237 lines
16 KiB
Plaintext
237 lines
16 KiB
Plaintext
From the Mad Dog/Allison music collection...
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The Ibanez MC1 MIDI Guitar and Controller
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By Don Morris
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(As told to Tom Mulhern)
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Ibanez' MC1 MIDI Electronic Guitar Controller and IMG2010 MIDI Guitar
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come as a set ($1,699.00, with case) and are designed to place the guitar into
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the role of a keyboard in controlling synthesizers. Like other MIDI guitar
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controllers, the system contains no sound-generating circuitry of its own, and
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therefore must be connected to a synthesizer-- with or without keyboard. The
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bulk of circuitry in the MC1 is devoted to translating the sounds produced on
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the IMG2010 into MIDI commands. The guitar itself has a hard rock maple neck
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with glass fiber reinforcement, an adjustable truss rod, and an ebony
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fingerboard. The body is made of solid maple. It has an electronic multiple-use
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control arm that looks similar to a standard tremolo, although it does not
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physically affect the tuning of the strings. In addition to the hexaphonic
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synth pickup, the IMG2010 has a pair of humbuckers. Currently, only the IMG2010
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guitar is offered with this system. (The instrument is a little body-heavy,
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which is accentuated when you play it in a seated position; standing up and
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wearing it on a strap makes this offset less acute.) It comes in black and
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silver finishes.
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The MC1 has two MIDI outputs for driving two synthesizers (more can be
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driven if the synths have MIDI Thru ports, or if you use MIDI splitter boxes).
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It also has effects-send and -return jacks for patching effects into the
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guitar's signal path (the synthesizer is unaffected by this). A pair of
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synthesizer input jacks lets you route your synth's audio signals into the MC1,
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where the are mixed (together with the guitar, if desired), and their combined
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volume is controlled by the master volume on the guitar.
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Two output jacks, labelled Guitar Out and Mix Out allow for two modes
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of operation. First, if only the mix output is employed, the signal going to
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the amp from that jack contains a combination of synthesized and straight
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guitar sounds. Second, if a cord is inserted into the guitar output, only the
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straight guitar sound comes out of it, while the mix output becomes a
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synthesizer-only output. There's also a 3-position output level switch for
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matching the MC1's level to an amp, recorder, etc.
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Optional footswitches control hold and program-selection functions. A
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"hold" footswitch allows you, for instance, to strike a low note and sustain it
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for as long as your foot depresses the pedal. This lets you lay down a pedal
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tone to solo over, or sustain a note longer than the string vibrates. Remote
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program selection can also be achieved using the Ibanez IFC60 Intelligent Foot
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Controller ($195.00) which has a three-numeral LED display and six
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footswitches. One is for memory-bank select (1-12) and the other is for five
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select patch numbers (0-9). Note: the IFC60 is also designed for use with
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Ibanez' DUE400 Digital Multi-Effects and EPP400 Effects Patching Programmer.
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In the following piece, Ibanez technical representative Don Morris
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explains how to get yourself going on the MC1 system.
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* * * *
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Stateside Ibanez facilities check the guitars for intonation, proper
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hex pickup height, sensitivity, and other factors that affect performance. To
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adjust the intonation of the strings, use an allen wrench to loosen to small
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setscrews on the side of the bridge that secure all of the saddles. Then move
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the saddles to the proper location and retorque the screws. Don't overlook
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proper intonation; correct setup of the guitar is critical for optimum
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performance. If you're not sure how to adjust it, have your repairman do it.
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Putting on new strings is easy. You drop the ball end of the string
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into the tuning machine, which is located at the bridge, pass it under the
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rollers and over the saddle, and then thread it into the unit at the headstock
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which has six hex bolts. Tighten the hex bolts with an allen wrench and cut off
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any string that protrudes through the end of the unit. Then tune to pitch.
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The guitar's master volume control governs the overall output of the
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guitar and the synth, depending on your mix. Then there's the sensitivity
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control (especially useful when switching picking styles) followed by the
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velocity knob. If the synthesizer responds to velocity commands via MIDI, you
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can use your picking variations to call on the synth to create louder or softer
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sounds. The forth knob is the parameter knob, which lets the user control any
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parameter assigned to it through the MC1 control unit. In the next row is a
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standard 3-way pickup selector, followed by a three-way mode selector switch
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for synth only, guitar and synth, and guitar only. Next is a master tone
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control for the guitar's pickups. In the mode selector's middle position, the
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final knob, Guitar/Synth balance, is active.
