Dave Smith Instruments SYNTHESIZERS

From: Miles Bader <miles@...>
Reply-To: DSI_Evolver@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sat, 31 Jan 2004 19:02:46 -0500
To: DSI_Evolver@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Evolver] Couldn't stop myself - bought a second evolver


On Sat, Jan 31, 2004 at 09:18:49AM -0800, Gene Schwartz wrote:
> you have MIDI Xmit (and receive on the 2nd evolver) set to either
> xmit parameters or All (which seem like a reasonable setting if you want
> your knob turns to register on both units), and you change the Poly Chain
> mode to All or notes, then a MIDI feedback loop can form between the
> Evolvers and Logic (or other sequencer), since the poly chain mode setting
> gets sent to the second evolver. This was driving me crazy for awhile.

I suppose you could argue that poly-chain is a `local' setting, and that
evolvers should ignore incoming poly-chain changes, but OTOH for those
(rich) people that are chaining six evolvers, the current behavior could be
a lot more convenient.

I think in general if you're constructing a midi loop through a sequencer
like that you've simply got to be careful though, because there are lots of
potential problems like this; obviously once you realize the issue, it's
simple enough to fix, either by filtering in the sequencer, or just
manually turning off poly-chain in the second evolver.

-Miles
-- 
80% of success is just showing up.  --Woody Allen

I don't necessarily disagree with any of this, but given that sometimes you
would want this behavior, and sometimes you wouldn't, I don't see why there
couldn't be, say, a MIDI transmit mode that excluded MIDI settings - and/or
a MIDI receive mode that excluded them. When would you ever want the last
evolver in a chain to have the Poly Chain on?

Definitely there are things that one 'should' remember when operating a
synth, but part of the 'ease of use' factor is to try to eliminate the
danger that comes from being absent minded. Analogously to the above, I'd
like to see a setting that locked the bank/program number. Like you say
above - it's easy enough to remember to save, but it's also really easy on
the evolver (at least I find it so) to forget in the heat of the moment
that, for instance, you don't have the sequencer button pushed, and you lose
all your changes because you've accidentally turned the program knob.