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Evolver questions


Dan South

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Originally posted by Bluescreen:

CC-routings need to be programmed per sound.

Not for long...

 

I talked to Dave this morning. Since a bunch of people seem to be interested in CC control over the Evos, and since he needs to do new OS revs for the tabletop and rack Evos so that they work perfectly with the PEKs, he's going to add a bunch of CCs. Obviously, he's not going to be able to get all the parameters, but he's gonna get all the good ones. :thu:

 

Another reason why I love the internet - we get to collect data that tells us what the market wants so that we can respond to it. :cool:

 

dB

DSI

:snax:

 

:keys:==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <==:rawk:

 

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Quote by Dave Bryce:

--------------------------------------

Another reason why I love the internet - we get to collect data that tells us what the market wants so that we can respond to it.

--------------------------------------

I'm sure you know brother Dave, that it works both ways. Those of us that are Analog gear heads really love having that input with a smaller mfg. that CAN respond to reasonable requests from potential buyers. The bigger guys are slower to respond, and some don't respond at all. Collectively, we are fortunate to have DSI building RA's at an affordable price.

 

 

Cheers,

 

 

Mike T.

Yamaha Motif ES8, Alesis Ion, Prophet 5 Rev 3.2, 1979 Rhodes Mark 1 Suitcase 73 Piano, Arp Odyssey Md III, Roland R-70 Drum Machine, Digitech Vocalist Live Pro. Roland Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-1.

 

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Dave:

 

I'm assuming the PEK can send and receive CC? The OS update you are talking about is for the Evolver and Poly Evolver, correct?

 

 

Mike T.

Yamaha Motif ES8, Alesis Ion, Prophet 5 Rev 3.2, 1979 Rhodes Mark 1 Suitcase 73 Piano, Arp Odyssey Md III, Roland R-70 Drum Machine, Digitech Vocalist Live Pro. Roland Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-1.

 

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Originally posted by MikeT156:

Dave:

 

I'm assuming the PEK can send and receive CC?

Not yet (except for the ones mentioned above). Extended CC control will require OS updates for all Evolver versions.

 

Regárds

Stefan

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Originally posted by Dave Bryce:

... Since a bunch of people seem to be interested in CC control over the Evos, and since he needs to do new OS revs for the tabletop and rack Evos so that they work perfectly with the PEKs, he's going to add a bunch of CCs. ...

:thu:

This post edited for speling.

My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page

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Bluescreen:

 

I doubt that a lack of a lot of CC on the PEK would be a problem for me personally. The only reason I was asking is I'll probably put some parts into sequences on my Motif ES8 from the PEK. But more often than not, I will use the PEK and play parts LIVE. I would want the PEK to work seamlessly with the POLY rack, because at some point after I get the PEK, I will add the rack for more voices. I guess I'm just fishing to be sure everything is going to work together with the minimum headaches.

 

 

Mike T.

Yamaha Motif ES8, Alesis Ion, Prophet 5 Rev 3.2, 1979 Rhodes Mark 1 Suitcase 73 Piano, Arp Odyssey Md III, Roland R-70 Drum Machine, Digitech Vocalist Live Pro. Roland Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-1.

 

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Quote by dB:

--------------------------------------

Have some faith in Dave, brother Mike - he's pretty sharp, and he's been at this synth thing for a while...

--------------------------------------

 

I know, brother Dave, please excuse me. I've heard of a few players having problems with the Alesis ION trying to update their OS from the web. See that Dave, since you're not with Alesis, everything went all to hell. :D

 

Mike T.

Yamaha Motif ES8, Alesis Ion, Prophet 5 Rev 3.2, 1979 Rhodes Mark 1 Suitcase 73 Piano, Arp Odyssey Md III, Roland R-70 Drum Machine, Digitech Vocalist Live Pro. Roland Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-1.

 

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Couple of questions about chaining a PEK to a PE Rack. I know dB is on the road (or in the air :cool: ), but maybe Bluescreen can help out.

