THE PC2 MADE EASY A Step by Step Guide For PC2 Keyboard Models Includes 34 Different Tutorials Designed For Specific Applications Plus Programming Tips, Tricks, and Shortcuts by David Fox Rev.
PC2 Made Easy Young Chang Distributors Young Chang America, Inc. PO Box 99995 Lakewood, WA 98499-0995 Tel: (253) 589-3200 Fax: (253) 984-0245 support@kurzweilmusicsystems.com www.kurzweilmusicsystems.com Young Chang Akki, Co. Ltd. 16th Floor Dongwoo-Bldg No. 708-1 Yoksam-Dong, Kangnam-Gu Seoul, Korea 135-080 Tel: 2-3451-3500 Fax: 2-3451-3596 2 Young Chang Canada Corp. 3650 Victoria Park Ave.
PC2 Made Easy BASIC CONCEPTS & USER INTERFACE ISSUES The Three Play Modes User Interface Basics Sound/Setup Select Data Entry Zone Parameters Zone Select Buttons Sliders and Assignable Controller Buttons (SW1-SW5) In Internal Voices Mode In MIDI Setups Mode In KB 3 Mode Other Buttons in the Zone Select & Assignable Controllers Section Sound Parameters Effects System Functions Editing Shortcuts Setting Note Values: Turning a parameter Off or setting it to None: To quickly edit a specific controller: Jumping
PC2 Made Easy Effects Issues 42 16. Program Editing – Internal Voices 44 17. Program Editing – KB3 Programs 49 18. Effects Editing 53 19. Using the Arpeggiator 55 20. Using the Various Arpeggiator Latch Modes 59 21. Assigning a Slider to Arpeggiator Velocities 61 22. Using the Arpeggiator with a Sequencer or External Controller 62 23. Using the PC2 to Control External Slaves 63 24. Bank Controller Issues for External Slaves 64 25.
PC2 Made Easy This document is intended for use with the PC2 and PC2X keyboard models. Although the PC2 rack is very similar, there are some differences with the keyboard version. A separate version for the PC2R is available. This guide walks you step-by-step through a variety of typical programming applications you might use in the creation of Setups and Programs on the PC2. The first part of this document reviews some of the basic concepts of the PC2 design and user interface, including editing shortcuts.
PC2 Made Easy You can also select a Program by typing its number on the numeric keypad and then pressing Enter. Appendix C in the original manual and pages 13 & 14 in the version 2 supplement manual list all the Internal Voice programs and their numbers. In addition, once you are on a program, you can scroll through them in numeric order by using the alpha wheel or the + and - buttons under the wheel. You can also switch between programs in two different banks using the numeric keypad.
PC2 Made Easy Bank 4 KB3 Voices Bank 5 User Created KB3 Voices Because of the special needs of KB3 programs, buttons and sliders have specific functions while in this mode. KB3 Mode will be discussed in more detail later. If you are in a different mode (MIDI Setups or Internal Voices) and press KB3 button, it will blink. At that point, you can use one of the methods described above to select a sound.
PC2 Made Easy MIDI. So the first User Created Setup will be #129. You canÕt enter the bank number to select a Setup from the front panel, you just enter the Setup number. However, if you want to call up Setups from another controller that sends MIDI messages, then the PC2 does respond to the bank controller followed by a program change number. Details on how to do this are covered in tutorial #31.
PC2 Made Easy A on the #1 Sound Select button. Following the A01, it will show a number and a Program name. This shows you the name of the Program in the currently selected Zone (more on this later). 3. Press the Next Group button. The top line of the display now shows S017 Touch Orch (Setup #17) and the bottom line shows B01. This tells you that you have moved to Group B but you are still on the #1 Sound Select button. 4. Press the #2 Sound Select button (also labeled Acoustic Piano 2).
PC2 Made Easy This means that if you are on Sound Select button #1, and press the Next Group button repeatedly, the Setup numbers will increment by 16 Ð starting with 1, then 17, then 33, etc. But in Internal Voices Mode, it works exactly the opposite. If you press the Sound Select #1 button, and then press the Next Group button repeatedly the program numbers will increment by 1, starting with 0, then 1, then 2 etc.
PC2 Made Easy 2. Press the MIDI Transmit Button. The display shows that you are on the MIDI Channel parameter. 3. Press the >> button. You are now on the Destination parameter, which by default is set to Local+MIDI. 4. Press the Ò-Ó button under the alpha wheel. The value changes to MIDI. Rotate the wheel clockwise. It changes back to Local+MIDI. Notice that there is an underscore below the letter L in the display. This shows that the parameter is highlighted.
