To the right of the wheels there are four switches. These switches are used for
program change, channel assignment, transposition and programmable wheel
assignment. Eighteen black keys on the keyboard are used for special MIDI
functions. The first five are used for [WHEEL A]. Notice, [AFT], [PITCH], [MOD],
[VOL] and [PAN]. These keys represent aftertouch, pitch, modulation, volume and
panning. The next 10 black keys represent a numeric key pad for program changes
and channel assignments. The following two black keys are used for increment and
decrement of a program change. [INC]/[DEC] will also change the controller
number. The last key is used for selecting a bank. More on this in the next section.
OPERATION:
Getting around the ST-900 is very simple. However, you must know certain basic
MIDI theory before it can make sense.
Base Channel'
There are 16 different channels in the MIDI specification that can be accessed
modulation, volume and pan can be accessed by the corresponding black keys,
,while all the remaining control functions can be accessed by the number or
[INC]/[DEC] keys.
To assign the programmable wheel press and hold the Control # switch. Enter the
desired controller number on the numbered black keys, or use the [INC] / [DEC]
keys, then release the control # switch. Look at the list in figure #3, try them out. If
you are having problems, chances are the sound source does not have that feature.
Sometimes you might get undesirable results. At this point it might be best to reset
your sound source (see sound sources owners manual) and shut off the ST-900,
then turn it back on again. This will reset the ST-900 to base channel #1, the control
wheel to modulation and no transposition.
