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ZPC USER`S MANUAL

1. CURVES 8 FORCE VELOCITY POINTS SEQUENCES INSERT EVENT DELETE EVENT PROGRAMMING LOCK FRETBOARD NOTES ON OFF BOUNDARIES KEY TRANSPOSITION AFTERPRESSURE UNISON TRANSPOSITION SOLO MIDI VELOCITY TOUCH FIXED VELOCITY INVERSION ON OFF CURVE Patch Velocity Send ON OFF Channel RIGHT LEFT SEND PROGRAM CHANGE PATCH BANK VOLUME SCAN MODE 20 TRIGGERS ON OFF TRIGGER CAPTURE ON OFF ZONE SOLO Audition Scan Mode GUITAR POLYPHONIC HAMMER MENU HAMMER ON PULLOFF ENABLE HAMMER THRESHOLD LEVEL OPEN STRING PULLOFF ENABLE HAMMER PICK DELAY FINGERBOARD AUTO SUSTAIN ON OFF SENSORS SENSOR MODE FINGERBOARD STRING LINK 6 TRIGGER GUITAR SETUP MACRO TIMING MENU EVENTS MENU PLAY FUNCTION VELOCITY WINDOW 8 EVENT SETTINGS EVENT TYPE MIDI CHANNEL NOTE OTHER DATA FIXED VELOCITY VALUE or SENSOR TRACKING NOTE DURATION MACROS CHORD GENERATOR OUTPUT SETTINGS CURVE ASSIGNMENT MODULATING SENSOR PEDALZ MIDI OUT 1 2 ROUTING LINK ASSIGNMENTS TRIGGER FUNCTIONS FINGERBOARD TRIGGER LINK DUAL MODE Aftertouch Threshold Aftertouch CURVE RESPONSE GAIN RESPONSE BARGRAPH SCAN TIME MASK TIME THRESHOLD CHASE ON OFF TRAIN SENSOR LOW POINT HIGH POINT SHOWALL SONGS PADS s b SENSORS EVENTS GATES LINKS CHAINS PATCHES MENU SYSTEM DATA ENTRY The menu system uses eight soft keys around the perimeter of the display to select various functions as indicated by the messages on the screen Press the button neares
2. This mode is used to issue MIDI Continuous Control messages from an input device usually a pedal or pressure pad SEQUENCER MODES Play starts the sequence n assigned to the pad A second hit will stop the sequence RePlay each hit re starts the assigned sequence from the beginning StpPly stops recording stores the result as the sequence n assigned to this Pad and then starts playing the sequence Successive hits will stop the sequence then re start from the beginning Record Records a variable length sequence first press starts record second press stops recording and stores it sequence n associated with this pad To set up a Record Pad 5 assign this mode to a pad or input trigger and 2 select a MIDI sequence number to store the recorded MIDI events 6 Strike the pad once to start recording Strike it again to stop recording The sequence is automatically stored RecNxt first press starts Record and increments the sequence number n Second press stops the record amp stores it Undo decrements the sequence number on the last pad that did a RecNxt 43 ReTrig When a Sensor is set to ReTrig striking it will re trigger any notes that are fretted on the assigned String number on the fingerboard Use this when you want to tap notes from the fingerboard and then re trigger them with the Key or String Triggers Set the String to ALL STRG to have this sensor re trigger the entire fingerboard T
3. To generate inversions of these chords go into the SENSORS EVENTS screen shuffle the notes into a different order change octaves for individual notes and add notes to un assigned events for chordal extensions or remove notes if there are too many When a Sensor s Chords are used with velocity switching adding etc the notes may be changed by varying the force of your touch Curves The applied afterpressure will follow this assigned curve You can therefore setup separate curves for the Trigger velocity and the Trigger Aftertouch SENSOR PLAY FUNCTIONS Basic Only the first event is played from the Pad s 8 event block Also only the first event is displayed in the EVENTS screen This mode is normally used in the common situations where only one note or event is required All All Notes When the Pad is struck all of the events programmed into the Pad s 8 Event buffer will play together as a group according to the response settings for the Pad and the individual event velocity settings The various events durations will time out according their programmed gate times Chords or note stacks may be played in this mode Seqntl Sequential Notes The 8 note pattern sequencer When the pad is struck once each of the events programmed into the Pad s 8 Event buffer will play automatically in sequence according to the programmed gate times for each event The sequence may be looped by setting the loop switch in the TIMING menu see LOO
4. button above the name Use the Joystick or Up Down buttons to enter a character then use the soft keys to the left and right of the CURSOR message to move the cursor over to the next character position Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Dawn SONG 01 ZTAR EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 24 FRETBOARD ZONES MENU Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Down ZONE 1 NOTES ON LOW i O HIGH vi 24 KEY TRANS MIDI SCAN MODE EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 Every Song setup must have at least one active zone Scan mode This sets the way you play notes from the fingerboard With TRIGS ON you can play it like a guitar where you fret the fingerboard and then strum the Triggers or with TRIGS OFF you can tap the notes from the fingerboard like a keyboard There are also some other options in the Scan Mode menu to tailor the performance to your needs Zone Displays the number of the zone you are adjusting You may change this with the data buttons or the joystick to quickly select the different zones in a Song setup Notes On Off Usually a Zone is set up to play notes but not always A Zone may be silenced but still have Program Change messages and Volume messages assigned as well as all of the other settings For example you might want to send patch changes to your rack EFX boxes lighting controller or other hardware that has no knowledge of Notes When the Song is selected the
5. eight Events and the Up Dn keys to adjust the values The EDIT Key jumps to the full EDIT screen for that sensor If you had not pressed one of the softkeys when entering this menu pressing the EDIT key will take you back to the SHOWALL screen 67 Showall Gates Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Down 260 clk 999 clk 200 ms 200 ms EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 View the Gate times assigned to the Events in the current Pad The softkeys select the gate time for an Event and toggle the timing reference between the Absolute timer expressed in milliseconds and the Metronome expressed in MIDI clock ticks This is discussed in further detail in the CLOCKS section of this manual Showall Links Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 SONG TR1 P3 Down 0 TR5 off EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 Display select and edit the Links assigned to each Sensor in the current Kit The Song number is identified at the left of the Screen Each value pair shows a sensor name on the left and its first link if any on the right If a Pad has been selected hitting the EDIT key will enter the Links edit screen for that Pad Showall Chains Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Down Chain 1 Chain 2 Chain 3 Chain 4 Chain 5 Chain 6 Chain 7 Chain 8 EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 A CHAIN is an ordered grouping of up to 8 Ztar Songs that you step through by incrementing
6. keyboard When the LED is lit the Triggers are On G POLY When the LED is lit the fingerboard plays one note per string like a guitar When it is off the POLY mode allows you to hear whatever you press SOLO SOLO allows you to select one or more small zones on the fingerboard and expand them to fill the entire fingerboard This is used to quickly change sounds and try out new combinations of sounds over the full range of notes Pressing SOLO again will revert the fingerboard to its prior multi zoned state If multiple zones are selected when SOLO is pressed those sounds will be stacked and spread over the fingerboard Use this as a quick layering tool WRITE WRITE lets you save your current edited setup on the fly to its battery backed RAM location There are many adjustable parameters in the Ztar and Write will copy all of them so that the full setup may be recalled with a single keystroke The WRITE hotkey is a shortcut version of the WRITE function found in the top level EDIT screen 17 REC This button activates the CHORD RECORD feature Press the button hold down some notes on the fingerboard strum them if necessary to hear them and tap one of the Pads or a Trigger or any other Sensor to assign the notes to that Pad for playback This is a quick way to capture notes to a Pad in addition to the CHORD NOTES screen PANIC Sends a note off to every note on and resets all controllers for every channel Currently we use the
7. B oth Pgm Set the Program number CC0 Set the Most Significant Byte of the BankSelect message Refer to your synth manual for the correct Bank Select numbers CC32 Set the Least Significant Byte of the BankSelect message SEND Immediately Send the current PatchSelect command with both Program number and BankSelect information EDIT Backs out to the top Showall screen To set up Patch selects for a Kit Enter the SHOWALL PATCHES menu At the top left you ll see the current Kit to hold all of the patch selects you d like You may adjust this to work in a different Kit 70 Go to the Patch select field and pick a number 1 32 The first available number without any patch data will be the best one to use Now enter into this Patch Select data group the Channel ProgramChange number and the bank select numbers from your synth manual You can send this directly using the SEND command or SAVE your settings to this KIT so that you can issue them on a KitChange To do this either use the WRITE hotkey the second one down in the bank of four on the right or go to the UTILITIES LIBRARIAN SAVE screen 71 Maintenance Your Ztar shouldn t need any regular care other than occasionally wiping the fingerboard with a dry cloth Be sure to keep the fingerboard free from dust grease and foreign matter that might jam the keys in any way The Data retention battery is located on the main CPU card Suitable replacements are Duracel
8. Gate time 2 bytes gate time If MSB 0 15 LSBs are time in msec 0 9999 If MSB 1 15 LSBs are time in MIDI clocks 0 999 MIDI op code 1 byte operation MIDI channel Data byte 1 1 byte 1st MIDI data byte note number for Note On Data byte 2 1byte 2nd MIDI data byte velocity for Note On MIDI Input Block data layout Each MIDI input block is sent in a packet of type 2F thus SEO 00 07 07 S2F number length ee un Ve cksum SF7 number is the port number O port A 1 port B data is the MIDI Input Block sent as 7 bit data MIDI Input Block MIDI Port Mode 1 byte Encoded as 0xxcfftt where c receive capture enable bit 1 on ff MIDI follow mode 00 disabled 10 follow chord 01 follow note 11 reserved tt MIDI trigger mode 00 disabled 10 Notes Off 01 Notes On 11 both xx reserved for future use should be zero Receive Channel 1 byte Enabled receive channel 0 15 Reserved 6 bytes MIDI Triggers 128 bytes Pad number 1 32 for each MIDI note or 0 if none System Global data layout TBD Global system data is sent in a packet of type 04 thus FO 00 07 07 04 number length padatan cksum F7 number is data is the global pad data sent in 8 7 bit packed format Chains System Configuration Block data layout IN PROGRESS The system configuration block is sent in a packet of type 20 thus SEO 00 07 07 20 number length vx dat ss cksum F7 number is data is the configuration data s
9. KEYMAP EDIT sub menu screen Each key on the Ztar fingerboard may now be individually tuned to a MIDI channel and Note number A Key Note map is saved for each Song preset These maps default to standard tunings when you select a Tuning Preset and they adjust automatically when you change an Open String Tuning Make adjustments to individual keys to create new scales or separate instruments in areas of the fingerboard 55 KEYMAP EDIT screen Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Dowh i 35 B1 ii 40 E2 ii 45 A2 iv 5 D3 v 55 G3 vi 60 C4 EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 The display shows one fret at a time for all six strings The fret number is shown in the bottom left corner of the screen Use softkey 5 and the UP Dn keys to select frets 0 Open string through 24 Use the softkeys to select a string number for this fret so that you can set the MIDI channel and note number Press the softkey to toggle between the Channel and Note fields 56 UTILITIES cont BULK DUMP MENU Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Bown BULK RECEIVE SONG 01 ZTAR EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 Send Press softkey 2 to dump the selected Song Memory from the ZTAR to a receiving device Use the Up Dn keys or the joystick to select a Song Song 0 will select ALL Songs When ALL is selected a Bulk dump will also send all 16 of the global Response Curves and all Keymaps Receive P
10. Program Changes will be sent Low Select this and press a note on the fingerboard to select the lowest note for the zone that you are creating The string and fret numbers will appear on the screen High Select this and press a note on the fingerboard to select the highest note for the zone that you are creating The string and fret numbers will appear on the screen Key Trans selects a menu for zone transposition Unison tuning select and fixed velocity touch sensing for the current zone MIDI selects the MIDI setup menu This is where you select the channel and patch number TO CREATE A ZONE Select the ZONE menu with the soft key Select a zone number Keep the numbers in sequence for clarity s sake Using the soft keys select the Low and High fields and use the fingerboard to enter the note boundaries for the zone Make sure the Low note is lower than the High note To assign a zone to just string six alone the low note and high note would be vi 0 and vi 24 Experiment with this feature to discover its versatility 25 If you want to play notes from this zone turn the Notes ON If you wish to send only patch change information from this zone turn the Notes OFF By sending only patch changes from a zone you can setup effects units or other devices that do not receive note data at the time this Song is selected Select the KEY TRANS menu and the MIDI menu to complete the zone setup and d
11. and becomes your channels 17 32 Press the softkey 3 to toggle between the Channel and the Port select fields You may also set the Port assignment to NONE to disable all MIDI output from this Zone Note Either the Right or Left channel or both must be selected If NONE is selected there will be no output and the Program Change will not be sent on Song select nor will you hear any notes If you select R and do not have a second MIDI Output port installed the instrument may lockup when you play a few notes SEND Press this to send out your programmed Patch Bank and Volume settings Patch Sets the Program Change number 1 127 for the selected Zone This number is sent when the saved SONG is selected CC 0 Sets the Bank number Most Significant byte or MSB Refer to your synth documentation for the proper settings CC 32 Sets the Bank number Least Significant byte or LSB Refer to your synth documentation for the proper settings Volume Sets the base volume for this Zone when the saved Song is selected 28 Pre setting and sending a Program Change with Bank Select Modern synthesizers are commonly filled with more than 128 patches or programs the limit that can be addressed with a single ProgramChange command In order to access these higher numbered patches MIDI provides two Bank Select messages ContinuousController 0 Most Sigmnificant byte or MSB and CC 32 Least Significant Byte or LSB You need to enter data values
12. appear in the menu system that may not be installed on your instrument Likewise an optional Sensor may be loaded into a general purpose programming slot say PAD 12 for convenience and cost As software and feature upgrades are made available they are implemented into just one model at a time So be sure to occasionally inquire about the current version for your system Markll Z1 Z6 Key Trigger and Pad Array JOYSTICK String Trigger models the Trigger numbering is the same as VOLU ME shown in this figure TRIGGER nex me ruos mes e TRIGGER 5 PADA PAD5 PAD6 4 TRIGGER3 3 TRIGGER 2 TRIGGER Z wn nn mm m TRIGGER1 1 OCT OCT PAT PAT TRIG GIPOLY SOLO WRITE REC PANIC FUNCTION HOTKEYS MiniZ and Z6 models with 6 Pads only the battam raw of 3 Expression Pads the raw closest ta the display are pragrammed in the Sensor menu as Pads 7 8 and 9 Record chord notes from the Captures selected Zone s on the fingerboard fingerboard for assignment to and expands it them to the entire fingerboard one of the Sensors All Notes Off and Saves the current setup Reset All Controllers Toggles between on note per string d and multiple notes per string FE C Enables Disables the mE REC PANI String Triggers Y SOLO v GIPOLY Y TRIG gt PAD12 PAD11 PAD10 PADS PAD8 PAD OCT OCT PATGH UP PATCH DOWN PAD6 PADS PAD4 PAD3 PAD2 PAD Mark Ill Control Panel Layout
13. brute force approach that takes a little extra time but should definitely clear any stuck messages for any synth The PAT OCT and SOLO keys are Zone based controls that allow you to select a zone by playing and holding a note within it and adjust the parameter for just that Zone So if you have say two zones on the fingerboard you can touch a key in one or both and then press the hotkey to change the Patch etc for that zone This shortcut lets you make changes while you re performing rather than having to wade through menus to re program the system SENSOR HARDWARE TRIGGERS These are the six right hand sensors that are used to trigger the fingerboard the same as you d play a guitar Ztars are equipped with either StringTriggers or KeyTriggers and occasionally both STRING TRIGGERS These are six real guitar strings short enough just for picking They are velocity sensitive to your picking force and have a muting capability that is applied just by touching them Contact with the Muting bar enhances the muting effect to the stings KEY TRIGGERS and Add On TRIGGER PADS These are six long narrow bars or pads that are used for tapping out notes from the fingerboard playing drums triggering samples or sequences and adding pressure effects in particular bends and modulations to the fingerboard strings MUTE BAR This is the metallic bar in the tailpiece or plate mounted elsewhere on the instrument that is used to enhance the mut
14. for CCO and CC32 which you will find by looking in the back of your synthesizer manual Every manufacturere uses a different set of numbers to select their bank system For instance in the Korg Wavestation SR if you wanted Patch 21 Rom Bank5 you would send these three bytes from the FRETBOARD MIDI menu PGM 21 CCO 0 CC32 3 To program the same Program and Bank select messages to issue from a Pad or Sensor just by striking the Pad in the SENSOR EVENTS menu do this 1 set the Sensor Mode EVENTS 2 Set the Play function ALL 3 Set Event1 ControlChange CCO 0 4 Set Event2 ControlChange CC32 3 5 Set Event3 ProgramChange 21 Refer to SENSOR MENU for more information 29 FRETBOARD SCAN MODE menu Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 ZONE 1 Trigs ON Capture Off Solo Off Down Scan GUITAR HAMMER MENU Sustain Off EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 What is a TRIGGER MODE Simple really There are just two basic states for the fingerboard notes They are played by strumming the Triggers or just by tapping the fingerboard itself like a keyboard When the Triggers are ON and the front panel LED is lit this is GUITAR mode for this ZONE When the Triggers are OFF and the LED is OFF you have a Tapping mode set for the selected ZONE Because the Trigger Mode setting can be made for each ZONE individually this means that you may strum or tap selected areas of the fingerboard By lay
15. full volume obscuring the cursor When a beat is selected you can press Up and Down to increase or decrease the volume in eight steps from zero to full Use the zero setting for a rest SoftKeys 7 or 8 move the cursor right to select a beat NOTES e The Preset signatures will also reset all the beats velocity levels e A unique Time Signature may be saved for each Song in the Ztar 60 UTILITIES cont CURVES Edit screen Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Down EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 There are 16 programmable curves stored globally in the Ztar that may be applied to individual Sensors or Zones on the fingerboard Use these curves to adapt your touch to the Ztar and the synth and patch you re using If one Sensor in a group seems to have a different response than the rest you may give it a special curve to balance its response Each curve is drafted using eight programmable points and may be thought of as a graph relating physical force and MIDI velocity The curves also affect the way that Continuous Controllers such as pedals respond You can assign and save a curve number with each Sensor for every Song in the Ztar so a Sensor may have different response as you select new Songs The left hand side of the menu screen shows the Curve number When you first enter the menu use the Up Dn keys to select a new Curve number for editing If you press any other key first you ll have to exit the m
