11/3/2022 0 Comments Roland ax synth patches abletonProbably the most important difference between AX-Synth and its AX-series predecessors is the inclusion of the 128-note polyphonic, Fantom G-derived sound engine. Perhaps it would have worked a bit better if the front panel had been tilted towards the player more, though, as it's quite hard to see the display panel once you've strapped on. It's much easier stepping through the sounds using your right hand, rather than your left. #Roland ax synth patches ableton PatchPatch selecting while playing is a doddle and it's great that the up/down patch selectors have been moved from the neck (on the AX-7) to the front panel. The keyboard also doubles up as a numeric keypad for selecting external MIDI channels (bottom octave) and patch changing (top octave). The front panel of the AX-Synth houses all the internal and external MIDI patch selection buttons, a seven-segment old-school red LED display (same as the AX-7s), transpose buttons and controls for storing 16 of your favourite patches for instant recall (via the A and B favourite buttons). Another of the AX's clever bits of attention to detail. While on the subject of playability, Roland has made two-handed playing a genuine option via a couple of different places to attach the strap. It feels good and is playable at most angles, though we found it a little too stiffly sprung and the action sometimes got in the way of faster runs. Keyboard-wise, the AX-Synth has a 49-note, four-octave, velocity-sensitive C to E design (an improvement on the AX-7's 45-note E to C design). The hold button is almost like a sustain button - you play the note, press hold and it sustains infinitely until you let go, freeing you up to fiddle with the D-Beam and modulation. The bender mode is particularly useful on lead guitar type sounds, as it only bends the last note played. There are three further buttons on the back of the neck for switching on portamento, kicking in the bender mode and activating the hold function. Basically, it's an extra rotary modulation control and acts differently depending on the sound selected. Unfortunately, this aftertouch control is slightly misleading - it doesn't control aftertouch as we know it as the AX-Synth doesn't have an aftertouch keybed (shame). First up are two rotary controllers - one for volume and one for aftertouch. The controls extend to the back of the neck, with several important ones under your left thumb. The D-Beam is always handy to have around and it's a great visual controller, too. These buttons can control either pitch or filter, or can be assigned to other controller duties as required (volume is a useful assignment here). #Roland ax synth patches ableton modNext to the mod bar and touch controller are three buttons that assign functionality to the D-Beam infrared controller - a now common device on Roland products. Not a massive problem, but if you have smaller hands, the AX-Synth might be hard to get to grips with (no pun intended). It's also quite a long way to reach round over the top of the mod bar. However, here's our first gripe - the neck is a little thick under the touch controller and it's sometimes hard performing accurate pitch bends. On the front of the neck are controls for octave up and down, the modulation bar (which feels great for mod duties and fits the hand perfectly) and the touch controller for pitch bending. It feels well balanced and everything falls instantly to hand. Strapping on the AX-Synth for the first time is a truly liberating experience. Roland has even included two hooks to stop wires being yanked away when on stage. Power can be supplied to the AX-Synth via the supplied walwart power supply or from eight Ni-MH rechargeable batteries (AA size) or normal AAs. However, you can change the reverb send and patch volume levels using Shift+Tone buttons. It's a bind that you have to connect to a computer even for these basic duties. This is great, though it would have been even better if there were independent controls for envelopes, filter resonance/cutoff and effect control on the front panel itself. Once edited, sounds can then be uploaded back to the AX-Synth.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |