Casio XW-P1 Performance Synthesizer

[happyrat1]

OK, I've managed to get it working but I dunno if it's a bug in the INS file or in my ancient version of Cakewalk.

I can properly select a Solo Synth Patch if I change my Bank Select Method within the track property for the Solo Synth Track to Controller 0.

When I do that little change in the test file everything works just Hunky Dory. Changing the BankSelMethod=2 parameter in the INS file however, seems to do diddly squat.

I donno if it's just that my version of Cakewalk is so old it doesn't recognize the parameter in the file or what but that seems to be all it takes in the sequencer. Change that parameter in the actual WRK file and we're great to go.

[Anderton]

We take requests in the order received, so gneissnfunky, you're up first

The easiest way to embed program changes is to record them into a Mixcraft track. Then when you play back the track, they'll call up the correct program. Here's something to get you started.

XW-P1: Press the Setting button. Scroll down to MIDI. Press the Enter button. Assuming you're using MIDI via USB, make sure that USB Out Sel = KEY, USB In = On, and Perform NRPN = On. Although not mentioned in the manual, it appears that the XW-P1 will not respond to program change unless Perform NRPN is On. If you had to change ANY of these settings, turn off power to the XW-P1, wait a few seconds, then turn it back on. Press the Tone button (performances get more complicated).

Mixcraft: Create a virtual instrument track. Under File > Preferences > MIDI, select Default MIDI settings. We'll now record program changes but nothing else so on playback it will be obvious what's going on.

Arm the virtual instrument track for Record. Start recording, and select some patches on the XW-P1. Wait a few seconds between patches changes. Don't worry if you don't see anything show up in the track.

After you stop recording, open the Sound tab along the bottom. Choose Piano Roll for the Editor Type. Drag up on the controller area to resize it and make it tall. Velocity will be selected as the default parameter to see in the controller area, but you won't see anything because you didn't play any notes. Instead, click on its drop-down menu that choose the parameter for the controller area. You'll see that Program Change, (0) Bank Select, and (32) Bank Select (fine) will be bold to indicate that type of data has been recorded. These reflect the bank and program changes. You can look at each one and verify that data was recorded.

Click on the virtual instrument keyboard to open up the output assignment window. For Category, choose External MIDI Devices. For Instrument Preset, choose CASIO USB-MIDI.

Go back to the beginning of the file, hit play, and watch the XW-P1's display. Its programs will change to reflect the changes you made while recording. Bingo!

So if you want to embed program changes in a file, just overdub calling up the preset at the desired time.

[Anderton]

happyrat1 - as with Mixcraft, the easiest option with Sonar (I like easy!) is simply to record the program changes as you call them up on the keyboard. If you need to move the events around, you can do so in the event editor.

Oddly, I didn't see controller 0 or controller 32 data in the Piano Roll, but they did show up in the event list.

If you want to create patch changes in Sonar, you would do so from the Event List. Double-click on the Kind field and select Patch. Double-click on data. As you found out, if you choose Normal as the Bank Select method, you'll only be able to select GM patches. If you choose Controller 0, you can select all the various patches.

I'm learning a lot from all this

Now I'm going to kick back for a few minutes and unwind by creating a patch. I've been working on a Minimoog-type bass, and I'm real happy with it.

[happyrat1]

I'm just happy that I've figured out how to make the XW-P1 and my Korg co-exist with my setup and now I plan to drift off to sleep listening to Gentle Giant's Octopus CD and start my sequencing in earnest tomorrow night...

Night night folks!!!

[gneissnfunky]

Alright - it worked! I can now customize my *.mid files, only 770 more to go Some things I noted: (1) when .mid is playing in Mixcraft, and I'm trying to select the appropriate sound by scrolling through sounds (is sound and program interchangeable in the synth world?) on the XW-P1 I noticed that the sound only changes when I come to the next GM sound (I think GM, not all of them have GM in front of them right? They will also revert to a previous one (trying to find closest sound?) - the sound sometimes does or doesn't match up with what's on the XW's display (2) the songs tempo automatically becomes 120 bpm, or whatever the import setting is in preferences - is there a way to turn this off? (3) Can more functionality, like editing track sounds in a .mid file, be done through the mixer eventually (I know, I'm being tenacious on this one)...big help Craig, thanks again.

[happyrat1]

It sound like you were running into the same Controller 0 issue we were hitting in Cakewalk/Sonar.

