Casio VZ-8M User manual

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1

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niGITAL

SYNTHESIZER

OPERATION

MANUAL

1

MANUAL

DE

OPERACION

117

r

DIGITAL

SYNTHESIZER

tern,

manual

highly

innovative

digital

ition)

Modular

Sound

Source

sys-

im

your

new

VZ-8M,

be

sure

to

read

this

often.

r

CAUTION

RISK

OF

ELECTRIC

SHOCK

DO

NOT

OPEN

CAUTION:

to

reduce

the

risk

of

electric

SHOCK,

DO

NOT

REMOVE

COVER

(OR

BACK).

NO

USER-SERVICEABLE

PARTS

INSIDE.

REFER

SERVICING

TO

QUALIFIED

SERVICE

PERSONNEL."

CONTENTS

4

Main

Features

6

About

this

Manual

7

Important

Terms

9

Theory:

Flow

of

Operations

13

Theory:

iPD

Modular

Sound

System

17

Operating

System

Controls

19

Menus

and

Functions

20

About

Function

Indexes

21

Function

Index

Practice

Exercise

25

Function

Index

25

VOICE

PARAMETER

menu

45

EFFECT

menu

67

OPERATION

MEMORY

EFFECT

menu

69

TOTAL

CONTROL

menu

76

Performance/Editing

in

the

Normal

Mode

78

Performance/Editing

in

the

Combination

Mode

80

Performance/Editing

in

the

Operation

Memory

Mode

82

Performance/Editing

in

the

Multi

Channel

Mode

84

MIDI

—

Musical

Instrument

Digital

Interface

86

Initializing

the

VZ-8M

87

VZ

Sound

Seminar:

The

elements

of

sound

synthesis

93

Initialized

Data

101

OPERATION

MEMORY

NAMES/VOICE

NAMES

108

Care

of

Your

Unit

109

Features

and

Functions

113

Specifications

ng

flash

with

arrowhead

symbol,

within

an

equilateral

intended

to

alert

the

user

to

the

presence

of

unin-

j'd^ngerous

voltage"

within

the

product's

enclosure

that

ipf

sufficient

magnitude

to

constitute

a

risk

of

electric

persons.

exclamation

point

within

an

equilateral

triangle

is

intended

alert

the

user

to

the

presence

of

important

operating

and

intenance

(servicing)

instructions

in

the

literature

accom-

ing

the

product.

Main

Features

A

Amazing

Synthesis

Versatility

Thanks

to

Casio's

All-new

iPD

Sound

Source

Casio's

all-new

"Interactive

Phase

Distortion"

(iPD)

sound

source

system

actually

consists

of

8

independent

"mod

ules"

(Ml

to

M8).

Each

of

these

modules

contains

a

DCO

and

a

DCA,

and

is

capable

of

generating

independent

waveforms.

In

the

iPD

system,

the

wave

generated

by

any

module

can

be

used

in

either

of

two

ways;

to

produce

audible

sounds

or

to

modify

waves

generated

by

other

modules.

The

8

iPD

sound

source

modules

work

in

associated

pairs

that

are

called

"Internal

Lines,"

or

simply

"lines."

There

are

4

internal

lines

—

A,

B,

C

and D.

The

waveforms

generated

by

both

modules

in

any

line

can

be used

together

in

three

different

ways.

They

can

be

mixed,

or

one

of

the

waveforms

can

be

used

to

modulate

the

other

for

RING

modulation

or

as

the

PHASE

of

a

succeeding

line.

Z*

Instant

Recall

of

up

to

320

Sounds

and

320

Operation

Memories

128

presets

give

you

a

wide

range

of

vocal

versatility.

And

with

the

use

of

an

optional

ROM

card,

the

VZ-8M

gives

you

incredible

tonal

expansion

potential

—

up

to

128

patches

and

128

multi-patch

setups

are

literally

at

your

finger

tips.

What's

more,

you

can

store

up

to

64

sounds

and

64

operation

memories

on

on-board

memory

or

an

optional

RAM

card,

for

even

greater

freedom

of

timbral

expression.

