Conference napalm::commusic_v1

    I think they were cheap.  Adding "prog down" would have meant another
    pedal and another pedal connector.  That would have raised the
    selling cost, and so made the unit less competitive, and so cost
    them sales.
    
    I have heard of a case in which Digital engineers resisted adding
    a valuable feature to a product because it would have raised the
    cost of the product by $1, due to the larger ROMs needed.  If that
    is symptomatic of electrical engineers in general, then adding another
    pedal would have been unthinkable.
        John Sauter

I think John's right.  Your synth was designed back when Korg's company
charter was to have the most affordable stuff available on the market.

If it were Yamaha, they would have had a "prog down".  The reason being,
of course, is that they would love to sell you an extra foot switch for
$25 or so.  Yamaha seems to like the profit from the accessory market,
much like car dealers...

Todd.

    If it were Yamaha, they'd reverse the topology. You'd have to take
    your foot *off* the pedal to scroll and keep it on to stay in one
    place.
    
    :^)
    
    Edd

    I saw an article somewhere recently (sorry I can't be more specific)
    where a guy wanted not only program up and down, but essentially
    random access.  So what he did was build a special pedal that kept
    sending "pedal down" until you took your foot off it.  The repeat
    rate was adjusted to a "happy" balance between too slow to be of
    any use and too fast to be able to stop it on the right patch. 
    I suppose what you'd really want is a pedal whose repeat rate was
    proportional to how hard (or how far) you were pushing it.
    
    len.
    

   The poly-61 is regrettably the only SGU/controller I have, and I would
   like to ask a few questions...

   First of all, the poly-61 DOES support MIDI.  However, it is very limited;
   it only sends and receives on channel 1.  This is no big problem for me 
   since I don't have anything else that's MIDIable except a Roland TR-626,
   and the most I can do in that area is play drum sounds from the keyboard.
   Yippee.

   Anyway, somewhere down the line I would like to get a sequencer and 
   maybe a TX81Z or something, so I have a few questions:  
   1)  If I can only send/recieve on ch. 1, will I be able to use the 
       sequencer to play the 81z multitimbrally?
   2)  Would I be able to play the poly-61 through a sequencer and therefore
       be able to play the 81z live?

- jim 

RE < Note 598.7 by 21971::DESELMS >

	You will be able to use the sequencer effectively as long as the
Poly-61M supports OMNI-OFF.  If it doesn't, then you'll only be able to either
sequence single tracks or keep the P61 out of the midi network during playback.
Another important feature you may want is program change, i.e., the ability
of the P61 to recieve commands accross the MIDI network, telling it what patch 
to play.  this is not essential, but it helps.  Finall, it would help you to 
have a sequencer that can re-direct midi channels (i.e., you play into it on
channel 1, it changes that to what ever channel you tell it to).

	The TX81Z is nice for cases like yours in that it can perform 
'soft-splits' (my term, not Yam's).  That is, if you set up a performance
setting where the TX81Z takes certain ranges of notes and assigns certain 
patches to those ranges.  You can define up to 7 splits.


	As far as being able to play the TZ live through the sequencer, you'll
need to watch for a MIDI merge or mix feature.  That is where the sequencer
mixes the MIDI OUT with the MIDI THRU.  This is a common feature, but not 
universal.  It is something you definately should ask about when trying out
a sequencer.

	Dan

    I have an older board (OB-Xa) which is MIDI limited in a similar
    fashion - and I used it as my main controller for a while.  Here's what
    you can do: 

       a) You can send (play an external MIDI module from the Korg)
       or receive (have an external sequencer play the Korg) ONLY on
       channel 1.  (If the receiving synth is in OMNI mode, it'll
       receive data on all channels.) 

       b) You cannot use things like pitch bend, modulation, or
       sustain - Korg controllers are most likely analog and will
       not xmit commands over MIDI.  I could be wrong on a few point
       controllers (such as sustain), but I think I'm correct
       generally speaking.  You will not be able to control velocity
       or aftertouch from the Korg, either. 

       c) If your sequencer can rechannelize MIDI data (ie, record
       on channel 1, then assign all that data to channel n), then
       you will be able to play a multi-timbral unit such as the
       TX81z - but not directly from the Korg's keyboard.  There are
       darn few sequencers that will take incoming data, assign it
       to another channel on the fly, and echo it back to MIDI OUT. 

    In other words, the Poly will ultimately be useful only as a slave SGU
    or as a separate keyboard.  Eventually you'll have to think about
    getting a real MIDI keyboard.

-b

   I got the P61 used, and with a copy of the instruction manual, however
   the manual came without any info on the MIDI implementation.  And the
   only place I see the word MIDI is where you put the cables in... not 
   even a single button, switch, or knob anywhere.

   I don't think it supports OMNI-OFF; When I press buttons on the drum
   machine, and I have a cable going from that to the 61, I always get sound
   from the 61, regardless of what the send channel is on the drum machine.

   I think it's time to get me a new keyboard.  So, anybody wanna trade
   one of their fancy Roland LA thingys for a "classic" synth?  Didn't
   think so.

- Jim

If you have a computer, some computer based sequencers (and most likely
some dedicated) have a thru mode, which directs your playing on the
keyboard into the sequencer and back out on channel q, where you specify
q.  Master Tracks pro does this for example.

Chad

RE: .10

    Jim, OMNI mode is only a function of the RECEIVER, not the sender. If
    the TR responds to anything, then it's either set to channel 1 or is
    itself in OMNI mode. 

    As for the Korg, don't discount it so fast.  I probably sounded
    negative in my first posting ... I still have my OB and love it. If you
    can get nice fat analog out of it, better off to keep it.  In the
    meantime, it might be a good idea to find out what MIDI mod is
    installed on the thing.  Some are more flexible than others.  If you
    find out the mfgr, you might be able to get them to mail you some
    instructions (or at least read 'em off over the phone). 

-b

RE < Note 598.12 by DYO780::SCHAFER "Brad - back in Ohio." >

>    Jim, OMNI mode is only a function of the RECEIVER, not the sender. If
>    the TR responds to anything, then it's either set to channel 1 or is
>    itself in OMNI mode. 

	I made the same mistake when I read his reply, that is until I re-read
it a few times.  He was saying that he connected the TR to the P61, using the
TR as MASTER and the P61 as SLAVE.  It responded to all channels that he set on 
the TR.

	Dan

	Thanks for clarifying that for me.

	Anyway, I think I understand my situation, and these are the
	conclusions I've made:

	I should keep my Poly-61M because of the sounds I can get...
	But if I ever want to get serious about sequencing, I should get
	a _real_ MIDI keyboard.

	Okay!  Thanks for the help.

- jim

    And, if you're going to get a serious MIDI keyboard and want to do
    sequencing, look into an ESQ1 (~$1000) or SQ80 (~$1750). 

    Good luck!

-b

    What's the rest of the spec on this thing?
    
    
    matty