Operation Manual
Mopho x4
Operation Manual
Version 1.0
July 2012
Dave Smith Instruments
1527 Stockton Street, 2nd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94133
USA
©2012 Dave Smith Instruments
www.DaveSmithInstruments.com
Tested To Comply
With FCC Standards
FOR OFFICE USE
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference and
(2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.
This Class B digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian InterferenceCausing Equipment Regulations.
Cet appareil numerique de la classe B respecte toutes les exigences du Reglement sur le materiel brouilleur du Canada.
For Technical Support, email: support@davesmithinstruments.com
Contents
Quick Start ................................................................................................ |
1 |
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Getting Connected .................................................................................... |
3 |
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Basic Operation ........................................................................................ |
4 |
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Global Parameters .................................................................................... |
8 |
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Oscillators ............................................................................................... |
12 |
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Mixer ....................................................................................................... |
15 |
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Filter ........................................................................................................ |
16 |
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Envelopes ............................................................................................... |
17 |
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LFO ......................................................................................................... |
18 |
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Sequencer............................................................................................... |
20 |
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Modulators .............................................................................................. |
25 |
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Miscellaneous Modulators ...................................................................... |
26 |
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Clock ....................................................................................................... |
27 |
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Miscellaneous Parameters...................................................................... |
30 |
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Modulation Sources ................................................................................ |
32 |
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Modulation Destinations.......................................................................... |
33 |
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Using USB .............................................................................................. |
35 |
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Using Poly Chain .................................................................................... |
37 |
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Support ................................................................................................... |
40 |
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MIDI Implementation............................................................................... |
42 |
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MIDI Messages ................................................................................... |
43 |
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NRPN Messages................................................................................. |
46 |
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Global Parameter Data........................................................................ |
47 |
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Program Parameter Data .................................................................... |
49 |
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Sysex Messages ................................................................................. |
56 |
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Packed Data Format |
58 |
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“Hidden” Functions.................................................................................. |
59 |
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Quick Start
Thanks for purchasing your Mopho x4 synthesizer! Listen to the sounds, twiddle some knobs, have some fun!
Please Register!
Please go to www.davesmithinstruments.com and register your synth. If you purchased directly from us, there is no need to register—we already have your contact information.
Powering Up
Plug in the power supply, connect (in stereo!) to your mixer/sound system, and start playing!
Try applying keyboard pressure (aftertouch) and the mod wheel. Many sounds are fairly simple at first, then come alive when you use the controllers. With other sounds, you may need to hold the notes a while to let the sound unfold. Playing in different ways has a big effect on the programs.
Selecting and Editing Programs and Global Settings
You can use the increment and decrement (INC/YES and DEC/NO) switches to step through the programs. Use PARAM 1 to scroll quickly through the programs. PARAM 2 changes banks. There are eight banks of 128 programs: four banks of user programs (U1 through U4) and four banks of factory programs (F1 through F4). The user banks are initially copies of the factory banks. You can edit any of the programs, user or factory, but you can only save changes to the user banks. The factory banks are read only.
To edit a program, just turn any knob. The new value will be displayed in the bottom line of the LCD (the top line displays the programmed value for handy reference).
After turning knobs, just hit PROGRAM so the LCD goes back to the program/bank screen, allowing you to change programs again.
Press and hold PROGRAM briefly to display the Global menu and change higher level parameters such as MIDI channel number, Transpose/Detune, and so on. The PARAM 1 knob changes the displayed page and PARAM 2 or increment and decrement change the values. These settings are remembered when the synth is turned off.
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Summary
You should be up and running now; for more operation information, read on. Or, just look up specific parameters for detailed notes. Pages 32 and 33 contain a handy reference for mod sources and destinations. At some point you should read through the manual to discover all the little features that you might not notice at first.
Download the free LE version of Soundtower’s Mopho x4 editor from www.soundtower.com/mophox4.
