Q: My K2000R (3.54J) is connected to my master keyboard, which is connected with a sustain and foot controller which sends MIDI Volume (CC#7). My master keyboard only sends on MIDI Channel 1. Therefore, I set the Local Keyboard Channel in my K2000R to 1. Now I go to Setup Mode and create a new Setup. I want my foot controller to only send MIDI Volume to the first Zone in my Setup. Zones 2 and 3 should not be affected by the foot controller. But, when I play my Setup and use the foot controller, the sound of Zones 2 and 3 completely disappear as their MIDI Volumes are set to a very low value.
It must be a software problem, because I've tried different master keyboards and the problem appeared in every combination. I'd be very grateful if you could give me any kind of hint concerning this problem as it's very problematic for live performances.
A: We let Daniel Fisher, Director of Soundware Engineering and resident Kurzweil guru answer this one: You’ll be pleased to know that this is not a software bug, nor is it a serious problem. Setups are designed to take MIDI signals that are on the Local MIDI Channel and duplicate them on the other Zones' MIDI Channels. So, when you send CC#7 (MIDI Volume) on Channel 1 (the Local Keyboard Channel) you get CC#7 on the other two MIDI Channels as well.
Here is the solution: If you EDIT your Setup and look at the right side of the screen, you'll see: ModWhl, Ft.Sw1, Ft.Sw2, CPedal, Slider, and Press. These represent the Controller Messages that the Setup can "re-map" to a different Controller Type. Notice that “Volume” is not one of the Controller Messages that can be re-mapped. But CPedal (Continuous Foot Controller or CC#4) is!
So, all you need to do is set your master keyboard's Foot Controller to send CC#4 (Foot) instead of CC#7 (Volume). Then go to Zone 1 of your Setup and set CPedal to “Volume” (just type “7” then ENTER). Now go to the other two Zones and set “CPedal” to “Off” on each Zone. Et Voila! Now your Foot Controller only effects Zone 1. If you want your Foot Controller to also do Volume when you're in the Program Mode, simply go to the MIDI Transmit Page and set “CPedal” to “Volume.”
Q: When I make a CD of my music using my CD burner hooked to my computer, the music is not as loud as commercial CDs. I have tried normalizing the file but I still do not get music as loud as commercial CDs. How can I get these hot levels?
A: It’s actually simpler than you might think, though you’ll still need to buy one more item for your studio (but one you’ll use for a long time). You need to run your audio through a level optimizing program (Waves L1 is just one example) or use a hardware product like the TC Electronic Finalizer. These programs and processors typically use very sophisticated software or circuitry to bring the very short peak transients (those spikey bursts you see on your screen) down to a manageable level (in simple terms limiting these peaks) so that all the rest of your material can be “normalized” to achieve a hotter signal.