Player-selectable

Keyboard,

Guitar

&

Wind

MIDI

Performance

Modes

The

VZ-8M

lets

you

select

from

3

different

MIDI

performance

modes,

according

to the

type

of

MIDI

controller

you're

using.

Just

select

a

sound

and

choose

the

performance

mode

—

the

"K"

performance

mode

arranges

sounds

in

full

polyphony,

for

realistic

keyboard

performance.

The

"G"

performance

mode

lets

you

play

the

same

sound

in

mono,

emulating

the

individual

strings

of

a

guitar,

while

the

"W"

performance

mode

provides

the

natural

after-touch

charac

teristics

necessary

for

playing

with

wind

controllers.

Multi-Channel

MIDI

Performance

The

VZ-8M

features

Casio's

exclusive

multi-channel

mode

which

can

accept

up

to

8

timbres

from

separate

MIDI

sound

sources.

These

can

then

be

divided

into

constituent

polyphonies

and

ensembled

in

any

format

you

desire.

Multi-

timbral

MIDI

expansion,

monophonic

MIDI

performance,

or

total

8-note

MIDI

polyphony

can

be

selected.

Jj^

Built-in

Panning

Function

The

VZ-8M's

built-in

panning

function

lets

you

choose

from

three

different

panning

effects;

Fixed

panning,

Con

trolled

panning

and

Auto

panning.

Each

panning

effect

adds

spacial

realism

and

ambience

to

your

sound.

U

"Player-friendly"

Menus

and

Functions

Virtually

all

of

the

VZ-8M's

editing

and

programming

operations

are

organized

into

three basic

menus

—

the

VOICE

PARAMETER

menu,

EFFECT

menu

and

TOTAL

CONTROL

menu

—

that

feature

a

variety

of

"functions."

Each

of

these

functions

is

further

broken

down

into

"parameters,"

which

are

constants

that

have

changeable

values

or

settings.

To

alter

sounds

or

programming,

you

simply

alter

the

value

of

these

parameters

using value

keys.

/

Combination

Mode

Provides

Layered

and

Split

Voicing

The

VZ-8M's

"Combination"

mode

lets

you

mix

together

up

to

8

different

patches

in

any

of

9

different

patch

mix

or

patch

split

configurations.

(1

+

2,

3

+

4,

1

+

2

+

3

+

4,

1+2+3

+

4

+

5

+

6+7

+

8,

1/3,

1

+

2/3,

1/3

+

4,

1+2/3+4,

1/2/3/4)

You

can

set

effect

and

amp

levels

independently

for

each

patch.

8

Velocity

Split

&

Positional

Cross

Fade

The

VZ-8M

puts

powerful

multi-voice

performance

in

your

hands,

with

advanced

features

such

as

velocity

split

and

positional

cross

fade.

Set

up

multi-layered

voices

with

up

to

3

split

points,

and

"fade"

the

voices

into

one

another

so

there's

no

audible

"split

point"

with

the

cross

fade

function,

or

control

multiple

voices

through

velocity

message

using

velocity

split.

y

Optional

ROM

&

RAM

Cards

Choose

from

optional

ROM

or

RAM

cards

for

expanded

sound

storage

and

recall

capabilities.

Each

ROM

card

holds

an

impressive

128

patches

and

128

different

operation

memories.

With

a

RAM

card,

you

can

store

up

to

64

patches

and

64

operation

memories.

What's

more,

VZ-8M

patches

can

be

used

in

a

Casio

PG

series

guitar

synth.

Whil.

tal

sy

it

do

a

ref«

Whei

to

co

MID

Once

need

"The

with

Semi:

Next.

throu

Whei

capal

Be

su

will

*

The!

Fort

Most

you'l

own

About

this

Manual

H

While

you

may

not

realize

it

quite

yet,

this

unit

is

an

incredibly

complex

digi

tal

synthesizer

that

has

a

lot

more

in

common

with

a

personal

computer

than

it

does

an

"electronic"

musical

instrument.

