Hello, I just bought a Rev 2 and so far I love it, but ran into a huge issue:
combining a normal synth layer (A) with an arpeggiated layer (B) while using the sustain pedal. (which is such a pity because I think these are the richest sounds)
I would think the most natural way for the sustain pedal is to:
- act as a regular piano sustain pedal for the synth layer (A)
- 'hold' the notes of the chords for the arpeggiated layer (B) into the memory of the synth so that the arpeggiator doesn't stop when a chord is released with the fingers.
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The problem
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- getting the pedal to work for the synth layer (A) alone is easy. I just plugged in a sustain pedal and went into the global menu to set the pedal polarity to reversed. I don't know why I had to put it into 'reversed' since I want to use it as a regular piano sustain pedal (maybe because of bad wiring in the pedal itself..) but I needed to choose this option to get it working as 'normal'. Strange, but no problems so far.
- the real problem: when pressing down the pedal, the hold button becomes activated, and when I play a chord very briefly the arpeggiator continues because the chord is held down (which works as expected: still great). But when I play a new chord this is where the "nightmare" starts...I'm a professional pianist and know how to use a sustain pedal. When I play a new chord I only change the pedal right after the new chord is played, otherwise there is a gap (brief silence) between the chord. So when I play the new chord there are a few milliseconds before I change the pedal. During these few milliseconds there is an overlap of the two chords on the Rev 2, which is good, just as on a regular piano. BUT when I afterwards release the pedal (in order to press it down again right after) the arpeggiator just stops (silence!) although I'm still holding the chord with my fingers!...
In short words: when you hold a chord with your fingers and add pedal everything works fine on the Rev 2. But when you release the pedal WHILE STILL HOLDING the chord with your fingers, the hold button is turned off and the sound is gone although you still are holding the chord with your fingers. This makes no sense. Every time I change the chord, the arpeggiator stops and I have to replay the chord to start the arpeggiator again.
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not working solutions I found so far
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I however found a way to get the arpeggiated layer (B) working as I wish but to do so I can not longer use the sustain pedal and therefor can't use layer A at the same time. The way to get it working is to:
1. not use a sustain pedal...
2. turn the hold button to activated (permanently)
3. turn 'Arp Relatch' on in the arp menu
This way every new chord (=new note collection) retriggers the arpeggiator to work with the notes of the new chord.
Another incomplete solution is to dig into the global menu at turn 'Sustain Arp' to 'Sustain' (instead of 'Harp hold').
This makes the sustain pedal more usable for both layers, it works perfect for layer A, but only half for B:
instead of only 'holding' the notes to be used for the arpeggiator into the memory of the synth, it also adds the real
sustain pedal effect (which is only needed for the synth layer A). As a result the arpeggiated notes are literally sustained causing a very muddy sound since the notes do not longer replace each other, they all keep on sounding together.
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solution ?
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As far as I can see the only solution would be to prevent the deactivation of the hold button when the sustain pedal is released while fingers are still holding the chord. On a regular piano holding down a chord after the pedal has been released also doesn't cut the sound, it is still held until the fingers also release the keys.