AX Edge Synth Engine

[Tom Williams]

I've recently progressed from saving favorites to tweaking voices on my AX Edge. I hope to move on to deeper programming in the near future.

I know that the engine is a bit different from the AX-Synth (which is the only other Roland synth I've programmed in the past 40 years), so I was wondering: are there any other contemporary Roland synths whose engine(s) are similar to the AX-Edge, and perhaps better documented? The parameter guide is okay, but some things, like the scope of the legato feature, are unfamiliar to me.

At the risk of tying up a single thread with multiple subjects (to moderator: I'm willing to unbundle them if that's preferred), here are a few specific questions I am grappling with.

Regarding the legato setting, does it affect the sample, the envelope(s), or both?

Is there any way to globally change the curve and/or sensitivity on aftertouch or on the squishy bar? Or is it necessary to disable them in a program and then access them through the modulation matrix?

Last question for now: is there any way to quantize controllers, so that (f'rinstance) a pitch bend could go up a whole step, but in exact half-step increments? Sort of like a stepped LFO, but under squishy bar control -- that would allow fret-wise pitch bends on a guitar voice, as a practical example.

[Robin@ROSS2]

Tom,
I just received my new Edge and am setting it up for live gigs. Did you ever receive answers to your questions? I'm looking for assistance. I have played an AX-Synth for the past seven years and had customized the guitar leads to suit our cover band requirements (I play in a duo and have the task of duplicating guitar leads).

The Edge has only a sparse handful of guitar patches, none of which emulate the one I use the most off the AX-Synth. The ipad app for Edge is extremely difficult for me to figure out....I could get around on the AX-Synth PC editor program just great and was able to figure out how to change the things you talked about easily (legato, ribbon controller pressure, etc). I don't know what really any of the stuff in the Edge ipad app is....I change stuff and the sound doesn't seem to be affected. Something as easy as removing the delay off any given patch so I can add it back in to my liking has proved impossible. Haven't found any youtube tutorials on this nitty gritty stuff yet. HELP!

Would you (or anyone reading this) know of how I could duplicate my favorite AX-Synth guitar sound (which was #12 12 Twin 87 0 108....which Edge patch to start with and how to go about "copying" the changes of paramaters that I made in the old AX Synth Editor?

[Tom Williams]

Welcome aboard, Robin!

I've learned a few things since I posted that query. If you checked the forum, you know that there's not a lot of traffic, let alone information. Let's see what we can do to fix that.

DIsclaimer: I use the Android version of the app. I suspect that they are nigh identical, because the app is apparently written in Java (a portable language).

Since this is a forum, please be patient -- it may end up going as slow as a game of chess-by-mail.

I use my edge to substitute for electric bass, electric guitar, and fiddle in addition to a tune or two where I actually use it as a keyboard. :-) I have customized all of those. In the case of the guitar, I didn't find anything that met my needs either, so I built one pretty much from scratch.

To make the guitar patch look and execute in a more guitar-y fashion, I set it up with three pitch bend modulators: ribbon controller up and down the traditional whole step; squeezy bar a half step up; and aftertouch mapped to a bit less than a half-step, bending up only, so I can simulate string vibrato. There's more, but first we have to get you comfortable with the editor.

I agree that the editor is a toughie.

First thing: have you been able to sync the editor with the AX-Edge via bluetooth? We have to make sure that's happening before we can proceed.

[Robin@ROSS2]

Yes, I fooled around a bit with the Editor app today and took the 714 guitar and started tweaking it to my liking. Not happy yet....I use the ribbon controller constantly and vibrato with my fingers so it doesn’t sound so mechanical. Trying to get just the right amount of distortion. Wow, any help would be truly appreciated.

[Robin@ROSS2]

So.....am still trying to come up with one last tone that I can use for live gigs. I'm looking for a guitar sound that I can use on Tedeschi Trucks tunes, and what's in the machine are way too heavy. The Ax Synth had a guitar tone @ #12 position on that bank called "Twin" I think. That's what I'm trying to emulate.....it's a very clean tone without a lot of fuzz or distortion. What's your guitar patch like?

[anotherscott]

Maybe something close to what you're looking for could be found in the AX Synth patches that Roland already adapted to the Edge?

http://axial.roland.com/articles/ax-edg ... _ax-synth/

[Robin@ROSS2]

Thanks, Scott!!! I'll download and take a look see.