the characters. The name is finalised by pressing the ENT/PLAY key.
THE ENT/PLAY KEY
Underneath the NAME key, you will see the ENT/PLAY key:
ENT/PLAY
This is a dual-purpose button. When naming samples, programs, etc., pressing this button will
end the naming process (sometimes in conjunction with COPY and REN(ame) functions). In
other modes of operation, this key will play the sound at a pitch, velocity and MIDI channel as
set in the GLOBAL mode. The default may be freely set as you wish.
NOTE: When editing samples in EDIT SAMPLE, pressing this button will play back the sample
at its correct pitch and not necessarily the one set in the GLOBAL pages.
LCD CONTRAST
Underneath the main volume control, you will find the DISPLAY CONTRAST CONTROL:
DISPLAY
CONTRAST
PUSH ON/OFF
You may adjust the viewing angle for the screen using the DISPLAY CONTRAST control.
NOTE: To preserve the life of your LCD, this control also has a switch which you can use to
turn the backlight of the LCD on or off. At times when you are not actively using the
CD3000XL’s front panel for programming (i.e. when actually sequencing or recording to tape,
for example, or when using the sampler live on stage), you might like to switch this off. All LCD’s
of this type progressively get dimmer with age and this switch can help prevent this. The switch
should be pushed in to switch the backlight off and pushed in again to switch it back on.
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 19
INTRODUCTION
RECORD LEVEL, MAIN VOLUME, HEADPHONE OUTPUT
Next to the DATA wheel, you will find the RECORD LEVEL and MAIN VOLUME controls:
REC GAIN
MIN MAX
MAIN
VOLUME
MIN MAX
Input level for sampling is regulated using the RECORD LEVEL control and the CD3000XL’s
overall output level is controlled, not surprisingly, by the MAIN VOLUME control. This also
governs the level of the sound appearing at the HEADPHONE OUTPUT.
NOTE: The MAIN VOLUME control does not affect the level appearing at the individual
outputs or the real-time digital audio output. You cannot adjust the output level at the phone
jack on the CD-ROM drive using this control knob.
Page 20 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
INTRODUCTION
HOW THE CD3000XL WORKS
Despite its versatility, the CD3000XL is very straightforward and once you have a basic grasp of
the flowcharts shown on the next pages, things will make more sense.
Basically, you can have SAMPLES. These are the pieces of raw digital audio that are always the
basis of any sound in the CD3000XL. These may be derived from floppy disk, hard disk
(including Magneto Optical (MO) Disks, removable cartridge types), CD ROM or, of course, you
may sample your own sounds via the analogue or the digital inputs.
Once you have a raw sample, there are many things you can do with it within EDIT SAMPLE.
You may TRIM it - that is, remove any unwanted audio from the start or end. You may CHOP it that is, remove a section in the middle and splice the two remaining sections together or you
may CUT it - that is, remove a section in the middle and keep the gap thus created. You may
also EXTRACT part of the sound - that is isolate a section (such as one snare drum in a
breakbeat) and extract that snare hit from the original. You may also TUNE and/or REVERSE
the sample.
Of course, one problem always associated with sampling is LOOPING. Because any given
sample is only a few seconds long, if you want to sustain that sample longer than its original
length, some method has to be sought to do this. This is LOOPING. A loop is a section of the
sound that repeats as long as you hold your finger on the key and is set by setting a start and
end point for the loop. This is something of an art and a science and something we won’t delve
into here in great detail. To make looping as easy as possible, the CD3000XL has FIND and
CROSSFADE functions to help you set good loops.
Other sample editing functions include TIMESTRETCH which allows you to lengthen or
shorten a sample without changing its pitch (again, we will look at this in more detail later in this
manual) and RE-SAMPLING, a technique that allows you to squeeze the optimum performance
out of available memory space. On the CD3000XL, you may also NORMALISE a sample’s level
for optimum signal to noise performance.
Once you have edited a sample you place it into a PROGRAM.
A PROGRAM is where you assemble your sample(s) for playback. In a program, you allocate a
sample to a KEYGROUP (in fact, you can allocate 4 samples to one keygroup for layering,
velocity switching and velocity crossfading but more on that later!). A program may have as little
as one keygroup spanning the entire keyboard or as many as one keygroup for every key each
with four samples in them! To overcome the abrupt tonal discrepancies sometimes
experienced when two different samples are placed ‘side by side’ on the keyboard, positional
keygroup crossfading can be used for a smoother transition.
Once in a keygroup, the sample may be passed through resonant filters for tonal modification,
through amplifiers for amplitude control and through a pan section for stereo placement.
Keygroups may be freely assigned to the individual outputs for external processing on a mixing
console.
On top of this, you may apply modulation from 2 x Low Frequency Oscillators (LFOs) for vibrato
and other effects. A SINGLE TRIGGER LEGATO mode allows you to emulate solo instruments
such as woodwind and brass more realistically and to allow for greater expression when playing
synth bass parts or lead sounds.
One powerful feature of the CD3000XL is the flexible ASSIGNABLE PROGRAM
MODULATION known as APM for short) in EDIT PROGRAM. Using this, any modulation source
may be routed to virtually any control input. In this way, the CD3000XL is a powerful synthesiser
as well, except that you may use almost any sampled sound (of your own or from a sound
library) as the basis of your own powerful and expressive sounds.
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 21
INTRODUCTION
Once you have placed your sample(s) into a program, you may play them from a MIDI controller
in SINGLE mode. If the optional effects processor EB016 is fitted in your CD3000XL, you may
add powerful multi-effects such as simultaneous distortion, EQ, chorus/flange, delay and
reverb to these programs.
Once you have several programs in memory, you may use the MULTI mode to combine them
together. Typically, this will be to set different programs to different MIDI channels for multitimbral sequencing but you may also use the MULTI mode for layering programs and for key
splits. In MULTI mode, the four channels of the optional effects processor may be used so that
different programs may have different effects applied to them. Furthermore, the MULTI’s
internal mixer allows you to mix the level and pan of each program as well as set its effects send
level. With the individual output board fitted, these programs may be assigned to their own
output for mixing on an external mixing console.
Once you are happy with everything, the whole thing may be saved to disk for recall at a later
date.
One of the beauties of the Akai samplers is that there are no restrictions on what you do with
samples - any sample can be placed into any keygroup in any program. One sample may be
placed into a variety of different programs, each of which impose different envelope or filter
settings to create a wide range of possibilities from very little. One or more samples may be
used in any other programs even on other disks and/or one program can be used as the basis
for processing other samples.
CD3000XL FLOWCHART
The following flowcharts will help your understanding of the CD3000XL.
EFFECTS
(optional)
PROGRAM(S)SAMPLE(S)
Here, samples are made and edited, placed into programs (which can be played singly if you
wish) and these programs can be placed into a multi (where several programs my be played
together). Programs and multis can use the optional effects processor if fitted.
EFFECTS
(optional)
MULTI
Page 22 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
SAMPLE(S)
INTRODUCTION
ANALOGUE INPUTS
DIGITAL INPUTS
FLOPPY DISK
HARD DISK/CARTRIDGE
CD ROM
EDIT SAMPLE
TUNE
TUNE
TUNE
TUNE
TRIM CHOP CUT
LOOP (X4) JOIN
NORMALISE/RE-SCALE
XFADE
FADE
TIMESTRETCH RESAMPLE
EDIT PROGRAM
KEYGROUP(S)
PER KEYGROUP
SAMPLE 1
SAMPLE 2
SAMPLE 3
SAMPLE 4
12dB/8ve
LOWPASS
RESONANT
FILTER
AMP
PAN
PAN
PAN
PAN
EXTRACT
TUNE
REVERSE
FX SEND
IND. OUT 1 - 8
IND. OUTPUT ASSIGN
MASTER
OUTPUT
LEVEL
AUTO
PANNING
KG PITCH
VEL SW/XFD
MASTER
PROGRAM OUTPUT
KEYSPAN
ENV 2 ENV 1
ENVELOPE TEMPLATES
MODULATION SOURCES
ENV 1 ENV 2 LFO 1 LFO 2
MOD.WHL P.BEND AFTERTOUCH VELOCITY EXT.MIDIKBD
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 23
INTRODUCTION
MULTI-MODE
PARTS 1-16
FX SEND LEVEL
PER PART
4-CHANNEL EFFECTS PROCESSOR
MULTI-EFFECTS CHANNEL x 2
DISTORTION EQ RING MOD
TUNEPROGRAM SELECT OCTAVE LEVEL PAN FX BUSS
OUTPUT ASSIGN
MOD/DELAY EFFECTS REVERBDISTORTION/EQ
CHORUS
or
FLANGE
or
PHASE
or
PITCH SHIFT
or
PAN/FMOD
DELAY REVERB
PRIORITYMIDI CH
REVERB ONLY CHANNEL x 2
REVERB
REVERB
Page 24 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
SINGLE MODE
SINGLE MODE
SINGLE is where you may select and play programs. Pressing SINGLE gives this screen
display.
NOTES REGARDING THE CD3000XL’S SINGLE MODE
Before we look at the functions in this mode, please bear the following in mind.
SINGLE mode, as the name suggests, is essentially designed to play single programs.
However, for historical reasons, in order to be compatible with sound disks created on Akai
S1000, S1100 and the S3000 series, you can, in fact, play several programs at once. This is
done by setting two or more programs to the same program number (see below RENUMBERING PROGRAMS). Furthermore, you may have several programs active at any one
time and each of these may have a different MIDI channel so that they play multi-timbrally.
However, as mentioned, this is included here so that such disks created on earlier Akai
samplers can be used without tedious re-programming or conversion.
NOTES FOR EXISTING AKAI SAMPLER USERS
If you have used an Akai S1000, S1100 or any of the S3000 series samplers and are familiar
with the concept of several programs sharing the same program number, you may continue to
work in this way if you wish but we feel sure you will appreciate the speed and convenience of
the MULTI mode for layering and multi-timbral sequencing once you give it a try as it has many
advantages over the way earlier Akai samplers dealt with multi-timbral applications. However,
retaining the old method as well gives you the best of both worlds in that any setups you may
have using the older method can still be used plus you can avail yourself of the new functions
as and when you like. You may like to convert existing S1000/1100/3000 multi-timbral setups
into new MULTI files if you wish.
NOTE FOR NEW USERS
If you are new to Akai samplers but have had some experience of other sound modules, you
will probably feel more at home setting up multi-timbral data, layered programs and key splits in
the MULTI mode as this is more in keeping with how other sound modules work these days.
You can use the SINGLE mode for playing single programs. With that in mind, you may like to
skip a lot of this section as it really refers to the ‘old method’ of using earlier Akai samplers.
SELECTING PROGRAMS
Selecting sound to play can be done in several ways:
1 In the main SELECT PROG screen as shown above, turning the DATA control
will select different programs for playback.
2 Send MIDI program change commands from your keyboard, synthesiser,
sequencer or whatever MIDI controller you are using. You will note that the
CD3000XL uses ‘actual’ program numbers 1-128 - if your keyboard sends out
0-127, please bear this in mind as you will have to offset all program change
commands you issue by 1.
Whichever method you use for selecting programs, when the program is selected, an asterisk
appears alongside it number and the program number is indicated. One useful feature of the
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 25
SINGLE MODE
CD3000XL is that it is possible to be playing one program whilst another is being selected. For
example, whilst holding down a low string note you could select, say, a brass sound. The
strings will continue to sound and you may now play the brass part. Please note, however, that
if you are using the internal effects on either or both of these sounds, there may be a
noticeable change as only one effect can be used at once. In this case, the brass program’s
effects would take priority.
VIEWING PROGRAMS
The LCD can display 5 programs at any one time. There may be occasions when you have
more than this and so you may use the CURSOR keys to scroll through your program list.
Pressing the CURSOR LEFT or RIGHT keys will scroll though the list one at a time and pressing
the CURSOR DOWN or UP keys will increment through the list in steps of five programs. This
can be helpful if you are searching for a particular sound and need to see what is loaded in the
CD3000XL. The display will tell you how many programs are loaded and in the above example,
we can see that there are actually 8 programs in memory even though only the first five are
displayed. It is possible to be viewing other programs whilst playing another.
SETTING UP THE CD-ROM
One of the problems associated with CD-ROMs is that, because the CD-ROM is a read-only
disk, although you can edit samples and programs as normal, there is no way of saving them
except to floppy or hard disk. This rather defeats the object of having a CD-ROM because if you
edit a lot of the sounds you have, you end up using your floppy disks or hard disk more than
the CD-ROM.
On the CD3000, however, this has been overcome. The SETUP function is a disk
management utility that allows you to define groups of frequently used sounds from various
volumes within a partition on the CD-ROM and load them from a single keypress or MIDI
command. You still need to use a floppy disk but what happens is that if you edit any samples,
when you save them in the DISK mode, you can choose that only the changes are saved to the
floppy. As a result, one floppy disk may hold the changes of many different volumes which can
be loaded as a CD-ROM SETUP. When you execute a setup, it will find the appropriate
sound(s) on the CD-ROM, load them and then load the changes from the floppy disk. As
mentioned, a floppy disk can hold many different setups and so you will probably only need the
one floppy disk to hold all your edits. All this is done in the page.
Pressing will display something like the following screen:
The fields are:
Setup: This shows the SETUP name and you may select setups from this field.