This

manual

is

intended

only

as

a

reference

to

provide

instructions

on

the

most

basic

operations.

When

you

take

the

unit

out

of

its

box

for

the

first

time,

you'll

probably

want

to

connect

it

to

an

external

keyboard,

guitar

or

wind

controller

equipped

with

MIDI

and

plug

it

in

immediately

to

see

how

it

sounds.

Once

you're

ready

to

begin

studying

the

true

power

of

this

synth

module,

you'll

need

to

have

a

basic

knowledge

of

its

iPD

modular

sound

source

system.

Read

"Theory:

iPD

Modular

Sound

System"

thoroughly

—

if

you're

not

familiar

with

basic

sound

synthesis

terms

and

theory,

be

sure

to

study

the

"VZ

Sound

Seminar"

as

well.

Next,

you

should

familiarize

yourself

with

the operating

system

controls.

Read

through

the

"Operating

System

Controls"

for

an

introduction

to

these

controls.

When

you're

ready

to

start

using

the

advanced

editing

and

sound

data

storage

capabilities,

you'll

need

to

learn

how

to

use

the

"FUNCTION

INDEXES".

Be

sure

to

work

through

the

"Function

Index

Practice

Exercise"

as

well.

These

will

give

you

a

fairly

solid

understanding

of

basic

synthesis

operations.

The

FUNCTION

INDEXES

will

be

an

invaluable

aid

in

all

editing

operations.

For

this

reason,

be

sure

to

keep

this

manual

handy

whenever

editing

sounds.

Most

importantly,

remember

that

this

manual

is

meant

as

a

reference

only

—

you'll

only

be

able to

realize

the

true

power

of

this

unit

as

you

apply

it

to

your

own

musical

performance.

Important

Terms

Throughout

this

manual

you

will

encounter

terms

(words)

which

you

may

—

or

may

not

—

be

familiar

with.

Before

jumping

into

the

operations,

it's

important

to

make

sure

that

you

understand

the

basic

usage

of

these

terms

in

this

manual.

Take

a

few

moments

to

read

through

these

words

and

become

familiar

with

them

—

you'll

find

it

will

enhance

your

over

all

understanding

of

this

unit.

Jl

MENU

FUNCTION

PARAMETER

VALUE

MODULE

INTERNAL

LINE

EXTERNAL

PHASE

PATCH

OPERATION

MEMORY

ENVELOPE

MODE

A

displayed

list

of

the

various

FUNCTIONS

you

can

use

to

edit

sounds.

There

are

three

basic

Menus

which

can

be

selected;

the

VOICE

PARAMETER

menu

(VOICE

menu),

EFFECT

menu,

and

TOTAL

CONTROL

menu

(TOTAL

menu).

Any

of

the

items

listed

on

the

menus.

Each

Function

contains

a

variety

of

PARAMETERS,

and

is

identified

by

a

two-digit

number.

For

example,

Function

02

in

VOICE

PARAMETER

menu

contains

parameters

related

to

detuning.

A

constant

control

which

features

variable

levels.

These

parameters

control

not

only

data

that

affects

the

various

components

of a

sound,

but

also

aspects

of

the

overall

setup.

The

level

or

setting

assigned

to

an

individual

parameter.

The

iPD

sound

source

features

8

independent

"modules."

These

can

be

thought

of

as

independent

—

but

interrelated

—

oscillators

with

controls.

Sound

source

MODULES

work

together

in

"pairs."

These

pairs

form

what

is

known

as

an

INTERNAL

LINE,

or

simply

"line."

For

example,

Module

1

and

Module

2

(Ml

and

M2)

form

Internal

Line

A

—

known

in

this

manual

as

LINE

A.

M3

and

M4

form

LINE

B,

etc.

In

addition

to

using

the

output

of

any

LINE

to

create

audible

sounds,

you

can

uti

lize

the

output

to

modulate

the

succeeding

line.

For

example,

the

output

of

LINE

A

can

be

used

to

modulate

LINE

B.

This

configuration

is

known

as

"External

Phase."

