PLAYING THE WX7
After you have made all the connections between the WX7,
the MIDI/Power Pack, your MIDI tone generator, and your
sound system, you are ready to play your WX7.
POWER ON
Turn on the power to your connected MIDI synthesizer or
tone generator, and to your sound system. Then turn on the
power to the WX7, using the power switch on the
MIDI/Power pack.
If the LED next to the switch does not light or is flashing,
this indicates that the batteries are dead, or, inserted incor-
rectly. If you’re using a PA-1 AC Convertor, check to see
that it is properly connected to the wall socket. Turn the
WX7 power off, replace the batteries (or check that the PA-1
AC Convertor is correctly connected to the MIDI/Power
pack and to the wall socket) then turn the WX7 power on.
The reed is bitten against the flat area of the
mouthpiece. When bite is relaxed, the reed
bends down flattening pitch. when bite is
increased, the reed bends up against the curved
area of the mouthpiece, raising pitch.
BASIC PLAY OPERATION
Producing notes with the WX7 depends on three conditions:
(1)
Your connected MIDI synthesizer or tone generator.
is set to a program that will produce a sound via your
sound system. This program MUST be one that is set
to respond to MIDI Breath Control or After Touch
data (refer to the SETTING UP section for more in-
formation on setting up your MIDI sound source).
(2) You are blowing into the mouthpiece with breath
pressure that is higher than the Wind Zero point (a
breath threshold point that you can set by following
the instructions in the ADJUSTlNG THE PLAYING
RESPONSE section).
(3)
You are fingering the keys correctly so as to produce
a note (the WX7 uses the standard Böhm fingering
system plus some special fingering positions: refer to
the FINGERING CHARTS).
No sound will be produced unless all three conditions are
fulfilled.
In short, when you blow AND finger the keys correctly, a
note will be heard. When you stop blowing OR fingering,
the note will end. The note that you hear will respond to both
lip pressure and breath pressure, as described in the following
paragraphs.
The reed normally stays in its lowest position.
Any lip pressure bends the reed up, raising
pitch.
9
LIP PRESSURE
The WX7’s Lip Sensor lets you bend pitch up or down by
biting the reed. It can be set for one of two modes: Tight
Lip or Loose Lip. (See THE DIP SWITCH section, DIP
Switch #8 for information on how to select Lip Modes.)
(1) TIGHT LIP MODE.
In the Tight Lip mode, the WX7 changes pitch much
like a normal saxophone does. For normal playing
at concert pitch, a regular embouchure may be used
(i.e. a certain amount of bite is applied to the reed).
Relaxing pressure on the reed will lower the pitch and
increasing pressure will raise the pitch.
There is a narrow “dead” zone in the center where small
changes of bite don’t alter the pitch. This “dead” zone makes
it easy to remain at concert pitch. LIP ZERO sets the position
of the central “data” zone. You can adjust the amount by
which the reed responds to lip pressure (the Lip Gain pa-
rameter). Refer to the ADJUSTING THE PLAYING RE-
SPONSE section for details on how to adjust both these
parameters.
(2)
LOOSE LIP MODE.
In the Loose Lip mode, the lower lip is loose, and for
normal concert-pitch playing, no bite is applied to the
reed. Pitch is bent by increasing the bite on the reed,
and in this mode, pitch can only be bent upward.
However, the range of pitch bend is greater than that
in the Tight Lip mode. In this mode, the Lip Zero
parameter lets you set the pitch from which lip pressure
will create a pitch bend.
Again, refer to the ADJUSTING THE PLAYING RE-
SPONSE section for details on how to adjust the pitch bend
response.