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A guitar controller must be properly tuned. Here's how to do it with
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the Ibanez. Depress the Tune key: a flashing 440 will appear in the program
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display. If you wish to change the pitch standard (to match other instruments,
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vocal parts, etc.), you can depress the Increment key, and the number increases
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by one unit per step. Its range is A 440 to A 445. While you tune, an upside
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down "U" appears in the display. If the string is out of tune with the
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reference pitch, the upside down "U" is broken, and only one of its lower
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"legs" glows. If it's the left leg, it's flat; if it's the right leg, it's
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sharp. When a complete inverted "U" shows up, the string is in tune. Repeat
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this procedure with all the strings. When you're done, hit Enter.
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The switch labelled Sens.A is used in setting the controller's
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sensitivity to each string. This tailors each string's response to your own
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picking, and should be done every time you change the strings or adjust their
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action. Activate Sens.A and play the high E string, and the display acts as a
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bar graph; the top bar goes all the way over and stays there while the bottom
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one recedes as the note decays. The top one is like a peak-reading meter. If it
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slams all the way to the right and goes wham, wham, wham, then the sensitivity
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for that string is too high. Use a small screwdriver to adjust the sensitivity
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trim pots inside the back of the guitar (a rubber plug covers the opening to
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these; remove it for access to all six trimmers). If the top line of the
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display only goes part way across, then increase the sensitivity. You want the
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top bar to get to the right and stay there, and have the bottom bar reach the
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same point and fade back in about a second. It's pretty easy to do.
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There is also an overall sensitivity control on the face of the guitar
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that lets you increase or decrease sensitivity. This is useful if you go, say,
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from fingerpicking to flatpicking and other techniques. Stanley Jordan, of
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course, has to have his sensitivity cranked a bit more than usual to
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accommodate his two-handed tapping. The sensitivity comes out from the factory
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set for average picking, but we do suggest that you check this out when you
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first fire up the guitar.
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There are a number of procedures to follow when you set up a system to
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control a synthesizer. First, see which MIDI channel you have your strings
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assigned to. Each can be assigned to a different MIDI channel. You hit the
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switch labelled MIDI, and the display shows you which MIDI channel the first
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string is on. You advance through the strings by hitting the Display key. If
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you are using one synthesizer, it's best to have them all on one channel,
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usually Channel 1. Even though it's transmitted on one channel, it is
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polyphonic. Any string can be assigned to any of the 16 MIDI channels. What's
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nice about this feature is that you can have, say, your three highest strings
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assigned to one synthesizer and the other three to another. Or you can have
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every other string go to an alternate synth. It's easy to set up, and once set,
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it remains in memory for use with all 128 presets on the MC1. If you don't
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select MIDI channels for the individual strings, they default to Channel 1.
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The MC1 lets you call up presets in the unit itself, plus presets in
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the synthesizer. On the left LED display is a number that corresponds to the
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internal preset; on the right is the MIDI preset selection number. So in other
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words, when I call up preset 000, I'll get the patch that corresponds with 000.
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In the case of the Yamaha DX7, its patch numbering starts at 01, so 000 on the
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Guitar Controller corresponds to 01. As you advance the preset selector on the
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MC1 using the up or down arrows, your synthesizer's preset numbers also change,
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according to how you've selected them.
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String Select (abbreviated Str.S) lets you choose which strings trigger
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the synth. For instance, you can have just the lowest three strings triggering
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the synthesizer and all six coming through as a straight guitar sound. This
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information can be stored in memory and can vary from patch to patch. So, for
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example, if you have program 1 set for bass synth on the lower two strings
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only, you can program that in; then in program 2, you can have lead synth on
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the upper two strings, etc.
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The button labelled Chroma lets you put the unit's string-bend sensing
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in either chromatic or non-chromatic mode. Chromatic mode translates bends into
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discrete half-steps, while non-chromatic mode gives smooth bends between notes.
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The chromatic/non-chromatic selection may be set for each patch.
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There are several ways the MC1 operates while in non-chromatic mode.
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When you're transmitting on one MIDI channel, you can bend strings
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monophonically-- that is, the MC1 follows the bend if you are playing one note.
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When more than one note is being played at a time, the MC1 tracks the bend
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chromatically (as if you had selected the chromatic mode). This calls for a bit
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of heads-up playing, but quite often the bend string is the only one played at
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that time.
