From eslawson@comcast.net Wed Jan 22 18:07:32 2003
Subject:Electro drawbuttons & patch management

I've read some informative and interesting postings today regarding the
drawbuttons on the Electro. I have always been one to lament the lack of
drawbars, but have actually become more acclimated to this interface over
the past 3 months. It takes some new muscle memory and an overall paradigm
shift to get comfortable. I have come up with a pretty good system for
getting the sounds I need quickly and also tweaking the LED drawbuttons.
Here is how my Electro is configured:

There are 8 live buttons (2 rows of 4) for patches and 6 banks to rotate
through, each with 8 patchs (8 buttons x 6 banks = 48 sounds A1-F8). In
order to keep my life simple, I have arranged things so that each button has
the same general "type" of sound for each letter, with changes in FX and
drawbar settings. I use the top 4 buttons for non-organ sounds and the
bottom 4 buttons exclusively for organs. I have familiar sounds saved
across these buttons in each bank, so when I rotate to a new bank, the
familiar sounds are still one button away. Here is what my basic landscape
is:

A1: Rhodes 2 w/tremolo & chorus2 (a very good staple stage EP with a
hard tine sound)
A2: Rhodes 1 w/tremolo, chorus, EQ tweaks (a more mellow, bell-like
sound)
A3: Wurly with slight distortion
A4: Phased clavinet
A5: 888000008 straight up, no chorus, perc or drive
A6: 888000000 w/3rd perc, C3 chorus (lower split set for 808000003)
A7: 888765567 w/C3 chorus
A8: 808000005 straight

B1: Same as A1, but with overdrive
B2: Same as A2, but switched to Rhodes 4 sample
B3: Same as A3, but with more tremolo and overdrive
B4: Wah clavinet
B5: Same as A5, add C3 chorus and overdrive
B6: Same as A6 (I have A6, B6, C6, D6, E6, F6 all set the same as this
is a frequently used staple)
B7: Same as A7 w/overdrive
B8: Same as A8 with C3 chorus

This pattern repeats itself for the A-F banks. Basically, the same type of
sound appears in the same place, with different types of FX. I have the #6
sound (888000000 w/3rd perc, C3 chorus) saved the same, since it is a "go
to" sound if I am needing to rip a solo or whatever. By the time I have
scrolled up to the #8 sounds, I have some pretty wacked out FX and really
oddball sounds...try 888888888 with phaser -- killer sound. Also, 588000000
with ring mod sounds like a freakin' vocoder when tweaked properly. I do
have some acoustic piano sounds buried further down, but don't use them much
-- that's why they are buried. For the most part, I float between banks
A-B-C-D, seeking changes in clav wah or more overdrive, etc. One of my
favorites is a heavily overdriven clav with auto wah, chorus and EQ tweaks.
Instant funk machine.

As for the "user preset" buttons that are accessed by a combination of
pushing the shift key and the buttons below the LEDs...I do have these set
up with my favorite sounds in order of priority, but I really use patch
changes more than the user preset feature. It can be a one handed ordeal,
but I can only reach the first 3 or 4 buttons while playing, so I have my
most common sounds there. Like another user commented, the necessity of
pushing two buttons to switch user presets is really a hassle. I would like
to request that Clavia provide us with a "shift lock" feature, much like the
Num Lock and Caps Lock on PCs. If I could have that shift button enabled
all the time (as applies to user presets, not the other menus buried under
the patch buttons), this would make life MUCH easier for using user presets.
I did have fun at one gig taking a solo and hitting the "random" preset
throughout...very experimental. This is a neat feature.

Overall, I have grown very attached to my Electro. The Electro is quite an
amazing instrument, especially in stereo.

I hope that my patch management advice is helpful. I find that it is very
nice to have the same sounds available under the same button in each bank
and using the bottom 4 buttons exclusively for organ is great.

Regards,
Eric Lawson
Moderator
CloneWheel Support Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CloneWheel/

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