PC2 Made Easy the Zone is already in the display, then pressing the same numbered Zone Select button will mute it (or unmute it if the zone is already muted). As this Setup demonstrates, you can save a Setup with a zone muted, allowing you to call up the Setup and have certain sounds layered or split, and then bring in another zone while you are playing, by pressing the appropriate zone button. 6. Press the MIDI Transmit button. The top line now shows Zone 3 0:060.
PC2 Made Easy 2. Press Layer (the Zone 2 button). Notice that the Mode buttons change and MIDI Setups is now lit instead of Internal Voices (since we now have 2 zones). Also notice that the top of the display says Zone:2 auto, indicating that AutoSplit is turned on. 3. Press the Strings Sound Select button. Now you have piano and strings layered across the entire keyboard. 4. Press Split (the Zone 3 button). 5. Press the Bass Sound Select button.
PC2 Made Easy The five Switch buttons (Sw1-SW5) section change function depending on whether you are in Internal Voices, MIDI Setups Mode or KB3 Mode. In Internal Voices Mode While you are in Internal Voices Mode, the default Internal Voices Setup has the controllers in zone 1 assigned to default values. Although you can customize the Internal Voices Setup (see tutorial #32) and change what messages are sent by the sliders, buttons, etc.
PC2 Made Easy In KB3 Mode, the sliders function as the drawbars found on a standard tone wheel organ. The bottom SW1-SW3 buttons control the Rotary and Chorus/Vibrato effects. This is covered in detail in tutorial #14. Other Buttons in the Zone Select & Assignable Controllers Section There are two additional buttons in this section. One of these buttons is dedicated to selecting the Global EQ feature. This button will always call up the EQ display no matter what mode you are in.
PC2 Made Easy 1. Go to MIDI Setups Mode and call up Setup #5 Synth/E Piano. If the bottom line does not say 1:Serious Classi, press the Zone 1 button. Notice that the FX-A button is lit, showing you that zone 1 is assigned to FX-A. 2. Now press the Zone 2 button. The FX-B button is lit, showing you that zone 2 is set to FX-B. If you press FX-A, it now lights and the FX-B button is no longer lit. You have just changed zone 2 to go to FX-A.
PC2 Made Easy C. If you are editing a Program, Lyr will change to Cmp. The Compare button will also blink. You will hear the previously stored version. Press Compare again to return to your currently edited version. Details on using the Copy function can be found at the end of this document, after all the tutorials.
PC2 Made Easy As you go through the tutorials below, you will find examples of many different things you can do on the PC2. When you start to create your own Setups, you may find that you want two or more zones to have the same types of control oriented functions, with each zone playing a different sound. One way to speed up the creation of your Setups is to copy parameters from one zone to another or even from one Setup to another. The PC2 makes it easy to do this.
PC2 Made Easy TUTORIALS Intro These tutorials have been designed to start simply and increase in complexity. To avoid a great deal of duplication, later tutorials will refer to steps from previous tutorials. There are two ways of creating a Setup Ð starting in Internal Voices Mode and (typically) use the AutoSplit function, or starting in MIDI Setups Mode. Starting in MIDI Setups Mode - Editing from the Default Setup: All of the tutorials start from the Setup 128, the Default Setup.
PC2 Made Easy Typically, it is easiest to start with Setup 128, since you will normally want those basic controllers set to their default values, while the sliders, etc. are left unassigned (because we will be assigning them in the tutorials). The following tutorials assume you have a switch pedal plugged into the Switch Pedal 1 jack (for Sustain). Some of these tutorials also require that you have a second switch pedal plugged in to the Switch Pedal 2 jack.
PC2 Made Easy 1. Layering Two or More Programs To play two or more programs, you must create a Setup with a zone for each program, and each zone set to a different MIDI channel. As stated in the Tutorials Intro, there are two possible ways to do this Ð From Internal Voices mode, using the Auto Split/Layer function, or from MIDI Setups mode. We covered using the Auto Split/ Layer Function in the Basics section, but we will review it here. Starting from Internal Voices mode: 1.
