Applied Research and Technology (ART) X-15 Owner's Manual

X-15 USER MANUAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 1
CONNECTIONS 2

Power Input 2
MIDI OUT 2
MIDI IN 2
MIDI THRU 2
BYPASS/DC Footswitch 2

TELL-TALES/CONTROLS 2

Numeric Display 2
Power Up 2
LED lndicators 2
Activator Pads 2

Expression Pedals 2
OPERATION 3
MODES 3
PRESET MODE 3
EFFECT MODE 4
BYPASS MDDE 4
SETUP MODE 4
SAVING EDlTED PARAMETERS 7
MISCELLANEOUS 7
APPENDIX A

Programmlng Examples 7

Edit Controlled Device's MIDI Program Table (MPT)

wlth the X-15 8

Setup an ART Multiverb, DR-X, or SGE for

MIDI Control of the Pitch Parameter of
the Pitch Transposer 8

Using the X-15 to Turn On or Off Effects in

a Preset Uslng Effect Mode and Activator 8

APPENDIX B

Connectlon Illustrations 9, 10
APPENDIX C

System Exclusive Messages 11

Unit Handshake Group 12

Parameter Exchange Group 12

Unit Status Group 12

Parameter Exchange Data Format 12
APPENDIX D

MIDI: Controllers & Numbers 13

SCALING: Suggestion Settings 13

TROUBLESHOOTING 14

WARRANTY & SERVICE INFORMATION 14

INTRODUCTION

Congratulations and thank you for purchasing the new ART
Digital Real Time Effects Control System.

The ART
a format that is super-easy to use. The power of the
ART
MIDI Program Message Changes to
MIDI assignable parameters via the TWO real time expression pedals on board,

AND, access individual effects of ART SGX and ALPHA effects processors.

X-15

ULTRAFOOT puts the power of real time control at your feet in

X-15 ULTRAFOT

X-l5

is a real time MIDI foot controller capable of sending

any

MIDI controlled device,

X-15 ULTRAFOOT

is awesome. The

AND,

control

FEATURES:

-

Instant access of individual effects

-

TWO real time assignable expression pedals

-

Simple, “plug in and go” operation

-

DC bypass out jack for use with older units

-

Rugged steel assembly

-

MIDI IN, OUT, &, THRU

-

Send MIDI data on three separate channels at once

-

Durable composite activator pads

-

Mode select allows multifunction use

-

Non-Volatile memory, stores and remembers your

changes

-

Bright visible program display

-

Switchable LED indicator lights

-

Extra heavy-duty scuff resistant paint

-

Dump parameters to MIDI storage device

X-15

The

MIDI controlled device. For instructions on how to implement and use the X-15 in

your system, please read and refer to the rest of this manual.

ULTRAFOOT is a simple device to use extending the flexibility of any

CONNECTIONS

Only two connections made to the rear of the
for operation. The only accessories you will need to use
your

X-15

ULTRAFOOT is a power source and MIDI cable(s).

Power

Input

Plug the power adapter into a proper power outlet then con­nect to the

MIDI

OUT

The MIDI output jack is used to transmit all MIDI control in­formation from the

to control. Connect the MIDI cable to the 5 pin MIDI OUT
jack on the
you are going to control.

MIDI

IN

This jack receives the MIDI signal containing the MIDI

messages. It enables you to “talk” to the
external source such as a computer equipped with MIDI

ports and associated software or a sequencer. Actually, you

may use any MIDI device to send messages to the
Any MIDI information sent to the MIDI In jack is echoed to
the MIDI Thru jack.

MIDI

A MIDI Thru jack is provided on the
continue a chain of MIDI devices and let MIDI information

pass
Thru jack is a direct copy of the MIDI messages received at
the MIDI In jack. The information is buffered so the integrity
of the signal is not degraded when passing thru.

All

MIDI Jacks are standard 5 pin DIN connectors utiliz-

ing standard MIDI connections. No phantom power is

present on the unused terminals. ART recommends
these unused terminals remain unused.

See Appendix B for MIDI hook-up illustrations.

BYPASS/DC

A standard
switch configurations. This jack may be programmed to
operate in conjunction with the BYPASS pad as a momen­tary open or closed switch or an
channel switching or other switch applications could be
done using this jack. Use a standard two conductor guitar
cord to connect this jack to its intended termination. A
standard two conductor speaker cable may also be used
since no audio is being passed along the conductors.

X-15.

X-15

to whichever MIDI device you wish

X-15

and then to the MIDI IN jack of the device

THRU

X-15

“thru”

the unit to the next one. Information leaving the

FOOTSWITCH

1/4"

jack is the output port for a variety of

on/off

X-15

are needed

X-15

from an

X-15.

allowing you to

foot-

switch. Some amp

TELL-TALES/CONTROLS

NUMERIC DISPLAY

The Seven Segment Numeric Display keeps you constantly

informed of your Preset Number, Expression Pedal values,
MIDI Channel, Programming Characters, and Error Messages.

AlI

information is displayed using decimal based numbers in

most cases.

Power up
When power is first applied to the X-15, it runs through an
autotest
about a second, then it displays “Art” indicating everything

is fine. This allows the user to be sure that all display
elements are working and that displayed information will be
accurate.

During power-up the X-15 performs a checksum of the ROM

contents, if there is an error, an error message will appear in
the display. If the ROM checksum is incorrect, “E-C” will
display for ten seconds, press any pad to operate normally.

In the event power is interrupted for a brief period of time
and the
plug back in the power plug at the power in jack.

LED Indicators

LEDs

pads 1 through 10 indicate which pad is active. The MODE
and BYPASS activator pads have their indicator

located towards their upper right corner. These
also used to indicate the different programming modes you

may be in.

Activator

Pads on the pedal are labeled from left to right: Select
Arrow UP and Arrow DOWN, MODE, BYPASS, l/EXCITER,

2/COMPRESSOR, 3/DlSTORTlON, 4/EQUALlZER,
5/EXPANDER/NOlSE
TRANSPOSER,
EFFECTS. The black activator pads are what you use to

activate or program the X-15's many functions.

Expression Pedals

Here are the two pedals that make the
MIDI foot controller. The two expression pedals may be pro­grammed individually to control any MIDI controllable para­meter in ANY MIDI device. These pedals produce a control
voltage using an optical encoding device which is converted
into MIDI information. Try to avoid shining extremely bright
lights into the pedals. No harm will come to the device, but,
you. may affect the operation of the encoders by creating
unwanted information.

When the pedal is in the full up position, a minimum value
is present and as the pedal is gradually pushed down, the
value increases to its maximum value when all the way down.

sequence turning on everything that lights up for

X-15

does not reset itself properly, just unplug and

located in the upper left hand corner of the activator

LEDs

LEDs

are

Pads

GATE,

9/FLANGE/CHORUS

6/REVERB, 7/DELAY, 8/PlTCH

and 10/SPECIAL

X-15

the ultimate

OPERATION

MODES

The ART
Modes are called PRESET, EFFECT SETUP, and BYPASS

Mode. Operation of the X-15 is defined and executed by

these Modes. To change between Preset and Effect Mode,
you need only to press the MODE activator pad. Each time
you press the pad the
Access to Setup Mode is accomplished by pressing the
MODE pad and one additional activator pad as described in
the Setup section. Bypass Mode is actually one of the pro­grammable sub-modes in Setup Mode. We have covered
Bypass Mode separately for your programming convenience.

CHANGING

Pressing and releasing the MODE button alone toggles
between preset and effect mode. Pressing the MODE button
along with the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 buttons enters Setup Mode.

FIRST TIME USE

When you hook up your
we suggest you perform a Factory Reset to ensure all param­eters and functions are at their initial values. This will alleviate
some minor aggravation on your part if the

operate as we describe them in the manual! To perform a
factory reset, press simultaneously the UP, 2, and 5 buttons
with the power on. You may find it much easier to perform
this function with your hands!

PRESET MODE
Example of Recalling

As an example, if you want to select preset 77 while you

are in Preset Mode, press and hold the UP pad until 71

is displayed by the seven segment display, then press

pad 7. VIOLA!, preset 77 is active.