Setups may be given any name you wish and this is done in the usual way by
pressing the NAME key and entering a name using the CURSOR keys and
DATA wheel. Pressing the ENT/PLAY key will finish the naming process.
When naming setups, it is a good idea to give it a name that will easily be
recognized when you come to load it back again. For example, if you have
edited some strings and saved them to floppy, a good name for the setup
would be something like STR#1-VOL#12 to remind you that it is a string sound
from volume 12 on the CD-ROM. Simply calling it something like SETUP#6
Page 26 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
SINGLE MODE
may not make any sense to you when you come to load it in three weeks time!!
When you have many different setups saved onto the disk, sensible naming
practices will really pay off.
MIDI select: This allows you to set a MIDI program change number to a setup so that you
may remotely load everything from your MIDI controller. For example, on stage,
you could send a MIDI program change to your CD3000XL which would load
the appropriate setup and all the programs and samples associated with that
setup and, of course, any edits you may have made to the samples and /or
programs. In the studio, you could send program change commands from your
sequencer to achieve the same thing. You will see in a moment that you may
select only certain programs to be loaded from a volume when you load a
setup.
Clear Memory: You may select whether you wish to clear the memory upon loading or not and
the options are ON or OFF. This parameter is unique to each setup so one
setup may be set to clear the memory whilst another is set so that it doesn’t.
Setups in memory:
This shows you how many setups are currently loaded. This field is for
information only and is not accessible.
The soft keys along the bottom are:
This will take you back to the main SELECT PROG screen.
This will take you to the SETUP EDIT page where you may program your
setup.
This ‘action’ key will create a new setup and will create a name automatically
such as NEW SETUP 1. Each time you press this, a new number will be
appended to the setup name. Of course, you may save it using the default
names but, as mentioned above, it is probably best to give the setup a name
that is more informative.
This key takes you to the LOAD page where it is possible to select and load
setups from the floppy.
This will save the setup to the floppy disk. Pressing this key will display this
prompt:
indicating that the setup is being saved. This will take a second or two.
Pressing this key will delete the currently selected setup from memory. You will
receive this prompt:
You must press F7 or F8 accordingly.
NOTE: Please ensure that the setup you are deleting has been saved to floppy disk before
deleting if you wish to use it at a later date.
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 27
SINGLE MODE
NOTE: For a setup to load any edits you may have made top samples or programs, it is
necessary to save these to the floppy in the DISK mode.
MARKING FILES
Pressing will give you a screen display such as:
The primary function of this page is to mark files. Marking a file will allow you to selectively
control which programs from a CD-ROM volume will be loaded when you execute a setup. For
example, in the above screen, if you only wish to load GRND PNO 1, 8VA PIANO and SLOW
PIANO from a setup, move the cursor to the first file, GRND PIANO 1 and press . Now
move the cursor down to 8VA PIANO and press again and repeat the process for SLOW
PIANO. You would have the following screen display:
This will execute the currently selected setup and will load marked programs
and their samples and then load any changes and edits to those samples you
might have saved.
An asterisk is shown to indicate the marked files. When you press the key in the main
setup page, only those files marked will be loaded. Alternatively, if a MIDI program change
number has been set in the MIDI select: field, when the CD3000XL receives that program
change command, the files marked in this page will be loaded along with their samples and any
changes you may have made to them.
To unmark a single file, simply move the cursor to the appropriate file and press again. To
unmark all files, press the key (F6). You will receive this prompt:
You should answer accordingly by pressing F7 or F8.
Page 28 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
SINGLE MODE
SEARCHING FOR FILES ON THE CD-ROM
Pressing will display this screen:
Here, you may search for particular files on the CD-ROM. Entering the name is done in the
normal fashion by pressing the NAME key. You will receive this display:
You can now enter the name of the file you are searching for. Pressing ENT/PLAY will finish the
naming process. Pressing will now locate the file placing it at the top of the right hand
part of the screen. If you type in a name that is common to many files, all of them will be
selected. For example, typing in something like SYN would find all files with those characters in
the name - i.e. SYNBASS, OB SYNCSWP, SYNTHSTR, SYNCLAV, BASS SYN, etc..
LOADING SETUPS FROM FLOPPY
Pressing will take you to the LOAD page where you may load setups from floppy disk.
You will receive a screen display something like the following:
Here, we can see a disk that has several setups saved to it. We can see quite clearly that one
setup relates to a strings volume (although it is not clear which volume it is on!), the next relates
to a brass sound on volume 4, the next a bass in volume 3. The next two are synth and synth
bass in volumes 25 and 24. As mentioned, it is best to name your setups sensibly so that you
know where you are when you come to load them again. Going to this screen and simply
seeing NEW SETUP 1 to 20 might be a bit confusing!!
To load all of the setups from this floppy, simply press F8 - . To load just one setup, move
the cursor to the setup you wish to load and press F7 -
Once the required setups are in memory, using the key or sending a MIDI program
change command (assuming the setup is programmed for this) will execute the currently
selected setup.
In the EDIT page, the key has the same functions as in the main SETUP page and
pressing this will save the setup to the floppy disk. Pressing this key will display this prompt:
indicating that the setup is being saved. This will take a second or two.
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 29
SINGLE MODE
SCROLLING THROUGH MARKED FILES
The key allows you to sequentially step through marked files. Each press of this key will
take you to each marked file in turn. If no files are marked, you will receive this prompt:
NOTES ON SAVING SETUPS
If you have edited any samples or programs, when you save a setup, you are not actually saving
the changes at this point. This must be done in the main DISK mode. If you edit any samples,
before you power down or clear and load any new material, you must first go to the DISK mode
and save the changes. When you press SAVE, you will be asked if you want to save all the
samples or want to save just the changes. If you edit any programs, you must save them programs do not have special ‘changes only’ format but must be saved as programs. Because
they take up so little disk space and load within a fraction of a second, even from floppy, this is
not a problem or an oversight on our part!! When you subsequently load via a setup, the
original samples and programs will be loaded from the CDROM followed by the changes and
the programs off floppy. Please refer to the DISK section for more information on this.
USING SETUPS
The setups on the CD3000XL are designed to allow you edit samples and save those changes
economically to floppy disk as well as allowing you to customise the way you load material from
the CD-ROM . One example of uses for this would be live on-stage where you could program all
your setups for the night ahead of time, load them before the concert and then load sounds
from the CD-ROM by way of the setups (typically using MIDI program change commands).
To do this, the method would be to load in the first sounds you require, edit them if you wish
and, when everything is as you want it, create a new SETUP file - go to the main SETUP page,
press to create a new setup file and give it an appropriate name. Now go to the EDIT
page and mark the file(s) you want to save in that setup using the key. You can check
you have the correct files using the key. When you are happy with everything, assuming
a suitable formatted floppy is in the drive, press SAVE to save your setup to floppy disk. You
should now go to the DISK mode and save the changes you made to the samples and the
programs (if any) to the same floppy disk.
To load the material back at a later date, power up the CD3000, go to the SETUP page and
press to take you to the LOAD page. You may now either specifically select the setup file
you wish or load all of them. In the main setup page, select the appropriate setup file and press
. This will find and load the original data from the CD-ROM and will then go to the floppy to
load the sample changes followed by the programs. Alternatively, assuming you have set it
accordingly, you may do this remotely from a MIDI program change.
NOTE 1: Because the data on the floppy is associated with data on a specific CD-ROM, you
must have the correct CD-ROM in the disc compartment when you try to load via a setup. If the
wrong CD-ROM is inserted, nothing will happen. As a result, it is recommended to keep one
floppy associated with its own CD-ROM and use them together. Although one floppy can hold
the data for more than one CD-ROM, it will be easier to keep track of things if each CD-ROM you
own has its own unique floppy disk associated with it.
NOTE 2: If an S1000 or S1100 CD-ROM is inserted into the disc compartment, although it is
possible to load files from it, the SETUP functions described above cannot be used with it. As a
result, the all the SETUP pages are removed as soon as the CD3000XL ‘senses’ the presence
of an S1000 or S1100 CD-ROM.
Page 30 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
SINGLE MODE
SETTING PROGRAM LEVELS, PAN, FX SENDS
In the MIX page of SINGLE, you may view the programs in memory and set their level, pan, etc..
This is a convenient and quick way to adjust the levels of single programs
having to edit each one individually in EDIT PROGRAM. To access this, press and you
will receive the following display:
On this page you may set, from left to right across the screen:
This shows the number of the program selected in the main SINGLE page
although you may select another program or group of programs in this field.
This sets the level of the program as it appears at the left/right stereo outputs
of the CD3000XL. This would normally be used to mix the levels of different
programs and is the equivalent of a mixers fader control. It is possible to send
programs to individual outputs but, by mixing them out of the stereo outputs
by setting this parameter to 00, you remove them from the main mix. In this
way, for example, you could send individual drums to separate channels of an
external mixer for more elaborate level and tonal control whilst other
instruments appear only at the stereo outputs of the CD3000XL. In this way,
very complex mixes can be set up. Another method may be to send, say,
snare and kick to individual outputs (but take them out of the stereo mix) and
just have toms and percussion in a stereo image coming out of the main stereo
mix. In this way, you save on channels on your external mixer.
en masse
without
This sets the pan position of the program in the stereo outputs and the range
is L50 through MID (00) to R50.
This allows you to assign any program to one of the 8 individual outputs should
you wish to mix the program using an external mixer. The range is OFF, 1-8.
NOTE: It is possible to send individual keygroups to these outputs so the results you get may
sometimes be a little unpredictable if you are not sure of the keygroup assignments.
This sets the level of the audio appearing at the individual outputs.
This allows you to route the program to one of the four effects channels, FX1,
FX2, RV3 or RV4. You may also switch the effects routing to OFF.
This sets the effect send level. The range is 0-99.
NOTE 1: The and the parameters only function when the optional EB16 multi-
effects processor is installed.
NOTE 2: In any of the SINGLE mode’s pages, if the EB16 is installed, you may conveniently
mute them using F8 - . This will turn off all four effects channels so that you can hear the
program(s) in isolation.
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 31
SINGLE MODE
SETTING PROGRAMS’ MIDI PARAMETERS
Pressing F3 - - will display the following screen:
This could be regarded as a ‘MIDI mixer’ as it follows a similar layout to the MIX page described
above. This page allows you to set various MIDI parameters for each program. The parameters
are:
This shows the number of the program 1-128 selected in the main SINGLE
page although you may select another program or group of programs in this
field.
This allows you to set the MIDI channel for any program and the range is OM
(omni) through 1-16. This parameter allows you to layer programs together by
setting two or more programs to the same program number and setting their
MIDI channels the same in this field. It also allows you to set up sophisticated
multi-timbral configurations (i.e. set several programs to the same program
number and assign different MIDI channels to each program). You may also
layer two or more programs within a multi-timbral configuration of course.
When two programs are given the same program number, it is possible to set
up keyboard splits by setting the note range of the programs. This parameter
ignores each programs keygroup ranges and simply imposes a range on the
whole program. In this way, you can quickly set up very complex keyboard
splits and layers without having to concern yourself with the intricacies of
setting keygroups within a program itself. Please note that this parameter has
no effect on single programs, it is only when two or more programs have the
same program number that it is effective.
This is an abbreviation of POLYPHONY and allows you to limit the polyphony
of a program.
This is an abbreviation of PRIORITY and allows you to set how notes will be
‘stolen’ by other programs if the 32 voice polyphony is exceeded. There are
four settings: LOW, NORM, HIGH and HOLD. If the program is set to LOW
priority, then notes from this program will be stolen first. If set to HIGH, then
notes from other programs with lower priority will be stolen first before they are
stolen from this program. NORM is, of course, normal priority and sets standard
dynamic voice allocation and note stealing will take place with no particular
priority. If a program’s priority is set to HOLD, then notes can only be stolen
from this program by the same program.
If you are playing a complex piece of music using many programs in a multitimbral configuration, it is a good idea to set important programs to HIGH or
HOLD and less important, background programs to LOW. If the piece of music
is not overly complicated and polyphony is not going to be exceeded, you may
prefer just to leave the priority at the default setting of NORM.
Page 32 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
SINGLE MODE
This is an abbreviation of TRANSPOSE and sets the basic octave range for the
program. The range is +/- 50 semitones. You will note that this is not a pitch
shift function as such 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, even if you play C3 on the keyboard, this is offset
to play the samples on C4 (with a +12 setting) - it is not playing the samples on
C3 an octave higher.
NOTE: It must be said that this page is really an inheritance from earlier Akai samplers when
using multi-timbral setups. We strongly recommend that for such purposes, you use the MULTI
mode but retaining these functions ensures compatibility with data created on earlier models. If
you have used Akai samplers before, you may continue to work in this way, of course, but, as
mentioned, the new MULTI mode may be more convenient
SETTING PROGRAM LOUDNESS AND VELOCITY
In the page, you may set the program’s overall loudness and velocity sensitivity:
The parameters are:
This sets the overall loudness for the program and affects the level appearing
at the main left/right outputs, the individual outputs and the real-time digital
audio output. It will also affect the level going to the internal effects.
NOTE: You will note that at a setting of 99, the program is at maximum level but you will not
have any velocity sensitivity.
This sets the program’s sensitivity to velocity. As mentioned, with
set to 99, this parameter will have no effect.