16. learning to emulate the first thing is to get the sound solid in your head If you listen to a lot of Charlie Parker and want to pull that off listen until the sound is jammed in your brain then bring up a sax patch that you can stomach dial in the reverb or whatever you have to do to make it acceptable and start doing the things he did to learn his style on his instrument You ll find this involves lots of practice with scales arpeggios and patterns This takes us to the fun part and is the reason think that the effort you put into learning bebop sax will help you with learning every other style you approach on the Ztar figure the three new areas of learning with the Ztar are 1 Articulations scales chords and note choices particular to the instrument whose voice you re trying to emulate This is new to the Ztar and different than learning every musical instrument because with the Ztar you re using a common fingering and the task is still possible a combination of circumstances that may not have existed before Of course this is an immense undertaking if you look at the whole of it 2 Using the polyphony of the individual strings multiple frets being played simultaneously on each string This is a different way to look at your note choices and is most of the reason why 1 is possible 81 3 The physical touch of the Ztar fingerboard This is very keyboard like in the way that notes turn on and off This merits some direct p
17. one non fixed velocity curve active in a song however you may mix up fixed and non fixed zones in one song When Touch Sensing is active you may choose to INVERT the velocity response for this zone Velocity crossfades between voices may be created by layering one zone with a normal velocity response and a Zone playing the same pitch on a different channel voice with an inverted response A heavy touch will play one voice A soft touch will play the other A medium touch plays both Use the response curves in your sound module to fine tune this effect 26 CURVE Set the number for a velocity response curve assigned for this Zone There are 16 edit able curves in the global pool of curves for the Ztar FRETBOARD gt KEY TRANS gt AFTERPRESSURE menu This menu sets the After Pressure parameters for the fingerboard When Afterpressure is enabled you can press the fingerboard keys with increased pressure to activate either PolyKeyAfterpressure or Channel Afterpressure Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Down FretBoard Aftertouch Pressure On P Key Thresh 55 Sens 25 Curve 1 EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 Pressure Enable softkey 4 toggles pressure On off for the selected zone Pressure Type softkey 5 toggles between PolyKey pressure and Channel Pressure for the selected Zone Threshold set the lowest pressure level that will initiate an Afterpressure response Sensitivity increase this number to m
18. patches tunings and all of the MIDI control assignments for the SENSORS including any recorded Notes Chords or Drums Continuous Control EFX and a list of other parameters SONGS may be thought of as Kits in the sense used in an electronic percussion device a set of assignments of hardware Triggers to MIDI output functions and the player s response setups for all of the hardware There is no analogous term in guitar playing so we chose SONGS as you might use a different configuration for each song in a set different voices etc ZONES in the ZTAR environment are arbitrary rectangular areas of the fingerboard defined by two diagonal corner points like a select window on a computer screen Zones are each assigned a MIDI channel as well as a number of other values Up to thirty two zones may be configured at any time A zone may be as small as one note or as large as the entire fingerboard Where Zone boundaries overlap they will share qualities in those areas A keyboard split occurs where adjacent zones do not overlap Zones may be defined by simply picking a high and a low note from the fingerboard When all of the desired parameters influencing a zone have been punched in the zone may be saved into a Song Memory location Zones may thus be set up to perform melody accompaniment percussion and effects all from a single instrument Library functions are available for copying a previously configured Song for use as a template in cre
19. string clamping screws and the tensioning screws Its purpose is to provide a consistent means for muting the strings regardless of the prevailing humidity the moisture on your hands your diet type of shoes if any and some other factors which are found to affect this type of circuit on other instruments If the presence of the bar is in an awkward location for you and causes unwanted muting effects for your normal hand position call the factory for instructions on how too move the bar to another location If you are satisfied with the muting without the use of the bar and the bar is messing you up you may disable the brass bar entirely Sometimes Muting is too sensitive in which case it s possible to adjust the internal trimpot R20 a little to deaden them a bit To disable the Mute Bar You may wish to disable the mute bar if your picking hand rests on bridge and you find that you are un intentionally muting the plucked notes To disable the mute bar remove the back cover of the Ztar and unplug the plastic film connector J19 at the pointy end of the CPU circuit board Or you might want to simply cover the mute bar with a piece of tape We have available a MuteCap a cover cap that mounts over the tailpiece where the MuteBar resides The top of the cap has an aluminum plate where you rest the heel 13 of your palm The strings will mute when you touch them with your fingers while in this position Normal picking is not affected Some p
20. that matter The HatPad likewise has a Sensor location assigned for its companion pedal that controls its events This is assigned in the PEDAL slot in the OUTPUT menu Also the HiHatPedal1 will play its own programmed event at the fully depressed pedal position programmed as Event 1 This is normally used to create the FootHat or chick sound that can be heard whenever a real HiHat is closed The pedal position for this sound note event may be adjusted with the lower velocity threshold for Event 1 The complete HiHat effect is created by adding a LINK to the Sensor setup for the HiHat pedal This LINK is assigned to MUTE the HatPad For example If the HHPed1 is on Rim15 and the HatPad is on Pad4 then Rim15 is assigned a LINK to MUTE Pad4 when Rim15 is activated HHPed2 HiHatPedal 2 This mode is similar to HHPed1 with the addition of a programmable ContinuousControl 44 message stream that tracks the pedal position HatPad The second half of the HiHat setup HatPad s programmed events are selected by the position of a HHPedal Velocity for the events will issue from the HatPad 45 THE SEQUENCERS In discussing the sequencers we use the word NOTE to refer to any MIDI event whether it s a note Control Change ProgramChange any outgoing message A Sensor or Pad must be set with its Sensor Mode to EVENTS Sensors menu and its HIT mode Sensors TIMING menu set to TIMED in order for it to fire a sequence Ther
21. that will learn your lightest and hardest pluck and scale your chosen curve within those bounds Also there is a Mute circuit that is driven from the StringTriggers When your hand is touching the strings the note should not play It should play only when you release the string The strings are attached to a tailblock with steel screws that conduct electricity The tailblock sits under your hand as you pick and if you rest it there on any of the screws the notes will mute or not appear at all This bothers some people and they either learn to stay off the tailblock or cover it up with tape or something If you can get along with this you can use it as a feature for staccato muting effects We re working on an alternative design that lets you rest your hand on the tailblock but still mute well from the fingers Again it s important to try to set up the instrument to your touch and it s best not to assume that if it s not responding correctly now that it never will Think of it like adjusting the action on a guitar neck String trigger setup 75 String Tension Trimpot gain response curves hammer ons hammer threshold Get a tiny screwdriver jeweler s screwdrivers are best Tension Make sure the strings are not too slack The adjustments are done with the string tension set at what you d expect from a real guitar You don t have to break them just get them snug Trimpots The 6 individual trimpots may be adjusted to set the Gain for e
22. to Strum mode When the TRIG front panel hotkey is used to turn off the Triggers and put the fingerboard into Tapping Mode the Triggers will revert to playing their assigned MIDI events In the DUAL mode the Sensor will both trigger fingerboard notes and its own programmed set of events The Dual Mode will apply to and Sensor This can have some interesting effects and allow the simulation of various acoustic instruments Consider setting up the Breath with the Dual mode to initiate a note and apply volume changes as does a real wind instrument Or a Pad in Dual Mode with pitchbend applied to act like a conga head or tympani STRING Use softkey 3 to select a Fingerboard String for the Sensor to trigger when in Strum Mode 6 TRIGS Press softkey 4 to automatically set the Ztar s six triggers to Strum mode assign them to their corresponding fingerboard strings and set the Hit Mode to TOUCH See the TIMING menu for this You ll still need to set the fingerboard s active zones Trigger mode to TRIGGERS ON to set up the Ztar as a guitar Who would ve thought a guitar could be so complicated TIMING selects the TIMING menu which sets up several options to determine how a Sensor s events will be played EVENTS enters the Events menu to assign MIDI functions to a Sensor 34 OUTPUT sets up several parameters that route the Sensor s MIDI output TRIGGER FUNCTION When The PlayMode is set to STRUM the Trigger Function men
23. 15 22 29 32 33 35 44 61 64 87 88 97 Events Events menu 35 Glossary 95 Fingerboard 5 7 11 21 34 See ZONES 42 53 59 68 72 84 97 Gate 6 12 33 37 57 62 64 88 91 GateShift 33 Guitar Mode 5 6 29 68 70 See Scan Mode Hammer on Pull off 30 72 75 Hit Mode 12 33 96 Initialization 31 49 51 Joystick 15 19 68 75 Keymaps Key Note Maps Tuning Maps 12 52 53 Keys definition 86 Layers 25 29 68 83 Live mode 15 22 23 Loop 33 Macros 6 39 Metronome 12 37 58 88 89 See CLOCKS MIDI definition 95 Channel Note setup for the Fingerboard 28 See FRETBOARD MIDI Channel Note setup for the Sensors 35 See SENSORS EVENTS 101 Output Port 1 and 2 Left and Right 28 45 MIDI Input 51 MIDI Clocks 33 37 41 61 Mute 6 12 19 26 30 38 42 69 72 NeckStrip NeckSensor 19 84 Note On Note off 13 18 45 52 76 88 91 95 NoteShift 40 Octave 6 17 26 40 68 79 80 93 Open Strings 6 21 53 70 73 75 94 Pads TriggerPads 5 11 14 17 19 29 38 43 48 49 56 62 63 69 76 81 84 87 See SENSORS and RESPONSE Panic 18 84 91 Patch 5 6 11 17 18 20 21 25 See FRETBOARD MIDI 62 66 88 89 93 See Sensor PlayFunctions Pedals 5 14 19 59 73 76 81 Poly mode 17 30 42 72 79 93 Power 5 22 69 81 Program Changes 11 13 20 Saving presets with Program Changes 25 28 fingerboard ZONE menu Sending PgmChg from a Se
24. 2 p 73 p 74 p 77 p 81 p 85 p 86 p 95 GETTING STAHTED QUICKLY If you re absolutely new to MIDI and want to know more you can find the MIDI specifications at www midi org e Use a 5 conductor MIDI cable all 5 pins must be wired from the controller to the PB 1 power supply e Plug into the MIDI Output connector closest to the center of the guitar From this position the connectors are MIDI Out MIDI In Sustain and Volume Pedals and the Power switch Connect the Ztar MIDI Out cable to the Controller input of the PB 1 power adapter Connect a MIDI cable from the SYNTH jack of the PB 1 to the MIDI IN on your synth Connect the supplied DC wall supply to the PB 1 Flip the power switch on the instrument and you should see the display light up If it doesn t check your MIDI cable and wall wart for correct type and connections If you re stuck here go the Troubleshooting section at the rear of the manual If the TRIG and G POLY LEDs are now lit you re set up like a guitar so start picking Touch a key on the fingerboard and press the TRIG button to play the fingerboard tapping style Press the G Poly button to play more than one note per string You ll also hold a fingerboard key down while changing the PAT OCT and SOLO keys Use the Live Menu the power up run time screen to select onboard patches or SONGS Each Song can have a unique setup for the instrument including tunings synth patches and Sensor assignment
25. 7 number High 7 bits is the kit number 1 32 High 7 bits O indicates the pads O 34 are being sent as one packet of 2625 bytes in the format shown above This is for backward compatibility and is supported for bulk receive only Low 7 bits is the pad number 0 35 Pad O is the kit data block Pad 33 is the metronome block Pad 34 and Pad 35 are the patch data blocks data is the kit data sent in 8 7 bit packed format The kit data is divided into 36 segments of 75 bytes each sent separately The first 35 segments are described above The final segment is identical in format to the Pad 34 block Pad 35 Block Patch Table PAD MODE ID list Pad off Notes simple Notes all Notes sequence Notes shift Alt up Alt dn Alt updn Alt rnd Notes slice Contrctrl Midi seq Stop amp play Rec pad Recnext pad Overdub pad Dubnext pad Undo pad Kit inc Kit dec Chain inc Mute all ODAND TMD OANDAARWN AO 75 bytes 15 patches of 5 bytes each 75 bytes Patches 18 32 layout as above 93 Ref pad 16 String trig 17 String dual 18 HHpedal1 19 HHpedal2 1a Hhat pad 1b Notes metr 1c Set loop start Stop All Sequences Velocity Curve layout Each velocity curve is sent in a packet of type 02 thus FO 00 07 07 02 number length predata cksum F7 number is the RAM curve number 5 16 data is the curve data sent in 8 7 bit packed format The curve data is sixteen 8 bit RAM bytes r
26. Channel set the MIDI channel 1 16 Trigger An incoming MIDI note is used as a trigger for one of the Ztar s Sensors When the note arrives it fires whatever events are programmed to be played as if the assigned Sensor were physically struck Available trigger types are Note On Note Off Both Set to None to disable the function Follow MIDI When Follow MIDI is enabled an external MIDI keyboard may be used to enter note numbers into the Ztar s edit screens Enter the screen you wish to edit in order to view the process Off Follow MIDI disabled On Incoming MIDI note values are captured into the current Event Chord Successive incoming MIDI note values will fill up all the available Event slots for the current Pad Once the 8 event buffer is filled additional notes will over write Event 8 Capture Off On Capture an incoming sequence from the selected MIDI port and store it as a variable length sequence Assign the new sequence a number in the global pool of 256 sequences so that it may be played back as a MIDI Seq pad mode NoteEdit Enters the MIDI In Triggers screen where you may assign Ztar Sensors to incoming MIDI note numbers Any note number C G9 on the selected channel may be assigned as a trigger Eight MIDI notes are shown per screen An Uppercase L or R shows at the left edge of the screen to indicate selection of the Left or Right MIDI port UTILITIES MIDI IN NoteEdit menu Up Softkey 1 So
27. Mode SENSORS menu links a Sensor to the fingerboard or its own events Play Function EVENTS menu sets the type of playback for the events the Sensor will play Event type EVENTS menu selects the actual events themselves Hit Mode TIMING menu sets the way Note Offs are determined Trigger Function selects the menu where the Play Mode may be changed and the Dual Mode setup Trigger Mode SCAN MODE menu toggles the fingerboard between Tapping and Strumming Scan Mode Same as the Trigger Mode also the menu where the Fingerboard is set up Sensor Events mode includes 1 a SensorPlay Function 2 Events1 8 Event type Notes and other events When notes are discussed in relation to programming a Sensor it s usually for simplicity s sake and you should be aware that the same features will apply to any 100 event type ContinuousControl changes whatever Aftertouch Afterpressure 13 20 21 26 27 30 34 40 87 88 93 Alternating Modes 41 AutoSustain 12 21 30 72 93 Battery replacement 68 Bank Select 29 69 70 93 BPM 20 37 57 58 88 Breath Controller 13 19 32 73 Bulk Dump 22 51 54 86 95 Chains 41 62 64 Chords 5 33 Events 39 All Notes 40 76 79 Chord Generator Macro Screen 4O Clocks 6 13 20 33 37 57 Continuous Controller 12 14 45 59 95 Copy 17 49 50 Curves SEE Velocity Curves Response Curves Delete 20 49 50 61 DUAL mode 13 32 34 Edit mode 5 11 13
28. NG EDIT screen Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Down SONG 01 ZTAR WRITE UTILITIES FRETBOARD SENSORS RESPONSE SHOWALL EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 This is the top level edit screen which displays sub menus for the various programmable features for each Song A Song consists of 1 One or more Zones with all of their programmed settings 2 Assignments for the Sensors 2 Physical response settings for the Sensors 3 A Tuning for the fingerboard keys and Open Strings and settings for Triggering modes 4 Asetup for the metronome SONG MENU sub menus Name Edit Press the name of the SONG to enter the Name Edit screen Write Takes you to the Write screen so that you may save your current setup Utility enters the Utility menu to edit a variety of objects Zone enters the Zone menu to set up the fingerboard All of your settings can be made into 32 independent fingerboard Zones Sensor enters the Sensor menu to set up the Pads Triggers Joystick configuration Scan Mode enters the Scan Mode menu Tuning enters the Tuning menu The top left of the screen shows the Song number followed by its name By placing the cursor over the song number and using the joystick or Up Down buttons you may scroll through the Song Banks without going back to the LIVE menu to make your selection 23 SONG MENU NAME EDIT screen To enter a new Song name Place the cursor over the name field using the softkey 2
29. P 104
30. P Most importantly you can only hear the Sequential Notes if the Hit Mode is set to TIMED in the TIMING menu NtsShft Shift Notes When a single note is assigned to a Sensor it s pitch or MIDI note number may be changed by varying the velocity or force of your touch 42 ALTERNATING MODES The pad s programmed events are played back one by one on each successive hit These modes will operate on either the fixed 8 event buffer or the variable length MIDISequence buffer The order of event list playback is different depending on the AltMode selected AltUp Alternating Up Events are played starting with Event 1 stepping up to the highest numbered event AltDn Alternating Down Events are played starting with the highest numbered event stepping down to Event 1 AItUpDn Alternating Up Down Events are played starting with Event 1 stepping up to the highest numbered event where the direction changes and events are stepped back to Event 1 AltRnd Alternating Random The order of events is selected randomly Slice Slice mode is enabled to operate with variable length sequences Each hit plays the next time slice of the sequence The time slice is specified in MIDI clocks in the EVENTS screen Note that a MIDI clock may be either 1 24 or 1 12 of a beat depending on the metronome time signature After the last slice is played the next hit will restart from the beginning of the sequence CntCtl Continuous Control
31. TIALIZE gt SONGS RESPONSE SEQUENCES CURVES MIDI IN MAP CHAINS EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 SONGS Restores the RAM copy of the first 4 or 2 ROM songs then resets all RAM songs to the first ROM song RESPONSE Initializes global Sensor response variables from ROM Gain Scan Mask Threshold and Trained high and low curve endpoints The Curves or curve numbers are not initialized SEQUENCES clears all sequence data CURVES restores all curves to the Rom default settings MIDI IN MAP Clears all assignments which map MIDI Input notes to fire onboard Sensors Perform a complete initialization of the system memory when new ROM software is loaded or whenever you feel you need to clear out everything from memory and start fresh You may wish to bulk dump your Songs and Keymaps before you do this Press the Initialize SONGS button Three dots appear while the routine is working When it finishes go on to initialize the rest of the individual areas by pressing the keys working around the display in clock wise fashion The last press will be COLDSTART which will re start the Ztar UTILITIES MIDI IN menu Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Down MIDI L IN Note Edit Foll Note EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 The MIDI In menu provides settings for various functions that monitor the MIDI Input ports MIDI X IN Use softkey 1 and the UpDn keys to select MIDI Input Port Left or Right 53
