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Introduction

 

E-MU Systems

8

 

Requirements

 

The included X Board Control software provides an intuitive desktop interface that 
makes it easy to create custom templates for all your favorite hardware and software 
instruments.

 

On a PC:

 

You must be running Windows 2000 or XP, and your computer must support USB 
to communicate with the X Board. The X Board can operate in MIDI Output mode 
without a computer if 6VDC power is supplied via a DC adapter or batteries.

 

On a Mac:

 

You must be running Mac OS X to connect the X Board. The X Board can operate in 
MIDI Output mode without a computer if 6VDC power is supplied via a DC 
adapter or batteries.

 

Package Contents

 

• X Board Keyboard
• USB Cable
• CD-ROM containing the following software bundle

+  X Board USB Drivers
+  X Board Control software
+ Proteus X LE Desktop Sound Module 
+  Ableton Live Lite 4 for E-MU
+  Adobe PDF Reader
+ PDF manual for X Board and X Board Control software

• This Owner’s Manual

 

Optional

 

• DC Power Adapter (contact E-MU Systems)

 

Hardware Installation

 

The connection diagrams on the following pages show how to connect the X Board 
to your computer or to another MIDI device.

The supplied USB cable provides power and a two-way data link between the X 
Board and your computer. The USB port on your computer is a small (1/8” x 3/8”) 
rectangular opening. The connector is keyed so you cannot plug it in wrong. The 
other end of the USB cable is square and plugs into the back of the X Board. This 
end is also keyed to prevent incorrect insertion.

If the X Board is not connected to the computer via USB it requires a source of 
power in the form of a 6VDC adapter (tip positive) or (3) AA batteries.

 

XBoard mini.book  Page 8  Thursday, April 21, 2005  11:09 AM

Summary of Contents for Xboard25

Page 1: ...1500 Green Hills Road Scotts Valley CA 95067 0015 USA Europe Africa Middle East Creative Labs Ballycoolin Business Park Blanchardstown Dublin 15 IRELAND E MU Japan Creative Media K K Kanda Eight Bldg 3F 4 6 7 Soto Kanda Chiyoda ku Tokyo 101 0021 JAPAN www japan creative com XBoard mini book Page 3 Thursday April 21 2005 11 09 AM ...

Page 2: ...in pdf format on the included CD ROM Important Le manual français de l X Board est disponible au format pdf sur la CD ROM inclus Wichtig Das deutsche Handbuch ist als pdf Dokument vom enthaltenen CD ROM vorhanden XBoard mini book Page 4 Thursday April 21 2005 11 09 AM ...

Page 3: ... 9 MIDI Interface 10 Software Installation 10 Macintosh OS X 10 Windows 2000 10 Windows XP 11 Uninstalling all Audio Drivers and Applications 11 Troubleshooting 12 Main Panel Controls 16 Back Panel Description 19 Powering the X Board 20 Inserting Batteries into the X Board 20 Basic Operations 21 Entering Data 21 Selecting Patches 21 Storing Patches 22 XBoard mini book Page 5 Thursday April 21 2005...

Page 4: ...ss Mode 26 Edit Parameters 27 Semitone Transpose 27 Velocity Curve Select 27 16 Channel CC Number 27 Latch High Low Note 28 Save CC Value in Patch 28 CC Send On Recall 28 PGM Send on Recall 28 Bank Send MSB 28 Bank Send LSB 28 Send Prog Change 29 Aftertouch On Off 29 Program Change PGM Browse Mode 29 X1 Functions 30 Index 31 XBoard mini book Page 6 Thursday April 21 2005 11 09 AM ...

Page 5: ...ur computer when connected via USB The X Boards are ultra portable and can be powered via USB battery or using the optional 6 VDC power supply Each of the 16 controller knobs can be programmed to any controller number on any MIDI channel The keyboard can be transposed up or down 4 octaves in order to play in any key and any pitch Both X Boards contain a host of extra features The Snap Shot feature...

