Our friends from E-MU sent us this great tip for assigning trigger buttons to arpeggio presets in their keyboards and Command Stations.
THE GOAL: Using the on-board TRIGGER BUTTONS to interact with 16 unique ARPEGGIO-based presets, even simultaneously. Yes, you read correctly! Our brand new series of Keyboards, and our powerful Command Stations can trigger 16 Arpeggios SIMULTANEOUSLY! If you think this depth of power is, shall we say…extreme, you are right! Lucky for you, we’ll show you a really cool way to put such incredible power (that no one else has!) to good use.
THE SETUP TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL:
1. Triggers Section – Set each Trigger Button to an independent MIDI channel, and set to “Latch”, which allows a trigger to stay on when pressed, until pressed again to turn off.
2. Module Section – Choose a unique Arpeggio-based preset for each MIDI channel, 1-16.
THE POSSIBILITIES:
With this setup, the interactive possibilities are nothing short of intense. Press Trigger #1, wait a moment, then press both Triggers 1 & 2, canceling #1 and enabling #2. Now press Trigger #5, then #7, then #8. Now you have 4 arpeggios playing at once! Now, run your finger across Trigger Buttons 1 – 8 for a multi-arpeggio segue never done before on any other synthesizer! Are we having fun yet? Hey, we haven’t even gotten to triggers 9-16! Go ahead, turn on all 16 Triggers/Arpeggios! YEESH! Turn that OFF! But seriously, 1 more important & cool point; ALL THE ARPEGGIATOR NOTE DATA CAN BE SENT TO THE MIDI OUT PORT! Your performance can be captured to your favorite sequencer!
PRELIMINARY HOUSECLEANING:
Very Important – It’s a good idea to save your current settings as a Multisetup before making any changes to your Keyboard or Command Station. Follow these steps:
Name & Save Your Current Multisetup:
1. Press the MULTI button under the rotary dial. (XL/MP/P2500: Press GLOBAL)
2. Dial to “Multisetup Name” page, use Cursor & Dial to rename.
3. Press Home/Enter Button when finished to move flashing cursor to top of screen.
4. Dial to “Save Multisetup” page, Cursor under Multisetup #, Dial to select a location.
5. Press Home/Enter Button to save your current Multisetup.
NOTE: To re-load any Multisetup; Follow “Step 1, then Dial to “RESTORE” page, Cursor under Multisetup Number, and Dial to the desired Multisetup. Press Home/Enter Button.
Set Keyboard to “Multi” Mode: (XL/MP/P2500: Multi is the default)
1. Press MIDI Button under LCD. (XL/MP/P2500: right of LCD)
2. Dial to “MIDI MODE” page.
3. (if needed) Cursor under current mode setting and Dial to choose Multi.
Set Triggers Function to “Play Note Events”: (XL/MP/P2500: only if OS version 1.31 & up)
1. Press CONTROLLERS Button under LCD. (XL/MP/P2500: right of LCD)
2. Dial to “TRIGGERS BUTTONS FUNCTION” page.
3. (if needed) Cursor under current setting and Dial to choose Play Note Events
4. Press Home/Enter Button to move flashing cursor to top line of LCD.
THE PROGRAMMING:
Enable TRIGGER Buttons and Edit Their Assignments:
1. Press the TRIGGERS Button above the 16 Command Function Buttons (XL/MP/P2500: Repeatedly press button above 16 Tracks until “TRIGGERS” LED is lit.)
2. Dial to the “TRIGGERS” page. LCD should show Trigger Button 1’s (T1) settings.
NOTE: The upper left corner of the LCD shows the Trigger Button number (T#) you are viewing/editing. Use the 2 Buttons to the left of the LCD (+ and -) to display any of the 16 Trigger settings. The “T#” will change on screen as you do this. (Or simply press the desired Trigger button)
3. Cursor to “Channel”(default=Basic), use Dial to change to 01. (XL/MP/P2500: 01A)
4. Cursor to “Latch” and use Dial to change to ON. (if needed)
5. Using the navigation method noted in step 2, repeat steps 3 & 4 for each Trigger, making sure to match the MIDI Channel with the TRIGGER #. (T2=Ch.02, T3=Ch.03, ……T16=Ch.16) NOTE: the other parameters are not critical to the goal.
Assign An Arpeggio-Based Preset to Each MIDI Channel 1 – 16:
1. Press the MAIN Button below the Dial to view Preset & Channel#. (MP/XL/P2500: Press the PRESET Button below the LCD)
NOTE: The upper left corner of the LCD shows the MIDI Channel. Use the 2 Buttons to the left of the LCD (+ and -) to display any of the 16 MIDI Channels, their current Preset assignments, and other parameters. (MP/XL/P2500: 32 Channels: 1A-16A, 1B-16B)
2. Display MIDI Ch.01 settings by using the “+” or “-” Buttons. (MP/XL/P2500: 01A)
3. Cursor to the Sound Category (the 3 characters before the ” : ” ) and use Dial to change category to “arp”.
4. Cursor to the Preset’s Name and Dial to choose any Preset in the “arp” category.
5. Press the “+” Button (as mentioned in step 1) to advance to next MIDI channel.
6. Repeat steps 3 – 5 until all 16 MIDI channels have a unique arpeggio-based Preset assigned.
NOTE: Most of the products have at least 16 unique Presets in the “arp” category. If not, you can use a Preset on multiple MIDI channels. Change a parameter in the TRIGGERS pages, such as Key. Choosing an Octave or a 3rd or 5th interval will keep things interesting.
FINAL NOTE: NAME AND SAVE YOUR NEW MULTISETUP!