Файл: Clavia nord lead 2 v1.0 (eng manual).pdf

10. MIDI

About the MIDI Implementation

The following MIDI messages can be transmitted and received from the Nord Lead:

Notes

▼Note On and Off messages are of course transmitted when you play the keyboard. If you use the Octave Shift buttons in their “Keyboard” mode (see page 56), you can shift the Nord Lead 2 keyboard ± 2 octaves, giving you an effective keyboard range of 8 octaves.

▼Notes can be received over the entire MIDI range. That is, when playing via MIDI you have access to a pitch range wider than 10 octaves!

Pitch Bend

▼Pitch Bend messages are always transmitted from the Pitch Stick.

▼The Pitch bend range (used when receiving pitch bend messages) can be adjusted, see page 68.

Controllers

▼The Modulation wheel is transmitted and received via MIDI as Controller 1 (Modulation wheel).

▼If you have an Expression pedal connected to the Control Pedal input, this is transmitted as Controller 11.

▼If you have a Sustain pedal connected, this is transmitted as Controller 64 (Damper Pedal).

▼All other controls (knobs and switches) on the front panel (except Master Level), are also transmitted and received as Control Change messages. This can be used to record your actions on the front panel into a MIDI sequencer, for playback together with the musical performance.

For a full list of which parameters correspond to which Controller number, see the MIDI Implementation section.

You can turn the transmission/reception of the front panel Controllers on/off, see page 61.

Aftertouch

The Nord Lead 2 can receive (but not send) Aftertouch (channel pressure) messages. For each program slot, you can set which parameter (if any) should be controlled by the Aftertouch messages:

1.While holding down the Shift button, press the Special button.

2.Press the Special button repeatedly, until the left character in the display is a “t” (for “touch”).

3.Select a slot for which you want to set the aftertouch function.

4.To assign a parameter for the aftertouch, press Store.

The display will flash, showing one of the abbreviations in the table below.

5. Use the Program Up/Down buttons to select one of the following control functions:

6.After you have made your choice, press Store again.

You return to the “t” display.

7.Use the Program Up/Down buttons to select a control amount value (“of” or “1” to “7”).

This value (shown to the right in the display) determines how much the assigned parameter should be affected by a received maximum aftertouch value.

If you don’t want the slot to be affected by aftertouch messages, select amount value “of”.

8.If needed, repeat steps 3 to 7 to set aftertouch assignment for the other slots.

9.Press Shift to exit the Special menu and return to play mode.

Program Change

The descriptions below are only true if transmission/reception of Program Change messages is activated, see page 61.

▼When you select a new Program for a slot, a Program Change message is transmitted via MIDI, on the slot’s MIDI Channel.

▼Likewise, if a Program Change message is received on a certain MIDI Channel, all Program slots set to that MIDI Channel will switch to a new Program.

▼When you select a new Performance, a Program Change message is transmitted on the Global MIDI Channel. For information on how to set the Global MIDI Channel, see page 62.

▼When a Program Change message is received on the Global MIDI Channel, a new Performance is selected.

If the Global MIDI Channel happens to be set to the same number as one of the Program slots, the Performance takes precedence. That is, Program Change messages on this MIDI Channel will select Performances, not Programs.

Bank Select

Bank Select messages are only received, not transmitted.

If you use a PCMCIA card, received Bank Select messages can be used to switch between the internal Bank and the three Banks on the card on the slot’s MIDI Channel, just as with Program Change, see above. The lowest Bank Select number selects the internal Bank, the second selects the first PCMCIA Bank and so on.

Bank Select must always be used in combination with Program Change, or no Bank change will take place.

System Exclusive

Program settings can be transmitted as a System Exclusive “bulk dump”. See page 73.

Using Nord Lead 2 With a Sequencer

Connections

1.Connect MIDI Out on the Nord Lead 2 to a MIDI In on your sequencer.

2.Connect a MIDI Out from your sequencer to a MIDI In on the Nord Lead 2.

Local On/Off

If your sequencer “echoes” all received MIDI signals via its MIDI Output(s) (which it probably does, look for a function called “MIDI Thru”, “MIDI Echo”, “MIDI Merge”, “Soft Thru” or similar), the Nord Lead 2 should be set to Local Off. See page 61.

MIDI Channels

▼Which MIDI Channel the Nord Lead 2 transmits on depends on which of the four Program slots is active (see page 13).

▼All four Program Slots always receive MIDI, regardless of which one is selected, or if layering of one or more slots is activated or not. However, all Slots used in a Layer (i.e. all Slots that are activated) will also receive on the MIDI channel set for the leftmost active Slot!