(Refer

to

"Theory:

iPD

Modular

Sound

System"

for

details.)

With

analog

synthesizers,

a

"patch"

literally

referred

to

the

way

in

which

various

synthesizer

blocks

or

modules

were

hard-wired

(hooked

up).

With

digital

synthesizers,

this

term

has

come

to

refer

to

completed

sound

data

which

can

be

output

by

the

synthesizer.

In

this

manual,

you

can

think

of

"patch"

as

referring

to

any

complet

ed

sound

data

coming

from

modules

1

through

8.

An

operation

memory

is

literally

a

full

"multi-timbral

setup"

or

"performance

setup",

complete

with

specifications

for

multiple

patches

(when

desired),

keyboard

and

velocity

split,

MIDI

settings,

etc.

The

onboard

memory

allows

storage

of

128

preset

operation

memories.

A

voltage

which

changes

as

a

function

of

time.

Envelopes

are

generally triggered

by

controllers,

and

are

used

to

shape

the

amplitude

(volume)

and

pitch

of

a

note.

A

particular

operational

function

or

condition.

In

"VZ

language",

there

are

4

bas

ic

operational

modes,

including

the

NORMAL

mode,

the

COMBINATION

mode,

the

OPERATION

MEMORY

mode, and

the

MULTI

CHANNEL

mode.

Each

of

these

serves

an

independent

purpose

described

later in this

manual.

PERFORMANCE

MODE

KMODE

GMODE

WMODE

VOICE-09

EFFECT-05

CONTROL-04

OPE

EFFECT

PROG

NO

KEYS

MOD

WHEEL

DEF

CONTROL

PAGE

KEYS

COMBI

MODE

MULTI

CH

MODE

M

ON/OFF

KEY

There

are

3

basic

"MIDI

Performance

Modes",

which

should

not

be

confused

with

the

basic

operational

"modes".

The

"Performance

Modes"

are

actually preset

parameter

setups

programmed

for

each

sound

individually,

which

can

be

selected

to

"match"

the

selected

sound

with

the

type

of

MIDI

controller

you

are

using.

For

example,

if

you're

using

a

MIDI

keyboard,

you'll

want

to

select

the

"K"

or

key

board

performance

mode.

In

addition

to

"K",

there

are

"G"

(Guitar)

and

"W"

(Wind)

MIDI

performance

modes.

Short

for

"Keyboard

Mode"

—

one

of

three

VZ-8M

MIDI

performance

modes.

Short

for

"Guitar

Mode"

—

one

of

three

VZ-8M

MIDI

performance

modes.

Short

for

"Wind

Mode"

—

one

of

three

VZ-8M

MIDI

performance

modes.

Throughout

this

text,

the

names

of

each

of

the

three

main

"menus"

is

listed

in

cap

ital

letters.

In

this

case,

VOICE-09

indicates

function

"09"

in

the

"Voice

Parameter"

menu

—

the

"AMP

ENV"

function.

Throughout

this

text,

the

names

of

each

of

the

three

main

"menus"

is

listed

in

cap

ital

letters.

In

this

case,

EFFECT-05

indicates

function

"05"

in

the

"Effect"

menu

—

the

"DEF

CONTROL"

function.

Throughout

this

text,

the

names

of

each

of

the

three

main

"menus"

is

listed

in

cap

ital

letters.

In

this

case,

CONTROL-04

indicates

function

"04"

in

the

"Total

Con

trol"

menu

—

the

"MIDI

CHANNEL"

function.

Indicates

the

EFFECT

menu

in

the

OPERATION

MEMORY

mode.

For

example,

"OPE

EFFECT-01"

represents

function

"01"

in

the

OPERATION

MEMORY

mode's

EFFECT

menu

—

the

"OP

TUNE"

function.

Short

for

"Program

Number

Keys".

These

keys

are

used

in

a

variety

of

sound

syn

thesis

and

editing

operations.

Short

for

"Modulation

Wheel".

Short

for

"Definable

Control".

Used

to

"scroll"

or

advance

up

and

down

the

selected

VZ

menu.