2 things to remember.

1) Solo Synth/Drawbar Organ and Hex Mode have to be played on Channel 1, Track 1 with no other patches in that track.

2) See if Mixcraft has an option to select the Bank Select Mode in each track's properties and set that manually to Controller 0 instead of Normal.

BTW, I noticed you removed the tune you posted. Not bad for a first attempt, but a little too ambient for my tastes anyway

[gneissnfunky]

Fun song to get freaky with your SOLO SYNTH: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24pOo5htg9E

[happyrat1]

Here we go, anyone who can cover or sequence this song will earn my undying respect and admiration as a true keyboard artist

And I am SOOOOOOOOOO Pi$$ed tonight!!! I finally get all the sequencing bugs kicked out of my setup and now my computer is refusing to record audio!!! Somehow a recent flurry of Linux updates broke the capture function of my soundcard!!!

I swear if I didn't hate Micro$oft so much or had the cash to blow on an Apple I'd just take a 10 lb sledge to it all and go live in a cave!

Now I gotta wait til the Visa cools off this month and buy a digital 4 track recorder next month. I swear it never ends!

Gary

EDIT---

BTW, as long as I'm asking, does anyone have any good suggestions for a 4 track digital recorder in the $100-$200 range?

[happyrat1]

HAH!!! I fixed my recording problem. I had to swap out my sound card to do it but it's working now... Without further ado here's an old tune of mine I reworked layering the Casio Synth Lead over the Korg Lead while using the Korg for Rhythm and Percussion...

Enjoy...

Or just tell me I've wasted my life and my money and it's not too late enroll in refrigerator repair school

[ATTACH]347153[/ATTACH]

[synthman50]

Got a question re my xw-P1. i (finally) got mine today. Had to wait for Casio to get them in. Anyway, whilst fiddling around with it, i decided to check out if it has the latest 1.10 FW. Looked for "info" under "midi" in "settings" but its not there. So i assume its still got the older FW in it.? I assumed, being new stock, it's FW would be up to date. Will it make much difference? Should i attempt a manual update?, ________________________

[synthman50]

Ok, never mind, sorted it now. The update was easy after all, i also loaded the "new" solo & hex sounds i downloaded as well and they sound great. Very happy bunny.

[DarksiderzNoel]

Hi guys I finally got the data editor to work. Can you edit a sound while you listen to it through the data editor or do you have to create the sound then save and transfer to the synth to see what it sounds like? Also I have a problem with figuring out how to select different dsp effects and applying them to a sound in any mode (hex,solo, etc etc,) I want to add distortion to the six saw lead preset.

Also I have some vids for you guys

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anxDR_V7YoE

 

[gneissnfunky]

I love it that people started to post some of their sounds, it's inspiring to hear others tunes...in that vein I wanted to post something which showcased many of the features of the XW-P1 in one song (see attached). I started out with a preset step sequencer to which I accessed different patterns throughout the song, added a solo synth layer using some of my favorite presets to tweak, then some drawbar organ (to which I transpose an octave down midway), and last an arpeggiatedd hex layer...I had to mix it down to a mono 64 to get the file size below the 3Mb upload limit so pardon the fidelity.

[DarksiderzNoel]

I figured out the DSP for hexlayer. I go to the distortion 1 2 or 3 and use8/16 and master to raise the levels. I do not hear any difference in the sound. Am I doing something wrong?

[gneissnfunky]

 

Originally Posted by DarksiderzNoel

I figured out the DSP for hexlayer. I go to the distortion 1 2 or 3 and use8/16 and master to raise the levels. I do not hear any difference in the sound. Am I doing something wrong?

 

Did you try different HEX sounds? Distortion seems to be more pronounced on some presets compared to others.

[synthman50]

Only had mine a few days but already impressed with what it can do. Anyway, how do other owners find the feel of the keyboard. To me it feels like playing a sponge! compaired to my Triton classic. Maybe because its brand new, i don't know but it just seems strange playing it along side my Triton classic.

[gneissnfunky]

 

Originally Posted by synthman50

Only had mine a few days but already impressed with what it can do. Anyway, how do other owners find the feel of the keyboard. To me it feels like playing a sponge! compaired to my Triton classic. Maybe because its brand new, i don't know but it just seems strange playing it along side my Triton classic.