PC2 Made Easy If you know exactly which program you want, then the fastest way is to type the bank number, followed by the Ò+/-Ó button, followed by the program number, then Enter. (The bank numbers were listed at the beginning of this document.) OR If you want to scroll through the programs in a bank, you can press the Internal, User, Exp1, or Exp2 buttons to switch to that bank, then use the alpha wheel to scroll through the programs in that bank.
PC2 Made Easy Once you have the name the way you want it, press Enter. 8. The PC2 now jumps back to the Store dialog. The display will read ÒSave Setup 129?Ó. You can save to any number you want, by scrolling with the wheel or + and Ð buttons. If a Setup already exists at a numbered location, the display will change from ÒSaveÓ to ÒReplaceÓ. Now press Enter.
PC2 Made Easy 2. Splitting Two or More Programs As with tutorial #1, there are two possible ways to create a Setup with a split Ð from Internal Voices mode, using the Auto Split/Layer function, or from MIDI Setups mode. We covered using the Auto Split/ Layer Function in the Basics section, but we will review it here. Starting from Internal Voices mode: 1. Press the Internal Voices button. Choose the Program you want for the first zone.
PC2 Made Easy 4. Press the Key Range button. Since zone 2 is the left side of your split, you need to change the high note so that it doesnÕt overlap with zone 1. Press the >> to move the cursor to the High Note parameter. Press and hold the Enter button, then strike the note on the keyboard that is one note lower than the note you chose for the lowest note in zone 1. Play the keyboard. You should hear the two sounds split at the notes you chose. 5.
PC2 Made Easy 3. Assigning Sliders for Volume in Different Zones 1. Go through steps 1-3 (in the section on starting from MIDI Setups) in tutorial #1. 2. Hold the Controllers button and move Slider A. The display now shows Zone:1 Slider A, Ctrl Num:None. Press 7, then Enter to assign Slider A to Volume. (Controller #7 is MIDI Volume. For a complete list of all the MIDI controllers, see Appendix F in the manual.) 3. Go through steps 4 and 5 in tutorial #1 to create a second zone.
PC2 Made Easy 4. Setting Initial Volume Levels for Different Zones LetÕs say that you want to create a setup with piano and strings layered but you want the strings to be at much lower volume than the piano, and you need to have the volume levels set to specific amounts when you call up the Setup. You can use entry values to set initial volume levels. 1. Go through steps 1-4 of tutorial #3, assigning a piano program to zone 1 and a string program to zone 2. 2. Press the >> button four times.
PC2 Made Easy 5. Returning Volume Levels to Full Values when Exiting a Setup OK, so now you have created a Setup with the sliders set to control volume. LetÕs say that you are performing a song and you have faded out one or more zones and you go to a new Setup. You play the keyboard but donÕt hear the sounds on those zones! Keep in mind that all controller information is channel specific.
PC2 Made Easy 6. Adjusting Relative Volumes with One Slider So far we have only shown assigning a controller to one zone. But there is no reason that you canÕt use one controller to affect two or more zones. LetÕs say that you want to create a Setup with three layered zones - Piano, Electric Piano, & Strings.
PC2 Made Easy So how are the two methods different? The Offset method will keep a fixed amount of value between the two zones whereas the Scale method will give you a sliding amount of difference, based on the percentage. If you move the slider to the halfway point, the Offset method would give you 64-37=27 and the Scale method would give you 64 x .71=45.44 (sent as 45).
PC2 Made Easy 7. Crossfading Zones A nice musical effect is to be able to smoothly fade from one sound into another. You can easily do this with a single slider (or other continuous controller). 1. Follow tutorial #1 (from the section on starting from MIDI Setups) to create a 2 zone, layered Setup. To best demonstrate the crossfade effect, you should pick two sustaining sounds for the two zones, such as strings and organ, or two different sounding organs. 2. Hold the Controllers button and move Slider A.
PC2 Made Easy and hold notes while you move the slider, and compare that to using the Sine+ and Cosine+ curves. You should be able to hear a difference.
PC2 Made Easy 8. Velocity Switching You can use how hard you strike the key to switch between zones. This is usually most effective if you have programs that have samples of the same instrument at different velocity levels. Most PC2 programs donÕt do this, so you would most likely use this technique when controlling an external module. The following example demonstrates the technique with internal PC2 sounds.
PC2 Made Easy 9. Switching from One Setup to Another With a Pedal If you need to switch between Setups very quickly in performance, it can be useful to do this with a switch pedal. To do the following tutorial, you will need a switch pedal plugged into the Switch Pedal 2 jack in the PC2. (You could use Switch Pedal 1, but then you wouldnÕt be able to use it for Sustain.) 1. Create a Setup with one or more zones, following tutorial #1 (from the section on starting from MIDI Setups). 2.
