Korg Forums

reddone · Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 2:16 pm Post subject: MX hidden compression tuner !!!

Just pulled out my tubes to see how easy it was then put them back in no bother . Then , while closing up the box again i couldnt help wonder what those two plastic screw-type things do ..... so , i gave it a bash , and found that if u turn the one on the left you can set how compressed the machine sounds !!

I tinkered with the LEFT one only , and have managed to "loosen" up the Mx to a level i'm more satisfied with . Things dont seem so "squeezed" in the drum department anymore .

It was VERY easy to do , and felt like adjusting a simple compressor .
I need to ask korg what the RIGHT one does tho .

My tubes are rough , and i dont get my GT's til next week .... but this is very little tweak has definatly made my machine sound better .

Oh , and i tried the Mx without tubes , and no sound came out .

I recomend u try it . Just DONT move the one on the right yet . It may just be some sort of power adjustment . I'll find out tho .

Tune it up boys ... Wink

anselmi · Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 3:13 pm Post subject:

hey reddone3, that´s scared me!
i don´t want to touch anything that risky!
but you tempted me...f*ck!
i think that´s a really cool thing to tune your EMX...do you think this change compression at the tube stages?

anyway i think i can wait until you get your GT and try it...my skills in electronics are pathetic (even basic stuff like soldering a plug)

Ruso · Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 5:20 pm Post subject:

those two knobs are not for tuning compression, it's for tuning the tubes... they're designed to be used with a loopback cable and having the emx/esx in a special mode where it will test itself....

one sec... lemme pull up the service manual Wink

ok here's what it's for, it's for callibrating the valves of the tubes.... the way it's used is you connect a stereo 1/4 inch from the headphones jack to the line input, set it to line..... then you have to boot the electribe with erase+part edit with a special smart media card inserted into the electribe which is provided by korg to service people(hehe which I am not Sad

)

then you choose a tube callibration utility which will tell you two values on the screen for the values of tubes... you can then adjust them with the knob.... (WHERE THE f*ck IS THE ERASE BUTTON!?!?!?)

if the numbers are still off. then you're tubes are not callibrated and need to be adjusted.... you do this with the knobs.... which are by the way inverted..... the left tube is for the right channel and the right tube is for the left channel (looking through the glass window.

reddone · Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 5:20 pm Post subject:

I dont know how it works really , all i know is that turning the left screw clockwise makes the machine sound puchier n lower in volume . And .. turning it to the left reduces the punch and the sound gets louder .

sounds like compression to me , but i dont know how it works i this instance . All i know is that u can adjust the way the machine actually sounds . Whats even better is that its fine tuning , and it can be done easily every time . The screw doesnt move much which really helps , it only turns about 3/4 of a full circle .

Its almost as if the sound spreads out a little too . I'd like to know what i'm actually affecting .

I finding this very useful .

reddone · Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 5:39 pm Post subject:

After reading a post from u ruso last week about the esx tuning function i decided thats what them knob were 4 .
There is no difference in balance when turning the left screw , so that must calibrate a different aspect of the tubes performance .

Yeah , also i did notice that the tubes seem to be reversed ( in position ) .

All i know is , that i wont be touching the screw on the right , but i plan on setting the one the left to suit what i am doing at the time .

It works for me ... like compression , so to me , thats what it is ....

It inrceases or reduces punch on all patterns i tried the tweak on .

Ruso · Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 5:55 pm Post subject:

uuugh too much research on a hangover lol..... I've been looking and looking and looking and looking ....

this is about the only useful thing I found:

reddone · Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 6:38 pm Post subject:

Cheers . I have been sitting trying to work out whats going on .

I notice that it is compensating for my roughest sounding tube .

At least i know that i can tune the GT's too , if needed .

So i'll re-phrase my original advise .... I recomend that if ur Mx sounds a little unbalanced u turn the LEFT knob to try n compensate .

If that fails then A: change tubes , or B: send ur MX back to korg .

I'll see how much i need to use this tweak when i get GT's .

anselmi · Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 6:44 pm Post subject:

actually all tubes have a compression effect at the top of their dynamic range
if you push the drive up you force the sound to enter the compression area and then the peaks goes down and the average levels continue to grow while you tur up the drive control...I think those knobs callibrate the drive knobs so you can make unmatches tubes get to equivalent levels...maybe i have to tweak mine in order to make both channels get to the same level...they are like 1 dB different

Ruso · Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 7:47 pm Post subject:

same here but actually in my case I've tried before to adjust via knobs and it deffiently changes the effect but doesn't seem to affect the gain too much.... one more thing I want to mess with is the wire trick but unfortunatly I don't believe we can do it without that special smart media card that korg gives service centers...

reddone · Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 10:56 pm Post subject:

I remembr reading in a mag that when sounds go through tubes they are processed by square waves and amplfied . Is this correct ?

I hear the compression the tubes give , i just cant quite get my head round how exactly they work . And ... Why are the tubes the reverse position inside the machine ? is this something to do with the way the stereo image works ?

It felt strange pulling them out , but i'm comfortable with it .
Also ... i went to the electronics store today to buy an electronics kit , n some new LED's 4 my mx . But ... the guy was a total goon !!!

He did'nt even know his arse from his elbow . I asked him about square led's n he said u dont get them ... he then took 30 mins to find 4 led's !!

Oh and , couldnt find a kit of any type , nothing .

Well , the lights will NEVER go in the back . Bulbs ??? .... no
Where do i get square 1mm led's ?

And ....... My mx killed my roland Crying or Very sad

musikmachine · Senior Member Joined: 09 Nov 2006 Posts: 351

Ruso · Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 7:27 am Post subject:

yea buy my electribes Wink

both are for sale Wink

reddone · Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 8:00 am Post subject:

Well .... put it like this ...... Mx goes into record bag with SH-32 , l8tr both come out and the roland isnt making a sound !!!

On opening it i see that the mx has pushed the MASTER knob hardinto the Circuit board and there is a small crack . On straightenng out the crack and bringing the board into line again , the sound came back on in mono again , but then it dissapears n comes back .

Game over , I 'll just get another . The drums really are absolute crap but the synth is amazing and stretches it arm out that nice bit further than the MX , although the realtime tweaking feelsa bit odd , and the tone isnt as vibrant and distinct . ADSR n dual lfo's per part , and ... 32 note polyphony PER SYNTH PART , 4 synths . 20 + inserts ( fx ) 20 + MASTER ( FX ). NO SONG MODE THO ??? Thats where the Mx takes it under its arm ... ahhh , LOL Confused

150 quid is a steal

Even at 200 quid

musikmachine · Senior Member Joined: 09 Nov 2006 Posts: 351

reddone · Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 12:25 pm Post subject:

SH-32 is what i wanted b4 the mx came out . The tone can sound expansive ( rich ) and its a perfect synth to accompany the Mx .
Of course there is the odd crappy preset , but the synth section has bags pf depth .
I'll definatly buy another . Its a bit of an unsung gem pf a box .

Oh and , yeah i had the Mx on while tuning the tubes .

All u need to do is remembr where the screw was set to begin with , just incase .