32. ZPC USER S MANUAL Rev1 4 1 05 Starr Labs San Diego CA All Rights Reserved This Manual and all of the products descriptions menu screens software hardware firmware algorithms and processes discussed are the property of Starr Labs All rights are reserved by Starr Labs Inc and none of the aforementioned may be copied photocopied reproduced translated reverse engineered or reduced to any electronic medium or machine readable form without prior written consent from Starr Labs Inc Ztar and Z tar are trademarks of Starr Labs Inc The designs and the functionality of the Ztar hardware and software are protected by US patents Copying or reproducing the look and behavior of the ZTAR fingerboard body control panel or performance modes may constitute infringement and will be prosecuted by law The Ztar is fully warranted for a period of 90 days Thereafter the warranty extends for one year to cover the cost of parts replacement Any service labor will then be billed at our shop rate In order to qualify for warranty coverage all service and repairs must be made at Starr Labs factory or an authorized service depot Any violation of this voids all warranty coverage Abuse mis handling of the instrument or connection to an unapproved power supply will also void the benefits of this warranty Copyright Starr Labs 9 1993 2003 Getting Started Hardware diagrams Hardware versions The Basics OVERVIEW Sensor Hardware Me
33. ZTAR CONNECTIONS Sustain pedal or Normally Open SPST switch MIDI In to the Ztar from a computer or Volume Pedal or sequencer for Sysex operations 50kOhm expression Pedal or Pot POWER Z6 Jackplate MIDI out to the synthesizer and Phantom DC power In to the Ztar Connect this to the Controller jack on the PB 1 power adapter Mini Z and Z1 Jack Plate The Basics Ztar terminology and concepts SENSORS In the Ztar Sensors refers to any programmable performance hardware other than the fingerboard This includes the Triggers Pads Joystick pedals knobs breath ribbon Neckstrip and any other installed devices Occasionally when describing a programming feature we refer to any Sensor as a Pad both in this manual and in the menu system as the structure that holds setup assignments for each of the hardware inputs within each SONG ZONES in the Ztar are user defined areas of the fingerboard and are similar to the Layers that are often found in MIDI keyboards EVENTS Events are individual MIDI messages programmed to the Sensors An Event may be a MIDI note Continuous Control message Program change or any of a number of other MIDI data types Each Pad may be assigned up to eight events or a sequence of variable length SONGS The full group of Sensor inputs may be programmed with all of their various assignments and saved along with the various assignments to the fingerboard and the metronome to f
34. ach string Clockwise will increase the gain If it s set on the high side you can get a full response from a very light touch If it s too hot turn it back counter clockwise to get softer dynamics At the highest gain setting you can lose picking speed if you pick very fast At the lowest gain setting the response may be sluggish if you touch is very light The basic setup procedure is to turn the individual string levels up at the 6 pots until they just self trigger and then back off a tiny fraction Check for the a string cross triggering the d string etc and the condition that the string triggers with just the very lightest touch Back off a tiny bit more if you need to but not too much the trick is to make the action hot as possible Response Curves Use the Response Gain screen to find your picking range Use the Utilities Curves screen to set up a curve that matches the MIDI velocity output to your picking force Set that curve number to the Triggers Refer to the CURVES section of the manual for more details Adjustments to hammer ons You can change the hammer threshold setting to differentiate between fretted and muted notes from the fingerboard Values from 50 175 are usually good A setting of 0 will disable all muting from the fingerboard You can change the Hammer to pick delay settings to eliminate double firing of fretted notes You can set the AutoSustain Mode ON which will pass only picked notes and mute o
35. acters appear on the display and you know for certain that your DC wall adapter is a good one then the onboard CPU is not running or there is a problem in the display Call the factory in that event The instrument powers up but I don t hear any music when play it Make sure the volume hasn t turned off for the channel you re using Turn your volume knob a bit to reset the volume Make sure any pedals or other devices that are programmed for Volume messages are plugged in correctly and are turned up Make sure the Ztar and the Synth are set to the same channel s Make sure your synth has a patch sample assigned to the channel you re using If the MIDI monitor light is blinking on your synth then you re sending MIDI from the Ztar The Keys Expression Pads Triggers or any other velocity sensing devices on the Ztar do not respond to a light touch And when they do respond it seems the sound is too loud or the velocity is too high If you adjust the R20 Trimpot mounted on the CPU card inside of the Ztar you can lower the minimum Sensing level of the instrument to optimize the bottom end of your dynamic range If the instrument is made somewhat too sensitive it will tend to glitch in response to various noise factors in the environment If the r20 trimpot is turned all of the way clockwise for maximum sensitivity the instrument will lock up entirely and may fire random notes or other MIDI messages Just turn the pot back the other way a bit
36. ake the aftertouch more responsive Curve the fingerboard afterpressure may have a response curve independent of velocity It is possible to make all of the pressure response settings here by creating and selecting a special curve The Threshold and Sensitivity settings are convenient adjustments that compensate an existing curve 21 FRETBOARD MIDI MENU Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 ZONEH 1 P amp Vsend Y Chan 1 L SEND Patch O CC 0 0 CC 32 0 Volume 127 EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 Patch and Volume Send Enable You may choose to enable Patch and Volume changes sent to the MIDI channel for the selected Zone by using the PAT hotkeys Or disable the P V sends when you re controlling all of your Program Changes from an external sequencer or controller and don t want to disturb the settings when pressing the onboard PAT keys or selecting the saved SONG The menu s SEND function will operate regardless of this setting Note You may decide to send a single program change from a separate zone that has notes disabled This could go out to an external MIDI mapper or to a separate program change receive channel in a synth module that would then assert a group of program changes in a multi channel setup Channel You may set the Zone s MIDI channel to 1 16 for the Left Right or Both MIDI output ports IF you have a second MIDI Output Port installed on your instrument this is the Right side MIDI Port
37. any fluffs Don t bump the tempo until your solid on this There are 1M scale studies that repeat different interval sequences and eventually you d like to master all of it which is what Parker did Coltrane practiced Slonimsky s scale and intervals studies but bear in mind that you may not want to become a virtuoso and if you do it won t happen overnite You ll have to eventually work though every type of scale there are 100 s but 5 or 6 will cover a lot of ground in every fingering position There are 5 on a guitar fingerboard but in fourths tuning you ll see that the symmetry kind of blends them all together and reduces the number of variants by 2 3 So not to be overwhelmed or over worked pick a scale or fragment that works with a piece of music you re into and practice it evenly for 100 repetitions Teaching the picking hand to fret This is cool because you re starting fresh It s just like learning the piano Find the same major scale you had before and move it up the neck 12 frets Start slowly Do re mi fa so la ti f ing do Serious Again Deliberately Feel you uncoordinated picking hand trying to find the notes Again Slowly Feel the spots where your strokes are weak Isolate them and repeat them do re do re do re say 100 times until the attack is consistent Try to get the effect of a playing card stuck in the spokes of your bicycle Don t forget to practice pentatonic scales and blues scales which you can burn on
38. any sensor so that you could for instance assign it to the Breath controller to create a woodwind effect that sends both Note On Off and Volume Each onboard Ztar Song patch can store and send 32 Program Changes OVERVIEW Congratulations on your purchase of a ZTAR MIDI guitar controller With its combination of hardware and software features it may be the most versatile and expressive electronic musical instrument that can be had at any price and it should afford you a lifetime of creative exploration We ve made every effort to design the Ztar for ease of use considering the number and variety of setups that can be created f you decide to jump into the Ztar menu system before you read this manual you may get stuck with something you don t understand The answers are usually simple and can be found in the manual Also the familiarity you gain from flipping a few pages can give you an idea of what you can and can t do with the Ztar and a little browsing is well worth the effort The Ztar hardware is best understood as two separate systems one that governs the use of the Fingerboard programmed in the FRETBOARD menus and one that governs the use of the Sensors the collective term for all of the other hardware devices on the instrument including the Triggers Expression Pads Sliders Knobs Pedals Joystick Breath controller Ribbon controller and Pressure strips programmed in the SENSORS menus Each of these systems has separa
39. aps that is dumped separately The tuning map also called the key note map is sent in a packet of type 2E SFO 00 01 42 S 2E number length data cksum F7 number is the kit number 1 32 data is the key note map sent in 7 bit format Key note map ZPC 150 bytes Byte 0 MIDI note number for String 1 fret O open string Byte 1 MIDI note number for String 1 fret 1 lowest note Byte 24 MIDI note number for String 1 fret 24 highest note Byte 25 MIDI note number for String 2 fret 0 Byte 49 MIDI note number for String 2 fret 24 Byte 124 MIDI note number for String 6 fret 0 Byte 149 MIDI note number for String 6 fret 24 Appendix A Assigned Packet Types 8 bit data 01 ZPC kit data 02 ZPC velocity curve 03 ZPC pad global data 04 ZPC global system data 05 ZPC variable length sequence 7 bit data 20 System Configuration block all systems 21 Ztar song data 22 keymap data 2D ZPC zone data 2E ZPC keymap data 2F ZPC MIDI input data 98 GLOSSARY Bulk Dump Sysex a Song or group of Songs may be transferred between the Ztar and an external computer of Sequencer by sending or dumping its data as a Sysex block CC Continuous Control In MIDI language a CC is a Continuous Control command sent to a synth or other receiver to do continuous functions such as PitchBend Volume ModWheel and all 128 types provided in the MIDI spec Chain a list of Songs Kits Individual Songs are s
40. ary footswitch wired to a 1 4 mono plug Notes regarding the SOLO features There is a confusing bit about the two SOLO features The SOLO in the menu screen is slightly different than the SOLO hotkey In the menu screen it s a feature that lets you try out new voices where you can silence the rest of the channels so you can hear what you re doing The SOLO setting from the Hotkey is rather the opposite It s intended to work with a multi zone setup on the fingerboard When you select a Zone and apply SOLO to it the Zone is expanded to fill the entire fingerboard so you can play a solo with it Likewise if you select several zones and hit the SOLO button they will all be layered and expanded FR to fill the fingerboard This is a quick way to try out new combinations of sounds 78 More Performance Notes Regarding Open Strings Open strings are available in the Guitar Trigger Mode One Note per String Strumming On Open string may also be set up as pedal tones in either of the Piano Triggers Off or Tapping style modes by assigning the proper notes to the strings in the Sensor menu of the VRX This makes use of the Chord Memory feature To Set the open string capo in Trigger Guitar mode 1 Go into the FRETBOARD menu 2 Set Zone 1 to the entire fingerboard it quite likely is already set this way 3 Create Zone 2 to include just the Open strings numbered String 1 FretO through String 6 FretO To do this se
41. ata that the controller Ztar sends to the receiving equipment the synth Note On Note Off MIDI commands to begin and end the sounding of a note Octave referring to Pitch a span of 12 chromatic notes such as from C1 to C2 or a doubling frequency 99 Pad Ordinarily a Pad refers to a pressure pad or drum pad but the term Pad is also used to refer to any input Sensor in the general sense Play Mode sets the relationship of a Sensor to the Fingerboard Play Function sets a group type of functions assigned to a Sensor such as Note Chord SequencePlay SequenceRecord SequenceRecord ContinuousControl etc Scratch Song when you select a Song it is loaded into a RAM buffer where you can edit it without affecting your saved settings Your live performance is played from the Scratch Song Sequence a recorded series of notes or other MIDI events Song refers to a full configuration of the instrument including all of the response settings assignments to the fingerboard and assignments to the sensors external patch settings sequence assignments and metronome settings A Song is the Ztar term for an onboard Patch Step Entry Entering a single sequencer event one step at a time Value a number or name that fills a field Usually user adjustable Velocity MIDI value that corresponds to the force with which a note is played and that translates to the volume of the note Assignment structures Sensor Play
42. ate a performance Some ztar programming may be required So we gather expression inputs pressure and velocity from both hands the best we can and deliver it to the software that is supposed to make intelligent decisions about playing muting notes hammering pull offing and the timing variations between the two hands People s techniques and approaches vary quite a bit which affects the sensor inputs that feed the system So the ztar needs to be programmable to normalize or even out the data to give the best dynamic response for your touch and the sounds you re using It all works together Our goal with the StringTriggers is to be sure that they can respond to the lightest touch and the fastest picking As long as those requirements are met know the software will have enough information to work with and with proper coding and user setups the system can work So what we ve found is that some people pick pretty hard and aren t precise with their picking and the stringTrigger sensitivity needs to be cut back to eliminate ghost notes or a saturated condition that swamps the string trigger preamp Some people have a really light touch and notes may not easily sound when plucked Then the sensitivity can be increased to respond properly The point being that a new instrument rarely arrives already set to a players touch I m sorry but this has to be dialed in to work at its best We have programmable response curves and a TRAIN function
43. ating a new Song A SOLO mode has been provided to expand the versatility of the zone features in live performance When notes are being held in one or more zones and the SOLO Hotkey is pressed those zones will be expanded to fill the entire fingerboard That is if a piano is on Zone 1 and a Flugelgong is on zone 2 when notes from both zones are touched and SOLO is pressed now the entire fingerboard will sound Piano Flugelgong Sort of an on the fly super layering function This feature shouldn t be confused with the SOLO function in the Zone menu which allows you to isolate and audition single layers in a multi layered setup Triggering Picking strumming and other options On the Ztar the Triggers are either Strings or flexible bars used to play notes selected from the fingerboard They are also capable of playing their own user programmed notes and other events The fingerboard zones may be independently assigned to be tapped or strummed Because there is only one set of Triggers all of the zones will need to be set to Tapping mode TRIGGERS OFF in order for the Triggers to play just their own set of events Actually any of the Ztar s Sensors may be set up to trigger the fingerboard strings however there are special features that relate specifically to the first six sensors in the Sensor menu the installed Triggers In a setup with a single fingerboard zone it s easy to toggle between Tapping and Strumming by pressing the TRIG h
44. balanced against two hands re positioning up and down the fingerboard Three and four note patterns on a chromatic scale in one hand position are a good aid to getting comfortable in this think in all it doesn t make too much difference but both techniques are definitely worth practicing to find which best suits your style Ztar neck dis assembly instructions 1 Remove guitar back 2 Plug the fingerboard into the multi colored flat cable 3 Plug the NeckSensor strip into the 3 pin cable connector Polarity is not important 4 Slide neck into neck pocket while pulling cables through from inside the guitar 5 Look through neck holes in guitar and slide neck in to line up the mounting holes 6 Install neck screws Note there are two different length screws 2 short 1 long The long screw mounts toward the headstock end Don t mix these up 7 Tuck the cables into the electronics compartment and re install the back 84 Ztar troubleshooting The instrument will not power up If the display is not lit or only dimly lit Make sure you have a good MIDI cable with wires connecting all 5 pins end to end Make sure you have the correct DC adapter and it is working Our instruments require 9VDC 500mA Make sure you are plugged into the correct MIDI connector Make sure the power switch is ON If you see the display is lit the instrument is getting power The little black squares across the top line are normal If no char
45. ch is a pad number 1 32 or 0 for no linked pad 2 bytes 1byte OdtcOsss d Dual Mode t Trigger Mode c Chord Mode O not used sss fingerboard String number Strummed by this Sensor AfterPressure Curve number 1 byte 0000nnnn nnnn Response curve 1 16 AfterPressure Threshold 1 byte 0000nnnn 75 bytes Pad Mode Flags BPM Time Signature nnnn Response curve 1 16 1 byte 0 disabled xx metronome enabled 1 byte 2 bytes beats per minute 6 600 2 bytes time signature x y First byte x is number of beats per measure 2 32 Second byte y is number of beats per whole note 4 or 8 MIDI Channel 1 byte channel number of metronome sounds 0 15 MIDI Note 1 byte note number of metronome sounds 0 7F reserved 1 byte Beat Volumes 32 bytes MIDI velocity of each of 32 metronome beats Reserved 24 bytes Patch Table 2 patches of 5 bytes each 10 bytes patches 1 and 2 Channel Program CCO CC32 Volume Pad 36 Block Patch Table Each kit is sent in 36 packets of 75 bytes each using type 01 1 byte value 00bacccc where cccc MIDI channel number 0 15 1 byte 1 byte 1 byte 75 bytes 15 patches of 5 bytes each 75 bytes a MIDI port A output enable b MIDI port B output enable Program Change data byte 1 byte CC 0 bank MSB data byte CC 32 bank LSB data byte CC 7 main volume data byte Patches 3 17 layout as above FO 00 07 07 Sxx number length sey datas cksum SF