PC2 Made Easy 5. Name & Save your Setup. It is important you save your Setup before testing the pedal, since stepping on the pedal will cause you to leave the current Setup and if it isnÕt saved, you will have to program it again. Now step on the pedal. You should see the PC2 jump to the Setup that you have chosen. Instead of using a pedal, you could accomplish the same thing assigning the Goto Setup to any of the 5 switch controller buttons, but of course, then you have to take your fingers off the keys.
PC2 Made Easy 10. Switching from One Program to Another with a Pedal If you have created a multiple zone Setup and only want to change a single program, you can use the Goto Program function instead of using the Goto Setup function. This can be useful if you donÕt want to make a bunch of extra Setups. It is also great for switching back and forth between two programs while keeping the other zones the same. This tutorial will be set up so that you can switch back and forth.
PC2 Made Easy 11. Switching Banks & Programs with a Pedal A limitation of the Goto Program function described in the previous tutorial is that it only sends a program change message, and not the bank controller. So what if you want to switch between programs in two different banks. The following tutorial provides a solution for this. 1. Create a multiple zone Setup, following tutorial #1 (from the section on starting from MIDI Setups).
PC2 Made Easy But what is the reason for steps 6-9? This has to do with an oddity (read bug) with the Bank Mode parameter. This parameter normally determines which bank controller or controllers (0, 32, or 0 and 32 together) are used when the Setup is first selected and the Program change message (which is selected from the Program button) is sent. For some reason when this parameter is set to one of the bank values, it interferes with the bank message that is sent by the pedal.
PC2 Made Easy 12. Transposing a Zone with a Button LetÕs say that you need to be able to play a song in two different keys (maybe you have two different singers for your band) and you have only learned how to play the song in one key. You can use a button to transpose the keyboard so that you can play the same notes but hear it transposed to a different key. 1. Create a single zone Setup, following tutorial #1 (from the section on starting from MIDI Setups). 2.
PC2 Made Easy while Zones 3 & 4 transpose up. Some other preset Setups also will transpose various zones up or down one octave. Setup #128, the Default Setup does NOT have this button assigned to transpose.
PC2 Made Easy 13. Panning Zones Hard Left & Right If you are using the PC2 in a recording studio or playing live and have the need to run different sounds out of different outputs, then you need to be able to pan individual zones hard right or hard left. To follow this tutorial, you will need to have both outputs of the PC2 plugged into a mixing board or stereo amp. If using a mixing board, make sure that the two channels are panned hard left and right on the board or you wonÕt hear the separation. 1.
PC2 Made Easy This Setup was designed so that simply by calling it up, the zones would be panned the way we wanted, but when we leave the Setup, panning is returned to normal. This way, other Setups that use the same MIDI channels wonÕt be panned. Of course, you might want to have all of your Setups panned in the same manner. But by using the Exit State or Exit Value parameters, you can ensure you donÕt have any unexpected surprises when you select a different Setup.
PC2 Made Easy 14. Playing KB3 Programs KB3 Mode is a special mode designed to work like a classic tone wheel organ (the B3) does. Because of this, there are many differences in the functions of the various buttons, sliders, and other controllers. You will notice that the buttons on the left side of the keyboard and the sliders have labels in orange. These labels apply when you are in KB3 Mode. 1. Press the KB3 Mode button and then the #1 Sound Select button (or press 0 on the numeric keypad and Enter).
PC2 Made Easy play the keyboard to hear the change in the sound of the Rotary speaker. If you would like to be able to control this function with a pedal instead of a button, plug a switch pedal into the Switch pedal 3 jack. SW2 turns the Chorus/Vibrato Effect on and off. SW3 lets you choose between 3 Chorus settings and 3 Vibrato settings. When you press the button, it will not light up but you will see the display change to show you which setting is currently selected.
PC2 Made Easy 15. Using KB3 Programs in a Setup In the PC2, when you go to KB3 Mode, you are in a special mode that has the sliders and buttons acting in a unique manner, sending specific MIDI controller messages to perform the KB3 functions. Once you put the KB3 program into a Setup, you will need to program the buttons, sliders and pedals to the correct MIDI controller numbers in order for them to work the same way they do when in KB3 Mode. Luckily we have already done this for you, with Setup #16.
