Making Changes
Any of the controls may be changed, and each time a control is moved new
SysEx commands are sent to the guitar and stored. This way if the power is
disconnected during any utilities session the changes will be remembered.
Panel Controls
MIDI I/O Select
Use the pull down list control for each of the Input and Output devices to
select the appropriate device connected to the MidiAxe™ Equipped guitar.
Once the devices are selected, when the utility panel is shut down, they will
be remembered the next time the panel is started.
MIDI Channel Selection
There are two basic MIDI transmission modes the MidiAxe™ system per-
forms. The first is the single channel mode whereby all strings transmit on a
single MIDI channel (3 way toggle switch in the middle or up position). The
default channel programmed at the factory is channel 1. The second mode is
multi-channel mode (also known as MIDI Mono mode), whereby each string
is assigned an independent MIDI channel (3 way toggle switch in the down
position). The default channels programmed at the factory for this mode are
MIDI channels 1-6 corresponding to strings 1-6. Using the UP/DOWN buttons
the user may change the MIDI channel for any of the strings in the respective
modes.
Pitch Bend Range Select
When the 3 way MIDI mode toggle switch is in the middle or down position,
the MidiAxe™ system sends pitch bend messages when a note is bent up or
down. In this case, MIDI pitch bend messages are sent on the appropriate
MIDI channel. If the MIDI mode is "single channel" the pitch bend message
will be sent only on that corresponding MIDI channel. If the MIDI mode is
multi-channel, then the pitch bend message will be sent on all 6 MIDI chan-
nels. The pitch bend range refers to how many semitones of synth pitch bend
correspond to a full-scale pitch bend coming from the guitar. It is essential,
for normal operation, that the guitar's pitch bend range corresponds to the
synth's pitch bend range. By default most synths are set to +/- 2 semitones
of pitch bend range for the full scale range of the instrument pitch bend. This
is why the MidiAxe™ system is shipped from the factory set to this +/- 2 semi-
tone range. The user may increase or decrease the pitch bend range by
pressing the UP/DOWN buttons.
NOTE: The MidiAxe™ system will automatically send "PITCH BEND GAIN" information
to any synth connected to the guitar when the "OCTAVE" switch is moved to any position.
This may be a quick way to make sure the synth is tracking the pitch bend range correct-
ly. Beware however that not all synths respond to this message, and you may have to
resort to manually programming the pitch bend range on the synth.
Velocity Curve Select
The velocity curve controls how "punchy" the synth sound is relative to how
the user picks or plucks the string with his or her finger or pick. The MidiAxe™
system is shipped from the factory with a "hot" velocity curve profile that we
have found to be the most universally preferred velocity mapping for most
people. However some users may prefer a more "linear" feel to this velocity
profile. There are 3 curves selectable with the curve 1 corresponding to the
most "linear" and curve 3 corresponding to the most "compressed" or non-lin-
ear response to plucking the strings. Note that the "attack" profile of a syn-
thesized sound varies widely with manufactures and patch settings and this
enters into the velocity mapping perception.
String Sensitivity
In addition to the global velocity setting, each individual string sensitivity can
be adjusted to suit individual tastes for picking hardness, etc. This is optimally
adjusted to 100% for each string by default, but each string can be set accord-
ingly. While adjusting the string setting, the user may view the signal strength
on the VU meter panel.
Synth Volume
On the bottom of the panel there is a Synth Volume setting VU meter which
provides for an easy way to see if the MidiAxe™ System is connected prop-
erly to the panel and messages are being transmitting and received. By mov-
ing the Synth Volume Pot on the guitar the bar graph should vary smoothly
from 0% to 100%.
VU Meters
The VU meter portion of the panel shows the relative loudness of each string
as a user plucks it. This isn't the actual signal value, but rather the MIDI veloc-
ity that is shown on the VU meter. In single channel mode, only one VU meter
bar (bottom one) will be active for any of the strings. In multi-channel mode
each of the string's velocity values will cause the corresponding VU meter bar
to show signal strength (velocity).
Initialize Button and Version Status
As described above in the Panel Operation summary, the INITIALIZE button
is pressed to initialize the panel to the setting of the MidiAxe™ system once
the guitar has been connected properly. On the lower right hand portion of
the screen, firmware version number, software version number, guitar serial
number, and MidiAxe™ circuit board serial number are displayed. For soft-
ware updates, the "software" version is the number to the left of the "/" char-
acter on the version status panel.
Tuner
A "guitar tuner" utility is provided that allows the user to tune the guitar via the
MidiAxe™ Utilities panel. This tuner uses pitch bend messages to signal tun-
ing information. Once the Tuner button is pressed, a small LED panel is pre-
sented with a Green LED in the center and RED LED's to the right and left of
the center Green LED. A letter note also lets the user know what is the clos-
est chromatic note being played. The user should adjust the pitch (using the
guitar tuning keys) until the corresponding chromatic note is correct and the
Green LED is showing. Note that heavy picking temporarily causes a slight-
ly sharp tuning, so using a lighter picking stroke during tuning will result in a
more "in-tune" guitar.
Restore Defaults Button
The Restore Defaults button allows a user to set all of the MidiAxe™ system
parameters back to the original manufactured state.
Upgrade Button
The Upgrade button is used to update the operating system software for the
MidiAxe™ Equipped guitar. When the button is pressed a dialog menu is pre-
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Panel Controls