NOTE: In preset mode, whenever the display is showing a

preset, the numbered LED associated with that preset is lit.

Whenever the display is showing a bank, none of the

numbered

When power is applied to the

in Preset Mode ready to recall a preset. Preset Mode allows

you to use the activator, UP, and DOWN pads to select MIDI

presets 1 thru 128 (MIDI program numbers 0 thru 127) in the

device you’re hooked up to. Presets are arranged in twelve

X-15

has four major Modes of operation. These

X-15

toggles between the two modes.

BETWEEN MODES

X-15

ULTRAFOOT for the first time,

X-15

a

Preset

LEDs

are lit.

X-15,

it automatically comes up

does not

banks of ten presets. A preset is selected (a MIDI program
change message is sent) when a numbered activator pad is
pressed.

When you enter preset mode, the
program change message has been sent since power-on. If
one has, the preset number is displayed and the associated

LED for that preset will light. If a program change message
hasn’t been sent yet, the current bank is displayed.

Each time the

with no preset active. At this point, you must select a preset

using the UP/DOWN buttons and an activator pad.

X-15

is powered up, it will default to bank one

X-15

checks to see if a

Program Message Change

Pressing any of the numbered pads does two things, (1) send
a program change message out the MIDI port, and (2) displays
the preset number. The program sent is the current bank
number (one through 121, in increments of ten) plus one, less
the value of the button pressed (preset = bank + button 1,
program = bank + button
program 76.

The preset last selected remains active until another preset
button is pressed. You may change your bank anytime
without changing the current preset.

The current bank is changed with the UP and DOWN but­tons. Pressing either one will increment or decrement
(respectively) the bank (in tens). Holding either button down
will increment or decrement four times a second, after an in-

itial half-second pause. When the current bank is changed,
the new bank is displayed, unless a preset has been

selected, and that preset is in the current bank. When this

happens, the preset is displayed. UP and DOWN
the minimum and maximum values, pressing DOWN while

at the lowest bank yields the maximum bank, and
Vice-versa.

The

X-15

has two impossible presets, these are numbers

129 and 130 which cannot be recalled. MIDI specifications
don’t allow either to exist. When the user attempts to select
these presets, the display shows the error message “E-P”
and the numbered LED last pressed (either nine or ten)
flashes. No MIDI message is sent. This error will stay until a
valid preset is sent, the bank is changed, or another mode

is selected (either effect or setup).

Returning

If you return to Preset Mode from Effect Mode, your last
preset recalled remains active. When you switch back to

Preset Mode, the preset number is displayed and the cor­responding LED is lit automatically.

to

Preset

Mode

1,-1)

From

EffectMode

This means, preset 77 is

“wrap”

at

EFFECT MODE

Selecting a Preset

To select a preset in Effect Mode, use the UP/DOWN pads.
Each time either pad is pressed, you increment up or

down one preset. The preset is recalled automatically

and is displayed by the seven segment display only. No
pad LED indicator will light.

Upon entry to Effect Mode, a check is made to see if a pro-

gram change message has been sent since power-on. if one

has, the
mode, the associated LED is not lit.

Pressing a numbered button causes a controller change mes­sage to be sent out the MIDI port. The controller number is
defined either by the
editing Setup Mode.

The
controllers. Pressing a numbered button toggles the current
state, which in turn does two things, (1) send a controller
change message out the MIDI port, and (2) change the state
of the LED. The
troller, lit is on and unlit is off.

Pressing the UP and DOWN buttons increments and decre­ments the current preset by one, and sends a program change
message out the MIDI port. UP and DOWN “wrap” at the
minimum and maximum values, pressing DOWN while at
the lowest bank yields the maximum bank, and vice-versa.

To edit the assigned controllers, use sub-mode 4 in
Setup Mode.

Bypass works as described under preset mode.

