SK-1 and 2 Tips, Tricks and Other Cool Stuff.

[To B3]

Pardon for being a little repetitive... But a while ago, I asked something that maybe I could not clarify to get the specific answer that I needed... Probably for "not speaking english as mother tongue reasons", maybe... Or not asking the better way, I don´t know... But now, as more people played the SKs, maybe someone knows how to do that...

Thing is, I asked if I could do a real time, on the fly split like this... for example, I´m playing a pedal wah clav for the verse of a song, with the exp pedal acting as the wah...

 

Then, as an act of improvisation, I decide to do an split and add an organ for the chorus of the song, keeping the clav playing on my left hand and the organ on the right, simultaneously, on a split.

 

Doing that like to keep the pedal wah effect going just on the clav on my left hand, with the organ unnafected by the wah or the exp pedal, with a fixed volume on the organ and not fluctuating as I move the pedal to get the wah happening on the clav.

 

Can I do something like that on the fly? What´s the step by step procedure?

 

Another question, especially if what I asked is impossible or too difficult on the fly... can I assign previously the pedal wah thing to the sustain pedal or the footswitch, keeping the exp pedal just for the organ volume, on some patches?

 

If that´s possible, and easy (i mean real easy, no menu digging and etc), can it be saved as a user/favorite patch with that assignement (sustain/FS acting as pedal wah)?

 

If it´s possible, would that be saved as a global change or could it be saved as a per patch change? I ask because I´d like to have on my user patches, alongside with that reffered split, another "pure" clav patch, non splitted, with the wah assigned to the expression pedal...

 

What about if, instead of the split, I did the same thing as a layer? Same procedure, minus hitting the split button?

 

I guess that "sustain doing wah" thing would be a compromise, but workable for my needs on that refered specific patch...

 

Another one, regarding the overdrive on the Extra Voices, can it be used simultaneously with another modulation effect, such as tremolo or phaser? I only see reference to one effect per extra voice...

[JMcS]

You can have overdrive plus another effect on the EV's. I'll try to work out some what you are trying to do later today. I don't think you can assign the Expression pedal to different functions on a per patch basis. You might have to put together a couple setup files and switch between them. You could assign the control button to bring up the Setup load menu to speed up switching.

[To B3]

Thanks in advance! I´m looking forward for your answer...

 

Anything to avoid auto wah!

 

Anyway, in this video, there´s something that roughly reminds what I´m asking:

 

[video:youtube]

 

Only, it´s played on a SK2 (I believe that the only difference here is the extra 61 keys, with the clav assigned to the lower keyboard... right?)... and the pedal wah clav sounds very artifficial, almost auto-wah-ish to my ears... another difference, comparing with what I want is that the wah is also functiong on the organ, and I´d like to have it only on the clav... is the pedal wah configurable to make it sound better? What about key off samples on the clavs and EPs, any?

 

Any experience of playing the SK1 with a controller, using only sounds of the SK1? Is it automatic (simply assign my extra voice soloed or not to the lower keyboard midied to the sk1 without hitting split and voilá...?) or requires some menu diving?

[JMcS]

Here is a link to another SK-1 Video. It has the Release 4 update and new sound library installed:

 

http://tinyurl.com/Another-SK-1Video

 

Here are some audio samples from the same website:

 

http://tinyurl.com/SK-1-AudioSamples

[JMcS]

Thing is, I asked if I could do a real time, on the fly split like this... for example, I´m playing a pedal wah clav for the verse of a song, with the exp pedal acting as the wah...

 

Then, as an act of improvisation, I decide to do an split and add an organ for the chorus of the song, keeping the clav playing on my left hand and the organ on the right, simultaneously, on a split.

 

Doing that like to keep the pedal wah effect going just on the clav on my left hand, with the organ unnafected by the wah or the exp pedal, with a fixed volume on the organ and not fluctuating as I move the pedal to get the wah happening on the clav.

 

Can I do something like that on the fly? What´s the step by step procedure?

