Cme NeoSynth User Manual [ru]

User manual

NeoSynth

Audio expansion card for CME

VX and UF keyboard range

Version 1.1

Special messages section

This product utilizes batteries or an external power supply (adapter). Do NOT connect this product to any
power supply or adapter other than one described in the manual, on the product, or specifically recom­mended by CME.

Warning

Do not place this product in a position where anyone could walk on, trip over, or roll anything overpower
or connecting cords of any kind.The use of an extension cord is not recommended! If you must use an ex­tension cord, make sure that the cord has the ability to handle maximum current needed by this product.
Please consult a local electrician when possible.
This product should be used only with the components supplied or recommended by CME. When used
with any components, please observe all safety markings and instructions that accompany the accessory
product.

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Specifications subject to change

The information contained in this manual is believed to be correct at the time of printing. However, CME
reserves the right to change or modify any of the specifications without notice orobligation to update ex­isting units.
This product, either alone or in combination with an amplifier and headphones or speaker(s), may be ca­pable of producing sound levels that could cause permanent hearing loss. Do NOT operate for long peri­ods 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.

Important

The louder the sound, the shorter the time period before damage occurs. Some CME products may have
stands and/or accessory mounting fixtures that are either supplied with the product or as optional ac­cessories. Some of these items are designed to be dealer assembled or installed. Please make sure that
stands are stable and any optional fixtures (whereapplicable) are well secured BEFORE using. Stands sup­plied by CME are designed for the respect products only. No other uses are recommended.

Notice

Service charges incurred due to a lack of knowledge relating to how a function or effect works (when the
unit is operating as designed) are not covered by the manufacturer’s warranty,and are therefore the own­ers responsibility. Please study this manual carefully and consult your dealer before requesting service.

environmental issues

CME strives to produce products that are both user safe and environmentally friendly. We sincerely believe
that our products and the production methods used to produce them, meet these goals. In keeping with
both the letter and the spirit of the law, we want you to be aware of the following:

Battery notice

This product MAY contain a small non-rechargeable battery which (if applicable) is soldered in place. The
average life span of this type of battery is approximately five years. When replacement becomes neces­sary, contact a qualified service representative to perform the replacement.
This product may also use “household”type batteries. Some of these may be rechargeable. Make sure that
the battery being charged is a rechargeable type and that the charger is intended for the battery being
charged.
When installing batteries, do not mix batteries with new,or with batteries of different type. Batteries MUST
be installed correctly. Mismatches of incorrect installation may result in overheating and battery case rup­ture.

Warning

Do not attempt to disassemble, or incinerate any battery. Keep all batteries away from children. Dispose
of used batteries promptly and as regulated by the laws in your area. Note: Check with any retailer of
household type batteries in your area for battery disposal information.

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Disposal notice

Should this product become damaged beyond repair, or for some reason its useful life is considered to be at an
end, please observe all local, state, and federal regulations that relate to the disposal of products that contain
lead, batteries, plastics, etc. If your dealer is unable to assist you, please contact CME directly.

FCC information (U.S.A.)

Important notice: do not modify this unit!

This product, when installed as indicated in the instructions contained in this manual, meets FCC re­quirements. Modifications not expressly approved by CME may void your authority, granted by the FCC,
to use the product.

Important

When connecting this product to accessories and/or another product use only high quality shielded ca­bles. Cable(s) supplied with this product MUST be used. Follow all installation instructions. Failure to fol­low instructions could void your FCC authorization to use this product in the USA.

Note

This product 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 environment. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency
energy and, if not installed and used according to the instructions found in the users manual, may cause
interference harmful to the operation of other electronic devices.
Compliance with FCC regulations does not guarantee that interference will not occur in all installations.
If this product is found to be the source of interference, which can be determined by turning the unit
“OFF”and “ON”, please try to eliminate the problems by using one of the following measures:

- Relocate either this product or the device that is being affected by the interference.

- Utilize power outlets that are on different branch (circuit breaker or fuse) circuits or install AC line fil­ter(s).

- In the case of radio or TV interference, relocate/reorient the antenna. If the antenna lead-in is 300 ohm
ribbon lead, change the lead-in to co-axial type cable. If these corrective measures do not produce satis­factory results, please contact the local retailer authorized to distribute this type of product. If you cannot
locate the appropriate retailer, please contact CME.