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 33
SINGLE MODE
LOADING FROM FLOPPY DISK
The next key along, F5, gives you access to some basic disk functions for loading sounds into
the CD3000XL. Pressing in the SELECT PROG mode gives you this screen:
Here, you have a choice of two options: loading a particular program and its associated samples
( ) or loading the entire contents of the disk ( ).
If you have inserted a disk, pressing will bring up a list of all programs stored on that disk.
If you have inserted the wrong disk or wish to change it, insert a new disk and press the
key again. If you want to wipe out all programs and samples in memory and load the contents of
the disk, press . You will be asked if this is what you really want to do. Make sure that you
either do not want the programs and samples in memory, or that they are saved to disk before
you proceed. As the disk is loading, you will receive this display
indicating the loading progress.
The other option, , allows you to load a program and all associated samples (free memory
permitting). To do this, highlight a program using the CURSOR keys, and press . The
program, and its associated samples, will be loaded into memory. If the samples required by
this program already exist in memory, they will be loaded anyway, but they will overwrite the
samples currently in memory. If there is not enough memory to load a program and its samples,
the message
will be displayed. In this case, you will have to delete some existing programs and/or samples
to free up some memory space.
Page 34 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
SINGLE MODE
LOADING FROM HARD DISK
If you have a hard disk of any description connected via SCSI for loading sounds, you will
receive the following display when F5 is pressed:
This is almost the same as for floppy except that you can see it tells you that it is a hard disk. You
may select from different volumes by moving the cursor to the field and scrolling through
the volumes on the disk. By moving the cursor to where it says ‘ ‘ after , you may
select different partitions to choose other volumes. Loading is done in the manner described
above - press to load the entire volume and to load a particular program and its
associated samples.
NOTE: There is more to using a hard disk than that, unfortunately, such as matching SCSI ID’s,
formatting, etc.. For details on using the CD3000XL with a hard disk, please refer to the section
HARD DISK CONTROL in the DISK section.
Other disk operations, like saving and formatting disks, are performed in the DISK mode, not
from this page. This page is intended purely for quick access to loading from disk.
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 35
SINGLE MODE
DELETING PROGRAMS
Programs and their associated samples may be deleted from memory in this page, which is
accessed by pressing the key. Pressing this key displays this screen:
When this page is displayed, the cursor will highlight a program. Highlight the program you
want to delete using the CURSOR keys. There are three soft key actions that you can take, all
concerned with deleting programs:
NOTE: If you delete a program from memory, make sure that you really do not need that
program in the future or that you have saved it to disk first. In some cases, as explained below,
deleting a program will also delete samples. Make sure these really are unwanted or have been
saved to disk before proceeding.
The three ‘action’ keys are as follows:
Pressing this will display this prompt:
and you should press GO or ABORT as necessary.
If the program is the only one in memory using a particular set of samples, you
will receive the following prompt:
Press the appropriate soft key if you are sure that you want to delete the
program and its associated samples.
If the samples contained in the program are used elsewhere in other programs,
you will not receive this prompt as it is assumed you don’t want to lose these
samples.
This will delete all programs which have the same number as the highlighted
program. You will be asked if you want to proceed with the bulk program
delete. If these programs are the only ones using particular samples, you will
be asked if you want to delete the samples as well.
Page 36 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
SINGLE MODE
This, of course, is the most drastic of these three options. If you answer GO
and YES to the questions regarding released samples, then all programs,
(except for an CD3000XL generated program - TEST PROGRAM) and
samples will be deleted. Deleting samples and rearranging memory space may
take a little time, so be patient while this takes place.
NOTE: Obviously, is an option to be used with some caution. If the programs and
samples in memory have not been saved to disk, deleting programs and/or samples at this
point will be fatal - YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RETRIEVE THEM. Please be careful.
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 37
SINGLE MODE
RENUMBERING PROGRAMS
On the CD3000XL, program numbers correspond to patch numbers on a synthesiser. When a
MIDI Program Change message is received, the appropriate program is selected. However, to
match CD3000XL programs with the patch numbers on your synthesiser, you may want to
renumber the programs, so that selecting a brass sound on the CD3000XL will call up a similar
(or complementary) patch on a remote synthesiser module. To do this, press the key.
You will receive something like this screen display:
As the screen informs you on this page, you select the program to be renumbered using the
CURSOR keys and alter the current number to the new number using the DATA control,
setting the program number to a value of between 1 and 128 (these are MIDI specification
limits). When you have altered the number, you have several options to choose from on soft
keys 6, 7 and 8. These are:
This will set all programs to the same number as that set in the currently
selected program. For example, placing the cursor on 3 - BASS and setting
that to 1 would renumber all the programs to program number 1. This is useful
when you have loaded in a variety of sounds from different disks or hard disk
volumes and wish to sequence them multi-timbrally (see later).
This causes all subsequent programs to be renumbered with an offset to the
currently selected program. For example, if you renumbered program 4 to 10,
all subsequent programs (i.e. SYN BASS and others off the screen) will be
renumbered 11, 12, 13, etc.. whilst programs 1, 2 and 3 would be unaffected.
This will only renumber the currently selected program. All other programs will
be unaffected. You may also use this to renumber several programs in one go.
For example, change the programs accordingly (i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.) and then
press (although the would be more appropriate for this).
This will renumber all programs sequentially 1-? depending on how many
programs are in memory.
Once you are happy with the result of your renumbering, press to return you to the main
SINGLE screen display. Also, if you change your mind and do not wish to renumber something
now, simply leave the RNUM page without pressing F3, F4, F5 or F6.
Page 38 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
SINGLE MODE
USING THE CD3000XL IN ‘OLD AKAI’ MODE!
The next group of explanations deal with using the SINGLE mode like the SELECT PROG
mode on earlier Akai samplers such as the S1000, S1100 and S3000 series. As mentioned,
these functions have been retained in order to preserve compatibility with data created on
these samplers. In keeping with other sound modules, the CD3000XL sees the introduction of
a new MULTI mode. This is a quick and easy way of combining several programs together for
multi-timbral sequencing, layering and key splits. However, progress brings with it certain
compatibility issues and the fact remains that, as THE industry standard sampler the world over,
there is a lot of data out there that was created on Akai samplers. For compatibility (and to be
considerate to our customers!), the ‘old Akai’ way of working is retained. The following
explanations, therefore, refer to this method of operation should you wish to work in this way or
if you have existing sound library that uses this method. If you have used Akai samplers before,
you may well wish to continue working in this way but, if you are new to our samplers
(welcome!), you may prefer to skip this section and refer to the section that explains MULTI
mode and all it advantages.
USING SELECT PROG - PROGRAMS WITH THE SAME NUMBER
Most of the time, you will probably want to load in the sounds you need and these will be single
programs for playing from the keyboard (or whichever MIDI instrument you play). As we have
seen, this is easy enough - simply scroll through using the DATA control or select them via MIDI
program change. There are occasions when you want to play several programs together,
however, and this is where the renumbering becomes useful.
LAYERING PROGRAMS
Although it is possible to layer sounds within one program or within MULTI mode, it is useful to
be able to call up several programs together.
For example, let’s say you have a string program and brass program you want to combine. As
mentioned, you could make up a program that combined all of these samples but an easier way
is to simply give them the same program number - for example, renumber them both to, say,
program 1. When you select program 1 you will then select the combined programs with the
strings and brass layered together. You may also set the balance and pan positions between
these sounds in the MIX page.
You may prefer to layer sounds using RNUM rather than creating one program with the required
sample(s) in it because there are certain aspects to creating a program that affect all things the
same. For example, the auto-panning and effects send would affect all samples equally - when
using the RNUM function, one sound in the layer could be panning slowly left to right routed to
FX1 whilst another stays central through RV3. You also have easier control of the respective
levels of the programs in the layers.
Of course, you are not limited to layering just two sounds - you could layer up to 32 programs
for a monster monophonic lead line or bass sound!
CREATING KEYBOARD SPLITS
As for layering, it is easy to set key splits in EDIT PROGRAM or in MULTI mode but, again, it may
be more convenient to create the split using the RNUM function.
Let us say you have two programs - UPRIGHT BASS and VIBES - and you want to create a split
so that you can perform a walking bass line with your left hand and a jazzy vibes solo with the
right. By setting the RANGE parameter in the MIDI page (F4) accordingly, the bass can be set to
finish at B2 and the vibes set to start at C3. Even though both these programs originally
spanned the entire keyboard, this function allows you to impose limits on the programs’
keyranges. Now, assuming that both programs have the same program number (i.e. both are
renumbered 1 or something), then you can play both programs with the keyboard split.
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 39
SINGLE MODE
USING RENUMBERING TO CREATE MULTI-TIMBRAL SETUPS
One of the most appealing things about MIDI is its multi-channel ability. Originally, synth
modules could be set to a specific MIDI channel number so that several modules could be set
to play several musical parts from a sequencer. Of course, as technology advanced, it became
possible to do this within one module and such a module is known as ‘multi-timbral’ - i.e. ‘many
sounds’. The CD3000XL is no exception and has powerful multi-timbral capabilities.
Multi-timbral setups are more easily created in the new MULTI mode but, if you want to use old
method, read on.
To set up a multi-timbral assignment in SINGLE, we use the renumbering function again.
Assuming you have loaded in a pile of programs you wish to sequence, give them all the same
program number. This is done in the RNUM page and you simply give the same number to all
programs using the function. You should receive a display something like this when you
return to the main SELECT PROG screen:
Here, all programs are number 1.
Of course, you will need to assign each program to have different MIDI channels:
You can also use the MIX page to set the levels, pan position, output assignment and effects
send for each program:
Remember, also, that you may use a combination of all of these techniques and you can, of
course, have a mix of split and layered programs within a multi-timbral assignment.
Using the CD3000XL live, you may have several multi-timbral setups in memory at any time
(memory allowing, of course!). In this way, you may have sets of programs for each song
recalled from a MIDI program change from your sequencer (this is one advantage of using this
method over MULTI - you may only have one multi file in memory at any one time).
Page 40 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
SINGLE MODE
SINGLE VS MULTI
As mentioned, you may avhieve similar results in the MULTI mode where you can create multitimbral setups, key splits, layered programs (and combinations of these) very quickly and easily.
The advantages MULTI has over the ‘old Akai’ methods are
• Selection of programs for a part is quick and easy.
• You can try out different sounds very easily and is therefore ideal for loading in, say, a few
pianos, a few basses, a few drum kits, etc., and experimenting with different combinations
of sounds. Equally, when layering, choosing and experimenting with combinations is
extremely quick.
• When changing sounds, any mixer parameters, effects assignments, etc., you may have
set in the MULTI remain constant so you do not have to reset everything every time you
change a sound.
• You can use the same program several times in a MULTI. For example, you may layer a
strings program (or whatever) on top of itself with some detune for a richer sound simply by
applying the same program to two (or more) parts, giving those parts the same MIDI channel
and setting a FINE TUNE value for each as appropriate (to achieve the same result in
SINGLE requires that you make a copy of the program).
• In the case where a program is layered on top of itself for detuning, editing one of them will
affect both so that you can make changes to the whole sound with one sionple action (for
example, layering a string pad on top of itself with some detune and editing the attack of
one of the parts will cause both parts to be affected).
• You may select different programs independently on different MIDI channels (i.e. send a
program change on channel 5 to select a new string sound in part 5).
• You can save the multi file with a meaningful name (i.e. BACK TRACK 3 or the name of the
song, whatever).
• If you are new to samplers, the MULTI mode corresponds more with most other sound
module’s implementation that you may be more familiar with.
The disadvantages of MULTI is that only one multi file may reside in memory at once (although
any number may be saved to disk) and you can’t have more than sixteen programs active at any
one time.
The advantages of using the ‘old Akai’ method are:
• You can have several multi-timbral setups or layers in memory at any one time and recall
them with a single MIDI program change (ideal for live work where you may have the
different backing tracks for all your songs in memory at once).
• You may have more than sixteen programs active at once (although there are not more
than sixteen MIDI channels, you may have layered programs in a multi-timbral setup).
The disadvantages, however, are:
• Changing sounds in a multi-timbral setup and experimenting with different combinations of
sounds can be awkward.
• You cannot select a new program for one of the parts using MIDI program change
commands (you can’t send a MIDI program change on MIDI channel 5 to select a new string
sound for that part, for example).
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 41
SINGLE MODE
• When you assign a new program to the setup, its level, pan, effects routings are recalled
with it. This may be an advantage for some users but it does mean you have to reset the
mix every time you replace one sound with another. Furthermore, even though a
program’s effects channel is recalled when you assign a new program to the multi-timbral
setup, the effects preset associated with that effects channel may be different and so
cause unpredictable results.
• You can’t name a set up and so you can’t see the multi-timbral setup referred to by name
when you come to load it.
Basically, there are pros and cons to both methods - it’s up to you to decide which you want to
use depending on your application. At least you have the flexibility to use either. The big
advantage is that you may load older sound library material and use it with no conversion
process or editing required. As mentioned, whether you choose to convert older Akai sound
data into CD3000XL ‘format’ using the MULTI mode is up to you depending on your
application.
Page 42 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
MULTI MODE
MULTI MODE - COMBINING SEVERAL PROGRAMS
Multi mode is where you can combine up to sixteen programs together so that they may be
played in combination. The MULTI mode has 16 ‘parts’ - slots into which up to 16 programs may
be assigned and typically, this is used to sequence several programs multi-timbrally2 by setting
each part to be on a different MIDI channel.