Page 6: ... Drivers X Board Control software Proteus X LE Desktop Sound Module Ableton Live Lite 4 for E MU Adobe PDF Reader PDF manual for X Board and X Board Control software This Owner s Manual Optional DC Power Adapter contact E MU Systems Hardware Installation The connection diagrams on the following pages show how to connect the X Board to your computer or to another MIDI device The supplied USB cable ...

Page 7: ... data link between the X Board and your computer and also supplies power to the X Board Always connect to the USB port on the computer itself the USB port on your computer keyboard will not supply sufficient power The X Board sends MIDI performance data to another MIDI device such as a MIDI sound module The X Board always transmits MIDI data except when Thru mode is enabled See page 30 XBoard mini...

Page 8: ...r computer 2 Insert the E MU software Installation CD into your CD ROM drive If Windows AutoPlay mode is enabled for your CD ROM drive the CD starts running auto matically If not from your Windows desktop click Start Run and type d setup exe replace d with the drive letter of your CD ROM drive You can also simply open the CD and double click Setup exe USB Cable CO1 A V 1 27 P P A 0 1 R N I V TG 02...

Page 9: ... enabled for your CD ROM drive the CD starts running auto matically If not from your Windows desktop click Start Run and type d setup exe replace d with the drive letter of your CD ROM drive You can also simply open the CD and double click Setup exe 3 The installation splash screen appears Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation You will have the option to install E MU X...

Page 10: ...computer Troubleshooting Lost Communication Should you loose MIDI communication between your X Board and an audio appli cation Cubase Sonar etc or the X Board Editor the X Board drivers may need to be re selected in your application 1 Go to your application s MIDI I O settings de select the X Board for both MIDI input and output or select a different MIDI device 2 Apply these changes and exit the ...

Page 11: ...ollers find the device called either USB Audio Device or E MU XBoardxx 6 Double click on this device and then click on Driver 7 If the vendor shown here is E MU Systems you have run into a different problem and you should contact Technical Support If the vendor shown here is Microsoft instead of E MU Systems you have indeed run into this situation Continue on to the next section Windows XP You may...

Page 12: ...4 3 In the next panel click on Advanced and then Next 4 In the next panel click on Don t Search and then Next 5 In the next panel select the E MU USB MIDI Device then Next XBoard mini book Page 14 Thursday April 21 2005 11 09 AM ...

Page 13: ...er from the Driver tab 2 Choose Next then Display a list of known drivers for this device 3 Choose Next 4 Choose Have Disk 5 Insert your Xboard install CD If the disk autoruns Exit the disk s installer 6 Click Browse 7 Browse to the following file double click the file and press OK X Audio Drivers Driver emuumidi inf where X your CD drive letter 8 Choose Next 9 Choose Next again The Windows logo t...

Page 14: ...akes you out of edit mode and back into play mode without saving your edit You can also think of this button as an Escape button which returns you to the power up state of the keyboard The Home LED is lit whenever the X Board is in Play mode 4 Store Patch Use this button to store your keyboard setup in one of the 16 memory locations To Store a Patch After pressing Store select the desired patch nu...

Page 15: ...tch using the data slider or numeric keys and press Enter 9 MIDI Channel Select This button selects the active MIDI channel for the keyboard and all controls To Select a MIDI Channel Press the MIDI Channel button then select the channel using the data slider or numeric keys and press Enter 10 16 Channel Control Mode In this mode one MIDI Continuous Controller number is assigned to all 16 knobs and...

Page 16: ...ous controllers messages at once Snapshot mode is always accessible except while Edit mode is active 14 Controller Knobs The 16 Controller Knobs are designed to modify the sound during perfor mance MIDI Continuous Controller messages are transmitted whenever the knobs are turned except when Knob Bypass is enabled Whenever a controller knob is turned the current value of the knob is displayed on th...

Page 17: ...a computer software application See page 30 Use a standard MIDI cable to connect the X Board to the MIDI input jack of other MIDI devices 3 USB Connects X Board to your computer via the supplied USB cable The USB connection provides two way communication when connected to the computer and also supplies power to the X Board Always connect to the USB jack on the computer itself and NOT an unpowered ...