X-15

shows the preset number and unlike in preset

X-15’s

initial values or by you from

X-15

remembers the state (on or off) of each of the ten

LEDs

show the current state of each con-

BYPASS MODE

The BYPASS button and LED operate identically in either
preset or effect mode. There are six possible settings for
bypass:

Value Jack MIDI Momentary Toggle LED Polarity

1
2
3
4
5
6

In modes one through four, the bypass jack is used to com­municate bypass mode to the outside world. In mode five,
the bypass jack is not used at all, bypass mode is sent as a
controller message out the MIDI port.

Within the six bypass modes, there are two principal

modes; momentary and toggle. In momentary mode, the

state of the bypass output changes for as long as the

BYPASS button is held down mimicking directly a momen­tary switch. Toggle mode allows for the state of the bypass
jack to change every time the BYPASS button is initially
pressed, just like an on/off switch.

in modes one and three, the state of the bypass LED is the
state of the bypass jack when the bypass jack is “on” (closed),
the bypass LED is lit. Modes two and four reverse this when
the bypass jack is “off” (open), the bypass LED is lit.

Mode five acts like mode three, except instead of the by­pass jack, the MIDI port is used as the bypass output. The

X X
X X
X
X

X

X X

X

X
X
X

normal

reverse

normal

reverse

remote
remote

sub-

bypass LED is turned on and off as in mode three, but
the bypass LED can also be remotely controlled via the
MIDI port. For detailed information see the section for
Set-up Mode 3.

Mode six sends a bypass message two different ways. Both
the MIDI Out port and the
message. The
MIDI port would act as it would in mode 5.

1/4”

1/4”

jack are used to send a “Bypass”

jack acts like it would in mode 1 and the

SETUP MODE

You may never need to use Setup Mode due to its complete
preprogramming. Read this section for all information neces­sary to change settings and how Setup Mode works.

As mentioned earlier, when the MODE button is pressed
together with the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 buttons, Setup Mode is
entered. You may change between the six different setup
sub-modes at any time while you are in setup mode.

Example of Entering

in this example we will enter Setup Mode and select
mode 5 parameter 3, setting the BYPASS function for a
normal on/off switch. First, enter Setup Mode by pressing
and holding down the MODE pad and then pressing the
#5

pad. The display will show a flashing an “S” 1 and
the MODE LED will be flashing. To select parameter 3,
press the BYPASS pad
a flashing “b” 6. Press the UP button
ber now changes to 3. The BYPASS function is now pro­grammed to operate like a normal on/off switch. When
the LED associated with the Bypass pad is lit, it in­dicates the switch is on. To exit Setup Mode press the
MODE pad. This will store your change into memory and
exit you to either Preset or Effect Mode, whatever mode
you were in previous to editing. Read this section for
detailed Setup Mode information.

Example of

If

you wanted to assign the left expression controller but
mistakenly entered Setup Mode to assign the right ex­pression controller, here’s what to do. First, what you

did was press and hold in the MODE and #1 pad,

press the #2 button, nothing will happen if you do. To

choose the correct sub-mode, press and hold the MODE
and #2 pad. To change between sub-modes you must
use the MODE button. For more information about Setup

Mode, keep reading this section.

In each of the sub-modes, pressing the UP and DOWN pads
increment and decrement the current value of the parameter

being edited. These “wrap” when the minimum and max-

imum values are reached. Pressing DOWN while at the
minimum value for a parameter yields the maximum value,

and vice-versa.

Sub-modes 1, 2, and 3 are indicated by the MODE LED flashing,
along with the 1, 2, or 3
by only pad indicator number 1 flashing. Sub-mode 5 is in­dicated by just the MODE LED and the first character in the
display flashing.

Each sub mode parameter has a factory default setting. These
settings are present so the
out of the box to your setup. The defaults are selected for
average use. Of course, the parameters may be changed to
meet your requirements. This section covers the program­ming of your

Changing to a

Setup Mode and Changing a Parameter

[3]

times. The display now shows

[3]

times, the num-

Different

Sub-Mode While in Setup Mode

LEDs

flashing. Sub-mode 4 is indicated

Submode

X-15.

6 is not indicated by anything.

X-15

may be used immediately

sub-

DON’T

4