Date: Fri, 28 Jul 1995 10:24:27 -0500

Subject: Re: K2000 Special controller


In the K2000 V3.16 or higher and the K2500, there is a special mode called the "Guitar/Wind Controller Mode". It can be turned on by going to the Master Page and double pressing the CHAN/BANK buttons simultaneously.

This Mode solves specific problems relating to using the controller data from a MIDI Guitar or MIDI Wind Instrument.

The Guitar Controller Mode has been around since Version 2.0. It deals with the fact that most MIDI Guitars do not send any Pitch Bend information until it has sent a Note On command. This causes a problem if you bend the guitar string before you pick it. The K2000 will first play the note and then bend it. This results in a little pitch hiccup at the start of the note. Enabling the Guitar Controller Mode makes the K2000 read the Pitch Bend data *before* reading the Note On.

The Wind Controller Mode can be found in Versions 3.16 or higher. It was based on information and MIDI examples that Sweetwater sent to YCRDI. I have been a Sax player for most of my life and have spent many hours with my Yamaha WX7 Wind Controller connected to a Kurzweil K250. After many tries, my Soundware Engineer, Daniel Fisher, was unable to get the K2000 to have the same smooth Volume response to wind pressure as I've always loved in the K250. We made several sequences for the engineers at YCRDI that pointed out the problems and retested each new Beta Engine that came out until it worked.

Essentially, the Wind Controller Mode insures that the Program gets the Breath Control/Volume/After Touch type messages *before* the Note On. This prevents the initial attacks from being chopped off (due to the Note starting before the Breath/etc. can bring the volume up).

The Guitar/Wind Controller Mode will remain active until either power off or answering "Enable Guitar/Wind Controller Mode? No."

I hope this clarifies the Guitar/Wind Controller Mode.