I should mention that this manual does not include explanations of basic analog synthesizer functions. It assumes you already know what an oscillator is, how a low-pass filter affects the sound, what an ADSR envelope looks like, and so on.
Fortunately, these days it is quite easy to find such resources on the Internet. If you want to learn the lingo and the basics, just try a search in Google (or the search engine of your choice), something like “analog synthesizer tutorial.” You’ll find plenty of good reading material.
Have fun! Dave Smith
Special thanks to:
The DSI Team: Carson Day, Chris Hector, Tony Karavidas, Mark Kono, Andrew McGowan, Joanne McGowan, and Tracy Wadley.
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Getting Connected
Mopho x4 has several inputs and outputs on its back panel.
Power Input — Connect the power supply included with your Mopho x4. The power supply comes with different AC adaptors that enable it to work almost anywhere in the world. If for whatever reason you need to use a different supply, it must match the specifications printed on the back panel.
USB—Mopho x4 transmits and receives MIDI data via this standard, Type B, USB receptacle. See Using USB on page 35 for more information.
MIDI In—To receive MIDI data from another device, connect this to the other device's MIDI Out.
MIDI Out/Thru—To send MIDI data to another device, connect this to the other device's MIDI In. This output can also be configured as a MIDI Thru using the MIDI Out Select parameter in the Global menu.
Poly Chain—Multiple synths can be poly chained for increased polyphony. For details, see Using Poly Chain on page 37.
Note: When Poly Chain is turned off in the Global menu, the Poly Chain output simply mirrors the MIDI Out and transmits the same data.
Sustain—Accepts a momentary, normally open or normally closed footswitch to control sustain or to latch the arpeggiator. See “Sustain” under Global Parameters on page 8 for more information.
Pedal/CV—This input can be connected to two types of controllers: a standard expression pedal that has a variable resistor on a TRS (tip-ring-sleeve) ¼ inch phone plug, or a synthesizer or other device capable of producing a control voltage. The control voltage range is 0 to 3.3 volts DC, and the input is protected against higher and negative voltages. For more information, see “Pedal” in
Global Parameters on page 8 and Miscellaneous Parameters on page 30.
Note: This input is heavily filtered for smooth, clean operation, so there is a limit to the speed at which it will respond.
Left Out/Right Out—Mopho x4’s unbalanced left and right outputs.
Phones—A ¼ inch stereo headphone jack.
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Basic Operation
If you’re familiar with analog, subtractive synthesis there shouldn’t be anything that looks terribly foreign or strange about Mopho x4’s front panel. All of the basic building blocks are there. But one of the challenges of making a compact synth is giving the user access to all the parameters within a limited amount of panel area. Mopho x4 has most of the parameters of the Prophet ’08, plus a couple more, with a front panel that is almost 40% smaller!
Fortunately, several of the synth components have similar control requirements. For example, Mopho x4 has two oscillators and both oscillators have identical control parameters. With a switch to select oscillator 1 or 2, one set of controls can do double duty. Another set of controls handles most of the parameters for all three envelope generators. And you can select both oscillators or all three envelopes to edit a parameter simultaneously in all of them.
Other, less frequently used parameter names appear in light gray above the corresponding knob or switch. Turn on SHIFT to access those parameters.
And finally, program-level parameters that are not typically performance oriented are found in the Miscellaneous Parameters section.
The front panel is arranged so that the basic signal path components are in order from left to right in the row closest to the keyboard: oscillators into mixer into filter. The second row consists of various modulators, including envelopes, LFOs, and the sequencer. The remaining programmable parameters are for turning the arpeggiator and sequencer on and off, setting the tempo and note value, and the aforementioned Miscellaneous Parameters.
Non-Programmable Controls
The front panel controls can be divided into two groups, programmable and nonprogrammable. Everything contained within a black “module” is programmable. The non-programmable controls are for things like selecting programs and transposing the keyboard. Their state—on, off, transposed, whatever—is not saved along with the program.