Page 18: ...with power at all Thankfully the X Board can be operated using 3 AA batteries Battery life generally exceeds 5 hours using standard alkaline batteries Lithium batteries typically last 16 hours To Insert Batteries The battery compartment is located on the bottom of the unit 1 Press the two tabs toward the middle of the battery door while lifting up The compartment door lifts up and out 2 Insert 3 A...

Page 19: ... programmable controls of the X Board In addition depending on the patch settings the X Board can send MIDI program changes message s and initial controller settings for the knobs wheels and footswitch pedal when a particular patch is selected To Select a Patch 1 Press the Patch Select button illuminating the LED 2 Select the desired patch number using the data slider 3 The Enter button will be fl...

Page 20: ... Channel button The MIDI Channel LED illuminates 2 Select the desired MIDI channel using the data slider 3 The Enter button will be flashing Press Enter to confirm the operation Press Home to cancel the operation Transposing the Keyboard The keyboard can be transposed up and down 4 octaves by pressing the Transpose buttons The octave number appears momentarily in the display The LED on the transpo...

Page 21: ...display When you first press the Edit button the word SELECt scrolls continuously across the display prompting you to select an edit parameter by pressing one of the labelled keys After an edit parameter is selected the current value of the parameter is displayed After a short delay the edit parameter name begins scrolling If you enter a value the display stops scrolling 1 2 4 3 1 Press Edit 2 Sel...

Page 22: ...volumes of all 16 MIDI channels To Select 16 Channel Control Mode 1 Press the 16 Channel button The 16 Channel LED illuminates 2 Press the button again to exit 16 Channel Control Mode The LED goes off To Set the 16 Channel Control Number 1 Press the Edit button The Edit LED illuminates 2 Press the keyboard key marked 16 Ch CC Number 3 Select a CC number from 0 127 using the data slider or using th...

Page 23: ...r via direct channel setting change or via patch load Additional notes can be latched on the new channel Turning Latch Mode off manually via the Latch button will switch off all latched notes regardless of their channel or the sequence in which they were latched Latched notes are NOT switched off upon loading a new patch in which Latch Mode is OFF To turn these notes off either return to the origi...

Page 24: ...ound by sending the stored controller messages This feature can also be used in conjunction with the Knob Bypass control to set up and then send a group of MIDI continuous controllers messages at once See the description of Bypass Mode below Bypass Mode When you move a controller knob on the X Board the position value is immedi ately transmitted via MIDI Knob Bypass disables the transmission of MI...

Page 25: ...l response to your playing style Select a curve from 1 to 8 16 Channel CC Number 16 Channel Control mode is a special performance mode in which all 16 knobs send one CC number on MIDI channels 1 through 16 This allows you to control a single parameter on all 16 MIDI channels See 16 Channel Control Mode on page 24 for more information about how to use this function 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Linear No change ...

Page 26: ...ettings or oFF if you don t want the stored CC settings transmitted PGM Send on Recall This switch enables or disables transmission of stored MIDI Program Changes when a new patch is selected The stored program changes for each MIDI channel can only be programmed from the X Board Control application Select on to transmit stored program changes when a patch is selected or oFF if you don t want the ...

Page 27: ...hen additional pressure is applied to the keyboard after the keys have been pressed Select on to turn Aftertouch on or oFF to turn it off Program Change PGM Browse Mode This function allows you to browse through MIDI programs while playing the keyboard Program change messages are sent on the basic MIDI channel To Browse MIDI Program Changes 1 Press the Edit button 2 Press the PGM Browse Mode keybo...

Page 28: ...e X Board can function as a MIDI interface between your computer applications and external MIDI gear When set to Thru MIDI data from your computer appli cation is transmitted on the X Board s MIDI output jack When Out is selected the MIDI output transmits local data from the keyboard and knobs X Board keyboard and controller data is NOT transmitted from the MIDI output when this function is set to...

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