From Brian Willoughby Sent Fri, Jun 22nd 2018, 03:08
From Brian Willoughby Sent Fri, Jun 22nd 2018, 03:08
* Excellent description * On Jun 16, 2018, at 5:21 PM, Florian Anwander <xxxxxxxxx@xxxx-xxxxxx.xx> = wrote: > Hello Tim >=20 > I don't own a chainable boutique synth, so I can speak only from = general knowhow. I'll answer first your questions, then I will get a = little more elaborate: > =20 >> 1. Do all units in chain mode have to be on the same MIDI channel? >>=20 > Yes >=20 >> 2. If so, can multiple chains be set up on different channels = (should I ever get more units to make this a thingJ? >>=20 > Yes >>=20 >> 3. Does chain mode have to be enabled on both master and slave, or = just the master? >>=20 > Only on the master (but see below) >>=20 >> 4. If the slave doesn't need to be set for chain mode, are all = downstream devices from the master automatically added to the chain, or = is it just the immediate neighbour, or matching MIDI channel? >>=20 > See below >=20 >=20 > Now lets get a little elaborate: >=20 > I do not like the expression "master" for a synth in chain mode. I'd = prefer to say: "this synth is a chain maker".=20 >=20 > To understand chainmode we have to get away from the boutique series = and we have to assume four voice synths which have separate sockets for = MIDI-Out and MIDI-Thru (and MIDI-In ofcourse). All synths are set to = the same MIDI channel. >=20 > We connect the MIDI-sequencer to MIDI-In of synth A and then we = connect synth A's MIDI-Thru with MIDI-In of synth B. We send ten = MIDI-Notes from the MIDI-sequencer: synth-A and synth-B both will = play the same four notes, and will not be able to play the other six = remaining notes. That is because the classic MIDI-thru is basically a = hardwired feedthru. It is like a multiple in a modular system. The = microprocessor of the synth usually has no access to the MIDI-thru = socket! >=20 > No we rewire the MIDI connection between synth A and B: we connect = A-out with B-in. > Again we send ten MIDI-Notes from the MIDI-sequencer: synth-A will = play four notes and synth-B will play ... nothing. Because the = MIDI-input is usually not available at the MIDI-out. The MIDI-out is = fed by the microprocessor of the synth and usually only sends MIDI = informations of notes and other events generated on the correspondings = synth. >=20 > Now we switch on the chain mode on synth A. This means the = microprocessor decides, which notes it will play with his four voices, = and which notes he will not play. The microprocessor will send those = other notes to its MIDI-out.=20 > Now we have connected synth-B to this MIDI-out. For synth-B it will = look like it is connected to a sequencer which sends six notes. Again it = will not be able to play all six notes. >=20 > But we could set synth-B also to chain mode and connect a synth-C to = the MIDI-out of B. The microprocessor of B will decide which four notes = will be played by own voices and will send the remaining two notes to = its MIDI-out. There is synth-C connected, which will play the two notes. > In theory you might connect 32 synths in chain mode and let them play = all 128 possible midi notes at the same time. >=20 >=20 > If we now get back to the Boutique series: those do not have a = separate MIDI-thru socket. Instead the synths microprocessor forwards = all incoming notes to the MIDI-out socket. This function is called "soft = thru". In the chain mode this soft thru is modified. The microprocessor = will forward all incoming notes but will remove those notes from the = stream which it is playing with his own four voices. >=20 >=20 > I think this makes clear, why I don't like the term "master" in the = context of chaining. There can be many chain-makers in a row. Only for = the last synth in the row it is not relevant whether it runs in chain = mode or not. But the setting of the last synth it is relevant for the = chain, because it will be the last element in the chain. >=20 >=20 >=20 > I hope that made it a little clearer. >=20 > Florian