From: root@korgrd.com (KORGRD)
Subject: Re:Wavestation limitations
Organization: Korg Research and Development, Milpitas, CA
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 01:55:29 GMT

In regards to the Wavestation effects, Nick Rothwell writes:

>Yes, BUT: you can't switch them in any way under external MIDI con-
trol
>without killing all voices. This is the big drawback.

Actually, there are a number of ways to change the effects under 
"external MIDI control," almost none of which kill any voices at all 
(see NOTE below). That is another groovy feature of the Wavestation: 
voices are sustained across Performance changes, and when the FX 
change, they crossfade into one another. On the Wavestation and 
Wavestation EX keyboards, there are two ways to change the effects of 
a Multiset:

1. Change the Multiset. On the original Wavestation and the Wavesta-
tion EX, this is done via MIDI SysEx; the message is sent whenever the 
Multiset number is changed, and so requires no hacking at all. (On the 
Wavestation A/D and SR, you can use SysEx, or also Program Changes on 
the Basic Channel.)

2. Use SysEx to change the FX selections themselves. You can use this 
to change the FX individually. Again, no hacking is necessary; just 
set "Parameters" to RECOGNIZE & TRANSMIT on the MIDI page.

Try it; voices are most certainly sustained across the changes.

3. On the Wavestation A/D and SR, you have have a third choice (which 
sounds similar to the "late lamented VFX system" which he mentions): 
set the MIDI REMAP page's "Change MultiFX w/Prog" to ENABLE. This will 
allow you to send MIDI Program Change and Bank Select messages on the 
FX Control Channel, and call up the effects of the specified Perfor-
mance to be used by the Multiset.

Again, voices are sustained across the FX changes. 

Also, thanks to Petri Launiainen for pointing out option 3 in his mes-
sage of January 10; however, please note that the FX Control Channel 
is set independently of the Basic Channel, so that you can change Mul-
tisets with Program Changes on the Basic Channel while still select-
ing effects via the FX Control Channel (whew! what a mouthful!).

In fact, the Wavestation will allow you to maintain the same reverb 
algorithm in one FX slot, while changing the other FX slot (from cho-
rus to multi-tap delay, for instance), WITHOUT CUTTING OFF THE REVERB 
DECAY. That's right - as long as the Performances or Multisets that 
you are switching between have the same reverb algorithm in the same 
FX slot and routing (serial or parallel), then the reverb will not be 
cut off. The parameters of the reverb can be set differently, and the 
reverbs still will not cut off. In fact, you can even change between 
serial and parallel routings, as long as the reverb is in the FX1 slot 
(voices are cut off in that instance - see note 2 below). Extremely 
civilised, I think you'll agree.

NOTE 1. Selecting one of the Vocoder algorithms - the last 6 of the 
Wavestation's 55 effects programs - *does* cut off the voices. These 
effects, added in the Wavestation A/D, EX, and SR, are special cases in a 
few other ways- they can grab onto any of the FX busses for their car-
rier and modulator, for instance.

NOTE 2. Changing between the Serial and Parallel FX routings also 
cuts off the voices. I propose, however, that it is relatively rare 
that one would want to do this in the middle of a song; apparently 
Nick has had occasion to do so.

Also, in regards to dual mono fx (in which an FX slot is split into 
two separate mono effects, such as distortion on the right and mono 
delay on the left), Nick Rothwell writes:

>...the problem with this being that without an automated mixer the
>resulting signals come out hard-panned.

Well, not really. For one, the outputs of FX2 in the parallel routing 
(the normal routing for use with the dual mono effects) are pannable 
across the stereo outputs 1-2. (They still appear discretely at out-
puts 3 & 4). This panning is controllable in real time by the MIDI 
controller of your choice. 

Also, it is of course not necessary to have an automated mixer to 
provide an alternative to hard panning. A simple, manual mixer will 
do just fine; perhaps Nick means that an automated mixer is necessary 
for automatic panning effects with the dual mono effects. As I point 
out above, for FX2 in parallel routing, the Wavestation can in fact 
provide automated output panning; for dual mono effects in the FX1 
slot, you will indeed have to do panning externally. 

Also, in response to my paragraph:
>To allow one Performance special effects while others are 
>dry or less processed, the Wavestation's serial effects routing 
>enables you to route sounds around the effects entirely (to appear 
>dry at the 3/4 outputs) or to route the sounds through only the sec-
>ond of the two effects, even when other sounds are going through 
>both.

Nick writes: 
>...the problem with this being that the sub outputs (3, 4) are 
always
>active, so you'll need automated muting to make the most of it.

In fact, outputs 3 and 4 are only active if something is being 
sent to FX Busses C and/or D. This signal can then be mixed into 
the main stereo outputs, or appear only at 3 and 4 - programmable 
within each Performance and Multiset. With properly programmed 
FX, no muting - automatic or not - should be necessary (Nick is 
free, naturally, to correct me if I'm not getting his point).

Lastly, in response to:
>...in the new Wavestation SR, 
>in which the Multisets themselves store FX Bussing for each of 
>their 16 Performances; this makes editing Multiset FX much more 
>convenient.

Nick writes:
>That's a change for the worse, since it means that specific mul-
>tiset slots
>have different behaviour, making multitimbral program changes a 
>headache.
>What the WS is lacking is a system like the late lamented VFX, 
>where
>performances can be placed under MIDI control into the multiset 
>and have
>their effects setup (algorithms and/or routing) optionally 
>loaded as well.

Hmmmm...well, let's try explaining this in another way. Specific 
"Multiset slots" (channels in Wavestation parlance) most emphati-
cally not have different behaviors; FX Bus is simply a programma-
ble Multiset channel parameter, just like channel volume. Volume 
is controlled by MIDI Controller #7; FX Bus (which also controls 
pan) is controlled by MIDI Controllers #10 and #42, the MSB and 
LSB, respectively, for MIDI Pan.

This means that you can change panning dynamically from MIDI 
(between the stereo outputs 1-2 only), and you can also assign any 
Performance to any of the FX Busses. If you want to change a Per-
formance on a particular channel, and at the same time change its 
FX bussing, you just send the appropriate MIDI Pan messages as 
well. No particular headaches here - in fact, this seems to me to 
be simultaneously pretty flexible and easy to deal with.

And, as mentioned above, both the SR and the A/D allow you to 
change the effects of the Multiset by MIDI Program Change and Bank 
Select messages on the FX Control Channel. This calls up the 
effects of that Performance, to be used by the Multiset...sounds 
an awful lot like that VFX Multiset. 

So, now everyone knows a lot more than they wanted to about Waves-
tation effects. Signing off for now,

- Dan

-- 
Dan Phillips dan@korgrd.com   Korg Research and Development   Milpitas, CA USA 
"Stupid Quote"                         "Cheerful Remark"
Disclaimer:These are only my opinions.       "