Distortion turns itself on

[InnerLoop]

Hi, I am rehearsing for a gig with a drummer controlling the tempest through midi drum pads/triggers via midi.  Everything works fine but now the Tempest's distortion keeps turning itself on even though the knob is fully turned off.  I tested it this morning and after a few bars the distortion just kicks on and I am completely baffled.  Has anyone heard of this?  Does this mean my unit is "broken" or is it possibly some software thing.  I've had the unit do other weird things since the last update (which I believe was the last official one).  For example I've had the unit drop out sounds unless I send them to one of the other OUTS on the unit besides the default stereo outs. 

I'm really frustrated because just when I'm getting prepared to use this thing live I run into issues such as this and then you spend a session trying to fix or work around this Machine's problems.  Man, I really wish they would get this thing running smoothly because I think they owe it to us seeing as we paid 2k for it.  Don't get me wrong, I love what this thing can do, and I'm creating some great sounds, but the issues the pop up make it a nightmare to rely on in a professional situation.  I need a unit I can tour with without worrying. 

I appreciate any help with the distortion issue I am having.  That one really makes it impossible to use my sounds as they were designed (it makes some sounds like fricking Barks, which means I now have to try to program these sounds differently and use the unit as some lo-fi crunch box.....sigh).  Sorry if I sound pissed.

[Yorgos Arabatzis]

Welcome to the forum..
Sorry to hear that you're having problems.Are you sending any CC midi messages to your Tempest?T accepts CC#12 (distortion) on main midi channel..Also i advise any new users to read this first:
http://forum.davesmithinstruments.com/index.php/topic,78.0.html

[InnerLoop]

Hi, thanks for the reply.  I will have to see if somehow my sampler/sequencer or the drum pads are sending something on CC#12.  It must be the midi drum pads because I don't think it started doing this until I configured my setup with it running into the tempest.  How I have things setup at the moment is my Midi sampler/sequencer (Yamaha RS7000) is running midi into the drum pads and then Midi out from the drum pads into the tempest so that the tempest can get the BPM from the midi sequencer but still be able to use the drum pads to play the Tempest like a midi drum kit.  The thing is, the tempest starts doing it even when I don't use the drum pads at all.  I'll see if I can figure out whether either one is doing something on CC#12, though I haven't specifically set anything up to do that.  Thanks again for the lead.  Hopefully I can sort it out before the gig. 

[RobH]

Run the midi into a daw channel and record the data using the same channel your using to control your Tempest you should be easily able to see exactly what it's sending. Abelton has a feature that on shows tracks that have data recorded onto them. Good luck

[InnerLoop]

Run the midi into a daw channel and record the data using the same channel your using to control your Tempest you should be easily able to see exactly what it's sending. Abelton has a feature that on shows tracks that have data recorded onto them. Good luck

Thanks.  I won't have time to dive into this until later but I first had one question for clarity.  Can I change what CC # the distortion of the Tempest is controlled on in the Tempest itself?  I was thinking a quick fix would be to just jack that CC # up to something that I'll know for sure nothing is being transmitted on, to at least see quickly if it is indeed a CC transmission causing it (sorry if my terminology is all off).  My problem is I'm not currently set up with a good DAW system.  I'm running all hardware as this is a live project and my computer situation is precarious at the moment. 

[Yorgos Arabatzis]

Tempest can only accept Midi CC messages on main MIDI channel so you could try changing that channel on system settings..

Run the midi into a daw channel and record the data using the same channel your using to control your Tempest you should be easily able to see exactly what it's sending. Abelton has a feature that on shows tracks that have data recorded onto them. Good luck

Thanks.  I won't have time to dive into this until later but I first had one question for clarity.  Can I change what CC # the distortion of the Tempest is controlled on in the Tempest itself?  I was thinking a quick fix would be to just jack that CC # up to something that I'll know for sure nothing is being transmitted on, to at least see quickly if it is indeed a CC transmission causing it (sorry if my terminology is all off).  My problem is I'm not currently set up with a good DAW system.  I'm running all hardware as this is a live project and my computer situation is precarious at the moment.

[InnerLoop]

Thanks so much for the help guys.  I went into the drum pad trigger System menu and turned of the transmit/Receive CC Control and everything seems to be working now.  Phewwww.  Now I'm getting deep into velocity mapping with the matrix and WOW, I am getting some serious dynamic sounds for the drummer to play with.  Sounds that gives him a bit of musicality through dynamics.  I LOVE THIS BEAST.   Thanks again.  This was a big help.

[Yorgos Arabatzis]

Have fun at your gig