Transpose—Allows the keyboard to be transposed in one octave increments two octaves up or down. When transposed one octave, the corresponding LED will be lighted, but dim. If the LED is brightly lit, Mopho x4 is transposed two octaves.
Shift—Used to access the shifted parameters.
Program—Press to return Mopho x4 to program mode. Hold to select global mode.
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Compare—When editing a Program, press COMPARE to hear the saved version. Turn COMPARE off to return to the edited version. COMPARE can also be used to audition write destinations when moving a program.
Write—Press WRITE to save the program and write any edits to memory. You can write the program to the same location or choose a different program number using PARAM 1; PARAM 2 chooses the bank. Press INC/YES to confirm the write and DEC/NO (or WRITE again) to abort.
While there is a write pending, press COMPARE to hear the program in the target destination prior to saving. Just be sure to turn COMPARE off before you actually hit the INC/YES switch to save.
Param 1— Used to scroll through programs in program mode. In global mode, used for scrolling through the global menu items.
Param 2—Used to change banks in program mode and edit the displayed parameter in edit and global modes. There are eight banks of 128 programs: four user banks (U1 through U4) and four factory banks (F1 through F4). The user banks are initially copies of the factory banks, but any program—user or factory—can be edited and saved to any location in the user banks. The factory banks are read only and cannot be overwritten.
Note: To copy the factory banks to the user banks, hold COMPARE and press 4 POLE. Be aware that this will overwrite any custom programs in the user banks and all changes will be lost.
Inc/Yes and Dec/No—Increment or decrement programs in program mode or values in edit mode and global mode. Also used to confirm or cancel/abort an operation.
Push It—PUSH IT is a manual trigger. Its behavior depends upon the Push It Mode, Note, and Velocity settings, which are programmable. Why is a manual trigger necessary when there are already 44 other manual triggers (that is, the keys)? It is surprsingly handy, especially in Toggle mode. It can be used to start and stop the sequencer or to just latch a droning note on. And that frees up both hands to twist knobs!
Tap Tempo—With SHIFT on, PUSH IT becomes TAP TEMPO for setting the internal clock’s BPM.
If PUSH IT is set to Toggle mode and SEQUENCE and SHIFT are on, tap five times to set the tempo and toggle the Push It Note on, starting the sequencer. That is, a 4-count to set the tempo and then a tap on beat 1 to start. To stop, turn SHIFT off and press PUSH IT again.
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TAP TEMPO can also be used to change the tempo while a sequence is playing. If SHIFT is on while a sequence is playing, tap the button 5 times and the sequence speed will change to the tapped tempo on the fifth hit. You can continue to tap the button, slowing down or speeding up, and the sequence tempo will adjust accordingly. The sequence will average and smooth out any small timing differences.
Modes of Operation
Mopho x4 has three operating modes: program, edit, and global. In program mode, PARAM 1, PARAM 2, and INC/DEC are used to change from one saved program to another. As soon as any of the programmable parameters are edited, that parameter is displayed on the LCD, with the programmed value on the top line, and the new, edited value on the bottom line. That is edit mode. To exit edit mode and return to program mode, just press PROGRAM.
To enter global mode, briefly press and hold PROGRAM until the light goes off and a global parameter is displayed on the LCD. PARAM 1 scrolls through the items in the global menu and PARAM 2 and INC/DEC change the values. For more information, see Global Parameters on page 8.
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7
Global Parameters
Mopho x4’s Global parameters affect all programs globally. Examples include MIDI channel and fine tune. To edit the Global parameters, hold down the PROGRAM switch until Global Parameter is displayed. The PARAM 1 knob changes the global parameter and PARAM 2 knob and increment and decrement buttons change the value.
Transpose: -12…+12—Master Transpose control, 0 is centered. Steps in semitones.
Fine Tune: -50…+50—Master Fine Tune control; 0 centered. Steps in cents (50 cents = 1/2 semitone).
MIDI Channel: ALL, 1…16—Selects which MIDI channel to send and receive data, 1 to 16. All receives on all 16 channels.
