Conference napalm::commusic_v1

    The "118 limit" you're thinking of is the old DX7 keyboard itself,
    which was incapable of sending a velocity higher than 118, no matter
    how hard you hit it.  This is a limitation of the keyboard, not of the
    synthesizer itself.

    Does the FB01 distort on EVERY patch, or just some?  It's been my
    experience that *some* DX7 patches distort a bit when played from a
    keyboard that's capable of velocity values greater than 118.  It's
    possible that the patch is designed to distort. 

    Also, make sure that you're running line level in on the mixer with
    attenuation way back, and that you don't have a bad cord.  I've seen
    bad cords do this several times. 

    BTW - for those who remember the "why can't I get velocity out of my
    KX76" discussions, I found out last week that my problem is not the KX
    itself, but my stand.  The stand has enough bounce in it that I can't
    get over 109-118 out of the KX when it's mounted. When it sits on the
    edge of a stage or on a scissors stand, I have no trouble getting 127
    consistently.  For what it's worth.

-b

    FWIW this phenomenon (and lotsa of other auditory crap) can be heard on
    an ESQ-1. Scaling down the parameters a bit such as not to overload the
    intermediate VCAs should do the trick. The ESQ-1 sounds A LOT better is
    you run the DCAs at 75% of capacity, and let the final amp on the
    keyboad, and your PA do the work. 
    
    dp

    re: .2
    
    Regarding the ESQ-1 distorting when the DFO's are run flat out.
    
    Believe it or not, this was a DELIBERATE feature.
    
    I mentioned this to Bob Stillman of Ensoniq, and he told me that
    the first ESQ-1 prototypes did not do this.  When they were trying
    to develop the very first patches for the thing, they wanted to
    get an overdrive sound for some patch or another and couldn't do
    it.
    
    They told the hardware engineers to design it such that a DCA level
    above 56 would overdrive the VCA's.  
    
    Bob recommends that when you are initially createing a patch, you start
    with the DCA's at 56.  He was such a nice guy that I didn't want to
    bug him about not being clear about that in the documentatiion.  I
    wasn't even sure whether it was indeed not documented (I don't
    remember reading about it).
    
    I think this is really neat.  Another example of Ensoniq's trait of
    understanding HOW their stuff will be using and designing the equipment
    for how it will be used.
    
    Anybody know of any other synths that do something like this
    (intentionally, that is)?
    
    	db

    < Note 1816.3 by DREGS::BLICKSTEIN "Yo!" >
>    Anybody know of any other synths that do something like this

    Well, I'm not hip enough to the architecture to know how it's done,
    but the Kurzweil (K)1000(PX)' new ROM (no I don't have it yet but
    I played with it in the store) has a wonderful distorted 'honk'
    on the Rhodes sounds.
    
    Also, the EMAX has a digital volume parameter that directly affect
    the sample, not the output amplitude, that gives a great, linearly
    controllable distortion.  I was surprised, digital distortion is
    usually uncontrollable and sounds like loud static.  So I've used
    this on normally tame lead sounds, sax/guitar/Moog.. also the EMAX
    has a 'mono' mode that allows a patch, when played legato, to not
    trigger the attack..
    
    karl

    Re: Ensoniq ESQ Overdrive sounds:
    
    Not only is it documented, it's even documented IN THE MANUAL, and
    it gives a chart like this (this is from memory) and an explanation.
    
    3 oscillators --> 56 or less                                        
    2 oscillators --> 59 or less
    1 oscillator  --> 61 or less