Patch Question

Forum for Roland's System-8 synthesizer
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Progman
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Joined: 05:25, 12 October 2016

Patch Question

Post by Progman »

When you call up a patch, is there any way to see the values of the different parameters in the display? The inability to do this in the SH-201 (which has no display!) is the main thing that annoys me about that synth.
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rsaintjohn
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Location: Cleveland, OH USA

Re: Patch Question

Post by rsaintjohn »

Yes! It's poorly documented in the otherwise great S8 docs, but fortunately an online hero passed it onto me as a tip when I got my System-8.

Press and hold Shift, then move the knob/lever in question, and the current value is displayed. INVALUABLE.
Progman
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Re: Patch Question

Post by Progman »

Thanks so much! That is similar to how the Nord Lead 4 works.
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richardbates1
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Re: Patch Question

Post by richardbates1 »

rsaintjohn wrote:Yes! It's poorly documented in the otherwise great S8 docs, but fortunately an online hero passed it onto me as a tip when I got my System-8.

Press and hold Shift, then move the knob/lever in question, and the current value is displayed. INVALUABLE.
Wow, seriously thanks for that tip, that really helps!
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rsaintjohn
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Re: Patch Question

Post by rsaintjohn »

As good as the S8 manual is, the documentation of this one function is one big fail!
When used in conjunction with other buttons or knobs, lets you view parameters or edit different parameters.

By holding down the [SHIFT] button and turning the [VALUE] knob to change the value, you can edit a setting in steps of 10.
So if you don't really notice that phrase "lets you view parameters", I have no idea how anyone would catch this. But apparently it worked (works?) like this on a number of Roland synths. The JP-8000 apparently called it "Temporary Scope". But I don't think I'd ever discover this on the System-8, even by mistake. I haven't really been using any of the presets as starting points, but it's definitely helpful to examine a patch that's doing something really interesting to see how it was done, and apply that elsewhere.
rubez
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Re: Patch Question

Post by rubez »

why doesn't it show you the parameter by default when you adjust something?!

it could jump back to displaying whatever it was displaying 1 sec after you have stopped twisting the knob... seems logical.
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rsaintjohn
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Re: Patch Question

Post by rsaintjohn »

It generally works as you describe that when the controls are in "Catch" mode (i.e., the actual programmed value will display as soon as you start adjusting, and not change until you pass it), but not "Direct" mode. Shift is ideal for me for when I'm jamming live (sequencer and all running), and want to see what a value is without risk of changing it. If I'm playing and want to adjust cutoff, I can hit Shift, see what the value is, rotate the knob close to the value, then know I can adjust it without an abrupt change. Just different options available for different situations.
Progman
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Joined: 05:25, 12 October 2016

Re: Patch Question

Post by Progman »

How do you switch between catch and direct modes? I didn't see that in the manual.

In any case, I hope to replace my SH-201 with one of these someday.
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rsaintjohn
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Re: Patch Question

Post by rsaintjohn »

Progman wrote:How do you switch between catch and direct modes? I didn't see that in the manual.

In any case, I hope to replace my SH-201 with one of these someday.
System-8 Reference Manual, page 18:
System Menu / General / Knob Mode

Direct, Catch

When you operate a knob, this setting specifies whether control data corresponding to the knob’s position is always transmitted (DIRECT) or whether control data is transmitted only after the knob passes through the current value of the parameter (CATCH).
Progman
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Re: Patch Question

Post by Progman »

Thanks. I missed that in my quick read through.
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