 

I understand from reading the manual that once the Rack is slaved to the PEK, it becomes basically "set it and forget it." If a sound is edited and saved on the PEK, this automatically happens in the Rack at the same time (presuming they are both running the latest versio of software). Here are my questions related to this:

 

1) In order to "sync" the presets in both units, could I just go through and rewrite all the programs and this would sync them? Or is it easier to do some kind of sysex program dump using a PC? Would the PE Rack need to be upgraded to the newest software rev to support any of this? Where can I get the upgrade & how is it loaded? Lots of similar questions! :)

 

2) If I use another keyboard MIDI'd to the PEK (with PEK chained to the PE Rack), will the controller fire all 8 voices, or just the PEK's 4 voices? I am assuming that the Poly Chain feature hopefully acts like a MIDI thru when this kind of setup is used. I would like to have my S90 serving as Master to do automate patch changes on certain songs. I would mainly play the PEK's keyboard, but wanted to know if the S90 will indeed control all 8 of the voices when set up like this. To add another wrinkle to it, are there any conflicts when using Poly Chain to a PE Rack and MIDI thru to another keyboard altogether?

 

These may sound a bit "out there," but are questions that apply to my rig! Thanks in advance for any help you can provide on these.

 

Regards,

Eric

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So Eric, are you ready to by a Poly Rack because 4 voices on the PEK really isn't enough, or are you just being greedy? :D

 

Mike T.

Yamaha Motif ES8, Alesis Ion, Prophet 5 Rev 3.2, 1979 Rhodes Mark 1 Suitcase 73 Piano, Arp Odyssey Md III, Roland R-70 Drum Machine, Digitech Vocalist Live Pro. Roland Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-1.

 

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Originally posted by MikeT156:

So Eric, are you ready to by a Poly Rack because 4 voices on the PEK really isn't enough, or are you just being greedy? :D

I am lusting after 8-voice polyphony. 4 voices is probably enough, but I have this bad habit of playing more notes than this, especially when comping on analog brass and pseudo-clav sounds. So I guess I am greedy for the ultimate PolyEvolver sound.

 

I should probably continue using the PEK for several more gigs before making a final decision that the PE Rack is justified. Plus, I am still getting over the shock of buying the PEK (I had to sell some stuff to afford this) and the only way to get more gear is to find something else to sell! My stockpile of "things I don't really need but have value" is dwindling...I may have to start dipping into the sale of non-musical trinkets to support my gear habit!!! :D

 

Regards,

Eric

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Eric:

 

8 voices would be great, no question about it. I don't know if the CC changes they have been talking about for the OS in the POLY rack are important to you or not, but if so, you might want to wait until DSI updates their OS for the POLY rack. Once they do, you should be able to just plug it in and play.

 

Maybe dB can offer some resolution to your questions and you can determine if its best to wait or not.

 

Occasionally, I've seen Poly Racks for sale for a decent cost savings over a new one. The last used one I saw was going for about a grand. If the OS is an issue, you can always download the OS update from the web once Dave Smith gets it done.

 

How much have you worked your PEK into your show? Are you satisfied with the sound?

 

 

Mike T.

Yamaha Motif ES8, Alesis Ion, Prophet 5 Rev 3.2, 1979 Rhodes Mark 1 Suitcase 73 Piano, Arp Odyssey Md III, Roland R-70 Drum Machine, Digitech Vocalist Live Pro. Roland Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-1.

 

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In order to "sync" the presets in both units, could I just go through and rewrite all the programs and this would sync them?
Yes.

 

Or is it easier to do some kind of sysex program dump using a PC?
Yes. A few mouse clicks vs. 512*PrgUp button/write-button/yes-button ;)

 

Would the PE Rack need to be upgraded to the newest software rev to support any of this?
Chaining already works with some limitations due to the current rack os. Sounds that have programmed sequences can sound different on both units. The Evolver keyboard switches the modulation destinations of the sequencer off when it's not running, while the rack plays the mod values of sequence step 1 when the sequencer is off. Thus, when the sequence for example contains a pitch modulation of 3 semitones in step 1, the keyboard will play note C while the rack will play note Eb.

 

This will be changed with the next rack os. If you want to use sounds with programmed sequences before the new os is released, you have to

manually set all sequencer values for step 1 to zero or remove the modulation destinations.

 

Where can I get the upgrade & how is it loaded?
The upgrade for rack and mono Evolvers will soon be available from the DSI site. It's a sysex file that must be transfered to the unit with the help of a sequencer, the editor or with a sysex tool like midiOx (there is a similar tool for Macs, don't know the name).

 

If I use another keyboard MIDI'd to the PEK (with PEK chained to the PE Rack), will the controller fire all 8 voices
Yes.