PC2 Made Easy to Off). You can also assign the zone to a non-KB3 program by changing the zone to a different MIDI channel, choosing a different program for that zone, and clearing the controller assignments by pressing Controllers, then Copy, then the right arrow button until it says "Clear Zone X?", then Enter). In this situation, the Sliders could still be used to control any 4 of the drawbars that you want.
PC2 Made Easy If you are starting with the KB3 Setup, then you will be starting with a Setup in which Zone 1 has a KB3 program assigned. If you decide to add a KB3 program to a different Setup and program the controllers yourself, then you should make sure that you put the KB3 program in Zone 1 of the Setup.
PC2 Made Easy 16. Program Editing – Internal Voices All programs in the PC2 can be edited. and you can save your edits to the User Bank. All program editing parameters are contained within the Timbre, LFO, and Envelope menus, found in the Sound Parameters section of the front panel.
PC2 Made Easy 4. Press the Layer 2 button twice to mute it and play the keyboard. Notice that the remaining layer 1 sound is panned partially to the left. Layers 1 & 2 in this program are very similar sounding with each layer panned partially to opposite sides. (Layers 3 & 4 follow the pattern.) This gives a richer sound to the program. It also means that by editing only one layer, you can get some real variations in the sound by choosing to either change both layers or only one of them.
PC2 Made Easy (Appendix C in the manual documents the controller assignments). These Initial Values allow you to have the controller be set to a specific amount when the program is first called up, so you can depend on the program always sounding a specific way. At any point after that you can move the controller and the program will respond accordingly.
PC2 Made Easy keymap in the instrument to each side. Obviously however, if you are using a mono sample, it makes no sense to use a program with the two keymap parameters (unless you wanted to do something very strange such as assigning completely different keymaps to each side). 10. Now we will move on to another set of sound editing parameters. Press the Envelope button. This menu contains three parameters, for modifying the attack, decay and release times of the program.
PC2 Made Easy Now strike a key and hold it, and try changing the value of LFO1 Rate to 2.00 Hz. You should hear the vibrato slow down. If you move the mod wheel all the way up, you will hear the LFO speed back up again as the vibrato gains in intensity. Now press the >> button to see the LFO1 shape parameter. Try changing the shape and listen to the variations in the vibrato. You will find that the changes are quite subtle, since the amount of vibrato is limited in the program, but the changes are there.
PC2 Made Easy 17. Program Editing – KB3 Programs Countless blues, jazz, and rock recordings have centered around the distinctive sound created by classic tone wheel organs (such as the Hammond B-3) played through rotating speaker systems like the Leslie. Not only is the sound great, but itÕs supremely versatile, since the player can control timbre in real-time by adjusting drawbars that add or remove harmonics from the fundamental tone.
PC2 Made Easy the keys to hear the difference. DonÕt forget to check out the differences with the drawbars at varying positions. 2. Press the >> button twice to get to the Chorus/Vibrato Switch parameter. This parameter and the next parameter, Chorus/Vibrato are identical to the settings you can choose with the SW2 and SW3 buttons, which we discussed in the Intro Tutorial. If you change the value in the display, the button will change, and vice versa. 3.
PC2 Made Easy give you the maximum amount of leakage. Try changing the amount and playing some notes to hear the difference. 9. Press the >> button again. This last parameter, Amplitude, gives you an overall volume adjustment for the program. 10. Now press the Envelope button. In a KB3 program, this menu is used for controlling the Key Click, Amplitude Envelope, and Percussion. The first parameter is the Keyclick parameter. On a real B3, there is a slight clicking sound that happens when you press each key.
PC2 Made Easy which correspond to the Low and High Pitch settings you can choose with the zone 4 button. On a real B3, the Low Harmonic is the pitch of Drawbar 4, and the High Harmonic is the pitch of Drawbar 5. But with the PC2, you can chose the pitch from any drawbar for each setting. Finally the last parameter is the Steal Bar parameter. On a real B3, when you turn Percussion On, it disables one of the drawbars in order to be able to produce the Percussion tone.
PC2 Made Easy 18. Effects Editing Each Program and Setup in the PC2 can have its own effects settings. With the FX Mode parameter set to its default settings, when you call up any individual program from the front panel, you will hear the effects assigned to that program. And when you go to MIDI Setups mode, you will hear the effects assigned to that setup instead of the effects assigned to the individual programs called up in that Setup.