Clock: see table—Sets the clock status.
Display |
MIDI Clock Setting |
Internal |
MIDI clock is neither sent nor received |
MIDI Out |
MIDI clock is sent |
MIDI In |
MIDI clock is received |
Midi In/Out |
MIDI clock is received and transmitted |
MIDI Parameter Send: NRPN, CC, Off—Changes to the values of Mopho x4’s front panel controls are transmitted via MIDI as Non-registered Parameter Number (NRPN) controllers or as Continuous Controllers (CC). Transmission of parameters can also be turned off. See MIDI Implementation on page 42 for details.
Note: NRPNs are the preferred method of parameter transmission, since they cover the complete range of all parameters, while CCs only handle the main parameters.
MIDI Parameter Receive: All, NRPN, CC, Off—Sets the method by which Mopho x4 receives parameter changes via MIDI. As with transmission, NRPNs are the preferred method, though some controllers may only be able to send CCs.
MIDI Control: Off, On—When On, the synth will respond to MIDI controllers, including Pitch Wheel, Mod Wheel, Pedal, Breath, Volume, and Expression.
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MIDI SysEx: Off, On—When On, the synth will respond to received MIDI SysEx messages, and will transmit them, when prompted, to the MIDI Out. See Sysex Messages on page 56 for details.
MIDI Out Select: Out, Thru—MIDI Out can be switched to MIDI Thru to daisychain multiple MIDI devices.
Poly Chain: Off, Out 1, Out 4, Out 5, Out 8, Out 12, Out 16—Used to expand the polyphony via the Poly Chain output and one or more DSI synths—Mopho, Tetra, or Prophet. See Using Poly Chain on page 37 for more information.
Local Control: Off, On—When on (the default), the keyboard and front panel controls directly affect Mopho x4. When off, the controls are transmitted via MIDI but do not directly affect the “local” synth (that is, Mopho x4). This is primarily useful for avoiding MIDI data loops that can occur with some external sequencers.
Audio Out: Stereo, Mono—Mopho x4 defaults to stereo operation. When set to Mono, this parameter defeats all pan settings and modulation, effectively making each of the outputs a mono output.
PotMode: Relative (default), Passthru, Jump—The rotary controls on Mopho x4’s front panel are a mixture of “endless” rotary encoders and potentiometers or “pots.” The pots are identifiable by their lined knobs and the fact that they have about 300°of travel. There are three pot modes to determine how the synth reacts when the programmable parameters are edited. (Master volume is not programmable, so these modes don’t apply.)
When set to Relative, changes are relative to the stored setting. In Relative mode, the full value range is not available until either the minimum or maximum value and the respective lower or upper limit of the pot’s travel is reached.
For example, the RESONANCE parameter has a value range of 0 to 127. Let’s say the physical position of the RESONANCE pot is the equivalent of a value of 100. If you switch to a program that has a stored Resonance setting of 63 and turn the pot all the way up, it will only go to 90. To get to the maximum value of 127, you first have to turn down until the value is at the other extreme and the pot is at the limit of its travel (in this case, 0 and fully counter-clockwise, respectively).
In Passthru mode, turning the pot has no effect until after the edited value equals the preset value (that is, until the edited value “passes through” the stored value).
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Jump mode uses an absolute value based upon the position of the pot when edited: turn a pot and the value jumps immediately from the stored value to the edited value.
Sustain: Norm +, Norm -, Arp +, Arp - —A momentary footswitch connected to Mopho x4’s Sustain input can be used either as a sustain pedal or to latch the arpeggiator. Mopho x4 can be configured for use with either normally open (+) or normally closed (-) footswitches. When set to Arp+ or Arp-, the footswitch will act as a sustain pedal when the Arpeggiator is off.
Pedal: see table—Sets the destination for the Pedal/CV input. Note that this input is heavily filtered for clean operation, so there is a limit to the speed it will respond to changes.