46. cial functions The Sensors are often referred to just as PADS for brevity s sake The term NOTE is often used to refer to any MIDI event User Interface We hope you enjoy this new user interface and that you find the menu system easy to navigate considering the size of the display and the amount of information that is available to be viewed and programmed The ZTAR is supported by a Programming Display system with a 2 line by 40 character backlit LCD and a softkey based User Interface What this means is that the eight keys that surround the display are used in varying ways to select different items depending on the particular menu screen showing Where necessary numeric values are scrolled up and down using the Up and Down arrow v keys or the joystick Most menus are entered with the softkeys The menu system is a tree like structure The Ztar has quite a few programmable parameters but every effort has been made to keep the nesting of menus to a minimum and the navigation of the system as simple as possible The EDIT key is used both to enter an edit screen in some menus and more often to exit from a menu screen when you re finished programming In general pressing EDIT several times will back you out of a series of menus and bring you back to the top level LIVE mode screen The Ztar Operating System has a LIVE mode and an EDIT mode Pressing the EDIT key from the LIVE MENU enters the top level SONG EDIT screen to alter
47. ctually play Set in either milliseconds or MIDI clocks GateShift When enabled the Pad velocity will modify the note duration for a TIMED ed Pad Sensor A harder hit will give a longer note 35 SENSOR menu cont TRIGGER FUNCTION menu DUAL Mode Off Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Dewi TRIG 1 Strum String 1 DUAL Off EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 When the Sensor PlayMode is STRUM the Trigger function menu will appear DUAL MODE will only respond to the pick attack of StringTriggers but will respond to varying pressure on the KeyTriggers Sensor Use softkey 1 and the Up Dn keys to select the Sensor for editing purposes STRUM Use softkey 3 and the Up Dn keys to select a fingerboard string that will be triggered by this sensor DUAL softkey 4 toggles the DUAL Mode and displays the Dual Mode setups on the bottom line when enabled TRIGGER FUNCTION menu DUAL Mode On Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Down TRIG 1 Strum String 1 DUAL On DUAL Aftertourch Threshold 64 Curve 1 EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 When Dual Mode is enabled it s one of the 3 Play Modes the DUAL prompt appears in the lower left corner and the aftertouch response settings are displayed Aftertouch Threshold When pressure is applied to a Trigger after the fingerboard note is triggered a programmed effect will be applied if the pressure rises above this level The particular effect
48. d bits fall into sub patterns of scales and arpeggios Expand the lick to work up your own studies from this which will help you to improvise on that tune Here s another fun thing to do that will give you a great view of the fingerboard Play a scale on just one string with both hands Try to explore this for a practice session without changing strings Avoid temptation An interesting and enjoyable aid to this exercise is the OCTAVES preset in the Ztar that keeps the note names the same for every fret for all of the strings but by changing octaves you can get some interesting variety happening Actually this creates an entirely new instrument that someone someday will master This puts 7 octaves on the 6 string fingerboard so there s a lot to explore Three fingers or Four think the two techniques have different uses If you stay within a hand position on the fretboard four fingers becomes pretty useful Obviously when chording the fourth finger is going to help reach extra notes 83 In fourths tuning three fingers can cover most major and minor diatonic scales in one hand position You ll notice that when you practice three fingers after a while you get into a groove the three finger motor that Emmett Chapman talks about Your wrist sort of rocks back and forth in a steady motion as you work scales from string to string You can pop down the right fingers to get the notes while your wrist keeps going This works great as you move o
49. e are actually two separate but similar sequencers in the Ztar one that uses a fixed length 8 note buffer that allows special control over the individual notes and playback modes and a variable length sequencer that can record performances on the fly with a number of special looping modes The Fixed Length 8 note sequencer is setup by step entry in the EVENTS screen The Variable Length sequencer is best recorded live but you can enter and edit these sequences via the Sequence Edit menu with a lot of patience Also you may download a sequence from an external MIDI sequencer or computer You set up whether to use a Fixed length sequence in the EVENTS screen when a Pad is assigned to a NotesSequential SEQNTL or Alternating AltUp Dn UD Rnd by assigned the Sequence to FIXED the 8 note buffer Also the NOTES ALL function will play all of the notes in the buffer together as a chord You set a Sensor to a Variable length sequence in the EVENTS menu by assigning the Play Function to MIDISq and the Sequence to one of the V L sequence numbers 1 255 NOTE In order for the sequence to play out automatically you must set the HitMode for the Pad or Sensor that triggers it to TIMED If it s set to TOUCH you ll only hear the first note 5 sequence rotating buffer The RecordNext feature uses a 5 sequence circulating buffer So if you start at sequence 3 and start loading up consecutive sequences after you Record 7 the next Record will wrap aro
50. e basis There are now user programmable 8 point velocity curves for fine control over touch response The Poly Trigger mode has changed in the way it operates You may now fret keys after the fingerboard is strummed Triggered Think of this as polyphonic hammer ons Each key of the fingerboard may now be individually tuned for note and channel number Two types of onboard sequencer have been added One uses 8 note fixed length buffers the other will record variable length patterns Support for a second MIDI output channel has been added There are now several menu screens for RESPONSE settings There is a CLOCKS menu for setting tempo and timing for events in the system as well as a 32 beat metronome with multiple accents to define your own key signatures There is an assignable Tap Tempo feature to time sequences There is a set of SHOWALL menus for quick overviews of groups of settings A Chord generator has been added to create chords automatically A number of MIDI input tracking features have been added including The ability to accept incoming Program Changes to switch Ztar Songs The ability to map incoming note numbers to trigger Sensor playback assignments The ability to download sequences from an external source The ability to program the Sensor menus using an external keyboard For the Triggers DUAL mode the trigger velocity and trigger aftertouch may have separate response curves The DUAL mode now can apply to
51. ed Song Showall SONGS View all the Songs in your Ztar Each menu screen will display 8 Songs Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Dow ZTAR CHORDS CHORDS 2 CHORDS 4 ZTAR 05 ZTAR 06 ZTAR 07 ZTAR 08 EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 Press a softkey to select a Song 66 Showall Pads Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Down TR1 10 35 10 37 10 CtlChg TR51 PgmChg 1 ChPres 3 93 EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 View all of the Pad assignments in the currently selected Kit Each screen shows the first event assignment for each Pad in a bank of eight Pads If the first event for a Pad is a Note message the channel and note number will appear If the first event for that pad is another type of message the message type will be displayed Use the softkeys to toggle between a Pad s MIDI Channel and Note or function type Use the Up Dn keys to change values If a Pad has been selected pressing the EDIT key will jump the Sensor edit screen for that Pad If a Pad has not been selected pressing the EDIT key will exit back to the SHOWALL menu Showall Events Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Down PAD1 10 PgmChg 1 PgmChg 1 Off 1 Off EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 View all of the Events for the currently selected Pad Use the Up Dn keys to select a Sensor to edit Use the softkeys to toggle the channel and note number or MIDI function for one of the
52. elected by incrementing through the Chain often done with a foot switch Continuous Controller ContinuousController or CC refers to two inter connected things 1 the MIDI CC command we previously described that is changing things in the synth as you play and 2 the physical device you touch when you play the pedal knob slider wheel stick pad bar breath slider and all of the other pressure and position sensing Sensors Curves Adding or reducing the MIDI Velocity at every level of your force range changes the way the Ztar responds to your touch You enter the desired MIDI value for each of 8 force levels as if they were points on a graph then a curve is then drafted to connect the dots Event A single MIDI operation such as a Note On Program Change or Continuous Control message A detailed description of the Event parameters is given in the section Events Event type the listed name for a MIDI function assigned to a Sensor Field a location on a menu screen where a value is adjusted Usually a flashing cursor will show when the field is selected Gate Gate time a preset Note duration Keys refers to the fretted keys on the fingerboard MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface The software protocol and electrical cable that allows communication between musical devices MIDI clock A standard MIDI message that is sent to time sequencers MIDI message a MIDI command A two or three byte burst of serial d
53. ensor The easiest way to create new curves is to set all of the right hand numbers in equal increments from Point 1 0 to Point 8 127 The you can adjust the left hand FORCE numbers anywhere you want to scale the curve to the dynamic range of your touch You ll always want a MIDI output of 0 127 but the force requirements will vary with for a number of reasons 62 UTILITIES ARPEGGIATOR MENU Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 ARPEG ON Time 2 16 Down CIk INT Loop On EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 ARPEG on off Toggles the Arpeggiator ON or OFF Channel 1 16 Select MIDI channels to respond to the Ztarpeggiator Pick the Channel number and direct its arpeggiator output in the PORT settings under Softkey 3 Port None L R Both Select the Left or Right MIDI Output ports for each MIDI channel Instruments that have only a single MIDI Out jack will only respond to the LEFT port Time 0 9999msec or 1 16 16 16 Set the duration for each note played by the arpeggiator This can be expressed either in milliseconds or in 1 16 notes Press the TIME softkey 4 repeatedly to toggle between Milliseconds and 1 16 notes When you are using the Internal clock in the Ztar you may set either Milliseconds or 1 16 notes and you then adjust the clock rate using the BPM setting in the UTILITIES CLOCKS menu To use an External MIDI clock source the setting must be in 1 16 notes 24 MIDI clocks pe
54. ent as 7 bit data 95 96 System Configuration Block Product ID Major Version Minor Version Release Number Release Date Kit Song length of Kits Songs of Sensors of MIDI ports 1 byte ID code 0 undefined 1 EventStation others TBD 1byte 0 99 1 byte 0 99 1 byte 0 99 3 bytes year 2000 month day 2 bytes as a 14 bit number 2 bytes bytes of strings of pads others TBD Song data layout Ztar and song kit data is sent in a packet of type 21 thus SFO 00 07 07 21 00 nn 11 11 sus data cksum F7 number is the song number 1 32 microZone data is the song data sent in 7 bit format Zone data layout Each zone is sent in a separate packet using type 2D FO 00 07 07 2D number length data cksum SF7 number High 7 bits is the kit number 1 32 Low 7 bits is the zone number in the kit 1 32 data is the zone data sent in 7 bit format Zone data 15 bytes Low Fret boundary 1byte OnOfffff fffff low fret boundary n zone disable if set High Fret boundary 1byte OO00fffff Low String boundary 1 byte 00000sss High String boundary 1 byte 00000sss Channel amp Flags 1 byte Opvtmmmm p patch change amp velocity send 1 enabled O disabled v velocity select 1 use pressure of keys triggers for note velocity O use default velocity for channel below t unison or default tuning 1 unison transposition is pitch O default pitch string tuning freti string fret note f
55. enu We re going to draw a response curve that gives a Sensor a smooth response to your touch using 8 programmable points in the way you might enter them on a piece of graph paper Find the hardware s endpoints Go to the first RESPONSE menu screen that shows the GAIN bargraph When you hit a pad or string the bargraph will show the relative strength of the hit Try to see what the lowest and highest levels are for the pad you re hitting Set the response endpoints Now go to the UTILITIES CURVES edit screen for the CURVE number that s assigned to the Pad Or go to an un used curve number and edit a new one for saving Set the FORCE value the left hand number for Pont 1 to the LOWEST force value from the GAIN screen Now set the FORCE value for Point 8 to the highest force value you took from the GAIN screen These are your physical performance limits Now go to the MIDI value the right hand number for Point 1 and set it to a low MIDI velocity like 10 Now go to the MIDI value for Point 8 and enter a 127 the highest MIDI velocity value Go to Points 2 7 and enter values that ascend evenly from point 1 to Point 8 for both the FORCE and MIDI output values If the actual response of the entire system is skewed in some way non linear even though you ve drawn a fairly straight line with your choice of numbers then you can adjust either the FORCE line of numbers or the MIDI output line of numbers to make your response smooth for that s
56. enu setup the Sustain pedal to send Volume Up to channel 2 and Volume Down to channel 1 When you step on the pedal the sounds will instantly switch and when you release the pedal they ll switch back There are many variations on this which can use multiple channels Also the SOLO feature can be used to quickly provide new layer combinations for your switching selections The volume pedal or joystick may be used with this technique to create smooth crossfades instead of simple switching The Octave and Patch keys seem to respond inconsistently The Ztar fingerboard is zone based A zone has an assigned MIDI channel Because the fingerboard is able to play from multiple channels you need to first select a channel by pressing a key within a zone and then pressing the Octave or Patch buttons This also holds true for the TRIG and G POLY buttons Either tap and sustain a note from the fingerboard in the triggers on mode or pluck and sustain a note while in the triggers off 72 mode and then press the OCT or PAT buttons think you ll find that the buttons respond consistently Also the pads response curve in the utility menu does not affect the OCT or PAT buttons or any of the function keys on the Ztar Regarding the sensitivity of the String assembly Adjustments are made using the six trimpots located inside the guitar which are accessible by removing the rear cover plate Please be careful when makin
57. enu and re enter it to select a different curve When you make your edits to a curve you re changing the MIDI Velocity output to match the Force of your touch or the travel of a pedal type sensor Each of eight points on a curve is described by a pair of numbers Each pair has the Force value on the left and the Velocity value on the right The Ztar s computer draws a smooth curve between these eight points to create the velocity response for the selected curve number For the curve shown here you might read Point 3 as having a Force of 50 and a MIDI Velocity 20 This particular curve is skewed to give more response in the lower force range with full volume only coming with maximum force Use the softkeys to select a point and toggle between the Force field and the Velocity field Use the Up Dn keys and the Joystick to set the values 127 100 127 95 95 Velocity 90 60 84 40 76 30 50 20 3 4 0 100 Force 61 Troubleshooting response problems If you notice that a sensor responds late then comes on too strong when it does fire probably the threshold the lowest point of the curve is set too high If a sensor seems too Hot you may notice that it s showing a MIDI 127 at a force level much lower than you d like say 5096 Try to match the MIDI velocity to the relative force you feel when you play Ztar ZPC Curves Tutorial Describing how to set the response curve for a Sensor using the Curve edit m
58. eople find this very comfortable with their style Mounting new strings Thread the new string through the small head block near the neck There is a small recess where the ball end will rest Pull the string over the dampening felt over the damper felt at the tail block and in to the proper hole Using a blunt object like a pencil eraser press the string down in front of the hole as you thread it through the end of the block This will help to feed the string straight through Pull the string snug with a small pliers and tighten the rear screw Tighten the front screw to add tension to the string When you clip the string you may wish to leave a little string length to grab on to in case you need to remove or re tension the string You can also re use the remainder of the strings by creating your own ball end Double over the string end and wrap it around a little post like a piece of the string itself Stick the free end back into the hole to lock it and the string will draw up tightly Quick Setup adjusment for the Strings Bear in mind that the closer the string is the pickup polepiece the more sensitive it becomes When you insert the string pull it snug and tighten the clamping screw Use the tensioning screw to both bring up the tension and bring the string down close to the polepiece When the strings have been installed and the string tension has been set up adjust the individual trimpots inside the guitar in this way to ac
59. epresenting six points on a curve as follows Byte 0 point 1 force value input value O FF Byte 1 point 1 MIDI value output value 0 7F Byte 2 point 2 force value Byte 3 point 2 MIDI value Byte 10 point 6 force value Byte 11 point 6 MIDI value Byte 12 point 7 force value Byte 13 point 7 MIDI value Byte 14 point 8 force value Byte 15 point 8 MIDI value Pad global response data layout Global pad data is sent in a packet of type 03 thus SPEO 00 07 07 03 number length ss daLay cksum F7 number is the pad number 1 32 data is the global pad data sent in 8 7 bit packed format Global Pad Block 16 bytes Jack Type 1 byte Pad Gain 1 byte Raw Value Low 1 byte low raw pad value scaled to force 0 Raw Value High 1 byte high raw pad value scaled to force FF Threshold 1 byte raw a d threshold Scan Time 1 byte Mask Time 1 byte Reference Supr 1 byte suppression value for reference pad Global Supr 1byte suppression value for all pads Reject Pad 1 byte Reserved 6 bytes 94 Variable Length Sequence data layout Each variable length sequence is sent in a packet of type 05 thus FO 00 07 07 05 number length ues cet dias cksum SF7 number is the sequence number 0 255 data is the variable length sequence sent in 8 7 bit packed format Note that the length of the sequence is implicitly specified by the length of the packed data Sequence Block Events Event Blocks 5 bytes each to fill the given length
60. ering both a Tapping mode and a Strum mode on the same keys and assigning different MIDI channels to the various layers you can have at least two radically different sounds on each key Once the fingerboard has had Triggering methods applied to its various ZONES there are some other options that are available to the Triggers themselves that allow them to play their own set of notes or other MIDI events These options need to be set in the SENSORS menu where the Triggers are listed with the rest of the SENSORS If you want to perform this instrument like a guitar the Fingerboard must be told to play its notes when strummed with the Triggers and the Triggers must be told to either play notes from the Fingerboard play their own events or Both All of the options regarding the execution and timing of events from hitting the Triggers are located in the SENSORS menu Triggers When Triggers are ON the fingerboard notes within the selected Zone are played when the StringTriggers or TriggerPads are strummed When Triggers are OFF the notes within the selected Zone are played from the fingerboard alone The front panel Triggers key has the same function Note that this parameter is set per Zone so that you might at a given time have some areas of the fingerboard which are strummed and some which are tapped Capture When set this allows you to capture a fretted chord with the right hand TriggerPads You may then release the frets without l
