In short.. on the X50 when I switched patches mid-play it would still maintain some sound from the previous patch while playing the new patch if I held down the notes.. this was great for various pads going into leads etc, and meant I could, say, cover the guitarist while he switches from overdrive to clean etc. Now with the M50 it seems that in every mode, as soon as you change patches, the sound of the previous patch dies instantly.. this is probably some note on/off, whatever setting, but yeah, if someone could help me change this on a global level, it'd be great
Can't be done. This is one of the biggest gripes of the M50 and M3 workstations. They did fix this with the new Kronos workstation. On the M3, there's some way of doing it using KARMA, but it's a somewhat involved procedure setting it up. On the M50, I'd assume you can accomplish this with the M50 KARMA software, but that would involve you being tied to a PC while playing.
You might consider using SEQ mode, assigning effects to channels, and then switching channels, but it won't be exactly the same as switching programs out of program mode.
well, actually, if you try, in Program Mode you have that sustained notes from previous program remains when changing program, but also to them start to be applied the FX section of the new Program (and if such section is very different from the FX section of the previous program, you hear the sound changing abruptly).
Wow.. that's just.. question begs itself, why would you put such a crucial feature on the X50 and then completely take it out on its bigger, better, more expensive cousin? Damn. Thanks anyway, guys.
Also, I should mention, I use combis exclusively, for the ease of use. That is to say, I use the D bank of combis and fill it up with programs or combis so I can name each according to the song name/number and give a general patch description. It also makes it a pain editing sound parameters as it's easiest just to go back to the individual programs and edit them.. be cool if Korg provided this option from the combis menu, but no..
Some thoughts that might help understanding the architecture.
The program mode is for programming (duh) which is to say where you set up the parameters that govern how the sound is generated. So the osc choice, ADSR envelopes for volume (amp), filter, pitch, etc., - these are basics you'd find on almost any synth. So programs make up that general palate of sounds that are available to you.
Combis are intended more as performance enhancing tools - specifically where you have an opportunity to fine tune the general sound into a specific, focused sound, especially in combination with other sounds.
So if you think of sounds as colors, you can start out with blue (piano), add a dash of red (vibes), and put both colors on a background of yellow (pad).
Some might argue that layering the sounds may actually not be the best way to do get a more focused sound. It's very easy to clutter up the soundscape with too much "color". But this is the tool you have.
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If it works for you, you can certainly make changes at the program level. Organizationally speaking, what a patch is named makes no difference whatsoever in how it gets used at the combi level. Combis use only the patch location in determining what program to use - so you could (as I have) change all the categories and names without impact.
GM has a kind of built in mnemonic structure for locating sounds by type - if you change that structure to groups of 10 vice groups of 8 (GM spec) you could find things more easily. Alesis used to organize the QS-series that way. If you adapt that structure to your user bank it may make things easier.
This structure gives you 10 "best of" slots, is easy to remember, allows you to make substitutions within a combi quickly, and has enough of each category to get you through a typical gig in almost any genre.
Not an M50 owner, so pardon my density (if), but is the problem that the sound of a held note actually cuts off off if you're holding it on patch change, or is it just the noticeable change in FX that's the problem?
Triton (my main board) does hold a note, but if the FX are radically different (i.e., between distorted guitar, and string quartet) there can be a huge and abrupt change in output and tone quality.
The work-around that some have alluded to here (and which can be searched in more detail) is to put your program patches into a sequence setup as individual tracks with an overarching FX set-up (sequence note data is not required). This would allow you to change quickly (prog/track to prog/track) under a single umbrella FX environment that would not be interrupted by changing the patches -- note that its only for program level to program level changes - cannot be set up for combi to program; in effect, the sequencer becomes a mixer/switcher in one (program) mode only.
Under setlist function Kronos will do mode (instrument), program, and combi level changes seamlessly.
Triton (my main board) does hold a note, but if the FX are radically different (i.e., between distorted guitar, and string quartet) there can be a huge and abrupt change in output and tone quality.
like M50
billbaker wrote:
Under setlist function Kronos will do mode (instrument), program, and combi level changes seamlessly.
actually Kronos will do this in all mode (including Prog Mode and Combi Mode), there is a thread in which Rich Formidoni explicity specify this
Although people here seem to say that it's an fx problem, to my ears absolutely all sound cuts out completely and there is a very short, but still noticeable gap (like, a fraction of a second) between the sounding of two patches. The X50 I previously had didn't have this problem at all, it in fact acted like people describe the M50, probably because it was one of the last synths to be based on the triton architecture, if I'm not mistaken.
The problem with using sequencer mode for me is that I use both combis and programs, and besides it sounds like it wouldn't help in this situation anyway :/
don't know about X50, but on my M50, when i change program the sustained notes remains, only the FX applied to them changes abruptly but there is any fraction of time in which there's silence
Oh wow This really is the kind of thing there should be more documentation on.. well, thanks for the help anyways guys, I'll just have to do this the hard way eg. digging up every possible setting by myself to see if I can at least get it working like you describe kimu.
Track switching in sequence mode should (should!) not produce the gap. But it is, as noted, only good program to program tho.
I'm don't know for sure, but you might be able to activate 2 tracks at once (which could solve part of your combi use dillema... i.e., you could keep a bass track and a pad and switch a lead sound (track three) to a comp-synth sound (track four).
The other thing you could try is making a "super combi" that combines the two sounds you want to transition between (you might have to take out drums or keep a common tone like bass) -- then use the mixer page to raise/ lower a given track.
You might also want to look at the "solo" function on the edit pull-down to switch between sounds - that might be a zero lag switch.
Ok, so I -was- just being daft, after all. It's the combi mode definitely that changes sounds abruptly, working from purely the program mode works fine, and in retrospect, I would have used the program mode (10 favorites) on the X50 which is why I had no such problems. Still, baffles me why they wouldn't allow the same principle to apply when using single program patches in combi mode, at least. Oh well, guess that means it's either using single sounds in program mode or dealing with no sustain and having more patch options/easier favorites in combi mode:/
I've tried the solo function and, while, in theory it does work, it is pretty cumbersome.. selecting the first patch in a song as a solo and then pressing solo for the second patch works as well, essentially making the two sound at the same time (which does add the sustain). But as soon as I switch off the solo from the first patch the sound instantly dies again, not to mention it's quite tricky dealing with all those solo on/off buttons in the heat of a performance
