Synth-DIY Yahoo! Groups Archives

A couple of questions

2001-10-04 by erik_magrini@Baxter.com

Hello all, I've been eyeing the XL-7 for awhile now and I think I'm almost ready to make the purchase. �I had a couple of questions though, and wanted to run them by you first. �I hope you don't mind and can help me out. �Let me give you a quick background first, so you know where I'm coming from and can tailor your answers accordingly.

I'm 26, from Chicago, and I've been writing electronic music for about 7 years (although I've been producing a lot longer than that). �Mostly deep trance although lately I've been doing more and more breaks, DnB, and even some downtempo tunes. �I started out doing live pa's based on a Korg X2, then gradually added mc303, mc505 (I'm a moderator of that eGroups list, know that box inside out BTW), sp808, ER-1, CS2x, S3000XL, K2600XS, and more. �Through some bad luck I ended up having to sell most of it though, and now I'm pretty much doing everything in the computer (1.0gHz AMD, Cubase 5.0, Reason, Wavelab, tons of VSTi's and plug ins). �Lately though I'm missing creating on the a groovebox, thus my interest in the XL-1. �I also gig weekly as a DJ (played a lot of clubs and parties in Chicago) and own my own studio geared towards electronic music and DJs.

Ok, on to the questions:

1. When you're creating new patterns, is it easy to make changes to your programs (sounds? �Not sure what E-mu speak is for programs) without leaving the sequencer environment? �What I mean is, if I'm working on a pattern, can I tweak and save sounds as I go, or are they generally two seperate processes? �The nice thing about the mc505, was that you didn't have to stop your creative flow to save small tweak to a sound.

2. How well does the USB interface work? �Lots of glitches, or is easy to transfer SMF's from Cubase for editing and vice versa for example?

3. I know you can mute and unmute parts easily on the XL-7, but is it hard to slowly bring in a part? �I'm used to the sliders on the mc505, is tehre a dedicated volume knob for each part you can use?

4. How many tones can make up a program? �2, 4, 8 ?

5. Do all the LFO's and delay times sync to external BPM?

6. Honestly, is anyone experiencing any bugs, or features that don't work properly? �I'm basically going to be using the drums in Reason, and then syncing the XL-7 to that (via ReWire in Cubase, since Reason doesn't transmit MIDI) for most of my instrument sounds, anything I should be aware of as to why this might not work?

Thanx to everyone that can help me out, it's really appreciated. �Hopefully I'll be able to get one soon, and be a useful contributor to this lsit notlong after that!

rEalm
http://rEalm.iuma.com

Re: [xl7] A couple of questions

2001-10-04 by Aaron Eppolito

erik_magrini@... wrote:

> 1. When you're creating new patterns, is it easy to make changes to
> your programs (sounds?  Not sure what E-mu speak is for programs)
> without leaving the sequencer environment?  What I mean is, if I'm
> working on a pattern, can I tweak and save sounds as I go, or are they
> generally two seperate processes?  The nice thing about the mc505, was
> that you didn't have to stop your creative flow to save small tweak to
> a sound.

Presets we tend to call them.  Seems everyone has a different term. =)
The answer is, yes, you can tweak a sound and save it even while you're
in the middle of recording a sequence.  You almost never have to stop
doing anything on this box to do something else.

> 2. How well does the USB interface work?  Lots of glitches, or is easy
> to transfer SMF's from Cubase for editing and vice versa for example?

USB drivers haven't been released yet, but E-loader can transfer SMFs
between your PC/Mac and your XL-7.  I use it like this all the time (but
usually to a hex editor!).

> 3. I know you can mute and unmute parts easily on the XL-7, but is it
> hard to slowly bring in a part?  I'm used to the sliders on the mc505,
> is tehre a dedicated volume knob for each part you can use?

Yep.  Simply select "Volume" mode on the top left and all 16 knobs
become channel volumes.  Ditto for Pan...

> 4. How many tones can make up a program?  2, 4, 8 ?

Four stereo layers per patch, and two links to other presets, thus
giving you up to 12 layers.

> 5. Do all the LFO's and delay times sync to external BPM?

Yep.

> 6. Honestly, is anyone experiencing any bugs, or features that don't
> work properly?  I'm basically going to be using the drums in Reason,
> and then syncing the XL-7 to that (via ReWire in Cubase, since Reason
> doesn't transmit MIDI) for most of my instrument sounds, anything I
> should be aware of as to why this might not work?

Right now, sending external patch changes from the XL-7 is a little
wonky.  We're fixing that for 1.02, due out November.  In the above
setup, I'm not sure that will be a problem for you.

> Thanx to everyone that can help me out, it's really appreciated.
> Hopefully I'll be able to get one soon, and be a useful contributor to
> this lsit notlong after that!

No sweat.  Hope to see you back soon...

-Aaron

Re: [xl7] A couple of questions

2001-10-04 by erik_magrini@Baxter.com

Thanx a lot, you answered all of my questions spot on. �Damn, now I don't have an excuse not to go into debt again, sigh... :)

rEalm