WALDORF KB37 U SER M ANUAL V1.
Development Team Introduction Thank you for purchasing the KB37 controller keyboard. Development: Oliver Rockstedt, Frédéric Meslin, Frank Schneider Like any Waldorf product, this KB37 has been developed and produced using advanced materials from outer space. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Contents 1 General Safety Guidelines 4 2 Device Maintenance 5 3 Package Contents 5 4 Device Overview 4.1 Module Frame with Bus Backplane 4.2 CV Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3 Audio Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4 Controls Panel . . . . . . . . . . . 4.5 Back Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Connections 5.1 Power . 5.2 Audio . 5.3 MIDI . . 5.4 USB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13 Troubleshooting 13.1 Modules power fail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.2 Keyboard-to-CV not working . . . . . . . . . . 13.3 Arpeggiator not running . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.4 Pitch CV not covering the full keyboard range 13.5 Wheels not behaving properly . . . . . . . . . 13.6 Sensor output signal not working as expected 13.7 Sustain pedal shows reversed behaviour . . . . . . . . . . 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 14 Specifications 14.1 Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2 Device Maintenance 4 • Refer all service and repair tasks to qualified personnel. 4.1 • Use only a soft cloth or brush to clean the device surface. The module frame is the place where you mount your modules. Inside the frame there is a backplane with pin headers to connect the modules to the A-100 bus. The bus provides power as well as an interconnection for CV and Gate which can then be shared between the KB37 and certain modules.
4.2 CV Panel The CV panel on the left side of the unit provides jacks to access all control voltages as well as some illuminated buttons to set some configurations. 6 1 Gate output triggered on each note 2 Pitch CV output 1V/octave (level 0..+7V) 3 Clock output for syncing (generates a pulse on each clock signal) 4 Reset output (generates a pulse when a MIDI Stop message is received ) 5 Note velocity CV output (level 0..+5V) 6 Aftertouch CV output (level 0..
4.3 Audio Panel 4.4 The audio panel on the right side of the unit is where you connect the output signals of your modules and set the volume for the main outputs and the headphones. Controls Panel The controls panel provides access to various functions of the KB37. You can set the behaviour of the CV/Gate generation or enable/disable the arpeggiator. It also includes the pitch and modulation wheels.
4.5 5 Back Panel The back panel provides the connectivity needed to integrate the KB37 into your setup. 5.1 Connections Power An AC power outlet is needed to power up your KB37. Make sure that the power switch on the back panel is turned off before you connect your unit. Use the cable supplied with the unit to make the connection. 1 Mains socket with power switch and fuse 2 Extension connector 3 Audio outputs (stereo) 4 Sensor input (level 0..
6 Before connecting and disconnecting the KB37 from a power supply source, turn your amp’s volume control all the way down to avoid damage due to on/off switching noise. The KB37 produces a high-level output signal. Please take care that the connected playback device is suitable for the high level of an electronic instrument. Never use the mic or phono input of the connected amp! Before connecting modules, make sure that the KB37 is turned off. Please also disconnect the mains plug.
7 CV/Gate Interface 7.2 The Pitch output delivers a signal according to the calculated note pitch and has a 1V/octave scaling. The maximum output level is +7V. When calculating the note pitch, the following is taken into account: The CV/Gate interface features various output jacks on the left side of the KB37. It also allows the KB37 to be configured in various ways via setup functions and the dedicated buttons next to the jacks.
7.4 Reset second voice that can be patched to a separate oscillator. The Reset output delivers a short +5V trigger pulse each time a MIDI Stop event is received. This is how you enable/disable the output for Pitch 2: • Press and hold the Setup button 7.5 Velocity • Press the Ctrl-X button next to the output The Vel output delivers a signal in the range 0..+5V according to note velocity 1..127 (note velocity 0 means Note Off and is therefore not available). 7.
7.10 8 Bend Arpeggiator The Bend output delivers a bipolar signal in the range -5V..+5V according to the MIDI Pitch Bend 14-bit value. The arpeggiator splits up chords played on the keyboard or via incoming MIDI messages into single notes and plays them as a sequence. 7.11 Functionally, it sits between the MIDI input from the keyboard, USB or MIDI and the processing of the messages. It is driven by clock events, which can either be generated by KB37’s internal clock generator or received by MIDI.
8.2.1 8.2.3 Clock Determines the range of the single notes in octaves. When it is set to 1, the note list will be played back in the same octave as originally entered. Greater values mean that the note list is repeated in higher octaves. Select the note value for the steps between 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16 and 1/32 notes. To select 1/4 note as clock value, you have to press and hold the Setup key, the 1/8 key and then press the 1/32 key. Similar to get 1/2 notes, press and hold Setup, 1/32 and then press 1/8.
8.4.1 Hold Mode CC# Parameter Value range In hold mode the arpeggio changes every time a new chord is played. A chord change is detected when new notes arrive after all previous ones are released. 20 Enable 0/1 21 Hold 0/1 The hold mode can be activated or deactivated on the control panel: 22 Clock 0..9 (see clock table below) 23 Octaves 1..4 24 Direction 0..
9 Setup Functions 9.1.2 This setting determines if the clock for the arpeggiator and the Clock output is derived from the internal clock generator or externally. When Auto is selected, the clock is automatically switched from master to slave as soon as an external clock is detected via MIDI or USB. If the external clock stops, the source is switched back to master. The setup functions are used to access the KB37’s configuration settings.
printed as secondary labels in a lighter color on the lower part of the keyboard. Label Description MIDI TX Transmit channel of the keyboard 1 MIDI RX Receive channel for the CV interface 1 ARP TX Transmit channel for arpeggiator notes off ARP RX Receive channel for arpeggiator parameter control 16 This parameter determines the amount of modulation that is applied to the Pitch output of the CV interface when using the Pitch Wheel.
10 • a wheel’s value reaches its limit way to early Checking the wheels’ values should be done by looking at the generated MIDI messages. Sensors The KB37 features a Sensor input on the back panel that can be used to attach analog control devices. In the simplest case, you can plug in an expression pedal. By utilizing the learn function, the range of the input signal is then mapped to the full modular signal level at the Sensor output of the CV panel.
10.3.2 Touch Sensor This circuit can be used to convert skin resistance to a control voltage. You may want to vary R1 to adjust the sensitivity. The capacity C1 is intended for filtering since your body will probably pick up more noise than desired. 10.3 Example Circuits 10.3.3 Below you’ll find some example circuits that can be attached to the sensor input. Please regard them as a starting point that can be improved and tweaked to your needs. 10.3.
10.3.4 11 Distance Sensor Firmware Update The unit’s internal firmware can be updated over USB. To perform this operation, the KB37 has to be put in bootloader mode at startup. Then the firmware file has to be send via MIDI SysEx from your computer.
12 Factory Reset 13 In case you fully messed up the configuration of your KB37 or you want to reset it to a clean state, you can do a factory reset of all stored parameters. 13.
14 Specifications 14.1 Power Supply Input Voltage: 110/220V AC (switchable at PSU) Power Consumption: 10W (idle, no modules attached) Bus Power: +12V/1.5A, -12V/1.5A 14.2 Dimensions and Weight Width: 656mm Depth: 334mm Height: 122mm Total Weight: 8.
