Newby midi implementation question Kurz SP4-8

[Dazzathedrummer]

Hi,

 

I'm not finding a hell of a lot of information on the Kurz SP/4 and i'm trying to understand how it works.

 

One specific area that I'm unsure about is for to use it with a DAW.

 

If I'm working on a new song idea in, say, Ableton, before I got the SP4 I would put an instance of Sampletank onto a track, then I would set up however many other midi tracks I would need to send midi on different channels to the ST, the ST would have different instruments in each slot with would respond to each midi channel coming in from the other tracks.

In other words - track one would have an instance of Sampletank with a drum kit patch in slot one, track two I would record the midi for the drums and send it to midi 1 on the ST track - I would later then send the audio for each instrument to individual audio tracks for mixing.

 

Now that I have the SP4 I want to use it in much the same way as a multi channel VST.

 

Am I correct in thinking that each 'patch' on the SP4 has 16 midi channels that can have sounds mapped to each channel?

 

This is the bit that's confusing me - do I set up a custom 'program' with, for example, drums on midi 1, bass on midi 2 etc, record the midi parts and send them back to the SP4 on the respective midi channels (the resulting mix of sounds being sent back to a single stereo mix out of the Kurz (that I would print individually when the song is ready)).

 

I started playing around last night and got confused haha.

 

Am I approaching this correctly?

 

 

I'm just unsure about the architecture....how it works as a multi channel instrument.....there's a tutorial in the user guide that covers using the SP4 to control external sound modules - but it seems like I need to know the opposite of this - ie, how to use the SP4 as a module from a DAW??

[mate stubb]

Some sort of multitimbral performance mode, I would wager.

[Sven Golly]

What you want is Setup mode. That allows you to create 16 zones that can, if you wish, correspond to the 16 different MIDI channels, with a sound on each. You can do FAR more than this, but your Ableton/Sampletank example above can be easily accomplished in this fashion.

 

Check Chapter 5 (The Operating Modes) and Chapter 8 (Setup Mode) for explanations.

[kelp]

I'm not entirely sure the SP4 is a multitimbral instrument (like their PC3 series). I've scanned their website and the manual and didn't see anything like that (I've got a PC3 so I kind of know what to look for).

 

Setup Mode, which is really for transmitting and control, *could* be used if your sounds didn't overlap. Looks like you only get 4 zones, not 16. And then you'd have to activate the LocalKeyboardChannel parameter to make that work.

 

I don't own an SP4, but at a quick glance it doesn't look like it was made to do what you're describing.

[Sven Golly]

I'm not entirely sure the SP4 is a multitimbral instrument (like their PC3 series).

 

Kurzweil website. SP4-8. Click on "Specs" tab. Read the following:

 

Polyphony:	64 Voice Polyphony, dynamically allocated 
Multitimbral:	16 parts (one per MIDI channel)

[Dave Weiser]

The SP4 is 16 part multi-timbral, and can most likely do what you want it to do.

Your best bet is to hit Kurzweil Operational Support.

http://www.kurzweil.com/OperationalSupport.php

[kelp]

Awesome. I didn't catch that from the manual.

 

Kurzweil support is great. Hit 'em up. But in general you'd be sending out MIDI Program Change commands from your DAW for each channel desired.

[Dazzathedrummer]

I sent my query to Kurz Op support as Dave suggested and got a fantastically comprehensive reply.

 

here's the solution for those that might find it useful -

 

"Am I correct in thinking that each 'patch' on the SP4 has 16 midi channels that can have sounds mapped to each channel?

 

Yes and no. Even simpler actually. The unit is fully multtimbral all the time. This does not correspond to any given 'patch', 'setup' or mode.

So the way you want to run things is much like you discuss - some basics:

1) just stay in program mode and treat the SP4 like a 16 member band

2) disable the local control (aka set the Destination parameter in Global mode to MIDI)

3) from your DAW you will do all your program selection, volume and pan settings. This way you could pull up your DAW session 2 days from now or 2 years from now and it will spit out all the necessary bank, pchg, vol and pans settings you last used/saved, effectively restoring your SP4 "mix".

To select any given program from the SP4, you need to send it:

1) a MIDI Bank message cc#32 (aka Bank LSB) to select the desired bank

2) followed by a program change (screen #) to select the desired program from the bank selected above

 

The SP4 has up to 2 MIDI Banks:

 

Bank #

0 = Internal Factory presets (pgm # 0-127)

1 = User (pgm # 0-63)

 

An example:

You want program "99 Comp'd Phaser" out of the Factory bank (0) to be called up on channel 1

 

From your DAW, on channel 1, you send

cc32=0

pchg=99

 

That's it. Then repeat this for the remaining 15 channels as needed.

 

Yes, then from there all audio will be present at the SP4 L&R outs so you could solo individual parts as needed to record the audio parts individually to your DAW.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you need further assistance.

Best Regards,

--

Jean"

 

Brilliant!!

[NewImprov]

Jean at Kurzweill is really great! I sent him a couple of questions, one really stupid, but not clearly answered in the manual, the other rather complicated, and he was fast, courteous and very helpful. +1 for Kurz Tech support!

[Dave Weiser]

Jean is the best in the business.

Wish we had 10 of him!