This means that if you have a layer consisting of Slots A, B and D, and Slot A is set to MIDI channel 1, both Slots B and D will receive on channel 1, as well as on their respective set channels.

Therefore, if you want the sequencer to control the four Program Slots independently (i.e. not in a layer), make sure only one of the Slots is active on the Nord Lead 2 (only one Program Slot LED is lit)!

1.Set up the Program slots that you plan to use so that they transmit/receive on the desired MIDI Channels.

To set a slot’s MIDI Channel, hold down Shift, and press MIDI Ch. Then select the Program slot, and set the value. See page 62 for details.

2.Set the program slots that you don’t plan to use, to MIDI Channel “Off”.

This is to ensure they don’t play any sound unintentionally.

3.Select the desired Program for each Program slot.

4.If your sequencer requires you to transmit on a certain MIDI Channel (the same MIDI Channel as the slot receives on), select the desired slot, before recording.

5.If needed, set the sequencer up to record and play back on the desired MIDI Channel.

6.Activate recording and play the Nord Lead 2.

7.For an overdub with a new sound, either select the next Program slot, or just select a new Track and a new MIDI Channel in the sequencer.

Which of the two alternatives that is right for you depends on your sequencer, not the Nord Lead 2.

Program Change

For the Nord Lead 2 to transmit and receive Program Change messages, Program Change must be activated, see page 61.

▼To record a Program Change for a certain Program slot, activate recording in the sequencer and simply select a new Program for the slot.

▼To record a change of Performance, go into Performance mode, activate recording in the sequencer and select the Performance from the front panel.

When playing back the Performance Program Change message from the sequencer, make sure it gets transmitted on the Nord Lead’s Global MIDI Channel (see page 62).

Controllers

For the Nord Lead 2 to transmit and receive Control change messages from the front panel this must be activated, see page 61. Modulation wheel and pedal, however, are always transmitted/received.

▼When you record front panel movements, make sure you have the right Program slot activated, and that the sequencer “echoes” the changes back on the right MIDI Channel, or your changes will affect the wrong sound!

▼If two (or more) Program slots are set up to receive on the same MIDI Channel, both will be affected by the changes!

▼Please read the note about Controller transmission in Local Off mode on page 61.

Some notes about Controllers and “Chasing”

Consider a situation in which you record a Controller message, e.g. a filter opening, in the middle of your sequencer song. Then you “rewind” the sequencer, to a position before the recorded filter opening. The problem is, that the Nord Lead’s filter will remain opened, although it really should be as it was before you recorded the filter opening. To solve such problems, several sequencers include a function called “chasing”, which keeps track of Controller changes and tries to adjust the settings on the instrument according to the current position in the sequencer song.

However, in our case, this wouldn’t help much, because the filter opening was the first Controller message recorded in the song. The sequencer has no information about the filter setting before the recorded change, and therefore cannot “chase” the settings properly. To solve this, you could record a “snapshot” of all Controller settings on the Nord Lead 2 panel, at the beginning of your sequencer song. This is best done by sending an “All Controllers Request” Sys Ex message from the sequencer to the Nord Lead 2, which will respond by dumping all its Controller values into the sequencer for recording. The “All Controllers Request” message is described in the MIDI Implementation section.

Bulk Dump

To dump one or more Programs or Performances via MIDI as System Exclusive data, for reprogramming of another Nord Lead 2 or for recording the data into another MIDI device, proceed as follows:

1.Connect a cable from MIDI Out on the Nord Lead 2 to MIDI In on the other device.

2.Set up the receiving device so that it accepts System Exclusive data.

3.To Dump Performances, enter “Performance Mode” (see page 33). To Dump Programs or Percussion Kits, make sure you are not in Performance mode.

4.If you want to transmit one Program/Performance only, select it.

5.If needed, set the other device to its “recording mode”.

6.Hold down the Shift button and press “Dump One” (Oct Shift +) to transmit the current Program/Performance only or “Dump All” (Oct Shift –) to transmit all Programs/Performances.

To receive a Bulk Dump, proceed as follows:

1.Connect a cable from MIDI Out on the transmitting device to MIDI In on the Nord Lead 2.

2.If you are about to receive a complete Bank, you need to scroll to a program number in the Bank (single Sound Bank or Performance Bank) you want to replace with the received Bank.

3.Initiate the transmission on the transmitting device.

If the dump contained a complete Bank, it will take the place of the selected Bank in the Nord Lead 2. If the dump contained one Program/Performance only, this will be put in the “edit buffer” of the active slot, instead of the Program/Performance you were playing. However, it is not saved permanently. To save it, use Store as described on page 22 and page 35.