PC2 Made Easy 5. Press the >> button to get to the Feedback parameter. Try choosing different amounts to hear the change the in the sound. You can choose both positive and negative amounts. Once you have an amount you like, you might want to go back to the Wet/Dry button and bring the wet/dry amount back down to make the effect more subtle. 6. Once you have created the effect you want, you can save it.
PC2 Made Easy 19. Using the Arpeggiator One often-overlooked feature of the PC2 is the arpeggiator. This can be a lot of fun to play with - you can get many interesting and unusual effects. Basically, an arpeggiator takes notes that you play and repeats them in a pattern. Typically, you might use it to arpeggiate chords that you play, but it can have other uses such as playing percussion patterns.
PC2 Made Easy 4. As long as we are programming the controllers, we will set something else that we will use later. Hold the Controllers button, strike any key and press down. The display will change to show Zone:1 Mpressure, Ctrl Num: Pressure. The MPressure (Mono Pressure) controller is also referred to as aftertouch. After you strike a key, as you press down on the key, a pressure strip senses how hard you are pressing and generates controller data.
PC2 Made Easy Curve parameters for Slider to make sure they are at their defaults of 100%, 0, and Linear. You will find these parameters by pressing the >> button. ) When you call up a Setup, the initial tempo will normally be set to the value you set in the Tempo parameter. However, if you have a controller (such as a slider) assigned to Tempo AND you set an Entry value for that slider, that Entry value will override the Tempo setting in the Arpeggiator menu.
PC2 Made Easy as you have seen. Try setting this to different values and listen to the end results. Complete descriptions of all these values are found in the manual on pages 5-23 & 5-24. These three parameters allow you to do some pretty wild things with the arpeggiator. The best thing to do is just experiment with different settings. When you find something you like, you can save it as a Setup. 14. Press the >> button.
PC2 Made Easy 20. Using the Various Arpeggiator Latch Modes The Latch Mode parameter allows you great variation in deciding which notes that you play should be used (latched) by the arpeggiator. In the previous tutorial, Latch Mode was set to Keys, so that the arpeggiator simply latched any note you pressed and held it only as long as the key was held down. But there are many other possibilities. 1. Start with the Setup you created in the last tutorial.
PC2 Made Easy sure that the Switch Type is set to Momentary. Press the >> button, then 119, then Enter, to set the pedal to Latch 1. If you have a second switch pedal, make sure it is plugged into the Switch Pedal 2 jack. Hold the Controllers button and step on that pedal. If you donÕt have a second pedal, hold the Controllers button and press the SW5 button. Press the << button and make sure that the Switch Type is set to Momentary. Press the >> button, then 118, then Enter, to set the pedal to Latch 2. 7.
PC2 Made Easy 21. Assigning a Slider to Arpeggiator Velocities 1. Start with the Setup you created in tutorial #19. Press the Arpeggiator button, then press the >> button 9 times to get to the Vel Mode parameter. Change the value to Ctrl 117. 2. Hold the Controllers button and move Slider C. Press 117, then Enter to assign Arp Vel for the slider. (You might want to check the Scale, Offset, and Curve parameters for Slider to make sure they are at their defaults of 100%, 0, and Linear). 3.
PC2 Made Easy 22. Using the Arpeggiator with a Sequencer or External Controller If you are sequencing and create a Setup that uses the Arpeggiator, then the PC2 will send the actual notes that were generated by the arpeggiator to the sequencer. When you play back the sequence, it simply sends back those notes and does not actually play the arpeggiator itself. (For more on using the PC2 with a sequencer, see tutorial #28.
PC2 Made Easy 23. Using the PC2 to Control External Slaves All of the techniques you have learned in the previous tutorials can be applied to playing an external keyboard or module instead of the internal PC2 sounds. There is really only one parameter you need to set. 1. Start with Setup #128 Default Setup. Press the MIDI Transmit button. Set the channel to the channel number that you wish to use to control your external slave. 2. Press the >> button. Set the Destination to MIDI.
PC2 Made Easy 24. Bank Controller Issues for External Slaves This is less a tutorial than an explanation. Since most keyboards these days will have more than 128 different programs, and since MIDI only allows 128 values for any message, the bank controller was added to allow you to have multiple banks of programs with each bank having up to 128 programs in it. There are actually TWO bank controllers: Controller #0 and Controller #32. Some manufacturers use just 0, some use just 32, and some use both.