 

I like Anderton's post (#6)

"The keybed isn't super-light like the typical synth keyboard, but it's not weighted either. It's more like there's just a little bit of resistance...I'd say there's a spongy quality, but that makes it sound soft and indistinct whereas the feel is actually predictable and has a certain stiffness. So think of it as a stiff sponge, I guess "

[Temple of Light]

Hey why no talk talk about the groove version of this thing, the XW-G1? Essentially the same thing voiced for the dance/extreme market; if it's half of what the XW-P1 is I'll take one of each please...

[jdc513]

Data Editor issues:

I really hesitated to post due to feeling dumb but decided to swallow my pride and try to get help. I'm liking the unit P1, so far and went ahead and downloaded the editor. Question is, Should I be able to see all the presets such as step sequencers and be able to tweak them from there and then save them as user data? Is there a step I'm missing because all I see are user bays which I obviously haven't populated due to lack of knowledge and was hoping to start getting into this more utilizing the preset stuff. Thanks in advance for any help.

[Anderton]

 

Originally Posted by jdc513

Data Editor issues:

I really hesitated to post due to feeling dumb but decided to swallow my pride and try to get help. I'm liking the unit P1, so far and went ahead and downloaded the editor. Question is, Should I be able to see all the presets such as step sequencers and be able to tweak them from there and then save them as user data? Is there a step I'm missing because all I see are user bays which I obviously haven't populated due to lack of knowledge and was hoping to start getting into this more utilizing the preset stuff. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Hey! We're here to help. Yes, you are missing a step, but don't feel dumb - I had to scratch my head a couple times before the light bulb went off over my head. Unfortunately right now I'm buttoning up this week's issue of the Harmony Central newsletter (it's free, wonderful , and we don't give away your email address - you can sign up for free), because copy deadline is 9AM tomorrow. But if I manage to finish it before I fall asleep at my keyboard, I'll post some hints to get you going.

You'll love the editor. I've gotten to the point where I don't turn on the XW-P1 without booting up the editor, and I'm finding it very easy to create patches. Granted, the front panel editing is pretty transparent, but it's nowhere near as fast as clicking around and dragging on-screen.

[Anderton]

I'm really tired, so this won't be comprehensive, but it should be enough to help.

First, if you haven't downloaded the editor manual, do so.

The main point of the editor is to work with the user presets, phrases, etc. by letting you bring user presets/performances/step sequences/phrases/DSP settings created on the XW-P1 into your computer for saving, or transfer these same elements from where they're stored on your computer to the XW-P1. The editor offers an additional option for Phrases, as it lets you convert a MIDI file into a phrase-friendly format, then send it to the XW-P1.

You'll find the screens where this all happens by clicking on the Transfer button to open the transfer page. The Preferences page is where you set up parameters for converting MIDI files into phrases.

You cannot bring step sequences into the editor directly as far as I can tell, but you can save them to a user step sequence, then transfer from there back and forth with the computer. You do not edit these in the computer.

So for example, suppose you like a particular factory step sequence. Save that to a user preset. Modify it as desired, and when you have it the way you want it, transfer it to your computer and save it for future use.

You can audition Step Sequences, Arpeggios, and Phrase easily in the context of a performance. Click on the Parameter Edit button, then the Performance tab, then the Sequencers tab. You can now call these up and check them out by clicking in the field directly below the data type name (Step Sequencer, Arpeggio, and Phrase).

Hope this helps! G'night all.

[Mike Martin]

A quick tutorial on the sequencer. I hope this helps everyone.

 

[daviel]

I am having trouble transferring files of Mike Martin's tones/patches to my XW-P1. I have a Macbook Pro. Everything I can find about the process says "PC". The page that is supposed to load the files from the mac to the instrument will not accept the files. It is labeled PC User Files at the top. I downloaded it from the Mac section of the casio upgrade page. I can't find a page that is labelled "Mac" or that will do the transfer. The blog has been no help. Any ideas? The next issue (which I can't get to yet because the page will not take the files from my Mac) is the box at the top of the page starts with "performance" and goes through all the categories of tones. What do I select - if we get that far. Thanks in advance.

[Mike Martin]

David,

Take a look at the PREFERENCES window in the editor. This shows where you need to put the downloaded files.

[daviel]

The files are where they are supposed to be in preferences, but they are still not in my XW-P1. How do I transfer them to the instrument? Do I use midi in/out as in the preferences diagram instead of USB?