Display |
Pedal Routing |
FootCtrl |
Routed to the Foot Control Modulation |
Breath |
Routed to the Breath Control Modulation |
Expressn |
Routed to the Expression Modulation |
Volume |
Controls Master Volume |
LpFilter |
Routed to the low-pass filter |
LpF Half |
Routed to the low-pass filter, but with half the range |
The input will also accept control voltages in the range of 0 to 3.3 volts DC. It is protected against higher or negative voltages.
MIDI Pressure: Off, On—When On, the Mopho x4 will respond to received MIDI pressure (aftertouch) messages and will transmit pressure from the keyboard to MIDI Out.
Pressure Curve: 1…4—Sets one of the four pressure curves for the keyboard to adjust the aftertouch to your playing style.
Velocity Curve: 1…4—Sets one of the four velocity curves for the keyboard to adjust the velocity response to your playing style.
ArpLatch: Normal, ReLatch—Sets the arpeggiator latch behavior. See Arpeggiator on page 27 for more information.
Basic Patch—Press the WRITE button to load a basic patch into the edit buffer. The patch will not actually be written to the current program location unless intentionally written to memory in program mode using the WRITE button.
Reset Globals—Select this parameter and press WRITE to reset the global parameters to their factory defaults.
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BalanceTweak1 - BalanceTweak4: -14…14—Adjusts the left/right output balance of each voice by approximately +/- 4 dB.
MIDI SysEx Dump: see table—Allows dumping of Programs in SysEx format via MIDI. Also enables the translation of Mopho x4 programs into formats readable by other DSI synths. The Mopho Keyboard and Tetra voice architectures and voice program parameters are basically the same as the Mopho x4’s. The desktop Mopho’s Feedback Gain is not programmable, so some tweaking of that control may be necessary to match the sound to the keyboard. And the Prophet’s voice architecture is almost identical, but lacks the sub octave generators and feedback.
Display |
MIDI Transmit Operation |
Current Program |
Dump current program |
Current Bank |
Dump all 128 programs in current bank |
All Banks |
Dump all programs in all 4 user banks |
Current Prog P08 |
Dump the current program in Prophet ’08 format |
CurrentProgMopho |
Dump the current program in desktop Mopho format |
CurrentProgTetra |
Dump the current program in Tetra format |
Current Bank P08 |
Dump the current bank in Prophet ’08 format |
CurrentBankMopho |
Dump the current bank in desktop Mopho format |
CurrentBankTetra |
Dump the current bank in Tetra format |
Press WRITE to start transmission. This feature is handy for saving programs on a computer in SysEx format, or for sending them to another Mopho x4 via a direct MIDI connection. The dumps include Program and Bank numbers, so when received, the programs will be stored in the same location.
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Oscillators
Mopho x4 has two digitally controlled analog oscillators, or DCOs, per voice. “Digitally controlled” does not mean the oscillators themselves are digital, just that the oscillators’ frequencies are under digital—rather than voltage—control. The advantage to that is that the tuning is exceptionally stable over a ten-octave range without having to compensate for variables like temperature. The audio signal path is still completely analog.
Oscillator Select—Choose oscillator 1, oscillator 2, of both. When both 1 and 2 are selected, changes made to the other oscillator parameters affect both oscillators.
Frequency: C 0…C 10—Sets the base oscillator frequency over a 10 octave range, from 8 Hz to 8KHz, stepping in semitones. C3 is middle C, the first octave is 0 (C0, C#0, etc.), the second octave is 1 (C1, C#1, etc.), and so on.
Fine Frequency: -50…+50—Fine tune control with a range of a quartertone up or down. Zero is centered. Steps are in cents (50 cents = 1/2 semitone).
Shape Select: Sawtooth, Triangle, Saw-Tri, Square, Off—Selects the oscillator waveshape. If none of the shapes are lighted, the oscillator is off.