61. et the values The velocity source may be set to follow the touch position or pressure of the Sensor by setting the screen value to PAD or you may assign a Fixed velocity or data value for this Note by assigning a number 38 Gate This sets the programmed note duration Press softkey 8 to toggle time between absolute milliseconds and scaled MIDI clocks MIDI clocks are displayed as nnn range 0 999 These events will play out according to the Tsig and BPM if INT clock is selected or the external MIDI clock if A or B is selected Note for internal clock there are 96 MIDI clocks per whole note so if the Tsig is x 4 each beat is 24 clocks but if Tsig is x 8 each beat is 12 clocks remember that BPM is beats but events are programmed in clocks If you re using external MIDI clock the Ztars Tsig doesn t affect the event timing To see the Metronome change the timing for a sequence program a pad in Sequential mode with the Loop turned On Program each event with a Gate time of 24 i e 24 MIDI clocks Hit the pad then go into UTILITIES CLOCKS menu and change the BPM To change the sequence timing from the MIDI Input ports switch the MIDI clock to an external source and then change the BPM in your external unit 39 Sensor Play Function List Off Basic All Seqntl NtShft AItUp AltDn AltUpDown AltRandom Slice ContinuousControl SequencePlay Sequence RePlay Sequence S
62. finger travel This is good practice for the guitar too 79 Fast strumming of chords When strumming chords quickly without muting anything as in a Flamenco style rasqueado motion some voice stealing may occur in your synth as some samples will not send Note Offs until the sample has fully played out Without muting anything you ll be issuing lots of Note ons with possibly no Note offs Consequently when the maximum allowable notes for a given patch have been entered into the synth the older notes will start to drop out to make room for the newer notes Tune up the Ztar and your synth to a piano or other fixed pitch instrument Program the Volume pot or Mod Wheel if you have one to Pitchbend and adjust the pitch until you re in tune That s it Pedal steel Set up the fingerboard in six channels one per string Now set the KeyTriggers or TriggerPads to PitchbendUp in this way KeyTrig 1 bends Strings1 and 2 KeyTrig 2 bends strings 2 and 3 KeyTrig 3 bends strings 1 and 3 and so on By setting up combinations of strings which are bent and setting up the right tuning you can emulate the pedals of a pedal steel A simpler approach just bends each string from its corresponding KeyTrigger 80 LEARNING the ZTAR a discussion on synths new controllers and tapping Just laying your hands on the instrument creates new cool sounding stuff but it s hard to organize the random approach into actually learning the instrument eff
63. ftkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Dawn L C gt TR6 D gt off D gt off E gt off i F gt off G gt Pad3 EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 Use the softkeys and the UpDn keys to select a MIDI IN Note and assign a Ztar sensor 54 UTILITIES cont TUNING Menu Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Preset Guitar RIGHT LEFT Down A2 D3 EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 This menu allows programming the Open String tunings for the fingerboard The pitches for the Open Strings are shown along the bottom of the screen To change an open string tuning Press the soft key nearest the String number you want to change Each soft key controls two string numbers Alternate between the two strings by pressing the key again Alternatively you can tap the fingerboard string in the TRIGGERS OFF modes and the cursor will chase to the string you re touching Or in the TRIGGERS ON modes you can pluck a Trigger to select the string Now simply use the Data Up Down keys or the joystick to adjust the open string note anywhere within the entire MIDI note range If you hold a note while you re doing this you can hear it change Presets Press the PRESET key to scroll through a list of common tunings If none of these suit you use the open string tuning fields to enter your own tunings RIGHT LEFT Press this button to change the instrument s tuning for Right hand or Left hand players EDIT Enters the
64. g MIDI When I hit PANIC It drives one of my synths crazy Lots of random notes seem to fly out The Ztar Panic Function takes the brute force approach and sends a Note Off to every note on every channel Then it resets every ContinuousController on every channel This is over 2000 MIDI messages going out at a pretty good clip and which can overrun the input data buffer of some older synths causing the synth to choke on the data then play out a crush of notes or crash completely We did this because not all synths support AllNotesOff and other less complete Note Off broadcast routines might miss some random clinkers There haven t been enough complaints to warrant changing the software The instrument is supposed to have the NeckSensor bend control and I can t get it to work At the risk of being insulting is it even Installed on the instrument If it is where are the parameters to turn it on and off and set sensitivity levels The Neckstrip is hard to see sometimes as it s just a very thin strip on the thumb side of the fingerboard where the side dots appear and it s just the width of the fingerboard thickness and side dotted so you might not notice it You program it in the Sensor menu as NeckStrip Just scroll through the list of sensors until you see the name toward the end of the list My joystick seems to be always on a little It s bending the pitch and I can t use the screen editor either 1 Change the DC power supply wall wa
65. g adjustments not to drop screwdrivers or bits of metal into the electronics The power is on Several factors affect the way the strings respond This is not a pitch converting system in fact the computer can interpret the resonating of the string after it s been struck as additional pick attacks This means that the string must remain fairly dead after it has been plucked The dampening felts along with the proper string tension should keep the string from bouncing or continuing to vibrate If double triggering occurs make sure the string makes only a brief dull sound and has no buzzing If the double triggering is very consistent try reducing the sensitivity adjustment pot for each string available by opening the rear panel The overall sensitivity of the strings is governed by the settings of the individual sensitivity trimpots and the height of the strings above the pickup Also to a degree the string tension plays a part because a looser string will vibrate a little more and so will provide more energy to the magnetic pickup Crosstalk between the strings may occur when the string tension is loose enough that one string vibrates into the magnetic field of its neighboring pickup Also if the sensitivity adjust pot is set too hot a string pickup may sense the neighboring string Try to balance these two effects when you re setting the string tension to your touch Trigger Mutes A brass bar is provided on the tailpiece between the
66. g has the fastest response Mask by increasing the number stored in this setting the onboard processor will wait the specified number of scan cycles before accepting another hit in order to help eliminate ghost triggering in some situations Again the 0 setting has the fastest response Threshold This setting stores the lowest raw force data from the Sensor that will give a MIDI response Hits below this value will be ignored Use this setting to help eliminate certain types of ghost triggering Chase When Chase is enabled touching a Sensor will bring up its profile in the selected menu screen as a convenience for editing purposes 48 RESPONSE menu Screen Z3 Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 TRAIN gt Press the TRAIN softkey and strike pad softly four times to enter the average of your softest hit Then four times again to record the average of your hardest hit Use this to quickly set the useful range of force required for your touch with this Sensor LOW POINT This directly sets the force value for the beginning or lowest point of your currently selected curve The full curve will be scaled compressed or expanded depending on the settings for the high and low points HIGH POINT This directly sets the high force endpoint of the currently selected curve 49 UTILITIES MENU The UTILITIES menu houses a variety of sub menus and programming features Up S
67. g the ChordTrigger function which is the default assignment for all of the Pads These add on KeyTriggers will be programmed as Pads 1 6 The StringTriggers are listed in the menu as Triggers and are programmed independently of the Pads In order to make the add on TriggerCap respond like Triggers program them to SingleKey Re Trigger which allows any pad or sensor to trigger whatever is fretted for the programmed channel on the fingerboard So for instance if the entire fingerboard is set to Channel 1 and you set Pad 1 to Re Trigger MIDI Channel 1 then whatever you have fretted on the fingerboard will trigger when you touch just the one pad And if you want to emulate the six StringTriggers instead you would assign the fingerboard to six channels one per string as in the 6 String ROM 86 preset and then assign each of the TriggerPads to Re Trigger the corresponding channels 1 through 6 It s best to save this configuration into a User Preset for easy recall later Sometimes while I m playing the sound will disappear or one sound in a multi layered patch will disappear It s really annoying What can do Occasional random volume glitches occurred in older ztars would ve thought yours was too new for this but maybe not The problem was solved in new units with our current CPU card We can upgrade you card or you cal call the factory for instructions to fix this yourself if you have some electronics experience If you re not usi
68. he Re Trigger function will follow the fingerboard mode so that in Guitar mode you ll still get hammer ons and in Poly mode you ll get multiple notes per string Note In Guitar Mode to eliminate triggering unwanted open strings set the fingerboard Zone to have its lower boundary at the first fret instead of the zero fret Kitlnc Increment the Kit number by one KitDec Decrement the Kit number by one Chainl Set the Kit number to the next Kit in a Chain MutAll Mute all Sensors A global version of the LINKS MUTE function RefPad When set as a Reference Pad the Pad will be used to set a noise threshold to silence crosstalk from impacts that affect the entire guitar The following three modes relate to setups where the pressure from one sensor affects the playback of another sensor The simplest description of this is a drummer s High Hat where the depression of a foot pedal changes the sound of the stick hitting the cymbals HHPed1 HiHat Pedal part of a 2 sensor setup This mode is assigned to any continuously variable Sensor in combination with an assigned HiHat Pad to create the effects of a drummer s Hi Hat In this mode the varying Sensor s position or pressure is used to select from the ordered list of Notes programmed into the HatPad s event buffer In this way the Sensor is used for instance to select OpenHat MidHat and Closed Hat sounds or any set of different sounds or ControlChange settings or Program Changes for
69. he source of the MIDI clock INT internal timer MIDI IN LEFT or MIDI IN RIGHT Note that if you select an external clock and you don t have one connected the metronome will stop Clock Out Select this and use the Up Dn keys to enable or disable MIDI clock output over the normally assigned MIDI Output port BPM sets beats per minute for the INTERNAL MIDI clock Range 6 600 59 Clocks Screen 2 Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 TSig 4 4 Preset BPM 120 Down EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 This is the Metronome Edit screen where you can create custom time signatures up to 32 beats per measure with multiple accent beats Tsig sets the time signature Press the softkey once to select the number of beats in a measure in the range 2 32 Press a second time to select the unit beat which can be either 4 or 8 1 4 note or 1 8 note Use the Up Dn keys or Joystick to set the number of beats per measure Preset scrolls through four preset signatures in rotation 2 4 4 4 6 8 BPM selected and set the same as on screen 1 Bargraph shows the Time Signature graphically in groups of eight beats As you change the time signature you ll see the length of this bargraph change to match Each beat may be given an accent by setting its relative volume as shown on the bar graph SoftKeys 5 or 6 move the cursor left to select a beat The selected beat is indicated by a flashing cursor except if the beat is at
70. he velocity of any new hammered note As the string decays the velocity of the next pulloff note will decrease as 31 the String vibration decreases until the timeout of the string vibration At the timeout point the Velocity Zero and a pulloff will not trigger a new note silence you ll hear nothing nada no pulloff However you can still continue to hammer on the newly fretted note if you wish Use the following table to relate the Decay Time to the numbers you set in the menu screen The number you entered is divided into 10 to provide a convenient range of values 1000 msec milliseconds 1 second Decay number Actual time PY 6 secs TC 125secs 9 11ses 100 200 Hammer Pick Delay This is used to test a small period of time between a hammered note and a possible picked note at the same location This can help clean up errant hammer ons that occur when your fretting finger arrives ahead of the pick which is quite normal with a real guitar The idea is to eliminate what is commonly called double triggering if your real intention is to play only one note Set the lowest number here that satisfies your ear 32 WRITE MENU available at the Top level Edit menu This shows the temporary SCRATCH buffer on the left that is now holding all of your current changes to the configuration you re playing right now To the right side of the arrow you are prompted for the location number of the song you wish to sa
71. hecksum e Corrupted transmission Retry the procedure 5 CRC Framing or Receive buffer overrun MIDI off line e Corrupted transmission Retry the procedure e Possible faulty cable 58 UTILITIES cont Clocks menu 2 screens The Notes and other events played from the Ztar may be timed in reference to either of two separate clocks 1 The onboard milliSecond timer which represents Absolute time or 2 The Metronome which is expressed in MIDI clock ticks or Beats per minute Clocks Screen 1 Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Down Metr L Channel 10 Note G 3 MORE gt TempoPad off Clock Internal ClockOut OFF BPM 120 EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 Metr this sets the MIDI output channel for the metronome to Left Right Both or None OFF Channel selects MIDI channel for metronome sound Note selects MIDI note for metronome sound MORE gt takes you to the Metronome Edit screen TempoPad selects the Tempo pad from the Sensor List or Off for none Tapping on the TempoPad will adjust the timing of the metronome the BPM timer This can be used to sync the timing of internal or external sequences either the short 8 note sequences or the variable length sequences This function works whether the metronome is off or on When the metronome is off the TempoPad adjusts the Gate times for the 8 note sequences Three taps on the TempoPad will set the new timing Clock selects t
72. hieve the proper sensitivity The trimpot labeled STG1 adjusts the low E string for a right handed player 10 Set the guitar in the Triggers On Mode and in Guitar Mode This will turn on the open strings Using a small screwdriver turn each trimpot counter clockwise just until its open string note sounds and then turn the screwdriver a tiny bit back in the other direction This will set the maximum sensitivity 11 Now play one open string at a time with your thumb or forefinger in a downward direction Listen for strings that are sounding other than the one you just plucked In particular the adjacent string will probably sound Go ahead and turn back the trimmers slightly for any strings which sounded without being plucked Pluck the rest of the strings in the same way and make the necessary adjustments 12 Play the strings again but in the other direction and listen for unwanted ringing Make any needed adjustments and you re done 74 String trigger FAQ A little info here l ve noticed that there s a wide variety of success with our String Triggers l ve also discovered that many people don t spend much time or are reluctant to spend time setting up their instruments Sadly the Ztar is a tech device with a computer inside and a bunch of electronics and sensors and software It s not a guitar with vibrating strings so instead we have to use our hardware and software to emulate everything in your guitar technique to gener
73. iciently But the same holds true for any instrument and practicing This really calls for a technique book which we don t yet have but a few paragraphs here can give you the benefit of the cumulative experience of a number of players over since the early 1990 s Being methodical and focusing effort within some constraints is how you embed the learning Research claims that new finger patterns become part of muscle memory after one lunar cycle of daily practice So figure if you repeat an exercise 100 times for 28 days straight you re going to have that bit under your belt thereafter Here you re dealing with music synthesizers so every sound is available to you and if you want to get into realistic emulations of other instruments that opens quite a Pandora s box of possibilities Realize that you could spend a lifetime on any one sound trying to become a master at the piano as played on the ztar Or the violin as played on the ztar or sax or trumpet guitar Learning to play guitar on the Ztar seems strange to me People spend a lifetime with their given acoustic instrument so it s reasonable to expect that an exact emulation would require just as much effort maybe more And at the end of the road with this is the personality of the Ztar itself which definitely leads to its own style IMHO In every case you re going to try to capture the articulations of another instrument using MIDI and the different features of the ztar So when
74. ing of the StringTriggers If you skin is in contact with both the Mute Bar and a String Trigger the trigger will mute its triggered note s NECK SENSOR STRIP This is a narrow strip mounted to the edge of the fingerboard that can be programmed to send a variety of MIDI messages when pressed with a thumb JOYSTICK The joystick is used as a performance device by programming MIDI messages to any of its four directions Also when programming the menu system the joystick is used for data entry by scrolling values underneath the blinking cursor PADS These are the touch sensitive surfaces that come in a variety of shapes and are mounted to many Ztar configurations and are programmed to a variety of performance controls PEDALS There are commonly two jacks provided on a Ztar for pedals Sustain and Volume which use a SPST Normally open switch and a 50K linear pot respectively BREATH CONTROLLER A breath port is provided as an option to the Ztar which accepts a 74 vinyl hose for breath input POTS AND SLIDERS The Ztar has one volume pot as a standard feature and a ModWheel and additional pots available as options MENU TREE TOP LEVEL LIVE SCREEN SONG MENU NAME EDIT WRITE UTILITIES LIBRARIAN SONGNAME SAVE COPY DELETE SWAP COPY PAD s b SENSOR INITIALIZE MIDI TUNING BULK DUMPS CLOCKS METRONOME ENABLE METRONOME CHANNEL NOTE TempoPad Enable CLOCK INTERNAL EXTERNAL MIDI CLOCK OUTPUT ENABLE BPM SETTING TIME SIGNATURE
75. is packet type isa 7 bit value indicating packet type e g kit number is a 14 bit value big endian indicating object number e g kit number length is a 14 bit value big endian indicating the number of data bytes which follow data is a variable length field of either 7 bit or packed 8 bit data cksum is the 7 bit sum of all MIDI bytes after the FO SysEx code not including the FO code Data Encoding When 8 bit data must be sent the 8 7 bit packed format Korg Lexicon format is used Seven consecutive RAM bytes A G A7 A6 A5 AA A3 A2 Al AO G7 G6 G5 G4 G3 G2 C1 GO are packed into eight MIDI bytes the most significant M S bits packed into the first byte and then the 7 data bytes each with MSB stripped 0 G7 F7 E7 D7 C7 B7 A7 M S bit byte 0 A6 A5 AA A3 A2 Al AO 0 G6 G5 G G3 G2 G1 GO A group of n 7 bytes is transmitted in 1 n bytes In this case the unused bits in the M S bit byte are don t cares When this packed data format is used length is the actual number of MIDI data bytes i e the number of 7 bit bytes transmitted not the number of 8 bit RAM bytes The type byte will also indicate the type of data encoding in use The 7 type bits are interpreted 0 e e t t t t t where ee OO indicates 8 bit data in 8 7 packed format O1 indicates 7 bit data 10 and 11 are reserved for future use The five bits ttttt identify the data in the packet e g kit data curve data etc Refer to