However, it is also possible to set parts to the same MIDI channel so that you can layer programs
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.
With the optional multi-effects processor fitted, 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 multi.
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.
However, you may prefer to use the CD3000XL with external effects processors using a mixing
console. To accommodate this, each part may be routed to one of the 8 individual outputs. By
doing this, each part may have its own mixer channel where it can be EQ’d, mixed, panned and
effected using your favourite outboard effects processors.
Of course, a combination of these is possible. In one multi, some parts may be on unique MIDI
channels whilst others share the same channels for layering and/or key splits and some parts
may be routed to the internal effects processor in the CD3000XL 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.
NOTE: Strange though it may seem, you may also use SINGLE mode to set up multi-timbral
setups, program layering and key splits. Although it may seem a contradiction in terms to use
the SINGLE mode for ‘multi’ applications, this is to maintain compatibility with data created on
earlier Akai samplers. If you are an experienced Akai sampler user, you can continue to work
this way but we do recommend you use the new MULTI mode as it does offer certain
advantages in terms of ease and speed of use and convenience. Please refer to the section
SINGLE mode for details on this.
2 The CD3000XL can respond to all 16 MIDI channels simultaneously in the MULTI mode.
ÔMULTI-TIMBRALÕ literally means Ômany soundsÕ. In the early days of synthesisers, you
needed a separate synthesiser for every part you wanted to play but, with the advent of
MIDI, a synthesiser or sampler could be coaxed into playing several different sounds
together so that only one synth/sampler was required to play several parts. With the
S3000XLÕs 32-voice polyphony, complex multi-part arrangements can be performed using
the MULTI mode.
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 43
MULTI MODE
Pressing MULTI will give you this screen:
ASSIGNING PROGRAMS TO PARTS
To assign a program to a part, simply move the cursor to the program name field and use the
DATA wheel to scroll through the programs in memory. Once you’ve done that, move the
cursor to the next part and select the program for that and so on.The other parts show a “?”
indicating that no programs are assigned (the “?” would also show if a program was assigned to
a part but that program wasn’t currently in memory). All the MULTI screens show the parts in a
vertical list and on each screen, you can see the program name and the MIDI channel it is
assigned to.
SETTING A PART’S MIDI CHANNEL
Simply move the cursor to the column and set the MIDI channel as appropriate. For multitimbral sequencing, you would normally set each part to a different MIDI channel but for layering
and/or key splits, you can set two or more parts to the same MIDI channel so that they will play
together.
MIXING THE PARTS
Once you have several parts being played, you need to balance their levels and pan position.
To do this, simply move the cursor to the field to set the part’s level and to the field to
set its pan position. You will note that even if you change the program assigned to that part, the
level and pan values will stay the same.
SENDING PARTS TO THE INTERNAL EFFECTS
Each part may be sent to one of the internal effects if the optional EB-16 is fitted. Because the
EB16 offers no less than four channels of effects processing, you can have up to four
completely separate reverbs at once (two channels also offer multi-effects). More than one part
may be sent to the same effects channel.
To assign the part to an effects channel, move the cursor to the column and select the
effect (FX1, FX2, RV3, RV4) and set the effects send level using the parameter.
NOTE 1: The and the parameters only function when the optional EB16 multi-
effects processor is installed.
NOTE 2: In any of the MULTI mode’s pages, if the EB16 is installed, you may conveniently
mute them using F8 - . This will turn off all four effects channels so that you can hear the
program(s) in isolation.
These are the most commonly used MULTI parameters. Less commonly used ones are
accessed via the soft keys.
Page 44 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
MULTI MODE
ASSIGNING PARTS TO THE INDIVIDUAL OUTPUTS
Pressing F2 - - will take you to the output assignment page:
Here, you can set which of the 8 individual outputs each part will appear through. You may also
set the level of the sound appearing at any of the outputs.
TUNING AND TRANSPOSING PARTS
To tune the parts, press F3 - :
The column allows you to tune the part in semi-tone steps and the column
allows you to fine tune parts.
NOTE: The range of the TRANSPOSE parameter is +/- 50 semitones. You will note that this is
not a pitch shift function as such 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.
SETTING A PART’S LOW AND HIGH KEYRANGES
When setting key splits, you need to set a low and high note limit for each of the programs
used. This is done on the RNGE (range) screen:
Here, you may set the and for the parts. 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). More details on setting up key
splits is given later in this section.
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 45
MULTI MODE
SETTING A PART’S PRIORITY
When sequencing multi-timbrally, you may need to give certain parts higher or lower priority to
prevent ‘note stealing’ when the 32-voice limit is exceeded. This is done in the PRIO(rity) page:
The choices available are:
LOW If the program is set to LOW priority, then notes from this program will be stolen
first.
NORM NORM is, of course, normal priority and sets standard dynamic voice allocation
and note stealing will take place with no particular priority.
HIGH If set to HIGH, then notes from other programs with lower priority will be stolen
first before they are stolen from this program.
HOLD If a program’s priority is set to HOLD, then notes can only be stolen from this
program by the same program.
If you are playing a complex piece of music using many programs in a multi-timbral
configuration, it is a good idea to set important programs to HIGH or HOLD and less important,
background programs to LOW. If the piece of music is not overly complicated and polyphony is
not going to be exceeded, you may prefer just to leave the priority at the default setting of
NORM.
INITIALISING A PART
There will be times when you want to reset a part to its default values. To do this, move the
cursor to the part you wish to initialise (any filed will do) and press F6 ( ) in any of the
MULTI pages. This will reset all the parameters described above to their default values and will
clear the program name field, leaving it blank.
Page 46 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
MULTI MODE
SETTING UP A MULTI
Assigning programs to a multi is simplicity itself. You simply move the cursor to the appropriate
part and selecting the program using the DATA control. To set parameters such as level, pan,
etc., move the cursor to the appropriate column and adjust the value for the selected part. The
MULTI mode is always active for modifying with no special edit mode to enter. Let’s now see
how to make up a simple multi.
Firstly, you need to load in a few sounds. Referring to the section that explains the LOAD
mode, load a few programs.
NOTE: It is suggested you use the IND P+S (individual programs and samples) selection. For
the first program and samples you load, use the CLEAR option to clear out any junk that may be
in memory. After you have loaded the first program and its associated samples, just use LOAD
so that the new programs you load are added to the programs in memory. Load in something
sensible. For example, load in a drum kit, a few acoustic and electric pianos, a few bass sounds
and some string and/or pad sounds. We will use these sounds as the basis for this tutorial.
Assuming that you now have some programs in memory (you can check this in SINGLE mode
by scrolling through them with the DATA wheel), press MULTI. You should see something like
this screen:
This is showing us that the multi currently in memory is called MULTI FILE, the default name
given to a multi when you power up the CD3000XL (you can rename it to something more
suitable as we shall see later). It is also showing us that PART 1 has the default TEST
PROGRAM assigned to it. Now, let’s imagine we want to arrange our multi as follows:
Part 1 Drums
Part 2 Piano
Part 3 Bass
Part 4 Strings
After you have loaded some suitable programs and assigned them, you should end up with
something like this:
On your sequencer, record a basic rhythm into using the drums program so that you have a
rhythm to play the other parts to and then overdub some piano chords, a bass part and string
part. It was suggested that you have a few pianos, basses and string/pad sounds - this is so that
we have a choice of alternative sounds for each part.
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 47
MULTI MODE
MODIFYING THE MULTI
The beauty of the CD3000XL’s MULTI mode is that, as the sequencer is playing back your
sequence, you can interact with the parts, assigning different programs to parts ‘on the fly’
within the context of the sequence (you can also edit program parameters such as envelope
and filter settings, etc., within the context of your tune as we shall see later).
The MULTI mode has no separate edit mode (the EDIT key is used to edit the actual programs
in the parts) so, as the song is playing from the sequencer, you can make changes immediately
if needs be. For example, you might like to see how PART 2 sounds with different piano
sounds - move the cursor to PART 2 and, as the sequencer is running, scroll through the
different piano programs you loaded using the DATA wheel. You can try alternative piano
sounds and hear how they sound. Do the same for the basses. For example, you may have
loaded some acoustic basses, an electric bass, a slap bass and some synth basses - as the
sequence plays, scroll through them, trying out different ones till you find one that suits the
track. The same, of course, can be done with the string part.
HINT: When loading the programs from disk, try to load certain types together. For example,
load all the piano sounds you think you may need one after another so that they are all grouped
together in memory. Similarly, load all your basses one after another so that these are all
grouped together. This is suggested as it will make selection and comparison of different
sounds in any given part easier.
If you forget to load them in order, don’t worry as you can renumber each program to something
more suitable as we shall see in a moment.
You may decide that you want the strings to play the same part in unison with the piano. To
achieve this, simply set part 4 to MIDI channel 2, the same as the piano.
You may also decide you want to add some percussion from the DRUMS+PERC program. You
could do that in part 1 on MIDI channel 1 but, if you prefer, you may like to separate the drums
and percussion so, in part 5, assign the DRUMS+PERC program. You will see this:
Even though the same drums program is used twice in different parts, you may record
sequence data on a separate MIDI channel (giving you more flexibility for editing the part on
your sequencer) plus, the DRUMS+PERC program assigned to part 5 may have its own
independent mix settings, effects sends, etc..
Page 48 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
MULTI MODE
NAMING A MULTI
You may wish to name the multi file to something more suitable. Simply press the NAME key.
You will receive the usual naming prompt:
In conjunction with the CURSOR keys which can be used to move the cursor around within the
name, use the DATA control to scroll through characters.
Once you have completed the name, press ENT/PLAY to finish the naming process.
NOTE: Because only one MULTI can exist in memory at any one time, you cannot copy the
multi file, only rename it. As such, the COPY REN EXIT prompt we have seen elsewhere is not
shown.
SAVING A MULTI
You may save a multi to disk and this will save the multi and all its associated programs very
simply in the SAVE mode. You may then load this multi (and its associated programs) with one
simple operation in the LOAD mode. Please see SAVE and LOAD for details on this.
LOADING A MULTI
To load a MULTI, press LOAD and select MULTI+PROGS+SAMPS as the type of load. Now
move the cursor to the multi-file stored on the floppy disk/hard disk volume and press F8
and/or F7. This will load the selected multi and any programs associated with it plus the samples
used in those programs.
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 49
MULTI MODE
RENUMBERING PROGRAMS
There will often be occasions when you load in several programs, maybe from different disks
and the programs you have loaded have the same program numbers or the numbers of the
programs you have loaded are not well ordered, etc.. To overcome this, F7 in the MULTI
screen ( ) takes you to the RENUMBER page:
In this example, you have loaded a variety of programs some of which have the same program
number, others of which are non-sequential. Ordinarily, this is not a problem and you can set
up a multi very easily without even having to think about program numbers. However, in the
MULTI mode, you can send program change commands over MIDI on selected channels to
select new programs within one part (for example, send a MIDI program change command on
MIDI channel 5 to select a new program in Part 5). If programs share the same program number,
you will have a conflict (for example, send a MIDI program change command 1 where two
programs share the program number 1 as in the above example, and only the first of the
programs - i.e. BIG STRINGS - would be selected).
To overcome this, use the RNUM page to renumber programs so that they are better organised
for your use.
Select the program to be renumbered using the CURSOR keys and alter the current number to
the new number using the DATA control. Set the program number to a value of between 1 and
128 (these are MIDI specification limits). When you have altered the number, you have several
options to choose from on soft keys 1, 2 and 3. These are:
This will set all programs to the same number as that set in the currently
selected program. For example, placing the cursor on 4 - SYNTH BASS and
setting that to 1 would renumber all the programs to program number 1.
NOTE: There is little benefit to be had doing this in MULTI mode.
This causes all subsequent programs to be renumbered with an offset to the
currently selected program. In the example given above, if you moved the
cursor to program 4 (SYNTH BASS) and renumbered it to 10, SYNTH BASS
will be renumbered to 10 and all subsequent programs (i.e. SLAP BASS and
any others off the screen) will be renumbered 11, 12, 13, etc.. The programs
lower than 10 would be unaffected.
This will only renumber the currently selected program. To specifically
renumber a program, use the CURSOR UP/DOWN keys to select the program
you wish to renumber, set the new number using the DATA wheel and press
. Only that program will be renumbered.
Page 50 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
MULTI MODE
This is probably the best selection as it will simply renumber the programs 1-?
sequentially regardless of the programs’ original numbers. I.e.:
Once you are happy with the result of your renumbering, press F7 to return you to the main
MULTI screen display.
If you change your mind and do not wish to renumber any programs, simply press
without pressing F3, F4, F5 or F6.
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 51
MULTI MODE
The parameters in the multi such as level, pan, tuning, etc., are unique to the multi and override
any similar parameters in the program assigned to any part.
For example, it is possible to set a pan position within a program. You may load a sound, the
pan position of which is set to L50. However, when you first assign that sound to a part, the
part will be set to MID, the MULTI’s PAN setting.
This has another implication. If you assign a sound to a part and set the part’s pan position to
R50, for example, if you then assign a new program to that part later on, the new program will
also be panned to R50 within the multi. The same would be true of any of the other multi
parameters such as level, FX send, tuning, output assign, etc..
