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X Board

1

Owner's Manual

Summary of Contents for X board25

Page 1: ...X Board 1 Owner s Manual ...

Page 2: ... 00 E MU World Headquarters E MU Systems 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 ...

Page 3: ...Connection 9 MIDI Connection 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 ...

Page 4: ...C 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 E MU X Board Control 31 Definitions 31 X Board Control WIndow 32 Views 32 File View 32 Bank View 33 Device 33 Patch Editor Screen 34 Basic Operation 34 Patch Modified Indicator 35 Patch Name 35 MIDI Controller Knob Settings 35 Basic ...

Page 5: ... 42 Load From File PC version 42 Save Patch PC version 43 Loading and Saving Files from the Mac 44 Load From File Mac version 45 Save Bank or Patch Mac version 46 Choose Folder 46 Store 46 Revert 47 Edit Menu 48 Cut 48 Copy 48 Paste 48 Clear 48 Restore Pitch Wheel 48 View Menu 49 Patch Editor 49 Sort Files 49 Refresh 49 Device Menu 50 Select 50 Help Menu 50 Appendix 51 MIDI Background 51 MIDI Chan...

Page 6: ...handen Battery Safety Do not mix batteries of different brands Do not mix old and new batteries Replace all batteries at the same time Do not mix battery types Examples of battery types are alkaline heavy duty rechargeable Do not use damaged batteries Observe proper polarity when installing batteries Take care to prevent batteries from being put in backwards Promptly remove dead or weak batteries ...

Page 7: ...d as a MIDI interface for your 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 fe...

Page 8: ...e 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 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 s...

Page 9: ...ction MIDI Connection USB provides a two way 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 ...

Page 10: ... is NOT CONNECTED to your 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...

Page 11: ...e 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 3 The installation splash screen appears Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation You will have...

Page 12: ...stall these drivers on your 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...

Page 13: ...er Sound Video and Game Controllers 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 ne...

Page 14: ...Introduction E MU Systems 14 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 ...

Page 15: ...anager and choose Update Driver 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 ...

Page 16: ...ter 3 Home The Home button takes 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...

Page 17: ...lect button then choose a patch 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 ...

Page 18: ...group of MIDI continuous 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 kn...

Page 19: ...lso be used as a MIDI interface from 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 ...

Page 20: ...to have to hassle 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 an...

Page 21: ...ns the settings for all user 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...

Page 22: ...MIDI Channel 1 Press the MIDI 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 d...

Page 23: ...ble duty as a scrolling text 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 scrolli...

Page 24: ...set to 7 Channel Volume the knobs could be used to mix the 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 Sele...

Page 25: ...to a different channel either 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 of...

Page 26: ...t and completely change the sound 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 di...

Page 27: ...that provides the most natural 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 ...

Page 28: ...lect on to transmit the initial CC settings 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 se...

Page 29: ... Aftertouch is transmitted when 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 Pre...

Page 30: ...e to cancel the operation Mid The 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 out...

Page 31: ...C number are programmable for each of the 16 controller knobs The initial settings for the 16 controller knobs plus the pitch mod wheels and control pedal can be transmitted when a new Patch is selected The CC number for Pitch Mod Wheels and Control Pedal are programmable Knob controllers and X Board patches can be named with up to 16 characters Definitions Active Buffer The area of memory used by...

Page 32: ...X Board bank and patch files Loading and Saving Bank or Patch Files Bank files can be loaded by simply dragging them onto the bank view section Patch files can be loaded by simply dragging them onto a patch location Bank or patch files can be saved by dragging and dropping or copying and pasting them onto the File View section Bank View Section File View Section Select a Patch by Clicking on it He...

Page 33: ... or a pop up dialog box will appear asking whether or not you want to store the patch Whenever an edited patch is Stored the Patch Name turns Red until the bank or patch is saved to disk Device The Device field allows you to switch to a different X Board in the event that you have more than one X Board connected to your computer The list displays all MIDI devices but you are only allowed to select...

Page 34: ... stores the current Patch to the X Board Changing the current Patch in the Bank View section causes the Patch you last selected to be automatically stored in the X Board See Prefs on page 40 Changing Patches Select a new patch from the Bank View Patches section Any changes you made to the previous patch will be automatically stored in the X Board Current Patch Number Store Current Patch Button Pat...

Page 35: ... CC numbers on your synthesizer in order to operate Note Don t confuse MIDI channels with MIDI CC channels See MIDI Channels Continuous Controllers on page 51 for more information The MIDI Channel field allows you to set the MIDI channel for each knob This field is greyed out and unavailable unless the MIDI Channel Number Per Control option is selected see below Normally all the controller knobs u...