76. is programmed in the Events menu When Dual Mode is turned OFF the bottom line text will disappear from the DUAL MODE menu 36 SENSORS cont EVENTS menu Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Down TRIG 1 PlayFunc All Velocity 0 127 MACRO Evt1 Note Channel 3 48 C3 PAD Gate 250 EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 The Events menu programs the various notes and other events that the Sensor will perform Some fields in the EVENTS menu will change depending on the SensorMode or the EventType selected The Sensor Name appears in the upper left corner of the screen Use softkey 1 and the Up Dn keys to select a Sensor to edit PlayFunction use the softkey and the UP Dn keys to set the type of function the Sensor will play out See the Play Function List for descriptions of the various choices Vel 0 127 0 127 Each Event has a velocity range or window within which it will respond The upper and lower limits for this range may be set in this field By careful setting of these limits a variety of musical effects may be achieved such as velocity switching velocity shifting velocity adding etc All of the velocity response settings of the Ztar still effect the note that appears within a narrow response window that is To set a velocity window Press softkey 3 to toggle between the Lower and Upper Velocity fields Use the Up Dn keys to set the value See the section VELOCITY CURVES for m
77. l DL 1 3N or Panasonic CR 1 3N Tips and Tricks Use a small zone at the top of the fingerboard as Triggers for the rest of the fingerboard What Yes in the FRETBOARD Menu you can assign the 24 fret as a separate Zone which does not issue notes Put the fingerboard into TriggersOff Guitar mode Tapping style one note per string When you press say the first string at the 24 fret you will hear nothing But if you have a note held somewhere else on the first string when you release the 24 fret you will hear the lower note The notes you hear are actually played on the upstroke at the 24 fret Sort of backwards intuitively but easy to work up the technique and very effective at high speeds Use the Joystick as a Trigger for the Fingerboard In the SENSOR menu set up both Joystick Left and Joystick Right as a Single Key ReTrigger for the channel s assigned to the fingerboard The Joystick can then be used with a back and forth motion as if it were a guitar pick Hint when in the Edit menu system When MIDI notes are called for in a menu simply play the fingerboard to select and enter them on the screen Switching sounds quickly while playing by using the Sustain Pedal Set up the fingerboard with two voices layered on each key Use the FRETBOARD menu to create two Zones with the same boundaries Then in the FRETBOARD MIDI menu setup Zone 1 with a base volume of 127 and Zone 2 with a base volume of 0 In the SENSOR m
78. may not be present in your version of software and you ll have to set it up manually in the EVENTS menu In this way it s possible to play up to eight different sounds from a single Pad just by varying the force of your hit VelShf Velocity Shift Velocity ranges are set for each event so that the ranges of adjacent events overlap playing both events together This allows note events to blend together usually in pairs with varying velocity of a pad hit This is useful for controlling multiple samples of real acoustic sounds which tend to vary subtly in timbre according to the input velocity to the patch Or you can blend samples from completely different instruments for an endless variety of effects VelAdd Velocity Add Each event has its velocity range set with a lower limit of zero and an upper limit at successively higher points in the MIDI velocity range of 0 127 This way the softest hit will play event 1 a slightly harder hit will add Event 2 a somewhat harder hit event 3 and so on This is an interesting way to build up chords with velocity VelzPAD This is a handy shortcut that sets all of a Pad s events to track the Pad s hit velocity rather than output a fixed value You can otherwise set each event one by one in the 41 SENSORS EVENTS screen Chords This selects the CHORDS screen that allows automatic generation of chord notes into the 8 event buffer for the selected pad This is a handy shortcut for many chord types
79. ment so that it s stable without relying too much on your thumb to hold the neck in place This will keep your hand from getting fatigued Once the bassline is solid you can add a chord or lick with the top hand First just add it once in the right spot Bap Now here it comes again Bap Go slow until you can add it at every bar in the same spot or wherever you want it got this from Stanley Jordan This is a brain problem more than a hand problem Careful repetition at an even tempo is the way Another easy way to get into two hands playing is to finger a simple chord or interval say a root 5 or 3 b7 and tap it with the top hand in tempo Keep it going steadily until it s locked and start to play a bassline with the bottom hand This reduces the task for the untrained hand to one of just keeping tempo without having to think too much about its fingerings How pianists get fully independent hands is a two brained thing that must be genetics but understand practice helps Drummers are even worse This comes from growing up patting your head and rubbing your tummy too much think the thing that gives the ztar some character is the Poly mode and using that you can develop a lot of voicings that wouldn t hear anywhere else Using chords with two notes per string say two or three strings you can work up chord scales that are thick and easy to pull off Another approach is to just get into a given tune Practice the parts of it and see how isolate
80. new layout These are the new features you ll encounter The SENSORS menu has expanded into several screens to include quite a few new modes and options including a variety of note timing options pattern play options and mixing of MIDI event types within a single Sensor s event block Each note or MIDI event played from a Sensor has a programmable velocity window so that a variety of effects may be created by changing the force of a hit or varying the pressure with a Continuous Controller For instance a scale might be played from a single Pad by controlling your velocity or chord extensions added with increased force This applies to small sequences as well Sensor MIDI output assignments may now be looped Sensors may now be Linked to trigger or mute the notes sent from another sensor There are now 32 programmable Fingerboard Zones Each Fingerboard Zone may have its own Trigger mode Tapping or Strumming That is you can set up the fingerboard so that some notes may be tapped and others played only by strumming Overlap zones of this type to play a note when you tap a key and a second note when you strum it There are additional Triggering modes for both KeyTriggers and StringTriggers that can be accessed by the AutoSustain switch in the menu Each Fingerboard Zone may have its own response curve 12 Fingerboard aftertouch may now be switched between PolyKeyAfterpressure and Channel Pressure or disabled entirely on a per Zon
81. ng a volume pedal take a bare 1 4 stereo plug and short together the tip and ring of the plug When you insert this into the volume pedal jack it will appear as if the pedal is installed and is full on Another solution is to simply no assign the volume pedal if you re not using it assuming that when this problem occurs its channel 1 that disappears because that is the default channel assignment for the volume pedal and volume know Another solution is to assign the offending sensor to Volume Down instead of Volume Up Then if there is a glitch to a very small value the volume will go the other direction Or assign it to ModWheel and if there s a glitch you ll get a mysterious vibrato In general only MIDI messages can emanate from the controller And the controller can only send what it s programmed to send So if there s a synth problem and you believe the controller is at fault look around in the Sensor menu to see what is assigned to what Disable or change the assignment to a Sensor you suspect to be the offender This should isolate the problem Whenever put the menu cursor over a screen value the number will immediately scroll all the way to the end of the list Also there seems to be a steady stream of MIDI messages going to my synth What s up The joystick is stuck one way or the other Maybe just a little It may be out of adjustment or defective Its internal cable connector may have fallen off which is possible if you
82. nly from the right hand String Triggers You can turn OFF Hammer Ons completely You can turn ON POLY mode You can turn OFF HammerOn PullOff to the Open Strings Mutes A brass bar is provided either on the tailpiece between the string clamping screws and the tensioning screws or elsewhere on the body of the instrument Its purpose is to provide a consistent means for muting the strings regardless of the prevailing humidity the moisture on your hands your diet type of shoes if any and some other factors which are found to affect this type of circuit on other instruments By contacting the bar as you touch the strings you can ensure consistent muting If the presence of the bar is in an awkward location for you and causes unwanted muting effects for your normal hand position call the factory for instructions on how too move the bar to another location If you are satisfied with the muting without the use of the bar and the bar is messing you up you may disable the brass bar entirely Call for instructions 76 Regarding Muting notes In Guitar Trigger mode be aware that you can t muffle a string by lightly placing a finger over it before you strum as you might when muting one string within a chord on the guitar On the Z tar in this mode if a strummed string is fretted it will play the fretted note otherwise the open string will sound To mute the string either touch the Trigger or a fretted note with Hammer Ons turned OFF When
83. nsor 35 36 SENSORS EVENTS menu ProgramChange storage in the SYSEX block 89 Response 7 12 21 23 26 27 35 40 46 59 60 Response curves See CURVES Save See LIBRARIAN 6 11 17 22 49 50 55 67 Scan Mode 5 6 17 25 29 30 32 93 Sensor 5 6 10 11 12 14 16 18 19 21 29 32 Solo 16 17 18 26 29 30 68 73 Songs 5 11 13 16 21 22 26 31 51 55 59 62 86 92 Splits 16 String Triggers 6 19 Setups Maintenance Troubleshooting 71 73 81 82 Strum mode 6 7 32 34 Sustain Mode 30 See AutoSustain Fingerboard Sustain Swap 20 49 50 Sysex 55 56 86 95 Tapping 5 7 12 16 17 19 29 68 75 77 79 96 Terminology 11 15 Transpose 26 75 Triggers b 6 7 11 17 19 20 23 25 29 30 32 42 53 68 70 76 81 82 84 91 93 94 Trigger Function 17 21 32 34 Trigger Hotkey 17 Triggers fromMIDI In 51 52 Trigger Gate 6 32 Troubleshooting 60 81 Tunings Tuning Maps Key Maps 5 23 25 48 53 71 78 80 93 94 Unison 20 25 26 Utilities 5 7 20 48 61 Velocity 12 14 19 21 27 33 35 96 Velocity Response curves See CURVES 102 fixed response 26 See Key Transposition Menu Volume 5 13 19 20 25 28 32 36 59 66 68 76 81 83 85 88 89 93 95 Write 6 17 23 26 31 50 67 Hotkey 17 Menu 31 Zones 5 6 11 12 14 16 18 20 23 25 30 ZONE Menu 103 Appendix A Current buglist PANIC Locks up some units Echoplex D
84. nu TREE MENUS System SONG MENU FRETBOARD MENU TABLE of CONTENTS Fingerboard Key velocity Transpositions AfrterPressUrB c enin Docentes RH UNE DS oM ids MIDI OUTPUT SCAN MODES oui aea ara o aaa a da eara ria iaaa Hammer Ons esses eene ner onen hrs nh rs srr nenn WRITE MENU SENSORS MENU SENSOR MODES Sequencer setup TIMING menu screen EVENTS menu Srei a a a a ara aaie i itis Event type lists Sensor Function List seen Setup MaGrOS pi ee Sensor Play Function descriptions Sequencers Sensors Output menu RESPONSE MENU p 5 p 6 p 7 p 11 p 14 p 18 p 20 p 21 p 23 p 25 p 26 p 27 p 28 p 30 p 31 p 32 p 34 p 36 p 45 p 46 p 49 p 51 p 53 p 55 CLOCKS ae qc qtd sb CURVES Sri CURVES TUTORIAL sash eeu Bede en a SEOUENGCE EDIT cee eee des gt MORE ARPEGGIATOR menu SHOWALL MENU picts cet ete cb att eed wl eee ae Tips and Tricks anne na STRING TRIGGER SETUPS u PEDALS BREATH CONTROLLER SETUP eee MORE PERFORMANCE NOTES eene LEARNING the ZTAR see NECK ASSEMBLY DIS ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS TROUBLESHOOTING and MAINTENANCE sess BLANK SENSOR ASSIGNMENT CHART esee ZTAR INDIVIDUAL SONG SPECIFICATION SYSEX FORMAT GLOSSARY INDEX p 57 p 60 p 61 p 62 p 68 p 7
85. o Strum mode so that they now select notes from the fingerboard The Fingerboard and Triggers are separated to allow more possibilities for variation in programming Our only Macro for quickly setting up the Ztar like a guitar is the 6 TRIGS function found in the SENSORS menu Press this to set up the Triggers and go to ZONE menu and Turn the TRIGS ON This should be saved as an onboard SONG including your preferences for hammer ons and touch response The 6 TRIGS button does this 1 Sets the Sensor Mode to STRUM 2 Sets the Hit Mode in the TIMING menu to TOUCH 3 Sets the linked Strummed Fingerboard Strings to the proper alignment 6 If you re tapping the fingerboard you can set the TPads StringTriggers or any Sensors to ReTrigger mode which will re trigger fretted notes much like the Strum mode Trigger sensitivity You can use the 6 trimpots at the rear of the Ztar to adjust the individual String Trigger Gain Also you can assign a separate response curve to each trigger in the SENSOR OUTPUT menu Go there to set the curve number and if necessary go to the UTILITIES CURVES menu to adjust the assigned curve s to match the requirements of your touch See HARDWARE VERSIONS This manual serves several Ztar models that each have slightly different configurations in terms of number and type of Pads and other Sensors Because there are many features in common and the ztars are expandable there are items that will
86. oftkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Down LIBRARIAN MIDI TUNING BULK CLOCKS CURVES SEQUENCES Unlocked EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 LIBRARIAN enters the Librarian menu MIDI enters the setup screen for the MIDI Input ports BULK enters the Bulk Dump menu TUNING enters the Tunings setup menu CLOCKS enters the setup screen for the Metronome CURVES enters the Velocity Curves setup screen SEQUENCES enters the step entry Sequence Editor Locked Unlocked when set this locks the front panel hotkeys so that your settings can not be accidentally modified You might use this if you leave the instrument on stage between sets or if you hand it to you 9 year old nephew 50 UTILITIES cont LIBRARIAN menu Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Down SONGNAME SAVE COPY DELETE SWAP COPY PAD EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 SONGNAME enters the Songname Edit screen which may also be reached from the top level SONG EDIT mode screen Use the softkeys for your CursorRight Left controls and the Up Dn arrow keys or joystick to change text values Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Dow SONG 01 CURSOR EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 Save Writes the Scratch Kit Buffer to a Song Location This is the same screen that you enter from the WRITE softkey Copy Copies any song location to any other Song location Delete Restores the selected Song from Song 1 S
87. on t forget to save your changes when you re finished by WRITE ing this Song to a USER location Songs 17 Max Song FRETBOARD gt KEY TRANS menu Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 ZONE 1 AFTERPRESS UNISON OFF TRANSP O Down SOLO OFF Velocity TOUCH Invert OFF Curve 4 EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 AfterPressure This enters the Afterpressure menu where you set the Afterpressure assignments for the selected zone Unison When ON sets all of the keys in the selected zone to the same MIDI pitch value Use this to create drum roll effects This will let you pick a single drum from a master drum patch Use the joystick here for an interesting effect When Unison is OFF the fingerboard responds normally Transpose Use this parameter to alter the base pitch of this zone For instance you might layer a zone for a sound that is transposed up a Fifth or an Octave With this field selected use the Data buttons or the joystick to hear the results of your transposition TRANSP appears when UNISON is OFF When UNISON is ON UniNote __ appears at the upper right to allow setting the fixed pitch for this UnisonZone SOLO When SOLO is ON in a multi Zone setup only the selected Zone will play while the others are muted This allows you to easily audition changes to single Zones Key velocity TOUCH or FIXED Selects fixed velocity or touch sensing for the selected zone You may not have more than
88. ord pad others TBD Pad Flags 1 byte bit flags as follows 01 squeeze mode mute when released 02 latched mode mute on 2nd hit 04 cymbal mode enable bit 08 gate shift enable bit 10 MIDI A output enable 20 MIDI B output enable 40 metronome pad obsolete 80 reserved should be zero 9 92 Loop Slice Count Delay Time Sequence Vel Curve Pedal none Event Blocks MIDI op code Data byte 1 Data byte 2 Gate time Vel Low Limit Vel High Limit Link Block Link Mode Link Pad s Reserved Trigger Flags 1 byte Most modes number of loops 0 loop forever 1 no looping In Slice mode this is the slice length in beats 2 bytes pad delay time If MSB 0 15 LSBs are time in msec 0 9999 If MSB 1 15 LSBs are time in MIDI clocks 0 999 2 bytes variable length sequence number for this pad O none 1 byte velocity curve number for this pad 0 15 1 byte In HiHat modes pad 1 32 of associated pedal or 0 if 8 events of 7 bytes each 56 bytes 1byte operation MIDI channel 1byte 1st MIDI data byte note number for Note On 1byte 2nd MIDI data byte velocity for Note On 2 bytes gate time If MSB 0 15 LSBs are time in msec 0 9999 If MSB 1 15 LSBs are time in MIDI clocks 0 999 1byte lowest hit velocity after curve 0 7F 1 byte highest hit velocity after curve 0 7F 10 bytes all pads except metronome 1 byte link mode O Links disabled 1 Notes Off 2 Notes On 4 bytes ea
89. ore details For clarity s sake we will refer to these two settings as Input Velocity Low and Input Velocity High InputVel L The lowest velocity value that will trigger this event This value has already been processed by the velocity curve See the Velocity processing Flowchart InputVel H The highest velocity that will trigger this event Event number Event Type Softkey 5 will toggle between the Event number and its assigned Event type Use the UP and DOWN arrow keys to change the Event number and Event Type Use the Up Down keys to adjust the type 27 Event Type List Off Note Control Change Program Change Channel Pressure PitchBend Song Select Start Sequence Continue Sequence Stop Sequence System Reset When the PlayFunction is set to Control Change these are the available Event types Off BendUp Bend Down Volume Up Volume Down Velocity Up Velocity Down Mod Wheel Sustain Expression Channel Pressure Polyphonic Key Pressure User entered ControlChange number UserUp Control number for center detented effects UserDown Control number for center detented effect MIDI Channel number Use softkey 6 and the UP Dn keys to select and set the MIDI Channel for this Note Event Data Note number Velocity source Use softkey 7 to toggle between the Note number and the Velocity source fields The Note number reads both as a decimal number and in standard musical notation Use the Up Dn keys to s
90. orm on board patches or SONGS There are currently 24 Songs in the Ztar without the addition of a RAM card When you select a saved SONG it is copied into the Scratch Song buffer where all of your live edits may be made without affecting the saved version until you re ready to WRITE it HOTKEYS This is the strip of named function keys the are mounted on the top or side of the instrument and are provided for quick access to commonly used features If you ve been using our original Ztar pre ZPC operating system you will notice these general changes An onboard clocking system has been added which now allows us to time MIDI events and support sequences and patterns Some new setup modes have been added into the system in an effort to add versatility in the use of the Sensors unfortunately at the expense of simplicity 1 Each Sensor may be used as a Trigger for the fingerboard so now there is a setup mode called PlayMode which may be set to Strum Events or Dual 2 A Hit Mode has been added which sets a Sensor to time its assigned functions by the duration of your touch a duration specified by your programmed gate time or by latching and un latching the event with consecutive hits Triggers may be timed or gated as well by their own separate TriggerGate 3 The Sensors Scan Mode and Utility menus have been re organized to incorporate the new features Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the
