Kenton Plugstation: Q&A w/ Gary G.
By the AN1x mailing list & Gary Gregson
Originally posted Winter 2001.

< Has anybody yet seen the post at YamahaSynth.com http://www.yamahasynth.com/news/index.htm regarding the Kenton Plugstation http://www.kenton.co.uk/productspecs/plugstation.html? Looks like this old rumor proved to be true! >

Features and Specifications

  • Breakout box for up to four Yamaha PLG cards
  • Can be used in four different configurations
  • Editing from front panel and PC/Mac
  • Can be used as a standalone unit
  • Optional card with eight audio outs
  • Can be used with any device that supports plugcards (ie S80 synth)
  • Operating system flash upgradeable via MIDI
  • Optional DS2416 interface card allows you to route the SW1000 digital stereo feed and six auxiliary outputs to the optional audio card
  • Plugcards' outputs can be routed back to the SW1000 card for output or directed to the optional audio out card
  • 1U rack unit
  • MIDI In, Out & Thru

< Does it allow you to play more than one card at a time? >

Yes...you can play all four PLG cards simultaneously...either from the host device (SW1K, S80 etc) or from the external box mounted MIDI ports....or from a combination of both. You can also route their outputs to separate audio outs (if you have the Audio board option fitted) or back to the host device as a mixed down stereo signal.

Also each card can have a separate port allocation and MIDI channel. Furthermore each card can also have a different SysEx ID. So you could have four PLG150AN cards in there and you could edit them separately!!! This would give you a quad timbral AN device with a polyphony of 20 notes!!!! 

Basically its very cool...and very affordable :-)

< Gary, is an update to AN1xEdit scheduled to accommodate this product or are you not involved with this?>

I worked with Kenton and Yamaha UK to design Plugstation :-) It should be on show at NAMM at the end of next month. I don't think AN1xEdit will need to be updated to support the box.....it should work as is!

However I may write some software for Plugstation itself (if I have time).....and possibly integrate support for the box in XGedit.

< Gary, congrats on the Plugstation. Hope it proves to be a success for you and Kenton...and Yamaha too. >

I have no financial steak in the device...I merely assisted in my capacity as a consultant to Yamaha Uk R&D. 

< I'm pleasantly surprised they - Yamaha - bought into the concept. Did they subsidize the r&d? Did Kenton and you have to reverse engineer the PLG design or is the spec something Yamaha openly licenses? >

Err....no comment....other than the PLG spec is not openly licensed :-)

< The CS6x, S30 and S80 appear to fall under the category of 'commercial success' so can we expect Yamaha to perpetuate further PLG boards and PLG capable hosts? > 

Yes...the current range of available PLG cards (VH, DX, VL, AN, PF) are only the first batch from Yamaha. We will be seeing many more cards in the future!

< IMO, an update to XGedit would definitely fall under the 'value added service'. Bet your users would love it! >

Yep...but as I said...its a case of finding the time. Really I hadn't planned to update XGedit further until I could move it over to the new MIDI Plugin format I am working on. However I may try to find time to incorporate Plug station support....if only because it will be so damn useful :-)

Regards 

Gary
Email:
gary@yme.co.uk
http://www.yme.co.uk/yme