Pseudo-MPE and historic multitimbral synths

[feijai]

Interested in building a list of multitimbral synths out there which can be converted to provide what I'm going to call "pseudo-MPE", that is, multimode patches with the same single-mode patch assigned to each of 16 different MIDI channels.

I note that Roger had pointed out a few on his website: certain JV-series for example. Here are some that I know about.

• Waldorf Blofeld: 16
• Various E-mu Morpheus and Proteus-series devices: 16
• Korg Wavestation: 8
• Yamaha TX81Z: 8
• Kawai K4: 8
• Kawai K1: 8
• Roland JV-880: 8
• Waldorf Microwave series: 8
• Oberheim Matrix 1000: 6. BUT SPECIAL MENTION: the Oberheim Matrix has a special poly mode which assigns each of its voices to a different MIDI channel, *and* it can be chained, so it's trivial to get 12 pseudo-MPE voices out of two of them.

What should be added to this list? Especially 16-channel?

I have recently added a feature to Edisyn (in source, but not in the current build) which lets you automatically prepare a single-mode patch as a pseudo-MPE patch and upload it to the device to play from an MPE device for the Blofeld, E-mu Ultraproteus, and E-mu Morpheus. Am wondering which others I should go after.

[John the Savage]

I'd be more curious to know which of these synths are actually up to the task.

Many multi-timbral synths aren't able to handle pseudo-MPE operations: i.e. the Elektron Analog Four and Digitone are both multi-timbral, but they don't reset residual Pitch Bend values to zero after notes have finished decaying, which causes unwanted pitch slides when new notes are played; and a lot of synths simply can't accommodate the sheer volume of MIDI data that MPE controllers produce, causing stuck notes and other anomalies, etc.

So, this list could be a bit misleading without more information...

Cheers!

[t-IB]

Oberheim xpander

[Roger_Linn]

Many multi-timbral synths aren't able to handle pseudo-MPE operations: i.e. the Elektron Analog Four and Digitone are both multi-timbral, but they don't reset residual Pitch Bend values to zero after notes have finished decaying, which causes unwanted pitch slides when new notes are played...

Hi John,

There's a LinnStrument hidden setting called Reset On Release that corrects for this problem. It's a Per-Split Setting that is the 5th cell under the Pitch/X column. Here's a copy of the description on the Panel Settings page, Pitch/X column, search for "reset on release":

Press the 5th pad from the top to turn on Reset On Release, which sends a Pitch Bend value of zero when a note is released. Normally this should be off to prevent pitch change upon release for sounds with long releases. However for sounds with fast releases, if you're hearing an occasional fast pitch sweep at the beginning of notes, it's because a previous note's bend value is remembered by the synth and is quickly being zeroed at the start of the new note. Turning this on will correct that.

I apologize that it's not more prominent in the Panel Settings page.

[John the Savage]

Thanks, Roger. Yes, I already know about that setting. Indeed, I have informed others of it in the past. It's a bit of a Band-Aid fix though, to be honest, and I often find that it doesn't really solve the problem. At very least, it can be a paradox.

Anyway, I was just pointing out that making a list of multi-timbral synths, without having tested each one thoroughly with an MPE controller, is only likely to mislead people. I think some real-world accounts of these synths is necessary here, if this list is to be at all helpful.

Cheers!

[Roger_Linn]

Thanks, John. I agree that the Reset On Release feature doesn't work in all cases. It's good to have raised the issue here for those who find it useful.

And yes, some MPE synths are more MPE that others. I don't have time to test them all so when I learn of one, I've lately been writing "Their site claims MPE compatibility" for its entry on the Recommended Synths page.

[mrspiral]

Oberheim xpander

Beat me to it. Only six notes of polyphony, but eats this kind of data flow for breakfast.