Discontinuous Sound

ASTK · Post by **ASTK** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:18 pm

Hello,
When I go to combi mode, and stack 8-9 sounds together at the same zone, I get discontinuous sound (when I hit a chord, and move to another one, it cuts the chord I played before).

Why is that happening?
How can I prevent that?

Thanks,

mocando · Post by **mocando** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:38 pm

Maybe I'm not correctly understanding your problem, but are you using lead sounds? Do you mean hitting a chord with the keys or the chord buttons?

I mean, is the way it should work unless you are using a sustain pedal.

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:56 pm

you're hearing a common problem with synthesizers:
note stealing.

the M50 (and indeed, most synths) are only capable of playing a certain number of notes at a time. or rather they have a certain number of 'voices' that they can play at any time.

I believe the M50 has an 80-note polyphony (just from a quick google search)

So in a basic program, you hit one note, and you can hit 79 more notes till you run out and it'll replace that first note you played with the 81st note you played (if you had the pedal down or had that many fingers).

this is mainly related to the amount of processing power available. every voice takes a certain amount of processing time/instructions, and there is only so much time available before it has to push data out to the outputs. I said in a basic program, because some programs can have two sets of oscillators. effectively a dual program with two voices. in that instance, every key you hit takes up two notes of polyphony, so in reality you can only play 40 keys at once.

when you start stacking these up in a combi, the polyphony quickly gets eaten up. Say you have two dual programs and four single programs, thats 80 voices of poly split between eight total 'voices' per key you hit. giving you only 10 actual notes at any time.

ASTK · Post by **ASTK** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 6:47 am

X-Trade wrote:you're hearing a common problem with synthesizers:
note stealing.

the M50 (and indeed, most synths) are only capable of playing a certain number of notes at a time. or rather they have a certain number of 'voices' that they can play at any time.

I believe the M50 has an 80-note polyphony (just from a quick google search)

So in a basic program, you hit one note, and you can hit 79 more notes till you run out and it'll replace that first note you played with the 81st note you played (if you had the pedal down or had that many fingers).

this is mainly related to the amount of processing power available. every voice takes a certain amount of processing time/instructions, and there is only so much time available before it has to push data out to the outputs. I said in a basic program, because some programs can have two sets of oscillators. effectively a dual program with two voices. in that instance, every key you hit takes up two notes of polyphony, so in reality you can only play 40 keys at once.

when you start stacking these up in a combi, the polyphony quickly gets eaten up. Say you have two dual programs and four single programs, thats 80 voices of poly split between eight total 'voices' per key you hit. giving you only 10 actual notes at any time.

Oh, I guess that thats the problem,
Is there any way I can make a smooth transition between the "stolen" keys and the new ones?
How is it made in a big presets combis like the "M50 Orchestra"?

Thanks for your answers!

runeharpun · Post by **runeharpun** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 9:20 am

I understand the problem if you play different sounds on different midi channels (sequencing data for instance). But having 8 different sounds stacked in the same keyboard zone seems a little overkill. Perhaps you could remove some of the sounds or use other sounds in replacement. Also,keep in mind that some patches use stereo samples. They eat up twice the "notes".

I think there is a way to configure which notes should be removed if the limit is reached. Browse around in the global setup and see.

R

Synastikki · Post by **Synastikki** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 12:06 pm

on many Korg presets they setup big combis in a way that they use only one OSC in some programs even though they are double programs... it can be set somewhere in the track parametres in combi mode I think...

mocando · Post by **mocando** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 4:22 pm

ASTK wrote: How is it made in a big presets combis like the "M50 Orchestra"?

Thanks for your answers!

The Orchestra might be a big preset combi, but not all patches play at the same time. They used the velo zones extensively, so you can hear strings if you play soft, clarinets and oboes if played harder and the whole brass section if you smack them really hard. So polyphony is not being eaten the way I assume you have set your combi, where all patches sound at the same time.

EvilDragon · Post by **EvilDragon** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 4:29 pm

Play less keys or don't stack so much sounds. That's the only solution.

Synastikki · Post by **Synastikki** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 8:32 pm

if you're playing with a band you can totally leave your left hand out (bass and guitar take care of low frequencies) I use my left hand just when I'm playing piano or some orch. stuff... I'm playing metal so I have enough power in my band to take care off the low-end stuff (bass and 2 guitars)... so basically my left hand is just resting on the joystick and doing stuff with it unless I play some passages where I need my both hands or piano and orch stuff where I need to play some bass notes...