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The above statements apply ONLY to those products distributed in the USA.

Table of contents

Introduction 6

Terminology 6
What’s in the box? 6

Installing the Neosynth expansion board into your CME keyboard 8

NeoSynth inputs and outputs 9

Connections 9

General 12

Leds behaviour 12
Sound bank upgrade 12
USB MIDI driver 12

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The patch editor software 13

Preference Screen 14
Routing screen 16
Inputs FX screen 19
Synth FX screen 23
Synth channels A screen 28
Synth channels B screen 29
Synth channels C screen 31
Sound bank screen 33
The menu items of the patch editor 35

The NeoSynth features 39

MIDI implementation of the NeoSynth 40

Introduction

First of all, congratulations with the purchase of the Neosynth! With this expansion board from WaveIdea
you will add great sonic possibilities to your CME VX or UF keyboard.

In short the expansion board gives you the possibility to play high quality sounds in various music styles
provided in sound banks that can be loaded from an optional SD card that fits into the expansion board.
You can also change settings for sounds, MIDI channels etc. with the provided software patch editor.

With an external MIDI sequencer you can use the NeoSynth in multitimbral mode up to 16 MIDI channels.
Wave Idea will develop new sound banks in the future to fulfill all your sonic needs!
Depending on the sound bank, variations may also exist, so more than 128 sounds can be available.

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Terminology

As a reference here is a short list of specific NeoSynth terms used in this manual.

Soundbank. This is what you have loaded into the NeoSynth. It’s a set of (multi)samples, created by pro­fessional sound designers and determines how each of the instruments will sound.

Instrument: one sound from a sound bank with specific (multi)samples creating the sound plus specificset­tings for the instrument (for instance FX, filter, etc.).

Preset or patch: a set of parameters that describes all settings for a sound bank. It contains the 16 possi­ble sounds for each MIDI channel, the effect settings, the audio routing settings etc.You create presets with
the additional patch editor software and can save them on your computer.

Synthesizer channel: A term used to describe one of the 16 possible instruments that can sound at the
same time in a so-called multitimbral setting. Because the NeoSynth listens to MIDI you can play 16 in­struments at the same time over a maximum of 16 different MIDI channels.
One of those instruments with its specific settings and MIDI channel is called a synthesizer channel.

What’s in the box?

Before you go on installing the expansion board please check if your box contains all the shipped items.

– NeoSynth Board;
– Rear plate for UF keyboard;

– Rear plate for VX keyboard;
– CD-ROM;
– Manual;
– SD-card with GM sound Bank;
– USB cable.

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Installing the Neosynth expansion board into your CME VX or UF keyboard

First of all, be sure to unplug the power plug and USB cable from your keyboard to avoid electrical short­cuts during installation.
Also be sure to ground yourself to avoid static electricity which could damage your NeoSynth expansion
board. Do not touch electronic parts of the expansion board either since this can damage the expansion
card as well.

Step 1:
Unscrew the metal plate on your VX or UF keyboard on the back. The plate is holded by 4 screws on the
VX keyboard and 5 screws on the UF keyboard ( next three pictures shows the VX version).

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Step 2:
Locate the power/communication connector that should be connected to the Neosynth expansion board
(1 connector on the VX keyboard, 2 smaller connectors on the UF keyboard).
Connectors feature a mounting direction, the right direction must be respected, no force must be applied
while inserting the connector(s).

Step 3:
Gently insert the Neosynth expansion board into the VX or UF keyboard and place the 4 respectively 5
screws to tighten the Neosynth expansion board.

Step 4:
The quickest way to be able to make sure your Neosynth is installed correctly is to plug in a headphone
in the NeoSynth’s headphones output and play the demo on your VX or UF keyboard (see the respective
VX or UF keyboard manual how to do that. On the VX press the expansion link button).
Another way is to attach one or two audio cables from your Neosynth to your DAW, computer or ampli­fier to be able to hear the synth.
Attach a USB cable from your Neosynth to your computer to be able to edit instruments etc. with the pro­vided patch editor software.

