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INSTRUCTION MANUAL 

 

 

 

 

XERXES 

8 VOICE POLYPHONIC ANALOG SYNTHESIZER 

BY BLACK CORPORATION 

 

Summary of Contents for XERXES

Page 1: ...INSTRUCTION MANUAL XERXES 8 VOICE POLYPHONIC ANALOG SYNTHESIZER BY BLACK CORPORATION ...

Page 2: ... MULTIMODE FILTER 6 LFO 7 TUNING 9 DRIFT 10 OSC 2 SYNC 11 NOISE 12 EG CONTROLS 12 PORTAMENTO GLIDE 13 CHORUS EFFECTS 13 DYNAMICS 14 AMPLIFIER ENVELOPE 15 FILTER ENVELOPE 16 VOLUME 16 SYSTEM MEMORY AND CONTROL PANEL 17 SELECTING BANKS 17 RECALLING PATCHES 17 SAVING PATCHES 18 SETTINGS MENU 18 REAR PANEL 20 TROUBLESHOOTING 21 LIMITED WARRANTY 21 ...

Page 3: ...also be converted into a table top format with removable rack ears and an optional stand FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS Polyphony 8 voices Voice Layers 1 monotimbral Fundamental Frequency Range 0 1Hz to 20kHz Oscillators 16 2 per voice Oscillator Type Hybrid digitally controlled analog oscillators Hybrid DCOs Oscillator Waveforms Triangle Saw Square Pulse with additional modulations Oscillator Contro...

Page 4: ...ator 2 to be detuned separately DRIFT Introduces very small changes to individual oscillator frequencies over time OSC 2 SYNC Synchronizes oscillator 2 to oscillator 1 with separate phase control NOISE Allows white or pink noise to be added to the oscillators before the filter circuit OSCILLATOR 1 and 2 Selects the frequencies waveforms modulations and volume for oscillators MULTIMODE FILTER Selec...

Page 5: ...ranspose the pitch WAVEFORM Selects the oscillator waveform Each waveform has a different timbre which depends on the harmonic content in the waveform Triangle wave contains very few odd harmonics containing a very pure sound with few overtones Sawtooth wave contains all the integer harmonics both even and odd making it useful for producing tones that are very rich in overtones Square wave only co...

Page 6: ... of sound NOTE Turning on PAM for both oscillators at the same time is not recommended It will generally produce silence from both oscillators or if there is any sound the volume from each voice card may not be consistent There may be sound present on lower frequency range only where it can produce some interesting sound effects RING MOD Selects Ring Modulation which inverts the waveform of the cu...

Page 7: ...th Cross Modulation PWM setting or with the Low Frequency Oscillator LFO which can be used to change the timbre slowly over time NOTE When PWM is not active there is no sound at either extreme of the knob setting at 0 and 100 VOLUME Adjusts the output volume of the oscillator before it s mixed with the other oscillator and sent to the filter circuit It s recommended that the volume is used in the ...

Page 8: ... High Pass Allows higher frequencies to pass above the filter cutoff point Frequencies below the filter cutoff point are being blocked at a rate of 12db octave ENVELOPE Envelope knob adjusts the amount a filter envelope will modify the filter cutoff point at the beginning of each note Turning the envelope clockwise from 0 causes the filter envelope to increase the filter cutoff point resulting in ...

Page 9: ...tensity amplitude of the waveform for a selected LFO A or B Depth control remains independent for each LFO even if SYNC is enabled Depth can also be modulated by Aftertouch Amount setting DELAY Adjusts the delay for the LFO effect during which the LFO depth is gradually increased to each note up to the depth set by the DEPTH knob When Delay is 0 the modulation is applied immediately When Delay is ...

Page 10: ...to each note independently with polyphonic aftertouch PW 1 2 Selects which oscillator s pulse width the selected LFO modulates Pulse Waveform must be turned on for the oscillator for this to have any effect You can select none 1 2 or both oscillators PHASE Selects whether the selected LFO modulates the oscillator 2 sync phase Phase control must be enabled in OSC 2 SYNC section for this to have any...

Page 11: ...urn the Detune button ever so slightly to make the oscillators slightly beating or use the Drift functionality described below DRIFT This feature is unique to the Xerxes synthesizer While the Xerxes synthesizer is using analog oscillators they are controlled digitally and never drift or go out of tune and they will maintain the same tuning all the time While this is certainly an advantage when pro...