 

are there any conflicts when using Poly Chain to a PE Rack and MIDI thru to another keyboard altogether?

I don't think so, but didn't test that yet. It's supposed to work because otherwise an additional midi chain out would be superfluous. If there were any probs you can be quite sure that Dave Smith will solve them.

 

Regards

Stefan

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Bluescreen:

 

So is the OS update something Dave Smith is working on right now? Any idea when he will get to it and the new POLY racks and the Evolver will have them that ship?

 

DSI is a small company, and Dave Smith is a "hands on" owner. Hell, he even answers the phone. Maybe with the PEK now shipping, he's busy shipping them to dealers to try and get caught up on back orders. I wonder if Dave Smith fills out the UPS and FedEx paper work too? :D

 

Mike T.

Yamaha Motif ES8, Alesis Ion, Prophet 5 Rev 3.2, 1979 Rhodes Mark 1 Suitcase 73 Piano, Arp Odyssey Md III, Roland R-70 Drum Machine, Digitech Vocalist Live Pro. Roland Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-1.

 

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Stefan:

 

I was just curious if Dave Smith was actively working on it, or too busy doing other things. I know what you mean about asking a software developer about a release date. I worked with them before. If they do answer, their standard answer is "It will be done when I'm finished". :)

 

Mike T.

Yamaha Motif ES8, Alesis Ion, Prophet 5 Rev 3.2, 1979 Rhodes Mark 1 Suitcase 73 Piano, Arp Odyssey Md III, Roland R-70 Drum Machine, Digitech Vocalist Live Pro. Roland Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-1.

 

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Great, thanks you guys. I'm sure our mutual friend Eric will be happy to hear that, he's already thinking about the POLY rack upgrade for his PEK.

 

I'm about halfway there $$$wise for my PEK. :)

 

 

Mike T.

Yamaha Motif ES8, Alesis Ion, Prophet 5 Rev 3.2, 1979 Rhodes Mark 1 Suitcase 73 Piano, Arp Odyssey Md III, Roland R-70 Drum Machine, Digitech Vocalist Live Pro. Roland Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-1.

 

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Can the knob adjustment rate settings be changed? I understand that if you turn the knobs slowly, the adj is fine, but if you turn them more quickly, it changes the setting more quickly.

 

Can the rate at which the parameter is changed be standardized between the two movements (i.e. regardless of the speed at which the knob is turned) with a setting in the software?

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1) In order to "sync" the presets in both units, could I just go through and rewrite all the programs
Oops, actually it's extremely simple: You chain the units and dump the Keyboard soundset to the rack.

 

I discovered this nice detail only today:

 

http://www.trippler.net/files/pics/madness2.jpg

 

;)

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Originally posted by felix:

Can the knob adjustment rate settings be changed?

Nope.

 

The acceleration has however been implemented in a really unobtrusive way, you'll hardly notice it.

 

Not comparable with the uncontrollable parameter changing speed eg on my Waldorf microQ where it's impossible to do a manual filter sweep.

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-syncing the units is done simply with a Dump "Everything!" from the PEK to the Rack. Takes about 2 minutes, make sure you back up programs on the Rack, the PEK will overwrite them with the new soundset.

 

-updating the Rack involves both loading software and replacing 5 chips, it was so simple it took me all of 5 minutes to do it, and I am not exactly all that familiar with pulling chips! Oh, and it's a free upgrade, minus the postage to send the old chips back to DSI.

 

-the PEK/Poly sounds great, very analog but with digital waveform options from OSC 3+4. As a unique sound source 4 voices are more than enough (especially with all the sequencing capability). But if you are a "keyboard player" I feel you will definitely want at least 8 voices.

 

-I have a Kurzweil MIDIBoard, and placed the PEK just above it. The PEK/Poly sounds utterly fantastic when controlled with Polyphonic Aftertouch! I am still in the "just tweaking" stage, but I am throwing everything to "Pressure" as a modulation source, and I haven't had this much fun since I last played a working CS-80! :thu::thu::thu:

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Originally posted by Bluescreen:

Not comparable with the uncontrollable parameter changing speed eg on my Waldorf microQ where it's impossible to do a manual filter sweep. [/QB]

aarhg! The worst feature on a waldorf ever! I begged them to let us turn it off. Then they went bye bye
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