Step 5:
Power on the VX or UF keyboard. While doing that watch the back of the keyboard and see if the two leds
on the Neosynth expansion board lit up (one yellow and one red one should go on for a few seconds and
then go off again). When a USB cable is connected to your computer the red led will burn.

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For more information about selecting the NeoSynth and choosing the various sounds please read the
manual provided with your VX/UF keyboard.
By now it should be possible to play and hear the sounds of the Neosynth.

NeoSynth inputs and outputs

Connections

The Neosynth expansion board has several connection possibilities to increase the use in all kinds of set­tings (Grey NeoSynth: UF version, Red NeoSynth: VX version).

From left to right:

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Headphones output (stereo):

A stereo output, mirrored from the main outputs with it’s own dedicated mixer in the patch editor.
Note : By default, this output is connected to the synthesizer part of the NeoSynth.

Master output (L+R):

These outputs can be connected to your DAW, audio card, amplifier etc.
Note : By default, this output is connected to the synthesizer part of the NeoSynth

Auxilliary (Aux) output (L+R):

These outputs can be connected to your DAW, audio card, amplifier etc. and can be used as an extra pair
of outputs, but also as a send/return together with the inputs to be able to use an external effect box with
your Neosynth.

Audio in (L+R):

Here you connect any audio signal for various applications:

1. Make use of the FX section of the Neosynth. Since the synthesizer has a nice Reverb and Delay effect,
you can route any audio through those effects

2. Same as 1, but now mixed with your synthesizer track! With the use of the patch editor you can make
extensive mixes of both the input and synthesizer audio signal.

3. You can even use the inputs for karaoke! Connect a microphone through a microphone amplifier, use
a GM soundset, play a General Midi songfile and sing along with it.

Digital output (stereo):

This is a mirror of the Analog Auxiliary Outputs and can be connected to a digital input on your audiocard,
DAW, etc. it provides a 16 bit/48 kHz signal.
Note : By default, this output is connected to the inputs part, passing through the input FX engine of the
NeoSynth.
Note 2: The equipment connected to the NeoSynth S/PDIF output must be configured to recover the
S/PDIF clock from the NeoSynth S/PDIF output (slave equipment)

Red and orange leds

These two leds will help you to see the in which mode the NeoSynth is acting. You’ll find more info in this
manual about the various possible combinations for on/off or blinking leds.

USB connector

For use with a hardware expander to be able to edit instrument, FX and routing parameters using the pro­vided patch editor software.
The Neosynth is class compliant with the USB MIDI specification, thus it does not need any driver to work
with Xp-Sp2, Vista, Mac and Linux.
A special driver is available for Win Xp, it is not mandatory to install it, it is just used to replace the generic
device name “USB audio device” by “WaveIdea Neosynth”

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SD-card slot

Here you can put in a SD card for loading various sound banks.
As soon as the sound bank has been updated, the SD card can be removed from the slot.
There are two ways for loading a sound bank from a SD card:

Software-less

The update can be done by inserting the card, reboot the VX or UF keyboard while holding the button be­sides the SD card slot. The Neosynth will read the sound bank from the SD card that way.

Using the patch editor

To update from the SD-card using the patch editor: put the card into your VX or UF keyboard.

Connect the Neosynth through USB to your computer, open the patch editor software and connect to
the NeoSynth in the Preferences tab. Go to the sound bank panel (last tab) and click the button. A window
will appear explaining how to upgrade. See also the next chapter about the patch editor

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General

Leds behaviour

The behaviour of the leds on the Neosynth says something about the status of the NeoSynth in various
conditions:

Status 1 led Status 2 led
Yellow Red

Normal mode

Neosynth is booting On On
Neosynth idle Off Off
Neosynth idle – USB attached Off On
Neosynth playing – USB attached/not attached Lighting On/Off

Sound bank or firmware upgrade mode

Previous sound bank erase Ping pong fast
Sound bank upgrading Ping pong slow
Firmware upgrading Ping pong fast
Firmware upgrade finished - Success On On
Sound bank upgrade finished - Success On On
Sound bank upgrade finished – Invalid SD card Off Off
Sound bank upgrade finished - Error On Off

Sound bank upgrade

This is done in 2 steps :

1. Erasing of previous sound bank : Leds will ping pong fast : requires about 7 minutes.
If using patch editor software, a progression bar is available for this first step;

2. Upgrade of new sound bank : Leds will ping pong slow : requires about 13 minutes.

If using patch editor software, a progression bar is available for this second step

See the next chapter about the patch editor software for details on this.

