CHAPTER 6. SHOPPING FOR EQUIPMENT

Although it might not seem so, it is possible to browse when shopping for a menu-driven instrument. You must be methodical. Random exploration of menu-driven synths yields the same results as it would on any other computerized system. You will either get no response from pushing a button, or you will execute commands that cause drastic changes that you don't want and can't undo.

Consider the "performer friendliness" of the equipment. If possible, choose a unit whose control panel has real buttons instead of a continuous membrane on which you must depress a particular spot to initiate a function. If you acquire a synth with a membrane-type control panel, have someone make an overlay out of stiff cardboard or plastic that has cut-outs where the "buttons" are. This solution works very well. There are enough spaces without switches so you can insert Braille labels as needed.

The dial that changes parameter values should be equipped with detents because it can range through 128 increments.

Synths that are packaged in small cabinets sport correspondingly small buttons arranged so as to take up as little space as possible. They can be so close together that reliable operation becomes very difficult. Don't fret. All the functions can be activated by commands typed on the computer keyboard.

Asking The Right Questions -- There are some key questions that you can ask a salesperson that will give you the tools for exploring an instrument. Be prepared to take notes. Under in-store pressure your memory will not serve you as well as you might think. A small tape recorder will provide you with a record of what the instrument sounds like.

Question 1. How does the instrument generate its sounds?

If you want to construct sounds from your own imaginings, a programmable synth that generates sounds from internal algorithms such as "additive synthesis" and "FM synthesis" will give you more elemental building blocks than will a synth that employs samples. The latter is preferable for music that requires replication of acoustical instruments and sounds. Many synths combine these two methods.

The present trend in synths emphasizes modifications of the sound environments rather than the creation of new sounds. However, there are many used synths on the market that can be programmed at a more elemental level. The Korg and Serge companies build monophonic instruments designed for this purpose.

Many sound cards equipped with "wave table" synths permit the substitution of their sampled sounds with sounds of the user's choice. The new sound could be constructed from "outside" the computer by traditional recording processes, or from "inside" with sound-editing software. Sound-editing software varies greatly in accessibility by nonvisual means. Some programs let you hear segments of a sample as they are highlighted by the cursor. They provide keyboard commands and feedback so that you can edit the sounds precisely. Unfortunately, these programs won't work with all sound cards. Acquire demonstration versions of these programs whenever possible. Question 2. Are the sounds in the instrument "fixed," or can they be modified?

For any serious work it is essential that the parameters of a synth's sounds can be programmed; that is, you should be able to modify a sound's characteristics and retain the modified sound in the instrument's memory.

Question 3. How do I enter and exit the edit menu?

Without this information you cannot experiment with the parameters of the synth's voices. All you can do is audition their factory settings.

Have the salesperson show you how to move the cursor and how to change the parameter value.

Find out where the cursor goes when you attempt to move it beyond the last item on a line. In some menus it returns to the first item of that line while in others, it proceeds to the first item on the next line.

Question 4. How do I tune the synth?

If you have "perfect pitch" -- the ability to recognize a specific pitch without an external reference -- you may want to retune the synth. I have tried a surprisingly large number of keyboards on which some previous tinkerer has changed the tuning and left it far from the standard pitch. As anyone with even "relative" pitch knows, the disparity between the sound you hear and the sound you expect to hear can be very distracting.

Question 5. Does the synth conform to the MIDI GS (MIDI general standard)?

This standard is incorporated into many synths that emulate acoustical instruments. It ensures that the names of the instruments will have the same "program numbers" on any synth so equipped. It also standardizes the effect of actions on the keyboard and of certain "controllers." Although they permit extensive sound-modification, true sound-invention is not possible.

Question 6. Does the instrument "reboot" when turned off, then on again?

Instruments vary in their retention of settings. Some return to a default setting when you exit a menu or "power down." Others retain the most recent setting until instructed otherwise. Rarely, if ever, is an instrument equipped with a simple "reset" button. Instead, you must find and execute a command in one of its menus that returns it to its factory settings.

If you use it in conjunction with a computer you can create a "set-up" file in your sequencer which, when run, sets your synth to this setting or to another of your choice.

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