91. osing the notes This won t do much with StringTriggers installed Solo Disables all the zones in the currently selected Song but for the current zone selected so that you may hear it by itself Scan Mode The Ztar s internal computer scans the fingerboard in two basic modes When set to Guitar the fingerboard sounds only the highest note played on a string When set to Polyphonic the fingerboard can sound all of the notes played on a string at 30 any time AutoSustain Mode String Triggers only When enabled the feature is best described this way Fret a chord strum the Triggers to hear the chord Now release both hands from the instrument and the notes will sustain You can then re fret the fingerboard but no notes will be either muted or added until you Strum the Triggers again There are no hammer ons or muting from the fingerboard in this mode FingerboardSustain Mode KeyTriggers only When dis abled and Triggers are ON fingerboard notes will only sound when the KeyTriggers are held down much like the playing of a piano keyboard When enabled the notes may be sustained normally from the fingerboard FRETBOARD SCAN MODE HAMMER MENU Hammer ons affect the way the Ztar fingerboard simulates the experience of real strings By adjusting the following settings you can match the touch of your right and left hands with the response of your synth s programs You can adjust the force from your fretting hand to hammer or
92. otkey When the fingerboard goes into Tapping mode you can hear the Triggers playing their own notes By setting the DUAL mode the Triggers can be made to both play the fingerboard and their own notes simultaneously The Triggers can be made to play notes with various options relating to sustaining timing and note duration Setups for the Triggers are made in the SENSORS MENU EVENTS MENU and TRIGGER FUNCTION menus Setups for the fingerboard zones Trigger modes are made in the FRETBOARD SCAN MODE menu HOTKEYS FUNCTION KEYS Several function keys have been placed on the surface of the Ztar to allow quick changes to the setup of the instrument The Ztar has several features that may be applied to the way the fingerboard and triggers work By using Zones on the fingerboard you can apply these features in different areas of the neck So to change the following setups to the various Zones of the fingerboard press a key on the fingerboard within the Zone you wish to change and press the HotKey Even if you re using just the factory default which is one Zone only touch a key on the fingerboard while you press the hotkey OCT Up Down These buttons allow you to change the Octave for any Zone on the fingerboard giving you access to the full MIDI note range PAT Up Down These buttons allow you to access up to 128 MIDI patches within any Zone TRIG Turn the Triggers On to strum like a guitar or Off to tap the fingerboard like a
93. ou ll notice that events may be types other than notes Press softkey 2 to toggle between the Channel and note number fields Press softkey 3 to select and set the velocity for a note or data value for a fixed ControlChange command Press softkey 4 to select the Note event s duration in either Milliseconds or MIDI Clocks Press the softkey to toggle between the two types A will appear after the number when MIDI Clocks are selected 65 SHOWALL screens You can view entire groups of things here and jump into the appropriate editor for the selected objects When first entering one of the SHOWALL screens using the UP Dn keys will scroll the banks of objects After an object has been selected however the Up Dn keys will alter its values Top level SHOWALL screen Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Dass EVENTS GATES CHAINS PATCHES EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 Songs jumps to the LIVE menu showing the first bank of eight Songs Pads shows a bank of eight Sensors including the MIDI Channel and Note or ControlChange assignments for their first event slots Events shows the eight events for the selected Sensor Gates shows the eight gate times for the selected Pad s events whether or not they are active Links shows the first of four possible Links for the selected Pad Chains quick selection of eight Chains for editing purposes Patches jumps to the Patch send editor for the select
94. r 74 note is the standard Clk L R INT Press again to scroll through the settings External clock from the Left or Right MIDI Input port or use the Internal Ztar clock source Most ztars are equipped with only a single MIDI In and MIDI Out You can switch easily between an External clock and the internal clock source this way ALL Enable the Arpeggiator on all MIDI channels NONE Disable the Arpeggiator on all MIDI channels Loop On Off 2 16 Notes may be set to arpeggiate any number of times when they are held on the fretboard ON will arpeggiate for as long as notes are held Other numeric settings will loop the programmed number of times while still fingered and then stop 63 64 UTILITIES cont SEQUENCE EDIT screen Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 D wn Sequence 1 INSERT DELETE 1 Note Channel 1 45 A2 127 GATE 1002 EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 Sequence press the softkey and use the Up Dn keys or the joystick to select the Sequence number to edit INSERT press the softkey to insert a MIDI event DELETE press the softkey to delete a MIDI event The bottom line of this sample screen reads this way Event 1 is a Note Channel 1 MIDI Note 45 decimal or standard pitch A2 velocity is 127 and the note duration is 100 MIDI clocks Press softkey 1 to toggle between the Event number and the event type fields Use the UP Dn keys and joystick to set the values Y
95. ractice to get the feel of it l d suggest using a metronome and working through piano exercises Or if you want to consider the effects of statement 1 get an exercise book for the instrument you re trying to emulate and learn the natural phrasing while you re building finger strength In general the Ztar is physically less challenging than a guitar so if you ve acquired some proficiency on the guitar you can certainly do this The Ztar is a bit like power steering though and the task becomes one of learning to control note timing You ve got to get the notes comfortably under your fingers no matter what you re playing and while you do indeed want to end up playing music think you have to do some calisthenics to build the muscle memory Same as any instrument Again every style and every sound will dictate it s own exercises but there is a reasonable place to start Start with a piano sound you can listen to for at least an hour Every synth should have at least one of those I m thinking tapping style here and the goal is two hands on the fingerboard Best to start with just one hand If that s all you ever intend to do then you can probably stick with standard guitar tuning If you go to two hands you ll probably be happier if you switch to straight fourths tuning Less to learn Now finger a major scale in a comfortable position on the fingerboard Stay in one hand position and work that mother across all the strings at an even tempo without
96. repares the ZTAR to receive a Bulk dump to its Song Memory To Save the Ztar Songs to an external MIDI system 7 Connect the MIDI Out port from the Ztar to the computer or sequencer s MIDI IN port 2 Set up your computer to receive a Sysex data dump You can use most MIDI sequencer programs or MIDI monitor programs to do this 8 When the computer is ready and waiting for data press the SEND soft key on the Ztar keypad The words Sending data will appear while the process is running The Ztar display will indicate when the operation is finished saying Function Complete To Restore the Ztar Songs from an external MIDI system 9 Connect the MIDI IN port from the Ztar to the computer or sequencer s MIDI OUT port 2 Press the RECEIVE soft key on the Ztar first then start the transmission from your computer The ZTAR gives you about 20 seconds to start the transmission before it flags an error 57 BULK DUMP ERROR MESSAGES CONDITION MESSAGE 1 20 seconds elapse before any data received timeout 2 MIDI cable unplugged too few data bytes timeout e Check your cables and connections e Make sure the MIDI device in your computer is set up correctly and the sending program is configured to use it 3 Wrong SysEx dump Bad MIDI data Data corrupt e Possible faulty cable or loose connection e Corrupted file stored in computer 4 Wrong checksum no EOX End of Transmission Bad C
97. rite menu from the display Setting up the KeyTriggers Trigger Pads TPA1 or TCA1 attachments The KeyTriggers and Trigger Pads on the TCA1 may be set to STRUM mode to fire their associated strings on the fingerboard as a guitar like right hand technique The Tpads can be used to Trigger the fingerboard strings in different ways by setting the Hit Mode differently a Pressing the Tpad triggers the frets and releasing the Tpad mutes the notes even if you re holding the frets Set the Hit Mode to TOUCH b Pressing the Tpad triggers the fret and releasing the Fret mutes the note even if you re holding the Tpad Set the Hit Mode to TIMED and set the TRIGGER GATE to 0 milliseconds not MIDI clocks This is the most guitar like setup for the Tpads to toggle between Milliseconds and MIDI clocks press the Trigger Gate softkey Pressing the Tpad plays a fretted note for a fixed duration set the Hit Mode to TIMED and set the TRIGGER GATE to a number either msec or MIDI clocks that sets the duration Setting up the Ztar String Triggers as a guitar With the ZPC OS installed the Ztar may be thought of as a fingerboard and a group of Sensors that may be programmed to act together and play as a guitar A preset has been created that defaults to the most Guitar like performance In the FRETBOARD gt SCAN MODE menu you set up fingerboard zones to respond to the Triggers in Triggers On mode In the SENSORS menu you set up the Triggers t
98. rom tuning map transposition below mmmm MIDI channel for note output amp patch vol change Transposition Note 1 byte hex 00 OC 18 24 30 are octaves Default Velocity 1byte if v bit 0 If v bit 1 above this is velocity inversion flag 01 on 00 off MIDI Patch Information 4 bytes sent only if patch is enabled p bit 21 above Program Change 1 byte Main Volume CC 7 1 byte Bank Select CC 0 1 byte Bank Select CC 32 1 byte Mode Flags 1 byte Oagthpcs a polykey aftertouch flag 1 enabled g poly mode flag 1 poly O guitar t piano mode flag 1 piano O trigger h hammeron flag p openstring pulloff flag c trigger capture flag s auto sustain mode flag 1 enabled Velocity Curve 1 byte 0 vvvv vvvv reserved for velocity curve select TBD bits unknown reserved for future use 97 MIDI Port Select Misc Zone Parameters 1 byte Otbapsss t Pick enable keys in this zone cause trigger b MIDI B port enable Note these bit positions are req d a MIDI A port enable p afterpressure mode sss restrict Zoneto trigger 1 6 All Zones respond to all Triggers if 0 Key tuning Map for this Zone Chord Key enabled OS only 1 byte 0 ttttt ttttt tuning map to use for this zone 0 31 chord key bits unknown reserved for future use Key note map tuning map data layout A single Tuning Map is stored with each Kit Song for non Chord Key enabled instruments Instruments equipped with Chord Key software have a global bank of Tuning m
99. rt 2 Check the MIDI cable to the ztar 3 Make sure the stick is moving freely and doesn t have rough spots in its travel If it does remove the cap or the entire stick you ll have to open the back to do that and investigate for the presence of a foreign obstruction 4 The stick may have worn out and we can send out another one or you can return the ax and we ll replace it here 88 SENSOR SENSOR ASSIGNMENT CHART EFX1 Channels EFX2 Channels Trigger1 Trigger 2 Trigger 3 Trigger 4 Trigger 5 Trigger6 Pad1 Pad2 Pad3 Pad4 Pad5 Pad6 Pad7 Pad8 Pad9 Pad10 Pad11 Padi12 TriggerPad1 TriggerPad2 TriggerPad3 TriggerPad4 TriggerPad5 TriggerPad6 JoystickUp JoystickDn JoystickRt JoystickLt VolumePed SustainPed VolumeKnob Mod Wheel Breath Ribbon Neck Strip JoyButton Joystick2Up Joystick2Dn Joystick2Lf Joystick2Rt JoyButton2 CtriKnob2 89 Starr Labs Flexible Bulk Dump Format SONGS are referred to as KITS in this document Starr Labs MIDI Manufacturer s Number ID OOH O1H 42H SysEx Packet Encoding The general SysEx packet format is as follows SEO 00 07 07 type number length sed eksum F7 SysEx message with manufacturer id 00H 01H 42H In th
100. s Hit the EDIT KEY to enter the Song Menu the Ztar s top level Edit screen From there you ll access all of the edit functions Use the Fretboard Menu to set up the fingerboard according to your needs This includes defining areas of the neck for selected voices MIDI channels transpositions Velocity Inversion and Base Volume setting Within the Zone menu use the Scan Mode menu to set up the fingerboard for Strumming Tapping Polyphony per string and Hammer ons You can create fingerboard zones that respond differently for these settings Use the Sensor Menu to program the Pads Triggers Joystick and Pedals for MIDI effects chords and sequences Use the Utilities Tuning Menu to set the tuning for the fingerboard the Open Strings Right Left switch and Enable the HammerOns PullOffs Use the Triggers front panel key to turn on off the Triggers With the Triggers On you can strum them like a guitar With the Triggers Off you can tap the fingerboard like a keyboard Use the Guitar Poly key to switch between One Note per String or All Notes per String You can play the Open Strings in GUITAR mode with the TRIGGERS ON Strike the Trigger with nothing fretted to hear the open string Use the Pat Pat and Oct Oct Hotkeys to set the synth patch es and Octave After you ve created a special setup for the Fingerboard and the Sensors according to your needs you can save it to battery backed memory by using the Write key or the W
101. select up to four Links for this sensor Use the Up Dn keys to create your links 47 RESPONSE menu screens Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 TRIG 1 Gain 100 pown 0 OO 32 MORE gt EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 The Response screens allow setups to the GAIN and several other parameters for the individual hardware Sensors on the Ztar These settings will be saved globally and will apply to every SONG configuration The response for the same Sensor may be varied from Song to Song by applying different curves in the SENSORS OUTPUT menu GAIN softkey 2 and the UP Dn keys may be used to set the basic gain for a Sensor 100 is usually the best setting but use other settings if needed The bottom line of this screen shows a response bar graph that will move to show the raw output of the Sensor The level of the last hit will also read as a percentage of full scale within the Ztar s processing range Use this Gain bar graph to check the response or to find something that s active when it shouldn t be RESPONSE menu Screen 2 Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 TRIG 1 Scan 0 Mask 0 Threshold 0 Chase On MORE gt EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 Scan by increasing the number stored in this setting the onboard processor will wait additional scan cycles before finishing its determination of a peak velocity This can be used to eliminate ghost triggering in some situations The 0 settin
102. t the cursor to the low note field and touch the String1 Trigger Bar Now set the cursor to the high note field and touch the String6 Trigger Bar 4 Go into the MIDI menu and set the MIDI channel and patch number Exit back to the FRETBOARD menu 5 Select the KEY TRANS menu and set the number of pitch half steps to transpose capo the Open strings Zone 6 Exit back to the live mode menu To create a Capo effect which tunes the individual open strings to a custom tuning a chord for example while leaving the fingerboard in a standard tuning Proceed as in the earlier example but create a separate zone for each individual Open string Set each 1 note zone to the same MIDI channel if you like and then set the transposition for that zone where you want it to sound Regarding the joystick In accordance with the MIDI spec the ZTAR joystick outputs the full bend range from 0 to 7F The actual pitchbend range in musical pitch is set inside the receiving Synth to correspond to the joystick full scale output Pull offs Technique wise be aware that the fingerboard keys move quickly and that contact is made when the key is fully depressed This means that when performing pull offs in Guitar Trigger mode the pulled off note comes out as soon as you raise your finger note when you ve cleared the string as with a real guitar string For best performance always keep your fingers as close to the keys as possible to minimize the
103. t to your desired selection in order to activate it An UP and a Down key are provided for data entry The joystick when installed may also be used for data entry Use the EDIT key to enter and exit the programming menus The soft keys are numbered here for reference in this manual Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 LIVE MODE MENU Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Down CHORDS DRUMS ORCHESTRA JAZZ_COMBO ROCK_COMBO STICK TUNING EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 This is the top level menu which appears when the ZTAR is in LIVE mode The ztar is in LIVE MODE when you first power up It displays the names of the various system configurations that have been saved as SONGS A drummer would refer to these as KITS A SONG is a collection of hardware with all of our computer assigned options and setups The first eight songs are provided from the factory as templates for your use These are saved in ROM and may not be overwritten The following twenty four song locations are provided to store your own setups These are saved in a battery backed RAM so that your changes will remain after you remove power from the ZTAR The Song banks may also be stored off line via the MIDI Bulk Dump utility Use the EDIT key to leave the LIVE mode and enter the EDIT mode After editing use the EDIT key again the return to the LIVE mode 27 SONG MENU the Top Level SO
104. tap or mute notes Remember that each fingerboard Zone can have its own response curve that you assign in the ZONES gt KEY TRANSPOSITION menu The curve will affect hammer on velocity Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 ZONE 1 HammerOn PullOff NO Hammer Level 75 OPEN PULL Y Decay 25 Hammer Pick Delay 0 EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 Hammer On amp Pull off When ON this enables Hammer ons and Pull offs in Guitar mode This can effect your style of playing HammerLevel Set a number here from 0 255 In GUITAR mode when a fret is pressed with a force below this number the string will mute When the fret is pressed with a force above this number a Hammer on will play When the Hammer Level is set to O and Hammers are enabled fretting the fingerboard after plucking the StringTrigger will always play the hammer on and will never mute the string When Hmr Lvl is set to 255 fretting the fingerboard after plucking will always mute the string The proper level for your touch will let you mute the string with a light touch and hammer on with a firmer touch When Hammers are OFF a light touch will mute and a firm touch will do nothing OpenPull This enables or disables PullOffs to the Open strings Disabling this can help to clean up fast picking techniques Decay This sets the decay time for this Virtual String When a new note is triggered the initial velocity level is the triggered note or t