The reason for this is that, if you have assigned a sound to a part and set that part’s parameters
in a particular way, it is assumed that this is because you want it to sound that way. To use the
example of panning again, let’s say you assign a piano sound to a part and set the pan position
to R25 - you might back the level off a bit as well. If you then feel that the piano sound is not the
right one and want to try a different one, the new sound will be in exactly the same position and
at the same level in the mix. If the multi always adopted the program’s parameters when a sound
is assigned to a part, selecting a new piano sound in this example would reset the part’s pan
and level parameters and you would then have to adjust these parameters. Then when you
assign another new piano sound, you would have to reset the parameters all over again. If you
have set many parameters like level, output assignment, FX routing and send levels, etc., all of
these would need to be reset manually every time you assign a new sound to a part.
IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT MULTI PARAMETERS
The way the multi works means that once you have set the parameters for any of the parts, they
remain constant regardless of which sound you place in them and you do not have to keep
resetting them manually all the time.
You will note that the above does not apply when setting up a multi-timbral set of programs in
the SINGLE mode (i.e. using the ‘old Akai’ method). In SINGLE mode, as you select new
programs and renumber them, so the program’s parameters will be used. This may or may not
be an inconvenience depending on the way you want to work.
Page 52 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
MULTI MODE
USING MULTI MODE FOR LAYERING PROGRAMS
So far we have seen how to use the MULTI mode for creating multi-timbral set-ups for
sequencing. For this, you set each of the sixteen parts to a unique MIDI channel so that can
they may all be played from a sequencer outputting a complex arrangement with each element
of the arrangement playing on a different MIDI channel.
It is also possible, however, to use the MULTI mode to layer programs. By setting more than
one part to the same MIDI channel as another, sending MIDI data on that channel will cause
both parts to play simultaneously. For example...
You have a string sound and a piano sound that you want to play together. Place the string
sound into one part and the piano into another and set the same MIDI channel for both parts.
Now, when you send MIDI data on that channel, you will play piano and strings together. Use
the LEVEL parameter to set the balance of the two parts.
Another use for this is to fatten up sounds.
Let’s imagine you have a synth bass in memory that you think could do with fattening up.
Assign the sound to, say, PART 1 and also to PART 2. Now set those two parts to the same
MIDI channel (for example, MIDI channel 1). When you send MIDI data on that channel, both
parts will play. To add the ‘fattening’, go down to the TUNE page and detune the two parts
against each other using the CENTS parameter (you could either set one part to +10 but a
better idea is to set one to -05 and the other to +05). Now play them. In this example, one
program has been layered on top of itself and detuned so that it sounds fatter and warmer.
Experiment with the FINE TUNE settings of each part to achieve the sound you want. You may
also like to experiment with the PAN settings of each part so as to achieve a ‘pseudo stereo’
effect.
Another example may be to create a 12-string guitar out of an ordinary acoustic guitar program.
Place the guitar program into two parts and set the same MIDI channel for those parts. Now go
to the TUNE page and set one of the programs an octave up (set a transpose value of +12) and
try a bit of fine tuning to create the characteristic chorus effect.
Of course, the same can be done with any sound from synths to strings or brass or vocal
sounds - anything in fact!
But why stop there! You can layer three parts if you wish. For example, layer two string sounds
in the same way by assigning one strings program to two parts, giving them the same MIDI
channel and detuning them. Now take a bell sound and place that in a part and assign the same
MIDI channel as the strings. Now when you send MIDI data on that channel you will have
detuned strings and bell. Experiment with tuning and panning too (for example send one
strings sound left, the other right and keep the bell sound in the centre).
You might like to try layering more parts. For a really killer sound, why not try layering 16
programs on top of each other!
NOTE: When layering programs in this way, please note that polyphony is reduced. In the
example of layering strings and piano or the bass synth program, total polyphony will be halved.
In the case of layering three sounds, polyphony will be cut to around ten voices. If you’re mad
enough to try layering 16 programs, polyphony will be reduced to one voice!
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 53
MULTI MODE
USING MULTI MODE TO SET KEYBOARD SPLITS
Using the same techniques for layering programs described above, you may also set key splits.
For example, you may have an acoustic bass sample and a piano which you want to set up so
that the bottom two octaves play the bass sound and the upper three octaves the piano.
Assign the bass to one part and the piano to another and set both parts to the same MIDI
channel. Now go to the RANGE page and in the bass part, set the to C 0 and the
to B2 and in the piano part, set the to C 3 and the to G 8. You will
now have the following keysplit:
C 3 G 8
BASS
C 0 B 2
PIANO PART 1
PART 2
MIDI Ch 1
MIDI Ch 1
You could take this a stage further and add strings to the whole things. I.e.:
PIANO PART 1
C 3 G 8
BASS
C 0 B 2
STRINGS PART 3 MIDI Ch 1
C 0 G 8
PART 2
MIDI Ch 1
MIDI Ch 1
You could create an even more sophisticated split:
PIANO PART 1
C 3
B 4
MIDI Ch 1
BASS
C 0 B 2
BRASS
C 5
PART 2
PART 3 MIDI Ch 1
G 8
MIDI Ch 1
In this example, we have bass on the bottom octaves, piano between C3 and B4 with some
brass on the very top octaves.
There are even more possibilities. For example, by putting the piano into PART 4 as well on the
same MIDI channel and detuning it against PART 1, you could create a ‘honky tonk’ piano
effect on MIDI channel 1. Similarly, if the bass part is a synth bass instead of acoustic bass, you
could also assign that same bass sound into PART 5, set the same MIDI channel and LO/HI key
ranges as PART 2, detune it and pan it hard left and hard right to create a pseudo stereo
detuned synth bass sound in the bottom octaves.
The possibilities are almost endless (up to the 16 part limit in fact)!
Page 54 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
MULTI MODE
And don’t forget...
If you have the multi-effects processor installed, layers and splits may be sent to different
effects in varying amounts to create even more variation. In the case of layering one program
on top of itself, you might find sending parts to same effects processor is sufficient but, in the
case of layering different sounds on top of each other (for example, bells and strings), the
strings could be sent to one effects processor and the bell to another. In the case of key splits
(let’s use the above as a good example) the bass could be routed to a small room, the piano to
a large hall and the brass to a chorus/delay/small hall multi-effects channel.
Alternatively...
Each of the elements in a layered or split multi could be assigned to separate outputs where
they may be mixed and processed on an external mixing console.
COMBINING THESE TECHNIQUES
The CD3000XL’s MULTI mode is so flexible that it can accommodate all of these techniques
simultaneously. For example, PARTs 1, 2 and 3 could have layered programs on one MIDI
channel whilst 4, 5 and 6 have parts on separate channels. PARTs 7 and 8 could be set to the
same MIDI channel but have key splits set whilst PARTs 9-11 could have parts on separate
channels. Some could be sent to the internal effects, other to individual outputs. For example:
PART
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
MIDI CH FINE TUNE PAN FX BUSS FX SEND OUTPUTTRANSPOSE LO HI
G 8
G 8
G 8
G 8
G 8
G 8
B 2
G 8
G 8
G 8
G 8
01
02
C 0
C 0
C O
C O
C O
C O
C 0
C 3
C 0
C 0
C 0
1
1
1
2
3
4
5
5
6
7
8
+12
+00
+00
+00
-12
+00
+00
+12
+00
+00
+00
+00
+05
-05
+00
+00
+00
+00
+03
+00
+00
+00
MID
L50
R50
MID
L23
R45
MID
MID
MID
MID
MID
A
A
A
OFF
B
C
A
A
D
D
OFF
12
23
34
00
45
56
17
17
23
45
00
OFF
OFF
OFF
OFF
OFF
OFF
OFF
OFF
OFF
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 55
EDIT PROGRAM - SINGLE
PROGRAM EDITING
Once you have a few programs in memory, it may be that you need to edit them to make them
more suitable for your application. They may need simple tweaking such as altering the attack
times or the filter cutoff or adding a bit of vibrato. You may want to totally re-program the sound
or create a new program for the latest batch of samples you have made. Whatever it is you want
to do with a program, all this is done in EDIT PROGRAM. But before we look at the program
editing functions, let’s first look at what a program is.
A program is where you assemble your raw, edited samples for playback. In the EDIT SAMPLE
mode, the samples are unprocessed by envelopes, vibrato, etc.. If they have been looped, it is
quite possible they have lost all their dynamics - this can be overcome in a program.
Furthermore, because of powerful synthesiser functions, the CD3000XL can be used to play
and process samples much like an analogue synth. With 2 low frequency oscillators (LFOs),
ADSR and multi-stage envelope generators, resonant filters, panning and more, the
CD3000XL can radically transform any sound offering the creative musician and programmer
endless possibilities. In short, what it means is that as well as owning a superb sampler, you also
have a very excellent and versatile analogue style synthesiser.
On top of this, you may set sophisticated keyboard splits and layers, set velocity switching and
crossfading, assign samples to individual outputs and/or pan them in the stereo outputs as well
as tune and transpose your samples. You may also set MIDI parameters for your sample(s).
“But”, you may be asking “why have programs? Why not just play samples from EDIT
SAMPLE?” A good question. The reason we have programs is because raw samples, however
much you may have trimmed, looped, crossfaded, stretched, etc., are only half the story. In
EDIT SAMPLE, you can only play one sample at a time spanning the entire keyboard range
whereas in a program, you can assign them to different areas of the keyboard for playback. This
is known as ‘multi-sampling’.
Multi-sampling is the technique where you take several samples of one instrument across its
range or where you take several samples of different instruments (such as drums, for example).
Aside from all the fun things you can do with envelope shaping, filtering and so forth, it is in a
program that you map all these multi-samples across the keyboard. To do this, we place the
samples into what we call KEYGROUPS.
Page 56 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
EDIT PROGRAM - SINGLE
WHAT IS A KEYGROUP?
A KEYGROUP is precisely that - a group of keys which have a particular note range on the
keyboard. The simplest program you can have is with one keygroup in it that spans the entire
MIDI range on C0-G8. The TEST PROGRAM that always boots up into the CD3000XL is just
such a program. I.e:
KEYGROUP 1
Perhaps the next level up is to have a program with two keygroups. One covers the range C0B2, the other C3-G8 - this would be a simple keyboard split. I.e:
KEYGROUP 1 KEYGROUP 2
The next level may be a program which has five keygroups - one for each octave on a normal
synth keyboard. Such a program may be useful for something like piano or strings which have
been sampled on the G of every octave. I.e:
KG1 KG2 KG3 KG4 KG5
After that, of course, it’s anyone’s guess what the next level may be but it could be something
like this:
Here we have 17 keygroups in one program - some are assigned to individual keys whilst some
span an octave or so. Hopefully, you can now get a feel for how flexible the keygroup
assignment can be. But there can be more to it than that.
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 57
EDIT PROGRAM - SINGLE
KEYGROUP ZONES
Within each keygroup, you may assign up to four samples in what are referred to as ZONES.
These can be used for a number of things that include velocity switching and crossfading,
playback of stereo samples and layering.
To playback stereo samples or to layer sounds or just to do a simple velocity switch/xfade, you
could have something like this:
Here we have five keygroups, each with two zones being used. You could use this type of
assignment for playing back stereo samples where the left and right samples are assigned to
their own zones (1 and 2 respectively) in one keygroup and each zone is panned hard left and
hard right. As an example, you could have five stereo string samples each sampled at G on
every octave which could be assigned into such a program.
This kind of program is also suitable for layering sounds on top of each other. In the above
example, four synth samples could be mapped out on the keyboard (one for each octave,
perhaps) and zone 2 of each keygroup could also contain the same sample as zone 1 and
these could be panned and detuned for a fat, pseudo stereo layered synth sound. Of course,
each zone could have different synth sounds in them.
KG1 KG2 KG3 KG4 KG5
This type of program is also suitable for a two way velocity switch - by setting zone 1 of each
keygroup to a velocity range of 0-90 and setting zone 2 to 91-127, you could, for example
switch between a thumbed bass and a slapped bass or a normal snare hit and a rim shot using
velocity.
To round things off, each keygroup has no less than four zones and a program may ‘look’
something like this:
KG1 KG2 KG3 KG4 KG5
Here, we have five keygroups, each using the four zones. This may be for a four way velocity
switch or for velocity switching between two stereo samples or for layering four samples
together.
The ultimate program, would be for each key to have its own keygroup with each keygroup
containing four samples using a four way velocity switch!
Page 58 CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual
EDIT PROGRAM - SINGLE
OVERLAPPING AND CROSSFADING KEYGROUPS
So far we have seen keygroups side by side. This is usually fine for most applications but there
are sometimes occasions where the abrupt transition between one keygroup and another can
be a bit obvious. For example, in a strings program where you have five string samples each at
the G of every octave, the transition between B2 and C3 may sound a little strange.
The reason for this will normally be that the G2 sample is transposed up by four semitones at B2
and so sounds a little brighter whilst the G3 sample is being played 7 semitones down so it may
sound a little duller and so, next to each other, especially when playing a scale, the crossover
point is not even.
To overcome this, we can overlap keygroups simply by setting their key ranges accordingly:
It may be, however, that this does still not overcome the problem and so there is a facility to
crossfade keygroups for an even smoother transition where one keygroup gradually fades
down through the overlap whilst the other fades up thereby giving a smooth transition. I.e:
Of course, you can use a combination of any of the above techniques and have crossfading,
velocity switched keygroups in programs alongside layered and split keyboard assignments.
The above diagram examples represent only part of the flexible program editing and multisampling potential of the CD3000XL.