 

The only way I could work out to do this is to turn the Wah effect on for both the organ and the Clav. Set the Wah control for both to EXP and tweak the Clav's Wah parameters to taste. For the organ Wah effect, turn the Sensitivity and Frequency values to their highest point and Resonance to somewhere around the mid 40's (too low and it takes out some of the high frequencies, too high and it starts to get buzzy) and then move the pedal to full Wah/volume. This will open up the organ wah so all frequencies are at full force and there is no (or at least very little) filtering of the tone. Then without moving the pedal turn the sensitivity value to 0. Save the setup to a User patch. This will stop the expression pedal from changing the organ volume and not actually cause any Wah effect to the sound.

 

To get organ volume back and still have Clav Wah, just hit the organ effect button to turn it off. The volume with the effect on is lower than the volume with the effect off so holding notes and hitting the button will cause a volume change. If you have the Expression pedal low for organ volume and turn the Wah back on the organ volume will be low but you get one pedal movement to bring the volume back up on the organ.

 

Another question, especially if what I asked is impossible or too difficult on the fly... can I assign previously the pedal wah thing to the sustain pedal or the footswitch, keeping the exp pedal just for the organ volume, on some patches?

 

If that´s possible, and easy (i mean real easy, no menu digging and etc), can it be saved as a user/favorite patch with that assignement (sustain/FS acting as pedal wah)?

 

The Sustain pedal can't function as a Wah pedal.

 

If it´s possible, would that be saved as a global change or could it be saved as a per patch change? I ask because I´d like to have on my user patches, alongside with that reffered split, another "pure" clav patch, non splitted, with the wah assigned to the expression pedal...

 

What about if, instead of the split, I did the same thing as a layer? Same procedure, minus hitting the split button?

 

I guess that "sustain doing wah" thing would be a compromise, but workable for my needs on that refered specific patch...

 

Another one, regarding the overdrive on the Extra Voices, can it be used simultaneously with another modulation effect, such as tremolo or phaser? I only see reference to one effect per extra voice...

 

I think you can have the Expression pedal not change the organ volume while using it to affect an EV effect (I think Wah is the only one the Exp. pedal works with) by turning the Organ Wah effect on but setting the Sensitivity as I described above. Then just turn the effect off to get Expression control of the organ volume again. Or select a different patch. You should be able to save the various organ/EV setups you want as User patches and assign them to Favorite buttons for quick access.

 

Good Luck.

[To B3]

Thank you very much, I think this will do what I want. Of course the only way to fully understand your instructions is with a SK in front of me, what I still don´t have... But I guess it´s a pretty intuitive instrument and even someone allergic to submenus like me will figure that out easily (hoping so).

 

Great to know that the "other" effects like the wah can be applied to the organ side too...

 

Loved the demos on those links on the post before BTW, made my gas levels go through the roof!

[keyoctave]

Question for you SK-2 users.

 

I was reading in the manual about the pro cord setting. Can you use a piano sound on the bottom manual with a piano sound on the upper manual, set the octave so one can play cords with the left hand on the lower manual, and, solo on the upper manual with the octave set allowing the full upper range of an 88 note keyboard? Can this be done using the same sound?

[JMcS]

The EV's can be used on either manual but only one manual at a time.

[keyoctave]

The EV's can be used on either manual but only one manual at a time.

 

Thank you.

[AnotherScott]

Can you use a piano sound on the bottom manual with a piano sound on the upper manual, set the octave so one can play cords with the left hand on the lower manual, and, solo on the upper manual with the octave set allowing the full upper range of an 88 note keyboard? Can this be done using the same sound?

I had posted the same question, but never got an answer. Good to finally see the answer, even though it isn't the one I would have hoped for.

[keyoctave]

Can you use a piano sound on the bottom manual with a piano sound on the upper manual, set the octave so one can play cords with the left hand on the lower manual, and, solo on the upper manual with the octave set allowing the full upper range of an 88 note keyboard? Can this be done using the same sound?

I had posted the same question, but never got an answer. Good to finally see the answer, even though it isn't the one I would have hoped for.

 

Me either. By doing this, you could play a full range piano on a 61 note keyboard (one manual for chords and/or bass. The other manual for soloing). Might be kinda weird at first, but I guess one could adapt to it.