Remember that any Percussion Kits in a Performance, will only be included as “references” when you dump the Performance. If you want to dump Percussion Kits including all parameters, you have to be in Program mode!

11. About Subtractive

Synthesis

Introduction

Subtractive synthesis is one of the oldest and most widely spread forms of synthesizing sounds. It is the method employed in such classics as the Moog synthesizers, the Sequential Prophet-5 and 10, Arp synthesizers, most Oberheim synthesizers, the Roland Jupiter models, the TB-303 etc; the list is practically endless. Even new digital instruments such as workstations and sample playback devices employ many of the basic principles of subtractive synthesis.

With the first Nord Lead, Clavia introduced a new concept: a modern digital instrument that combined a faithful reproduction of the behaviour of the old analog favourites with the convenience and stability of the newer designs. The Nord Lead 2 takes this concept even further, adding valuable new features and functionalities.

The purpose of this chapter is to give you a quick introduction to this world of subtractive synthesis as used in he Nord Lead 2 and its analog predecessors. If you’d like to know more, there are number of text books on the subject.

The Building Blocks

Subtractive synthesis started its life in modular synthesizers, large cabinets housing separate electronic modules, connected via patch cords. With the advancement of technology, the functionality of many of these modules could be put onto one single circuit board. But functionality-wise, subtractive synthesizers are still built out of the same modules (or building blocks) as they were decades ago.

We will now take a closer look at these building blocks. Let’s first talk about the three that actually create and process sound:

Oscillator

The Oscillator is actually the only thing in a synthesizer that actually produces any sound, (all the other modules only shape the sound from the oscillator.) The oscillator is a bit like the string on a string instrument, it vibrates to create sound.

Filter

The signal from the oscillator is sent through the Filter which shapes the timbre of the sound to make it “bright”, “dull”, “thin”, etc.

Amplifier

The Amplifier shapes the volume of the sound making it “soft” or “hard”, “slow” or “short”.

In addition to these major three modules all synthesizers also have “modulators”, devices that can make the volume, timbre pitch and other qualities of sound vary continuously when you play a key. It is these modulators that basically add animation to the sound, taking it from a dull organ drone to a dynamic and interesting timbre. The two most common modulators are Envelopes and LFOs:

The length of the period determines the pitch (frequency) of the sound. The shorter the period, the higher the pitch. If you for example make the oscillator play at a frequency of 440Hz, there will be 440 periods of identical Sawtooth waves generated per second.

One Period

Normally there are three ways to change the frequency of an oscillator:

▼By making settings on the front panel.

On the Nord Lead 2 for example, you have an “Oct Shift” setting for both oscillators and separate Semitone and Fine Tune adjustments for Oscillator 2.

▼By playing the keyboard.

The keyboard is if course connected to the oscillator so that pressing different key produces different pitches. In some cases this connection can be turned off, so that the oscillator always plays the same pitch, regardless of which key is pressed. In the Nord Lead 2, this can be done for Oscillator 2, by deactivating “Kbd Track”.

▼By Modulation

Modulation allows you to make the pitch vary “automatically”. The most common example is probably to use an LFO to make pitch go up and down, to create a vibrato. But you can also put the pitch under envelope control, or make the pitch vary with your striking force (velocity).

Waveform

The waveform of the oscillator affects its harmonic content and thereby its “sound quality” (timbre). The three most common waveforms are sawtooth, pulse wave and triangle.

Looking at the shape of a waveform tells very little about how it sounds. Instead, there’s a better way to draw it, called a spectrum. Let’s introduce some quick theory:

Mathematically, all waveforms can be considered as built from a number of harmonics, added together.

Each of the harmonics consists of a sine wave, the purest and simple waveform there is (a sine wave has no harmonics at all). In other words, if you add a number of sine waves together, each one with its own pitch (frequency) and volume (amplitude), then you can build any waveform you like.

The lowest harmonic is called the fundamental. The fundamental determines the basic pitch of the sound. If the fundamental has a frequency of 440Hz, we will perceive the entire sound as having a pitch of 440Hz.

Other harmonics are then added to the fundamental, called overtones. Normally the first overtone appears at a frequency twice the fundamental (in our example 880 Hz). The next harmonic appears at a frequency three times the fundamental (in our example 1320Hz) and so on.

In a spectral display of a waveform you can see the frequency (pitch) of each harmonic and its amplitude (level). This is done by drawing each harmonic as a line raising up from a horizontal scale.

Each line’s position on this scale indicates the harmonic’s frequency. The line furthest to the left is the fundamental, the next is the first harmonic etc. To make life easier, one usually doesn’t label the horizontal scale with frequency in Hz, but rather with the number of the harmonic.