Instruction/ maintenance manual of the product 4000S Akai
Go to page of 44
20 November 2005 1 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s Quick S tart Thank you and congratulation s on your choice of the Akai Profess ional EWI 4000s Electric Wind Instrument.
Getting Ready: In structions 2 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s Y our computer requires one free MIDI In port and one free MIDI Out port to run UniQuest. Please ensure that your MIDI interface is instal led correctly and that all filtering options (especially ones th at af fect System Exclusive) are disa- bled.
Getting Ready: Instruction s UniQuest for EWI 4000s 3 of 44 Y ou may have noticed that some of UniQuest for EW I 4000s’ dialogs, menu bars and icons have the words ‘Midi Quest’ in them. This is to be expected, since UniQuest for EWI 4000s is built on techno logy developed by Sound Quest Music Software (www .
Getting Ready: In structions 4 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s UniQuest will now open. On Windows XP you will see an Application window that contains the S tudio W indow: On Mac OS X you will see the App.
Getting Ready: Instruction s UniQuest for EWI 4000s 5 of 44 The Instrument Mo dule (Mac OS X) W e’ll now explore the main controls of the inst rument module.
Getting Ready: In structions 6 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s The AutoSense dialog is shown here: If the AutoSense procedure cannot detect your instrumen t’ s settings, yo u will need to make sure your Midi Interface drivers a re installed correctly and that all cables are connected as per the diagram in Step 2.
Getting Ready: Instruction s UniQuest for EWI 4000s 7 of 44 This will open the default Settings Dialog for the EWI 4000s instrum ent module : The Port and SysX (Comm) Channel settings will already have been set in this dia- log by the AutoSense procedure.
Getting Ready: In structions 8 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s Now you will find out if UniQu est is correctly configured by uploading (or getting ) the Internal Preset Bank from your EWI 4000s . This test is also an essential opera- tion since you’ll need to protect these soun ds from accidents while you learn to use your new ed itor soft ware.
Getting Ready: Instruction s UniQuest for EWI 4000s 9 of 44 3. The Preset Bank up loads from your EWI 4000s in about 12 seconds. 4. The Uploaded Data Opens As A Bank Editor Window (Windows XP) Congratulations! Y ou hav e just successfully installed UniQuest EW I 4000s and configured the software to work with your EWI 4000s.
Getting Ready: In structions 10 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s 1.1 Exploring the Bank Editor Wi ndow Y ou can now explore each of the sounds you have uploaded by clicking on an entry in the bank wi ndow .
Getting Ready: Instruction s UniQuest for EWI 4000s 11 of 44 Selecting a preset by clicking on it loads the Editor in to the right side of the split: Y ou are free to experiment as much as you like - Just remember to save the changed bank file under a new name.
A Quick T our of UniQuest For EWI 4000s 12 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s 2.0 A Quick T our of UniQuest For EWI 4000s Getting the most from UniQuest requires a few adjustments in ho w you relate to your hardware instrument.
A Quick T our of UniQue st For EWI 4000s UniQuest for EWI 4000s 13 of 44 W i th UniQuest, you upload your EWI40 00s preset bank to your computer, where it can be safely backed up t o your hard drive.
A Quick T our of UniQuest For EWI 4000s 14 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s 2.1 Working wit h Single Preset s If you only want to edit a single preset, UniQuest for EWI4 000s has two compo- nents design e.
A Quick T our of UniQue st For EWI 4000s UniQuest for EWI 4000s 15 of 44 2.2.1 Preset Editor Overview There are 9 sections that make up the EWI 4000s Preset Editor : In the illustration abov e, the sections have been separated from their norm al layout and are shown according to their location in the EWI 4000s synt hesizer architec- ture.
A Quick T our of UniQuest For EWI 4000s 16 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s 2.2.3 OSC 1 & 2 SECTION The EWI4000s has two analog modeled oscillators, which are editab le independent of each other . Each oscillator output s Sawtooth, T riangle and Pulse waves and includes a waveform mixer that lets y ou set how much of each wave is heard.
A Quick T our of UniQue st For EWI 4000s UniQuest for EWI 4000s 17 of 44 The following parameters are common to each oscillator: Oscillator Tuning Parameters OCT A VE • Range is -2 to +2 octaves. SEMITONE • Range is -12 to +12 semitones. FINE • Range is -50 to +50 cents.