USB MIDI driver

TheWave Idea NeoSynth USB MIDI driver forWindows XP can be installed if you want to change the generic
WindowsXP USB MIDI driver name.But it is not demanded. For a description of the installation progressvisit
WaveIdea’s website (http://www.waveidea.com)to download and read the PDF manual for that.

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The patch editor software

The fun of the Neosynth doesn’tstop here!When you haveattached a USB cable to the Neosynthfrom your
computer and installed the patch editor software (both Windows and Macintosh versions are available),
you can change the sounds, store them, and make all kinds of settings for multitimbral use of the syn­thesizer in conjuction with a MIDI sequencer.

In this manual we will take an extensive look at the parameters that can be changed using the patch ed­itor.

To do so, you need to connect your computer with the Neosynth through a USB-connection. There is no
need for a driver, it is plug and play. Even in Windows XP, although you could use the provided driver to
change the “universal USB device”-name into “Neosynth”as device name.

Installing the editor (Windows):
Unzip the editor file on the CD onto your harddrive. Then run the installer.

Installing the editor (Macintosh):
Unzip the editor file from the CD onto your harddrive. That will create a DMG file on the desktop from
which you can copy the program into the programs folder on your Mac.

If you have made the USB-connection and turned on the VX or UF keyboard you can start up the patch
editor. It will start up with this first screen, the “Preferences” screen.

The upper part of every screen in the patch editor will have the same parameters:
In here you can select various MIDI settings etc.We will go throughevery parameter of this screen first (see
screen shot next page):

First you can select one of the 16 preset slots. A preset will contain all settings for the 16 channels.You can
see a preset as a container for a multitimbral setup with a maximum of 16 (MIDI)channels. It contains the
audio routing settings for the synth and the external inputs, the effect settings, the MIDIchannel settings,
the so-called synth channel settings, containing parameters like filter cutoff, resonance, attack, decay, re­lease etc. You can create as many as 16 presets.

Furthermore there are three buttons “Send”, “Receive”and“Reset”. With these three buttons you can send
a preset to the NeoSynth, receive a preset from the NeoSynth and reset the NeoSynth to the factory pre­set. To the right of these knobs you see the preset number that is selected for sending or receiving, a pro­gressbar which shows the progress of sending or receiving a preset plus two MIDI indicators, telling you
if there is action going on on the MIDI in and/or MIDI out port. The user can change the name of the pre­set in the textfield. By default the names are Preset 1, Preset 2 etc.

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Preference Screen

MIDI devices – MIDI In

In this pop-up screen you can choose the available MIDI device to send preset data to, in our case the
NeoSynth. Midi in & out selections are saved so thet are retrieved next time you start the software.

MIDI devices – MIDI Out

In this pop-up screen you can choose the available MIDI device to receive preset data from, in our case the
NeoSynth. Midi in & out selections are saved so thet are retrieved next time you start the software.

MIDI devices - Connect to NeoSynth

Clicking this button will make a connection with the NeoSynth to show you the firmware version, the
hardware version and the serial number (under the knob). As soon as you see that info appear you know
that the connection has been made with the Neosynth.

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Misc. – Auto send

When selected, the software editor will send every parameter change made in the editor immediately.
When unselected you will have to use the “Send” button in the upper screen to send the whole preset to
Neosynth. Also you can right click on a knob or any other control to send it indiviually. (On OSX control­click).

Misc. – Link Left & Right parameters

With this one selected all parameters that have a left and right version are linked, meaning if you change
one of them, the other one will change too with the same value.When unselected you can make complete
individual settings for the left and right version of a parameter.

Misc. – MIDI thru

When the box is checked, all incoming MIDI data in the software will be forwarded to the MIDI out, so this
has to be used with care since it can result in a MIDI loop (a confirmation box appears in the software
mentioning this possible MIDI loop).
The MIDI thru can be used with a MIDI file player connected to the soft input. This way you can change
the sounds by turning knobs in the software while the MIDI song is playing.

