I was going to append this to the other thread about external audio, but my problems seem more intricate so a made a new one. I would be very grateful for any help on these problems, they’re driving me crazy!
I have a Kurzweil ME sound module; MIDI out from the Voyager to MIDI in on the module, left/mono audio out from the module to external audio in on the Voyager. It works, I can play the module polyphonically with the Voyager keyboard, alter the signal with the filters, and output the signal thru main audio out. But here’s what happens:
The mix level knob of oscillator one changes the pitch of the external audio source. How do I turn this off? Or is this a feature?
The audio level on the external audio pot seems low. With the sound module output volume maxed, it will overdrive the mixer with external audio set on 8 to 9. But a single Voyager oscillator will begin to drown it out if set at 4. Is there any way I can increase the external audio level so that it will more closely match the level of the internal oscillators? Or is this expected behavior? I just feel like in order to get a decent level of output from external audio, I have to turn up everything to the max: the module, external mix and main audio out.
When using the external audio source, the headphone knob doesn’t seem to work correctly. It will only supply the signal of the internal oscillators to the headphone jack. The external audio source is only heard thru the headphones if master audio is turned up above zero. The Voyager is set to real panel parameters when this happens. Everything works fine with the external audio source disconnected.
You should be able to use the EXTERNAL AUDIO pot to adjust the vomum right. If not, then check your setup. If there are still roblems like this, your Yoyager acts different then mine.
strange !
But maybe, your Kurzweil is receiving the MIDI controllers sended by the Moog Voyager and changes its volume according to the setting of the volume of the Voyager. Try disable receiving MIDI controllers on the Kurzweil. Or play the Voyager and the Krzweil from a different keyboard. Atleast do so to test if this is the problem.
Thanks, Till, for the response. Most of my concerns have been addressed by rewiring my monitoring setup & adding a passive direct box to the signal chain for each channel. I realized I had a TRS cable between the sound module & external audio in; I swapped it out with a TS cable & that seemed to work better. Although I have not been able to perform the separate keyboard test you recommended, I have verified that the Voyager is sending MIDI signals to the sound module when the volume control is turned. So when using external audio I set the Voyager Master Volume output to 10 & control the sound level with an external preamp (and use the preamp for headphone monitoring as well).
The mixer level knob for Oscillator 1 still changes the pitch of the external audio signal, until I can figure out how to turn this off, I guess I’ll just call it a feature. (Panel 2.2 toggles menu scrolling of the external audio mixer knob & has no effect on the Oscillator 1 knob.)
Whew! After all that, it’s a blast to play polyphonically on the Moog keyboard & run the sounds through the Moog filter!
<< The mixer level knob for Oscillator 1 still changes the pitch of the external audio signal, until I can figure out how to turn this off, I guess I’ll just call it a feature. (Panel 2.2 toggles menu scrolling of the external audio mixer knob & has no effect on the Oscillator 1 knob.) >>
The Voyager transmits MIDI information for nearly every panel control. The Mixer level knob for Oscillator 1 transmits a two-byte Continuous Control (CC) message of 15 (MSB) and 47 (LSB). Your Kurzweil intreprets this message as a pitch change, and alters the pitch accordingly.
Since there is no way to turn off the CC messages on the Voyager, perhaps you can change the CC assignment on the 'Kurz. Another possibility is to filter the MIDI data stream to eliminate the CC messages, but then you will also lose the use of the Pitch Bend and Mod Wheel.
If this seems a bit disappointing, keep in mind that the Voyager was not designed to be a master keyboard controller for other devices. Its principle function is to control the Voyager. Given this, perhaps the best solution for you is to run both the Kurzweil and Voyager from a master keyboard controller. This will fix the pitch change problem, and give you other options for controlling the synths (a 61-note controller will give you extended range, for example).