PC2 Made Easy etc. When you are on the Bank parameter in the PC2, it shows you both the 0/32 value and the bank number equivalent. When you are on other parameters, it will only show you the bank number equivalent, followed by a Ò:Ó, followed by the program number. To scroll through all the bank numbers with the alpha wheel can take a long time, so you will probably want to enter the bank number on the numeric keypad.
PC2 Made Easy 25. Switching Programs on External Slaves without Playing Them If you are performing and have two keyboards, you might run into a situation where you playing each keyboard separately (that is, each keyboard is playing its own sound), but you need to be able to quickly change the sounds on both keyboards. In this case, you can create a Setup on the PC2 that will switch the sounds on your other keyboard, but wonÕt send any MIDI note data to it. This is easily done.
PC2 Made Easy You can also use the same technique for zones assigned to the PC2 itself! LetÕs say you have two keyboards. On the PC2 keyboard, you want to play an internal program or programs (up to three). On your external keyboard, you want to play its own sounds and ALSO play a program from the PC2. But your external keyboard doesnÕt have the abilities the PC2 has for calling up different programs.
PC2 Made Easy 26. Playing Programs on External Slaves without sending Program Changes This is the opposite of the previous tutorial. What if you have an external module or keyboard that you want to play from the PC2, but you donÕt want to send program changes to it? (Maybe you want to leave that module always on the same sound, or you want the ability to choose the sounds directly from the front panel of that external module or keyboard). 1. Create a 2 zone Setup, following tutorial #1.
PC2 Made Easy 27. Using MIDI Receive Mode MIDI Receive Mode allows you access to all 16 MIDI channels that the PC2 listens on. It is important to be aware that the PC2 is always listening on all 16 MIDI channels, no matter which mode you are in. So if you are in MIDI Setups mode and playing on four channels from the keyboard, the other channels are still accessible via the MIDI In port. (The only time this is not true is if you change the MIDI In parameter in the Global menu to Remap.
PC2 Made Easy The wet/dry parameters obviously respond to all 128 possible values, For FX Routing, which has only four possible values, the PC2 responds to controller #94 as follows: ¥ Values of 0-31 select no effect ¥ Values of 32-63 select FX-A ¥ Values of 64-95 select FX-B ¥ Values of 96-127 select Both FX-A and FX-B 4. Unlike some other types of modules, you canÕt save a multi-timbral configuration in the PC2. There is only a single global setting of these parameters.
PC2 Made Easy 28. Working With an External Sequencer There are a few issues you will want to understand when working with an external sequencer. The first one is that no matter which mode you are in, the PC2 is normally multi-timbral and can respond to all 16 MIDI channels independently. For the most part, you will want to be either in Internal Voices or MIDI Receive Mode when you are sequencing, since you are likely to be sequencing a single track at a time, playing a single program.
PC2 Made Easy Now you have a single zone setup that only sends data out of the MIDI Out port which gives you the same thing as turning Local Control Off and playing in Internal Voices mode. There are several reasons why you may want to use this second method. First of all, Local Control resets back to On each time you power up the PC2. The second reason is that you can edit this Setup to assign the controllers to specific values you might want to use when sequencing.
PC2 Made Easy 29. Recording Setups to a Sequencer Again, this is less of a tutorial than an explanation. The thing that you need to remember about a Setup is that it transmits MIDI information on multiple MIDI channels, playing different programs on different channels. This is the same thing a sequencer does - you have different tracks, sending information on different channels. But on most sequencers, a track can only be assigned to a single channel.
PC2 Made Easy 30. Using Effects when Sequencing As we mentioned in the Basic Concepts Tutorial, only a single effects configuration can be called up at any one time. With the PC2 at its default values, if you are in Internal Voices, KB3, or MIDI Setups Mode, the current Program or Setup is controlling the effects, determining which effects get called up for each bus, along with the routing and wet/dry amounts. But once you start sequencing, things get a bit more complicated.
PC2 Made Easy Next, press the FX Mode button, then press the >> button to select the FX Channel parameter. This can be set to Current or any MIDI Channel. The default is Current. When this parameter is set to current, whichever program is assigned to the channel that you are currently transmitting on will be the program that calls up the effects. If you go to MIDI Receive Mode, whatever program is on the Channel currently in the display will call up the effects.
PC2 Made Easy 31. Selecting Setups from an External Controller You can call up a Setup from an external controller or a sequencer, by sending a bank controller and program change message on a specified channel. This would most typically be done in a performance situation where you need to automate calling up Setups. 1. First you need to choose a MIDI channel you will use to send the bank and program change messages.