A Quick T our of UniQuest For EWI 4000s 18 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s Oscillator Pitch & V olume Envelope Parameters SWEEP TIME • Range is 0 to 1 00%. Unlike a key board controlled sy nthesizer , the EWI 4000s does not use a standard envelope genera tor (ADSR) to control the Oscillator Pitch.
A Quick T our of UniQue st For EWI 4000s UniQuest for EWI 4000s 19 of 44 BREA TH THRESH • Range is 0 to 100%. This is the threshold level above which the Oscillato r will begin sounding. BREA TH CUR VE • Range is -50% to +50%. This parameter sets the mapping of breath pressure to output volume for this oscillator .
A Quick T our of UniQuest For EWI 4000s 20 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s 2.2.4 OSC FIL TER SECTION SELECT • Choices are 1, 2 or LINK. When 1 is se lected, the block of controls in this section govern the set tings of OSC FIL TER 1. When 2 is selected, these controls govern the settings o f OSC FIL TER 2.
A Quick T our of UniQue st For EWI 4000s UniQuest for EWI 4000s 21 of 44 Q-F ACTOR • Range is 0.5 to 12.7. This control sets the Quality Factor of the OSC FIL TER, and is analogous to the RESONANCE control found in typical analog synthe- sizer filter sections.
A Quick T our of UniQuest For EWI 4000s 22 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s BREA TH MOD • Range is 0 to 10 0%. This control al lows you to ch ange the filter cutoff frequency with your breath pressure. Higher values apply more modulat ion to the cutoff frequency .
A Quick T our of UniQue st For EWI 4000s UniQuest for EWI 4000s 23 of 44 LFO THRESHOLD • Range is 0 to 100%. This control sets a point in the breath pressure range that acts as a trigger for LFO Mod.
A Quick T our of UniQuest For EWI 4000s 24 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s 2.2.5 FORMANT FIL TER SECTION FIL TER • The Formant Filter applies the formant characteristics of two physical classes of instrument: String or W ood W ind.
A Quick T our of UniQue st For EWI 4000s UniQuest for EWI 4000s 25 of 44 2.2.7 NOISE FIL TER SECTION The NOISE FIL TER ’ s operation is identi cal to the OSC FIL TER, with the exception that it filters the output of the NO ISE GEN instead of the OSC SECTION.
A Quick T our of UniQuest For EWI 4000s 26 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s 2.2.9 EFFECTS SECTION The EFFECTS SECTION consists of high qu ality chorus, delay , and reverb effects connected in serial: Each digital effect will now be examined in the order of their connection.
A Quick T our of UniQue st For EWI 4000s UniQuest for EWI 4000s 27 of 44 OFF / ON • These buttons disable and enable the chorus effect. When the chorus ef fect is off, the incoming signal is passed th rough unaffected. FEEDBACK • Range is -50% to +50%.
A Quick T our of UniQuest For EWI 4000s 28 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s Delay Effect Parameters The delay effect consists of a long delay line coupled with a lowpass filter for tonal control over the delayed sig nal. Useful for simulating ech oes and other repeating effects.
A Quick T our of UniQue st For EWI 4000s UniQuest for EWI 4000s 29 of 44 2.2.10 CO MMON SECTION The common section contains a nu mber of miscellaneous parameters th at control the EWI 4000s’ general behavior when the preset is loaded. KEY TRIGGER • SINGLE : The envelope is only controlled by breath articul ation.
A Quick T our of UniQuest For EWI 4000s 30 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s 2.3 The Editor Controls in Closer Det ail Each of the Preset editor s ections is made up of various controls such as toggle switches, knobs and sliders. These are now explored in greater detail.
A Quick T our of UniQue st For EWI 4000s UniQuest for EWI 4000s 31 of 44 On the Mac platform, Direct M ode entry operates as follows: Instead of a multi-column pop-up menu, the direct mode menu is a single scrolling column, and the previous control selection is not shown as a checked entry (A con- sequence of the current OS X architecture) .
A Quick T our of UniQuest For EWI 4000s 32 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s 2.4 The Preset Bank Wi ndows Whenever you get, open or create a new Patch Bank in UniQuest, a Bank Window will open.