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If you want to play more than one string at a time while string
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bending, you have to use a multi-voiced synth that can receive on at least six
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MIDI channels (one for each string). We've tried this on a Kurzweil, and it
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works very well.
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The Program switch (Prog) is what you press to start changing various
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parameters. Say, if I want to copy one patch into another location in memory, I
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can. This is useful for arranging patches in a specific order for an onstage
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set. You can also assign which of your synth's patches you want to call up when
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you select a patch on the MC1. This is set by using the Assign switch.
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There are some other underlying functions for some of the keys, as
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indicated by the print below them. For example, press Enter and Assign at the
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same time and you are in Control Change mode. This lets you assign a control
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function to the knob on the guitar labelled Parameter. Therefore, you can have
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it govern any particular function on your synthesizer that can be put under
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MIDI control, such as the amount of modulation. In fact, if you don't select a
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function for it, it defaults to modulation. You can make it pitch-bend,
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arpeggiate, or do other things. To set these parameters, the MC1 uses the
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synth's MIDI control numbers, 00 to 31.
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With the Arm switch, you can assign another control function to the
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control arm (the whammy bar). It acts like another control, such as a pitch
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wheel. Its function defaults to pitch bend, but like the parameter knob, it can
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be reassigned to any of the functions (00-31)
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The control arm does not physically bend the strings. So, if you're
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blending your actual guitar sound with the synth and you depress the bar, the
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synth sound will dive, but the guitar will remain the same. This approach was
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used instead of an actual vibrato arm for a couple of reasons: Tuning is so
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hard to maintain with a standard whammy bar system, and keeping a constant
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string height over the hexaphonic string pickup is crucial for optimal note
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tracking.
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The next switch is the Copy function, which lets you copy one program
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into another location, up to 128 internal patch numbers. We briefly discussed
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this function earlier.
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The last two functions (Data and Range) affect string-bending. First
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look at the bend range. Bend the string and determine the maximum amount you
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want to change the pitch. In many cases, I don't bend more than three
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half-steps. The manual says to add one half-step to your expected range, just
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to provide a little extra room. So, I set the bend range to four-half steps.
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You can set the bend range to a maximum of one octave up (12 semitones).
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Because this is a MIDI system, the string-bending function uses the
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same MIDI control function as the pitch-bend wheel. When we set the bend range
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for four half-steps, the control arm is also set for four half-steps (if the
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control arm is programmed to control pitch-bending, rather than other
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functions). We can set the desired bend range on the MC1, and set a larger
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range on the synth for the control arm action. There is, however, a small
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trade-off. This is explained in the manual. Basically, here's what it does: In
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MIDI code, we can describe a bend up and a bend down. There are 128 numbers to
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do that. Bending up takes 64, and bending down take 64. The MC1 is designed
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only to transmit string-bends above the pitch of the fretted note (note that
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the arm can bend up and bend down, though). Now, in the case of our bending up,
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we use only 64 finite MIDI pitch increments to define our range. So, if you set
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the range to 12 half-steps, you're going to hear finite steps when you bend up
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three or four half-steps. You're hearing sixty-fourths of an octave, which,
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when you listen closely, sounds like pitch plateauing. However, if you set your
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synth's bend range to match the MC1's, (e.g. four semitones), then you're
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dividing a much smaller range by 64 and therefore you get a smoother-sounding
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bend. So that's the advantage of setting your synth's and the MC1's range to a
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smaller interval. The smaller bend range also makes the control arm
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action more smooth, more guitar-like.
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After you've set the bend range on the MC1 and the synth, you have to
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enter the bend data into the MC1. This calibrates the MC1's bend commands to
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the actual amount of bend on the synth. The command is "tuned" at each semitone
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within the bend range, using a tuning range from 000 to 999. These are not
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MIDI pitches, but rather the value range that the MC1 uses. The owner's manual
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provides a listing of bend data for many current synths, so all you have to do
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is enter the listings into the MC1. This may sound complicated, but it's not.
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And after you press the Enter key, the bend data stays in memory.
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After you're up and running, you should familiarize yourself with the
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key transpose function. This lets you transpose what you're playing by as much
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as an octave up or down. Tap the Key.T switch and the LED will show 00. You
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can either use the up and down arrow keys or the number keys to set the amount
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of the transposition. For example, if you want to raise your pitch by an
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octave, simply hit Key.T followed by 1 and 2. It will display 12 in the LED
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display and your synth will sound and octave lower. To lock in your change,
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simply press enter. Each MC1 program memorizes its own transposition value.
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