Misc. – All sounds off

Pressing this button will send a all notes off message to all 16 MIDI channels. This comes in handy when
somehow the MIDI messages are messed up and you hear notes that won’t stop anymore.

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Routing screen

There are two stereo audio paths that can be mixed and panned in all kinds of ways. One stereo path
(from here called external audio) is the line in left and right analog inputs going through a effects section
which is then routed to the S/PDIF output (stereo) and mirrored on the left and right auxilary outputs. On
top of that you can mix this external audio signal into the synth audio path.

The second audio path is the stereo synthesizer audio path (from here called synth audio) coming out of
the synthesizer engine and is going through the effects section, then going through a mixer where you
can make settings for the 16 channels and then going out of the Master left and right outputs and Head­phones output (stereo). This audio path can also be mixed into the external audio path.

You can even connect externally with two short audio cables the master L+R master outputs to the Line
in L+R inputs to make use of an extra external FX box!
First, let’s go through all the controls possible in this screen. We are going from left to right and from up

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to down.

LINE IN L+R level control

This knob controls how much signal that comes in from the line inputs will be fed into the stereo signal
path.

Enable inputs

This checkbox enables/disables the inputs.

The external audio path is split into left and right paths each with its own panning and level control.
This makes it possible to have two completely independend mono signals going through the external
audio effects section where they can have different settings.

Summed external audio left channel pan control

This knob controls the panning of the audio signal from the left external audio path. So you can feed
something or a lot into the right channel as well.
It is fed into the external audio path after the level control of the right channel.

Summed external audio left channel level control

This knob controlsthe level of the audiosignal fromtheleft external audio pathgoing into the effects section.

Summed external audio right channel pan control

This knob controls the panning of the audio signal from the right external audio path. So you can feed
something or a lot into the left channel as well.
It is fed into the external audio path after the level control of the left channel.

Summed external audio right channel level control

This knob controls the level of the audio signal from the right external audio path going into the effects
section.

After these controls the external audio goes into the dedicated effects section. See further on for details
the Inputs FX section. When the audio comes out of the effects section there are even more controls!

External audio output level control

First there is a level control which controls the amount of signal going to the digital S/PDIF output (stereo)
and the auxiliary outputs (left and right).

External audio mixing level control

This is a level control which controls the amount of the external audio signal that comes out of the ef­fects section which will be fed into the synth audio path.

Now we are going to take a look at the synth audio path.

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The left and right output of the synthesizer channels (16 at maximum) are fed into the dedicated synthe­sizer effects section. Later on in this manual the effects are explained in the Synth FX section. After the
synth FX section you see two controls.

Synth audio post effects panning control

This control determines how much of the stereo signal from the synthesizer channels goes left and right.
You can see it as a main panning control for all synthesizer channels.

Synth audio post effects level control

This control gives control over the combined level of all 16 synthesizer channels coming out of the syn­thesizer effects section. You an see it as a main output level control for the synthesizer audio paths.

Please be aware that you can control panning and level for each individual synthesizer channel in the
Synth Channels B screen!

Synth audio path switches

Here you see a block with two rows of 16 checkboxes. These boxes control if the audio coming out of the
synth effects section will go to the digital S/PDIF and auxiliary outputs or go to the Master and head­phones outputs. The 16 boxes corresponds to the 16 MIDI channels of the synth. This way you can for in­stance direct a drum section of GM channel 10 to the aux outputs while the rest of the channels go to the
main outputs.

The last control in this screen is the level control for the headphones output.

It’s your own brain that can come up with good use of these possibilities. It is for instance possible to
route one or more of the 16 synth channels to the auxiliary outputs so you can put this signal through a
dedicated outboard effect. For instance having a dedicated outboard delay on one or more tracks. Or a
compressor on the drumtrack (when you use a GM sound bank).
You can even use it as a send/return by routing something to the auxiliary outputs, put it through an ef­fect and send that signal back into the NeoSynth using the line in inputs, make use of it’s dedicated effects
block and bleed it into the master out mix!