Pulse Width: 0...99—Sets the pulse width or duty cycle of the square wave. A value of 50 results in a true square wave with equal alternating high and low levels. Increasing or decreasing the value from 50 causes the waveshape to become asymetrical. Lower values narrow the postive-going portion of the
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wave, higher values widen it. At the extreme values, the pulse goes completely flat, which allows for some interesting possibilities with pulse width modulation.
Glide: 0...127—Sets the oscillator glide (portamento) rate. Glide can be set independently for each oscillator. Low values are faster. See also “Glide Mode” in Other Oscillator Parameters.
Sub Octave: 0...127—Controls the level of a square wave pitched one octave below oscillator 1 or two octaves below oscillator 2.
Other Oscillator Parameters
These additional, less performance-oriented oscillator controls are found in the Miscellaneous Parameters section.
Oscillator Sync: Off, On—Turns oscillator hard sync on. With sync on, whenever oscillator 2 resets, oscillator 1 is forced to restart.
Tip: Try routing an envelope or the mod wheel to oscillator 1 frequency for the familiar sync sweep sound.
Oscillator 1 Keyboard Tracking: Off, On—Turns keyboard tracking off or on for oscillator 1.
Oscillator 2 Keyboard Tracking: Off, On—Turns keyboard tracking off or on for oscillator 2.
Oscillator Slop: 0...5—The amount of random oscillator frequency tuning slop. The analog oscillators in Mopho x4 are very accurate, and will not drift. This works great for accurate sounds, and allows precise de-tuning. Oscillator Slop allows subtle amounts of frequency drift. For larger amounts, use a random LFO or white noise mod.
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Glide Mode: FixRate, FixRate A, FixTime, FixTime A—Determines how the oscillators respond when GLIDE is on.
FixRate: The time to transition between notes varies with the interval between the notes; the greater the interval, the longer the transition time. The glide rate is fixed.
FixRate A: The same as FixRate, but glide is only applied when playing legato. That is, glide only occurs when a note is held until the next note is played. This effectively allows glide to be turned on and off from the keyboard.
FixTime: Glide is set to a fixed time, regardless of the interval between notes. FixTime A: The same as FixTime, but glide only occurs when playing legato.
Pitch Wheel Range: 0...12—Sets the bend range, in semitones, of the pitch wheel. The setting is the range in the positive or negative direction. For example, a setting of 7 lets you bend a note up or down by a fifth.
Key Assign: Low Note, LowRetrig, HighNote, HighRetrig, LastNote, LastRetrig—Key Assign (aka note priority) determines what note gets priority when more than one note is played on the keyboard or via MIDI. Low-note priority is most common in vintage synths and is often used for playing trills by holding a note and repeatedly tapping a lower note. LowRetrig causes the envelopes to be retriggered with each keystroke. HighNote and HighRetrig are similar to the low note settings, except that the highest note is given priority. And LastNote and LastRetrig give priority to the last note played.
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Mixer
The Mixer section balances the levels of the outputs of the Oscillators section and noise generator, and the Audio In/feedback loop before routing the summed signals to the low-pass filter.
Mix: 0...127—Mixes the outputs of oscillators 1 and 2 in varying amounts. A setting of 0 is equivalent to 100% oscillator 1 and 0% oscillator 2. A setting of 127 is just the opposite. A setting of 64 is a 50/50 mix of both oscillators.
Feedback Amount: 0...127—Increasing FEEDBACK AMOUNT causes more and more of each voice’s left output signal to be fed back into the audio path prefilter. As the level increases, so does the effect of the feedback.
Feedback Gain: 0...127—FEEDBACK GAIN boosts the level of the feedback signal and is interactive with and dependent upon FEEDBACK AMOUNT. If FEEDBACK AMOUNT is set to 0, then FEEDBACK GAIN has no effect. (There is no feedback signal to boost.) However, FEEDBACK GAIN combined with higher levels of FEEDBACK AMOUNT can result in effects ranging from pleasing distortion to squirrelly harmonic weirdness.
Noise: 0...127—Controls the volume of the white noise generator.
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