My live set is pretty basic at the moment. I,
too, have been pretty passive with the current understanding that there is more
to come in the next os (I want my 2.0) But everything I've been doing so
far has been syncing to my Korg ES-1 in SONG mode (MP in song mode too).
It's quite tedious. The ES-1 isn't the most friendly live machine either,
but for a drum box it's great. The only annoying thing to me about using
SONG Mode, is I might as well just bring cds or dub plates to the gig. I'd
rather have a WHOLE lot more control live. Currently, there's NO way for
me to mix up my music. I have been toying with the idea to make multiple
DUPLICATE tracks, and then just put variations. Currently, I do a lot of
key changes, so there's a LOT of redundancy here. (wouldn't it be nice to
change the KEY of some tracks WHILE you're playing them? - seems that the
sequencer wants to STOP if you try to... can't be that far from reality)
I am enjoying the basic functionality of this
unit. EMU has done great. But in my opinion, the live features have
a long way to go to be crowned the king of beats. I KNOW THAT EMU CAN DO
IT! This is why I anticipate any news about a
new OS....
Waiting faithfully,
dB
----- Original Message -----From: erik_magrini@...Sent: Wednesday, July 31, 2002 10:46 AMSubject: [xl7] XX-7 live tips?
Hey guys, I've been waiting and hoping that there was going to be a new OS release that would address the lack of Megamixing or RPS/RPPR facilities in the XX-7 before I began using the XL-7 in a 100% live situation (and not combined with turntables like I currently do). However, with Summer NAMM come and gone (the most obvious place to announce a new OS), it seems I'm going to have to just figure out my own way around these limitations so that I can start preparing a live set once again (one of the main reasons I got the XL-7). The biggest issue I have, is how to switch patterns live, so that I can keep some continuity between them, and still retain the flexibility to use which ever pattern fits the mood. I could certainly program some 'filler' patterns, but that would require a hard and fast set list, something I want to avoid if possible.
I had originally hoped that the Beats functions on the trigger buttons would help me out here, but in use it's less than ideal and is generally more headaches than it's worth. The riffs don't start on time with whatever is playing, so even after a few months of practice, I still can't trigger them accurately more than 50% of the time (and there's no second chances live!). Plus, they're just not flexible enough to use most of the time, and they end up sounding like what they really are, someone else's music, not mine.
So then I attempted to create my own Presets with custom arps to address the problem, which by and large seemed to be the best solution, as long as I stuck to simple arps. Downsides are that it still has the issue with trigger timing, and in order to get a full 16 triggers, you pretty much need to limit yourself to the 16A channels for writing, the 16B channels being reserved for your Trigger Presets. Oh, and there's no easy way to switch trigger Presets mid-set, as I need to save and load the set ups via Multi's.
Next idea was to just use my Korg Er-1, and sync it to the XL-7 to add some fills and consistent drum sounds while switching patterns. This so far is the easiest solution, as the two stay nicely in sync and I can select which ever pattern in the ER-1 I want with the volume down and then fade it in when I need it. Downsides are that I can only use drum sound for the most part, and by the 5th or 6th pattern change, it does sound a bit "samey" and dry compared to the XL-7 sound. Oh yeah, and that adds one more bit of kit (not a huge issue) and another wallwart to accomidate.
So, I'm looking to you guys to chime in and let me know how you address these issues, or what you think Emu can do to improve the situation. Obviously, with in the current hardware limitations too, so it's got to be feasible. I think Emu has done a great job at sorting out the bugs and getting our boxes studio ready, now lets see (and help) them focus on the live use aspect!
rEalm
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