[pawel]

Is your SK1 has a noise on the piano sound ? it is normal ?

sorry for my english

[JMcS]

What kind of noise? Check to see if something like the Extra Voice overdrive was turned on/up. Also, check to see what version of software it contains. Release 4 was released a few weeks ago, install it.

 

Hammond EU

 

Hammond US

[JMcS]

Me either. By doing this, you could play a full range piano on a 61 note keyboard (one manual for chords and/or bass. The other manual for soloing). Might be kinda weird at first, but I guess one could adapt to it.

 

This may not be practical but what I think could be done is to get a small keyboard controller (25 or 49 key) and have it send on the same channel as the lower manual. The built in manual could be octave shifted one way and the connected keyboard the other. It may be necessary to shift the connected manual 2 octaves to compensate for the internal octave shift.

[AnotherScott]

This may not be practical but what I think could be done is to get a small keyboard controller (25 or 49 key) and have it send on the same channel as the lower manual. The built in manual could be octave shifted one way and the connected keyboard the other. It may be necessary to shift the connected manual 2 octaves to compensate for the internal octave shift.

Once you have to case, carry, and wire up another board, and add a stand or tier to put it on, you might as well just use a full size board.

[JMcS]

This may not be practical but what I think could be done is to get a small keyboard controller (25 or 49 key) and have it send on the same channel as the lower manual. The built in manual could be octave shifted one way and the connected keyboard the other. It may be necessary to shift the connected manual 2 octaves to compensate for the internal octave shift.

Once you have to case, carry, and wire up another board, and add a stand or tier to put it on, you might as well just use a full size board.

 

Hence the "may not be practical", but I was thinking of something like a 25 note controller on a slide out tray like the ones used for computer keyboards. Mounting something like that to a table type keyboard stand probably wouldn't be difficult.

[To B3]

Another thing, regarding the interface for live performance... for the organ side, i see there´s one knob dedicated for overdrive and one for "effects"... ok there...

 

But for the extra voices, there´s only one knob for effects... how does that single extra voice effect knob functions in real time and how does it control the two effects that are said that can be assigned to an extra voice? I know if you hold the button, it enters a menu... but, that´s not the same thing, if that´s the case...

 

On my vintage pianos and clavs sounds, for example, there´s always at least a touch of drive... and/or amp sim (by the way, how do you access those?)... and that in conjunction with some kind of modulation, at least one... phaser, wah, tremolo... and I´m always adjusting it and changing their levels or depth in real time... Looks a little hard to do that with one knob... Is it right or there´s something I´m not seeing? It looks to me that it gets a little bit on the way of spontaneity... or maybe i´m spoiled by the NE 2 interface... ANy SK owner care to elaborate?

 

 

[JMcS]

The owners manual is available here:

 

Click Support

 

For the EV's there is one effect + overdrive. Overdrive can be on or off and the amount is only adjustable via the menu. There is no amount knob like there is for the organ, however, like the organ the overdrive can be linked to the expression level (up to the point it is set to in the menu so for example if overdrive is set at half way, the expression controlled range is 0 to half way (just like the organ).

 

What the EV effects knob adjusts is dependent on the effect selected.

[pawel]

listen to this :

http://www.sendspace.com/file/u1ybso

This is my Sk1. Sound organ is ok, but rhodes, piano, and all sound voice it is soft noise.

 

[JMcS]

Apparently something has to be downloaded and installed to hear the file.

[pawel]

http://w215.wrzuta.pl/audio/aYOjfnkt0dO/defekt_sk1

[JMcS]

I could hear a hiss in your recording if I turned the volume up to full on the playback and on my computer and listened with headphones. I listened to my SK-1 through headphones with the EV (both the volume knob and the EV menu value) and master volumes at full and could not hear that hiss. I then connected the 1/4" outputs to a mixer and listened with headphones and could not hear the hiss.

 

I'll try again later through my amps.

[TWB121234]

I have never noticed any "hissing" sound or other noise in my SK 1 piano sound or other voices.