105. te software for its control The ZTAR fingerboard is a six string by 24 fret matrix of touch sensitive keys which may be assigned to various MIDI channels patches tunings response curves and other parameters Areas of the fingerboard may be blocked out into zones which may programmed separately according to your musical requirements The SENSOR controllers on board the ZTAR encompass all of the performance devices other than the fingerboard Included are six Triggers for strumming and picking and which have special setup software to tailor their operation The Triggers may be installed either as String Triggers real strings that capture a guitarist s picking techniques or KeyTriggers pressure and velocity sensing bars that may be used to create new expression techniques for controlling synthesizers and other MIDI controlled devices There is a wealth of controllable features in modern synths that lies untapped and the various new touch surfaces of the Ztar attempt to open that door for you There may also be installed on your Ztar a bank of Expression Pads usually 6 or 12 on most instruments Two pedal inputs Sustain and Volume are fully programmable Any of the SENSOR controllers may be assigned to control any two MIDI effects or Continuous Controller assignments to four channels each They may also be used to capture and play back up to eight MIDI notes across one or more channels control external sequences and looped samples and other spe
106. the individual descriptions of data layouts below ZPC Bulk Dump Sequence At present a dump of all kits always includes 90 Velocity curves 1 through 16 Kits 9 through 32 Response data pads 1 through 32 System globals MIDI Trigger data ports A and B All recorded sequences A dump of one kit always includes The chosen kit Packets may now be sent to the Ztar in any sequence for a bulk receive KIT SONG DATA LAYOUT Each kit is sent in a packet of type 01 thus SFO 00 07 07 SO number length sssdaba cksum SF7 number is the kit number 1 32 data is the kit data sent in 8 7 bit packed format The RAM layout of the kit data is as follows Kit Data Pad 0 75 bytes Name 9 bytes ASCII Future name 21 bytes String tuning 6 bytes Future tuning 6 bytes Reserved 30 bytes 1 byte Hammer thresh 1 byte Hammer delay 1 byte Fbd vcrv 1 byte Fbd afterthresh 1 byte Fbd aftersens 1 byte Cksum 1 byte Pad Blocks 34 or 38 or 40 pads of 75 bytes each 2400 bytes 2700 2550 the number of Sensors will vary according to the particular hardware configuration and software version The actual number of Sensors for the variant will be entered in the System Configuration Block Pad Mode 1 byte pad mode see PAD MODE ID list 00 Off 07 Alt Up 01 Basic 08 Alt Down 02 All 09 Alt U D 03 Sequential 0A Alt Random 04 Note Shift 0B Slice 05 MIDI Seq 0C Cont Ctl 06 Rec
107. the Chain pointer number with a Chain Up command You can use this for quick changes in a set list format The Showall Chains screen shows the 8 Chains available in the Ztar Each Chain may contain up to 8 Kits Use the softkeys to select a Chain and jump to the Chain Edit screen for that chain 68 Chain Edit Screen Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Chain 1 K1 Down 3 5 K2 EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 This screen displays the Kits assigned to the 8 slots in the current chain Select a Slot number and adjust the Kit assignment with UP Dn keys 69 Showall Patches Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Down Sng 02 PatchSel 1 Vol 0 Ch 3 Left Program Change 121 CC 0 0 EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 Each Song can store up to 32 Patch Select commands that are issued whenever the Kit is selected Each Patch Select command is a group of data including Channel ProgramNumber and two Bank Select bytes You can also set up individual PatchChange commands and SEND them directly from this window The Song number is shown in the Upper left corner PatchSel Select one of 32 PatchSelect commands Volume select a master volume base level to send to this channel Ch Press the softkey to set the MIDI channel number for the current Patch Select Press the softkey again to toggle to the MIDI Out port port field on the right The available values are N one L eft R ight and
108. the various setup parameters of the fingerboard pads triggers joystick and pedals The ZTAR will continue to play while in the EDIT mode Make sure to exit back to the LIVE mode after completing an edit however as you may accidentally change one of your setups by hitting the joystick or another programming key Also the instrument will play a bit faster in the LIVE mode as there it isn t the necessity to update any Edit screens Programming Mode Selection and Data Entry Many of the programming features on the ZTAR have been implemented in the screen menu system and also in shorthand fashion on the front panel hot keys In the screen menu system the eight soft keys surrounding the display will be physically near their selections on the screen Use of the hot keys will save a number of keystrokes Also the joystick is used both as a performance tool and a data entry device in conjunction with the data Up Down buttons when programming the system Chase features In several of the menus a String or a Key or other Sensor may be selected by simply touching it in addition to using the Display keys A little more Terminology In an effort to make the ZTAR as fully user programmable as possible some existing MIDI concepts have been expanded and are slightly re defined 15 Patches for the ZTAR are called SONGS A Song stores the complete configuration for the instrument This includes all of the fingerboard splits zones transpositions
109. to bring the Ztar back to operation String Triggers vibrate excessively If the strings are vibrating excessively it sounds like they are loose Either the clamping screw is not clamping or the tensioning screw is not tensioning When the strings are tensioned properly you can make sure they are properly seated over the felt damper by the absence of any buzz or hard click when you pick the string It s natural sound should be fairly deadened offering very little sense of any pitch You should be able to adjust the tension from no tension at all to something much tighter than any real guitar 85 The String Triggers seem to respond unevenly Try the trimpot adjustments described in the manual They really do affect the performance They are adjusted at the factory to make the strings as sensitive as possible without triggering from simply touching them Also be aware of the muting function that is always active on the Strings If your hand is resting on the strings or the tailpiece screws while you re picking the notes may clip or simply not play In general the muting function and fingerpicking styles will be affected by changes in humidity and the dampness of your skin You may find that picking and muting are sluggish when you first pick up the instrument on a given day but that everything picks up after you play for a bit when your hands have warmed up Aren t electronics great A fingerboard Key seems to be jammed What can I do La
110. topPlay Sequence Record Sequence RecordNext Sequence Undo Songlncrement SongDecrement Chainlncrement MuteAll ReferencePad HiHatPedal1 HiHatPedal2 HatPad Detailed descriptions of the Play Functions are given at the end of this section 40 EVENTS cont MACRO screen Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Down 01 Trigger1 NotesAll VelocityShift Velocity Add Velocity Pad CHORDS EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 Each event has a pair of numbers that define a velocity range where the event will respond By setting the velocity ranges for the various events assigned to a pad several unique effects or pad modes can be created Rather than defining set modes in the PlayFunction List we chose to provide macro settings that initialize the events velocity ranges to default values These values may then be modified in the SENSOR EVENTS menu to more accurately create the desired result The Velocity related MACROS here are just conveniences that set the velocity windows for all 8 events in a Sensor s buffer to default values You ll want to adjust these values in the EVENTS screen to dial in your touch NotesAll All of the Sensor s events will play simultaneously as a chord This holds true for ControlChange events as well VelSw Velocity Switch The complete MIDI velocity range is split equally between the 8 events so that none of the ranges overlap Each event then responds within its own unique range This
111. u appears as a choice in the top Sensor Menu screen TIMING menu Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Down HitMode Touch TrigGate 250 Delay O0 GateShift Off EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 HitMode There are three Hit modes Timed Touch and Latched When set to TIMED mode the Sensors notes will turn off automatically according the programmed Gate time in the Events menu The Hit Mode must be set to TIMED for a Sensor to fire a Sequence This is because the sequence events themselves are using a timed duration When set to TOUCH mode the Sensor will release the notes when your finger releases the sensor When set to LATCHED mode the first strike will turn the notes on and the next strike will turn them off Use this for looped drum samples and large sustained chords TrigGate When a Trigger is set to Strum mode it s possible to have the fingerboard notes terminate automatically according to the TriggerGate timing Use the softkey 4 and the Up Dn keys to set a duration in either milliseconds or MIDI clocks Loop On Off N times Use the softkey 5 and the Up Dn keys to set the selected Sensor s events to loop indefinitely n times or not at all This applies to chords sequences and any event types The LOOP setting option does not appear on the screen when the Pad s PlayFunction is set to ContinuousControl Delay this sets a delay time between the time you strike a Sensor and the time the events a
112. und to 3 again You could say that all increments and decrements are modulo 5 So another example of a block of sequences would record to numbers 21 22 23 24 25 then wrap back to 21 22 23 24 25 A future version will make this sequence buffer size a programmable value NOTE The variable length live sequencer records everything that goes to the MIDI Out port This means that if you re recording while listening to an existing track the original track will be recorded with your live performance onto the new track an implicit overdub A future release will include features to isolate tracks 46 SENSORS cont SENSOHS OUTPUT menu Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Down TRIG 1 Curve 5 Pedal TR1 MIDI L Link Off off off off off EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 Several important parameters for the Sensor s MIDI output are set up here Sensor use softkey 1 and the Up Dn keys to select the sensor Curve selects and sets the Curve number assigned to this sensor Pedal sets a continuous controller in the system to control this sensor when acting in a HiHat setup MIDI set the MIDI output port Left Right or Both None for 32 channel systems Link Link the activity of this sensor to trigger other sensors events NotesOn triggers the linked sensors from a Note On message NotesOff triggers the linked sensors from a Note Off message Off no links enabled LINKS use softkeys 6 and 7 to
113. using the actual String Triggers on the Z tar notes are muted either by placing a finger on the appropriate String trigger or touching the brass Muting bar in the tailpiece Fretted notes are also muted by releasing the fingerboard and open strings may be muted by fretting the appropriate string on the fingerboard just as is done with the Key Trigger Z tars Breath Controller Setup To adjust the sensitivity of the Breath Controller use the little air stop valve mounted in the airline where it enters the Breath Port on the instrument This is a bypass valve for the breath sensor and when it s completely closed the all of your breath pressure is routed to the sensor Adjust this until you find the sweet spot that works best with your technique and the particular synth patch setup PEDALS Volume Expression Pedal We re looking for a 50 KOhm 3 terminal pot wired to a 1 4 stereo phono plug with the center tap being the ring terminal 25 KOhm pots don t quite swing all the way 100 KOhm pots are fine but no one seems to use them The Yamaha FC 7 is ideal Music Industries think has a not so rugged pedal which is electrically about right Kurzweil re sells these Also l ve seen them in Guitar Center at various times The Roland EV5 has a different pot with different wiring but still works a little l d assume the Boss pedal is about the same but haven t tested it Also think a Korg expression pedal works Sustain Pedal Normally Open moment
114. ut of a hand position and travel up and down the neck You start to think of note patterns in 3 note chunks on a section of a string and you can just move your hand up and down a string or from string to string to grab a 3 note pattern You can develop ridiculous speed this way as you start to drop the three fingers almost simultaneously By using only 3 fingers you don t have to worry about do use finger3 or finger4 It lends to a more automatic motion Try taking a 6 note pattern 3 notes on two adjacent strings in one hand position Play it a couple of times then pick it up and drop it one octave up 2 strings up and 2 frets up when tuned in fourths You can spot the little pattern all over the fingerboard this way and the symmetry is really easy on the brain With 3 I think chromatics are tougher and although a whole tone scale in fourths falls out in 3 like butter the 5 fret stretch may be uncomfortable But if you keep your wrist moving you just slide up or down to get the notes Pentatonics which are would say 2 finger scales fall out of the 3 finger patterns easily Also it s more likely that you ll get firm even attacks without relying on your little baby lightweight pinky finger which is more of an issue on a Stick than the Ztar The four finger approach may lead you to understand that most scales chords and key modulations can be played within a single 5 fret hand position when tuned in fourths which may be easier when
115. ve been fooling around in there See if you can move the joystick to make the problem stop If not call the factory tried to program something to the Joystick and soon found that some of the sounds was using disappeared changed to another onboard preset like 6 STRING but only some of the sounds were working and only part of the fingerboard will play notes What happened Is there any way to reset the instrument Some of the presets have the Joystick programmed to do channel crossfades Crossfade works by changing the volume settings on at least two MIDI channels If you 87 shut off the volume to a MIDI channel and then leave the preset that sent the message you may have no way to turn it back on without returning to that preset 1 Hit PANIC to clear all CC messages This is a MIDI reset 2 Notice in the FRETBOARD MIDI menu the setting PP amp V Enable If you turn this ON for your active zones and save this as a new preset to a USER location then when you select it it will automatically reset the Volume for those Zones 2 Use a MIDI monitor program in your PC like MidiOx freeware or Cakewalk to see what you re actually sending Also the defaults in the Ztar are the fingerboard usually to Channel 1 and the Triggers when they re not triggering the fingerboard and Pads to Channel 10 Probably you ve turned off the volume on Ch 1 Check the MIDI monitor LED on the front of your synth to see if the synth is receivin
116. ve your changes into The ZPC version of the Ztar OS allows you to overwrite all of your Song locations including those programmed from the factory To re initialize the first four SONGS back to their factory settings go to the UTILITIES LIBRARIAN INITIALIZE menu Use Softkey 8 to select a destination location for the SCRATCH buffer and press the EXECUTE soft key to complete the WRITE operation You may also make changes to the Song setup at any time from the LIVE mode and save your changes via the WRITE hot key on the front panel Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Down WRITE SCRATCH KIT EXECUTE Scratch 01 ZTAR 01 ZTAR EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 33 SENSORS MENU The word PAD is often used interchangeably with the word SENSOR The word Note is often used interchangeably with the word EVENT Sensors screen 71 Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Down TRIG 1 Mode Strum String 0 6 TRIGS TIMING EVENTS OUTPUT TRIG FUNC EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 The Sensor name is shown in the upper left corner of the screen Use softkey 1 and the Up Dn keys to select a Sensor to edit PLAY MODE There are three Play modes for a Sensor Events Strum and Dual In the Events mode the Sensor will play its own programmed set of events In the Strum mode the Sensor will trigger notes from the fingerboard according to the fingerboard s Scan Mode The Ztar s Triggers are normally set
117. wap Exchanges any two song locations COPY PAD allows you to copy all the settings from one Sensor to another Sensor for convenience INITIALIZE enters the Initialize screen where you can choose to reset groups of objects to their original factory settings 51 UTILITIES cont LIBRARIANY SAVE To SAVE a song Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 pawn WRITE SCRATCH KIT EXECUTE Scratch 01 7TAR G 01 ZTAR EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 Press softkey 8 and use the arrow Up Dn keys to set the destination Song location Press EXECUTE when you re ready The words Song Saved Will appear briefly LIBRARIAN COPY Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 lt UTILITY LIBRARIAN COPY gt EXECUTE Down 01 ZTAR 01 ZTAR EDIT Softkey 5 Softkey 6 Softkey 7 Softkey 8 Softkey5 to select the Source Song Softkey 8 to select the Destination Song Up Dn keys of joystick to set the values and EXECUTE to complete the operation The words Song Saved will appear briefly DELETE and SWAP work in a similar fashion COPY PAD works in a similar fashion that allows you to copy the settings for an individual Sensor to any other Sensor Use the softkeys to select the Source and Destination Sensors fields the Up Dn arrows and joystick to set the numbers and EXECUTE to complete the operation 22 UTILITIES cont LIBRARIAN INITIALIZE menu Up Softkey 1 Softkey 2 Softkey 3 Softkey 4 Down INI
118. with a little practice They re easy as they may be played with two fretting fingers per string One thing that helps timing for the top hand is to finger the scale with the bottom hand that already knows how to do this Place your top hand 12 frets up the neck and grab the same scale Because on the Ztar you ll be using the same fingers on either hand to play the same notes of a pattern you can use the bottom hand to lead the timing and 82 the top hand will follow This is pretty easy for the brain Piano players learn this but their fingerings are different for each hand when they play unison scales or patterns a little ztar advantage without overdoing it if you can put in 15 minutes day working up finger strength and technique you ll get better faster on the instrument any instrument Learning scales in patterns not just from one end to the other will apply to jamming in most all styles Practicing arpeggios is even better for learning the fingerboard IMHO There are idiosyncrasies to every style of music that you ll want to isolate and practice to nail For instance boogie piano has that rolling left hand bass You d want to isolate that and work it through a tune until you re comfortable This is a stock lick for a guitarist or bassist but tapping it is the new thing you re learning here Go slow to make sure the attacks come always in the right spots You ll find tapping with the bottom hand will be easier if you can support the instru
119. y the instrument upside down on your lap Gently slap the back of the neck to dislodge any crumbs that may have fallen into a key slot Do not spray any solvents or lubricants into the fingerboard or dig around the keys with sharp objects The StringTriggers seem to play low volume notes when just barely touch them or sometimes play by themselves The string trimpots are set too hot You can tell when you just touch the strings and they play without plucking them You want them to mute when you touch them lightly Also if they re too hot you ll hear ghost notes in particular with fingerstyle as the finger and the nail can generate two notes on one stroke 1 Have you tried to adjust the StringTrigger Gain trimpots in the back of the instrument What happened Less gain should make the response less jumpy To some degree this seemed to be a problem with the larger strings 2 The guitar strings we use are 038 The guage isn t too critical but the very light strings will be a bit less sensitive and very heavy bass strings will be sensitive but with some loss of dynamic range 3 If you pick one string and another one rings then the gain on the other one is too high Turn it down with the trimpot adjustment With a StringTriggered Ztar how do I get my add on KeyTrigger option to trigger individual strings like a guitar Your add on TriggerPads are programmed as Pads 1 6 in the Sensor menu When you power up the Ztar they will be playin

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