From bruce@ashbysolutions.com Sun Jun 10 12:11:50 2001
Subject:Re: CX3 outputs and split mode

Mel et al,

>I fear the answer is "no," but on the CX3 is there any way to route the lower
>half of the keyboard split to one audio output and the upper half of the
>split to the other audio output? Thanks.

This kind of question pops up from time to time, usually relating to the
CX-3 and VK-7. The short answer is "no," but perhaps a quick description
of modeling synthesis is in order.

A modeling synthesizer -- whether a general-purpose one like the Nord Lead
or a highly specialized one like the CX-3 -- bears resemblance to other
electronic musical instruments only on the outside. Inside the beast, it's
actually a very specialized computer:

[Analog] | [Digital] | [Analog]
| |
Keys, knobs, --> Digitizers --> CPU+DSP --> D/A conv. --> Output Jacks
switches, [A/D conv.]
etc.

This model makes a low-cost, highly flexible instrument, limited only by
the CPU and DSP processing power, and the imaginations of the code writers.

The downside is that while the two analog sections are (in theory) hackable
after the fact, the digital section is a "virtual instrument" created 100%
in software -- technically, firmware -- and cannot be easily adjusted. If
KORG were to offer the source code for the firmware to the user for
modification, then some high-tech players might be able to go inside the
code and make changes, but that's not going to happen, because a) most
manufacturers consider their firmware to be their own, closely guarded
intellectual property; and b) releasing such code into the public domain is
a support nightmare.

Regards,

-BW

--
Bruce Wahler
Design Consultant
Ashby Solutions"
www.ashbysolutions.com
CloneWheel Support Group moderator
978.386.7389 voice
978.964.0547 fax
bruce@ashbysolutions.com