[Craig MacDonald]

Pawel, I just picked up new SK1 yesterday and my acoustic piano (and some other sounds) have an awful hiss/noise. It is most evident when you press the sustain pedal and let the notes ring and fade out.. what is left is the awful hiss.. AND if you turn up the treble on the Master EQ it is AWFUL!! I can't imagine that this is the way it is supposed to sound. So I am returning my SK1 today because this is unplayable, and unusable in my opinion.

[JMcS]

I just installed Release 2 using a 16Gb USB drive (large drives seem to not always install properly) and it went well. I tried to hear the noise again this time using a Sustain pedal and couldn't. I then turned the EV overdrive on and couldn't hear any noise until I turned the drive up almost all the way. The Clip type of overdrive was the most obvious. This was with the EV menu volume, the EV volume knob and the master volume all turned up to maximum. I had the mixer channel sliders at the 0 point and the master slider at 0.

 

I am installing the Release 4 software again and will see if there is any difference.

 

Edit:

 

After re-installing the R.4 software I can only hear a hiss when EV overdrive is on and turned up just about all the way. Also, The SK-1 volumes and the mixer volumes have to be turned up to a painfully loud level.

[James Fry]

I've got an SK1 too, and I had noticed the noise but not really studied it. It is painfully evident on some of the samples, even on the EPs, and it is more noticeable when going through effects such as chorus and phaser. I'm still running the stock software though, will be trying an upgrade shortly.

 

Demo of the issue on multiple sounds:

http://jamesfry.com/sk1_pianos_eps_clav_pipeorgan.m4a

 

End of the first snippet it is painfully clear, as it is on the 2nd. The pinultimate clip is of the pipe organ lag (exaggerated by performing a gliss), followed by the same gliss on the Hammond sound.

 

I almost wish I'd waited for an Electro4 now, or sold the Stage76 and got a Stage2 compact instead!

[James Fry]

Mine is nothing like as bad as in that previous clip though; I'm currently running:

Main 1.084

Sub 1.012

System Information: 1.012

DSP: 1.007

Boot: 1.000

Preset: 1.007

Panel: 1.000

 

[Adan]

I've got an SK1 too, and I had noticed the noise but not really studied it. It is painfully evident on some of the samples, even on the EPs, and it is more noticeable when going through effects such as chorus and phaser. I'm still running the stock software though, will be trying an upgrade shortly.

 

Demo of the issue on multiple sounds:

http://jamesfry.com/sk1_pianos_eps_clav_pipeorgan.m4a

 

End of the first snippet it is painfully clear, as it is on the 2nd. The pinultimate clip is of the pipe organ lag (exaggerated by performing a gliss), followed by the same gliss on the Hammond sound.

 

I almost wish I'd waited for an Electro4 now, or sold the Stage76 and got a Stage2 compact instead!

 

Whatever it is you're hearing isn't coming through my speakers. Although the first example does sound a little . . . how should I put it . . . misty!

[JMcS]

pinultimate clip is of the pipe organ lag (exaggerated by performing a gliss), followed by the same gliss on the Hammond sound.

 

This has to do with the polyphony limit (63) for the pipe organ. Each stop counts as 1 so one key with 5 stops = 5 notes. Rather than drop the oldest notes as new ones above the limit are played it stacks them and plays them all in turn. The note rise time is adjustable (Pg. 74 #2). The polyphony for the Hammond organ is 61 notes but it doesn't seem to count each drawbar as 1 note so 1 key with 9 drawbars counts only as 1. The XK-3c has unlimited polyphony, I don't know how or if the SK-1 is technically different. I couldn't hear notes dropping out on notes playing with all drawbars out and both arms pressing down as many keys as I could. The transistor organs seem to work the same way the Hammond organ does.

[jpgxk3]

Same here; I have Bose QuietComfort headphones for my computer listening, great phones, and I do not hear any hiss or tailing off. Maybe you should try listening with just headphones? What are u playing through at home? Lots of cables, pedals, mixers,... The samples are really nice; I'm liking what the sk line-up may become, but I think I'll wait until these quirks get ironed out. I do not have any issues with my NE3 or NC2. Thanks for sharing.