Page 12: ...D oscillator 2 is precisely synchronized with oscillator 1 at 0 degrees phase difference Oscillator 2 waveform always restarts every time oscillator 1 waveform is restarting regardless of what waveform or modulation is selected When set to PHASE left and right LEDs on oscillator 2 is synchronized with oscillator 1 but the synchronization phase can be adjusted using the DEGREES knob This can also b...

Page 13: ...EVEL Adjusts the level of noise being routed into the filter EG CONTROLS This section allows the user to override the note envelope generator stages It is used to hold a note or turn on off the release tail of the note HOLD Selecting this will cause all notes to be held indefinitely with envelopes at the sustain level until the Hold button is turned off This can be used to hold the notes in memory...

Page 14: ...do effect NOTE In Performance Legato mode Mono mode this controls the slowest rate when notes are played with minimum velocity in legato When played with maximum velocity the speed is instantaneous GLIDE AMOUNT Selects the interval where the pitch starts the glide from The range is 32 to 31 semitones Turning the knob counterclockwise starts the glide from below the note clockwise starts from above...

Page 15: ...tor volume and filter for individual notes If channel aftertouch is used the effect is being applied to all notes simultaneously All knobs are bipolar meaning that the effect can be either positive or negative depending on the knob s direction from the center point VELOCITY FILTER Adjusts how note velocity affects the filter envelope Turning the knob clockwise from 0 will produce a positive effect...

Page 16: ...a affects oscillator volume Turning the knob clockwise from 0 causes a note pressed harder to make it louder Turning it counterclockwise from 0 will have the opposite effect NOTE The default volume level that applies to minimum MIDI aftertouch data is set in VOICE VCA LEVEL in settings menu If this is set to 100 volume will not increase further with aftertouch For aftertouch to have any effect on ...

Page 17: ...ts the time it takes for the note s filter cutoff frequency to reach maximum after a note is struck A setting of 10 takes about 7 seconds DECAY Adjusts the time it takes for the note s filter cutoff frequency to drop from maximum to a setting set by the sustain knob A setting of 10 takes about 23 seconds SUSTAIN Adjusts the filter cutoff frequency to which the note s decay stops if the key is bein...

Page 18: ...special Vintage Bank with 40 patch locations To select a new bank press and hold Shift then press the Enter key shows BANK on the display button image With each press you can cycle between banks The selected bank is shown on the display directly above the patch number Only the user banks 1 9 are editable FCTR Factory bank patches numbered 1 128 VNT Vintage bank containing Elka Synthex original fac...

Page 19: ...al settings for voices that are not available on the panel system setup and calibration functions and system reset and firmware upgrade functionality To enter the Settings press and hold Shift button and press the Back button shows STNG on the display button image Use the scroll wheel to select an item in the list press the Enter button as required to enter a new setting and press the Back button ...

Page 20: ...EGATO SETTINGS EG RETRIG ON OFF NOTE PRIORITY NO LOW HIGH Only one note plays at any one time Multiple notes chords can be played All voices play in unison with every note 1 two oscillators per voice 8 voice polyphony 2 four oscillators per voice 4 voice polyphony 4 eight oscillators per voice 2 voice polyphony Selects how many voice cards are active Initial voice volume before velocity and aftert...

Page 21: ...r selected voice Turns on all LEDs for inspection Enables microtuning functionality Displays the actual knob values as they are read from the front panel Selects uploaded microtuning program TIME o LFO MAX 1 100 Hz o LFO MIN 0 01 0 1 Hz o LFO MODE MONO POLY o GLIDE TIME MAX 1 10 seconds octave o ADSR MULT 1 4x Sets maximum LFO frequency 40 Hz default Sets minimum LFO frequency 0 02 Hz default LFO ...

Page 22: ...EV 0 7 Page 21 of 21 MIDI IN MIDI input port MIDI THRU MIDI data is passed from IN to THRU port unchanged MIDI OUT Midi output port AUDIO OUT Left and Right audio line output connections TROUBLESHOOTING ToDo LIMITED WARRANTY ToDo ...

Page 23: ...Copyright 2019 by Black Corporation Full legal address Telephone Email Website Japan ...

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