A Quick T our of UniQue st For EWI 4000s UniQuest for EWI 4000s 33 of 44 2.4.1 Exporting Bank Windows to T ext Although UniQuest for EWI 400 0s does not operate as a plug-in for Digital Audio W orksta.
A Quick T our of UniQuest For EWI 4000s 34 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s 2.5 Automatic Patch Generation T ools UniQuest also featu res four very powerful tools for creating new EWI 4000s presets automatically .
A Quick T our of UniQue st For EWI 4000s UniQuest for EWI 4000s 35 of 44 2.6 The Set Window Components like Presets, Edit Buff ers and Preset Banks do not have to be edi ted in separate windows: UniQuest also lets you upload, open or create a combined data file called a Set.
A Quick T our of UniQuest For EWI 4000s 36 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s 2.7 The Collection Wi ndow The Collection window is used to create and ed it unstructured grou pings of what- ever EWI 4000s components you like.
A Quick T our of UniQue st For EWI 4000s UniQuest for EWI 4000s 37 of 44 2.8 The Library Window Since the Bank window is never larger than the maximum size of the your EWI- 4000s’ internal memory , Un iQuest is equipped with a virtually unlim ited type of storage: The Library .
A Quick T our of UniQuest For EWI 4000s 38 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s The result of this Query is now shown : Y ou will see that there seem to be duplicate results in this query . A new Query can be run on the results, set to remove thes e duplicates.
A Quick T our of UniQue st For EWI 4000s UniQuest for EWI 4000s 39 of 44 2.9 T ransferring Preset s Between Windows It is easy to transfer presets between any open editor window in UniQuest.
A Quick T our of UniQuest For EWI 4000s 40 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s 2.1 1 The ‘MIDI Thru’ Feature By default, Un iQuest’ s M IDI Thru feature is turned off. If you wish to create EWI sounds for l ayering with external sy nthe sizers and samplers, how ever , you will need to enable this feature.
A Quick T our of UniQue st For EWI 4000s UniQuest for EWI 4000s 41 of 44 Next, open the UniQuest Preferences dialog ( UniQuest for Akai EWI4000s- >P ref e re nc e s on Mac, or Op tions->Preferences on W indows). Now select the MIDI T ab of the dialog: T urn on MIDI Thru and then se lect the MI DI Port Out to route the MIDI Thru sig- nals to.
A Quick T our of UniQuest For EWI 4000s 42 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s 2.12 T ransferring Dat a Files Between Different Computers There are a few facts to keep in mind wh en transporting Preset, Bank and Set data created by UniQuest between different computers.
A Quick T our of UniQue st For EWI 4000s UniQuest for EWI 4000s 43 of 44 Mac OSX’ s Autom ator utility can be applied to the task of converting UniQu est files from the PC v ersion relatively easil y . Y ou will need: • Mac OSX T iger (which includes Automator) • The Change File Type and Creator Action from www .
Conclusion 44 of 44 UniQuest for EWI 4000s In the illustration above, there are three bank files that al ready have the correct file type and creator attributes set (which is why they show the bank icon).
An important point after buying a device Akai 4000S (or even before the purchase) is to read its user manual. We should do this for several simple reasons:
If you have not bought Akai 4000S yet, this is a good time to familiarize yourself with the basic data on the product. First of all view first pages of the manual, you can find above. You should find there the most important technical data Akai 4000S - thus you can check whether the hardware meets your expectations. When delving into next pages of the user manual, Akai 4000S you will learn all the available features of the product, as well as information on its operation. The information that you get Akai 4000S will certainly help you make a decision on the purchase.
If you already are a holder of Akai 4000S, but have not read the manual yet, you should do it for the reasons described above. You will learn then if you properly used the available features, and whether you have not made any mistakes, which can shorten the lifetime Akai 4000S.
However, one of the most important roles played by the user manual is to help in solving problems with Akai 4000S. Almost always you will find there Troubleshooting, which are the most frequently occurring failures and malfunctions of the device Akai 4000S along with tips on how to solve them. Even if you fail to solve the problem, the manual will show you a further procedure – contact to the customer service center or the nearest service center