If all this seems very confusing, don’t worry for the moment. There are many easy routines in
EDIT PROG that allow you to edit all keygroups simultaneously or to copy keygroups. Key
ranges can be conveniently set by playing your MIDI keyboard if you wish and, within a short
time, you will be making programs very quickly and easily.
If you have already owned an Akai sampler, then you will probably be familiar with a lot of what
we have just seen but, if this is your first time with an Akai sampler, it is worth taking the time to
get a fairly good understanding of these principles and the concept of keygroups if you are
going to get the best out your sampler.
CD3000XL OperatorÕs Manual Page 59
EDIT PROGRAM - SINGLE
ASSIGNABLE PROGRAM MODULATION
First introduced on the Akai S2800, S3000 and S3200, the CD3000XL has Assignable
Program Modulation (or APM for short) and this allows you to route virtually any controller (such
as the LFOs, envelope generators, MIDI controllers such as modwheel, pitchbend, etc.) to a
number of destinations (pitch, amplitude, tone, etc.). Many synthesisers have had such
facilities before but it is uncommon on samplers and APM turns the CD3000XL into a powerful
synthesiser as well as offering a great deal of flexibility in the manipulation of acoustic samples.
In the early days of synthesisers, each building block of sound was referred to as a ‘module’
and it was possible to route any module to any other using patch cords. This was called
‘modular synthesis’. On the CD3000XL, each ‘module’ (i.e. the filters, amplifiers, pitch inputs,
LFOs, envelope generators, etc.), has several control inputs and, although we don’t use patch
cords, controllers may be freely assigned to these modules. On other samplers (and indeed
even some synthesisers), these control inputs are fixed - that is, you have no choice as what
you can send to them. Whilst acceptable a lot of the time, this can be a bit frustrating when
there is some specific sound you want to make or musical effect you want to achieve.
Here are some examples:
• You may route the mod wheel to open the filter in a brass program for swells and growls.
You could use aftertouch for the same effect.
• You could route aftertouch to control the panning’s LFO speed to emulate the sound of a
rotary speaker speeding up and slowing down in a classic rock organ sound.
• The multi-stage envelope generator ENV2 could be routed to pitch for special effects
whilst, at the same time LFO1 (whose rate may separately be being controlled by the
modwheel) is being routed to a resonant filter cutoff.
• You could use ENV2 to control LFO1 depth for ‘shaped’ vibrato that fades in, fades out
and fades back in again.
• To reduce the ‘cyclicness’ of normal vibrato, you could modulate LFO1’s rate very slightly
with LFO2.
• It is possible to ‘trigger’ the RANDOM wave from the keyboard so, if LFO2 is applied to filter,
each note can have a totally random tone. With LFO2 applied to panning, each note will
appear at a randomly different position in the L/R stereo field (great when sequencing or
arpeggiating percussive sounds)
All sorts of things are possible from the subtle to the ridiculous! We are the first to admit that this
kind of modulation is not that useful when trying to accurately recreate the sound of a Gamelan
orchestra but, when the need arises to create that special sound or when your synthesiser just
isn’t up to it, the CD3000XL will oblige you willingly - in fact, you may get so used to the
CD3000XL’s versatility as a synthesiser that some of your current synth(s) may be in the
classifieds sooner than you think! You may like to refer to Appendix 4 which shows what the
CD3000XL would look like if it was laid out traditionally like a synth.
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This block diagram may help you to understand the concept of APM.
TUNE
TUNE
TUNE
TUNE
KG PITCH
KEYSPAN
SAMPLE 1
SAMPLE 2
SAMPLE 3
SAMPLE 4
VEL SW/XFD
EEEEDDDDIIIITTTT PPPPRRRROOOOGGGGRRRRAAAAMM
KEYGROUP(S)
PPPPEEEERRRR KKKKEEEEYYYYGGGGRRRROOOOUUUUPP
12dB/8ve
LOWPASS
RESONANT
FILTER
ENV 2 ENV 1
ENVELOPE TEMPLATES
MM
FX SEND
PP
PAN
AMP
PAN
PAN
PAN
IND. OUT 1 - 8
IND. OUTPUT ASSIGN
MASTER
OUTPUT
LEVEL
MMMMAAAASSSSTTTTEEEERRRR
AUTO
PANNING
PPPPRRRROOOOGGGGRRRRAAAAMMMM OOOOUUUUTTTTPPPPUUUUTT
TT
MMMMOOOODDDDUUUULLLLAAAATTTTIIIIOOOONNNN SSSSOOOOUUUURRRRCCCCEEEESS
ENV 1 ENV 2 LFO 1 LFO 2
MOD.WHL P.BEND AFTERTOUCH VELOCITY EXT.MIDIKBD
SS
KEY = SIGNAL FLOW = CONTROL INPUT
The sources you have at your disposal are:
No source It seems almost pointless explaining this one! It means no modulation source is
routed!
Modwheel This selects the modulation wheel as the control source.
Bend This selects the pitchbend wheel or lever as the modulation source
Pressure This selects aftertouch as the control source. This is channel aftertouch and
not polyphonic aftertouch.
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External This selects the MIDI controller set in the external control field of the main
GLOBAL - MIDI page. This can be BREATH (cntl#2), FOOT (cntl#04) or
VOLUME (cntl#07). Using a MIDI merger on your keyboard would allow you to
merge a breath controller with your keyboard and users of the Akai EWI MIDI
wind synthesiser will no doubt be able to use this function to great effect when
playing the CD3000XL directly from the EWI and selecting BREATH.
Velocity This selects velocity as the controller.
Key This selects keyboard position as the modulation control source.
Lfo1 This selects LFO 1 as the modulation source. LFO1 may also be a modulation
destination and it is possible to modulate its rate, depth and delay.
Lfo2 No prizes for guessing that this selects LFO 2 as the modulation source.
Env1 This selects the ADSR amplitude envelope, ENV1, as the modulation source.
Env2 This selects the multi-stage ENV 2 as the controller.
! Modwheel This selects the current position of the modwheel at the time of note-on as the
current controller. Moving it whilst the note is held will have no effect - it is only
its position at the point of note-on that has the effect.
! Bend As above, this selects the current position of the bend wheel at note-on as the
controller.
! External This selects the current position of an external MIDI controller at the point of
note-on as the modulation source. The choices you have for external MIDI
control are breath (cntrl#2), footpedal (cntrl#4) and volume (cntrl#7). These are
selected in the MIDI mode.
All of these are available to be routed in any amount to virtually any source which include filter
cutoff, LFO 1 rate, depth and delay, overall program amplitude and keygroup amplitude, pitch
and pan position. To select them, you simply move the cursor to the modulation input field
found on every module and scroll through the list. Modulation sources may be mixed at each
modules’ input to further expand the possibilities available and each control input may be
inverted for even more flexibility.
All of these are available to be routed in any amount to virtually any source which include filter
cutoff, LFO1 rate, depth and delay, overall program amplitude and keygroup amplitude, pitch
and pan position. Modulation sources may be mixed at each ‘modules’ input to further expand
the possibilities available and each control input may be inverted for even more flexibility.
These modulation sources are routed to their destinations in a group of pages at the end of the
program
Each keygroup has these modulation facilities available separately allowing an enormous
amount of flexibility and this, combined with the all the other PROGRAM EDIT functions should
keep you happy for a long time!
At first, the modulation system may seem a little difficult and maybe even confusing. Don’t
worry - if you are not into programming you can largely forget about it and just use the defaults.
Similarly, if you do not like synthesisers and prefer instead to use the CD3000XL for the
reproduction of high quality samples of acoustic instruments again, you need not concern
yourself with these functions. If, however, you are one those who likes to experiment with
sound and tweak those knobs, we feel sure you will appreciate the flexibility of this method.
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NOTES ABOUT ASSIGNABLE PROGRAM MODULATION
1. When loading S1000 or S1100 library disks (which do not have APM), the CD3000XL
loads the assignments of the S1000/S1100 - i.e. the fixed assignments. Again, as a result,
you need not worry about having to set these assignments yourself. On library disks
developed for the CD3000XL, you will see the assignments made by our sound
programmers. Please study these and see if you can learn from them.
2. It is possible to route the same controller twice (or three times in some cases) to the same
destination. This is not an oversight but simply a way to keep things simple and open
ended. If you were, for example to route LFO1 to filter cutoff three times at a value of +50
you would simply get three times more LFO sweep.
3. As just mentioned, you can route the same controller to the same destination several
times. Please be aware that if you assign, for example, LFO2 to filter cutoff twice and set a
value of +50 and -50 respectively, you will get no effect as the two cancel each other out.
4. You will note that assigning a particular controller to a destination WILL ROUTE THAT
CONTROLLER TO ALL KEYGROUPS. The control inputs at any destination are not
keygroup specific but affect all keygroups the same.
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EDIT SINGLE
EDIT SINGLE is used to create programs. In the CD3000XL, we always use another program as
the basis for a new one. There are several ways you can work this.
You can use an existing program from your sound library that closely resembles the one you
wish to create. In the main PROGRAM EDIT page, copy this to a new program. This may be
edited accordingly with new sample(s) assigned, envelopes changed, filter cutoff altered, etc..
Alternatively, let us say you have just taken five samples - you can create a program from
scratch using the default TEST PROGRAM. Using this single keygroup program you could
work three ways - you could just have the one keygroup and set that up with one of the
samples and then, when you’re happy with that, copy that keygroup four times, assign the
other samples to each one and set the appropriate key span. Each individual keygroup may
then be refined according to the sample assigned to it. Alternatively, you could simply copy
keygroup 1 four times and edit them simultaneously by selecting to edit ALL keygroups. The
third method is where you copy keygroup 1 four times and work on each keygroup separately.
Our sound library programmers have several ways in which they work and the fact that you can
combine all methods makes the CD3000XL very quick and convenient.
In SINGLE mode, when you press EDIT, you will see something like this screen display:
In EDIT SINGLE, you may select other programs for editing as well as rename, copy and delete
programs.
In this way, EDIT SINGLE is used to edit programs in isolation. It is the ideal mode for creating
new programs from scratch or for creating and/or editing programs prior to placing them into a
MULTI.
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NAMING PROGRAMS - COPYING AND RENAMING
If you have already recorded your own samples, then this procedure should be familiar as it
follows the same conventions.
To copy or rename a program, press the NAME key. The following prompt will appear:
Use the CURSOR keys to move around the name field, rotate the DATA knob to enter a name
of up to 12 characters (only caps). Use the -/< key and +/> key to enter a backspace and a
space respectively.
When you have entered your name, press ENT and you will get this prompt:
Pressing will copy the original program - use this to create a new program.
If the program name is an existing one, the boxed area in the bottom right of the screen will
show:
You will receive the following prompt:
You must enter a unique new name.
Pressing will simply rename the currently selected program with the name just entered.
If the name exists, you will be prompted as above and you must re-enter a unique name.
Pressing will exit the naming process altogether with no action taking place. Should you
press this by mistake, you will see that the boxed area in the lower right of the screen still
retains the new name you entered so press NAME immediately followed by ENT and make
your choice again.
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DELETING PROGRAMS
It is possible to delete programs using the key - F8. Pressing this will give you the
following prompt:
You should press F7 or F8 accordingly. If you press GO, you may receive the prompt:
This is asking if you want to delete the samples contained within that program as well. If the
samples are used in other programs, then you will not receive this prompt. If you wish to lose
the samples, press F8 - YES but if you need to keep them, press F7 - NO.
NOTE: Deleting samples and programs is ultimately destructive. Please ensure that you have
saved them to disk before deleting in case you want to come back to them at a later date.
The fields on the main EDIT SINGLE page are:
This shows the selected program name. Different programs may be
selected for editing by scrolling with the DATA control. You may also
select them using MIDI program change.
This field is not accessible but shows the number of keygroups used
in the selected program.
This field is also not accessible and shows the number of samples
used in the selected program. Please note that, because each
keygroup has four zones, it is possible for there to be more samples in
a program than there are keygroups. For example, a stereo program
with 5 keygroups would typically show 10 samples (5 x L and R).
This allows you to set crossfades for keygroups that overlap. As
described above, this can be used to smooth out abrupt transitions
between keygroups. You will note that this is a ‘global’ parameter that
affects the whole program and so any keygroups that overlap will be
subject to crossfading.
This special function turns the program into a monophonic program
with single triggering. The effect of single triggering is that if you hold
one note and play another, the pitch changes to the new note but the
attack of the new note is not re-triggered. For example:
Even when is OFF, playing each note separately will
cause the attack of each note to be re-triggered.
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This function is extremely useful for emulating the playing styles and
phrasing of solo instruments such as flutes, oboe, clarinet,
saxophone, etc.. It can also be effectively used on solo and ensemble
strings and brass. It is almost essential when playing synth bass
sounds as it emulates the classic monophonic synth keyboard. You
will find it useful too, when playing leadlines of any kind. Owners of the
Akai EWI wind synthesiser will find this function invaluable in obtaining
better expression and phrasing.
IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING MONO LEGATO ON/OFF
Because this function is playing a single sample (or group of samples when playing stereo or
layered sounds) through the sustain or loop, if you were, for example, to do a long legato run
from the top of the keyboard to the bottom, you would be transposing the original sample you
started with several octaves down. For example, in a 7 keygroup flute program, if you were to
start your run on C5 and finish at C2, the sound played on the last note would, in fact, be the
C5 sample transposed 3 octaves down - the samples in the other keygroups would not be retriggered as you cross the keygroup boundaries. As a result, if you sustained that last note, it
may sound very strange indeed! Similarly, if you ‘trilled’ between C2 and C5, it would also
sound quite odd (but then, so would a trill between C2 and C5!). This is brought to your
attention so that you may make allowances when playing legato across keygroups. If you bear
this in mind, you will find this function very useful and expressive.
There is a way around this using the KEYGROUP MUTE function (see below).
This field is not accessible and shows you how many other programs
are in memory at the time.
This field allows you to select whether you wish to listen to other
programs that have the same program number as you edit the
currently selected program. The selection is ON or OFF. When
is switched to ON, you will only hear the currently
selected program and when it is OFF, you will be able to monitor any
other programs that share the same number.
NOTE: This function is only really of relevance of you are using the ‘old Akai’ method to
sequence programs sharing the same program number.
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The soft keys along the bottom of the PROGRAM EDIT main screen are:
This shows the currently selected MAIN PROGRAM EDIT page.
This takes you to the parameters concerned with individual
keygroups. These include the keyboard spanning, filters, envelopes,
sample assignments, pitch and level adjustments, individual output
assignment, etc., for individual keygroups.
This takes you to the pages where you may set program modulation
parameters such as pitch bend ranges, LFO 1 and LFO 2 parameters
and parameters for the sostenuto pedal functions.
This takes you to the MIDI page where you may set the program’s MIDI
channel, polyphony, transpose and other functions.
This takes you to the OUTPUT page where you may set the program’s
overall level, individual output assignment, effects send level, pan
position and other parameters.
This takes you to the AUTO PAN section where you may set
parameters that affect the program’s auto pan functions.
This takes you to the TUNE pages where you may set the program’s
overall tuning as well as select and create alternative tunings and
temperaments.
This is not a page key but an ‘action’ key for deleting programs. Its
function is described above.
We will now look at the functions of these pages. We will skip and for the moment
and look at the function of , , and first as these affect the program as a
whole.
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MIDI PAGE
Pressing displays this screen:
The top line of this page contains a field which allows you to change the program currently
being edited. You may select different programs for editing here if you wish.
The parameters on this page are as follows:
This field allows you to set the program number of the program. This is
the number which will be called up on receipt of a MIDI Program
Change message and corresponds to a patch number on a
synthesiser.
This parameter selects the program’s MIDI channel! The choice is OM
(omni) and 1 to 16.
This allows you to select how many notes (1 to 32) can be played at a
time by this particular program. This should normally be left at the
default, 32.
NOTE: This parameter should normally be set to the default of 32. Its inclusion here is mostly
for historical purposes. On the S1000/S1100 (and early versions of software for the S2800,
S3000 and S3200), it was common to use this parameter for hi-hats and the like layered over a
drums program (i.e. the hi-hats would be set to a polyphony of 1 voice so that the closed hi-hat
shut off the open hi-hat). With the MUTE GROUP function, however (see later in this section),
this parameter is not used so much but is retained should you load an old S1000/S1100 or
early S2800, S3000 or S3200 sound library disk.
See below for a description of the MUTE GROUP function.
This allows you to specify how notes will be ‘stolen’ by other programs
if this is necessary. There are four settings: LOW, NORM, HIGH and
HOLD. If a program is set to LOW priority, then notes from this
program will be stolen first. If set to HIGH, then notes from other
programs with lower priority will be stolen before they are stolen from
this program. NORM is, of course, normal priority and, if any note
stealing has to take place, this program will be affected no more or less
than others with NORM assignment.
If you are playing a complex piece of music using many programs, it is a
good idea to set important, lead-line sounds to HIGH, and less
important background programs to LOW.
HOLD is a special priority. If a program’s priority is set to HOLD, notes
from this program can only be stolen by the same program.
The notes which will be stolen are determined by this parameter either the OLDEST note will stop playing when a note is stolen or the
QUIETEST one.
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This allows you to set the overall keyboard range C0-G8 of the
program and this will override any keygroup range settings made in the
keygroup SPAN page. For example, even though your program’s
keygroups may extend up to G8, if you set, say, C4 as the high
extreme in this field, no sound will be heard above C4. You may use
this function to create keyboard splits with other programs of the same
program number.
This allows you to transpose the program +/-50 semi-tones in semitone increments. You will note that this is not a pitch shift function as
such 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, even 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.
NOTE: Most of the parameters in this page are retained for compatibility with data created on
earlier Akai samplers. When editing a program in MULTI mode, the MIDI channel, priority, play
range and transpose functions are not shown here as these parameters are irrelevant, being
overridden by the MULTI’s parameters.
However, if you are using the ‘old Akai’ method for multi-timbral sequencing, you will want to set
the parameters shown above (although they may be more easily set in the SINGLE mode on
the MIDI page).
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OUTPUT LEVELS PAGE
Pressing the button takes you to the OUTPUT LEVELS page where you can control the
audio output of the program from the CD3000XL. You will receive this screen display:
At the top right of the screen is the currently selected program name - in EDIT SINGLE, this may
be changed and another selected for editing by scrolling with the DATA control.
The parameters on the left of the screen set parameters concerned with output routing and
levels, etc.. They are as follows:
This sets the level 0-99 of the program as it appears at the L/R stereo
outputs. Adjusting this has no effect on the level of the signal
appearing at the individual outputs or the real-time digital outputs.
By setting this field to 00, you may use this parameter to mix a program
out of the L/R mix completely if you are sending it to an individual
output (see below). In this way, you may have some programs
appearing only at the L/R outputs with other programs appearing only
at the individual outputs.
This sets the overall pan position of the program. You can set the
parameter L50-MID-R50. You will note that this may be affected by
other pan settings elsewhere in the program such as when the auto
pan facilities are used or when individual keygroups are panned.
You will note that this parameter also affects the level of the signal
appearing at the individual outputs (see below) and at the real-time
digital audio output.
This allows you to select which of the 8 individual outputs the whole
program will appear at. The default is OFF and you may select 1-8. You
will note that these outputs are polyphonic and can use the full 32voice polyphony of the CD3000XL.
NOTE: This parameter works in conjunction with a field found in SMP2 (see below) where it is
possible to route single keygroups to the individual outputs
This sets the level 0-99 of the signal appearing at the output selected
above. If OFF is selected, then this control has no effect.
This sets the FX channel the program is routed to. You may select
OFF, FX1, FX2, RV3, RV4
This sets the effects send level 0-99 going to the selected effects
channel
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The parameters down the right of the screen allow you to affect the overall loudness of the
program.
Here you may set the overall output level 0-99 for the program. This
also affects the program’s sensitivity to velocity and you will note that if
this parameter is set to 99, the program will be quite loud but will have
no velocity sensitivity.
The default for this parameter is 80. This offers the optimum range for
velocity and other dynamics. Setting it higher than this will, of course,
turn the overall level up but it will reduce the amount of overhead for
dynamics. Reducing this parameter will give greater extremes of
velocity range although please note that you will not be using the full
resolution of the sampler’s dynamic range.
There are three loudness modulation inputs and each one has a default controller selected. If
you wish, these need not be changed - it is only in more specialised applications that you may
wish to set something other than these defaults. The defaults are:
This is a fixed assignment and sets how much velocity will affect the
overall loudness of the program. You may set a value of ±50. The
default is +20 which gives a sensible dynamic range although this may
be changed if you wish. A setting of +50 will give you a very wide
dynamic range where soft key presses will produce virtually no sound
and hard key presses will output a very loud sound. A setting of -50 will
give the opposite effect - a hard key press will produce virtually
nothing whilst a soft key press will give a loud output. At first, this may
seem a bit strange to allow this but this does enable you to crossfade
between programs using velocity - i.e. set one program to +50 and the
other to -50.
NOTE: You cannot select any other modulation source in this field. This is one of only two
fixed assignments in the APM system.
This sets how much key position will affect the overall loudness of the
program. You may set a value of ±50. When set to positive value, the
sound will be louder in the upper reaches of the keyboard and by
setting it to a negative value, the sound will be louder on lower notes.
You may use this function to balance the program level across the
keyboard.
You may change the default modulation source from to anything
you like simply by placing the cursor where it says and scrolling
through the modulation options.
This sets how much pressure or aftertouch will affect loudness after a
note has been played. You may set a value of ±50. Positive values will
cause the sound to get louder as you press harder on the keyboard
and negative values will, of course, have the opposite effect. You may
use this function for expressive phrasing of such instruments as
strings, vocal, wind and other such instruments to great effect.
By layering two programs and setting opposite values (i.e. + 50 on one
program and - 50 on the other), you may use this function to crossfade
between them using pressure. As an example, you could layer a
distorted guitar program and a distorted feedback program and
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introduce the feedback element of the sound using pressure to
create a powerful heavy metal guitar.
You can, of course, change the default selection from to
anything you like simply by placing the cursor where it says
and scrolling through the modulation options.
The effect the loudness modulation parameters have on the overall loudness of the program
depends on the modulation source you select. Here are some suggestions:
LFO 1 or 2 This will impart a tremolo effect on the sound and so is useful for
simulating old rock and roll guitars where this effect was common in
amplifiers. This may also be useful in simulating the tremolo effect
found on organs. It may also be used to simulate the tremolo effect of
woodwind on sustained notes. Using a triangle wave for modulation, it
is particularly good for vibes sounds, especially those with a static
loop. It is probably not suitable to simulate tremolando strings,
however, using LFO modulation. Of course, it may be used for special
effects.
Modwheel Use this, perhaps, instead of pressure.
Bend Use this instead of pressure or modwheel.
External Depending on the selection made in the GLOBAL MIDI page’s main
page, you could apply footpedal, volume or breath control to control
the program’s overall loudness. The breath option will be very popular
with owners of the Akai EWI MIDI wind controller.
These three modulation input sources may be combined and mixed together. When layering
programs in MULTI, identical mod sources in other programs may be inverted for crossfade
effects.
NOTE 1: You will note that if the parameter is set to full (i.e. 99) the output level of
the CD3000XL is at maximum and so you will not hear any effect if one or more modulation
sources are applied.
NOTE 2: In some cases it is possible to overload the CD3000XL and cause distortion. This will
normally only happen with particularly loud samples recorded at full level when excessive
modulation is applied. Increasing the filter resonance may also lead to distortion in some cases.
If this happens, back off the
parameter.
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PAN PAGE
In this page you may set the characteristics of the auto panning functions. Pressing will
display this screen:
As usual, the program name of the program currently selected for editing is shown here which
you may change if you like. As in the OUTPUT page, we have three modulation inputs which
can control panning. The defaults for these three control inputs are:
This will produce the classic auto panner effect with the sound
gradually moving between left and right at a rate set by LFO 2. You can
use this for special effects, of course, but one popular application is to
use it to simulate a rotary speaker effect. You may set a value of ±50.
This selects that key position will affect overall loudness. You may set a
value of ±50. With positive setting (i.e. +50) the sound will pan from
left to right across the keyboard and, if set to a negative value (i.e. -50),
will pan the sound from right to left across the keyboard. You may use
this parameter to create pseudo stereo samples out of mono ones.
For example, with samples such as piano or marimba or vibes, you
could create the stereo effect of microphones being placed at either
end of their keyboards to produce a panning effect.
This allows you to control pan position using the modulation wheel.
This could be put to good effect in a solo line, perhaps, where, every
time you introduce vibrato via the wheel, the sound pans around the
stereo image. You may set a value of ±50.
NOTE: Due to limitations with the panning hardware, whilst slow sweeps work well, fast
sweeps may, on some sounds, introduce some ‘zipper noise’. Please be aware of this when
setting pan modulation.
As with all control inputs on the CD3000XL, any combination of controllers can be mixed
together. Here are a few suggestions:
Bend Use this instead of modwheel perhaps.
Pressure Use this instead of modwheel or bend.
External Use maybe a footpedal to pan the sound around. EWI players may use
breath control.
Velocity You can use your keyboard dynamics to pan the sound around with
loud sounds appearing at one output and soft sounds at the other.
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LFO1 Use this as an alternative to LFO2. This LFO’s extra facilities allow
some very odd things to be done. Try applying this and modulating
LFO1’s rate with LFO2 so that the pan from side to side gradually
speeds up and down or modulate LFO1’s rate with the modwheel to
emulate the slowing down and speeding up of a rotary speaker in an
organ program (although the ROTARY SPEAKER effect in the effects
processor is probably the best choice for this).
ENV1/ENV2 These may be put to good effect to pan the sound around according
to the envelope of the sound. Perhaps ENV2 is the most interesting
with its multiple rates and levels.
! Modwheel Use this (and ! Bend or ! External) to reposition each new note
according to the position of these controller.
And don’t forget that layering samples in zones and panning them to extreme hard left and
right will cause the two samples to crossover in the stereo image when these effects are
applied. Layering two programs and setting the modulation amounts to opposite values can
also yield some interesting panning effects.
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THE TUNE PAGE
The next soft key is the key and this takes us, not surprisingly, to the main program
tuning page. Pressing will give you this display:
As usual, the program name is displayed at the top right of the screen - a different one may be
selected if you wish.