Short

for

"Combination

Mode"

—

one

of

the

4

basic

operational

modes

used

in

synthesis,

editing

and

performance.

Short

for

"Multi

Channel

Mode"

—

another

of

the

basic

operational

modes.

Short

for

"Module

ON/OFF

Key"

—

keys

used

to

turn

the

VZ's

sound

source

mod

ules

ON

and

OFF.

Theory:

Flow

of

Operations

ji

Although

the

VZ-8M

features

a

complex

operating

system,

it

has

been

designed

so

that

actual

operations

are

quite

simple

—

after

a

few

hours

you'll

be

amazed

at

how

simple

the

unit

is

to

operate,

and

how

versatile

it

is.

In

order

to

appreciate

the

beauty

of

the

VZ,

it's

important

to

have

a

clear

initial

understanding

of

its

basic

"flow

of

operations"

—

in

other

words

the

basic

order

of

operations

you

will

probably

want

to

follow

to

make

the

most

of

this

synthesizer.

Simply

speaking,

operations

can

be

divided

into

four

different

types

—

these

correspond

to

the

four

basic

operational

"modes"

—

the

NORMAL

mode,

the

COMBINATION

mode,

the

OPERATION

MEMORY

mode

and

the

MULTI

CHANNEL

mode.

You

can

select

any

of

these

modes

by

pressing

the

corresponding

key

on

the

front

panel.

After

selecting

the

MODE,

you

can

select

any

of

the

edit

ing

modes.

To

select

either

the

VOICE

PARAMETER

menu

(VOICE

menu)

or

EFFECT

menu,

press

the

EDIT

key

so

that

the

key's

LED

indi

cator

lights.

To

select

the

TOTAL

CONTROL

menu

(TOTAL

menu),

sim

ply

press

the

TOTAL

CONTROL

key.

But

before

you

start

pressing

keys,

take

a

few

moments

to

read

through

the

following

text.

This

should

give

you

a

clearer

understanding

of

the

relationship

between

the

different

basic

modes.

NORMAL

MODE

The

NORMAL

mode

is

what

you

might

think

of

if

you've

used

a

"nor

mal"

single-patch

synthesizer

that

does

not

feature

the

extensive

sound

layering

and

memory

capabilities

of

the

VZ.

The

NORMAL

mode

can be

further

broken

down

into

two

sub-modes

—

the

PLAY

sub-mode

and

the

MENU

sub-mode.

In

other

words,

you

can

"play"

or

perform

normally

in

this

mode,

or

use

any

of

the

three

editing

MENUs

to

edit

and

create

individual patches.

In

the

PLAY

sub-mode,

you

can

freely

choose

any

of

the

sounds

con

tained

in

the

VZ's

preset,

internal

or

card-memories,

and

use

it

in

perfor

mance.

If

you

want

to

edit

the

sound,

you

simply

select

any

of

the

editing

MENUs

which

contain

a

wide

range

of

"FUNCTIONS"

for

sound

edit

ing.

Whenever

you've

selected

any

of

the

three

editing

MENUs,

you're

working

in

the

"MENU"

sub-mode.

The

NORMAL

mode

is

the

basic

performance

mode,

where

"patches"

created

through

the

modular

sound

source

system

can

be

selected

and

out

put

individually

for

1-patch

performance.

You

can

make

use

of

the

wide

range

of

the

sound

effects in

this

mode,

for

expanded

performance

versa

tility.

You

can

also

use

the

NORMAL

mode

to

create

new

patches

by

altering

values

for

existing

patches

and

writing

them

in

either

the

internal

or card

memory.

Or

create

entirely

new

sounds

by

initializing

a

memory

area

and

programming

values.

Once

you've

created

sounds

you

want

to

save,

you

can

write

them

to

one

of

64

internal

memory

areas

in

the

NORMAL

mode,

or

to

an

optional

RAM

card

which

holds

as

many

as

64

sounds.