PC2 Made Easy 32. Customizing the Internal Voices Mode Now that you have learned about various programming techniques for Setups, you might want to apply some of these things to the Internal Voices mode. Essentially, when you are in Internal Voices mode, you are playing a single zone setup. So all of the zone programming parameters apply. For example, you might want to assign a slider to Tempo Control for the Arpeggiator. This is easily done. 1. Start in Internal Voices mode. 2.
PC2 Made Easy 33. Using SysEx to Store Your Setups If you start to create your own Setups, Programs, and Effects, you will want to store them externally, in case anything happens to your battery backed memory, or you need to create more Setups than you have room for in the PC2. Since the PC2 does not have its own disk drive, you must save this info by sending a system exclusive dump to an external device such as a sequencer or sysex recorder.
PC2 Made Easy 2. Play back the sequence, or initiate the dump playback from your external device. ThatÕs it. You donÕt have to put the PC2 in any special mode to receive the dump. When a dump is sent back to the PC2, the information goes to the memory location for that Setup. It does NOT update the edit buffer, which is where the current Setup is played from. Therefore you have to call up that object after the dump to hear it.
PC2 Made Easy 34. Trouble Shooting If you run into problems while playing or programming, there are several things you can do to help troubleshoot the problem. First of all if you are not getting the expected results from your programming or are having strange results when hooked to an external device, you can use the MIDIScope utility to see exactly what MIDI messages are being received by the PC2Õs sound engine. Press the Global button, the press >> until you see MIDIScope.
PC2 Made Easy ADDITIONAL INFORMATION A Note About the Physical Controllers The tutorials above specify that you select a particular physical controller. But you can always choose a different controller if you want. For example, you might like to switch a function with a button instead of a pedal. The programming steps are exactly the same you simply choose a different controller. The thing to remember is that the controllers fall into two different types.
PC2 Made Easy Chg Setups - This parameter determines when a change from one Setup to the next will happen. In Immediate mode (the default), the setup changes as soon as you call it up from any of the various methods. In Keys Up mode, the change wonÕt happen until you let go of all the keys. Tuning - You can tune the PC2 up or down one semi-tone, in one cent increments. This can be useful if you are playing along with a recording, or playing with other acoustic instruments that canÕt be easily retuned.
PC2 Made Easy will simply play the program you currently have called up (it will be sent on channel 1, assuming you have not changed the default setting of the Internal Voices Setup). If you are MIDI Setups Mode, then the information will be sent to various channels based on how the zones are programmed in your Setup. For example, if you have a Setup with two zones that are layered for channels 1 ands 2, all incoming information will be sent on to the sound module part of the PC2 on both channels 1 and 2.
PC2 Made Easy Incoming Controller numbers below will be remappedÉ MIDI 1 (Mod Wheel) MIDI 6 MIDI 22 MIDI 23 MIDI 24 MIDI 11 (Expression) MIDI 4 (Foot) MIDI 2 (Breath) MIDI 88 MIDI 80 MIDI 81 MIDI 82 MIDI 83 MIDI 64 MIDI 66 MIDI 67 MIDI 21 MIDI 86 MIDI 87 Pitch Bend Mono Pressure Éto the Controller number (or special controller function) assigned to this physical controller Mod Wheel (Wheel 2) Slider A Slider B Slider C Slider D CC Pedal 1 CC Pedal 2 Breath Controller SW1 SW2 SW3 SW4 SW5 Switch Pedal 1 Swit
PC2 Made Easy 2. Press Copy, then press the zone button for the zone you want to copy. Then press Enter. 3. Press the MIDI Setups button. Select the Setup that you want to paste into. 4. Press the Copy button. Press the >> button, then press the Zone button for the zone you want to paste into. Then press Enter. To copy all the controller parameters from one controller to another: 1. Call up the Setup that has the controller data that you want to copy.
PC2 Made Easy To copy the Effects configuration from one Setup to another or one Program to another: This will copy both the effects (FX-A and FX-B) and their editable parameters. It does NOT copy the FX Routing or Wet/Dry mixes for each zone in a setup 1. Call up the Setup (or Program) which has the effects data that you want to copy. Press the FX-A Select or FX-B Select button. 2. Press Copy, Enter. 3. Press the MIDI Setups (or Internal Voices) button.