In this page, you set up different tuning temperaments for each program, if desired. If you are
playing a percussive sample (for example, congas) in one program, which you do not want to
correspond to standard Western chromatic equal temperament tuning, this is where you can
alter things. Select the program whose temperament is to be altered on the top line of this
screen. Use the CURSOR keys to select the note on the keyboard octave which will be retuned, and use the DATA control to alter the tuning away from equal temperament by ±25
cents (one quarter-tone). If you are re-tuning the C# key, for example, all notes played with the
C# keys on the keyboard will be detuned by the amount you have set. You may tune the scale
to anything you want which can be very useful for enriching orchestral sounds and also for
setting your own special scales
To help you with this, there are also some alternative tuning templates which are selected in
the field . These offer preset tunings which you can apply to the program.
The other parameter in this page is the function. This transposes the
program +/-50 semitones. This may be adjusted in very fine steps (100ths of a tone) for fine
tuning the program.
Those, then, are the master pages for the program where you can set parameters that affect
the program as a whole. In any of the pages described, you may always directly access another
from the soft keys.
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MODULATION PAGES
The next group of pages we will look at also affects the program as a whole but also has a direct
influence on individual keygroups. These are the modulation pages where you may set the
parameters for the two low frequency oscillators and the pitch bend. You may also set the
parameters for the sostenuto pedal. These modulation sources may be applied to the filter,
loudness, pitch and panning for a wide range of the usual modulation effects such as vibrato or
for more outrageous synthesiser effects. These pages are accessed by pressing the
key.
Pressing the key displays this screen:
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PITCH BEND
The first page we encounter is the PITCH page where you may set the parameters associated
with pitch bend. As usual, you may select a program for editing at the top right hand of the
corner.
The pitch bend on the CD3000XL allows you to set a different range for bend up and down as
well as use pressure and a special mode is also available to make it more flexible. The
parameters are:
This sets the range for bending pitch up with the pitchbend wheel or
lever. The range is 0-24 semitones. The default is 2 semitones.
This sets the range for bending pitch down and, again, the range is 024 semitones. The default is 2 semitones.
As well as using the pitchbend wheel or lever, you may also use
pressure 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.
This is a mode select option that allows you to choose whether the
pitchbend will happen on all notes or only on held notes. This is
particularly useful on sounds with long releases. The options are
NORMAL and HELD.
Let us say, for example, that you have a sound that has a long release
and you are performing a solo that uses a lot of pitchbend. Using
NORMAL, when you pitchbend the note, all the notes currently in the
release stage of their envelope will also bend. Sometimes this is what
you want but there can be times when this spoils the effect you are
trying to create.
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 are 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 note’s 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.
The pitchbend options on the CD3000XL allow some very interesting performance
techniques. By setting the pitch to UP: 2 and DOWN:12, with a heavy metal guitar sample, you
can emulate string bending up and an octave ‘whammy bar dive bomb’ down. Many things are
possible.
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LFO1
Pressing will give you this screen display:
This is the page used for setting up LFO1. Again, the program name is shown at the top right of
the screen and other programs may be selected for editing if you wish. The parameters for
LFO1 are as follows:
This allows you to select from three waveforms. They are:
TRIANGLE ( ) - This gives a rising and falling effect. At around a setting of
75, this would normally be used for vibrato but can be assigned anywhere you
like and can be used for filter sweeps, panning, amplitude modulation and slow
pitch sweeps. This is a ‘bi-polar’ modulation waveform that ‘rotates’ around the
note you are playing to give a natural vibrato effect.
0
SAWTOOTH ( ) - This waveform is used mostly for special effects. It rises
slowly and falls abruptly. This is a ‘uni-polar’ waveform that jumps between the
held note and the modulation level set at the destination.
0
SQUARE ( ) - This gives stepped ‘up and down’ effect. When applied to
pitch it can be set to give trills or large octave jumps. This is a ‘uni-polar’
waveform that jumps between the held note and the modulation level set at
the destination.
0
RANDOM ( ) - This gives a totally random, stepped waveform and is
suitable for special effects. The effect that immediately springs to mind, of
course, is the classic ‘sample and hold’ effect found on analogue synthesisers
- by routing this to pitch you can create random pitch effects suitable for, say,
creating computer effects, especially when the LFO speed is set quite fast.
When applied to the filter(s), you can create many interesting random tone
change effects. You can even use this wave to control LFO1’s rate so that not
only will pitch, tone or whatever modulation input this LFO is assigned to be
random but the speed of modulation will change randomly.
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This selects whether the LFO’s (all 32 of them!) are synchronised or not. With
to ensemble sounds when being used for vibrato. When is set
to OFF, all LFO’s are in sync. This latter option is probably more suited to use
with synthesiser effects. You will find that slower LFO speeds are possible with
The three fixed parameters for setting up LFO1 are:
This sets the rate of LFO1. This is variable between very slow (01) for such
effects as auto panning and filter sweeps and fast (99) for vibrato and other
effects.
This sets the output level of LFO1. This acts as a master LFO modulation
control for all destinations that have LFO1 routed to them. In this way, if you
wish to change the modulation level going to
change this parameter. The range is 0-99.
NOTE: You may find that nothing happens when you route LFO1 to a destination and set a
modulation level at the destination’s input. This will be because LFO1’s depth is set to 00. This
may seem a strange default at first but the reason is to do with the use of the modwheel for
vibrato. In order to be able to have the modwheel for vibrato as an immediate effect, the LFO
depth needs to be at 00 otherwise, there will be constant LFO modulation of pitch. It is only
when you are using LFO1 to apply a constant vibrato or for something other than vibrato in
special applications that you will need to specifically set the depth control here.
ON, all the LFO’s are not synchronised and so give a rich texture
set to off.
all
destinations easily, simply
This parameter sets the time it takes for the LFO1 effect to take place after a
note-on. At 00, the effect will be instantaneous but at 99 the effect of LFO1 to
take effect will be delayed. I.e:
NOTE ON
The three ‘VARIABLE’ fields apply to the modulation inputs of LFO1. Although not specifically
named, they relate to the parameters directly to their left - i.e. , and . The
default for these parameters is so that you may affect speed, depth and delay according to
keyboard position, thereby emulating the fact that, for example, high violins’ vibrato is often
slightly faster, deeper and less delayed than low cellos or contrabasses. These parameters
allow you to create quite rich orchestral textures where vibrato is never constant across the
keyboard range.
Of course, you may select other modulation options for these inputs. Here are a few ideas:
• Using LFO1 as an assignment to control its own rate will change the symmetry of the
waveform and you can use this to create new modulation waveforms (i.e. using a square
wave to modulate itself will create an asymmetric pulse wave). Using LFO1 to modulate its
own output level does create an effect but this can best be described as subtle! Applying
LFO1 to modulate its own delay is also very subtle to the point that, with the exception of
very slow sweeps, you probably won’t hear anything!
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• Applying a slow LFO2 to speed will give a gradual speed up and slow down of LFO1 rate.
This can be used for special effects, especially in synth sounds - for example, apply a slow
LFO1 mod to the filter cutoff and assign a slow LFO2 to control LFO1’s speed, setting a
value of + 50. Assigning it to depth will cause the effect of LFO1 to whatever destination it
is applied to increase and decrease at a rate set by LFO2. Applying LFO2 to delay will only
have an effect at the point of note-on.
• Selecting ENV1 or ENV2 to control speed will give changes in speed according to the
shape of the envelope. Applying it to depth allows you to ‘shape’ the output of LFO1.
Applying it to delay will have no effect.
• Selecting any of the continuous controllers will allow to change the parameters in real-time
as you play. For example, routing modwheel to speed will let you change the modulation
rate as you introduce vibrato (note that routing modwheel to control depth is not really
worthwhile as this is a fixed assignment anyway in the EXTRA parameters described
below). Assigning any of the continuous controllers to delay is not going to produce much
effect except at the point of note on (pressure will have no effect on delay at all, by the
way).
• Any of the ‘!’ continuous controllers will only have an effect at the point of note on. You may
use these to set speed, depth and delay in real-time as you play.
The parameters allow you to introduce more modulation and these have fixed
assignments which are:
This allows you to set the level of modulation that will be introduced via the
modwheel. This works in conjunction with the parameter. Even with
set to 00, you may still use the modwheel for vibrato and other
modulation. With set at anything other than 00, this will set a basic level
of modulation that will be present in the sound all the time and the modwheel
will introduce more again. With the LFO set at 99, the modwheel will
have no effect because the LFO output is now at maximum. The default for
this parameter is 30 so that modwheel is instantly available for vibrato without
you having to do anything.
As with , this selects that pressure can be used to introduce
modulation. The same principles apply that even with set to 00, you
may still use pressure for vibrato and other modulation. With the depth set at
anything other than 00, this will set a basic level of modulation and pressure will
introduce more. With depth set at 99, pressure will have no effect because the
LFO output is now at maximum.
This allows you to use note-on velocity to introduce LFO1 modulation. With a
positive value set here, playing a note hard will introduce a level of modulation
which may be augmented using the modwheel or pressure.
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SETTING LFO1 MODULATION DEPTH
The master output of the LFO is set using the control and this has to be set to
something other than 00 for there to be any effect unless the modwheel is moved - you may
assign the LFO to a destination and set that destinations modulation level to maximum only to
find that there is no effect. The reason for this is that the control in this page is not set
or the modwheel is not up.
A useful function of this master depth control is that in the case where you have applied LFO1
to several destinations and you wish to increase or reduce the level of modulation going to all
the destinations, you may change the modulation level to all destinations with just the one
control instead of having to individually adjust every destinations’ modulation input
level.
NOTE: Because it is felt that LFO1 will mostly be used for vibrato effects, the default in the
PTCH page (see later) is set so that simply setting a value in the
If you intend to use LFO1 for something other than vibrato (i.e. slow filter sweeps, panning,
amplitude modulation, etc.), then be sure to set the LFO1 parameter in the PTCH page to 00
unless you really want the sound of an American police siren!
Once you have set the LFO1 parameters, you may return to the main program edit page by
pressing .
field will apply vibrato.
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LFO2
Pressing the key will take you to the second LFO page:
This is a simpler LFO for auxiliary modulation purposes. Whilst LFO1 is normally used for vibrato
via the modwheel or pressure, LFO2 can be used for secondary modulation purposes such as
filter sweeps, amplitude modulation, panning, etc.. As usual, the program name is displayed in
the top right hand corner. The parameters are as follows:
This selects the modulation waveform. The choices are:
TRIANGLE ( ) - This gives a rising and falling effect. At around a setting of
75, this can be used for vibrato but can be assigned anywhere you like and can
be used for filter sweeps, panning, amplitude modulation and slow pitch
sweeps. This is a ‘bi-polar’ modulation waveform that ‘rotates’ around the note
you are playing to give a natural vibrato effect.
0
SAWTOOTH ( ) - This waveform is used mostly for special effects. It rises
slowly and falls abruptly. This is a ‘uni-polar’ waveform that jumps between the
held note and the modulation level set at the destination. It can be inverted at
the modulation input stages of each destination to give downward sweeps.
0
SQUARE ( ) - This gives stepped ‘up and down’ effect. When applied to
pitch it can be set to give trills or large octave jumps. This is a ‘uni-polar’
waveform that jumps between the held note and the modulation level set at
the destination. Like the sawtooth wave, it can be inverted at the input stages
of each destination.
0
RANDOM ( ) - This gives a totally random stepped waveform and is
suitable for special effects. Like LFO1’s RANDOM waveform, it can be used to
create the classic ‘sample and hold’ effect found on analogue synthesisers.
However, the random waveform provided by LFO2 has some other
possibilities.
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When the parameter is set to 00, the random steps will only change
when a new note-on is received and will sustain at that level until a new noteon is received. I.e:
By applying this LFO in this way to, say, FILTER 1, each note you play may
have a different tonal colour and this can be made into quite a dramatic synth
effect by setting quite high modulation amounts and high resonance. With
percussive sounds, this can be a very interesting rhythmic backing for tightly
sequenced arpeggios and riffs and the like. By applying this to panning, each
note will be in a different position in the stereo image. On single note, you will
get a dramatic panning effect as the sound bounces all over the stereo image
and in chords, each note will position itself in different positions giving the
impression of great depth and spread to the sound.
However, this facility can be also used more subtly! By applying a tiny amount
of the RANDOM waveform to pitch (try a depth setting of 01), each note may
have a very tiny pitch discrepancy. In a layered string or vocal ensemble, by
applying this to just one of the layers, you can create interesting chorus effects
as each note has a slightly different detune amount.
MIDI NOTE ONS
Similarly, when applied in small amounts, this can also be used effectively on
‘ethnic’ sounds such as pan pipes as the ‘real thing’ is rarely perfectly in tune
from one note to the next. On a rich analogue synth sound, you can also
emulate the fact that these old synths’ tuning left a lot to be desired!
There are many possibilities which you will no doubt find for yourself.
This sets the rate of LFO1. This is variable between very slow for such effects
as auto panning and filter sweeps and fast for vibrato and other effects. The
default here is slow as it is assumed you will want to use this LFO for such
things as filter sweeps and slow panning effects, etc..
This sets the master output level for LFO2. Unlike LFO1, its default is 99 so
you will instantly hear the effect of LFO2’s modulation as soon as you apply it at
any destination.
This sets the delay between a note-on occurring and the effect being
introduced. At 00 the effect will be instantaneous and at 99 the effect will take
some 5 or 6 seconds to be introduced. I.e.
NOTE ON
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