WRITE

TOTAL

EOIT

BANK

SHIFT

COPY/INIT

CONTROL

M

ON/OFF

WRITING

PATCHES

TO

MEMORY

f

RE/

•LL

JfPV

f

WRITING

PATCHES

0

MEMORY

One

important

thing

to

remember

when

you

select

the

NORMAL

mode

is

that

you're

working

with

only

1

patch

at

a

time

—

you

can

recall

one

patch

at

a

time,

edit

one

patch

at

a

time,

perform

with

one

patch

at

a

time,

and

write

an

individual

patch

to

memory.

COMBINATION

MODE

The

COMBINATION

mode

is

a

"buffer"

(for

those

with

computer

ex

perience),

or

"work

area"

where

you

can

"combine"

the

patches

you've

created

in

the

NORMAL

mode

to

make

detailed,

multi-timbral

setups

featuring

keyboard

split

point,

velocity

split

specifications,

and

individu

al

effect

specifications

for

each

patch

in

the

setup.

The

COMBINATION

mode

can

be

further

broken

down

into

two

sub-

modes

—

the

PLAY

sub-mode

and

MENU

sub-modes.

The

PLAY

sub-mode

is

selected

for

normal

performance,

while

the

MENU

sub-modes

are

selected

for

further

editing

of

sound,

effect,

and

multi-

timbral

setup

data.

In

this

work

area,

you

can

select

up

to

8

different

patches

created

in

the

NORMAL

mode

(preset,

or

those

you've

created),

and

arrange

them

freely

to

create

a

multi-timbral

setup.

The

"arrangement"

of

these

sounds

is

ac

complished

by

choosing

from

any

of 9

different

KEY

ASSIGN

settings,

which

feature

both

SPLIT

and

LAYERED

patch

arrangements

(see

"Per

formance/Editing

in

the

Combination

Mode").

A

variety

of

the

functions

can

be

used

to

determine

keyboard

split

points,

as

well

as

velocity

split

for

each

patch

in

the

sound.

Effects

can

also

be

set

individually

for

each

patch

in

this

mode.

What's

more,

relative

amplitude

levels

can

be

set

for

each

patch,

allowing

total

control

of

"balance"

within

the

multi-patch

sound.

This

unit

is

designed

so

that

you

can

quickly

and

conveniently

arrange

the

patches

you

use

in

the

multi-patch

sound

—

if

you

don't

like

what

you

hear,

you

can

choose

a

replacement

patch

or

delete

it

from

the

sound

altogether.

One

important

thing

to

remember

when

you

select

the

COMBINATION

mode

is

that

you're

working

with

up

to

8

patches

at

a

time.

Another

im

portant

point

is

that

the

COMBINATION

mode

is

only

a

"work

area,"

where

you

can

"work"

on

one

"combined"

(multi-patch)

sound

at

a

time.

MULTI

CHANNEL

MODE

The

MULTI

CHANNEL

mode

is

basically

a

performance

mode,

which

makes

advanced

use

of

MIDI

—

the

Musical

Instrument

Digital

Interface.

The

VZ

is

capable

or

receiving

MIDI

performance

messages

two

basic

ways;

(1)

with

8-note

polyphony

wherein

all

notes

and

performance

data

trans

ferred

uses the

same

MIDI

channel

(MIDI

mode

3

—

omni

OFF/poly),

and

(2)

with

8-note

polyphony,

wherein

each

of

the

MIDI

Multi

Channel

Areas

(1

—8)

is

assigned

an

individual

timbre.

In

this

status,

each

of

the

8

areas

is

monophonic.

Each

AREA

can

be

assigned

an

independent

sound,

a

polyphonic

value

(maximum

number

of

note

which

may

sound

at

one

time

for

the

speci

fied

area),

output

level,

and

the

MIDI

Receive

channel

number.

NORMAL

MODE

One

patch

at

a

time

!

combination]

MODE

I

Ii+2/3

K

PST1

R-l:UZ

EP

H+2/3+4

K

PST1

fl-UUZ

EP

COMBINATION

MODE

1-8

patches

at

a

time!

fl-l:UZ

EP

PST1

8

polyphonic

Area

MUM

OUT