Page 36: ... on all 16 MIDI channels For example if the controller number were set to 7 Channel Volume the knobs could be used to mix the volume of all 16 MIDI channels Pitch Wheel Settings The pitch wheel can either be programmed as a MIDI pitch bender or set to any MIDI continuous controller number with an initial setting CC number and MIDI channel The normal use for the spring loaded pitch wheel is a pitch...

Page 37: ...IDI Channel field allows you to set the MIDI channel for the mod wheel This field is unavailable unless the MIDI Channel Number Per Control option is selected See page 35 You will normally leave the Mod Wheel set to it s default setting of CC 1 since this is a standard function on every MIDI synthesizer Pedal Footswitch Settings The Control Pedal input accepts either a momentary on footswitch or a...

Page 38: ...ings are retained Send Controller Values on Patch Recall When this parameter is set to On the stored settings of the 16 Controller Knobs the Mod Wheel and the Footswitch Footpedal will be transmitted when the Patch is selected When set to Off the continuous controller settings will not be transmitted when the patch is selected Note Pressing the Snapshot button will immediately send the stored cont...

Page 39: ...s over each channel slot allow you to select which channels will transmit program change messages when the patch is selected This feature is only accessible via the X Board Control software Patch Editor View All patch parameters can be edited in this screen Any changes you make are immediately sent to the active buffer on the X Board but will not be stored Changes will be stored in the X Board if ...

Page 40: ...w Folder These options allow you to choose the location in your computer where saved Banks and Patches will be stored Default Folder Saved Patches and Banks will be stored in the selected folder Startup Folder Default or Last This option lets you choose whether the Default bank or the last bank selected in File Choose Folder will be shown when you launch the X Board Control Macintosh view ...

Page 41: ...First or Always When Ask First is selected a popup dialog box appears asking if you want to store when you change a patch without storing When Always is selected a modified patch is automatically stored without asking when you change patches PC App shows Auto save when changing patches Startup Device Default or Last This option selects which keyboard will be selected on startup when you have more ...

Page 42: ...r Patch 1 Select Load from File from the File menu The popup dialog box shown above appears 2 Locate the folder containing your Banks and P atches The default folder is set in the Preferences menu 3 Select Bank files Patch files or Both to be shown 4 Select the desired Bank or Patch file 5 Press Open to load the file or Cancel to cancel the operation Select File Type Select Folder ...

Page 43: ... will be saved The default folder is set in the Preferences menu 3 Select Patch files as the type 4 Press Save to save the Patch or Cancel to cancel the operation To Save a Bank to Disk 1 Select Save Bank from the File menu The popup dialog box shown above appears 2 Locate the folder where the Bank will be saved The default folder is set in the Preferences menu 3 Select Bank files as the type 4 Pr...

Page 44: ... whether an object in the File or Bank section is selected Load Save Bank Select an object in the File Section Load Save Patch Select an object in the Bank Section Load Save Bank Load Save Patch Select an object in the File Section Select an object in the Bank Section then choose Load or Save from the File Menu Bank Section File Section ...

Page 45: ...e Section to load a Bank Select any object in the Bank Section to load a Patch 2 Select Load Bank or Patch from File in the File menu 3 Locate the folder containing your Banks and Patches The default folder is set in the Preferences menu 4 Select the desired Bank or Patch file Only the file type you selected will be available to load 5 Press Open to load the file or Cancel to cancel the operation ...

Page 46: ... the folder containing your Banks and Patches The default folder is set in the Preferences menu 4 Select the location for your Bank or Patch file 5 Press Save to save the file or Cancel to cancel the operation Choose Folder This option allows you to select the folder that will appear in the File View area of the patch editor to be used for loading or saving X Board files Store This menu option sto...

Page 47: ... backups so that you can go back to a previous state of the X Board The Revert dialog box is shown below The date and time of the auto backups are recorded Backup number one is the oldest backup The number of automatic backups can be selected in the Preferences menu See page 41 On the Macintosh version a second Patch revert file is also created when you open the application This patch file is rewr...

Page 48: ...anks can be copied from the File View section or from the Bank Name in the Bank Section Patches can be copied from the File View section or from the list in the Bank Section Paste This function writes the clipboard contents into the file folder or into a patch location Banks can be pasted into the file folder or onto the Bank Name field in the Bank View section Patches can be pasted into the File ...

Page 49: ... Refresh Selecting this option updates the X Board Control display with the current state of the X Board including the active buffer and non volatile memory contents Refresh also updates the File view with the current contents of the specified file folder Refresh should be performed any time you have changed the Controls on the X Board and want the X Board Control Editor to show these changes For ...

Page 50: ... E MU Systems 50 Device Menu Select This option selects the current X Board in the event that you have more than one X Board connected to your computer Help Menu The Help menu calls the pdf version of this operation manual ...

