Specifications

The described separation of keyboard and
tone generator offers innumerable options
to integrate other sound modules or a
computer with appropriate software.
Pitch benD Wheel
The pitch bend wheel is usually used for
changing the pitch of a note - following its
designation. Moving it upwards or to the
front - as seen from the player - increases
the pitch, the opposite movement results in
a reduction of the pitch.
As the detuning is specifically produced
in a high resolution, you can use it to
imitate special playing styles of several
acoustic instruments. For blowing or
stringed instruments, for example, the
pitch-variation of a note before or after the
correct counting is a regularly used style.
This way of playing wouldn‘t be possible to
recreate on a keyboard without pitch bends.
The range of the pitch bends can be
specified with the according parameter of
the Voice. It is also possible to assign a
different function to the pitch bend wheel
by changing the type of the generated
controller data.
The pitch bend wheel is spring loaded, so
it automatically returns to the zero position
(center position) after releasing it. An
error in these mechanics usually results in a
detuning of the instrument. So, if there are
any problems with the instruments overall
pitch it is advisable to take a closer look at
the pitch bend wheel.
moDulation Wheel
The Modulation wheel - or mod wheel in
short - has a standard connection to the
controller type „Modulation“. In many
cases this produces a vibrato. As with the
pitch bend wheel you can of course change
this default setting to another controller
number.
Typical assignments are filter sweeps, effect
depths, rotary speed for leslie effects, etc.
The Preset Voices give many examples of
meaningful assignments, the creativity of
the user, however, is set few limits.
In contrast to the pitch bend wheel the
modulation wheel has no return spring.
Therefore, it makes sense to pull the wheel
back to the minimum position to avoid
the accidental activation of an effect after
switching to a different Voice.
Again a small example: Just by his ang-
le offset to the wheels by 90° the pan
position of a Voice or of individual Elements
is an obvious idea. The parameter „Ribbon
Mode“, which is stored with each Voice
(Voice Mode → Edit Common → General),
determines whether the value jumps back
to the zero position (reset) after releasing
the ribbon or remains in the last position
(hold).
So you are able to directly change the
pan position while you‘re playing, either
temporarily or for specific parts of a song.
A small example of an alternative usage:
Suppose you want to detune the last sound
of a synthesizer solo way down below the
range that is set for the pitch bend wheel.
This is possible by assigning the modula-
tion wheel to the controller „coarse tune“
and setting the value range to the desired
detuning (up to -64 semitones). Now you
have the normal pitch-bending for your
performance within the normal range
and you are also able to use the desired
detuning on that last note.
ribbon controller
The ribbon controller is a pressure-
sensitive sliding band, which is also
assignable to all sorts of controller data.
Due to the fact that its mechanism behaves
differently from that of the wheels, you can
also use the above-mentioned types of
modulation here to open up new
possibilities.
With the ribbon controller - contrary to the
wheels - you can directly reach a value,
without having to scroll through the inter-
mediate values. And since you can program
for each Voice, whether the value
automatically falls back into a central
position or not, there are many possible
variants. Here, too, diverse suggestions can
be taken from the Preset Voices.
aftertouch
Aftertouch does not have a separate control
element, such as the aforementioned
components of the controller section,
but adds an additional controller to the
traditional function of a keyboard. By using
a pressure sensor after playing a key, the
played note can be modulated.
Almost all assignable controller numbers
can be assigned to the aftertouch, even the
features that are normally accessible via
other physical controllers. A typical appli-
cation is Expression, which enables you to
create a crescendo that is suitable not only
for wind sounds. But vibrato, tremolo, pitch
bend, filter sweep effects, or the volume of
certain Elements of a Voice can meaning-
fully complement your performance, too.
And so again, only a few examples were
mentioned. It is worthwhile to invest some
creativity here.
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