Page 51: ...16 knobs pitch and mod wheels as well as aftertouch from the keyboard key pressure applied after the notes have been pressed These controls are used to add more expression or control The controller knobs send out information on separate continuous controller numbers There is a set of 128 continuous controller numbers 0 127 for each MIDI channel Some continuous controllers such as modulation wheel ...

Page 52: ...oller CC 0 is the MSB most significant byte and CC 32 is the LSB least significant byte Normally you send both the MSB and LSB controllers to implement a bank change The selected bank remains selected until you change it either via MIDI or by changing the bank from the display Standard MIDI Program Change commands select from 128 presets within the selected bank Footpedal Wiring The potentiometer ...

Page 53: ...characters on a numeric display The complete list of scrolling text messages are shown below Scrolling Text Messages Displayed Text Translation Select Continuous Controller number 16 Channel CC number Latch Low Note Latch High Note CC Store in Patch CC Send on Patch Recall Program Send on Patch Recall Bank Select MSB Bank Select LSB Program Send Direct Aftertouch Local out destination MIDI or USB ...

Page 54: ... Standard File Dump MIDI Tuning Master Volume Master Balance Notation Information Turn GM1 System On Turn GM2 System On Turn GM1 System Off Other See Remarks No No No No Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No NRPNs No No RPN 00 Pitch Bend Sensi RPN 01 Chan Fine Tune RPN 02 Chan Coar Tune RPN 03 Tuning Prog Sel RPN 04 Tuning Bank Sel RPN 05 Mod Depth Rang No No No No No No No No No ...

Page 55: ... No No 11 Expression MSB No No 12 Effect Cntl 1 MSB No No 13 Effect Cntl 2 MSB No No 14 15 UNDEFINED 16 GenPur Ctrl 1 MSB No No 17 GenPur Ctrl 2 MSB No No 18 GenPur Ctrl 3 MSB No No 19 GenPur Ctrl 4 MSB No No 20 31 UNDEFINED 32 Bank Select LSB Yes No 33 Mod Wheel LSB Yes No 34 Breath Cntl LSB No No 35 36 Foot Cntrlr LSB No No 37 Portamento LSB No No 38 Data Entry LSB No No 39 Chan Volume LSB No No...

Page 56: ...witch No No 69 Hold 2 No No 70 Variation No No 71 Timbre Har Inten No No 72 Release Time No No 73 Attack Time No No 74 Brightness No No 75 Sound Cntrlr 6 No No 76 Sound Cntrlr 7 No No 77 Sound Cntrlr 8 No No 78 Sound Cntrlr 9 No No 79 Sound Cntrlr 10 No No 80 Gen Purp Cntrlr 5 No No 81 Gen Purp Cntrlr 6 No No 82 Gen Pur Ctrlr 7 No No 83 Gen Pur Ctrlr 8 No No 84 Portamento Cntrl No No MIDI Implemen...

Page 57: ...2 119 UNDEFINED 120 All Sound Off Yes No 121 Reset All Controllers No No 122 Local Cntrl on off No No 123 All Notes Off Yes No 124 Omni Mode Off No No 125 Omni Mode On No No 126 Poly Mode Off No No 127 Poly Mode On No No NOTES The X Board can transmit ANY continuous controller number from 1 to 127 A No response simply indicates that the controller is not transmitted or received by default MIDI Imp...

Page 58: ...Appendix E MU Systems 58 ...

Page 59: ...CC Number 16 channel mode 27 definition 51 CC Send On Recall 28 Channel Select Button 17 Clear 48 Connection Diagrams 9 Continuous Controller 51 Controller knobs 18 transmit as a snapshot 26 transmit when patch is selected 28 MIDI 7 51 Controller Settings X Board Control 35 Copy 48 Cut 48 D Data Slider 16 Data entering 21 Default Folder 40 Device Field X Board Control software 33 Driver Problems 1...

Page 60: ...28 channel select button 17 channel changing 22 connection diagram 9 implementation chart 54 55 interface using X Board as 10 19 30 output jack 19 panic button 17 program change 29 39 52 per MIDI channel 39 transmit when patch is selected 28 program send on patch recall 28 Mixer using controller knobs as a 24 N Note Latch Mode Settings 38 O Octave Transpose Buttons 17 On Off Switch 19 P Package Co...

Page 61: ...Mode 26 Snapshot Button 18 Software Installation Mac OS X 10 Windows 2000 10 Windows XP 11 Sort Files 49 Startup Device 41 Startup Folder 40 Store Button 16 46 T Text Display scrolling 23 Text Messages listing 53 Touch Response adjusting 27 Transpose keyboard 22 octave 17 semitone 27 Troubleshooting 12 U Uninstalling Drivers App 11 Update Driver 13 USB Jack 19 USB Thru Mode 30 V Velocity Curves de...

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